Updated Aug. 29, 2024
Whether you're a novice vacuum sealer or a seasoned meal prepper, we evaluated the market to help you find the best vacuum sealer for your lifestyle.
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If you’re interested in efficient leftover food storage, start with investing in the best vacuum sealer for your needs. Vacuum sealers preserve the shelf life of food and are a life-changing product to help freeze food. They suck the air out of plastic-wrapped ingredients and seal the sides with heat.
There are many advantages to vacuum-sealed foods. Since the process removes oxygen, it reduces the chemical reactions and bacteria buildup that would otherwise cause food to expire (including freezer burn and dehydration). Food stored in this way lasts and maintains freshness three to five times longer than non-packaged foods!
Because vacuum sealing preserves food freshness, it reduces waste—which ultimately saves money and time spent cooking. Frozen meat cuts can go from lasting in the freezer from six months to two to three years when vacuum sealed. Plus, it makes your fridge and freezer organized by helping you save leftovers efficiently and meal prep. Read on for our top vacuum sealer picks for every household. Bonus: A handful of them are available on Amazon for fast (and free) shipping for Prime members!
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A vacuum sealer is like the crème de la crème of prep tools, and this Potane vacuum sealer tops them all. Powered by 120 watts, it uses 8 millimeters of sealing width, whereas many other styles use only 3 millimeters. It’s an overall stand-out for its smooth sealing method and robust, high-power motor.
Plus, it stores up to 20 feet of bag rolls and features a built-in cutter that minimizes labor. It comes with a five-year warranty so that it can last for the long haul. Finally, it has both an automatic and a manual mode—a simple design that doesn’t compromise the most important features. You’ll be packing freezer foods like a pro before you know it.
“I’m sold on the virtues of vacuum sealing, beyond sous vide cooking alone,” writes our executive culinary director, Sarah Farmer, in her Potane vacuum sealer review. “Prepping make-ahead meals for the freezer, preserving ingredients and extending the life of food and even protecting non-food items from the elements—the Potane did an all-around super job!”
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No matter your food-sealing experience, you can’t go wrong with the FoodSaver preservation system. As one of the newest FoodSaver products, we love its versatile food-sealing programs, like the pulse function (for preserving soft foods, like baked goodies, without crushing them), the marinate function, the dry function and the moist function for the best airtight seal possible every. single. time.
Oh, and you’ll never have to worry about freezer-burn with this beauty. Bonus: It boasts a built-in cutter bar to create custom-sized bags. With the click of one button—presto! You’ll have your chicken meal prep sealed and ready for the week.
“This works like a champ and I’m very impressed with its capabilities,” shares verified Amazon purchaser, Robert McCloskey. “Have used it to buy and freeze bulk meat (ground beef and whole beef tenderloin cut into portions for grilling) for future use without the fear of freezer burn. This is a real cost saver, and I’m really happy with the purchase.”
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For the best bang for your buck, the Geryon vacuum sealer offers all of the quality of a great vacuum sealer without any of the frills. It features an incredibly simple design with two sealing modes. This prevents food spoilage and freezer burn by keeping air out. It also allows you to reseal previously opened packages to preserve freshness. The design is compact and lightweight for easy storage, and its upper lid is easily removed for cleaning purposes. Its external cutter allows you to cut bags into any size you need. We love that this model is fully equipped to get the job done, but won’t cost you an arm and a leg!
“This is one of those times when I can honestly say ‘I should have done this a long time ago,'” says five-star reviewer, SammyD. “I live alone and have had to waste so much fresh food…This Geryon model was on sale and works like a champ. With the cost of food these days, it’s really worth it to get one of these and vacuum seal your food.”
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If you’re looking for a more professional sealer, this Vesta Chamber Vac Elite is the vacuum sealer for you. Chamber sealers are best for large batches and liquid-rich foods. They require placing entire packages inside the machine so that air can be sucked from the entire chamber.
Although it features an automatic option that seals food according to its size at the click of a button, this design is highly customizable—you can even enter how long you would like bags to seal. It also includes a special marinate feature, which allows you to infuse flavor into your food (such as these marinated mushrooms). It features a whopping 270 watts, making its suction power impeccable. If you’re sold on the chamber style, this Vesta model is the one to go with.
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Interested in the art of vacuum sealing, but not all the bulk? You don’t have to sacrifice storage or counter space, thanks to this space-saving FoodSaver model. Not to mention it delivers the same power as other FoodSaver models, but with a 30% smaller footprint. Talk about a win-win! Plus, it’s easy to perfectly align bags so nothing goes to waste. Simply load the vacuum-sealed bag with the food or mixture, place it in the drip tray, close the lid and get vacuum sealing with the press of a button.
“I settled on this vacuum sealer after thorough research because of its compact size and no frills construction,” writes verified buyer, Mike M. “I hate food that gets freezer burn and using the vacuum sealer prevents that. Works great for freshly purchased meats or leftovers. I smoked a 10-pound pork the other day and was able to seal up meal size portions that taste just as good as when I froze them. Highly recommend.”
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An external vacuum sealer differs from a chamber sealer. Rather than immersing your bag in a chamber, simply line your bag alongside this sealer and make a clean seal. The Nesco VS-12 vacuum sealer is powered with 130 watts and a double-vacuum pump.
It includes a built-in storage bag cutter that can utilize any brand of plastic bag. It features a variety of settings for moist, dry or double foods, along with a gentle seal setting for soft foods. Its easy-lock handle makes operation with one hand accessible so that your other hand is freed up. It also allows a double heat seal for extra protection. It’s most ideal for someone who hopes to get started on vacuum sealing without breaking the bank.
