Best cordless vacuum cleaners 2024 - tested for versatile, efficient & cord-free cleaning

The best cordless vacuum cleaners make cleaning convenient. The top models pack a punch when it comes to power, but are still lightweight and easy to use. Many come with a number of useful attachments to enhance how deeply you can clean.

Our team of vacuum experts examined the market-leading models, from brands such as Dyson, Shark, and Bissell, as well as lesser-known, up-and-coming models. We put them through a series of rigorous tests to create a shortlist covering every cleaning need.

We take vacuums to our test center to test them on carpet, wood floors, and linoleum using a wide range of different types of debris to test dust, crumbs, and hair. We also use them at home, especially in homes with pets, to see how they handle pet hair. With increasing amounts of smart technology creeping into cordless vacuums, including some dubious claims about AI, we also consider their features to see if the latest and greatest models can live up to their grand promises.

There are plenty of cordless vacuums that impressed us, as well as plenty that did the opposite. This guide is our cherry-picked selection of the very best. However, cordless vacuums aren't your only option, and it's worth considering the best vacuums of every type, including the best vacuums for pet hair.

The quick list

Here's a quick summary of our favorite cordless vacuums, but there's plenty more in-depth information further down the page. Read on or click the navigation links for more details.

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The best cordless vacuum cleaners 2024

The best cordless vacuum

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The Gen5detect is the best vacuum cleaner we've ever tested, hands down. We've learned from the many Dyson vacuums we've tested that they are, in fact, the leaders in vacuum cleaning tech - and the Gen5detect is their flagship model.

Our expert tester Helen has reviewed more than 100 vacuums, and the Gen5detect surpassed all of them in terms of suction power, performance, usability and features.

Dyson's 'detect' tech plays a huge part here. It adjusts suction power based on the dust volume present on the floor, illuminates hidden dust that the naked eye can't see, and counts the particles it's collected down to the individual particle size. The HEPA filter can capture up to 99.99% of particles down to 0.1 microns, and has a screen to display this information.

During the test, the Gen5detect excelled on every floor type. The suction outshines that of any other vacuum we've tested, leaving behind no dust, large debris, or hair at all.

It is, however, much more expensive than pretty much all other options. While this is the best vacuum cleaner you can buy, it's a big investment, and other vacuums in this guide will still do a good enough job without having to break the bank.

Read more in our full Dyson Gen5detect review.

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The best cordless vacuum for value

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This vacuum boasts some of the best features on the market. When we tested it, the suction power was like magic. It doesn't look it, but the soft roller can pick up cereal and dust from even the deepest pile carpets. Even better, the anti-hair wrap technology genuinely stops hair from wrapping around the brush roll, saving you from cutting it out of the vacuum.

If you have mobility problems, you'll find the Multi-Flex technology immensely useful. It can flex to a 90-degree angle so you can access low areas without bending over, and it's what allows the vacuum to fold in half for compact storage.

In our tests, this could last for up to an hour of vacuuming, by which point you'll probably want a break. However, if you choose to use different modes, such as Boost, it will drain the battery. We only got 12 minutes out of it when it was vacuuming at full suction.

The other downside of this vacuum was the flexion. Whilst it's good, it is harder to control when you're under low furniture. Compared to other models, our team would spend $50 more and upgrade to the Vertex Pro version which features a more sophisticated LCD display and a slightly larger dust bin.

Read more: Shark Vertex lightweight cordless vacuum review

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The best cordless vacuum for pet hair

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Until the release of the Dyson Gen5detect, this was the best vacuum we'd ever tested.

We found that it picks up dirt and dander that other vacuums can't pick up. We used this on a dog bed and it cleaned so well that it not only removed all the fur - it restored the bed to its original color.

It's also packed with tech. There's a green laser that will illuminate previously invisible dust on surfaces. We found this isn't a gimmick, as it's really useful to see the dust illuminated on hard floors and catch any dirt you may have missed with the naked eye. This laser technology is complemented by a Piezo sensor that measures microscopic dust particles as small as 10 microns in real-time, giving more proof of a deep and effective clean. If that's not enough to have you excited to clean, we found that the anti-tangle conical bar brush prevents any hair tangling, saving you a gross job later on.

