One of the best parts of autumn is watching the foliage become vibrant and colorful. It’s so picturesque and pretty—that is, until those leaves fall onto your lawn, leaving you on cleanup duty. While a good leaf blower can move debris forward quickly, the best leaf vacuums save you from having to bring out a rake and leaf bags, leaving pristine grass and walkways in their wake. Our top choice overall is the Worx 3-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower for its power and versatility, but there are plenty of others worth consideration.
Capable of sucking up everything from piles of leaves to twigs, leaf vacuums are designed to make seasonal yard work infinitely easier. While they are great for large lawns, they’re also a worthy investment for “those with smaller yards who want a cleaner, more efficient way to remove leaves,” says Noah James, owner of Liberty Lawn Maintenance. Not sure which model to purchase? Start by considering the size of your lawn (and the how many piles of dead leaves tend to accumulate on it during the fall months). “These things come in handheld sizes for small yards and spot work, or as attachments for riding mowers and everything in between,” says Ryan Farley, CEO of yard maintenance company LawnStarter. Of course, you’ll also want to keep the size of your garage in mind—after all, these machines spend the majority of the year in storage. Ahead, here are what we believe to be the best leaf vacuums on the market.
- Best Leaf Vacuum Overall: Worx 3-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower
- Best Budget Leaf Vacuum: Black + Decker 3-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower
- Best Splurge Leaf Vacuum: Troy-Bilt Gas Chipper Shredder Vacuum
- Best Cordless Leaf Vacuum: Greenworks Cordless Blower Vacuum
- Best Leaf Vacuum Mulcher: Ryobi 40-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Battery Leaf Vacuum
- Best Gas-Powered Leaf Vacuum: Husqvarna Handheld Leaf Blower And Vacuum
- Best Walk-Behind Leaf Vacuum: Sun Joe 4-in-1 Electric Leaf Blower
- Best Backpack Leaf Vacuum: Black + Decker Backpack Blower Vacuum
Best Leaf Vacuum Overall
A Multi-Functional Beast You Can Operate One-Handed
Type: Corded electric |Weight: 9.3 pounds |CFM: 350 |MPH: 210
Worx’s 3-in-1 Trivac is designed to do everything you need to keep your lawn tidy. The electric tool flips from a leaf blower to a vacuum, allowing you to change things up as needed to ensure the right type of power required for any given moment. A metal impeller cuts leaves down to an 18-to-1 mulch ratio, chomping through 18 bags worth of leaves and pulverizing it down to just one bag. Designed with a curled lip makes it easy to get under lawn fixtures and landscaping to suck out lurking debris. Switch from speeds of 80 to 210 MPH, with 350 CFM to adjust your power as needed. This machine is just above 9 pounds and is designed to be controlled by one hand.
Best Budget Leaf Vacuum
An Under-$50 Option With Several Roles
Type: Corded electric |Weight: 7 pounds |CFM: N/A |MPH: 210
A good leaf vacuum is never going to be the cheapest tool in your lawn maintenance arsenal, but this model from Black + Decker is dependable and inexpensive. The corded electric vacuum doubles as a leaf blower and mulcher, with a mulch ratio of 10-to-1. Enjoy powerful speeds of up to 210 MPH for speedy cleanup and toggle between two speeds (150 MPH is the lowest) to optimize power for the task at hand. This kit comes with a blow tube, vacuum tube and collection bag you can toss over your shoulder.
Best Splurge Leaf Vacuum
A 24-Inch Width Gives You Plenty Of Coverage In One Pass
Type: Gas-powered |Weight: 125 pounds |CFM: N/A |MPH: N/A
Most people aren’t going to want to spend nearly $1,000 on a leaf vacuum. Yet, if you have the means and lawn debris is a serious and ongoing issue for you, this walk-behind Troy-Bilt vacuum is worth considering. It has a 24-inch vacuum width to suck up a lot of leaves and twigs at once, along with a 7-foot on-board hose to help you target tight spots and under shrubs. A 3-foot hose extension gives you a reach up to 10 feet. This machine is self-propelled and doubles as a wood chipper and shredder, reducing eight bags of yard waste into one. The attached two-bushel bag allows you to cover plenty of ground before needing to be dumped.
Best Cordless Leaf Vacuum
A Battery-Powered Option With A Range Of Accessories
Type: Battery-powered cordless |Weight: 17.2 pounds |CFM: 340 |MPH: 185
This vacuum and leaf blower from Greenworks offers up to 185 MPH and 340 CFM of suction power to help quickly make yard waste a thing of the past. The vacuum is cordless, with a battery that’s compatible with all Greenworks tools. Enjoy features like cruise control to help you move along with ease, as well as wheels on the lip to avoid weighing you down while you work. The 17-gallon collection bag can handle up to a half acre’s worth of leaves and debris before needing to be dumped. When you’re ready to switch from blowing to vacuuming, simply swap the tube, attach the bag and get back to work.
