Honorable Mentions
Bissell’s PowerClean FurFinder for $160: This is a great stick vacuum, and it was my previous top pick. It does an all-around good job on all kinds of flooring, comes with a nice range of accessories, and has the FurFinder tool to help with pet hair. It’s still a great vacuum, especially if you have pets, but unless you’re using the FurFinder tool frequently, you can get the slightly cheaper regular Bissell PowerClean for a similar experience.
Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones for $600: This vacuum is impressively lightweight and easy to use, and I really like it for quick daily cleans. The Dyson PencilVac manages to fit its extra-small motor and dustbin into the handlebar, so this vacuum is free of the bulky top you’ll find on just about every other cordless vacuum. The downside is that it has a low suction-power level of 50 air watts and only works on hard floors. It has started clogging frequently for me, too, after a few months of use. It works well for quick sweeps, and I like the lightweight design for anyone with strength or mobility concerns, but it’s a hefty price tag for a limited version of a cordless vacuum.
Dyson V15 Detect for $850: This is another good Dyson vacuum, but while it has more powerful suction (240 AW) than Dyson’s newer, cheaper models, it didn’t do better in side-by-side tests against the V10 Konical. It is nice that the V15 vacuum comes with the Fluffy Optic head for hard floors, has a Submarine variant for mopping, and is still a solid all-around performer. I’d snag it on sale for the extra head, but I wouldn’t buy it at full price.
Dyson V16 Piston Animal for $850: This is Dyson’s new top-of-the-line vacuum. It packs the highest suction power I’ve seen on a Dyson cordless vacuum—315 air watts—and it does a good job overall with vacuuming several types of floors thanks to the All Floor Cones Sense head that’s made for both hard floors and carpets. There’s also the Fluffy Optic head included for hard floors, and you can upgrade to the Submarine version ($1,100) to make it double as a wet mop. Even so, I found the Gen5Detect to work just as well, if not slightly better in some tests. So unless you want to add on the mop (or the forthcoming self-emptying base station that Dyson has coming out), you’ll be just as happy spending a little less on the Gen5Detect. If you spot it on sale, though, it’s worth grabbing over a full-price Gen5Detect.
Levoit Aero Cordless Vacuum for $300: This stick vac comes with a self-emptying charging station, freeing you from the responsibility of manually emptying the vacuum. There’s a five-stage HEPA filtration system that claims to capture 99.97 percent of particles (as small as 0.3 microns), making it ideal for people who want to reduce pet allergens around their home. This vacuum also doubles as a hand vacuum for easier, lighter-weight cleaning and comes with a slew of handy attachments for those hard-to-reach places, including crevice and combination tools, a mini motorized brush, and an extension hose for longer reach. It works excellently on both high- and low-pile carpets, pulling up microscopic dust and dirt better than other vacuums I’ve tested. My main gripe is that it isn’t nearly as effective on hardwood floors. —Molly Higgins
Shark PowerDetect Cordless Vacuum for $330: Shark’s PowerDetect is a fantastic vacuum. It was my previous top pick and is still an excellent buy, especially if you spot it on sale, or if you want a slightly longer battery life than the PowerDetect Speed I recommend above. There are three cleaning modes, lights on both the front and back of the vacuum head to spot debris, and detection technology to sense when you’re cleaning edges or when a specific area is dirtier than other spots. You’ll also get 70 minutes of run time, a HEPA filter, and the central stick can even bend so you can vacuum under furniture without crouching on the ground. It comes with two attachments, and you can upgrade to a model with a self-emptying docking station ($550).
Other Vacuums I’ve Tested
Bissell IconPet Turbo Edge for $266: Bissell’s OG stick vacuum is a popular model that’s been around for a while. It does a good job at picking up hair and cat litter, and it easily turns into a handheld vac. The battery life is also nice, but former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano wasn’t impressed by its lacking Cheerios-gathering skills, and the machine also can’t stand up on its own.
Bosch Unlimited 10 Cordless Stick Vacuum for $529: This vacuum has six cleaning modes, can bend in the middle, and its motor has a long warranty. When I recently retested it, it was better at sucking up cat litter on hard floors (using its main cleaner head) than Dyson’s All Floor Cones head and Shark’s PowerDetect Speed vacuum. Overall, it performed similarly to some Dyson vacuums, but didn’t outpace Shark, which has a better price point.