Getting started is as simple as pressing the trigger, which you have to hold the whole time you vacuum. If you want the vacuum to work harder (Eco and Auto were plenty sufficient in our day-to-day cleanings), you have the option to also go into Boost mode, but it shortens the battery time.

Some Dyson quirks don't appeal to everyone: a lot of the feedback it gives you is superfluous. Knowing the number of particles it picks up down to the micron is amazing tech but not particularly helpful for the average user. You have to hold down the trigger the whole time for it to operate, which can become uncomfortable, especially if you have mobility issues like arthritis (to avoid this, the Gen5detect and the V12 Detect Slim have single power buttons). Moreover, it comes with a big price tag, so is best bought at a discount - if you can find one.

Read more in our full Dyson V15 Detect review.

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The best cordless vacuum for allergies

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Aesthetics matter, but we're not just referring to the sleek, statuesque shape of the Samsung Bespoke JetCordless Stick Vacuum. It also has a feature usually found in the best robot vacuums: a Clean Station that not only charges the vacuum but empties its contents into sealed HEPA bags, saving you from allergies. It makes charging and cleaning easy.

Samsung also sets itself apart with a telescoping wand that not only improves reach but increases convenience for both short and tall users to work at a length that is comfortable for them. Another noteworthy feature is the sleek digital display that makes it easy to track how your vacuum is doing with notifications on your vacuum for power level and brush type, and it sends alerts such as airflow issues, clogs, missing filters, and more.

The 210-watt powerhouse takes no mercy on both floors and carpets thanks to its Jet Cyclone which keeps the vacuum from getting clogged and 180° swivel flexibility for ultimate manoeuvrability. While the Clean Station acts as sort of an anchor, the cordless vacuum itself is an extremely lightweight design with a slim build making it easy to vacuum under low-lying furniture.

However, the dustbin on this is small, and we kept having to empty it as we vacuumed. It's fairly expensive, and it isn't easy to set up. Finally, a word of warning - don't be tempted by the latest 'AI' update to this model, the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI. In my Samsung Bespoke Jet AI review, I found that this model has no particular 'artificial intelligence' features that justify its $1000 price tag.

There's more detail in our Samsung Bespoke Jet Vacuum review.

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The best cordless vacuum for big homes

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Our experts have a lot to say about the Outsize, but we think the half-gallon dustbin, two-hour run time, and deep suction speak for itself. If you have a corded vacuum and don't want to compromise on performance, this is the model you need.

It automatically senses and adapts to floor types. Even better, the digital display shows the exact remaining run time for whichever mode you choose: Eco, Auto, or Boost, so you'll always know just how much time you'll have left on a single battery. Auto was powerful enough for everything we needed on the test, and we found it did a particularly good job on carpets. It has an extra-wide floorhead and (relatively) large dustbin too, so it's as capable as a full-size corded vacuum.

We would caution that there is such a thing as too much power. We found that if you have lightweight area rugs around your house, they don't stand a chance with the Outsize +, and will be sucked up into it. Similarly, you may find this is a little top-heavy after some time. There was also a small amount of hair wrap on hard floors.

There's more detail in our Dyson Outsize review

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The best cordless vacuum for apartments

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Dyson V12 Detect Slim

The V12 Detect Slim is Dyson's third and most affordable entry into the 'detect' range of cordless vacuums. So, you still get the powerful suction on all floor types; the laser to illuminate dust you can't normally see; sensors that adjust suction power by detecting dust volumes on the floor; and the accurate counting of every collected particle in real-time.

Designed as the affordable alternative to the V15 Detect and the Gen5detect, the V12 Detect Slim's lower price reflects a sacrifice in battery life and dustbin capacity. This would normally be a disadvantage, but it actually makes it the ideal choice for apartments and small homes. You can still get this market-leading vacuum tech for your home without spending the money demanded by the expensive models.

