Should you swap your Shark for a budget alternative? I tested the Ultenic in my messy, pet-loving home

When I agreed to review the Ultenic U20 cordless vacuum, I wasn't expecting it to outperform my Shark. And it didn't – I still reach for my trusty Shark after a day at the beach when the house is full of sand. But in between those deep clean days, a curious thing happened; I kept walking past the Shark and reaching for the Ultenic instead. Now, long after the official test period should have come to an end, the Ultenic U20 remains the vacuum I instinctively grab for everyday cleaning thanks to its lightweight design and ease of use.

At just over 3kg, the Ultenic U20 is almost 2kg lighter than my Shark. That might not sound like much, but in practice, it's the difference between 'I can't be bothered to vacuum right now' and 'I'll just quickly take this for a spin around the kitchen floor while the kettle boils'.

What I learned from testing the Ultenic U20 is that the best vacuum isn't necessarily the most powerful one. In a household like mine – five people, a dog and a cat, sand in places it shouldn’t be and mud that seems to appear out of nowhere – the best vacuum cleaner is the one that turns vacuuming into a quick and almost effortless job instead of a chore you'd rather avoid.

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Ultenic U20 Cordless Vacuum review

• Price: £239.99
• Power: 600W motor
• Runtime: Up to 60 minutes
• Dustbin capacity: 1.5L
• Weight: Approx. 3.3kg
• Filtration: 7-stage filtration system with HEPA filter
• Brush head: TangleTame™ anti-hair wrap floor brush
• Technology: GreenEye dust-detect lighting system
• Included tools: Crevice tool, flat brush, flexible hose, HEPA filters, wall mount

Who would the Ultenic U20 suit?

Having used the Ultenic U20 vacuum for six months, I've got a good idea of who this would be perfect for. Whilst it won't replace a heavy-duty corded vacuum, the lightweight, simple, corded design makes it perfect for quick vacuuming tasks that you want to take on "little and often."

A surprising bonus of the Ultenic being cheaper is that it's made from lighter materials. So, if you struggle with yours up the stairs, or you get back and shoulder aches, this could be the vacuum that offers some light relief.

I was also surprised to find that it handles pet hair and the day-to-day mud tracked in by my family really well. It made for a brilliant helping hand around the home.

• small to medium-sized homes
• people who vacuum little and often
• someone who needs a vacuum that's easy on the wrists and shoulders
• anyone looking for a lighter cordless vacuum
• pet owners dealing with everyday hair rather than serious shedding

Unboxing and first impressions of the Ultenic U20 Cordless vacuum

I’ve only ever bought Shark or Dyson vacuums, which usually arrive in large, imposing boxes that aren't easy to lift. So I was initially surprised – and a little concerned – by how easily I could scoop up the box that arrived on my doorstep containing the Ultenic U20. I popped it in my office to open later, and it ended up staying there for more than a week, almost getting forgotten – it's that unobtrusive.

Once unboxed, setting up the vacuum couldn't have been easier. Forget scrutinising a lengthy instruction manual or struggling to work out which attachment goes where – it just all slots neatly together.

The freestanding design is one of the first things that impressed me about it – that's a premium feature I wouldn't expect on a budget vacuum at this price point, and it's a game-changer. If you've ever tried balancing a cordless vacuum against the wall while rescuing a stray sock from the path of destruction, you'll know exactly what I mean. My Shark can't compete on this point – it has a handy folding function for when you need to store it or pause to pick something up, but that suddenly seems fiddly compared to the ease with which the Ultenic stands elegantly in place.

The Ultenic U20 is packed with more features than I was expecting, too. With a 600W motor and up to 55kPa suction, it's not the most powerful vacuum on the block, but it does have plenty of extras that make up for that, including GreenEye lighting to highlight hidden dust, and a bendable wand to make it easy to clean under furniture.

What's the Ultenic U20 Cordless vacuumlike to use?

This is where the Ultenic U20 makes its strongest case. Having suffered from joint pain and tennis elbow (thanks to perimenopause), I've developed very little patience for heavy household appliances. It's bad enough that I have to vacuum the stairs so often in a never-ending battle against pet fur – but I refuse to do it with something unwieldy or annoyingly heavy. If we can send people to the moon, I'm sure we can make domestic appliances easier to lift and carry. The Ultenic U20 is proof of this. Its lightness is by far its biggest selling point.

The bendable wand is a feature I initially dismissed as a gimmick, but I have ended up loving. In the past, I always moved beds and sofas to vacuum under them and never understood people who didn't. With joints that think twice about helping with household chores, I've decided life's too short for that. Still, the thought of what might lurk under there gives me the ick, so it's genuinely helpful to be able to vacuum under furniture without worrying about slipping a disc in the process. Cleaning under furniture is a doddle thanks to a bendable wand – beneath my bed has never been so clean, and even the dog appreciates this vacuum's assistance with retrieving long-lost tennis balls from under the sofa.

