The Dyson V16 Piston Animal is the latest cordless vacuum from Dyson, with higher suction power than any previous model.

It introduces a new conical floorhead design, a dust compressor, and a suite of usability improvements to make it a thorough but effortless floorcare solution.

I tested the Dyson V16 Piston Animal in my own home after a dog stayed over the weekend, to see how well it handles every kind of mess on every type of surface. The result? This is one of the best cordless vacuums out there, if you can afford it.

My One-Minute Summary

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal pulled hair, dust, dirt, and all manner of debris out of my carpets, upholstery and floors, thanks to its super-strong suction and a new, robust floorhead design.

The dust illumination is just as effective as in previous models, revealing hidden particles that you can't normally see, and it adapts its suction and brush speed to the surface you're vacuuming and to how dirty it is.

Being able to compress the contents of the dust bin is useful while you're cleaning, to make the most of the space, but also when emptying, to make sure everything falls out without having to get your hands dirty.

However, it's not perfect, as occasionally debris would be flung behind the floorhead when vacuuming, meaning I would have to go over the area again. This is somewhat of a disappointment, as previous Dysons have never had this issue, but it's one that is easily manageable if you're prepared to catch a few stray crumbs.

It's also expensive, costing $979 at full price. So, if you're looking for something cheaper but with similar cleaning prowess, I'd recommend the Dyson V11 or the Dyson V15 Detect.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: Specifications

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: Design and Features

Moving away from the grey color schemes of previous models, the V16 Piston Animal introduces a bolder, black aesthetic, paired with a striking red and blue floorhead.

There are many similarities to previous Dyson vacuums such as the Dyson V11 and the Dyson V15 Detect, but with a few notable improvements.

Like previous models, the V16 Piston Animal has a lifetime washable HEPA filter and Dyson's signature cyclone engineering, and the attachments are the same (which is great, as Dyson's vacuum attachments are among the best).

One of the most notable improvements is the suction power. Reaching 315 air watts (compared to the V15 Detect's 240 and the V11's 185), it has the strongest suction out of any cordless Dyson.

I tested the airflow myself using an anemometer, and it reached a maximum 23.4mph, 1.5mph higher than the V15 Detect, but still not quite as strong as the corded Miele Guard L1 Cat & Dog, which can go up to 33mph.

The new conical floorhead is another step away from previous Dysons. Instead of having two separate floorheads – a soft one for hard floors and a bristled one for carpet – the V16 Piston Animal combines them into one, to avoid swapping them out mid-clean.

The new floorhead promises no hair wrap, too, although Dyson has always excelled in this regard, and their vacuums consistently top our best vacuums for pet hair guide.

The dustbin has a new compressor lever to make the most of the 1.37qt capacity. Unlike the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones that uses air to compress dust, the V16 Piston Animal has a grey lever that you pull with your hands to compact the dust, which also makes it easier to empty.

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal also has app compatibility. If you pair with the MyDyson app, you can view recent cleaning sessions, check battery health, and manually adjust brush speed and dust illumination.

This is useful, but by no means essential. It also requires location access and access to devices on your local network, so if you’re protective of your data, you can easily skip this step without losing any functionality.

What is the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Like to Use?

The V16 Piston Animal's cleaning performance is outstanding on every surface, and Dyson has introduced new features to make cleaning your home easier, while keeping the features from previous models that already worked well.

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal detects what's on your floors to automatically adjust the suction, brushroll speed, and whether the dust-revealing light is on.

When cleaning carpets, the suction will rise, the brushroll will speed up, and the light will turn off, as the green laser has little use on soft, bumpy surfaces.

On hard floors, the suction will lower, and the brushroll will slow down to preserve battery life, as hard floors don't require strong suction – and the light will turn on to reveal dust that your naked eye can't normally see (genuinely). But if the vacuum detects a high volume of dust, the suction will ramp up again to clean it thoroughly.

This intuitive design makes it seamless to use throughout your home, and I enjoyed not having to fiddle with any settings to make sure the vacuum was constantly cleaning at its best.

The dust-revealing laser is a feature that I've touted from Dyson time and time again, as it genuinely does make a huge difference knowing whether your floor is truly clean. No other vacuum, even the best Dyson alternatives, has achieved dust illumination this effective.

I tested the V16 Piston Animal's noise levels using the DecibelX app, and it reaches a maximum of 74.2 decibels and can go as quiet as 65.6 decibels. This is standard for cordless vacuums, sounding similar to a busy restaurant.

I like the new floorhead design, and it saves time not having to swap them out while cleaning. My current Dyson has two floorheads, but when doing quick cleans, I would often avoid swapping out the attachments to save time, meaning I was missing out on cleaning performance. So, in real terms, the V16 Piston Animal makes those quick clean-ups easier.

Another nice touch is the grip pad on the back of the battery, so when you lean the vacuum against a wall, it becomes quite hard for it to topple over.

My minor complaints are that it's hard to reach the power button with the same hand that's vacuuming, and it isn't as good at cleaning backwards as it is forward.

But really, this is an outstanding cordless vacuum cleaner that brings the ease, convenience, and strong cleaning power you would expect at this high price point.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

I tested the Dyson V16 Piston Animal using our standardized vacuum tests, which include a half cup of flour and sugar. This test assesses a vacuum's ability to pick up fine material such as dust, dander, and pollen.

On carpets, everything was picked up in two passes. Almost everything was vacuumed in the first, but the brushroll actually made some smaller sugar pieces bounce backwards, past the opening, meaning I had to go back and vacuum again. This could pose a risk of certain household allergens not being cleaned when it appears that they have been.

On hard floors, virtually all was vacuumed in one pass, with a clean line through the pile on both auto and boost. But again, a few tiny particles were flung backwards, which I had to go back and vacuum. I have never faced this issue with previous Dyson floorhead designs, such as the Dyson V11 and Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

Test 2: Pantry

I also tested the Dyson V16 Piston Animal using a cup of cereal and lentils to evaluate its ability to vacuum medium and large debris, including common household messes such as kitchen spills, dried mud, and pet kibble.

When vacuuming carpet, a noticeable amount was flung backwards. This is a stark downgrade from the Dyson V15 Detect, and somewhat of a disappointment considering the V15 Detect performed flawlessly in this regard. I adjusted the floorhead opening in both configurations, but lentils were flung backwards either way.

Strong performance on hard floors. It easily vacuumed the large debris, and almost everything was vacuumed in one pass, minus the few parts that were flung backwards.

If you're looking for a hard floor vacuum, the Shark PowerDetect Cordless and Dyson V12 Detect Slim are affordable alternatives that vacuum without sending debris backwards.

Test 3: Hair

Fortunately, the weekend before testing the Dyson V16 Piston Animal, I was looking after my friend's Labrador, and as it's currently shedding season, my house was full of short dog hair on our carpets and upholstery.

Also, three of the people in my home have medium to long hair that finds itself on every surface around the house, so I was able to test the V16 Piston Animal's anti-tangle claims, as well as its performance at pulling hair out of soft surfaces.

The V16 Piston Animal performed brilliantly. It ramped up the suction whenever it was cleaning carpet, pulling up every visible strand of hair in one or two passes every time.

I have continued using the V16 Piston Animal as my home's primary vacuum since the initial testing session, and a week later, it has never wrapped with hair. Moreover, the dustbin compressor meant that hair never gets stuck inside when emptying.

I would easily recommend it as one of the best vacuums for pet hair.

Test 4: Attachments

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal includes a dusting brush, crevice tool, and motorized hair screw tool. They're the same as in previous Dyson models – which is to say, highly effective at their respective uses.

With just two sweeps, I was able to clear almost every speck of dust from a hard-to-reach baseboard (as seen in the video above). Baseboards can be one of the most difficult cleaning tasks, so being able to clean them with minimal effort is a game-changer.

The crevice tool sucked up dust and debris from my stairs in one or two passes, and the hair screw tool performed almost effortlessly to pull up hair and dirt from my upholstery.

Dyson V16 Piston Animal: Setup and Maintenance

I appreciated that the Dyson V16 Piston Animal included zero plastic wrapping, minus a few stickers on the parts themselves. Everything was held together using cardboard molds, with paper bags to prevent scratching.

The only setup required was to charge the vacuum to full before the first use, which took 1.5 hours, and to then attach the wand and floorhead to the vacuum cleaner – the V16 Piston Animal is then ready to use to deep clean your home.

Maintenance is straightforward, too. The HEPA filter is washable, meaning you'll never have to buy another to replace it, and it can be cleaned simply by shaking dust loose and rinsing under cold water until the water runs clear. It's recommended to do this once a month.

The MyDyson app will alert you to any other maintenance issues, and the vacuum itself will tell you if there's a blockage. This happened once during testing, but as soon as I emptied the dustbin, the blockage was cleared.

The dustbin is easier to empty than most cordless vacuums, thanks to the dust compressor lever that pushes the contents out swiftly. It avoids the frustrating task of having to pull trapped hair and dirt out of the container.

How Does the Dyson V16 Piston Animal Compare?

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal will be released on June 2 in the US, costing $979 at Dyson. That makes it one of the most expensive cordless vacuums on the market, topped only by the Dyson Gen5detect and the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra.

The Dyson V15 Detect is our current best-on-test cordless vacuum, costing $849.99 at Dyson, but often discounted to as low as $549.99. Its cleaning performance is essentially on par with the V16 Piston Animal, even though the V16 has higher suction, as the V15 Detect doesn't have the issue of debris being flung backwards. If you're looking to save some money, I'd recommend the V15 Detect.

The Dyson V11 is another strong choice. It doesn't have the smart, floor detection features, but it cleans impressively well, leaving very little behind (if anything) on the first pass, every time. It costs $659.99 at Dyson, but is often discounted to as low as $449.99.

Next, see which models top our rigorously tested guides of the best robot vacuums on the market.

Cordless floorcare is fantastic, freeing you from the restrictions of the power cord, but that convenience can be cut short when a vacuum's battery dies mid-clean.

My two-storey home has four big bedrooms, and I wouldn't be able to clean the entire space if I didn't have two batteries. That's why vacuums such as the Dyson V11 Outsize at Amazon get ahead of the problem by conveniently coming with two batteries included, so that large homes can be cleaned in one swift session.

Stock is limited on this ultra-powerful Dyson, so I'd move quickly if you're looking to double your runtime while bringing home one of the best vacuums for deep cleaning large spaces. I've also handpicked some alternative options that can extend your runtime for less.

The Dyson V11 Outsize's Two Batteries Double Your Cleaning Runtime, for Big Homes

The Dyson V11 Outsize solves a common issue for cordless vacuums: The battery dying mid-clean. It's frustrating, as is a half-cleaned home that requires you to wait for hours for the battery to fully recharge and finish the job.

With two batteries, the 120 maximum runtime for the Dyson V11 Outsize fixes this. It's so simple to swap them out at the click of a button when one runs out.

You could leave one plugged in in an upstairs closet, so by the time you've cleaned the bottom floor and the battery is running low, it will be ready for a quick swap just when you need it.

The Dyson V11 Outsize also has an extra-large floorhead – 12.5 inches, compared to the 10-inch floorhead of the standard V11. This is as wide as many corded upright vacuums, such as the Shark POWERDETECT Upright, which is specially designed for big homes. This wider cleaning path means you can cover more ground at once, so your battery life goes further, too.

Another feature you typically find in bulky upright vacuums is a large dustbin. The Dyson V11 Outsize has an impressive 0.5gal dustbin, which is 150% larger than the standard Dyson V11. This matches many upright vacuums and also helps eliminate mid-clean breaks.

The Dyson V11, one of our all-time favorite vacuum cleaners out of the 97 we've rigorously vetted, is evidenced by its double runtime, 2.5x dustbin, and extra-large floorhead.

And as it's a refurbished model (meaning a returned appliance that's been inspected, cleaned, and restored), it's $300 cheaper than brand-new, while still boasting the power you'd expect out of the box.

The Dyson V11 Outsize is available for $399.95 at Amazon.

More to Shop

The Dyson V11 Outsize is specifically designed for big homes, with extra dust capacity, a wider cleaning path, and two batteries to avoid the mid-clean charge. It maintains the convenience of a cordless stick while eliminating its drawbacks when it comes to cleaning large spaces.

But for different budgets, here are a few alternative methods to tackle large-home cleaning without fuss.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Next, find out how the best robot vacuums and best vacuums for pet hair from our weeks-long testing sessions can transform your routine at home.

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The Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones represents an exciting leap forward in vacuum technology: At just 1.5 inches wide, it is the world's slimmest vacuum cleaner.

To achieve this small size, almost everything about the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones is different from what you typically find in a vacuum cleaner. The handle is essentially a long stick, the floorhead is two large, colorful cones, and the dustbin is a thin tube that tightly compresses its contents.

But could this innovative design be one of the best vacuums for your home? If you're searching for a second vacuum cleaner to quickly and effortlessly clean hard floors, perhaps around the kitchen or on your second floor, then it's outstanding. But don't expect it to be anything more than that, as it can't handle carpets, rugs, or big messes.

My One-Minute Summary

For a gentle, daily hard floor cleaner, the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones is outstanding. It is easily the most maneuverable (and enjoyable) vacuum I've used on hard floors, gliding around effortlessly while picking up dust in every direction, which actually transforms your arm's motions while cleaning.

Its green light does a tremendous job at revealing hidden dust, and the four conical brushes never wrap with hair and are highly effective at picking up dust and small debris.

But that's as far as its benefits go. I would treat this as your home's second vacuum, as it can't handle large debris, high volumes of mess, or any rugs or carpets. It's also quite challenging to use its one attachment, and you can't vacuum upholstery.

It's bold, stylish, and high-design aesthetic will suit proud, hardworking homes, and as it has a charging base, everything is stored neatly and without clutter. For a more powerful all-rounder that can clean more surfaces at this price, I would recommend the Dyson V11 or the Shark PowerDetect Cordless.

Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones: Specifications

Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones: Design and Features

The sleek Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones is a slim, stylish vacuum cleaner and is the ideal cleaning companion for anyone who takes pride in the appearance of their appliances.

The bold red and purple cones are not what you typically see in cordless vacuums, let alone a dustbin and handle that are as wide as a coin. Aesthetically, it's hard to fault such a striking, innovative design, and as it rests neatly on its charging base, it will look great alongside your kitchen cabinets or in a bathroom remodel.

The Fluffycones are new, too. It's a clever design that ensures consistent contact with hard floors, which doesn't require powerful suction. This is ideal, as the PencilVac Fluffycones' suction power is low compared to most Dyson vacuums at just 55 air watts at maximum power. For comparison, the Dyson V11, which costs around $70 more, has 185 air watts of power.

To understand this in real terms, I test each vacuum using an anemometer to find out how much airflow each model generates, as this is the speed of the air that sucks particles into the dustbin.

The PencilVac Fluffycones produces an airflow of 9.8 miles per hour, while the Dyson V11 produces an airflow of 19.6 miles per hour. Even at the V11's lowest suction mode, it's more powerful than the PencilVac Fluffycones.

That is a tremendous difference, and why the V11 (and similar cordless vacuums) are designed to vacuum carpet, while the PencilVac Fluffycones can only clean hard floors. Hard floors don't require strong suction as dust and dirt don't become trapped within the surface, as they do in carpets, so it's understandable why Dyson has chosen not to prioritise suction power with this vacuum.

Instead, these conical brushes sweep the floor at a rapid rate (with the motor spinning at 140,000rpm), to pick up dust, hair, and small debris, and collect them into the dustbin. They clean equally in both directions, and as it can swivel 360 degrees, this allows for increased maneuverability.

The cones can pick up most strands of hair, but to avoid hair from tangling, long strands are pushed to the end of the cones, allowing you to pick them up in small clumps and throw them into the bin.

The 0.02gal dustbin is also the slimmest in the world. To account for this smaller size, the dust is air compacted, allowing more to fit compared to traditional dustbins.

It also has a charging base that neatly stores the vacuum and the dual crevice and dusting brush attachment.

What Is the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones Like to Use?

The Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones is easily one of the most nimble and maneuverable vacuum cleaners I have used, if not the most.

Effortlessly gliding across floors, swivelling to clean in every direction, and with a green light that reveals hidden dust – this is an intuitive cleaner that moves with the natural movements of your arm as you clean.

It can easily find its way into tight spaces and around obstacles, and cleaning from both sides speeds things up, and actually transforms the motion of cleaning; rather than forward and back, the motion is simply to go where the mess is, from whichever direction.

The green light is similar to what I've seen (and love) in the Dyson V15 Detect, our favorite cordless vacuum on test. Except with the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones, the green light shines both ways, revealing even more dust that the naked eye can't see:

It also highlights how effective the PencilVac Fluffycones is when picking up fine dust and small debris, as almost every time, nothing is left behind – but only if there is a small amount of mess.

During my assessment, I found that this vacuum cleaner can't handle large debris like certain food pieces or pet kibble, and if there is a high volume of dust, it will struggle to pick it up or even form a blockage. This is a major downside for a vacuum that's designed to be part of your essential cleaning toolkit, as these messes are inevitable in almost every home.

Instead, this vacuum is only really suitable as a light, daily cleaner. There are a few small details that I particularly enjoy, like the fact that it easily leans on walls without toppling over, and that the attachments clip in and out easily.

There's also a tiny screen to show you what suction mode you're on and the remaining runtime, and it will alert you if there is ever a blockage:

It's helpful that the screen flips vertically depending on whether you're using the vacuum or if it's on the charging base.

Having a charging base is a neat, clutter-free way to store your vacuum, without having to lean it against a wall, lay it on the floor while charging, or mount it to your wall by drilling holes:

However, I found the charging base to be quite flimsy, and the vacuum doesn't always stay in place.

There's a slot on the back to insert a tube that holds the vacuum attachment. At first, I liked this neat storage, but I soon realized that when you go to grab the attachment, the whole tube often comes with it, as it isn't secure enough. This became frustrating the more times I used it, as I had to re-insert it almost every time.

Still, it's better than having to keep the attachments in a closet somewhere.

Surprisingly, the noise levels are standard for cordless vacuums with stronger suction and more robust floorheads, averaging around 67.4 to 75.7 decibels.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

I vetted the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones' performance using half a cup of flour and sugar on wooden floors and linoleum, as part of our standardized vacuum tests that assess how well each model can pick up fine debris, such as dust and dander.

Eco mode got almost everything on the first pass, except for between the wooden panels, and it was the same on Med (the middle level of suction power).

When I turned on Boost mode, more of that between-the-panels residue was picked up, but a lot remained. It wiggled a lot, too, when dealing with wooden panels, something I didn’t notice when testing it on other surfaces. If your home has lots of hardwood, I'd instead recommend one of the best vacuums for hard floors, such as the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

Test 2: Pantry

I tested the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones by vacuuming a cup of lentils and cereal to assess its ability to pick up medium and large debris, like classic kitchen food spills, tracked-in dirt, and pet kibble.

This is where the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones struggled, and in all honesty, I couldn’t vacuum up the mess. Most vacuums clear it in a few passes, and the ones with narrow floorheads can finish the job by taking the floorhead off, but that didn't solve the issue here, as the slim design means that the entire passageway is narrow.

I went through five blockages where I had to manually remove debris from the inlet, and then when I tried to vacuum the rest, the same happened again. It can’t vacuum large debris whatsoever, and it even struggled with the lentils as they blocked the dustbin’s narrow opening.

For any large debris or high volumes of mess, you're going to need a second vacuum cleaner, one that's more robust with a wider inlet, such as the Shark POWERDETECT Upright.

Test 3: Pet Hair

To assess if the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones could be the best vacuums for pet hair on hard floors, I took it to a local cat and dog shelter, Bristol ARC, that has a huge, never-ending amount of fur, along with the messes you'd find in a busy establishment with high foot traffic.

In eco mode, it was able to pick up virtually every visible hair, along with the other dirt and debris on the floor.

The edge cleaning is maybe the most impressive I’ve seen in a vacuum cleaner, but it is somewhat annoying that an extra task is involved: If you vacuum anything long, like thread, hair, or some straw, then you have to pick it up and place it in the trash.

I appreciate this avoids hair wrapping, but other, more affordable vacuum cleaners have achieved that without you having to reach down and manually dispose of it.

I decided to find out whether it was able to clean low-pile carpet at all, as I observed that the green light was effective at revealing short, hidden hairs. It picked up the small pieces and likely some dust, but it couldn’t pick up long threads or long hairs.

As it only has soft rollers, it's unlikely that it could dislodge trapped dust or dirt, so I wouldn’t trust it as a regular carpet vacuum. But if you have a few thin rugs, it might be enough as long as you shake them outside from time to time to clean your rugs more deeply.

After vacuuming a meeting room that was full of dog hair and craft material, I was able to understand the appeal of the PencilVac Fluffycones.

It is much more natural to clean hard floors with this than with virtually any other cordless vacuum I’ve ever used. It glides effortlessly and maneuvers around obstacles and into tight spaces easily, and it's faster to be able to clean from all directions. It is annoying to have to pick certain things up, and it can’t handle big messes, but for a light daily cleaner, it’s useful. You have to move furniture around less than with other vacuums.

Test 4: Attachments

There is one attachment for the PencilVac Fluffycones: A dual crevice tool and dusting brush. The brush extends or retracts by pushing a button and sliding it along.

As the vacuum is less modular than others – only the floorhead comes off, not the wand – the attachment attaches quite far from the handle, meaning it can be difficult to vacuum close to your body.

This means it can be great at vacuuming tricky spots, such as baseboards, between shelves, or even curtain rails. But for much of what you'd need these attachments for, like vacuuming stairs with the crevice tool or dusting your TV with the brush, it is actually a bit of a challenge.

Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones: Setup and Maintenance

Setting up the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones is straightforward: Attach the handle to the dustbin, then clip on the floorhead, and the vacuum is built. The charging base is ready to use as is, but you can also clip in the attachment holder to store everything together.

It's always recommended to charge the battery to full before the first use. For me, this took an hour and a half, but it can take up to 3.5 hours to charge it to full from 0%.

I like that the long, thin dustbin means that the dust blow-back when emptying is minimal. It pours vertically downwards rather than spraying into the air, which is effective when minimizing exposure to household allergens.

Cleaning the vacuum filter is straightforward, and it's an essential step to keep it running at peak performance. The filter unclips from the dustbin and is cleaned simply by tapping away excess dust, then rinsing under cool water. This should be done around once a month.

How Does the Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones Compare?

Costing $599.99 at Dyson, the PencilVac Fluffycones is expensive. Powerful cordless vacuums tend to cost around $300 to $600, and are typically able to adequately vacuum carpets as well as hard floors.

The cordless Dyson V11 is a strong example. In terms of raw cleaning power, it performs better in every single aspect. It costs $659.99 at Dyson, but is often discounted to as low as $449.99.

Or to spend less, the Shark PowerDetect Cordless can clean all surfaces effectively, is easy to use, and even adapts its suction to your floors automatically, which the PencilVac Fluffycones doesn't. It costs $449.99 at SharkNinja, but is often discounted to around $299.99.