Black & Decker Powerseries Extreme Max for $199: A great stick vacuum for a lower-end price, the Black & Decker Powerseries Extreme Max stands up on its own, has three power levels you can easily control from the handle, and handles well on the different surfaces in my home. I liked this vacuum a lot, but it wasn’t as stable as the Bissell above, and the handle felt a little plasticky compared to it and other vacuums I tested. It did have a larger-capacity dustbin, though.
Dirt Devil Power Swerve Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum for $89: I previously recommended this as a budget pick. It’s a good vacuum for the money, but the battery life and build quality were questionable.
Dyson V8 Cyclone for $400: I really wanted to like this new generation of the popular V8 vacuum, but if you’re going to choose one of Dyson’s new, more affordable vacuums, go with the V10 Konical. It outperformed the V8 in every test I ran and only costs $100 more. They both have 150 air watts of power, but the V10 has the new All Floor Cones head and a built-in light to help you spot debris on hard floors.
Dyson V12 Detect for $650: The V12 Detect has the same power level (150 air watts) as the newer V8 and V10, both of which are cheaper than the V12, so I’d pick those over this older model.
Eufy Robot Vacuum 3-in-1 E20 for $440: WIRED reviewer Adrienne So was stoked to try Eufy’s E20, which is a stick vacuum, handheld vacuum, and robot vacuum all in one. It’s a handy, well-designed device, but it’s only good for light cleaning.
Eureka Stylus Elite for $190: This is a good stick vacuum with a self-emptying bin at a reasonable price. It cleaned up a litter mat especially well, and there are specific settings for carpet and hardwood. However, to suck up larger pieces like Cheerios, I had to lift the vacuum and place it directly on top of the cereal pieces.
Levoit LVAC-300 for $230: This is a well-rounded stick vacuum has a good price point (and is often on sale). It has an hour of battery life, HEPA filtration, comes with a couple of accessories, and has similar specs to our favorite Dyson vacuum. The light 6.6-pound weight also made cleaning the three sets of stairs in WIRED reviewer Luke Larson’s home fairly easy. While it can stand on its own, beware that it tips over easily.
Ryobi 18V One+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit for $399: This is our runner-up cordless vacuum pick for the best pet-hair vacuums. It has powerful suction, cyclonic filtration, a brushless motor, an easily removable roller bar, and lights on the vacuum head to better see pet hair and dander.
Tineco Pure One Station 5 for $299: I love that this vacuum has a self-emptying base station. It’s a solid vacuum overall, but my favorite part is the docking station. You don’t need to choose Tineco to enjoy that feature, though; Shark has a few models with self-emptying stations, and Dyson has one due out this year.
Worx 20V Cordless Stick Vacuum for $238: This is a fine vacuum, but the dustbin was more difficult to clean out than those of other models I tested.
FAQs
What’s a Cordless Vacuum?
Cordless vacuums, also known as stick vacuums, are exactly what their name suggests: They don’t need a cord to work. Instead, they have a battery you need to charge. Their typical design features a battery and motor at the top, with a long, thin, stick-like body connecting that to the head of the vacuum. They’re much lighter than an upright vacuum and have become popular since they’re much easier to store and move around the house. As someone who lives in a three-story home, stick models are my favorite type of vacuum, thanks to their comparatively lightweight nature and portability. Stick vacuums can also usually have the stick portion removed to transform into a handheld vacuum, though they’re much heavier than a true handheld vacuum (but the battery life is much better).
How Long Do Cordless Vacuums Last?
Overall, vacuums tend to last around five years, but that depends on the frequency with which you vacuum and the vacuum’s build quality. Some cheaper stick vacuums might last only about a year or two, though, according to Eufy, so it’s worth investing in a good-quality stick vacuum. For information on the signs your vacuum may need replacing, check out our guide to how long vacuums can last. If you’re curious whether you’re vacuuming enough, check out our guide to how often you should vacuum.
How Does WIRED Test Cordless Vacuums?
The best way to test a vacuum is to use it like you usually would. So, for a few months, we lived with these cordless vacuums, using them to handle day-to-day messes along with weekly deep cleans on hardwood floors, area rugs, and carpets. We charged them, asked our partners to use them, and even took some to a retail store to clean up antique furniture.
We also performed head-to-head testing, comparing how each model picked up piles of Cheerios and cat litter, noting whether they blew debris around or needed several passes to clean a certain spot. We also took heaps of already matted dust and dirt from inside the vacuum bins to see how easily the vacuums could suck them back up in their thickened state.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
