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Head-to-head · Best Shop Vacs

Festool CT 26 EI HEPA Dust Extractor vs Milwaukee M18 FUEL 0920-20 9-Gallon Cordless Wet/Dry Vac

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

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The short answer

Festool CT 26 EI HEPA Dust Extractor comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.8 vs 4.6). The gap is mostly about Pro woodworkers, finish carpenters, and remediation contractors who need silica/lead-grade filtration and tool-triggered convenience for sanders and track saws — read the strengths below before deciding.

Festool CT 26 EI HEPA Dust Extractor
Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best Shop Vacs
Festool CT 26 EI HEPA Dust Extractor
2 sourcesall derived$899as of Aug 1

Woodworkers and remediation pros buy the Festool CT 26 EI HEPA when filtration accuracy and tool integration outrank tank capacity. Explore and Renovate clocked 99.96% real-world capture and 70 dB(A) operating noise, and ToolGuyd's long-term reviewer calls it 'one of my most-used power tools.' It's pricey at $899 bare, and the 6.9-gallon drum is small for demo work. For sander, router and track-saw work, it's the benchmark.

Strengths
  • — HEPA filtration measured at 99.96% real-world capture by Explore and Renovate, with cabinet shop air-quality logs matching lab specs during maple flooring refinishing
  • — Bluetooth tool-triggered start eliminates trips to the switch when paired with Festool track saws, sanders, or routers
  • — Quietest extractor in the field at 70 dB(A) ear-level (Explore and Renovate), low enough to run all day without hearing protection
Watch-outs
  • — $899 list price (plus essential accessories pushing the kit closer to $1,100) prices most DIYers out
  • — 6.9-gallon canister fills fast on demo work, requiring frequent bag swaps
  • — Auto-sensing tool socket capped at 2,400 watts of pass-through, so it won't reliably trigger from a corded table saw
$899 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 0920-20 9-Gallon Cordless Wet/Dry Vac
Ranked #2 in Best Shop Vacs
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 0920-20 9-Gallon Cordless Wet/Dry Vac
2 sources1 derived$309as of Jul 31

Already on the M18 platform? The Milwaukee M18 FUEL 0920-20 is the cordless shop vac to buy. Pro Tool Reviews gave it 9.4/10, measured 109 CFM and 77 inches of water lift, and pushed the reinforced wheels past 50 miles of jobsite travel. PACKOUT compatibility and the modular NEXUS canister system make it the most workflow-integrated cordless option. Batteries sold separately is the obvious cost catch.

Strengths
  • — Pro Tool Reviews scored it 9.4/10 — the highest rating any vac in this guide received — citing 'fantastic' wet/dry performance
  • — Pro Tool Reviews measured 109 CFM and 77 inches of water lift, outperforming many 4.25 peak HP corded competitors
  • — Up to 49 minutes of runtime per pair of M18 12.0 Ah batteries in Max Runtime mode, plus PACKOUT-compatible cart for jobsite mobility
Watch-outs
  • — Bare-tool price of $309-329 doesn't include the two M18 batteries required to run (add $200-400 depending on capacity)
  • — Even on Max Power mode, runtime caps at 34 minutes — long jobs need spare battery packs
  • — Filter is non-HEPA-certified standard high-efficiency element — for OSHA-compliant silica cleanup buy the 0888-20 dust extractor instead
$309 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →

Derived means the reviewer published no score, so one was inferred from their written verdict. Everything else is a number the publisher printed. How we rank.

How they stack up

Festool CT 26 EI HEPA Dust Extractor

More refined than the Ridgid HD1600 NXT for fine-dust work — the HD1600 moves more raw air at 161 CFM but lets visible drywall haze out the filter exhaust on demo. Vs the Milwaukee M18 FUEL 9-Gallon (0920-20), the CT 26 stays corded but trades cordless freedom for HEPA-certified filtration and Bluetooth tool integration. The Vacmaster Beast and Ridgid HD09001 are workshop-cleanup vacs by comparison; this is a dust-management system.

Milwaukee M18 FUEL 0920-20 9-Gallon Cordless Wet/Dry Vac

Vs the corded Ridgid HD1600 16-Gallon NXT at $199, the Milwaukee is the cordless answer at 1.5x the price plus batteries — you trade hose-length-and-cord-length reach for genuine no-extension-cord freedom and PACKOUT integration. Vs the Festool CT 26 EI HEPA, it's two-thirds the price (with batteries), corded-free, but doesn't HEPA filter. The Ridgid HD09001 has the same drum size for a third the price, but tethered to a 10-foot cord. The Vacmaster Professional Beast VFB511B pulls more raw water-lift suction in a much smaller drum.

Specs side-by-side

SpecFestool CT 26 EI HEPA Dust ExtractorMilwaukee M18 FUEL 0920-20 9-Gallon Cordless Wet/Dry Vac
Tank Capacity6.9 gal (26 L)9 gal
Motor1,200 W / 10 APOWERSTATE brushless (>4.25 peak HP equivalent)
Max Airflow138 CFM109 CFM
Max Water Lift96 in (24,000 Pa)77 in
Hose27 mm x 11.5 ft1-7/8 in x 9 ft (crush-resistant)
Filter TypeHEPA PTFE main + SELFCLEAN fleece bagLarge high-efficiency cartridge
Power Source120 V cordedBattery (2x M18 18V REDLITHIUM, sold separately)
Cord Length25 ft—
Weight30.6 lbsNot published (rated for one-person lift)
Wet+Dry CapableYesYes
Runtime—34-49 min per charge (HD12.0 batteries)
Warranty—3-year
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