It's also a little easier to use than the V15 Detect thanks to the single power button. Its lighter weight and smaller size, along with its many attachments, make it a versatile and maneuverable cleaner.

But still, even with the reduction in cost, the V12 Detect Slim will set you back $650 at full price. Fortunately, it's often on offer for around $500, which is a reasonable price for a vacuum this powerful.

Read more in our full Dyson V12 Detect Slim review.

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The best bagged cordless vacuum

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Rather than competing with the many, many cordless vacuum brands out there, Numatic decided to opt for something different for their first cordless stick Henry. It's a bagged vacuum that uses dust pods, rather than having a dustbin that you empty.

Once the pod is full you dispose of it, avoiding any odors or messy emptying. Each pod is said to last around 3 weeks, but it depends on how much you're using the vacuum, and how quickly (or slowly) you fill the pod. The dust pod also doubles as the filter, meaning that every time you replace yours, your filter is back to its best performance. You also avoid any regular filter maintenance.

The cordless vacuum itself is powerful, particularly at this price point. On test, it made light work of dust, debris and hair on all floor types (especially carpet), and it even outshone more expensive vacuums like the Shark Cordless Detect Pro.

Strong performance and dust-free and odorless emptying make this a great choice for pet owners. The Henry Quick easily dealt with all hair in its path during testing, leaving the dust pod to trap all allergens and smells – until it left your home.

At £299.99, the Henry Quick is one of the best-value cordless vacuums in this list for UK residents, surpassing virtually all others below £300. But, unfortunately, Numatic is a British company, and those in the US will have to pay over $500 for this model. At that price point, I'd recommend others in this guide (like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim); or, if you're looking for something closer to the UK's price, I'd recommend the Ultenic U12 Vesla.

Read more in our full Henry Quick review.

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The best smart cordless vacuum

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The Tineco Pure ONE S15 is designed as a stick vacuum that easily lifts off into a handheld mode. In our tests, it performed excellently as a casual cleaner on both carpets and hard floors. It's agile to move around and, unlike with most Dyson models, you won't need to hold a trigger down the whole time you're cleaning.

Even though lots of smart features are gimmicks, the iLoop Dust Detection feature impressed our experts. It detected dust and dirt, automatically adjusting in real-time, whilst informing the LCD screen of its movements.

The Tineco Smart S15 comes with attachments that are stored on the included floor dock, a winning feature for those who don't want to affix a cleaning station to walls. The Tineco nicely balances upright too, but it does take a little careful manoeuvring to insert it into the stand's crevice.

We loved the advanced design features, which weren't too techy, but still one of a kind. The disappointing aspect of this vacuum was how it handled large pieces of debris. Given that this is aimed at pet owners, we think it would struggle to collect one piece of kibble without creating more mess than it's worth. If you want a lightweight, casual clean, this is perfect.

There's more detail in our Tineco Pure One S15 Pet review.

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The best affordable Dyson cordless vacuum

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If want to invest in a Dyson, but you don't want the $700 plus price tag, this is a strong option. The V8 was launched in 2016 yet Dyson still produces it, because it's a brilliant basic.

Setting up, getting started, and using the vacuum is easy. We tested it with the toughest debris and it was close to faultless. More recent Dysons are more powerful, but if you're not a cleaning obsessive, you probably won't notice the difference, and it filled the dustbin cleaning a single carpet.

It's lightweight and agile, so not only is it great on floors, but handy for cleaning in between the seats of the car or sofa, or dusting up high on a ceiling. It's often reduced in sales periods, so if you're willing to wait, this makes an excellent sale buy.

However, the 40-minute runtime is short, so it's best suited to small apartments. The place it struggled the most was with hair on carpets, and by Dyson standards, it's pretty loud.

There's more detail in our Dyson V8 Animal review.

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The best budget cordless vacuum

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The Ultenic U12 Vesla is pretty close to a Dyson dupe. It looks very similar to the Dyson V15 and has many of the same features, namely a handy digital display, a laser on the brush head, and plenty of cleaning accessories.

However, I was pleasantly surprised with the Ultenic 12. It's tiny, quick to assemble and lightweight to use. Unlike any Dyson, you don't need to hold down a trigger the whole time you use it. The handy LED screen runs a countdown on how much time you have left to vacuum, so while it doesn't have the particle sensor of top-line Dysons, it has everything you need to use.

It performed really well on our tests. Don't get me wrong, other vacuums are simply better than this, but having said that, this is as good as it can be for under $200. It cleaned up everything we needed it to on the test, but you should bear in mind that it wraps hair around the brush roll.

This just feels much cheaper than models which are five times the price. That's perhaps a woolly criticism but it feels very insubstantial, so I wouldn't make any claims on how long this vacuum will last. Like plenty of other cordless vacuums, this also won't stand up on its own, so if you're used to vacuums that can, expect a few surprising drops.

There's more detail in our full Ultenic U12 Vesla review.

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The best budget cordless vacuum with a clean base

Our full review of this is still in the works, but I felt I had to include this. Self-emptying vacuums are slowly becoming an industry standard and this is one of the cheaper models that I've seen out there; when you consider that the Samsung Bespoke Jet AI usually costs around $1000, this is a steal, and we felt we had to get it into the test center.

We're finding a pretty good vacuum. It's surprisingly good on all surfaces and debris. It made short work of our flour and sugar test on the carpet, lino, and hard floors, did well with the larger debris in our cereal test, and did well with our hair test, though there was a little hair wrap around the brush roll. It's incredibly easy to use the automatic emptying bin, and despite filling up the vacuum 9 times during our tests, we never had to empty the automatic base.

However, we're also finding it a little messy. It's partly that we're quickly moving between different types of debris but we found that this vacuum started accumulating dust around the top of the self-empty bin. At 7 lbs, it's pretty heavy, and most of the weight is in the handle, so it's tricky to use as a handheld or overhead. The handle is also pretty thick, and you have to toggle through the settings to switch it off, which is mildly annoying.

Read more at our full review of the Ultenic FS1.

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The best handheld vacuum

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If you need something small and compact, this is the one for you. It's around the size of a rolling pin, so it's exactly what you need for quick spot cleaning. You can tuck it away in a drawer and whip it out if you catch a random patch of dirt or dust, such as an entry that picks up mud and leaves from outdoors.

When testing, we found it was great on hair, so it's a good idea if you have long-haired dogs. When they inevitably leave a pillow covered in fluff, you can quickly run this over the spot and restore your pillow to its former glory. We tested this on a range of different floor types, like hardwood, lino, and carpet, and it was surprisingly good on all of them, with one exception.

The exception was picking up fine flour (our proxy for dust) on a carpet, but the extra accessories made all the difference, so you'll need to have them on hand for deeper cleaning. What's more, the maximum runtime is only 20 minutes, which is around what you'd expect for one of these little vacuums but others on the market are better. That runtime might be a little short for tidying up your car or truck, too.

Read more at our Brigii Cordless Handheld Vacuum review.

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How we tested these cordless vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we take our vacuum tests seriously. Our team of experts is always looking for the best cordless vacuums on the market. Whether they're the latest innovations from Dyson and Shark or new up-and-coming models, we always have an open mind.

Once we've found vacuums that we want to test, we take them to our dedicated test center to put them through their paces. Here, we take notes on everything from unboxing to cleaning and storing vacuums. We'll also test them on a range of floor types, from carpets to linoleum. Across each surface, we'll scatter flour, sugar, cereal, and hair to emulate household dirt, dust, and debris. If there are special features on any vacuum, we make sure to test those too. We have a whole page dedicated to our vacuum testing process if you want to find out more.

Meet the team

Dan Fauzi

Dan is our home tech editor, covering everything from vacuums and floor care to sound and air purifiers. They've spent hours testing a number of the vacuums in this guide, like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim and the Henry Quick.

