FoodSaver FM2100 Review: Worth $179 Only If Bags Get Filled Most Weeks

What the box holds

The kit carries three quart bags, two gallon bags, one 11 in. x 10 ft. roll, and an accessory hose. Nothing else in the box seals on its own. The handheld sealer and the jar-lid sealer are separate purchases: FoodSaver listed the FA2000-000 handheld at $14.99, marked out of stock, and the jar lid sealing kit at $42.99.

The machine is a 4 by 16.3 by 9.2 inch, 6.6 lb body rated at 110 V and 120 W with a 24-inch cord. Replacement and accessory prices matter as it ages: upper and lower seals at $5.00, an upper seal assembly at $5.25, the drip tray at $4.00, an accessory hose at $5.25 or $4.80, and marinating containers from $34.99 to $54.99.

Bags are the recurring bill

Genuine pint bags are the cheapest pre-cut size on FoodSaver's store that carries a pack count: 27 for $11.99, which divides to 44 cents a bag. That division is arithmetic on the pack price, not a number FoodSaver prints. Gallon pre-cut bags run 12 for $11.99, about $1.00 each, and heavy-duty quart bags 44 for $27.49, about 63 cents each.

Rolls trade a higher upfront price for cutting to fit. A heavy-duty six-pack of 11 in. x 16 ft. rolls listed at $82.49, $13.75 a roll, and shorter 11 in. x 12 ft. rolls came two for $16.99 or $8.99 singly. The 11 in. x 10 ft. roll that ships with the machine is not sold on the page, so the included roll has no replacement price.

The five-year warranty, read closely

The FM2100 carries a 5-year limited warranty, and the manual conditions it on how the machine is fed: coverage applies 'provided this product is used with FoodSaver® bags and/or rolls.' The exclusions are narrower than that clause alone suggests. Listed are 'Damage to a product caused by the use of non-FoodSaver® branded bags and/or rolls, accident, misuse, or abuse,' plus improper care and cleaning, which voids coverage.

A third-party roll therefore does not end the warranty by itself. What it changes is who pays for a failure the clause attributes to that roll, along with anything else the exclusions name. Claims also run only to 'the original retail purchaser,' are not transferable, and require the original sales receipt as proof of purchase.

A separate manual line advises that 'for best results, use only with FoodSaver® Bags, Rolls, Containers and Accessories.' It sits among the operating tips, so it reads as a performance recommendation rather than another warranty term.

How it pulls air, and what that rules out

This is an external-suction sealer. The open end of the bag goes into the Vacuum Channel, the lid closes, and air is pulled from the bag mouth before the Sealing Strip heat-seals it; the manual's step reads 'place open end of bag into Vacuum Channel.' Because suction acts at the opening instead of inside a closed chamber, a bag of stock or sauce would be drawn toward the pump. Liquid sealing is a different machine.

FoodSaver's countertop catalog on 2026-09-26 ran from the $76.99 Everyday to the $349.99 FM5200, and every model there seals the same external way. No chamber-style countertop machine shows up in that catalog, which describes what the store lists rather than a manufacturer's statement.

Two settings handle texture. Dry is for 'foods without liquid'; Moist is what the manual calls for when vacuuming 'moist or juicy foods.' The panel carries four controls - Dry/Moist, Seal, Vac/Seal, and Power - and no marinate button. Stopping suction early is one of the Seal button's listed jobs: press it to 'immediately stop the vacuum process and begin sealing the bag.' Marinating happens at the accessory port, with the included hose and a container bought separately.

Two warnings that bound how it is used

Suction is not preservation. The manual puts it in capitals: 'Vacuum sealing is NOT a substitute for refrigeration or freezing,' adding that perishables requiring refrigeration must still be refrigerated or frozen after sealing. A sealed bag of raw meat goes in the freezer, not the pantry.

The second warning is narrower and appears with the hard-cheese notes: 'Due to the risk of anaerobic bacteria, Soft cheeses should never be vacuum sealed.' Brie, blue, and other soft styles stay out of the bags; the documented cheese use is hard varieties.

The FM2000, one step down

The FM2000 listed at $169.99 on FoodSaver's store that same day, $9.01 under the FM2100's Amazon price and $15 under the $184.99 FoodSaver had asked for the FM2100, and its box carries the same four items: three quart bags, two gallon bags, one 11 in. x 10 ft. roll, and the hose. Both bodies share the 4-inch height and the 16.3-inch width. Where they part is depth and controls: 3.9 inches deep against the FM2100's 9.2, and a feature list covering auto vacuum and seal, a seal button, and the easy-lock latch. It lists no dry/moist setting and no roll storage bay or cutter bar, though that seal button still closes bags cut from a roll.

The extra $9 to $15 buys those two texture settings and the roll bay with its cutter, plus the 5.3 inches of depth they occupy. A buyer sealing dry portions from pre-cut bags may never press either setting; someone cutting custom lengths from a roll is buying the storage bay and the blade.

When to skip the FM2100

A handful of bags a month spreads $179 over very little food. The cheapest genuine bags run about 44 cents each, and every session still costs setup, filling, and a wipedown of the drip tray. The spend spreads only for households dividing bulk meat or a freezer batch into portions most weeks.

Liquids are the second gap. Soup and stew need a chamber or the Liquid+ route - FoodSaver pitches the Elite All-in-One Liquid+ at $329.99 as the model that seals liquids 'for the first time ever' - and marinating on the FM2100 means the hose plus a container sold separately.

Third-party bags still work in the machine; the clause decides only who pays when a repair is traced back to them.