“We love this appliance,” shares Amazon reviewer, Brandon. “We bought this vacuum sealer because we save a great deal of food in our freezers. We’ve sealed vegetables and meat without issue. I will say you’ll need to order the extra box of bags because the rolls don’t last long if you put up any considerable amount of food.”
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Here’s the thing: Leftovers often don’t taste as fresh as day one. But sometimes vacuum sealing isn’t the most convenient meal prep process. That’s where the FoodSaver handheld vacuum sealer comes in handy. Boasting a powerful 130-watt suction, the handheld sealer marinates foods way faster than traditional methods while locking in freshness of last night’s leftovers. Whether you need to seal up avocado halves, marinated salmon or even chips, this convenient little guy is our go-to for handheld vacuum sealing. It’s complete with a 10-cup storage container as an added bonus, too.
“This little dynamo is so easy to use and works exactly as it should. The fact that it’s rechargeable and takes up hardly any space at all in a drawer is a huge bonus, too. So many of the vacuum sealers I looked at were big and bulky and looked more complicated to use,” writes Carrie T., a five-star reviewer.
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If you’re interested in taking meal prep seriously, or just know that you are going to put your food sealer to use regularly, go with this heavy-duty Weston Pro-2300 vacuum sealer. It possesses 935 watts of power, so its vacuum is much more powerful than the average vacuum sealer.
It features a manual seal mode for user control of the operation. Plus, its double piston pump makes it quick and efficient for cranking out big batches of sealed foods. It’s designed for continuous use, as it includes a fan-cooled motor to allow for repetitive use without causing the motor to overheat. Its large size allows you to fit extra-large bags—up to 15 inches. This is a smart pick for anyone who uses a bulk meat delivery or produce delivery service.
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This Anova vacuum sealer and sous vide set is ideal for the serious home chef. The sealer is compact, simple in design and features an automatic method. With six total functions, it accommodates pretty much anything—dry, moist and liquid marinades included. Its small size makes it ideal for small kitchen spaces.
The cooker is specifically designed for sous vide, which is a cooking technique that heats food with water. It circulates heat in a pot, which allows vacuum-sealed food to cook thoroughly and evenly while being immersed in the water. The set is Wi-Fi-enabled and allows you to monitor a food’s cooking progress through an app. If you’re serious about perfectly poached eggs, invest in this precision cooker and you’ll be poaching like a pro!
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When purchasing a vacuum sealer, here are a few things to keep in mind:
This applies exclusively to external vacuum/edge sealers and refers to the device’s width on the sealing side. It determines the maximum width of the sealer bags, as any bags wider than the seal bar won’t seal (since they’re longer than the sealer).
Operating a vacuum sealer involves more than a trip to the store and buying plastic bags. Sealers are designed to work only with specific bags, as outlined in the user manual (many sealers come with bags). Shop for sealer bags specifically compatible with your sealer model.
Edge sealers tend to be smaller and more portable than chamber sealers, but there is also a lot of variation in size, even within the categories themselves. Check capacities/capabilities by consulting with the manufacturers (many outline device sizes online). The greater the seal bar width, the larger the device is. There’s a direct correlation between size and capabilities, where smaller devices are more portable and easy to store but require smaller vacuum seal bags.
Like most kitchen gadgets, vacuum sealers make noise, similar to an air compressor, but only while in operation. If your vacuum sealer becomes unusually loud, turn it off and seek professional maintenance.
Sarah Farmer brings 20 years of food publishing experience and leads the Taste of Home culinary team, specializing in recipe development, editing, testing and food styling. She appears in Taste of Home videos on YouTube and TV, sharing insights on recipes and kitchen gadgets, and speaks at culinary events nationwide. She has extensive experience in product reviews and kitchen appliances and is well-qualified to discuss vacuum sealers.
Sean Tirman, Content Updates Editor at Taste of Home, updated and contributed research to this piece. Sean has written shopping guides since 2016 and is a former associate editor at Gear Patrol.
To find the best vacuum sealers, we first researched the market itself, getting a feel for the brands and products that were widely available. Then, we narrowed our search by selecting those trusted by consumers and experts. Next, we considered individual vacuum sealer model specifications, including motor power, size, sealing modes and other features. We also looked at reviews from verified purchasers to see how the vacuum sealers held up over time. Finally, we settled on the list of the best of the best that you see above.
If kept in the refrigerator, vacuum-sealed food stays fresh for one to two weeks. In the freezer, it can last five to six months. Depending on your freezer’s capacity, vacuum-sealed food can sometimes last one to two years.
You shouldn’t vacuum seal food, including soft cheeses, onions, garlic, raw veggies (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, arugula, cabbage, and radishes), raw mushrooms, raw bananas and whole apples.
Unplug the machine and wait for it to cool down before cleaning. Then, use a damp cloth to wipe and remove any loose crumbs, dirt or food residue.
Choosing a good vacuum sealer depends on your needs. A basic edge sealer should suffice if you only occasionally seal small items. An industrial-grade model might be more appropriate for sealing large quantities of food. Customer reviews and professional recommendations, like those in our guide, can help you make an informed decision.
Chamber vacuum sealers are more efficient and cleaner than edge sealers. They equalize the pressure inside and outside the bag during sealing, preventing the contents from shifting or leaking, a common issue with edge sealers.
This depends on your budget, space and numerous other factors, but you can’t go wrong with our overall pick, the Potane vacuum sealer.
A vacuum sealer typically lasts two to three years with regular use. However, with proper care and maintenance, it can last even longer.
Originally Published: March 07, 2022