Best Leaf Vacuum Mulcher
A Versatile Machine That Can Crunch Bags Of Leaves Into One
Type: Battery-powered cordless |Weight: 12.7 pounds |CFM: 300 |MPH: 75
Ryobi’s humorously named Vac Attack is a cordless beast that can suck up and mulch up to eight 30-gallon bags in just 12 minutes. The tool features a metal impeller that mulches 16 bags of leaves down to one, making for quick clean-up. The vacuum’s lip has wheels to make it easy to push around your yard and there’s also variable speed to allow you to set the pace that works best for your comfort zone. The bag unzips when it’s time to empty it out, making it simple to dump mulch into your garden bed or a yard waste bag. This cordless tool works with all Ryobi 40-volt batteries.
Best Gas-Powered Leaf Vacuum
A Powerful Tool That Won't Blow Out Your Eardrums
Type: Gas-powered | Weight: 9.6 pounds | CFM: 425 | MPH: 170
Gas-powered leaf vacuums are known for their power (along with their noisiness). But coming in at 49 decibels—which is comparable to light rainfall—this Husqvarna is impressively quiet for what it does. The vacuum operates up to 170 MPH and 425 CFM, with a 16-to-1 mulching capability to reduce material and increase bag capacity. The engine and starter get you up and running quickly, while a variable speed throttle with cruise control allows you to cruise around at a pace that feels right for you. The stop switch automatically resets to the on position for easier starting the next time around.
Best Walk-Behind Leaf Vacuum
A 4-In-1 Machine On Wheels
Type: Corded electric | Weight: 8.6 pounds | CFM: N/A | MPH: 250
This Sun Joe tool does a lot, working as a leaf blower, vacuum, mulcher and gutter cleaner. The vacuum features wheels on the lip to make it easy to cruise around your grass and walkways, sucking up debris, while the 14-amp motor creates up to 250 MPH of air flow. Flip through six adjustable wind speeds to find the level of suction that works for any given yard waste. An aluminum alloy impeller chops debris with a 16:1 ratio, funneling everything into an 18-gallon bag. When you want to reach your gutters, just extend the tube up to 15 feet.
Best Backpack Leaf Vacuum
An Easier Way To Carry Your Leaves
Type: Corded electric | Weight: 11.1 pounds | CFM: 400 | MPH: 210
One potential challenge with a leaf vacuum is toting the attached bag around while you work. For a more comfortable session, consider this backpack option from Black + Decker, which evenly distributes the weight across your shoulders so you don’t feel dragged down as you work. This tool works as a powerful blower, vacuum and mulcher, with air speeds up to 250 MPH and air flow up to 400 CFM. Enjoy added features like a powerboost button and flexible tube for enhanced maneuvering as you work. The vacuum is electric, so there’s no limit on runtime.
MORE FROMFORBES VETTED
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
Forbes Vetted editors, like all consumers, want products that work efficiently, hold up to regular use and help make daily chores a little bit easier. To find the best leaf vacuums, we took our own regular yard maintenance tasks into consideration. When we evaluate products like leaf vacuums, we not only look at the overall construction, but also the additional features that can make these machines even more efficient. In addition to articles about how to corral leaves and tidy the yard easily, we’ve researched and published tons of expert-driven yard and lawn-related content. We’ve also tested some outdoor staples like pressure washers, as well as vacuum types like the best vacuums for pet hair.
Lastly, we refresh this story regularly to ensure it remains up to date; it was last updated October 2023.
How We Chose The Best Leaf Vacuums
To help track down the best leaf vacuums on the market, we started by consulting two lawn maintenance experts for their input on what to look for in these cleaning powerhouses: Noah James, owner of Liberty Lawn Maintenance, and Ryan Farley, CEO of LawnStarter. From there, we analyzed the most popular leaf vacuums on the market, considering factors like materials, suction power, versatility and value. During this step, we also considered reviews from verified owners to get a sense of how these vacuums perform for a range of homeowners. Put simply, the leaf vacuums that make this list are backed by quality materials and features, expert input and customer reviews.
What Can Leaf Vacuums Pick Up?
While every machine is slightly different, most leaf vacuums can suck up common yard debris. “Even small ones should have no problem with smaller twigs, seed pods and other similar yard debris,” says Farley. That said, if you want a vacuum that can suck up heavier, larger pieces of debris like clumps of wet leaves and larger sticks, it’s best to get an extra powerful model. (Gas leaf vacuums typically have the strongest suction power.)
What Is More Important In A Leaf Vacuum, CFM Or MPH?
If you’ve spent any amount of time researching leaf vacuums, you’ve likely encountered the acronyms CFM (cubic feet per minute) and MPH (miles per hour). To break it down, CFM measure the volume of air a leaf vacuum can suck up, while MPH measures the speed that air passes through the nozzle. “Both CFM and MPH play a crucial role in the effectiveness of a leaf vacuum,” says James. “A higher CFM means more air volume, which can help to pick up more leaves and debris. A higher MPH means faster airspeed, which can help to lift and move heavier materials.”
If you have a lot of leaves and only a small amount of light debris, a higher CFM may be more important, James says; if you want to suck up heavier materials like wet leaves or twigs, a leaf vacuum with a higher MPH may be necessary. “Ultimately, the best leaf vacuum will strike a balance between CFM and MPH to provide optimal performance,” says James.
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