Camryn Rabideau

Camryn is a freelance writer and product reviewer specializing in home, kitchen, and pet products. In her years as a product tester, she's tested hundreds of items firsthand. Her work appears in publications such as Forbes, USA Today, The Spruce, Food52, and more. Camryn does her product testing from her small homestead in beautiful Rhode Island.

Jaclyn Turner

Jaclyn is the US eCommerce editor for Homes & Gardens, where she covers product content. She has also tested a number of vacuums within this list, including our standout top pick, the Dyson v15 Detect, the Shark Vertex Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum, the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro Cordless Vacuum, and the Dyson Outsize which means she's very well informed to tell you which one to invest in for your home.

Jennifer Oksien

Jennifer was our former large appliance editor and now serves as editor at Top Ten Reviews. She's tested models from Dyson, Miele, and Samsung. When she is not bringing the best-in-class products to your attention. Jennifer can be found going for walks in the Somerset countryside with her husband and daughter or enjoying some tea and cake with a magazine when she has a quiet moment.

Courtney Irwin

Courtney calls herself a sort of a vacuum connoisseur, in addition to the very important titles of writer, entrepreneur, and mom of three. She has a collection of vacuums: cordless, robot, wired, high-end, low-end, you name it. She reviewed the Bissell ICONpet cordless vacuum and thinks it's worth the hype, and the price tag.

Helen McCue

Helen honed her reviewing skills at Good Housekeeping and has years of experience reviewing household appliances under her belt. She lives in a village in Buckinghamshire, UK, and reviewed the Levoit cordless vacuum for us. Her home covers all-floor types, including carpet, hardwood floors, and tiled floors as well as area rugs.

How to choose a cordless vacuum cleaner

Our comprehensive video guide will take you through all the elements of a cordless vacuum cleaner so that you can buy the best one for you.

• Find out how long the battery will last, and how long it takes to charge?
• How heavy will your model be?
• What is the dust bin capacity?
• How will you store it?

Cordless vacuums FAQs

What are key features I should look for in a cordless vacuum?

Filtration

If you have allergies, it's worth getting a cordless vacuum with a HEPA filter. This seals tiny particles, putting a stop to coughs, sneezes, and breathing issues. For instance, all Dyson cordless machines make use of HEPA filtration, while Miele and Samsung offer great air filtering options too.

Battery life

Whether you're choosing a cordless as your primary or an extra, you'll want something with at least 30-45 minutes of battery life, so you're not worrying about whether you'll be able to finish the job or not. Plus, be mindful that those ranges often apply to using your cordless as a handheld, as opposed to floors. Battery life also seems to directly correlate to price, with models costing more as models extend. Luckily, all of our chosen models at this time exceed that suggested amount.

Dust bin capacity

To keep them lightweight and compact, dust bins are usually on the smaller end, as typical in stick designs. You should try to get as large a dust bin as possible.

Brush rolls that won't tangle or clog with hair

There are few things as gross as fishing hair and pet fur out of a tangle vacuum floor head. Some of the best models have features which stop this from happening.

How much should I spend on a cordless vacuum?

Budget upwards of $400 for a good-quality cordless with decent cleaning power. However, premium models can be more than $1000. More money can buy you powerful suction, longer battery life, or better tools. There are some good options under $400, but they have fewer bonus features and weaker suction power.

Are cordless vacuums worth it?

Cordless vacuums are certainly worth it. In a smaller home, they can replace a corded vacuum cleaner, especially if you choose a model with good suction. In larger homes, they are perfect for quick clean-ups – having one on the upper floor can make cleaning bedrooms quickly a real boost. Some cordless vacuums are even as powerful, if not more, than standard uprights, and are also built to tackle pet hair. Plus, they're typically half the weight of your traditional corded model, for easier use and mobility.

You've reached the end of the page. Jump back up to the top, or browse our comprehensively tested guide to the best vacuums for pet hair.