Handheld vacuum sealers have several great features that might make one the right choice for you. But there are drawbacks to consider, too.
We take a deep dive into the world of handheld vacuum sealers and look at uses, pros and cons, buying considerations, and the best ones to buy.
Best 5 Handheld Vacuum Sealers at a Glance
Here are the best handheld vacuum sealers we found. They all have strengths and weaknesses, but all of our picks had at least 80% positive (4- and 5-star) ratings on Amazon and in our testing, they did everything they said they would.
The most powerful and easiest to use was the Waring Pro. But it's spendy for a handheld, so we understand if you don't want to invest quite so much. Our second favorite was the Vesta, which felt solid and well made in the hand and was pretty easy to operate. The Zwilling was a close third, and a decent compromise between the power of the Waring Pro and the compactness of the Vesta.
Sealer Brand | Pros and Cons |
|---|---|
Anova Culinary Precision Port  | -Works with liquids -Lithium ion battery -Up to 150 seals per charge -Includes 10 1-quart bags and USB charging cord -0.6 lbs -No AC adapter or charging base -About $50 -2 year warranty. |
FoodSaver FS2160 note: Two models are on this page. We like the newer one as it's compatible with all FS products.  | -Up to 60 seals per charge -According to FoodSaver, pulls 7-10 "Hg -Includes 2 bags and 10 cup marinade container -Marinate function for quick marinades (15 minutes) -"Liquid reservoir" minimizes liquids getting sucked into pump -Works with all FoodSaver containers and FreshSaver bags (and other brands too) -Charging dock with AC adapter -About $80 -1 year limited warranty. |
Vesta Precision Vac 'n Seal  | -Long battery life (lithium ion battery) -Excellent build quality, great design -Very compact, good for camping -Works with all brands of bags and containers -Pulls up to 17 "Hg (according to website) -5 1-quart bags included -No liquid protection (freeze first) -0.5 lb -USB-USB-C charging cable included -No AC adapter -About $25 -2 year warranty, 30 day money back guarantee. |
Waring Pro Commercial Pistol Vacuum Sealer  | -Pistol style, easy to use -Most powerful of all the sealers we tested -Charging stand with AC plugin -Removable bag holder on stand -Comes with 25qt and 25gal bags -Bags are very thick (durable) -No liquid protection (freeze first) -Big compared to other handheld sealers -About $130 -1 year warranty. |
Zwilling Fresh & Save  | -Larger than most other handheld sealers -Lithium ion battery -Zwilling bags and containers recommended -Liquid barrier available at Zwilling--about $4--still not for use with liquids -No bags included -Includes USB-USB-C charging cord and charging station with AC adapter -About $70 (more with accessory packages) -2 year warranty. |
How Do Handheld Vacuum Sealers Work?
A handheld vacuum sealer, also called a nozzle sealer, is a type of external vacuum sealer. (The other type of external sealer is an edge sealer, also called a channel or suction sealer because you place the bag in a channel to seal it. One is pictured below)
Handheld vacuum sealers work with special vacuum sealer bags that have an air hole ("nozzle") designed to fit the sealer (pictured above). You place the nozzle sealer directly over the bag's air hole and press a button or trigger to begin the suction process.
With most handhelds, you have to also press a button to stop the vacuum. You can tell when it's done by how much air is removed from the bag, or from the change in sound as the machine stops removing air.
There are also manual pump nozzle sealers that work the same way, but you have to pump the air out by hand (shown below). We don't recommend these because they can be really hard to use (but some people love them).
Some edge sealers, like the FoodSaver V4440 come with a nozzle sealer attachment: