For every person willing to spend whatever it takes for the vacuum cleaner of their dreams, there’s another buying one as a total grudge purchase.
If this is you (no clean-freak judgement here), it could be tempting to opt for a vac at the dirt-cheap end of the scale, such as the models from Kmart and Target’s house brand, Anko.
Although we do love it when we find a bargain appliance that really shines, in the case of Target and Kmart Anko vacuum cleaners, the news kind of sucks.
Anko bagless barrel vacs are among the lowest scorers in our lab tests, and the stick vacuums don’t fare much better
Their bagless barrel vacs are among the lowest scorers in our lab tests, and the stick vacuums on offer don’t fare much better.
Still, if you’re tempted by the price tag, read on to see our expert analysis of each model’s cleaning skills (or lack thereof).
Target and Kmart Anko stick vacuums
Stick vacs are useful for quick cleaning bursts around the house, or when you’re cleaning hard-to-reach spots in the car.
The category is dominated by market leaders such as Dyson, but with pricier models costing well over $1000, you may be tempted to try your luck with a budget stick instead.
At the time of writing, these are the stick vacs on sale at Kmart and Target:
It rated well for cleaning hard floors and pet hair, and very good for car cleaning in handheld mode, but seriously struggled on carpet, both for quick cleans and longer runs.
In the case of Anko stick vacuums, our experts found you get what you pay for
Still, at a tenth of the price of the big guns, it’s a cheapie to consider – it just depends on your floor type and how you feel about doing extra laps to get the job done.
Our experts found it easier to use than the $79 version and it was marginally better on hard floors – but it’s actually worse on carpet.
It scored well for picking up pet hair and car cleaning, and it’s a lightweight 1.84kg so perhaps it could be useful for cleaning the boot after taking Fido to the park.
But despite its shortcomings, it still performed better than the higher-priced stick vacs named below, so if you think you’ll get a better Anko stick vac if you spend more, think again.
If you think you’ll get a better Anko if you spend more, think again
It might score higher than the $129 and $149 models, but that doesn’t mean it’s a great vacuum by any stretch: it managed to earn a CHOICE Expert Rating of 66%, which still puts it towards the bottom of the pile in our stick vacuum review.
Rough end of the stick: Kmart’s $129 Cordless Stick Cleaner was one of the worst performers in our tests.
The $149 Kmart Anko Cordless Stick Vacuum: it sucks at sucking.
The other Anko stick vac products we looked at fared no better, taking out some of the bottom spots in our stick vacuum review with scores of 59% and 63%.
Both models did well when it came to cleaning cars, and the $129 model was also excellent at removing pet hair – so perhaps they’re potential options for the (very specific) task of cleaning up after your pet in the car.
But there’s little else to commend these vacuums for, and you’re likely to be better off paying a little more for a stick vac that’ll actually do a good job at cleaning your home, not just your car.
CHOICE expert Adrian Lini testing stick vacs in our labs.
Remember to factor in ongoing costs
Speaking of costs, if you want your vacuum to last the distance, you’ll need to buy replacement batteries and spare parts eventually (if they are available) and these costs can really add up.
Replacement filters are reasonably priced, with filter parts ranging from $2 for a foam filter through to $15 for a stainless steel mesh filter. You can also pick up replacement crevice tools, dust canisters, floor heads, adaptors and the like.
However, we couldn’t see any spare parts available for any of the ultra-cheap vacuums on sale, suggesting they may be destined for landfill sooner rather than later.
Target and Kmart Anko stick vacuums: Pros and cons
When our experts put Anko stick vacuums through their paces, a few key themes emerged – both good and bad. Here’s an overview of what they found.
Pros:
Good to excellent at removing pet hair
Very good for cleaning car interiors
Inexpensive
Two models have swappable batteries
Controls are rated very good to excellent
All have HEPA filters
Cons:
Poor at cleaning corners and around edges
Rated as ‘poor’ to ‘borderline’ for cleaning carpet
No hard floor heads or upholstery tools
Warranty is only one year
No telescopic wand
How we test stick vacuums
Our expert testers put stick vacuums through their paces in our labs, assessing how well they perform on hard floors, carpet, and cars, and whether they’re effective for removing pet hair and cleaning corners and edges.
We also score them on how easy they are to use and how noisy they are.
Our product tests are conducted in our CHOICE labs to very strict and tightly controlled standards. Often consumers agree with our review conclusions, but people may have different experiences using a product in their own homes.
‘It just didn’t suck up anything’
CHOICE community member Karen says of her Kmart stick vacuum: “The Anko stick vacuum was light and relatively easy to use, however, it just didn’t suck up anything from our wooden floors or floor rugs. We would run it back and forth and still see the same bits of fluff on the floor. It was not good for sucking dust off hard surfaces, nor was it any good for sucking fluff off rugs.”
‘The best $79 I ever spent’
But another stick vacuum model from Kmart, the 2-in-1 Cordless Stick Vacuum for $79, impressed CHOICE Community member Helen: “I cannot tell you how much I love it,” she says. “It has heaps of power and is two gadgets in one – it’s the best $79 I ever spent.”
And another member says it’s “good value for money” and is great for hard floors and picking up pet hair.
‘Only buy if this is all you can afford’
CHOICE member Bree noted good and bad points about the $149 stick vac, but overall wasn’t impressed: “This vacuum has low sucking power even on max. It pushes mess around on carpets. Doesn’t feel like it’s even cleaning.”
However, she liked that it’s easy to use, good at picking up dust and that it has an on/off button rather than a trigger power button that needs to be held down.
Both Bree and another member noticed a clicking sound when using it.
‘Does the job’
Having realistic expectations about the $129 Cordless Stick Cleaner has been a useful approach for CHOICE member Peter, who says “It worked fine and was very good at picking dog hair off the rugs.”
He uses it for in-between cleans and like Bree appreciates not having to keep the switch depressed to operate it.
CHOICE expert Matthew Tung testing vacuum cleaners in our labs.
Target and Kmart Anko barrel and upright vacuums
The Anko barrel and upright vacs we’ve tested over the years have always landed towards the back of the pack.
The highest score an Anko vac has achieved was 68%, which was for an upright vacuum that’s since been discontinued.
The Anko vacs we’ve tested over the years have always landed towards the back of the pack
At the time of writing, these are the barrel vacs on sale at Kmart and Target:
Barrel of fun (not): Kmart’s 2400W model was one of the lowest scorers in our test.
Are Target and Kmart barrel vacuums any good?
The $99 2400W Bagless SL163E model was one of the lowest-scoring vacuums in our test, scoring a very ordinary 60%, despite being the most powerful and expensive Anko model we’ve tested.
Ironically, our tests found that the cheapest Anko we’ve tested over the years – the $49 Anko 2000W Bagless Vacuum SL153B – to be one of the best of a mediocre lot.
It got a CHOICE Expert Rating of 67% – not a great score, but better than its crummy cousins. Unfortunately it now seems to be discontinued.
Of course, Kmart Anko isn’t alone in producing average barrel vacs. More expensive models from brands such as Bosch, Vax, Electrolux and Bissell also earned similarly low scores.
Kmart Anko barrel and upright vacuums: Pros and cons
Like their stick counterparts, Anko barrel and upright vacuum cleaners have their good and bad points. Here’s what our experts thought overall:
Pros:
Good controls
Easy to use
Good at removing pet hair
No ongoing costs for vacuum bags due to bagless design
“We discovered that, when used on hard floors, there isn’t much differentiation on performance between models and they all do the job quite well, so now we only test on carpet.”
CHOICE tip: If you only have timber floorboards, tiles or hard surfaces in your home, don’t waste your money on an expensive barrel or upright vacuum cleaner. A cheaper model is likely to do the job just fine.
Pru Engel is the Audience and engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaings team on content covering issues such as product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Find Pru on LinkedIn.
Pru Engel is the Audience and engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaings team on content covering issues such as product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Find Pru on LinkedIn.
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