The GreenEye light is surprisingly satisfying, too, especially in dark corners where it's harder to see exactly how filthy the floor is. Slightly horrifying, admittedly, but satisfying.

Suction-wise, it handled everyday family mess just fine. Dropped biscuits and toast crumbs, the aforementioned sand, endless pet hair, grass and muddy debris from golf shoes, football boots and mountain biking gear – all the glamorous realities of family life we could throw at it, the Ultenic U20 coped with it.

Is the Ultenic U20 good value for money?

Yes, at under £200 (and often discounted), the Ultenic U20 sits in a completely different price bracket to premium cordless vacuums from the likes of Shark and Dyson. That's why I was so keen to try it. I wanted to be able to answer whether a budget alternative to the best Dyson vacuums is ever worth it and, now, I think I have my answer,

It doesn’t outperform the likes of Dyson and Shark, but you can't really expect it to when it has plastic where they use metal and much less suction power. That's all wrapped up in the price though. What this does do an exceptional job of is quick, everyday cleaning. It's made easier, and more convenient by virtue of the light and simple design. And for many of us, that matters more than suction power.

Ultenic U20 vs Shark Cordless Vacuum

There's no contest when it comes to power: my Shark cordless vacuum is still the one I reach for when I'm in deep cleaning mode. It feels more robust and never fails to deliver that 'properly clean' feeling that no budget vacuum can compete with. Yet I found myself reaching for the Ultenic over the Shark nine times out of ten because it's just so quick and easy to use.

The difference in weight is obviously a huge factor. The Ultenic feels effortless to lift and carry between rooms, whereas I have to mentally commit to using the Shark. This really shows when it comes to vacuuming my carpeted quarter-turn stairs – the worst spot in my house for collecting pet hair. Using the Shark on the stairs is a bit of a workout that I dread, if I'm honest, but with the flat brush tool attached to the Ultenic, turning it into a compact, handheld vacuum, I can have the whole staircase fur-free in less time than it takes to brew a pot of coffee to brew – without lugging a full-size vacuum up and down the stairs behind me.

In a busy household like mine, that level of convenience makes an enormous difference. I find myself zipping around with the Ultenic between other tasks without really thinking about it, which means the floors are looking cleaner day-to-day, and my weekly re-set of the house is much less of a mission, because I've kept on top of the vacuuming almost daily.

In a lab test, the Shark would easily win on deep-clean performance, but the Ultenic wins on convenience and ease of use – and in a real family home, I think that matters more than suction power.

Cleaning and maintenance on the Ultenic U20

I was a little apprehensive about what the Ultenic U20 vacuum would be like to clean, as cheaper vacuums often don't have the same simple features that make clearing hair and emptying the dust bin easy. First of all, the rollers surprised me. Dog hair and long hair didn't get wrapped around the roller and trapped, instead, they were whisked into the dustbin and emptied straight into my home bin. It was a great start from the Ultenic.

The actual dust bin isn't that much smaller than some Dyson and Shark models. And, because it's a little less powerful, I didn't notice that it needed changing any more or less. Of course, this does mean that it's probably picking up less dirt and mess, but not in a way that I noticed. And, as I said, if this is just for quick run arounds, that doesn't really matter.

Emptying the dust bin does require a bit of a knack and you might need a tool handy to really scrape any stubborn hair from the top. However, overall, it's all straightforward and relatively mess-free.

Should you buy the Ultenic U20?

My Shark isn't going anywhere; it's still the superior deep cleaner. But the Ultenic brought me something I didn't know I needed: relief from the mental resistance that surfaces at the thought of dragging a heavy vacuum out of the understairs cupboard day after day.

In this busy home where mess seems to constantly regenerate, no matter how often you vacuum, the Ultenic has earned its place for lightness and ease of use alone – and it's here to stay.

How I tested the Ultenic U20

Normally, we recruit a member of our Tester Network to review vacuum cleaners in their home, but I volunteered to review the Ultenic U20. My household is, frankly, brutal on vacuums: five people, a dog, a cat, endless foot traffic, beach sand that somehow migrates into every room and – thanks to a mountain-biking husband and a golf-mad son – mud that reappears moments after I’ve cleaned it up.

I tested the Ultenic U20 over several weeks on kitchen tiles, wood floors, carpets, rugs, stairs, upholstery and beneath furniture, using it for everything from quick kitchen clean-ups to more demanding Sunday night re-set sessions. I paid particular attention to how easy it was to grab for daily use, how well it coped with pet hair and other kinds of household debris, how manoeuvrable it was around furniture and winding stairs, and whether it could realistically compete with my more powerful Shark vacuum in real-world family life. I also tested all of the attachments, assessed battery life during longer cleans and discovered how it handled the kind of heavy-handed treatment that comes with living in a busy family household like mine.

You can find out more about how we test vacuums on our dedicated page.