If you’ve read the reviews of the Dreame H12 Pro and Dreame M12, you’ll notice that they follow a similar structure in a bid to make it easy to read for first-time users. As there are some differences between the two, I thought it would be good to highlight them in a separate article here.
Price
The Dreame H12 Pro retails for S$729 while the Dreame M12 retails at S$997. The main reason for Dreame M12 being priced higher (S$268 more) is because it is has a feature set of 2-in-1 cordless vacuum.
If you want some discounts, you can use the promo code ‘DREATECHH‘ for the Dreame H12 Pro, and ‘DREATECHM‘ for the Dreame M12, limited redemptions available.
Design and build quality
When it comes to design and build quality, both the H12 Pro and Dreame M12 are nearly identical in their overall design language and construction. Both have rounded edges and come in the same modern grey colour. In fact, they are about the same size and weight (the M12 weighs a little more).
The only obvious differentiator between the H12 Pro and M12 is that the M12 has a handle on the top body as it can actually be detached to be used as a handheld vacuum cleaner.
Features and usability
Operating either of the Dreame H12 Pro and Dreame M12 is similar. Simply tilt the vacuum from its upright position and after you power on, the vacuum it will start to move on its own. There are three buttons on the both handles – (1) to power on the vacuum cleaner, (2) to switch between the cleaning modes, and (3) to perform self-cleaning for the brush. Both vacuums also have a button at the back of the body to allow for customisation the voice prompt settings.
Both devices also last about 35 minutes of continuous use as they are equipped with a 6x 4,000mAh battery pack. I will highlight 5 key differences below, which allows you to evaluate which suits your needs more.
Clean & dirty water tank
The first difference lies in the capacity of the clean water tank. Dreame M12 (920ml) has a slighter larger clean water tank vs the Dreame H12 Pro (900ml), but both dirty water tanks are the same (700ml). To be frank, this small difference doesn’t really make such of a difference since it is usually the dirty water tank that is the limiting factor of how long you can clear for.
Cleaning modes
The second difference is that the Dreame H12 Pro has three cleaning modes compared to two on the Dreame M12. On the Dreame H12 Pro you are able to go into ‘Ultra’ mode which is simply a more powerful ‘Auto’ mode that can be helpful for deep cleaning. Having said that, I never found that I needed to use ‘Ultra’ mode during my time of testing. ‘Auto’ mode on both vacuums seem to be able to get the job done in most of my daily cleaning scenarios.
Both vacuums have a similar style of an informative LED screen which lets you monitor the battery life, cleaning mode, and the degree of dirt being cleaned.
Roller brush
The third differences lies in the main tool for cleaning, the roller brush. Dreame H12 Pro actually has the more flagship roller brush which allows you to do “edge-to-edge” cleaning as both edges of the roller brush are not blocked by any hardware. The edge-to-edge roller brush allows you to clean the floor edges more effectively as the roller brush is now able to reach much closer to the baseboards.
On the other hand, the roller brush on the Dreame M12 is considered to be “to-the-edge” cleaning as only the right blocker is removed. This kind of limits which direction you can clean from if you intend to clean at the corners, as you should ideally clean with the right part of the brush hugging the corners.
In my experience, the effectiveness of cleaning edges with the Dreame H12 Pro is slightly better than Dreame M12 but that is in very tricky conditions of wet mess. Having an edge-to-edge roller brush on also makes it easier and more flexible to clean and need not think about which direction you need to be cleaning from.
Self-cleaning and maintenance
The fourth difference is a big one for me, and that is the maintenance of the vacuum. Both the Dreame H12 Pro and Dreame M12 have a self-cleaning function which can be activated easily via a press of a button. The roller brush will then be cleaned with clean water for 2 minutes.
However, it is the hot air drying feature on the Dreame H12 Pro which the Dreame M12 doesn’t have that I feel further adds to the ease of maintenance. Having the roller brush hot air dried means there is less likelihood for any foul smells and bacteria growing on a damp brush. I personally feel that this should help keep the roller brush fresh for longer uses.
Handheld cleaning
The fifth difference is the ability of the Dreame M12 to detach itself to be a handheld vacuum cleaner. This make the Dreame M12 somewhat like a multi-purpose cleaning tool, allowing you to clean floors and also higher areas such as shelves albeit no mopping feature.
Having said that, I found the handheld Dreame M12 to be quite heavy for prolonged use as it weighs about 1.9kg. It is handy and nice to use for about 10 minutes maximum before I need to rest my hand. I do find myself using it to quickly get rid of dust accumulated at shelving areas or at the back of my rest. I like how it takes about 5 seconds to setup the handheld vacuum as well. One thing to note is that the disposing of the dirt is not most “clean” as it doesn’t mix with water so you cannot just pour it out. This means that when emptying the dust container, some of the dust might get exposed to the air.
Which to choose
Ultimately, this boils down to the type of cleaning you tend to do. I see both the Dreame H12 Pro and Dreame M12 as cleaning devices rather than a replacement for vacuum cleaners as they do both vacuuming and mopping at the same time. If you do find yourself using a handheld vacuum to get rid of dust in areas of your house then the Dreame M12‘s versatility might be worth the premium over the H12 Pro.
Personally, I would choose the Dreame H12 Pro as I do not feel the handheld vacuum ability is that big of a difference for me. And I prefer the hot air drying and edge-to-edge roller brush on the H12 Pro. Again, do remember to use promo code ‘DREATECHH‘ for the Dreame H12 Pro, and ‘DREATECHM‘ for the Dreame M12 for more discounts if you’re looking to purchase either, limited redemptions available.