Both cordless vacuums boast stronger performance than the PencilVac Fluffycones, often cost less, and are able to clean carpets and furniture, too. But the benefit of the PencilVac Fluffycones is its maneuverability on hard floors, the slim size, stylish design, and a dual green laser to reveal dust.

Next, see which models we rank the highest after rigorously testing the best robot vacuums and the best Dyson alternatives.

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The 'dust-revealing' laser found in Dyson's expensive vacuums brings with it transformative cleaning, revealing what you didn't know was there, then showing you how truly clean the floor is afterwards.

But as those market-leading Dysons can cost upwards of $800, it's exciting to have discovered a similar feature in the Dreame R20, which costs only $147.99.

After personally testing this model, and as a frequent user of a Dyson at home, the similarities in the Dreame R20 are why we have crowned it as one of the best Dyson alternatives on the market.

The Dreame R20 Reveals Dust That You Didn't Know Was There

I have spent more than 300 hours testing vacuum cleaners, and the Dyson V15 Detect, with its market-leading green laser, is one of the enduring best vacuum cleaners in the world. It reveals dust that you can't see, then the strong suction pulls it from your floors in seconds.

Having this heightened awareness of dust at home is how I have avoided that horrible feeling of catching dust when walking around my home barefoot, and the sneezing and asthma symptoms from rising pollen – both of which are common problems now that we're heading into spring.

If your vacuum is leaving dust behind, bringing this premium dust light into your home will reveal exactly where those hidden dust spots are. But instead of paying $850 on the Dyson, the Dreame R20 is the robust alternative without the unaffordable price tag.

And once you've experienced it, it becomes hard to imagine cleaning without it. The light makes the cleaning process easier, by showing where needs to be vacuumed and where doesn't, but honestly, it also makes it more enjoyable. Being able to see precisely how your floors are becoming cleaner creates repeated dopamine wins.

For a cordless stick, the Dreame R20 is more powerful than many competitors, even if it can't match the cleaning power of the Dysons. As the light revealed dust, I saw firsthand that, on hard floors and thin carpets, and rugs, it picked up almost every visible mess after a few passes.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it if your home is heavily carpeted – if that's the case, the Shark POWERDETECT Upright is a stronger option, which also has LED lights that help to illuminate dust on the floor.

But the Dreame R20 screams premium floorcare without the premium price tag, and when combined with its strong performance, easy cleaning, and greater insight into your home's dust levels, is a financially-smart upgrade.

It doesn't fall into the traps of many other budget cordless vacuums, too. Its runtime is optimized as you clean using floor sensors, which increase or lower the suction power depending on floor type and dust volume, meaning you can clean for around 30 to 40 minutes on average before needing to charge it.

The Dreame R20 is discounted to $147.99 at Dreame.

More to Shop

The Dreame R20 stands out as one of the closest competitors to Dyson's signature, dust-revealing laser to date – but it isn't the only one that we've loved after rigorously testing. Here are six more winners from our testing sessions.

All prices correct at time of publication.

Next, see which vacuum cleaners top our guides of the best vacuums for pet hair and the best robot vacuums after rigorously testing 93 models.

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Leaving a mess behind is singlehandedly the most frustrating – and downright contradictory – issue that a vacuum cleaner can have. But as a vacuum tester, I know this to be all too common, even in some of the most advanced models.

That's why the Dyson V15 Detect, discounted by a rare $200, is the vacuum I continue to use in my own home, as its powerful, reliable cleaning never leaves a speck of dust behind.

It's also light, cleans quickly with minimal passes, and it has a green laser that reveals dust you can't normally see. As I detailed in my Dyson V15 Detect review and in the full year that I've used it in my home since, it's one of the all-time and enduring best vacuums.

The Discounted Dyson V15 Detect Makes Vacuuming Faster, and More Thorough

settledThe Dyson V15 Detect is expensive for a reason, which is why when I spot a sizeable discount such as the current offer, it's too good not to share. It usually retails for $849.99, a high price Dyson is disciplined about, as it's a best-seller that delivers on its promises, meaning it's not often discounted.

It hasn't been cheaper than its current discounted cost of $649.99all year, and the last time it was lower was last Black Friday. The next Black Friday is many months away, starting on 27 November 2026, and instead of waiting for the price to drop further, I'd snap up this deal before the price goes back up again.

As a vacuum tester who has spent more than 400 hours testing these appliances, even some of the best cordless vacuums have a habit of leaving a little bit of mess behind. It's so frustrating, especially when you have put the vacuum away and settle to admire your work, only to spot remnants.

But that's why the Dyson V15 Detect consistently stands out among the 35 vacuums I've reviewed, with its effortless cleaning power and special green laser that means I don't miss a single speck of dust, and it is the only vacuum I still use after testing, using it all over my home daily.

I can speak from experience when I say the V15 will do more than make it easy to clean your floors. Its elite engineering is smart, convenient, and designed in a way that will make an arduous task faster and less intensive, saving you time and energy whilst still bringing robust and thorough results.

I have no qualms about getting it out for just five minutes for a quick spill, or spending time extensively cleaning, as it is comfortable to use, and the battery lasts well, even if you keep turning it on and off.

As we move into spring, with allergens and dust increasing, just as the last of winter snow melts, bringing shoe debris into the house, having a powerful vacuum such as the V15 on hand is a game-changer for your daily cleaning.

Above all, you want a vacuum cleaner to do what it says, which is to remove the dust, dirt, hair, fur, and household mess that accumulates in your home. Doing so reduces our exposure to allergens, banishes unwanted odors, protects our floors from long-term damage, but most importantly, it makes our homes look cleaner and feel calmer.

The Dyson V15 Detect picks up mess on the first pass, virtually every time. This is true whether cleaning carpet, upholstery, hard floors, or even pet beds.

This performance is why I love using it at home. I have it leaning against a wall, and whenever I see that something needs a bit of a clean, I grab it and run it along the floors, and within a few minutes, the area is spotless.

It's effortless, and this kind of convenience is what has made it so much easier for me to clean. Without these mental and physical barriers, I'm more consistent with my cleaning, and as the green laser shows you when the floor is truly clean, I actually find it somewhat enjoyable:

Many other Dyson alternatives have attempted to recreate this dust-revealing laser, but none have done so as effectively as you can see here. It's incredible (and a tad frightening) to see just how much dust can exist on our floors without us knowing.

But while it reveals this hidden dust, it also shows how competent the vacuum cleaner is, as after a pass, the mess has pretty much always disappeared.

And to make things easier, it has floor sensors that adapt the suction level to the surface you're cleaning and the dust volumes on the floor, so that you don't have to fiddle around with any settings while vacuuming.

The Dyson V15 Detect is discounted to $649.99 at Dyson for a limited time.

More to Shop

The Dyson V15 Detect is a masterclass in effortless cleaning, and I recommend it time and time again as one of the strongest solutions for an immaculate home. It's the only one I use myself.

But the privilege of this powerful vacuum comes at a price, even when it's on offer. If the Dyson's $649.99 price point is still a little too high, these are some excellent alternatives that we've tested ourselves, that will make your home spotless with minimal effort.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Next, see which models we've crowned as the best robot vacuums and the best vacuums for pet hair after our rigorous testing sessions, to make cleaning faster and less demanding.

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One of the main reasons Dyson vacuums cost so much is that they pack 'corded' cleaning power into cordless machines. You no longer have to lug around a massive vacuum cleaner that also takes up all of your closet space – but usually, you're paying a premium for that luxury.

That's why I'm thrilled to see the Dyson V8 discounted by a huge $210 at QVC. It's one of the slimmest, lightest cordless Dysons on the market – but that doesn't mean it's weak.

It's the opposite. We've tested the Dyson V8 and continue to tout it as one of the best vacuums if you're short on space or are fed up dragging around your old, hefty vacuum cleaner. Plus – this 'Extra' edition includes every possible attachment which, if bought separately, would cost more than $670.

The Dyson V8 Will Free Up Precious Storage Space, While Still Banishing Dust and Hair

I may be Homes & Gardens' resident vacuum nerd, but I can't exaggerate just how much Dyson's cordless vacuums have revolutionized how easy it is to clean your home.

Cordless vacuums bring a lot of convenience – no moving from outlet to outlet, no large, cumbersome design – but this usually comes with a sacrifice in suction power as they're restricted by the limitations of a rechargeable battery.

But that's where Dyson vacuums go a step beyond, and why they are consistently the best cordless sticks out of the 93 vacuums we've put through their paces.

Cordless Dysons boast a similar cleaning performance to what you find in many corded upright vacuums, but in a slim, lightweight, cordless stick design, which is a genuine game-changer when cleaning your home swiftly and without too much exertion, but one that naturally costs a high premium to enjoy.

But the Dyson V8 is a few years old now, meaning it's $100s more affordable than the newer releases. And while it may not have the fancy dust-revealing tech that we love in the Dyson V15 Detect and the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, it still boasts strong performance on carpets and hard floors, so you don't have to worry about an ineffective clean.

Its strong performance on carpet (a rarity for cordless vacuums) is largely owed to the Motorbar floorhead, which is without a doubt one of the most effective floor cleaning attachments I've ever used (and after spending 400 hours testing 35 vacuums, I've used a lot).

It spins rapidly with bristled brushes that agitate carpet, dislodging the dust and dirt that's trapped within the carpet fibers.

It also has anti-tangle vanes – which, after using this attachment for the past two years in my home, have never wrapped with hair, making it one of the best vacuums for pet hair if you're on a budget and short on space.

So, you can free up your closet space that's currently being taken up by an old, heavy vacuum – and you won't have to worry about not being able to clean your home as thoroughly. It's lightweight, so you can clean with one hand, and you can grab it and clean a mess without having to hunt for your nearest power outlet. A real space saver and a time saver.

The Dyson V8 Extra is discounted to $329.98 at QVC.

More to Shop

The Dyson V8 is at a steal price right now, but it isn't the only cordless vacuum that will free up space while still deep cleaning your home. Here are a few more of our favorites after our rigorous testing sessions.

All prices correct at time of publication.

Next, see which vacuums top our guides to the best vacuums for pet hair and the best Dyson alternatives after our rigorous testing sessions.

Saying goodbye to your big, heavy vacuum cleaner might come with the fear of losing that sheer cleaning power that a corded brings over a cordless that relies on a battery.

But that doesn't have to be the case. If you're sick of your heavy vacuum, the Dyson V11, discounted by $190 right now, is one of the rare cordless sticks that match the suction power of weightier corded appliances, meaning you can clean your home using one hand, while taking up hardly any storage space in between cleans.

It's one of the best vacuums we've tested, with exceptionally strong performance across every household mess I threw at it – including real pet hair from a cat and dog shelter.

The Dyson V11 Boasts Big Cleaning Power in a Lightweight Cordless Design

The Dyson V11 is a seriously powerful vacuum, easily one of the best cordless vacuums out of the 93 vacuums we've tested at Homes & Gardens, in pretty much every way. It's light (the body, wand, and cleaner head weigh just 6.73lbs together), convenient to use, and doesn't struggle to pick up mess, with the kind of suction you usually only find in bigger, corded, upright vacuums.

In comparison, one of the best Miele vacuums (corded) can weigh up to 16lbs, depending on the model.

Typically, the trade-off when choosing cordless convenience is that you're losing out on suction power. This is fine when it comes to smaller homes and apartments, especially as many modern buildings in the US have predominantly hard floors, which are easier to clean.

But it means that many cordless sticks aren't great for homes with rugs or carpets, particularly budget-friendly options like the Dreame R20 or Levoit LVAC-300, as soft flooring needs stronger airflow to pull up all the debris and hair that becomes trapped within carpet fibers (even low-pile carpet can be hard to clean with a weak vacuum cleaner).

That's why the Dyson V11 stands out. You don't have to sacrifice cleaning performance whatsoever, and can still enjoy all the benefits of cordless convenience, like freeing up storage space, being able to clean more quickly, and saying goodbye to the power cord.

I tested the Dyson V11 in our test center and a cat and dog shelter, and it didn't matter whether I was vacuuming dust, fine powder, pet hair, large debris, crumbs, or the dirt from a busy environment – it cleaned everything in seconds, on pretty much the first pass every time:

It easily gets between floor panels, vacuums right up to the edge, and its bristled brushroll is able to dig dirt out from deep within the carpet fibers.

It also has a boosted suction mode, so when you're vacuuming a thick rug or a sofa where your pets like to spend most of their time, you can use the extra airflow to make sure that everything is properly vacuumed up.

If you're looking for the best vacuum for pet hair, you will be happy to hear that, not only does the Dyson V11 excel at pulling fur from carpets, but it also never wraps or tangles with hair.

It's one of my favorite aspects of these top-of-the-line Dyson vacuums – even non-pet owners will appreciate not having their own hair wrap around the brushroll, and that the allergenic particles are captured within the whole-machine HEPA filtration.

This strong performance across the board is why the Dyson V11 typically costs so much. $659.99 is a lot of money for a vacuum cleaner – that many people naturally aren't happy with parting with – so I always shout about it when I see it discounted by this much.

The Dyson V11 is now discounted to $469.99 for a limited time at Dyson.

More to Shop

If you're fed up with using a big, heavy vacuum that's taking up all your closet space, here are six of my favorite cordless vacuums that don't sacrifice on performance.

All prices correct at time of publication.

Next, see how our top-tested picks of the best robot vacuums can help slash hours of chore time from your week.

Having to cut hair out of a vacuum cleaner is truly one of the most frustrating and disliked cleaning tasks. But it's also essential, as failing to do so can result in less suction and potential damage to your appliance.

But the Dyson Ball Animal 3, now $200 more affordable than usual, solves this problem. As a seasoned Dyson vacuumer, these appliances truly are the best at avoiding hair wrap at all times, saving you from the annoying task of regularly removing it.

And anti-tangle aside, it's one of the best vacuums for pet hair that thoroughly cleans fur and all manner of household dust from carpets, floors, and upholstery.

The Dyson Ball Animal 3 Never Wraps With Hair, and Boasts Relentless Suction

The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is touted as 'automatically detangling hair', something almost all vacuum brands claim, but on test, we found this to be absolutely true.

It has hair removal vanes: Angled bristles that follow a spiral helix design to guide hair along the brushbar from left to right. It's a clever design, and one that I've seen in other beloved Dyson vacuums from our tests, like the cordless Dyson V15 Detect and Dyson V11.

And still to this day, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 offers some of the highest, most unbeatable suction power that we've ever witnessed in a vacuum cleaner. 'The Dyson does an unbelievable job pulling dirt and dog hair out of the fibers,' Camryn Rabideau wrote in her review.

'Even though I thought the surface was pretty clean, the powerful suction of the vacuum pulled out a disturbing amount of pet hair from the carpet that was hiding under the surface,' she added, highlighting just how effective this cleaner is.

You will no longer have to worry about stubborn hairs being left behind when cleaning carpet, or not being able to pull fur from sofas and upholstery using the attachments. Its suction is so powerful that it grips tight enough to carpets that it can be difficult to push forward (if you leave the wrong setting on).

What's more, having a vacuum that leaves behind no trace of hair is how you can properly combat allergy symptoms at home. Pet dander, dust mites, and other household allergens cling to pet hair (and human hair, but less so, as I learned at Dyson's labs). If there are hidden hairs stuck in the carpet or wrapped around the brushroll, your household is still being exposed to allergens that can trigger sneezing, dry eyes, and irritated skin.

While this performance on hair is essential for pet-filled households, it isn't the only factor you consider when choosing a vacuum cleaner, and fortunately, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 also happens to be one of the highest-performing vacuums we've tested.

Whether it was dust, dirt, or large debris, we didn't find a single drawback in the Dyson Ball Animal 3's cleaning performance, aside from the fact that it can be a bit hefty (as most corded vacuums are), and it doesn't come with any of the smart features you'd find in newer upright vacuums, like dust detection or LED headlights.

But these are fancy add-ons. The vacuum cleaner itself is astoundingly effective, never wraps with hair, and is able to pull even the most stubborn furs out of thick carpets. And as it's a Dyson, you can rest easy knowing it'll last you a good 6+ years, maybe longer with the right care.

The Dyson Ball Animal 3 is discounted to $399.99 at Dyson.

More to Shop

Here are six more solutions to banish fur from your home without getting it stuck in vacuum rollers.

Next, see which vacuums top our rigorously tested guide of the best Dyson alternatives.

Battling winter dirt can seem like a never-ending task. We're not even spending that much time outdoors, but somehow, the grit piles up, the carpets get dirtier, and the cleaning gets harder.

That's why I'm thrilled to see the Dyson V12 Detect Slim discounted by $250 this time of year. I used it as the primary vacuum in my busy home for an entire year, and it never failed to keep up with the winter messes, even on our thick rugs.

It's one of the best cordless vacuums if you want a lightweight, convenient vacuum that still packs a punch, with dust-revealing features that make cleaning easier, and dare I say it, fun.

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim Is Your Effortless and Effective Answer to Winter Dirt

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim is more powerful than you'd expect from such a light, slim, and nimble vacuum cleaner. In true Dyson fashion, they've managed to pack in an impressively powerful motor, generating strong airflow that can pull stubborn dirt from thick carpets.

Whilst the Dyson V15 Detect is bigger, I would absolutely snap up this Dyson V12 Detect deal right now as it's $100s cheaper, has all the same smart features, and its suction is strong enough to clean winter debris from hard floors, thick rugs, and carpets.

I know this first-hand. It was once my main vacuum at home, and throughout the seasons, it never failed to clean up after my three messy housemates. We all work in different environments, from construction to festival work, and tracked-in mud and detritus were never a challenge with the V12 to hand board.

I've since upgraded to the bigger Dyson V15 Detect, but I'm fortunate enough to be sent these premium models to test.

Speaking of which, I've tested the discounted model in a local cat and dog shelter. Aside from vanquishing the different messes from such a busy establishment, the V12 Detect Slim had no issues pulling up fur from the various mats, carpets, rugs, and sofas that get covered daily with animal hair, making it one of the best vacuums for pet hair if you want something lightweight but powerful.

And while our energy levels are low this winter, grabbing a big, bulky upright vacuum out of the closet never seems fun. That's why the V12 Detect Slim's 5.22lbs weight is so desirable: You can deep clean your home using just one hand, removing mental barriers to vacuuming, and improving your comfort and wellbeing in these darker months.

I have suspected ADHD, and this is the cordless vacuum that helped me clean more. During winter, it's even more important for me to make cleaning as easy as possible. Small tasks like lugging a heavy vacuum up stairs, moving from outlet to outlet, and feeling overstimulated from a large vacuum's loud motor all help me put off this essential task.

But the V12 Detect Slim makes it effortless. It detects what's on your floors to adjust the suction levels for you – no guesswork, simply pass onto carpets or a dirty patch of floor, and the vacuum will up the suction when it's needed. Then, when the floors aren't as dirty, it'll lower it again to preserve the battery life.

And the green laser actually makes cleaning... fun? It reveals dust that your naked eyes can't normally see, revealing whether your floor is truly clean. Then, watching it get sucked away in one swift motion is so satisfying.

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim is discounted to $479.99 at Dyson.

More to Shop

It's an incredible offer, but it isn't the only way to save big on high-powered floorcare this winter. Here are a few more of our tried-and-tested picks.

All prices correct at time of publication.

Next, see which vacuums we've selected as the best Dyson alternatives after our testing sessions, to save big on high-powered floorcare.

I recently saw a viral video on TikTok of someone vacuuming a rug as slowly as possible, after they heard that the cleaning trend reveals how much secret dust you can pull up by doing so.

As Homes & Gardens' resident professional vacuum tester, I had to try it out for myself, and the results echoed what I've already seen in years of testing: Vacuuming with fast strokes is nowhere near as effective as taking your time.

Before trying this trend, I hadn't vacuumed this slowly, and luckily, I have one of the best vacuums to try it out with: The Dyson V15 Detect.

This clever Dyson counts how many particles you've picked up during your cleaning sessions, up to the millions, so I was able to see whether this technique is as effective as it seems. Spoiler alert: It's astounding.

What Is the Trending 'Slow Vacuuming' Method?

TikTok user @itsmorganstarr revealed how simple the 'Slow Vacuuming' method is: Just vacuum your rug or carpet as slowly as possible. Doing so allows the bristles to repeatedly agitate the same carpet fibers, dislodging the dust, dirt, and household debris that is buried deep within.

Leaving dust and other household allergens on floors with fast strokes often leads to sneezing, dryness, and poorer health for anybody who suffers from allergies (I know this first-hand), so learning how to banish them from carpets is key.

And if successful, this could demonstrate that even weaker vacuums can still be your best carpet vacuum, and maybe you don't have to fork out $500+ on those with the most powerful suction, after all.

So, I set my Dyson V15 Detect to work on my favorite IKEA rug, and cleaned it slower than I've ever done in my life, to find out how effective slow vacuuming is.

Slow Vacuuming: The Results

As you can see, the beauty of using this smart Dyson vacuum is that I could see precisely how much debris was being picked up as I cleaned.

I was truly amazed at the numbers, given that it had only been a week since the rug was last vacuumed. I wasn't expecting that particle number to climb so rapidly, especially while the vacuum was barely moving. Usually, the cordless vacuum needs to travel across a long stretch of floor for the number to rise that sharply.

By the end of it, I'd reached more than 300 million sucked-up particles, and the dustbin had been filled with so much more dust than I could have possibly thought was there.

To put this into perspective, after the usual weekly deep clean of my entire bedroom – the biggest room in the house – I typically reach around 100-200 million particles. So, to have picked up more than that from one 6.6' x 4.1' rug, is astounding.

Sure, it takes a little longer, but the results speak for themselves. My Dyson also revealed that if I just keep the vacuum still, it can take as long as 10 seconds for it to stop collecting new dust, showing just how deeply embedded it can be when it comes to soft flooring.

I've just found my favorite new way to deep clean my rug that requires hardly any extra effort, just a few more seconds of my time.

What the Success of Slow Vacuuming Reveals

It should come as no surprise that dust, dirt, and other household mess can settle deep into carpets and soft flooring, but vacuuming slowly has revealed just how deep it goes, and what you need to do to get it out.

If you've ever found that your allergy symptoms persist after vacuuming, and you've wondered whether it's the fault of your vacuum, you may find some reassurance in the fact that, actually, all you need to do is vacuum more slowly.

What's more, letting dust build up can actually damage and deteriorate the quality of soft flooring. So if your cleaning sessions are leaving lots behind, that doesn't bode too well for the lifespan of your precious rugs and carpets, and you can potentially save money down the line by cleaning more attentively.

And personally, I'm thrilled to discover how much of a difference this technique achieves. I vacuum for a living, and I'm always on the lookout for ways to make affordable vacuums more effective. My rugs and carpets will be cleaner than ever, and my allergies and asthma triggers will be quashed even more.

What to Shop

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Next, discover how the best robot vacuums will keep your home clean for you, with strong winners from our weeks-long testing sessions.

If you're hunting down the ideal new vacuum for your home, it's a smart idea to consider a canister vacuum. These versatile cleaners are super easy to use around the house, thanks to the motor being housed in a separate unit that you drag around.

And of course, it's smart to consider a Dyson. Even if the British brand mostly focuses on cordless vacuums now, I was excited to get my hands on their only canister vacuum, the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead.

So, I tested it in a pet shelter, our dedicated test center, and in my own home to find out if it could be your new best vacuum cleaner.

The One-Minute Verdict

The Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead is a strong choice if you're looking for a versatile, easy-to-use vacuum cleaner that performs excellently on hard floors and can vacuum pet hair from thin carpets and upholstery.

It has some of the strongest performance on hard floors like linoleum and hardwood that we've tested, with a brushroll that instantly sucks away all manner of debris. It also performs well on low-pile carpets, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody with thick carpets, as the brushroll will either slow down or completely stop spinning.

It's intuitive, easy to carry around the house, and maneuverable enough for effortless cleaning of tight spaces and furniture. But if you're looking for something with fewer quirks for a similar price, I'd recommend the cordless Dyson V11 or the corded Shark POWERDETECT Upright.

Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead: Specifications

Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead: Setup

When unboxing the vacuum, I was surprised by the amount of soft plastic packaging. Dyson is one of my favorite brands for shipping their products in sustainable packaging (cardboard and paper), so I wasn't expecting to see everything wrapped in plastic this time around.

Setting it up involves connecting the floorhead, wand, handle, and hose to the vacuum, one by one. Different canister vacuums do this differently, so I looked to the instructions for guidance, only to find them – in my view – confusing and overwhelming.

Maybe others will find this more straightforward, but I had to rely on my experience testing canister vacuums. Luckily, once I got started, it all made sense. If you know what to do for each step, it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes until the vacuum is ready to use.

I tested the UK model of the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead, the Dyson Big Ball Animal 2. It's the same vacuum unit as the US, just with a slightly different set of attachments and a gray and purple colorway (compared to the Turbinehead's yellow colorway).

The main floorhead is the same across both: The turbine head. It's similar to the Motorbar floorhead that we love in the Dyson V15 Detect and other top models, but a little smaller and without the same anti-tangle credentials.

But the UK version comes with an extra attachment that you won't find in the US model: The pneumatic head. I'd never seen a vacuum attachment like it and was excited to try it out – but if you're in the US, don't worry. The turbine head performed better in every way.

What Is the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead Like to Use?

The Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead is the only canister vacuum currently sold by Dyson. The brand now focuses mostly on cordless vacuums and floor cleaners (and they're some of the best in the world...), but the canister vacuum still has its USPs.

It comes down to versatility and maneuverability. As you're only holding the handle and not the entire vacuum unit, it's lightweight to carry, and it means you can get into tight spaces more effectively without maneuvering a big appliance.

But while the best cordless vacuums also share this benefit, they're limited by a battery, while canister vacuums can still house large motors that plug into the mains, leaving them unrestricted when it comes to suction power.

However, the Big Ball Turbinehead boasts 250 air watts of suction, which is the same as our best-on-test cordless vacuum, the Dyson V15 Detect, which costs more than twice as much.

The power and cord pullback buttons on the Turbinehead are on the canister 'ball, positioned so you can press them with your feet, although they seem a little delicate, and I wonder about their durability.

Others, such as the best Miele vacuums, have buttons that depress into the unit, while the Dyson Big Ball has the buttons sticking out, in a way that feels like the right amount of force could snap them off:

The power button also isn't the most responsive, so you have to press it firmly to make sure the vacuum turns on.

I tested the airflow using an anemometer, and it reached 27.2mph. That's higher than every cordless vacuum we've tested with the anemometer, demonstrating how much suction power a corded vacuum can pack.

I also tested the vacuum's noise levels using the Decibel X app, and it averaged 70.4 decibels. Vacuums range from around 60 to 80 decibels, depending on size and suction level, so the Big Ball Turbinehead sits comfortably in the middle.

A design note I love about the Big Ball Turbinehead is the fact that its 'ball' can never be toppled over. It was designed in a spherical shape to make maneuvering around corners easier, but this also allowed Dyson to design an anti-toppling mechanism:

There's also a suction release toggle on the handle. If you vacuum curtains, socks, or other un-vacuumable fabrics, you can quickly pull the toggle and air will flow out of the handle, releasing any suctioned objects.

And generally, like all of our favorite Dysons, it glides across the floor smoothly. I like that the wand extends, almost doubling in size to provide extra reach. My model also came with a wand clip that can store two attachments.

It'll certainly be safe when cleaning hardwood floors, and after testing the cord pullback four times in a row from different angles, I don't worry about it accidentally hitting your hand as it winds up.

Test 1: Flour and Sugar

In our dedicated test center, I tested the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead using a half cup of flour and sugar on linoleum, wooden, and carpet flooring. These substances assess a vacuum's ability to pick up fine debris like dust and dead skin, while being clear visual tests, as we can see where residue is left behind.

On hard floors, everything was cleared in one forward pass, even between the wooden floor panels. That's super impressive – it's not often that a vacuum boasts such strong, neat performance.

On carpets, it took around 4-5 passes using the turbine head, and much longer using the UK-only pneumatic head.

At this stage of the testing, it seemed as if neither of the floorheads was designed for carpets. The pneumatic one doesn’t have any bristles to dig in, while the turbine head doesn’t have any grip adjustment, so it becomes quite hard to push forward, and the brushroll doesn’t spin as quickly. Strong suction is evident, though, as it gripped tightly to the surface.

The only adjustable setting is to stop the brushroll from spinning, which then makes the suction too hard to effectively move across the carpet. I'd look elsewhere for the best vacuums for carpets.

Test 2: Pantry

I also tested the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead on linoleum, wood and carpet using a cup of cereal and green lentils. The lentils are slightly sticky and represent medium-sized debris, while the cereal poses a particular challenge for vacuum cleaners as it tends to be too large to fit into the floorhead. Some vacuums crush it down, some fling it around, and some vacuum it with no issues.

On linoleum and hardwood, the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead crushed some cereal, but most was pushed forward and flung around. It struggled with a large amount of crumbs as it got caught in the small floorhead nozzle. Also, as the dustbin is on a tilt, some food got stuck in the side, and I had to shake it around to dislodge it.

Any sizable food pieces struggle to get sucked up in one attempt, and take a bit of back and forth or placing the floor head directly on top. But once I took the floorhead off, the suction was strong enough to pull up the large pieces from a 1-2 inch distance.

Now, it's normal for even the best vacuums for hard floors to get clogged with high volumes of food crumbs. The real test is in the vacuum's ability to deal with that mess afterwards, and whether the suction is strong enough to vacuum large pieces without the floorhead. The Big Ball Turbinehead passed this test.

On the carpet, it took a while. There were lots of flinging crumbs around, or getting caught in the floorhead and the wand. Neither the turbine nor pneumatic heads were able to properly pick up big pieces from the carpet.

Also, the inlet to the dustbin was clogged with food – not completely abnormal with a mess of this volume – but I expected better from a corded Dyson. Cordless models like the Dyson V11 performed much better, without these issues.

Test 3: Pet Hair

To see if the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead could be one of the best vacuums for pet hair, I tested it in a local cat and dog shelter on hard floors, entrance mats, low-to-high-pile carpets, thick rugs, and upholstery.

The entrance mat is the toughest challenge for a vacuum with its bumpy, high-friction surface. The Big Ball Turbinehead did a really solid clean in about two passes, followed by a few strokes to get the rest of it. That's certainly better than average, but not as effective as what we've seen with other models like the Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog.

A few hairs remained, but that’s expected with this surface. And unlike the carpet tests above, the brushroll actually spun on this mat, likely because of the bumpy texture providing more breathing room.

The results were instant when vacuuming pet hair from hard floors. As soon as the floorhead neared any mess – whether pet hair, leaves, or dust – it pulled it in, sometimes from about half an inch away.

The long wand is great for reaching far from where you’re standing, providing more reach compared to other vacuums. The floorhead also vacuums right up to the edges without having to approach them at annoying angles.

On low-pile carpet, it was great, and again, the brushroll had no issues spinning at full speed. Everything was picked up instantly, and I could see great clumps of pet hair filling up the dustbin – more than I could see on the floor.

It grips low-pile carpet nicely, and the low profile of the floorhead lets it slide under furniture and doorstops. Its small shape also makes it easy to maneuver when cleaning stairs:

While the brushroll had no issues spinning properly on the entrance mat and thin carpet, it stopped spinning on the pet shelter's thick rugs, just as it did at the test center.

When you move it forward, it starts spinning again, but you can feel that it’s not as fast, and it makes a noise as if it’s struggling. More debris was left over when vacuuming this surface than on hard floors and low-pile carpet. If your home has lots of carpets or thick rugs, I'd look elsewhere, such as the Shark POWERDETECT Upright.

After a few hours of vacuuming at the pet shelter, the dustbin was almost filled with fur, but there were a few wrapped hairs in the brushroll, showing that it isn't completely anti-tangle:

Test 4: Attachments

The upholstery tool doesn't tend to be the strongest attachment for a vacuum cleaner, but the Big Ball Turbinehead's is incredible. It pulled all manner of dirt, dust, and pet hair from sofas and padded chairs, and would be a perfect tool for keeping your home clean with pets.

My UK model also came with a unique detangling hair attachment. I haven't seen this in any of the Dyson vacuums we've tested, which is surprising considering it's genuinely one of the best pet hair attachments I’ve used on padded upholstery.

Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead: Care and Maintenance

Many canister vacuums are bagged, using disposable vacuum bags that you dispose of once full. But Dyson is the brand that invented the bagless vacuum, so the Big Ball Turbinehead is one of the few canister vacuums that doesn't come with recurring bag costs.

It also has a lifetime washable HEPA filter that won't need replacing so long as you rinse it thoroughly with cold water every 1-2 months.

You detach the dustbin by pressing a button on the top of the canister. Then, hold it over the trash can and push the lever, and the dust will descend. It's quick and painless, with minimal blowback of dust and fine debris.

How Does the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead Compare?

Costing $379.99 at Dyson (or £299.99 at Dyson UK), the Big Ball Turbinehead is reasonably priced. In fact, it's one of the cheapest vacuums that Dyson sells, with my personal favorite, the Dyson V15 Detect, costing $849.99 at full price.

Our best-on-test canister vacuums so far are the Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog [Amazon] and the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog [Amazon] – and they both cost around $1,000. They perform better in most aspects (except for being a little less maneuverable), but considering the steep price hike, I'd go for the Dyson over them.

But if you're looking at spending around $300-$400, I'd also recommend considering the Dyson V11 and the Shark POWERDETECT Upright. They both performed outstandingly on our tests, with high suction and easy usage, and can be found for around the same price. They also both work wonders on pet hair, without any hair wrap.

Next, look at the best Dyson alternatives for more affordable floorcare, and see our full deep-dive into how we test vacuums.

Gone are the days where we had to rely on huge, bulky vacuum cleaners to keep our homes clean. Now, engineering wizards have designed motors that can fit inside slim cordless sticks, which are powerful enough to pull dirt from deep within our floors.

The best example of this is the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, which is discounted by an enormous $300 in Dyson's extended holiday sale. It's the lightest vacuum in Dyson's market-leading 'Detect' series, and can banish dust, dirt and hair from floors in seconds.

Dyson has kicked off the Black Friday sale season early, and with an offer this huge on one of our all-time best vacuums, we're in for a treat.

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim is as Powerful as The Big, Corded Vacuums

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim is the best lightweight vacuum we've ever reviewed. In many ways, this is what it was designed to be: A slimmer, lighter version of Dyson's best, the Dyson V15 Detect, with those same market-leading features packaged into a smaller cordless stick.

But don't be fooled that a slim vacuum can't clean like your bulky, corded one. I tested this cordless vacuum on hard floors, rugs, and thick carpets, then used it in my home for over a year – and it never failed to clean a mess in one or two passes.

If you ever find yourself going over the same spot of carpet again and again while your vacuum struggles to pick up the dirt, it's probably time to switch, and this Dyson will immediately solve that issue while freeing up heaps of storage space.

The V12 Detect Slim used to be the primary vacuum in my home, and it was small enough to stash in a closet or under my bed, storing the vacuum out of sight but still within reach. And weighing just 5.22lbs, it can easily be carried upstairs and from room to room with one hand.

And really, that's where my love of cordless vacuums stems from. It's so easy to grab it and clean whenever you see a mess, and as someone with suspected ADHD, this actually helps me clean. It removes any barriers to cleaning, like taking a heavy appliance out of a closet, then having to plug it in around the house.

Instead, I can clean in seconds, and as the V12 Detect Slim is so thorough, every cleaning session is swift.

What's more, it has a green laser that reveals invisible dust – genuinely. I thought it sounded like a gimmick, but what appears to be a spotless floor will suddenly be full of dust and debris particles once the green light shines on it, as you can see in my video, taken during testing, below:

I've tested vacuums from Shark, Miele, Dreame and more that have tried to recreate this game-changing feature, and none have succeeded. Surprisingly, the only one that's come close is the budget-friendly Ultenic U16 Flex, but it doesn't vacuum as well.

The V12 Detect Slim also has floor sensors that identify what surface you're vacuuming and how dirty it is. This means that – in less than a second – it can automatically up the suction power when needed, then return it to a less intense level to save battery life.

There's even a particle counter that measures how much you've picked up during a cleaning session, down to the individual particle size. This isn't an essential vacuum feature, but it is useful to know there's nothing left to vacuum, like when vacuuming a mattress or upholstery.

More to Shop

While you're looking for cleaning upgrades, here's a selection of other outstanding vacuums from the 82 we've tested.

All prices correct at time of publication.

For more affordable cleaning excellence, see which vacuums top our list of the best Dyson alternatives.

Dyson produces some of the most technologically advanced appliances in the world. First known for pioneering bagless vacuum technology, the brand has gone on to develop lines of not-only premium vacuums cleaners with a stronghold in the cordless game, but also air purifiers and even hair styling tools.

If you are looking to invest in a Dyson product you have come to the right place. We have tested over 15 of Dyson's best vacuum cleaners and tried other products in their extensive range. So, we know that while buying a Dyson can be something of an investment, they consistently score well in our testing with average scores nearing full marks. Read on for our top recommendations from the Dyson fleet, then see more Dyson deals and reviews.

Best Dyson Vacuums

Most fans are destined for the back corner of the closet when the cold weather sets in, taking up valuable storage space until summer returns.

But not all fans are just for cooling. The Dyson AM09 Hot & Cool Bladeless Fan & Heater with Jet Focus, available at QVC can help heat your home too, making it one of the few fans you won't need to stash away come fall.

The best news? It's discounted by $200 for just three days only, and hundreds of shoppers are snapping up one of the best fans on the market.

Why the Dyson AM09 Hot & Cool Fan is a must-have

I swear by a fan to help keep a home cool without AC in the summer, but come fall and winter, my period home is freezing cold (with my built-in heating struggling to keep my poorly insulated home warm), and my fan is an eyesore I come to loathe.

That's why these heater-fan combo units from Dyson look so tempting whenever they go on sale, offering me the best of both worlds, year-round, without the need for multiple bulky appliances and ugly space heaters.

The Dyson AM09 fan (also available at Amazon) uses ceramic plates rather than loud fans to warm up air, and amplifies air flow to help keep you cool.

The Jet Focus control allows you to choose between Focused and Diffused modes for personal or whole-room heating, or direct cooling or a gentle breeze in hotter weather.

It really does do it all.

While we have not been able to test the Dyson AM09 ourselves, the shopper reviews speak for themselves.

Amazon shopper KyahPearl called the fan one of the best purchases they have made this year, praising the fan for heating up in minutes, adding, 'I love the timer, and with the 10 cool settings of the fan, it's perfect to circulate the A/C air around the room. Just keep the holes clear of dust, and it's good to go.'

A Damp Duster, from Walmart, is ideal for this quick cleaning task, helping to collect the dust rather than just spread it around.

Another verified Dyson shopper also gave it five stars, admitting the small but powerful fan 'greatly surprised them'.

'It’s great to move around the house as needed,' they shared. 'We use it to take the chill off a bathroom or in the lounge in the evening. It’ll get even more use to cool the home here in Queensland. Both modes work extremely well with the bonus of being safe when pets or young children are around.

'It’s very neat, compact, and packs a punch. Super easy to wipe down too, no dusty fan blades.'

What to shop

With the fan secured in your basket, brush up on how to cool a room with fans to make the most of your new purchase, and check out the dangerous space heater mistakes you might be making to mitigate a home fire.

Dyson's new robot cleaner is part of a suite of new floorcare appliances, announced at IFA in Berlin on Thursday, that promises to make cleaning easier and more effective than ever before.

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai features some major upgrades from their previous Dyson 360 Vis Nav, the most notable being the introduction of a mop and new, AI-powered detection.

As a home tech editor who's been testing and reporting on floorcare gadgets for more than two years, I'm intrigued to see if this new release lives up to Dyson's reputation, and if it could end up being one of the next best robot vacuums.

Dyson's new Spot+Scrub Ai promises to make automated cleaning even easier

The Spot+Scrub Ai is Dyson's first robot vacuum with a mopping function. It uses a microfiber wet roller that cleans itself on the move – not many other robot cleaners have this capability – making sure that each rotation delivers fresh, heated water as it cleans for a more efficient clean.

Dyson's last robot vacuum, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, while offering some of the strongest suction we'd seen at the time of its release, let us down during testing because of its lack of a mop or self-cleaning station.

It seems as if Dyson listened to users' concerns and developed a more comprehensive system, one with more accurate navigation, an ability to clean itself on the move and in the station, and a dock that stores dust for up to 100 days.

On average, even our favorite robot vacuums (like the eufy Omni S1 Pro) only store dust for up to 60 days, making the Spot+Scrub Ai's station a marked improvement from competitors.

It also boasts 18,000Pa suction – which is at the higher end of what the most comprehensive robots offer these days – but suction power doesn't always equal cleaning power.

That performance also depends on the brushroll, but as the best Dyson vacuums have some of the most effective floorheads and attachments we've tested, I have faith that Dyson's latest robot won't be lacking in that department.

Navigation also plays a huge role when it comes to cleaning ability, and the predecessor Dyson 360 Vis Nav struggled here compared to the competition.

That's why I'm thrilled to see new AI technology being introduced in the Spot+Scrub Ai. It uses an AI-powered camera and LiDAR sensors to identify nearly 200 types of objects, including common household obstacles such as cables and socks, so it can most efficiently adjust it's cleaning, mopping or path for the most efficient and deep clean.

All this while building a layout of your home and automatically naming rooms so you can easily order zone cleaning at the touch of a button. That's in line with the theme at this year's IFA that AI in home cleaning is more advanced than ever, with AI systems now beginning to look after us.

While this is an exciting step for Dyson, many of these 'new' features have been seen in other robots from eufy, Dreame, and Roborock for some time, so I'm curious to get my hands on the new Dyson for full testing and see if it can outshine the current competition with these additional cleaning abilities now in play.

The Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai robot vacuum cleaner will be available in 2026.

What to shop

While we wait for the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai to be released, here are some of the best-performing robot vacuum cleaners that we thoroughly enjoyed testing.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Next, learn more about the best vacuum-mop combos and the best cordless vacuums that we've tested and love.

As if Dyson's vacuums weren't already renowned for their incredible performance and innovative features, their newly announced cordless V16 Piston Animal vacuum promises to take Dyson's cleaning excellence to the next level.

At this year's IFA in Berlin, where tech brands from across the world showcase their latest and greatest developments, I was there to see founder James Dyson unveil the new V16, coming to the US in 2026.

It boasts higher suction power than any of the best Dyson vacuums, which top most of our vacuum guides already. As an expert home tech editor who spends my days testing the latest releases, I love the look of Dyson's new and improved Submarine wet vacuum head, which promises to clean even deeper by washing your floors.

Why I'm excited about the powerful new Dyson V16 Piston Animal

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal marks a shift for Dyson's cordless vacuums, taking its latest release to a whopping 315 air watts of suction – higher than any consumer vacuum out there. In comparison, the Dyson V15 Detect is currently our best-on-test, and that delivers just 250 air watts of suction.

I've written extensively about the Dyson V15 Detect and other Dyson vacuums, which repeatedly outperform all of the best vacuum cleaners we've tested, so I'm thrilled to see our favorite vacuum brand up its spec in this way.

The V16 Piston Animal also has a new conical floorhead that promises long hair pickup with no tangling. As Dyson's vacuums are already some of our best vacuums for pet hair, I'm intrigued to see how they've improved performance in this area.

Keeping a home clean with pets, especially furry ones, is no easy task, so any added power for clearing hair from carpets will land well, in my view.

What's more, the Dyson V16 has the same smart features that I adore in Dyson's Detect vacuums (such as the Dyson V12 Detect Slim and the Dyson Gen5detect). A green laser reveals dust that the naked eye can't usually spot, and using floor sensors, the vacuum knows the floor type you're vacuuming and how dirty each area is to automatically adjust the suction and brushroll speed.

This means you don't have to worry about changing the settings yourself. You can pass from hard floors to carpet, and these Dysons know the right level of cleaning power needed, and will preserve the battery life on easier surfaces, including when cleaning hardwood floors.

Less frequent emptying

Another new and exciting feature is the 'CleanCompaktor' dustbin that compresses dust as it's collected, so you don't have to empty it for up to 30 days. Frequent emptying is one of the biggest gripes with the best cordless vacuums, and I'm intrigued to find out if this real-world dust compression comes with a loss of suction as the dustbin fills, or if Dyson's engineers have finally found a way to solve this issue.

In line with the floorcare industry's growing trend towards complete cleaning solutions – as seen in the Roborock 4-in-1 appliance announced at IFA or the best robot vacuums that vacuum, mop, and clean themselves for you – the Dyson V16 Piston Animal has the option for a Submarine floorhead and a self-cleaning dock.

The Submarine floorhead is an upgrade from the one used in the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine, using a motorised, microfiber roller to wash, mop, and remove stains from your floors.

The self-emptying dock has been a key feature in many of the best Shark vacuums, so it's great to see Dyson introduce this as a way to save time and store the vacuum more neatly.

Suffice to say, I was excited about what I heard as part of an early press cohort on this Dyson update. As someone who tests vacuums for a living, this is one of the most significant announcements from a floorcare brand that we've seen in some time and I can't wait to get my hands on the V16 and put it to the test.

The Dyson V16 Piston Animal is available in the UK for £749.99 at Dyson and across Europe for 849€, and will be available in the US in 2026.

What to shop

While the Dyson V16 Piston Animal is only available in select countries, here are some other top-rated vacuum recommendations from our rigorous testing sessions.

If you're considering shopping for a new Dyson now but perhaps want to wait for the V16 Piston Animal, remember: You can trade-in your appliance to get money off an upgrade, direct at Dyson.

All prices were correct at time of publication.

For more floorcare inspiration, check out our guides to the best Miele vacuums and the essential cleaning tools every household should have.

When the Dyson V8 was released back in 2016, it reimagined the cordless vacuum design into what it is today.

James Dyson shared this sentiment at IFA in Berlin on Thursday when announcing the V8's upgrade: The Dyson V8 Cyclone. It combines the V8 with Dyson's latest tech for a cordless vacuum that cleans better, has a longer runtime, and even has a self-emptying dock.

It was already one of the best Dyson vacuums, but this new model, set to be released next year, will make cleaning even easier and cheaper.

Why I'm excited about the new Dyson V8 Cyclone

The Dyson V8 Cyclone brings a suite of upgrades compared to the previous model, to make cleaning more effective without sacrificing on weight or ease of use. In my view, the most significant is the suction power increase, going from 115 air watts to 150.

For reference, that's the same as the advanced (and expensive) Dyson V12 Detect Slim – which on test, had no issues vacuuming hair, dust or large debris from any surface. It's one of the best cordless vacuums we've ever tested.

Plus, like Dyson's newer vacuums, the V8 Cyclone will have three suction modes: Eco, Medium and Boost. As someone who's tested 28 vacuum cleaners, I'm a big fan of this option in cordless vacuums, as it gives you the oomph necessary to deep clean carpets when needed, while giving you the option for lower suction on easier surfaces, like when cleaning hardwood floors, to preserve vital battery life.

Runtime on the latest upgrade has also been extended from 40 minutes to 60, and it's now powered using a single button rather than a trigger to reduce hand strain while cleaning. There's also the option of a self-empty dock that charges and cleans the vacuum between uses – a feature we love in other cordless vacuums such as the Shark PowerDetect Cordless and the Tineco Pure One Station.

The Dyson V8 has long been our top pick for the best budget Dyson, costing around $400 less than the flagship Dyson V15 Detect. But while this used to come at a sacrifice in cleaning power, now it isn't as much of a downgrade.

The Dyson V8 Cyclone will be released in 2026, with pricing information revealed closer to the release date.

What to shop

While the Dyson V8 Cyclone isn't available just yet, its attachments will be compatible with the existing Dyson V8. And as Dyson encourages trade-ins, to take money off a new purchase while responsibly recycling old materials, you could invest in the budget-friendly model for now and upgrade when the new vacuum is released.

We've also tested 82 of the best vacuum cleaners and can recommend some fantastic alternatives.

All prices were correct at time of publication.

For more tried-and-tested floorcare inspiration, browse through our list of the best Dyson alternatives or the best Shark vacuums.

We've tested almost every Dyson vacuum at Homes & Gardens, and they tend to top most of our vacuum guides thanks to market-leading suction and useful features.

The Dyson V11 was one of the final models for us to test, so I put it through its paces in our test center and a local pet shelter to see if it lives up to the brand's reputation.

I own two Dysons and have spent more than 250+ hours testing vacuums, and overall, I'm seriously impressed. Read on to find out why this is one of the best Dyson vacuums you can buy, with videos from my rigorous testing.

The one-minute review

The Dyson V11 boasts stronger cleaning performance than most cordless vacuums at this price range. I used it to banish everything from small powders to large debris on all floor types, and I tested it in a pet shelter where it had no issues whatsoever plucking hair from thick carpets.

As it's a Dyson – it also has a straightforward and ergonomic design. It doesn't take much to figure out how to use this vacuum and its three suction modes to the fullest, and those with limited mobility will enjoy that it can clean almost flawlessly while being lightweight enough to easily carry up and down stairs.

Dyson V11: Specifications

Dyson V11: Design and features

The V11 has all the hallmarks of a Dyson vacuum: high suction power, a lightweight and straightforward design, and a floorhead that avoids hair tangling.

In fact, the V11 has the third highest suction of any of Dyson's best cordless vacuums with 185 air watts. Only the Dyson V15 Detect and Dyson Gen5detect boast higher (250 and 261 air watts respectively) – and these are the two best vacuums we've tested (but they cost $100s more).

This translates to a consistently strong performance when vacuuming both carpets and smooth floors, and its whole-machine HEPA filtration allows it capture common household allergens with ease.

I tested the V11's airflow using an anemometer and it reaches a whopping 19.6mph in boost mode, 11.1mph in medium and 9.8mph in eco. For reference, other cordless sticks tend to have lower stats, such as the Levoit LVAC-300 reaching 12.3mph at maximum speed.

It also has one of our favorite-ever vacuum floorheads, the Motorbar, that is a key feature of cordless Dysons, picking up all manner of dirt and hair without anything getting tangled in the brushes.

Its runtime is stated as 60 minutes but, on test, it can run up to 67 minutes on eco mode without the motorized floorhead attached. On medium mode it averaged around 37 minutes, and boost mode only has a maximum runtime of 15 minutes – but it can't run for that long without overheating first.

You can choose suction mode from the LCD screen, that also displays remaining runtime and any faults you should be aware of (clean your filter or dislodge a blockage, for example).

What is the Dyson V11 like to use?

The Dyson V11 is remarkably easy to use. Dyson has evidently dedicated time to making this vacuum as ergonomic as possible, minimizing how often we need to do anything other than vacuum.

Almost every time, it picks up everything in one pass. It's one of the best multi-surface vacuums in this regard, as it competently handles mess from carpets and floors while rarely leaving anything behind. I tested it in a local pet shelter, too, and its performance seriously impressed me (more on that below).

It can maneuver easily, getting between chair legs or passing from soft to hard flooring with little fuss. Less expensive cordless vacuums can struggle here by losing grip and skipping over parts of the floor, so it's great to see the V11 have no issues.

I love that you can change suction mode using the same hand that's holding the vacuum, allowing you to clear cables and objects out of the way while cleaning.

I tested the noise levels using the DecibelX app and it got as loud as 80.2 decibels at the highest setting, and as quiet as 65 decibels on eco mode with no motorized floorhead attached. That's fairly standard for most cordless vacuums.

I would prefer if there was a light on the floorhead, as many cheaper cordless vacuums now have this feature to better illuminate what's on your floors. It also doesn't have a floorhead with a soft roller, an essential feature of the best vacuums for hardwood floors and one you'll find in the Dyson V12 Detect Slim – which only costs $50 more.

Dyson V11: Flour and sugar test

I tested the Dyson V11 using a half cup of flour and sugar in our test center. This test shows how a vacuum cleaner can handle fine powders like dust and dander, and it's a great visual test as I can see what's been left behind on the floor or in the vacuum's parts.

On hardwood and linoleum, the Dyson V11 performed exactly as I'd hoped – which is, to say, excellently. The strong suction and fast-spinning brushroll had no issues vacuuming almost everything in one pass, only leaving the tiniest residue to be vacuumed on the pull back. I tested it on medium mode and didn't need to up it to boost mode, even though this mess is greater than what you'd usually find at home.

On carpet, it impressed once again when using all three suction modes. Medium picked up almost everything in one pass, and getting the rest on the pull back. Boost mode easily handled everything.

And surprisingly, it could pick up everything in eco mode. Some flour and sugar was flung upwards showing the loss in suction power, but it still cleared everything after 2-3 passes.

Dyson V11: Pantry test

I tested the Dyson V11 using one cup of cereal and lentils, to assess its performance when handling large debris. These high-volume messes aren't typical for an average household, but it helps us see exactly what the vacuum can handle, and whether it's able to crush down debris (such as pet kibble and food), fling it across the floor, or get stuck internally.

On hardwood and linoleum, I found that eco mode wasn't powerful enough for this volume of mess. Medium mode was strong enough to capture everything but the brushroll did fling pieces around. It didn’t take long to clear the remaining pieces however as it easily sucked in both large and small debris.

On carpet, the V11 was fantastic in all three suction modes:

• Medium: Almost everything was vacuumed in one pass, and the backwards pass then captured the few bits left behind
• Boost (seen in the above video): Relentless, could feel the vacuum suction itself to the carpet. All large cereal pieces were instantly destroyed and sucked up.
• Eco: Surprisingly capable, almost similar performance to medium except for a few extra lentils left behind, which took a few seconds to then vacuum afterwards.

I can happily recommend the Dyson V11 as one of the best vacuums for carpet.

Dyson V11: Pet hair test

I tested the Dyson V11 in a local cat and dog shelter, Bristol ARC, to see how well it can pet hair on different surfaces, along with the high volumes of mess from a busy environment.

Spending the day in the pet shelter with the Dyson V11 proved what I'd learned during standardized testing: This vacuum has outstanding performance. It cleaned pet hair from thick rugs and carpets, and I ended up using it to vacuum any mess that the other vacuums I was testing had left behind.

The entrance mat (in the above video) is the most difficult cleaning challenge at Bristol ARC, as the rough, high-friction surface traps all manner of dirt and hair. The V11 performed better than even some of the best corded vacuums here, pulling both short and long fur from the ridges.

More generally, there was nothing that the V11 couldn't reasonably clean. On hard floors, it cleared hair, dirt, dust, stones and everything else in one pass, every time. On low-pile carpet, I never needed to use boost mode to clear everything in one or two passes.

At no point did hair wrap around the brushroll, which is easily one of the main reasons why pet hair is so hard to vacuum. By the end of the day, there was maybe 5x as much hair in the dustbin compared to the cordless vacuums from Dreame and Ultenic that I was testing at the same time.

If you're looking for the best vacuum for pet hair, the Dyson V11 is a stand-out cordless choice.

Dyson V11: Attachments test

I'm more than familiar with what all the vacuum attachments do in Dyson's vacuums. They're some of the best vacuum attachments for pet hair that we've tested, and are super lightweight and easy to swap out.

With the V11, it's no different. My model came with a crevice tool and combination tool, and both of them proved effective when vacuuming the baseboards at the pet shelter, cleaning between sofa cushions, and most importantly: Pulling fur from thick, padded chairs.

The combination tool has a rugged, rubber strip that helps to agitate dirt and hair in fabrics, making it easy to vacuum pet hair from fabric, like pet beds.

Dyson V11: Setup and maintenance

It's recommended to wait until the vacuum is fully charged before using it for the first time. For me, the V11 arrived with 35% battery and took just over two hours to reach 100%, and Dyson states that charging it from 0% to 100% takes four and a half hours.

Otherwise, setting it up involves attaching the wand to the vacuum cleaner, then attaching the floorhead to the wand. It takes about a minute and then you're ready to clean your house.

In terms of maintenance, the Dyson V11 is a great choice as it has a washable, lifetime HEPA filter. Other vacuums require you to replace these over time, so being able to clean the Dyson vacuum filter fully by giving it a rinse and air drying it is much cheaper.

Most of the parts can be taken apart to be cleaned, except for the built-in dustbin. While other vacuum brands allow you to remove it for a complete clean, unfortunately the Dyson must be wiped from the inside.

Emptying the dustbin to avoid overfilling the vacuum is a breeze. Simply press the button and dust descends into the trash, with minimal blow back.

How does the Dyson V11 compare?

The Dyson V11 is priced at around $449.99 to $599.99, depending on model and any promotions. It's cheaper than Dyson's flagship models, but still more expensive than most cordless vacuums on the market.

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim costs around $50 more, and has all of Dyson's leading smart tech including a green laser that reveals dust that you can't normally see, and a sensor to automatically detect which suction mode is optimal. However, its suction is 35AW lower than the V11, and on test, I found the V11 was a better cleaner. Our full Dyson V12 Detect Slim review reveals more.

The Dyson V15 Detect is the perfect balance of function and smart tech. It has the same game-changing features as the V12 Detect Slim, while also having 250AW of suction power that is so immensely high that it rivals some of the best upright vacuums. My full Dyson V15 Detect review explains why it's the best vacuum we've tested.

Or for something a little cheaper, the Shark Cordless PowerDetect does things differently. It has a dual-brushroll floorhead, with both a soft roller and bristed brushroll to capture different-sized debris. It isn't as powerful as the V11, but it still did a fantastic job of vacuuming a cat hair-ridden carpet. Read more in our full Shark Cordless PowerDetect review.

Should you buy the Dyson V11?

It's hard to find faults with the Dyson V11. Its suction is powerful, providing the thorough clean you'd hope from this level of investment. It's easy to use, easy to empty, and its attachments are effective for different cleaning tasks around the house.

However, it's still a big investment, and when you compare it among the Dyson lineup you don't have to spend much more for a big increase in suction. I would also love to see a light on the floorhead for more visibility, and a soft roller to better capture fine dust on hard floors.

How did we test the Dyson V11?

You can find more detail on our testing methodology at how we test vacuums. With the Dyson V11, I tested it for a full day at our test center using standardized substances on carpet, linoleum and hardwood.

I then tested the Dyson V11 for another day at a local cat and dog shelter, where I vacuumed pet hair and general mess from low-pile and medium-pile carpets, thick rugs, and hard floors.

Next, browse our tested guide of the best Dyson alternatives, for quality cleaning at a lower cost.

As somebody who has spent more than 250 hours testing vacuum cleaners, I'm more than familiar with Dyson's offerings. They make some of the most advanced vacuums in the world, with high suction and useful features to transform how easy it is to clean our homes.

So, when they announced a new handheld vacuum, I was excited to get my hands on it. The Dyson Car+Boat is a rare release from a brand that typically only makes full-sized vacuum cleaners, and I was intrigued to see whether Dyson's signature suction power translates to a small device.

Find out how well the Dyson Car+Boat performed in my tests at our dedicated center, a local cat and dog shelter, and my own home – to find out if it's one of the best Dyson vacuums worth buying.

Dyson Car+Boat: Specifications

The one-minute verdict

The Dyson Car+Boat is a powerful handheld vacuum that can remove dust, dirt, hair and pretty much any mess from any surface. Its motorized attachment is great for pulling hairs from furniture, even if it occasionally misses a few.

Its dustbin is bigger than some of Dyson's full-sized cordless models, and you can clean every component including the filter, avoiding replacement costs down the line.

It's a great choice for vacuuming furniture, cleaning up when crumbs and pet hair clumps start appearing, and giving your car the deep clean it deserves.

But even with this stand-out cleaning power, it's around twice the price compared to other handheld vacuums that largely achieve similar results. If you're keen to find the best of the best, then this is the handheld vacuum to go for, but if not, I'd save the money and shop the alternatives.

Dyson Car+Boat: Setup

The first thing I noticed when unboxing the Dyson Car+Boat is the large 'Dyson V8' graphic printed onto the box. After digging deeper, I learned that the Car+Boat is essentially a repurposed Dyson V8, which we've reviewed.

I was initially skeptical about what seemed like a lazy release from one of our favorite brands, but as it's sold for around $100 less than the V8, the Car+Boat is still a great option if you only need one of the best handheld vacuums.

It took around three hours to fully charge the Car+Boat, then no other setup was required.

Dyson Car+Boat: Design and features

The Dyson Car+Boat has the features of any classic Dyson. There's a toggle to switch between normal and max suction modes, the dustbin empties by pulling the latch, and you swap out attachments by slotting them in and out of the vacuum unit.

As it's a handheld vacuum, there isn't a great deal to learn. It's powered via a trigger, which users of the Dyson V15 Detect found to be a bit cumbersome in long cleaning sessions. But as this is a handheld vacuum, the trigger is perfect to save battery life between those quick bursts of cleaning.

The mini motorized tool is the star of the show, with anti-tangle brushes to vacuum hair without the frustrating task of cutting it out afterwards (it's one of the best vacuum attachments for pet hair for a reason).

I also tested the vacuum's airflow using an anemometer, and the Car+Boat can generate 7.8mph of airflow in standard mode and 11.6mph in max mode. That's almost as high as some full-sized best cordless vacuums, which can generate around 13mph of airflow on average.

What is the Dyson Car+Boat like to use?

The Car+Boat might be my favourite handheld vacuum I've tested. It takes no time at all to figure out everything that it does and how to effectively use it to clean furniture, vacuum pet hair, or use it as one of the best car vacuums.

At just over four pounds, it's a little heavier than other handheld vacuums (our current best-on-test, the Black+Decker dustbuster furbuster, weighs just two pounds). But it's still light enough that most people will be able to hold it comfortably.

I tested the Car+Boat's noise levels using the DecibelX app and, depending on suction mode, it ranges from 58 to 70 decibels – a little quieter than a full-sized Dyson like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

The mini motorized tool is flexible and adjusts to the angle you're vacuuming. I found this to be a huge help when vacuuming sofas and upholstery as it suctions itself to the furniture's cushions and edges.

Dyson Car+Boat: Flour and sugar test

I tested the Dyson Car+Boat using a quarter cup of flour and sugar on linoleum, hardwood and carpet in our dedicated test center. This is a great visual test to see what the vacuum leaves behind, while the flour and sugar also act as proxies for dust and dead skin.

On hardwood, the Car+Boat left no flour or sugar behind after a single forward and backward pass. Even some full-sized cordless vacuums can't handle that. This could be one of the best vacuums for hardwood floors if you're looking for a handheld vacuum.

On carpet, it struggled on standard mode, but on max mode it cleared it all in one forward and backward pass. Impressive.

Dyson Car+Boat: Pantry test

I tested the Dyson Car+Boat using a quarter cup of cereal and lentils on linoleum, hardwood and carpet in our dedicated test center. This test demonstrates how well a vacuum can handle larger debris of varying consistencies, as lentils can easily bounce around, while cereal pieces can be crushed down and fling across the floor.

Using the motorized attachment on hard floors, the Car+Boat flung lentils and cereal around the room because of its spinning brushroll. I then switched to the crevice tool and it sucked them all up without any issues.

Pieces were also thrown around when vacuuming carpet but not quite as far. I didn't need to switch to the crevice tool, and if I did, it wouldn't really clean the carpet. So instead I switched to max mode which cleared the rest of the debris. When on this high suction mode, it's one of the best vacuums for carpet from the handheld models I've tested.

Dyson Car+Boat: Pet hair

I tested the Dyson Car+Boat in a local pet shelter, Bristol ARC, to see how well the handheld vacuum can handle pet hair and lots of mess.

It was by no means as powerful as the best vacuums for pet hair, but for a handheld model, it did a great job at pulling stubborn fur from carpet and furniture.

On one of the trickiest tests at the pet shelter, a soft padded chair, it vacuumed all the long hairs but couldn’t vacuum the stubborn smaller ones, even on max mode and after many repeated passes.

Dyson Car+Boat: Attachments

All three attachments – the crevice tool, combination brush and mini motorized brush – work exactly as you'd hope. As you can see above, the vacuum's suction is strong enough that you can clear mess from tight corners using the crevice tool.

The dusting brush is great for cleaning furniture, and I've used the mini motorized brush to vacuum my mattress. It might not be the most exhaustive set of attachments but this is really all you need to tackle cleaning tasks around the house.

Dyson Car+Boat: Cleaning & maintenance

The first time I opened the dustbin, I was worried I was breaking something. It isn't as fluid as other Dyson vacuums I've tested, and it sounds almost like something is snapping. But over time, the mechanism has become smoother, making it easier to avoid overfilling the vacuum.

All the parts are removable and can be thoroughly cleaned. You can even clean the Dyson vacuum filter yourself to avoid having to spend on replacement filters every few months.

How does the Dyson Car+Boat compare?

Now, while the Dyson Car+Boat is a powerful and straightforward handheld vacuum, it's a lot more expensive than others. The Black+Decker dustbuster furbuster is our favorite handheld vacuum so far, and it costs just $79.99 at Amazon. It also has two suction modes, a motorized brush, a crevice tool – plus it comes with a handy charging dock. It just isn't quite as powerful as the Car+Boat.

Any cordless vacuum can be turned into a handheld vacuum by detaching the wand. As this is essentially a repurposed V8, you could spend a little extra for the real thing. The Dyson V8 costs $349.99, just $65 more than the Car+Boat, and you can use it as a whole-home vacuum cleaner. I recently wrote about why the Dyson V8 is still worth it in 2025.

Should you buy the Dyson Car+Boat?

The Dyson Car+Boat is an excellent handheld vacuum, certainly one of the best we've tested. Its strong suction and well-designed attachments make cleaning almost effortless, and being able to clean every part means it can last for years.

But there's no ignoring the cost. This is 2-3 times as expensive as most handheld vacuums which largely do the same thing. So, if you want the best suction power, choose the Car+Boat. If not, there are plenty other handheld vacuums to choose from.

How we test vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we have a dedicated and thorough procedure of how we test vacuums. At our test center, we test various substances (outlined above) on three floor types (carpet, wood, linoleum) to recreate real-life circumstances.

I tested the Dyson Car+Boat over two weeks in our test center, a local pet shelter, and my own home.

Next, browse through our tested guides of the best lightweight vacuums and the best vacuum-mop combos for ultimate home cleaning.

Dyson have just unveiled the PencilVac – a vacuum cleaner with a diameter of only 38mm, the slimmest ever made. That's just 0.04 inches wide, about the same as a watch face.

Packed with innovations like four conical rollers, real-time app connectivity, and a new dust compression system, it's a striking departure from Dyson’s traditional cyclone technology.

But as a home tech editor who's spent more than 200 hours testing vacuums, I'm intrigued but sceptical. With it being such a small appliance, how well can it clean, and could this really be one of the best Dyson vacuums?

What can the Dyson PencilVac do?

The PencilVac is Dyson’s latest attempt to revolutionize the world of the best cordless vacuums. Designed exclusively for hard floors, it introduces the new ‘Fluffycones’ floorhead: four conical rollers that spin in opposing, inward directions to pull in dust, dirt and hair. It doesn't matter if you're facing forward or backward, as the cones roll all debris into the center, and you can rotate it fully to 360 degrees.

Dyson's cyclone engineering is key to the brand's titan reputation for excellent floor cleaning, so without it, I am left wondering how well this slimline vacuum can power through debris on floors.

However, much like our favorite vacuum the Dyson V15 Detect, the PencilVac has a green light that reveals microscopic dust that the naked eye can't see, but this time it's used in both directions.

It even features app-connectivity to monitor battery and filter performance – a first for Dyson cordless vacuums, and one that will avoid unnecessary Dyson vacuum faults down the line.

To make it work as one of the best vacuums for pet hair, whenever these cones wrap with hair, they roll the hair to the edge until it falls off the brushroll in a clump. Then, you vacuum the clump easily in one swoop.

I own two Dysons and they've never wrapped with hair before. My guess is that this new design is to compensate for the smaller motor that may be unable to vacuum pet hair as effectively.

Also, as someone who regularly tests vacuum cleaners at a local pet shelter, I can’t help but wonder what happens when the clump of hair being pushed aside is attached to mud or dirt. That sounds like a mess you wouldn't want back on your floors after you've already cleaned, nor would you want it wrapping around the same rollers that are cleaning your home.

That being said, this can only work because the rollers are exposed at the edges, meaning the PencilVac might just have the best edge cleaning we've seen in a long time. The soft rollers are perfect for safely and effectively cleaning mess from any surface, no matter how delicate. It's why Dyson vacuums consistently top our list of the best vacuums for hardwood floors.

Dyson claims that these soft, opposing rollers create the feeling of it floating across hard floors. While I haven't had a chance to try the PencilVac yet, I can say that's likely to be true, as many of the best vacuum-mop combos, including Dyson's WashG1, do exactly that. I'm excited to get my hands on it to find out.

But despite the smart tech and elegant engineering, the PencilVac doesn’t clean carpets at all, only hard floors. This makes it a less versatile household cleaning staple and more of a niche device ideal for homes without carpets and limited space.

It also only offers 55 air watts of suction. At 55 air watts, the PencilVac is significantly less powerful than most other Dyson models, which typically reach 100–240AW (more on what this means in my vacuum jargon buster).

Dyson argues this is a purposeful shift – engineering for edge-to-edge efficiency on hard floors rather than brute force, but I wonder if the money could be better spent on a different Dyson model like the Dyson V8 – which boasts 115 air watts even though it's almost a decade old.

How is the Dyson PencilVac so slim?

To achieve the PencilVac’s ultra-slim 38mm diameter, Dyson have rethought almost every part of the vacuum. It’s powered by the company’s smallest and fastest motor yet – the Hyperdymium 140k – which spins at up to 140,000RPM. This 28mm motor had to be miniaturized down to the micron level, and is reportedly 34% more power-dense than its predecessor.

In place of Dyson’s iconic cyclone technology, which you can find in every classic Dyson from the Dyson V8 to the Dyson Gen5detect, the PencilVac uses a new two-stage linear dust separation system. In true Dyson fashion, its filtration exceeds HEPA vacuum filter standards with a 99.99% efficiency rate for particles as small as 0.3 microns.

As dust enters the vacuum the air is compressed similar to the Gtech AirRAM 3, maximizing bin capacity while claiming to prevent filter clogs, so you might not have to clean your Dyson filter quite as often. But it’s worth noting the total bin volume is just 0.08 liters. For context, many cordless sticks offer two to four times that.

This design philosophy – chasing form at the expense of the company’s usual cyclone-and-suction legacy – prompts the question: is this innovation for the sake of innovation? Or could the PencilVac usher in a new class of lighter, more focused tools for modern homes?

The Dyson PencilVac will be available in the US and UK in 2026. Pricing information has not been released.

What to shop

In the meantime, here are three of my favorite cordless Dysons with stronger suction power than the PencilVac:

Next, browse through our tried-and-tested picks of the best Dyson alternatives, for incredible cleaning power at lower prices.

Miele and Dyson are two of the most premium, high-end vacuum brands on the market. They're also both incredibly well established – Miele was founded all the way back in 1899, and Dyson, although only going since 1991, is now a global multi-tech company that has pioneered much of the best vacuum technology we see today.

As Homes & Gardens' home tech editor, my dedicated team of product testers and I have reviewed 71 of the world's best vacuum cleaners, including 13 from Dyson and 5 from Miele. That's almost the entire Dyson lineup and most of Miele's, including all of their latest and greatest releases.

To find out which vacuum brand is right for your needs, here, I compare the two in terms of vacuum models, filtration, performance, pet hair pickup, durability and value for money. I've had extensive hands-on experience with vacuums from both brands and understand the ins and outs of their offerings.

I compared Miele vs Dyson vacuums

Miele vs Dyson: Which has the better product range?

For the most part, comparing Miele and Dyson isn't about which brand has the 'better' product range, as they each offer something distinct that they have become experts in. The best Miele vacuums are canister vacuums, with only a small selection of cordless and robot vacuums, and the best Dyson vacuums are cordless vacuums, along with one canister vacuum, one robot vacuum and two upright vacuums.

Before getting into the rest of the comparisons, this could be an easy way to pick between the two. If you're looking for a corded canister vacuum, Miele's your one. If you're looking for a cordless or upright, then Dyson has more choice.

• Browse Miele's full vacuum range
• Browse Dyson's full vacuum range

Miele vs Dyson: Which cordless is best?

Winner: Dyson V15 Detect

For as long as I've been testing vacuum cleaners, Dyson have topped our list of the best cordless vacuums. They're known for being in a league of their own, and our tests have confirmed just how great they are. The best vacuum cleaner we've ever tested is the Dyson Gen5detect, but I actually recommend the Dyson V15 Detect as it's $200 cheaper and, although the Gen5detect is slightly better at cleaning, they both share the same features. There isn't enough of a difference to warrant that price increase, but if you can afford it, the Gen5detect is the best you'll get.

The Gen5detect and V15 Detect are part of Dyson's flagship range of vacuums, along with the smaller and lighter Dyson V12 Detect Slim. Put simply these are three of the best vacuums you'll ever use – I have a V12 and a V15 in my own home and I've never had a problem vacuuming everything in one pass, it doesn't struggle with pet hair at all, and the green laser reveals dust on the floor that I otherwise can't see.

But I recently tested Miele's best two cordless models, the Miele Triflex HX2 and the Miele Duoflex HX1, and was pleasantly surprised by how similarly they clean. The Duoflex HX1 actually gave one of the strongest cleaning performances in our tests, easily vacuuming fine powders from between the panels of wood floors which most vacuums struggle with.

The Miele Triflex HX2 is an incredible vacuum with a sleek, premium aesthetic, but it's a little too expensive considering its cons. It's heavier and less flexible than most cordless vacs, and it struggled a few times to vacuum as well as the Dysons would.

But they're priced similarly to the Dyson V15 Detect and Dyson V12 Detect Slim, and if you're spending that much money, I absolutely recommend the Dysons over the Mieles. Even though the Miele vacuums' drawbacks were only minor, there are practically no faults with the Dysons aside from how much they cost. Plus, Dyson's cordless vacuums come with particle detection and the unique green laser that improves how you clean.

More generally, Miele and Dyson both sit in the high end of the market, with their best-of-the-best cordless vacuums costing over $1,000. These are the Miele Triflex HX2 Pro and the Dyson Gen5outsize, the full package models of the Miele Triflex HX2 and Dyson Gen5detect. While these are the best performers, I don't recommend them due to the sheer price, as the improvements compared to the Miele Duoflex HX1 and the Dyson V15 Detect are minor considering the $100s more that they cost.

Miele vs Dyson: Which canister vacuum is best?

Winner: Miele Complete C3 and Miele Blizzard CX1

We're yet to get our hands on Dyson's only canister vacuum, the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead, but we've tested three of Miele's bests: the Miele Boost CX1, the Miele Blizzard CX1, and the Miele Complete C3.

On test, our best bagged canister vacuum is the Miele Complete C3 and our best bagless canister vacuum is the Miele Blizzard CX1. If you're after a canister vacuum, along with all the benefits you'll get from a canister vs upright vacuum, go for Miele. Not only are these vacuums tried-and-tested for decades, but there's so much more choice available.

What's great about Miele's canister range is the versatility. There are only five different models available (three bagged and two bagless), but they're packaged in so many different versions that you can easily find the right one to suit your home's needs.

For each vacuum, you can find versions designed specifically for cleaning hard floors or carpets, versions for pet owners, or the full package that has every vacuum attachment you could possibly need.

I'll update this page once we've reviewed the Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead, but in the meantime, it's worth noting that this Dyson canister vac (and almost any other Dyson vacuum) uses whole-machine filtration whereas Miele's do not.

The Dyson Big Ball Turbinehead is also just $350, which can only be said for Miele's most basic model the Miele Classic C1. All others cost anywhere between $400 and $1,700.

Miele vs Dyson: Which is better on pet hair?

Winner: Dyson V15 Detect, closely followed by Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog

The Dyson V15 Detect and most cordless Dyson vacuums come with a specialized floorhead called the Motorbar. It's a multi-surface floorhead but it works exceptionally well on carpets, and has incredible anti-tangle veins that are able to pull pet hair out of the most stubborn floors.

The best vacuum for pet hair that we've tested is the Dyson V15 Detect. This is partly thanks to the Motorbar floorhead but also thanks to the vacuum's incredible suction power. And actually, this pet hair performance is similar across many of Dyson's vacuums, so you could even opt for a more affordable model like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim and still stay on top of fur at home.

I've visited the Dyson labs in Malmesbury, UK, and saw the mounds and mounds of donated fur that Dyson use to test their vacuums with, so it's no surprise that they've figured out exactly what's necessary to vacuum pet hair the right way.

But although they're not quite up to Dyson's standards, Miele's canister vacs are still exceptional at dealing with pet hair. Almost all of their vacuums are available in a 'Cat & Dog' package that includes specialized cleaning tools for digging hair out of every surface.

I've tested a Cat & Dog model myself (the Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog) and found that the TurboTeQ floorhead that's included is an absolute powerhouse when picking up pet hair, even from carpets. I tested it in a local pet shelter and it pulled fur out of a high-friction floor mat better than almost all others I've tested.

The downside to Miele's Cat & Dog models however is the cost. Prices vary, but typically you're looking at spending at least $1,000. The Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog, which we've tested and loved its performance on pet hair, costs more than $1,200 at full price.

The Dyson V15 Detect however is only $750 at full price, often discounted to around $450-650.

Miele vs Dyson: Which has the better filtration?

Winner: Dyson, followed by Miele's vacuum bags

Generally, Dyson vacuums have tighter filtration. They use whole-machine HEPA filtration with layers throughout the appliance to trap particles at different stages.

Miele doesn't use whole-machine filtration in their vacuums, and many of their filters aren't even HEPA-certified. A HEPA filter is essential for allergy sufferers as it must meet official standards certifying that it capture 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, which covers many of the pollutants that trigger allergies like dust, pollen and dander.

HEPA filters are available in every Miele vacuum but they aren't included with every vacuum. They must either be bought separately or included as part of one of the more expensive packages.

But Miele's bagged canister vacuums provide extra filtration. The vacuums still use filters (that are occasionally HEPA), then the bags themselves act as another filter, trapping everything inside and being disposed of when full without you having to come into contact with what's inside.

Miele vs Dyson: Which vacuums are more durable?

Winner: Miele

This is perhaps Miele's biggest win. Miele appliances are famously known for their durability, and people have used their vacuums for longer than 10 years at a time with just a little maintenance and regular vacuum cleaning to keep it working. Stumble upon any online vacuum forum and you'll see users discussing the decade(s) that they've owned a Miele vacuum for and how well it still performs.

Our Head of Solved Punteha van Terheyden can attest to this, owning two separate Miele vacuums for eight years and four years respectively, without an issue ever arising in either.

Dyson vacuums are also known to last for years, but not to the same extent as Miele. Plus, cordless vacuums are generally less durable because of all the interchanging parts.

Miele vs Dyson: Which vacuums are better value?

Winner: Dyson

I never thought I'd say that the famously expensive Dyson vacuums offer better value-for-money than another brand. But compared with Miele, with vacuums costing upwards of $1,700, Dyson is the winner here.

Put simply, the Dyson Gen5detect is the best vacuum we've ever tested (better than any Miele vacuum), and it costs $950 at full price. Miele's best vacuums cost that much as a bare minimum.

A counter-argument is to consider how long you'll likely own a Miele vacuum for. You might have to replace a Dyson vacuum within 5-10 years, but a Miele will far outlive that, meaning it'll be a long time until you have to spend on the next one.

I also appreciate that Miele's most expensive vacuums are well-suited to professional cleaners who vacuum large, busy and messy areas on a frequent basis, and need something rugged to keep up with it. But this level of durability isn't required for the average consumer and homeowner, who would be better off investing in a Dyson vacuum that can clean common home messes flawlessly (and take up less space when not in use).

Still looking too expensive? Consider one of the best Dyson alternatives for similar cleaning power for a fraction of the cost.

Dyson are no strangers to airflow. The market-leading brand is famously known for producing some of the best vacuum cleaners, as well as hair care products and commercial hand dryers that all surround their understanding of air.

So, it makes sense that they have a strong footing in the world of the best air purifiers. Their range includes air purifiers with other functions, like purified cooling or heating. 

Here, I've tested the Dyson TP09 - a purifying tower fan that is said to provide full room coverage, remove 99.95% of pollutants from the air, and destroy formaldehyde. Read on to see how well it performed in my weeks of testing it.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Specifications

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Unboxing & setup

The TP09 arrived in classic Dyson packaging, with a visual of the product's design on the outside. Inside the box, the fan and the two filters were each packaged in their own plastic.

Little setup is needed; following the instructions stuck to the fan, I removed the 'shrouds' (the panels that cover the filter) to secure the filters inside. Then, the TP09 is ready to turn on and you can control it using either of the remote controls.

If you want a bit more information, you can connect the purifier fan to your smartphone using the MyDyson app. All you have to do is pair with the device by turning it on and selecting it from the app, then connecting to your home's wi-fi router. You'll then see information and live updates on your room's air quality, and you can even set your location to compare your home with the air quality outside.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Design & features

The Dyson TP09 is designed differently from how you'd typically expect a tower fan to look. Most of the fan's area is empty space, and the fan itself is an almost oval-shaped ring. I'm curious whether this design helps to promote better circulation or not, but it's thoughtful that Dyson has designed it to be a lot more stylish than most other purifiers and tower fans out there. 

A key advantage of Dyson's purifying fans is the two-in-one function. It's a fan that blows purified air while removing up to 99.95% of pollutants and allergens from the room. The HEPA filter helps to trap super-fine particles down to PM2.5 (2.5 micrometers or less in diameter). The fan also aids the purification process by circulating air around the room, collecting further away particles while moving clean air toward you.

At first I was critical of an air purifier that will only be useful in the summer, but the TP09 has a backward airflow mode to avoid exactly that. This mode sucks air from where the fan would usually project from, then releases it behind the fan and diffuses it into the air.

The speed settings (1-10 or auto) and 5 oscillation angles (0°, 45°, 90°, 180°, 350°) can be controlled using the remote, as well as switching between fan and backward airflow or selecting sleep mode. There's also an info button that'll change the LCD display on the purifier, switching between screens like air quality over time, particle counts, temperature and filter health.

The price might be off-putting, but this may be explained by how comprehensively the TP09 tracks air quality. This is never more evident than on the MyDyson app, where you can see how the air quality, temperature, humidity, and individual particle counts have changed over time. It even stores a week's worth of data at a time. 

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Performance

After using the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 for over a month, I can confidently say that it does a much better job at purifying than it does at cooling. Because the fan circulates air, it's great at collecting pollutants from the corners of the room, and can improve the air quality pretty quickly. 

After leaving my windows open a little too long, I turned the purifier on to find the air quality was the worst I'd ever seen. It managed to get it back to a comfortable green in less than 40 minutes, and I could notice the difference in my bedroom's air.

But where the TP09 falls short is in its ability to cool you effectively. Tower fans are popular for a reason: they provide a strong airflow, but quietly, so that they don't distract you. The Dyson purifying fan only provides effective cooling at a high speed (6 or higher). At these speeds the fan becomes quite loud - I imagine because it's simultaneously purifying the air while blowing it over you. This can be somewhat distracting when watching TV or trying to sleep, and it makes me wonder how much power is being used if it makes that much noise at relatively low airflow.

That being said, having 5 different oscillation options is a blessing. 45° is the perfect angle to keep the fan exclusively covering my double bed, and 350° is ideal for when you need to purify the whole room quickly.

I'm personally a huge fan of the app. The information is clear, and you can keep it as general or granular as you want. I particularly like how Dyson tapped into the data from your local area so you can compare it with the air quality outside. You can also do everything the remote control can (good news for anyone who can never find their remotes). 

But to be completely honest, much of this data isn't essential. Sure, it's interesting to see how the number of PM2.5 particles has changed over the course of a few hours or days and to see how exactly different activities affect your home's air quality. But it isn't information that brings about any action; it's just enlightening to see. If this is one of the reasons why the TP09 costs so much, I'd say it isn't worth it.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Cleaning & maintenance

The purifier fan will very helpfully let you know when it's time to change your filters. You can even view your filters' health at any time using either the remote control or the app, so it doesn't have to be a surprise when it's time to replace. 

Removing and replacing the filters is simple. All you have to do is remove the side panels (or 'shrouds'), remove the filters, and slot new ones in. In the meantime, you can even give the filters a shake for gentle cleaning.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Price

The Dyson TP09 retails for $749.99 at Dyson but is often on offer for around $600. You can also find it for $650 at Walmart, $661 at Amazon, or $750 at QVC and Best Buy.

In the UK, the TP09 purifier fan is available for £549.99 at Dyson, John Lewis and Marks Electrical.

Considering the cheapest air purifiers sell for around $100, with the more feature-packed options starting at around $200-300, the TP09 is not cheap. The price tag does, to an extent, reflect the amount of data that's being captured and the dual 'fan and air purifier' function. But realistically, it's an expensive appliance with the same core functions as many others that cost half as much.

How does the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 compare?

The TP09 is slightly more expensive than other models in Dyson's range of purifiers. The Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10 is available for $429.99 while the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07 costs $649.99. Neither of these alternatives can destroy formaldehyde, but otherwise have similar features. The biggest and most powerful option, the Dyson Big+Quiet, goes for $999.99.

But fan/air purifier combos aren't exclusive to Dyson. Dreo's Air Purifier Tower Fan sells for $249.99 - much more reasonably priced than Dyson's offerings considering the core functions are largely the same.

If you're looking for a fan, I found that the Levoit Classic 36-Inch Tower Fan did a much better job at cooling me, and stayed quiet up until the super-high fan speeds. 

Pairing a reliable tower fan with an air purifier could potentially be a better (and more cost-effective) approach. The Shark NeverChange Air Purifier MAX has large coverage (1,400 square feet!) and an anti-odor cartridge, that the Dyson TP09 doesn't have, and a fan could help with circulation in the same way. It'd also give you the option of turning on the fan or purifier by themselves without always having both at once.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: Verdict

There's no doubt that the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 is an impressive appliance. It circulates purified air around the room, capturing pollutants and allergens while cooling you when needed. The oscillation options are great, and the sleep mode and backward airflow come in handy. The data tracking is comprehensive, with an app that gives you full access to the past week of air quality, temperature and humidity info. 

But this level of data tracking isn't necessarily essential. Other dual-function air purifier fans can clean and cool your room in a similar way without you ever needing to know this information and without the $600+ investment that the Dyson TP09. 

If you can afford it, it's a stylish and impressive way to purify your space while gently cooling you, but if you don't need the fancy features, then other fans and air purifiers might be a better choice.

At Homes & Gardens, we're very familiar with Dyson's offerings. They're often topping our vacuum guides thanks to their unrivaled suction power, cleaning performance, and smart features – but this comes at a price that's often out-of-reach.

The V12 Detect Slim is the lightest, smallest and cheapest model in Dyson's range of 'Detect' vacuums. This means it has the same core features as the Dyson V15 Detect and the Dyson Gen5detect (the best vacuums we've ever tested) but at a more affordable price point due to the sacrifice in size and battery life.

As H&G's home tech editor, I'm all over exactly what makes a vacuum cleaner good, and I understand what's important compared to many brands' bold marketing claims. I've tested The V12 Detect Slim both at home and in our test center, to find out how well it performs compared to the best cordless vacuums, and the best Dyson vacuums.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Specifications

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Unboxing & setup

The V12 Detect Slim arrived in a long cardboard box, the outside of which features a classic Dyson illustration of the vacuum cleaner's engineered design.

All the parts and vacuum attachments were packaged into cardboard sections and there was a welcomed lack of any soft plastic packaging. As expected from Dyson, the parts are all easy to put together once unpacked. You can start vacuuming straight away, but it's recommended to charge the battery up to 100% first. Mine arrived with around 45% and it took a while, perhaps over an hour, to fully charge. The screen displays the battery level while charging in intervals of 5%.

The V12 Detect Slim comes with a wall-mounted docking station. I'm renting, so there's no chance of me being able to use it, but it seems simple enough to set up with only two parts to assemble to the wall. If using it, you're able to charge your vacuum cleaner while hanging the attachments in the same place.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Design & features

Like the V15 Detect and the Gen5detect, the V12 Detect Slim illuminates hidden dust, counts the number of picked-up particles, and adapts suction power based on dust volume.

Hidden dust is illuminated with a precise green light on the 'Fluffy Optic' cleaner head. This is the head designed for vacuuming hard floors (as the light wouldn't have much use on carpets or rugs), and it genuinely does reveal particles on the floor that you wouldn't normally see. It's almost alarming how much lives down there without us realizing it.

The V12 Detect Slim also detects exactly how many particles are picked up, narrowed down to four different particle sizes. Again, it's almost unsettling how many millions (and millions) of particles live in spaces on the floor that are seemingly empty of any dust. It's an intense reminder of all the microscopic things, like dust mites, that we're unable to see but are very much present.

You can switch between eco, auto, and boost modes. Eco stays on a consistent low power to preserve battery life, while boost uses the most powerful suction possible for the deepest clean. Auto will detect what suction power is necessary based on the dust volume on the floor: it will boost suction when tackling a dust-heavy area or vacuuming carpet, and will reduce it when the floor isn't that dirty.

A small (but helpful) touch that separates the V12 from the V15 is the single power button. You don't have to hold a trigger down to use it, lessening the strain on your hands while cleaning. It's also designed so that you can use the control button (to switch between eco/auto/boost mode) with the same hand that's vacuuming.

There's also a wand clip that can hold the crevice and combination tool to free up your hands or pockets while you're going around the house. This is handy, sure, but it doesn't allow you to clip on the brush heads for hard and soft floors, so you'll still need to have them on you if switching between floor types.

What is the Dyson V12 Detect Slim like to use?

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim has exceptional cleaning power. Considering it's the lightest and weakest in Dyson's detect range, the affordable vacuum still holds up well.

I've been testing the V12 Detect Slim at the same time as testing four other vacuums from brands like Shark, Tineco, Proscenic, and Henry (available at Amazon). Without a doubt, the V12 surpassed them all in terms of suction power and usability, and was often the vacuum I'd rely on when the others couldn't clean everything up. This is what we've come to expect from Dyson's top-of-the-line vacuums like the V15 and the Gen5detect, so it's nice to see that the most affordable Detect option is still so powerful.

It's incredibly lightweight. It doesn't take much effort to aim it above your head, even with the heavier attachments on. The detection is impressively quick, adjusting power in what seems like less than a second to make sure the floor's getting the appropriate clean.

It's great to have a wide array of attachments but, in all honesty, I rarely need to use the crevice or combination tools. The main brush heads do a good job of going to the floor edges, right up to the walls, and I've even used the 'Motorbar' cleaner head for my mattress. It's an excellent multi-surface vacuum.

The main downside I've noticed is the battery life. Dyson promises a runtime of up to 60 minutes, but this is when staying in eco mode and using the non-motorized attachments. I'm sure, if using the V12 regularly, the battery life might be sufficient. But I used it for a deep clean (getting into every crevice possible), and it barely made it around half the house before it needed charging. On auto mode it'll get around 30-45 mins depending on your home's cleanliness, so the V12 Detect Slim may be better suited to people who clean regularly or have another vacuum.

It's relatively common in cordless vacuum cleaners these days, but the Dyson V12 Detect Slim's maneuverability is something I noticed early on. You can get it pretty much flat to easily reach under furniture, and it's super flexible when turning for whenever you've missed a spot.

After using the vacuum for almost a year, and after testing 18 vacuums from other brands, I can confirm that it's rare to find a vacuum as flexible as this. It's honestly so easy to reach under furniture.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Flour & sugar test

Flour and sugar are good proxies for dust and dead skin while being common messes we'd find on our floors. Flour is also an excellent visual test, as we can spot when it's left on the floor or stuck in any of the vacuum's parts.

As always, check out my vacuum jargon buster to find out what any unfamiliar terms mean.

Hard floors (wood & linoleum)
I used the Fluffy Optic cleaner head for hard floors. Impressively, on auto mode the Dyson V12 Detect Slim picked up pretty much everything in one run. I didn't even need to pull the vacuum back towards me, but almost every bit of flour and sugar had been sucked off the floor, even in the cracks between the wood panels. On eco mode, most of it was picked up in one run, but tiny amounts were left in between the cracks.

When tackling the edges, most of the flour was picked up, but some remained right at the edge. Everything was able to be cleared away eventually without the need of a crevice tool. A little bit of remaining dust is to be expected when tackling the part of the floor that touches the wall, so it's impressive that the V12 was able to clean up everything after a few runs and no special attachments.

Carpets
I used the Motorbar cleaner head for carpets. As shown in the image, the V12 had no problem at all picking up every bit of flour and sugar from the carpet in one run. Even on eco mode, it was able to clean almost everything, except for the smallest bits left deep in the carpet fibers.

It took a while to get the last of the flour from right at the edges. After switching to boost mode and going back and forth a few times, the flour and sugar was brushed loose and eventually sucked up.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Pantry test

Cereal and red lentils are strong examples of the type of debris we'll find on our floors. Cereal (we use off-brand Cheerio's) emulates many types of large debris, while lentils are smaller and have a texture that makes them stick to hard floors more easily.

Hard floors (wood & linoleum)
As expected, the V12 easily sucked up everything from the hard floors, with no trace left behind. Some cereal was crushed by the brushroll and some was sucked up whole, but it was cleaned from the floor either way.

At the edges, it didn't collect everything on the first go as it started condensing the cereal and slowly crushing them up. It only took a couple more runs to clear the cereal away, but some lentils remained right in the cracks against the wall. Boost mode then sucked the remaining lentils away without the need of a crevice tool.

Carpets
Back on the Motorbar cleaner head, the V12 sucked up all lentils easily. Cereal was pushed forwards if I moved the vacuum slowly, but it easily sucked it up when moving quickly (potentially because they were easier to crush down). It took a few runs to clear all the debris from the carpet edges, but it got there easily in the end without the crevice tool.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Hair test

To simulate pet hair, we chop up hair extensions and spread them across wood, linoleum and carpet floors. With carpet, we try to push them as deeply into the fibers as possible, to recreate the conditions of homes with pets.

Hard floors (wood & linoleum)
Using the Fluffy Optic cleaner head (the brushroll that's more dedicated for hard floors) the V12 struggled to pick up any of the hair. It sucked it in then threw it back, and after pulling the vacuum away (and turning it off), a load of hair fell out.

But after switching to the Motorbar cleaner head (the brushroll for carpets), it sucked the hair away as easily as I'd expected based off its previous performance. This brushroll has an anti-hair tangle design, so it's no surprise that this is the attachment that worked, but it is a little inconvenient that it isn't the attachment you're likely to be using on hard floors.

Carpets
On carpets, the V12 picked up all the hair on the first run. This is a huge factor when considering the best vacuums for pet hair, as a hassle-free vacuum that can easily pick up hair makes all the difference. The fact that the V12 is so light and flexible helps, too, as it can easily be brought out whenever hair needs to be picked up from the floor or from pet beds.

The V12 Detect Slim also has one of the best vacuum attachments for pet hair, Dyson's small hair screw tool that can pull hair directly from pet beds and furniture.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Cleaning & maintenance

One of the only downsides to the V12 is its small dustbin. This is the sacrifice made by choosing this smaller model, as the decrease in size and weight is noticeable on the dustbin.

It doesn't take long for it to fill up. But, when it's time to empty it, it's designed to be as quick and easy as you'd hope. There's a sliding latch that opens the end and pretty much all dust and debris falls out in the first drop.

For anything that's stuck in, you can slide the dustbin back and forth to dislodge anything, and to loosen any hair that has wrapped around the cyclone motor. I've done this many times now, and have never had a problem with completely emptying it.

After vacuuming a lot of hair, I noticed how clumps of it had started to seep out the back of the dustbin, but it was easy to pull it out to remove it all.

Cleaning a vacuum cleaner is essential maintenance and will make sure it performs at its best for years to come. I've deep cleaned the entire V12 after a sticky makeup accident before, and it was intuitively easy to take apart. All non-electrical parts are washable including cleaning the filter, then all it takes is letting them air dry before reassembling.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: Price & availability

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim retails for $649.99 at Dyson and retailers like Amazon, QVC, Walmart, Target and Best Buy. It's often on offer and the lowest price I've seen so far is $399.99 during 2024's Black Friday.

It seems as if there have been a few different versions (like the Plus or the Absolute) with different sets of attachments, but it looks like Dyson has decided to now include all the attachments and sell the set as just the V12 Detect Slim.

In the UK, the V12 Detect Slim sells for £499.99 at Dyson, £539 at Amazon or for £549.99 at John Lewis.

How does the Dyson V12 Detect Slim compare?

As I've mentioned, the Dyson V12 Detect is the bottom-of-the-line model in Dyson's 'Detect' range that includes the V15 Detect and the Gen5detect. In the reviews of both of these, we found that they're the two best vacuum cleaners we've ever tested, but this comes with a high price point. The V15 Detect retails for $750 (but is often discounted) at Dyson, Amazon and QVC. The Gen5detect retails for $949.99 at Dyson – but it's the best vacuum cleaner our testers have ever used.

In comparison, The V12 Detect Slim carries a lot of the same detection features and cleaning capabilities but is smaller and lighter. This means it comes with a smaller dustbin (which is certainly noticeable) and a shorter battery life, but it still does an excellent job at cleaning for its lower price.

Detection is a feature that other brands have attempted to recreate, but have failed to achieve the same level as even Dyson's entry-level model into their detect tech. I tested the V12 Detect Slim alongside the Shark Detect Pro Cordless, the Henry Quick (Amazon), and the Tineco Pure One Station PET – and The V12 Detect Slim surpassed all of them in terms of how well it cleaned and how accurately the dust detection worked.

Should you buy the Dyson V12 Detect Slim?

It's still a bit pricier than other vacuums on the market, but Dyson's slimmer and more affordable version of the V15 Detect and Gen5detect is a strong contender for one of the best cordless vacuums.

Although it's considered the entry-level of this Dyson range, it cleans exceptionally better than other brands' vacuums that have similar features, and I found virtually no problems with it other than a small dustbin and short battery life. It can handle powder, small debris, large debris and hair with impressive ease. It just might not be the best for large households.

8 months on: I've tested 18 vacuums since reviewing the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, and it's still the only one I continue to use in my own home. Its performance when cleaning literally any type of mess is basically flawless and I find it easy to grab such a lightweight vacuum whenever I want to quickly clean up a small mess.

After a housemate accidentally vacuumed up makeup, I had to take the V12 apart completely to clean each component. This was easy to do so and it was as good as new afterwards.

How we test vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we have a dedicated and thorough procedure of how we test vacuums. At our test center, we test various substances on three floor types (carpet, wood, linoleum) to recreate real-life circumstances.

Outside of this rigorous testing, I've been using the V12 Detect Slim in my home as the primary vacuum for almost a year.

If after reading this the Dyson price tag is still too much, feel free to consider any of the best Dyson alternatives, for similar cleaning power at a fraction of the price.

The WashG1 is Dyson's first dedicated wet floor cleaner. It's becoming increasingly common for today's homes to have predominantly hard floors, and this is Dyson's entry into the hard floor cleaning world.

The WashG1 can clean wet and dry messes while separating them at the source. A spilled bowl of cereal, for example, can be cleaned by going over it with the WashG1, and the milk will be sucked into a dirty water tank while the cereal will empty into the debris tray.

At the same time, the brush rollers wash the floor with clean water and wipe it away so that it's dry a few moments later without leaving inconsistent streaks.

Charlie Park, VP of Dyson Home Engineering, emphasizes the importance of this: 'Most of us vacuum our homes regularly. But whilst wet cleaning is considered a necessary chore globally, many of us don’t know why we do it beyond the vague notion of hygiene. In fact, cleaning with water is essential to rehydrate and remove tough, dried-on stains.'

I was able to get hands on with the Dyson WashG1 at their test labs in Malmesbury, UK. After revealing the new floor cleaner, with the surprising announcement that it doesn't rely on suction (famously unlike all of Dyson's best vacuum cleaners), we were able to try it out for ourselves and speak with the engineers who worked on it.

Ketan Patel, Senior Dyson Floorcare Engineer, spoke about what the aim is with the Wash G1, and what separates it from what Dyson has done before:

'We spent time trying to understand what people's homes have. We've done testing, not just on things you find in your pantry cupboard like sugar, salt, coffee, wet stuff, and juices. But also things you might find in your bathrooms and bedrooms, like makeup, lip gloss, hand sanitizer, and detergents. We want the machine to handle those spillages, too.'

The Dyson Wash G1 will be available later this year for £599 / $699 at Dyson UK and Dyson US. Read on to find out exactly what it does and how well it can clean your hard floors.

What does the Dyson WashG1 do?

The Dyson WashG1 washes hard floors while sucking up wet messes and dry debris. Surprisingly from Dyson, it isn't a vacuum cleaner as it doesn't rely on suction. Instead, it uses two opposing microfiber rollers, each with its own motor, that spin at 250RPM.

As the rollers spin, they pick up solid debris and liquids - and separate them in the process. Liquids then feed into the dirty water tank while solids go into the debris tray, making it easier to dispose of after cleaning.

As well as a dirty water tank, the WashG1 also has a clean water tank, that uses a pulse modulated hydration pump to deliver water to the rollers via 26 hydration points. So on top of pulling up messes and debris, it washes the floor in the process. I chatted to the engineers while they were showing us the WashG1, and they confirmed that we're able to use a mild cleaning solution in the clean water tank if we wish but that it isn't necessary for it to be able to clean floors effectively.

It's this floor-washing feature that makes the WashG1 capable of cleaning away dried-on stains. Instead of suction, it utilizes hydration, agitation, and separation to deep clean whatever's on the floor. The Dyson engineers explained that, when designing the WashG1, they found that suction made it difficult to maintain - and resulted in some nasty, lingering smells. It also would have to use a motor, which would drive up both the weight and the cost of the cleaner.

It might not have Dyson's signature motor technology, but it does still have low, medium and high hydration modes to control your level of cleaning - similar to their cordless vacuums. Within these three modes, there are three additional sensitivity settings for fine-tuning, and there's a 'boost' mode that applies the maximum amount of hydration for the toughest stains. This is controlled using a control panel, showing the hydration level and the remaining runtime.

The WashG1 includes a station, and when docked, it will clean itself, saturating the rollers with clean water on the highest boost setting. It'll then flush the whole system to be ready for the next use.

What is the Dyson WashG1 like to use?

Straight away, I noticed how smooth it is. It glides across hard floors with an impressive lack of effort, and you quickly get a feel for how lightweight it is.

We threw all sorts on the floor (mustard, ketchup, tartare sauce, Cheerio's) and the WashG1 had no problem at all picking them up. I will say that the floor we were testing on was about as smooth and polished as you can get, and other homes are likely to have tile grout or wooden grooves where messes may not be cleaned as easily.

But this is where the microfiber rollers will likely come in handy. They're fluffy, and that level of thickness will lend itself well into getting into the various dips and grooves that certain hard floor types can have.

Being able to clearly see the clean and dirty water tanks shows exactly what's happening, too. As you run the WashG1 across a dirty mess, you can see a murky, brown liquid start to fill the dirty tank. Dyson's promise of separating solid and wet messes rings true: there were never any solid particles sucked into the dirty tank, all of them were emptied into the debris tray.

Then, emptying the WashG1 was as easy as I've come to expect from Dyson. Both the clean and dirty tanks can click away using a button, then you can just pour the dirty liquid down the sink. They have separate connectors, so there isn't any confusion about which tank goes on which side. The debris tray pulls out at the base and can be emptied into the bin.

My only concern with the WashG1 is that, on first impressions, it didn't appear to be the most durable. With the aim of keeping it lightweight, it's a predominantly plastic appliance, and I noticed that it makes a loud clicking noise every time you push it into the movement position, almost as if something is snapping. I don't doubt that Dyson has tested for durability, but I wondered how that might sound after owning the appliance for a few years. Perhaps I just felt it's a little too light from what I've expected from their appliances in the past. It's also worth noting that the rollers will need to be replaced every 6 months or so, so you can expect recurring costs once you buy one.

But all in, this is an impressive machine that will undoubtedly change the way we tackle hard floor cleaning. Having a lightweight, smooth, and easy-to-clean floor cleaner on hand will mean messes are cleaned up instantly, and you won't have to worry about having that inconsistent finish that mops always leave behind.

We're continuously impressed by the best Dyson vacuums, so we're excited for the WashG1 to be released to see how well it does in a home environment.

Buckingham Palace is an interior design wonderland. Filled with antique and historical artifacts and decor, the London property is the quintessential royal estate. 

We were intrigued to realize, then, that King Charles III is a fan of an ever-popular home accessory brand – yes, the King is a Dyson owner.

A recent image of the King sitting alongside British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt in the private audience room at Buckingham Palace features plenty of interesting details, from framed paintings to stone statues. But it's the Dyson hot + cool purifier that stands out, modernizing (and cleaning) the space. 

There are a lot of purifiers out there on the market, so why is this one fit for royalty?

'Dyson air purifiers and fans have always been impressive and challenging to defeat by competitor products, so it's not surprising you can spy one in the back of this image,' explains Top Ten Reviews editor Caroline Preece, who previously reviewed the royal-approved air purifier for H&G.

The pure + cool model is a workhorse, taking on the role of both an air conditioner and space heater, along with purifying the air. In a royal residence that sees many high profile guests coming and going, it's a no-brainer.

'The appliances offer a 3-in-1 service - they cool, heat, and purify your air all at once, and, in my experience, the air purification feature is always top-notch during allergy season and quickly gets rid of any unwanted pollutants that invade your space,' Preece explains. 'Perfect for the health-conscious among us.'

The best part? The temperature settings are adjustable, so the appliance can be used all year round (beyond the cold winter season). 

'The heating feature is customizable, so you can set the temperature precisely what you want, which helps save energy when it's chilly outside,' she says.

It' also can be controlled by app or voice, and contains powerful 'Air Multiplier' technology to purify and heat the entire room.

The royal-approved Dyson Pure Hot + Cool is available from the brand's website and retails for $749.99. We can also invest below.

The concept of combining a cordless vacuum with a mop is not new. However, these appliances are usually an electric mop that can also sometimes pick up small debris while washing your floors. The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is so much more.

The V15s Detect Submarine is Dyson’s first Wet & Dry cordless vacuum. It offers everything you’d expect from the standard Dyson V15 Detect but with the addition of a new wet roller head.

The original Dyson V15 Detect has been among the best cordless vacuums for some time. I was excited to get my hands on this revamped wet and dry model to see if the addition of a wet cleaning floorhead will revolutionize the way we clean our floors.

Product specifications

Who does it suit?

Anyone looking for an all-in-one floor cleaning solution that can still offer excellent vacuum performance in addition to washing floors.

It’s best suited to those with plenty of storage space, because you’ll need somewhere to store the three floorheads, plus the three smaller handheld tools.

The wet cleaning function is ideal for homes with lots of hard floors, especially very flat hard floors like LVT or wood. But it might struggle in very busy, messy households, since it works best for lighter wet cleans and doesn’t clean all the way to the edges of the room.

Unboxing and setting up

I generally find that Dyson packaging is plastic-free and easily recyclable. Every part of the packaging was either paper or cardboard, so full marks on that front.

There’s no assembly or setting up, unless you’re attaching the 'wall dok' – Dyson's spelling, not mine – to the wall, in which case there’s some minor DIY to tackle. The only thing I had to do was plug the charger cable into the battery and familiarize myself with all the attachments and accessories.

The V15s Detect Submarine comes with three floor tools. There’s the Fluffy Optic cleaner head with a laser to illuminate microscopic dust on hard floors. The Digital Motorbar cleaner head is the one you’ll need for carpet, but it can move between hard floor and carpet.

Lastly, but most importantly for this particular model, the Submarine wet roller head for wet cleaning on hard floors. The wet roller head is cleverly designed to house the microfiber roller head as well as both the clean water tank and the dirty water tank, so no water makes its way up the wand to the main part of the vacuum. All wet cleaning elements are contained within the floorhead.

For cleaning above floor level, the hair screw tool is perfect for pet beds and upholstery. The combination tool can tackle most other jobs and the crevice nozzle can reach into any awkward spots.

The controls are pretty self explanatory. As with all cordless Dysons before the Gen5Detect, the trigger on the handle has to be held down for power. The color LCD screen feeds back real time data on the particles removed, as well as battery percentage. The button on the screen allows you to cycle between the power levels: eco, auto, and boost.

Test 1: Wet cleaning

I couldn’t find any information about whether to use hot or cold water when filling the water tank, so I opted for cold to be on the safe side. It is plastic, so I didn’t want to risk damaging it by adding too-hot water.

You can add detergent into the water tank, as long as you pay attention to recommended dilution levels. However, I wanted to see how well it performed without the aid of any detergent.

Once switched on, the vacuum instantly recognised that the wet roller head was installed and displayed a water droplet symbol on the screen. Then, it took around 30 seconds for water to make its way through and start wetting the floor.

Due to the design of the flat roller, it didn’t manage to thoroughly clean my rustic, uneven slate kitchen floor. This didn’t surprise me, as it is a particularly uneven floor and no other electric floor washers I’ve reviewed have managed to reach into the deep undulations either. That said, it did cover about 90% of the floor. 

There were a few spills on the slate tiles, including a small dusting of rice flour and some dried on coffee drips. Both of these were swiftly removed. Although the flour in the grout lines remained. It can’t clean into deeper grout lines and I noticed this when cleaning the tiled floor in my bathroom too.

On my engineered wood floor in the dining room, it cleaned the wood without leaving it too wet. I noticed the water in the tank was all gone after 17 minutes. And subsequently read on the Dyson website that the tank provides enough water for about 16 minutes of mopping.

Given how much data the screen gives about the size of dust particles while vacuuming, I’d been expecting an alert or something on the screen to tell me when it was time to refill the water tank. But surprisingly there wasn’t one, instead, you have to keep an eye on the clear water tank and fill it up when you notice that it has run out.

On first impressions, the water tank looks tiny and there’s barely any space for dirty water. But despite the size, it lasted long enough for me to tackle my kitchen and dining room floors in one pass. Then on another occasion, there was enough capacity to clean two small bathrooms, as well as my living room floor.

It’s good to know that wet cleaning doesn’t drain the battery very fast. After 20 minutes of mopping, there was still 80% left on the battery, so there’s plenty of time to get round several rooms before it runs out of juice. It's very impressive by Dyson standards – older generations of Dyson cordless vacuums could only last 20 minutes in total.

On the whole, my floors were noticeably cleaner, and I didn't even use detergent. However, I’d say it’s at its best on flat surfaces such as LVT floors, wood floors, and vinyl or linoleum. It will work on tiled floors, but you’ll have to scrub the grout separately once in a while.

What's more, I found that it doesn’t clean all the way up to the baseboard. I noticed a thin dry line along the edge of the floor. It leaves just under half an inch all the way around the edge of the room that doesn’t get mopped.

My biggest criticism is that if you approach baseboards with the front edge of the floorhead, the exposed wet roller touches the baseboard. it can leave a dirty smear on the baseboard that you have to come back to with a cloth to clean off by hand. This was particularly stressful for me, as some of my walls don’t have baseboards, so it was leaving a muddy wet mark on the wall paintwork, which is far from ideal.

Test 2: Dry cleaning

As I’ve previously mentioned, we have a separate review that covers the Dyson V15 Detect and you can find further details there about its vacuuming modes. However, I also tried out the dry vacuuming on all my floors.

This is a powerful and capable vacuum that delivers a thorough clean on both carpet and hard floors. The 'Fluffy Optic' cleaner head is particularly effective at highlighting dust that can’t be seen with the naked eye on hard floors, though it works best in dim light.

The Digital Motorbar cleaner head was able to remove dust from deep down within the fibers of my carpets and rugs. I tended to use the auto mode, which detects dirt and increases vacuuming power as needed. It’s a good compromise between providing a thorough clean without draining the battery as fast as boost mode.

For me, there’s just the right selection of handheld tools. The hair screw tool made short work of cleaning my sofas, while the combination tool was great for collecting dust and cobwebs. In handheld mode, however, it feels bulky in confined spaces and heavy too, so you won’t want to use it like this for long periods.

That being said, as cordless vacuums go, it’s one of the best I’ve reviewed. It's only outperformed by the newly launched Dyson Gen5detect.

Cleaning and maintenance

Because all the dirty water is contained in a small section of the floorhead, there’s nothing cumbersome to clean. You can simply pop the floorhead in its accompanying tray, so that nothing spills out when you’re on your way to the sink. 

You just slide out the dirty water compartment, and then you can remove the roller. There were clumps of hair and some other debris like a small leaf, but I found that a quick rinse under the faucet was enough to clean everything, including the dirty water tank and the roller housing.

However, you should keep in mind that you can’t put the wet roller head back together and store it away until it is all dry, or it may start to smell.

The rest of the vacuum is similarly simple. the point-and-shoot style dirt emptying mechanism works well to shoot dry dust and dander into the trash, and the filters are washable.

How does it compare?

In terms of a high performance cordless vacuum that can also wet clean, the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is probably the best around. However, the $900 price tag is very steep. For a cheaper option that we also loved, check out Bissell's CrossWave Hyrdosteam, which offers wet and dry cleaning on every surface. It's bulkier than the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine, and it's corded, but it's also at least $500 cheaper, depending on sales. 

If you’ve decided the wet cleaning function won’t meet your needs, the Dyson V15 Detect is still a great cordless vacuum, but it’s supplied without the Submarine floorhead. 

Alternatively, those with larger budgets should look at my personal favorite the Dyson Gen5detect. This is Dyson’s newest top-of-the-range cordless vacuum, featuring all the brand's latest and greatest tech. But you’ll need a separate mop and bucket. 

Should you buy the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine?

As per our review of the Dyson V15 Detect the vacuuming functionality is top notch, so really, you just need to decide whether paying a bit extra for the new wet cleaning floor head is worthwhile for you and your home.

The wet cleaning head is great for regular cleaning of floors that aren’t heavily soiled. But if you live in a country farmhouse where muddy pets and children run in and out all day, it’s probably not going to cut it for the needs of your home.

That said, for many households the wet cleaning floorhead will serve as a useful addition to an already-good floor cleaning appliance. And it’ll make regular floor washing quick and painless.

How we test

Helen tried out the new Dyson V15s Detect Submarine in her own home on a combination of wood floors, LVT floors, slate tiles and stone tiles. Though she used all the dry vacuuming accessories, she concentrated the review on the new wet cleaning floorhead. 

We test vacuums and wet floor cleaners on a range of different surfaces, and test them on a huge range of different debris. We test on flour and sugar to test fine dust, cereal for larger crumbs, and hair extensions to see how a vacuum handles hair and pet fur. 

Robot vacuums are supposed to be a dream come true. Letting a robot take care of this time-consuming household chore is marketed as though you're living in the future. You can head out for a coffee and come home to spotless floors – what's not to love?

Enter Dyson's latest robot, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav. Dyson claims that the Vis Nav has 2x the suction of any other robot vacuum. It’s equipped with intelligent navigation that includes no less than 26 sensors. The brand claims it intelligently prioritizes high dust areas.

However, historically, robots have been Dyson's Achilles' heel. Their robots have never dominated the market in the way their upright and cordless vacuums have, and the robots they have put out have often been far below the standard of iRobot, Roborock, and Shark. It will take a lot for the 360 Vis Nav to end up in our guide to the best robot vacuums, let alone the best vacuum cleaners.

Product specifications

Who will the Dyson 360 Vis Nav suit?

The Dyson 360 Vis Nav will suit anyone with a big budget looking for all the latest robot vacuum tech. But if you want a robot that’ll empty itself or mop floors, this isn’t for you.

It’ll work best for households where it can be scheduled to clean several times a week, to keep on top of that daily dust and dander. But if you’re expecting to ditch your regular vacuum, think again. You’ll still need to vacuum the areas it can’t, and do a deeper clean periodically.

Dyson 360 Vis Nav: Price and availability

You can buy the The Dyson 360 Vis Nav for around $1,199.99 at Dyson, Target, Amazon and Best Buy.

That price puts it above most other robot vacuums on the market. It's no surprise from Dyson (historically one of the most expensive vacuum brands), but the 360 Vis Nav is only their second entry into the world of robot vacuums.

The frontrunner in this market is iRobot Roomba. At the lower end, their models start from around $275 with the Roomba Combo Essential Robot, all the way up to $1,399 with the Roomba Combo j9+ Auto-Fill Robot Vacuum and Mop.

The Roomba Combo j9+ (review here) currently hails at the top of our tested list of the best robot vacuums and it's also able to mop and empty itself. Other iRobots we've tested, like the Roomba s9+ and the Roomba j7+, are both available for less than the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, while offering some of the best cleaning performance and home mapping we've seen from a robot.

Dyson 360 Vis Nav: Unboxing and setting up

As you’d expect from a high-end brand, the Dyson robot vacuum arrived impeccably packaged, although the truly eco-conscious won't appreciate the protective molded plastic in the box. Nevertheless, removing it and assembling the charging station was swift.

There were two parts to click together and a charging cable to plug in, and then I simply needed to select a convenient spot to place the charging dock. It needs about 20 inches of free space on either side so that the robot can easily navigate back to its starting position.

While the robot charged up, I downloaded the free MyDyson app, which is crucial to get the most out of the robot vacuum and access all its features. Connecting the robot to the app was a seamless process and took just a few minutes. It’s definitely the easiest robot vacuum I’ve set up in several years of reviewing them.

Once connected to the app, you can easily program a cleaning schedule, so that the robot will clean on certain days and times. You can also choose between the four power levels which are auto, quick, quiet, and boost.

The final task in setting up the robot is getting it to map your home. You can start mapping via the app, and during the process, the robot doesn’t vacuum, it concentrates on creating a map of your rooms including any obstacles like furniture. If you intend to use it in a split-level home, you’ll need to create a new map for each level.

I found the app intuitive to use and once the maps are set up, you can customize your floor plan by splitting it into rooms. Then, creating zones and no-go areas is straightforward. You can even set it to vacuum at a different suction level in each room.

Dyson has always been a floor-cleaning brand that focuses not only on performance, but also on the visual design of its appliances, and this Dyson robot is no different. The bright blue-purple color is a world away from the sea of black-and-white robot vacuums currently flooding the market. It also makes this robot easy to spot as it goes about its business. However, it will always need to be on display, so the vibrant color so it won’t be for everyone.

Dyson 360 Vis Nav: Design and features

The 360 Vis Nav is a more basic cleaner than other robots in the market. There's no cleaning station, no mop, no fancy camera to see what's happening in your house like with the recently announced Switchbot K20+ Pro.

It simply vacuums – and Dyson calls it 'the world's most powerful robot vacuum.' Our home tech editor Dan Fauzi visited the Dyson labs once and they based this label off rigorous, standardized tests and found that the 360 Vis Nav does have the highest suction of any robot vacuum at the time it was released.

This doesn't mean it's the most effective cleaner however. Other robot vacuums can clean more thoroughly thanks to brushroll design, floor mapping and how it decides to tackle each section of the floor.

The robot vacuum has a runtime of up to 65 minutes before going back to the charging dock. And like most robot vacuums, it has 360-degree vision for navigation and it's controllable through an app, in this case the MyDyson app.

Test 1: Carpet

To find out if the 360 Vis Nav is a great vacuum for carpet, I used our classic test method of scattering oats and crumbs around the carpet to see how well it could pick them up. Having read the marketing info from Dyson, I was hopeful that this might be the first robot vacuum I’ve reviewed that efficiently cleans the edges of a room. But sadly, it seems even Dyson can’t engineer a robot that’s as good as a human using a vacuum.

I found that my carpets were generally left looking clean and refreshed, with all visible debris removed. However, I scattered some oats and crumbs along the baseboards to test edge cleaning, and the spill was only about 70% removed when vacuuming the room on auto mode, which is in line with the results on hard floors.

Having said that, I could see from the dust bin that while it didn’t necessarily remove all the surface debris I purposely scattered at the very edges, it did remove other deeper debris and fluff that I couldn't see.

Test 2: Hard floors

To find out if the 360 Vis Nav is a strong vacuum for hardwood floors, I scattered a mix of flour and larger crumbs like oats onto hard floors and a rug. I specifically made some of the spillages in corners, along baseboards, and around chair legs to see how well it collected the mess from different spots around the room.

At times it avoided furniture with a kind of swift maneuverability that I’ve rarely seen from other robot vacuums. When it did bump into something, it was more a light touch than a knock.

However, this wasn’t always the case, as a low profile lamp base proved more difficult for it to detect and avoid. And on one occasion it mounted the lamp base and spent a while figuring out how to maneuver away. That said, in general, it didn’t repeatedly and aggressively bash into all the furniture like many robot vacuums I’ve reviewed. I also found that it maneuvered with ease between cleaning wood floors and cleaning a thick pile area rug.

It doesn’t clean the room in systematic rows like my usual robot, and I must admit this seemingly random pattern made me dubious about its ability to thoroughly clean every inch of the floor. However, at the end of cleaning, a quick check of its activity in the app, shows a map of my floor plan, that details the level of dust it encountered across the entire floor space, giving me faith that it had covered the whole area.

Once it had cleaned the room and returned to the charger, I checked the results. The debris along the baseboard and into the corner of the room hadn’t been 100% removed, probably more like 80% in some cases. And around the leg of a sofa, it was only partially collected. Even a light sprinkle of crumbs wasn’t fully removed from the fibers of a long pile rug. So, I had to grab another vacuum and do it myself.

What is it like to use?

It avoided falling down any steps during the several times I used it upstairs. What’s more, it didn’t once get itself stuck anywhere or wedged into a tight spot and require rescuing, which is rare for a robot vacuum.

When vacuuming in auto mode, I could hear the suction level automatically increase to boost mode as it reached the debris. However it’s worth noting that this higher suction level also increases the fan speed and can, at times, blow some of the debris around the floor, similar to what we've seen in other robots like the Eufy S1 Pro Omni.

To double check this result and give it the best possible chance, I set up this test again and selected ‘boost’ mode for maximum possible suction. The results were similar though. And shockingly, this high suction mode drained the battery within just 12 minutes, so it had to return to the charger.

Each charge took approximately 90-100 minutes before it regained enough juice to carry on the clean. It returned to the charger twice when cleaning my 18 x 16 ft living room on boost mode. So all in all, the total clean took a desperately long 3 hours 42 minutes, and that's just for the living room, begging the question if a robot vacuum is really worth it at this price.

Thankfully, if you’re in a hurry and need the floors spruced up quickly before guests visit, there is a ‘quick’ mode and this took just 14 minutes to clean the same room. Although it did seem to avoid cleaning all the way up to the baseboards during this speedy clean.

On average it spent 30-37 minutes cleaning the room on auto mode. And from my experience with this vacuum, auto mode seems to be your best option. It’s the best compromise between prolonging battery life and achieving a decent clean.

The vacuuming time you’ll get when in auto mode will vary depending on how much dirt it encounters on your floors. Dyson says the Vis Nav can vacuum for up to 40 minutes in auto mode, which considering it took 30-37 minutes just to clean a 290 square foot room in my house, still means it’ll have to return to the charger several times to fully clean the main floor of an average home.

Having said that, I timed it on floors that were already pretty clean and it managed to vacuum for almost 60 minutes on auto before it returned to the charger. And on this occasion it only spent 45 minutes charging, before continuing the clean.

My home is more split level than most, with small steps between various rooms. So I had to make a couple of different maps for the different areas, and this proved pretty straightforward. The first few times I took it to another floor I also took the charging dock too. However, when I took it upstairs and left the charger downstairs, I discovered that it’s not possible to initiate vacuuming via the app unless the robot is on the charging dock.

This means that if you don't take the dock to other floors of your home along with the vacuum, then you can only start cleaning via the button on the top of the vacuum. And you therefore don’t get to make use of mapping functions, such as restricted areas, or different suction levels for different rooms.

Cleaning and maintenance

The circular dust bin detaches at the press of a button and you can carry it to the trash with the pop up handle. Then by simply sliding the switch on top of the handle, it automatically ejects all the dust and debris. It can also be wiped with a damp cloth should it need a more thorough clean.

Cleaning your robot vacuum cleaner becomes an easier task if the parts are easy to disassemble. The washable filter should, according to Dyson, be washed once a month. Pressing the top of the filter unit causes it to pop up. Then it’s just a case of lifting it out and removing the filter. Sensors also need a wipe on a monthly basis so it makes sense to do both jobs at the same time.

The brushbar is equally easy to remove and is washable. Though you’ll only need to do this if and when you think it needs a wash. Thankfully, my long hairs didn’t get wrapped around the brushbar, which saved me the job of cutting them away. All in all cleaning and maintenance is straightforward, with all parts easily accessible.

How does it compare?

If you’re not ready to put your trust in a robot and you’d prefer to do the cleaning yourself, I’d highly recommend taking a look at the Dyson Gen5detect. Not only is it cheaper than the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, but unlike a robot vacuum it can be used all around your home, from floors and upholstery to shelves and dog beds.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for additional functionality, the iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ has plenty to offer. Not only does it vacuum, but it also mops and empties its own dust bin. What’s more, the wood-topped charging base can even be used as a side table. So fans of a more understated design will probably prefer it to the more garish, colorful Dyson.

Should you buy the Dyson 360 Vis Nav?

Okay, here’s the thing, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav isn’t perfect, but no robot vacuum is. We’re a long way off these little independent floor cleaners matching up to a full size vacuum. But in comparison to other robot vacuums, it’s up there amongst the best for daily cleans.

I particularly like the user friendly app and easy setup. And if you schedule it to clean frequently, it’ll do a great job at tackling daily dust and dander. It’s just not the best option if you spill a box of oats or need to do a deeper clean.

It’s most efficient when used in auto mode, boost mode drains the battery far too quickly. And despite Dyson’s claims about its impressive edge cleaning, I was underwhelmed. That said, it’s a decent robot. Whether the price tag is justifiable though, will depend on your budget.

How did the Dyson 360 Vis Nav fare over time?

I continued to use the Dyson 360 Vis Nav for around six months after I finished testing. But in the end I reverted back to my older Eufy model, the Eufy X8 Pro. I found the eufy model was less temperamental, gave a more efficient and thorough clean, and on the whole was more user friendly.

The Dyson was a bit too clunky, bashing into some pieces of furniture more than I would like. It took longer to clean, too.

How I tested the Dyson 360 Vis Nav

I tested the Dyson 360 Vis Nav in my own home for two weeks. My home has a mix of carpets, area rugs and hardwood floors so I was able to find out how effectively the robot vacuum is able to clean different surfaces.

To gain a fuller understanding of the robot's abilities, I scatted oats, flour and crumbs across the house in varying places, like near furniture and baseboards, to see how it handles tighter spaces and edge cleaning.

Dyson is the frontrunner in vacuum tech and have set the bar for the last decade or more. Many of Dyson's innovations became industry standards, and over the past few years we've tested every vacuum they've released to try and find a dud. When the Gen5detect came out, we simply had to see if it could live up to such high expectations. 

The Gen5detect is, according to Dyson, the most powerful HEPA cordless vacuum in the world. Furthermore, its 70 minute run time is the longest you’ll get from a single battery cordless Dyson. Then there are the other upgraded features such as improved illumination technology on the Fluffy Optic floor head. 

That's all very nice, but I’ve reviewed well in excess of a hundred vacuums in my many years of reviewing household appliances. I’ve come to learn what works and what's a useless gimmick. The jargon and marketing claims are all well and good but I wanted to find out what it’s like to use in real life, in my home, because that’s what matters.

But Dyson have done it once again. I found not only one of the best vacuum cleaners you can buy, but probably the best vacuum I've ever used. My only warnings are about the weight and the incredibly high price tag. If you want the best vacuum in the world, money no object, this is the appliance you need. 

Product specifications

Who will it suit?

The Gen5detect will suit those with smaller homes. If you have a generous sized home, you might find the Dyson Gen5outsize a better fit, as it has a wider floorhead and larger bin. However, the Gen5detect is ample for small and medium sized houses and apartments.

If you have multiple floor types to clean, then the two main floor heads have you covered. This is a vacuum that can cope with transitioning from hard floor to carpet and back again without a fuss.

Unboxing and setting up

As I've come to expect from Dyson, all the parts are straightforward to assemble. Once I’d removed it from the fully recyclable cardboard and paper packaging, it only took me a minute to put it together and get it charging.

Depending on where you plan to store and charge the vacuum, you can either plug the charger directly into the battery. Or, you can install the ‘wall dok’ –Dyson's misspelling, not mine – to neatly store and charge the vacuum.

The first thing I noticed was that unlike many previous iterations of cordless Dyson vacuums, there’s not a trigger on the handle that requires holding with your finger while vacuuming. Instead, a single button on the screen switches it on and off. This will be a welcome design change for those who struggle to hold in a trigger for long periods. 

There are three power levels; eco, auto, and boost. Dyson claims you’ll get up to 70 minutes of run time, which is what you’ll get in eco mode. Auto mode is supposed to maximize battery life by automatically adjusting the power levels between floor types, and boost will give you the maximum possible suction, but the minimum possible run time. I found boost averaged about 12 minutes, which is poor, but I find that this is so powerful you rarely need it. 

Like earlier models, the Gen5detect includes a Piezo particle sensor and live feedback about the size of dust particles you're picking up from the floor. It's incredibly impressive but I can't help wondering why this feature is still being incorporated in newest models. It feels like the only people who are really interested are the engineers at Dyson HQ. The rest of us just want to vacuum the house, make the floors look clean, and get on with our day. It feels a little like a placebo effect. Your vacuum tells you that you're picking up dust as small as 10 microns and it feels like you're totally banishing dust form your home, but at that level it's impossible to tell with the naked eye, so while it's impressive, it's ultimately a little meaningless.

It comes woth two floorheads. The first is the Fluffy Optic cleaner head, which designed for hard floors, and includes a laser to illuminate all those dust bunnies. There's also the Digital Motorbar cleaner head for every floor type, which can intelligently adapt suction power depending on the floor type you’re vacuuming. Its hair removal vanes automatically stop hair becoming tangled around it, which is very useful. 

The slightly bizarrely named ‘hair screw’ tool is a small motorized tool for cleaning pet beds, mattresses, car seats, and stairs. Then you get the combination tool, a combined cleaning nozzle and brush for a variety of tasks such as dusting or car cleaning.

Lastly, the built-in dusting and crevice tool is cleverly designed so that it’s concealed within the wand. The press of a button detaches the lower part of the wand and leaves this tool attached, for a quick and easy transition into handheld mode.

Test 1: Carpet

I've tested dozens of vacuums in my career, so you know I'm not exaggerating when I say this: the suction power on the Dyson Gen5 is staggering. The embedded dirt that was lifted from deep within my carpets was far more than I thought possible. 

The long pile area rug in my living room can be tricky to clean and although it did, on a couple of occasions, cause the roller in the floorhead to stop turning, the amount of fine sandy debris that was collected in the dirt bin was enough to make anyone think I live at the beach, not hundreds of miles away in a rural town. 

On auto mode you can hear the power level increasing and decreasing as you work your way around a room and this does give you plenty of battery power to vacuum several rooms before it needs a recharge. On boost mode though, I managed to vacuum for just 12 minutes before the battery ran out. It's just enough time to blitz a couple of medium sized bedrooms before guests arrive, but not to give the whole house a deep clean. 

However, I was somewhat disappointed that like many cordless Dyson vacuums I’ve used in the past, this latest model is still heavy. However, I think the payoff is worth it. It's heavier than other vacuums I've tested, but those are true lightweights when it comes to suction power. I'd rather totally remove crumbs and dust from my floors than have a slightly lighter but dirtier vacuum. 

The boost mode hit about 83dB on my noise meter, which is a typical noise level for vacuuming. If you need to be a little quieter you can vacuum in eco mode, which reduced the sound to a gentler 70dB according to the noise meter on my phone. This was the same on both carpet and hard floors.

Test 2: Hard floors

Speaking of hard floors, to the naked eye, my wooden floors looked like I could easily leave them several more days before reaching for the vacuum. Once I started going over them and the laser illuminated every speck of dirt and dust bunny, I was absolutely horrified and felt like a total slob. 

In fact, I became slightly fixated on vacuuming all my hard floors. As horrifying as it was to see how filthy they were, it was equally gratifying to see that all that dust had been removed. Though you can see the laser in full daylight, which is an improvement on the previous Dyson V15, it’s at its best in dim light. That means you can see just how long it’s been since you vacuumed under that piece of furniture in the corner of the room.

To check the edge cleaning, I spilled a handful of crumbs and flour onto the edge of the room next to baseboards. The result was similar on hard floors and carpet; it sucked up about 95% of the debris, leaving a few crumbs right in the corner. But, by quickly removing the wand and using the crevice tool, I was able to reach right into the corners and thoroughly remove any remaining bits.

Test 3: Handheld attchments

Removing the wand to reveal the built-in crevice tool and brush is a super handy function. It means you can quickly transition from vacuuming floors to reaching into an awkward corner or crevice. Because none of the other tools are stored on board the vacuum, this means that you don't need to remember to bring the small tools with you. 

Speaking of which, I frequently vacuum my sofas and found the hair screw tool was perfect for the job. It made fast work of collecting crumbs and sprucing up the upholstery.

I have both carpeted and wood floored stairs and found it to be a convenient cleaner for both. On some occasions I used the smaller handheld tools on stairs, while other times I used the main floorhead – both work well. 

During the week that I was reviewing this vacuum, I also used it to spruce up my car interior. I have a tiny car, so while I managed a quick vacuum of the carpets and seats, it was too heavy and bulky to do much more. The crevice tool was long enough, but not thin enough, to fit into the gaps down the sides of the seats, so frustratingly I couldn't clean the crumbs from this section of the carpet.

It’s worth noting that Dyson sells lots of compatible tools for all kinds of tasks, including a thin crevice tool, and an awkward gap tool. So you can add on accessories to suit a variety of cleaning tasks, if you’re happy to spend more money.

However, when using it as a handheld to clean my car, or vacuum away cobwebs, it didn’t take long before my arm was aching and I had to stop.

Cleaning and maintenance

Removing the dirt from the vacuum bin is as simple as pointing the end of the vacuum into your trash and pushing the lever. The dirt is then ejected straight into the trash bag  It’s easy and relatively mess free. However, if you’re prone to allergies, you may want to do this outside of your home to avoid the risk of allergens re-entering the air.

The HEPA filter is a lifetime filter, so there should be no regular ongoing costs for replacements. It's also washable, if you think it's getting too dirty. Similarly, the Fluffy Optic roller can be washed to keep it fresh. There’s not much regular maintenance to do, but you can take the bin and some of the accessories apart for cleaning should you need to. 

How does it compare?

The Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute has been singled out as the best value Dyson on our best vacuum cleaner list. As an older model, it’s brings Dyson power but it's more affordable if you’re on a budget. It's hundreds of dollars less than this model, which is up near the $1000 mark. I can't emphasise enough that this the best vacuum I've tested, but $1000 is a lot to spend for cleaner floors. 

One of Dyson's main competitor brands is Shark. The Shark Vertex Pro Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum is an affordable alternative to a Dyson, yet still comes loaded with a whole host of user friendly features. We love the multi-flex technology for effortless reach under low furniture and the two rollers in the floorhead, leave every type of floor thoroughly cleaned. It lacks the laser and particle sensor of the Dyson, and it's not as thorough, but it's a great vacuum for at least half the price. 

Should you buy the Dyson Gen5detect?

In terms of performance this Dyson is probably the best performing and most powerful cordless vacuum I’ve ever reviewed. It’s well built and the robust selection of tools give it the versatility to be used all around the home. 

It is, however, not perfect. It’s heavy, even when vacuuming floors. And as a handheld vacuum it feels bulky when cleaning in confined spaces, like a car. It's undoubtedly expensive, but if you’ve got the budget, you won't find anything better. 

How we test vacuums

At Homes & Gardens, we take how west test vacuums incredibly seriously. Helen had this vacuum on loan from Dyson and used it as part of her normal cleaning routine at home for a week. She made use of all the tools and not only did she clean several floor types, but also used it to spruce up her car. She even vacuumed hard surfaces like shelving and used it for overhead cleaning to remove some pesky cobwebs. 

Dyson is one of very few brands who can assure quality and convenience with just the brand name. They're widely coveted and relentlessly innovative, but most Dyson vacuums tend to come with a high price tag, too. 

Opting for an older version can save you money without much compromise. We've done a roundup of the cheapest Dysons on the market. For most people, it comes down to two models: the Dyson V8 and the Dyson V10. These are old enough to be significantly reduced in price, but still new enough to have modern features.

Our experts have tested both, so have the in-person experience and details you need to make an informed decision. I'll go into all the detail below, but the short answer is that the Dyson V10 is better. It performs better, has a better runtime, a larger dustbin capacity, and more accessories, but tends to be more expensive than the V8. 

Best Dyson V8 and V10 deals

If you're shopping for a new Dyson, and you'd like to save a little money, you should take advantage of these Cyber Monday Dyson deals.

Dyson V8 vs Dyson V10

Winner: Dyson V10

I'll get straight into it. These cordless vacuums are incredibly similar: they have Dyson's signature trigger function, bagless dustbin and agile floorhead. We were impressed by both when we tested them on linoleum, hard wood, and carpet . In fact, they made enough of an impression to both earn inclusions in our buying guide for the best cordless vacuums. You'll be pleased to clean with either model, but there are some differences to dissect.

Whilst the V8 is almost as long as the V10, it is smaller in both depth, width, and weight. Combined with a smaller dustbin, this is generally more compact and 0.8 lbs lighter to use. In reality, this isn't much, but if you move up and down stairs often or get tired quickly, this could be a deal-breaker.

The V8 has an average run time which is 20 minutes shorter than the V10 and takes an extra two hours to reach full charge. With this in mind, the V10 is a better option for large homes, because you can use it for longer and if you ever do run out of charge, two hours is a significant time difference to wait before you can clean again.

The V10 also comes with more extras (two cleaner heads and ten tools compared to the V8's one cleaner head and five tools). 

I've listed them all in the table below, but if you're not familiar with Dyson, they'll look like random words. Essentially, the V8 and V10 both come with an excellent cleaner head (Motorbar) which works best on soft floors. They also both have a charger, docking station (both which are self explanatory), a combination tool (which has a wide nozzle and brush for tougher dirt), a tool for picking up long hair, and a crevice tool to clean baseboards and narrow spaces. On top of the V8's accessories, the V10 has a special cleaner head for hard floors, a tool for cleaning upholstery and mattresses, a brush for particularly stubborn dirt, a dusting brush, and a bend adaptor which helps you to reach more difficult areas on the ceiling. 

You might not need these if you're a more perfunctory, superficial cleaner. If you don't, you can save $130 and opt for the V8. If you turn the house upside down and get down and dirty with all your vacuum extras, you'll appreciate what the V10 has to offer.

Other options

If you're not sold on the V8 or the V10, there are plenty of other options. We have a guide dedicated to cordless vacuums as well as the cheapest Dysons on the market. Here are a few of our favorites.

FAQs

How we test

At Homes & Gardens we are meticulous about how we test our vacuums. We take these to our dedicated test center or homes where we put them through their paces. Each vacuum has to go through a series of standardized tests across hard wood, linoleum, and carpet floors. 

We scatter hair, cereal, and flour across these floors and measure how well a vacuum can collect up these. It's an excellent indicator of how they'll handle day-to-day dirt, dust, and debris in the home. We'll also make notes on storage, handling, and unboxing, so you know exactly what to expect when using any of these vacuums. If you'd like to find out more about the process, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test vacuums.

Final thoughts

When I'm doing a deep clean, I don't want my vacuum to be the limiting factor: that should be time. For that reason, the V10 is the vacuum that I would choose. The range of accessories means that you'll be able to have your home sparkling. The charge is also important for me, because I don't want to have to stop and wait for too long between cleans. However, the V8 is still a good option, especially if you're shopping on a budget.

While I love living in the city, one of the biggest downsides is the air quality. Even in the safety of your apartment, pollutants can creep in. That's why it's good to invest in one of the best air purifiers on the market.

After testing it for a month, I found that the Dyson's Humidify + Cool is not only one of the best air purifiers on the market, it's also of of the best fans and best humidifiers that I've ever used. 

It has the same drawbacks as most Dyson products. It's large and expensive. However, you could spend three times as much and sacrifice three times the floor space for a top-line air purifier, fan, and humidifier, and not come close to the performance of this three-in-one machine. 

Specifications

Unboxing

Dyson is great for packaging. Although this is a huge fan - much bigger than I expected - the packaging isn’t excessive, nor is it complex. Everything is cardboard, recyclable, and neatly packaged. 

This didn’t come in many parts. There are some finishing touches that you’ll need to slide into place and a remote control that you need to make sure to keep safe, but aside from that, it arrives ready to use. Once you've downloaded the app and filled the humidity reservoir, you won't need to touch the Humidify + Cool again.

Who would it suit?

Even though this is a big fan and I live in a small apartment, I wouldn't trade it for anything. The Humidify + Cool is designed for versatility. It's a one-appliance solution for those who want to cool their homes, purify their air, humidify their room. If you live in a dry, arid area, you will adore this fan. 

As a big appliance, it's best suited to big rooms and whole homes. The app and remote control mean that you don't need to constantly walk to the fan to control the settings. You can get hourly updates on your air quality and the fan will connect to your local weather station to predict how to alter the conditions of your room. If you are looking for premium features, you just found the best appliance for them.

Like I said, even though this is big, I wouldn't exchange it for another, smaller appliance. However, if you're really stretched for space, the Humidify + Cool will be overkill. It offers a lot of 'nice to have' options rather han 'need to have' options, and you quite literally pay the price for them. This is nearly $1000.

What is it like to use?

I'm familiar with Dyson fans. When I worked in a pizza truck we were lucky enough to have some earlier models of this fan running. We were working in a hot metal truck, in the middle of summer, next to an 800F pizza oven. Somehow, those Dyson fans, available at Amazon, used to cool me so much that I would need a sweater.

This is a bigger model than the ones I used that summer. Unsurprisingly, this larger model does an even better job. It was set-up and ready to go in seconds. Even though there's enough tech for the nerdiest user, you won't need an engineering degree to get this fired up. The feedback in the app is incredibly straightforward too, so you don't need to know anything about dew points or particulates per million to understand the air quality reports. 

This model claims to remove formaldehyde. Unfortunately, I have no way of assessing this from my flat, so I can't comment on this feature. 

Test 1: Fan

When most fans rotate they move their entire body. This is great, but it can also cause some damage, knocking over items as it oscillates from left to right. The Humidify + Cool has clever rotating pillars that won’t knock your clutter, but which still produce a strong stream of air that you will feel rotating around the room. 

You can select a range of fan conditions. There is 'Breeze' mode where the asynchronous flat fan nozzles will oscillate in - no surprise - different directions. This feels more like a breeze than engineered, simulated fan, so provides a natural, relaxed breeze in your room. 

If you don't like feeling direct air flow on your face, you can select the reverse option, which blows air out of the back of your fan. I'll admit that I was sceptical on this feature. My fan was placed up against the wall. However, on a hot and humid day, I  sat on my couch, used my remote control to select this function and very quickly, the room cooled down. It's incredible and really quiet. It didn't change how loudly I spoke or how well I could hear music in my home.

Test 2: Air Purifier

If you want to get nerdy with the details, the Humidify + Cool fan has incredibly detailed feedback. The fan has a screen just above the water reservoir which has a mini graph to report on your air quality. My living room is open-plan, so when I was cooking in the kitchen, I thought I would check on my air quality graph. There was a spike and the Dyson was working hard to purify the air again. I did a few more tests, spraying home fragrances around the room, and the Dyson immediately detected them and worked quickly to neutralize them. I could smell the difference.

If you suffer from allergies, the Dyson has HEPA filters which claim to trap 99.97% of allergens and particulates down to sizes as small as 0.3 microns. To be fair, I don't suffer from allergies, so won't comment on this, but I read reviews from people who suffer from dog allergies or hay fever and found that this fan helped alleviate their symptoms.

Test 3: Humidifier

I generally don’t struggle with humidity levels in my home. However, when you always have a fan on the go, the air can dry out your skin and throat. The Dyson anticipates the fan drying out your air and acts on it. Through the Dyson Link app, the fan will use your local weather data and humidify your home to the right level. I didn't notice this immediately, but then I realised that on some really humid days, I was feeling colder than normal in the house. When the air isn't as humid, you don't feel as hot, so you don't need the fan to work as hard.

The Purify + Cool works through evaporative humidity. Normally, you would need to soak a filter in water and then these would evaporate into the room. These can be expensive and hard to keep clean. Instead, the Purify + Cool uses UV light to kill the bacteria in the humidifier reservoir. This means that your filters won't need to be replaced as often and they'll stay cleaner. I've had mine for a month and haven't had to change it yet.

Cleaning, Storage, and Maintenance

You'll need to re-fill the water reservoir, but given that this can hold 1 gallon of water, you won't need to do this often. Dyson claims that this tank can humidify for 36 hours. Given that I don't suffer from this in my house, I haven't had to re-fill it and it's been a month. I ran it at full-speed for a couple of hours and could only see a slight change in the water level. If you live in a particularly dry area, I think this would last a few days.

As I've mentioned, the worst part of humidifiers are the filters and knowing when to clean them. The Dyson, whether you look at the screen or check the app, will tell you how much time you have left before you need to clean the filter and de-scale any parts which could have mineral build up. Dyson estimates that you'll need to do this after 600 hours usage if you have hard water and 2,00 hours if you have soft water, so it's not a regular job. Despite living in a hard water area, I haven't had to do this yet.

For the purposes of this review, I've tried a 'deep clean', even though there was nothing to clean. I wheeled out my water reservoir and gave it a thorough clean in the sink. This was beyond easy. If you need to descale it, I would recommend buying some descaling solution from Walmart and soaking the reservoir in that overnight.

How does it rate online?

Reviews for this were exactly as I expected they would be. People said that this was impressive and effective, especially if you have allergies. Most people who used it had large houses. I found a particularly glowing review from a pregnant writer who was struggling with hot and dry air, and she said that she couldn't and wouldn't live without this.

On the flip side, this is too big for those with small homes. I found a few who hadn’t checked the dimensions properly and had a shock when this child-sized air purifier fan arrived in their home. 

Some people said that they were disappointed that this won't heat your air, but to be fair to Dyson, they offer other products which work as fans, purifiers, and heaters, like the Purifier Hot+Cool, available at Dyson. However, the trade-off here is that this fan doesn't have a humidifier function. 

How does it compare?

There are very few appliances that can do it all, so this is a magnificent multitasker. In fact, in my time as a product tester, I’ve not come across a product quite like this.

Most people who bought this had previously owned the Honeywell HCM350W, available at Amazon. This also has a one gallon tank, but it won't run for 36 hours. Instead, reviews suggest that it can only last for 2/3 of that time on a low setting before it needs re-filling. It's smaller, so better for small rooms and still uses UV technology to clean the water. However, if you're looking for quality, go for the Dyson. 

If you need to save some money, the Honeywell usually retails for about $80, which is less than 10% of Dyson's price. In theory, you could buy ten of these. I don't think they would look as nice and they definitely wouldn't connect with your local weather station, but they would save you a lot of money.

Should you buy it?

I love this fan. It covers three functions in one, without compromising on any factors. It’s expensive, but it’s a worthy investment. I'll concede that there are products which perform nearly as well for significantly less investment, but, when it comes to your air purity, I think it's worth splurging. 

How We Test

Before we recommend a product, we test it in our homes or in our dedicated test center. I used this for a month in the middle of summer, before writing this review. I made notes on everything from unboxing to cleaning, so that you would know all the details of this process before splurging $1000. If you'd like to find out more about how we test, you can visit our dedicated page.

Vacuum cleaners aren't my normal conversation starter, but with Dyson vacuums, it's a different story. If I see someone has one, or if someone spots mine, the conversation inevitably turns to these innovative vaccums. If you already own one, you'll know why.

Most people who don't use a Dyson will ask 'is it really worth the price?'. Whilst there are some brilliant alternative vacuums to Dyson, mine is worth every dollar. I have tested a wide range of the best vacuums and Dyson always make the best.

If price is holding you back from taking the next — and greatest — step in your vacuuming career, take a look at QVC's Dyson deals. Along with my favorite Dyson, the V15, they've reduced the Outsize Plus and Ball Animal 3. Even better, QVC are offering free shipping - but only today, 7/22. You'll need to act fast to grab these deals. 

These are three of the best vacuums you can buy. We might be five months off Christmas, but it feels like QVC are already treating us.

QVC Dyson Deals

If $100 off any of these vacuums is music to your ears, but you want to know more, you've come to the right people. Our team of vacuum experts have tested all of these vacuums in their own homes and under test conditions. We vacuum up hair, cereal, and all the daily dirt that your vacuum will encounter. These are our favorite vacuums, because they made light work of even the toughest challenges.

The V15 is a cordless marvel; the Outsize Plus is the best for pet hair; and the Ball Animal 3 is one of the best upright vacuums we've tested. Whether you're interested in overall performance, the dander and the details, or the special features, here's a summary of why we think each one is at the top of the vacuum league.

Dyson V15

The V15 is unbelievable. For example, when we tested it, running it over an old dog bed not only cleaned up all the pet hair, but removed so much dirt that the bed returned to its original color. Even better, we didn't have to engage in the indecorous task of snipping hair out of the floorhead; Dyson's anti-tangle screw had spiralled all the dog hair straight into the bin, ready to dump in the trash.

If you're a numbers person, you'll love the green laser and Piezo sensor which help you to spot dust that your eye and old vacuum would have glided past. The sensor will tell you not only how much dust you've suctioned up from your floors, but exactly what the particles are, which is simultaneously satisfying and horrifying. Once you've used the V15, it'll be hard to trust another vacuum again. Dysons are rarely on sale, so it's worth grabbing any discount on this you can find. 

 There's more detail in our full review of the Dyson V15.

Dyson Outsize Plus

One of the best vacuums for pet hair, this Dyson has incredible suction. With a pleasing half-gallon dust bin; a floor head that's 25% larger than all other cordless Dysons; and two removable batteries, each with up to 60 minutes of charge, it's no wonder this is called the 'Outsize'. If you have a big house, or pets, or both, this is the perfect vacuum.

You can choose different vacuum settings and it'll automatically detect and adjust to your different floor types, so all you have to do is glide around the house. If anything could make vacuuming a treat, it's the Outsize. We found it easy to handle and enjoyed the range of attachments, which could reach even the tightest cracks and crevices. However,  our tester cautioned that this could be overkill in more compact houses, especially if you have limited storage. In which case, the V15 is perfect.

Our full review is of the Dyson Outsize; the Outsize + has the the exact same specs and performance, but includes the Laser Slim Fluffy Cleaner Head and Piezo sensor technology.

Dyson Ball Animal 3

Even though most Dysons offer cordless convenience, an upright vacuum can be an unbeatable classic. It's easier on your bank balance and offers remarkable power. If you suffer from asthma and allergies, this has special, lifetime filters that prevent you from getting wheezy. Plus, even though this vacuum is heavier than a cordless, the iconic ball makes it easy to manoeuvre around furniture.

Even though you're restricted to a plug socket, this 35-foot cord means that you'll hardly notice this is a plug-in vacuum. It comes with attachments, so that you can reach cracks, crevices and above-ground cleaning, without putting your back out. You can take the 40 foot hose all the way up the stairs without having to move the base station once. As for emptying, the .45 gallon dust bin doesn't fill up often. We thought this was a great 'budget' Dyson before it was reduced, but with another $100 off at QVC, it's a bargain.

Our Dyson Ball Animal 2 review goes into more detail.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

If you've always wanted a Dyson, but you can't stretch to the Dyson price-tag, QVC has a range of Dyson vacuums on offer. As I was writing this, the Ball Animal 2 went out of stock, so they aren't hanging around. I'm not surprised, because Dyson don't often have sales, and free shipping is even rarer.

It's no secret that we love Dyson products at Homes & Gardens. Dyson vacuums routinely top our lists of the best vacuums and for good reason. There's no way around it; they're simply better than the competition.

However, with the most recent cordless Dysons commanding price tags north of $700, lots of consumers find themselves priced out. The best floor cleaning in the world is useless if you can't afford it. That's why I decided to go back to basics and take another look at a classic. At the time of writing, the Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute is five years old, released in 2018. That means that it retails for a couple hundred dollars cheaper than Dyson's current flagship vacuum cleaners. 

It's been while since I last had a go with one of these, but I found it's the best value Dyson. It's not as good as the V15 Detect or the Outsize+, but it's much, much cheaper, and you'll hardly notice the difference when you're cleaning. The Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute certainly isn't without its faults, but if you want a more sensibly-priced Dyson, this is one of the best vacuum cleaners you can buy. 

Product Specifications

Unboxing the Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute

 Arriving in an eco-friendly cardboard box, setting up this vacuum was pretty simple. All we needed to do was remove everything from the box and charge up the vacuum. It was ready to go in minutes. 

The only problem here is that there’s no onboard storage for all the attachments. It comes with a motorbar cleaner head, soft roller cleaner head, crevice tool, combination tool, up-top adaptor, and Mini soft dusting brush. These are all incredibly welcome but storage might get a little complicated.

What is it like to use?

This Dyson feels luxurious. It's almost ridiculous to say this about a vacuum cleaner, but though the parts are largely plastic, they feel substantial and high-quality. Even the sound of this thing switching on is like something out of Star Trek. That’s just feel - on more practical terms all the parts all slot together easily and you can get started with this vacuum minutes out of the box. 

However, holding down the trigger is mildly uncomfortable after a few minutes. On top of that, it isn’t freestanding, so if you need to pause vacuuming to move cables out of they way you’ll need to balance this vacuum on a couch or a wall.

Flour and sugar test

Our first test is flour and sugar. They’re common kitchen messes but they’re also good approximations of dust and bigger debris like skin flakes. They also save us from getting too gross. 

We tested this vacuum cleaner against several others and this was easily the best on the day. There was almost no difference in performance across linoleum, carpet, and wood. It’s remarkably quiet and took everything off the floor in a single pass. The back roller picked up a little flour and spread it around but it was quickly picked up by the suction. However, as I mentioned above, it was a little frustrating to keep the trigger held down.

The pantry test

The pantry test is a step up from sugar and dust. We spread cheerios and rice crispies out to see how well the vacuum can pick them up. It’s not only a good test for those with young kids but it also shows if the vacuum can handle picking up heavier, larger debris than dust.

Just as in the flour and sugar test, this vacuum was the best on the day. It pick up everything with ease, and though there were a handful of times that it pushed at the cereal, it soon had everything off the floor.

However, here’s where the max power issue comes in. This vacuum shut off halfway through our pantry test on carpet. We’d run the vacuum for 6 minutes total on about 50 square feet of flooring before we had to stop testing and charge it up again. Admittedly, we’d used it on max power, but 6 minutes on maximum is simply too short of a runtime. 

Hair test

Hair is one of the most frustrating things to vacuum. Anyone with long hair or pets will know that strand of hair and fur are not only tricky to vacuum up, but can get stuck in the rolling mechanism, leaving you with the gross job of unpick hair from the vacuum roller. We test this with old hair extensions, which is a welcome improvement on how I used to test Dysons, which was with old dog fur from pet groomers and animal shelters. 

Once again, no surprises here - the V10 absolute did an excellent job at picking up hair across all three floor types. There was a tiny amount stuck in the roller but it was only the longest strands of hair.

Cleaning

I’ve emptied out vacuums more times that I can count over my career and at first glance it’s not clear how you empty this Dyson. The mechanism is a little stiff at first and in the end we had to look it up on YouTube. However, once you’ve got that down it’s a really effective mechanism that will dump crumbs and dust into the trash in one smooth motion.

But while it wasn’t an issue on this V10, with on other Dysons I’ve tested I’ve found that large amounts of hair don’t always eject smoothly. Because hair is so light and it builds up static electricity as it whips around the collection bin, it can sometimes stick to the side of the bin and not eject properly. It wasn’t the case here, and it’s common to lots of cordless models, but don’t be surprised if it happens to you.  

Storage and maintenance

This Dyson comes with a rack for storage and it has a relatively small footprint for storing in cupboars or laundry rooms. However, it's not freestanding, so you either have to screw in the rack, lean it up in a corner, or disassemble it every time you use it, which is a little frustating. There's also limited storage on the rack for the handheld tools and specialised nozzles. It's pretty easy to clean the filter - just tap out any dust and wash it under a faucet, but Dyson recommends you do this once a month, which is probably overkill.

How does it rate online?

Shopping around, most other reviewers agree with me. It has around 4/5 stars on Amazon, Walmart, and Dyson’s own shopping page. Other users also found that this is an incredibly effective vacuum cleaner, but 6 minutes on maximum power is much too short for big messes in big rooms. Lots of reviewers also remark on having to hold down the trigger. It’s no great discomfort, but it’s the sort of low-level annoyance that could become frustrating over time.  

How does it compare with other vaccums?

From my experience with Dysons, this is the best value cordless Dyson you can get. It offers all the agility and performance of a V15 or an Outsize for hundreds of dollars less. The v10 retails t around $600 and is more likely to be on sale than the other two as its an older generation. Sure, you’re missing out on all the bells and whistles; there’s no laser or Piezo sensor, and the floorhead is smaller than the Outsize+, but you won't be spending the best part of $1000 on a vacuum cleaner. It;s also better than its predecessor, the Dyson V8, which we liked but could be much better on hard floors. You can see above that there are very few clear differences between this Dyson and the most recent cordless Dysons. Most of us aren’t vacuum obsessives. If you want something that will quickly and thoroughly clean your floors, then this is it. 

 The real test is how it stacks up against Shark, and I think that this just beats out a Shark Vertex for performance, but not for value. Ultimately, it’s down to you, but my professional advice is that I wouldn’t spend a couple hundred dollars more for a slightly better performance. The difference is that the Dyson will get everything up in one go, where the Vertex might miss the occasional crumb. The Vertex also has a better battery life.

We also tested the Hoover ONEPWR Vet Max in this test and while it wasn’t as good as this Dyson, it was $300 dollars cheaper. I don’t want to hammer the point, but Dysons are incredibly expensive for a vacuum cleaner. You can buy a good vacuum cleaner without breaking the bank. 

Should you buy it?

Yes, but there’s a couple of caveats. If you’re certain you want a Dyson, I’d buy this. It’s cheaper than the other later cordless models and there isn’t a significant enough difference in performance to justify the extra expense of the other Dysons. They’re certainly better, and have handy bonus features, but for sheer vacuuming, this is the best value amongst Dysons.

However, there are other vacuums on the market that are much better value, and the two-year warranty could be better. 

How we test vacuums

We test our vacuums in a range of different scenarios, both in our test centre and in our homes. 

I tested this vacuum on three of the most common floor types in American homes; linoleum, carpet, and hardwood flooring. Linoleum is an excellent way to see how well a vacuum deals with a smooth uniform surface. Carpet shows how well a brush bar can remove dirt from twisted fibres, and hardwood shows if a vacuum can get inbetween the cracks of floorboard to remove dust and crumbs.  

I tested each floor type across three different exercises. The first is flour and sugar, which tests both a kitchen spill and is a proxy test for fine debris like dust, skin flakes, and sand. The second test is the pantry test, where we see how well the vacuum can pick up common cereal as a test of how well it can tackle larger debris like small stones and crumbs. The final test is hair, to see if the vacuum can pick up hair and fur without wrapping them around its floor head.

I tested the other nozzles and extensions as well as any special power settings. I also timed the runtime of cordless vacuums to make sure that the manufacturer's claims are legitimate. 

I then judge all of the above against RRP and warranty to see if each vacuum is good value for money, as well as directly compared it to other vacuums on test. 

Investing in one of the best Dyson alternatives is no longer the mysterious task it once was.

While Dyson has long been the premium buy for exceptional, innovative floorcare with the most advanced technology, now, many brands are offering excellent cleaning prowess, meaning high-cost Dysons are no longer your only choice for brilliance.

We have tested 99 of the world's best vacuums, including 19 Dysons, to help you make informed decisions about the best Dyson alternatives to choose, depending on your floorcare needs and the features you can and can't live without.

These alternative appliances will save you money upfront, without a compromise on performance, or having to forgo many of the features that put Dyson in the lead in the first place, from dust-revealing lasers to bagless, cordless convenience and great suction power.

The Best Dyson Alternatives − Live Deals

My One-Minute Verdict

Our top Dyson alternative is the Shark PowerDetect Cordless. It's a super-powerful cordless vacuum that transitions seamlessly from hard floors to carpets, picking up everything in its path. You can also add the Shark Clean & Empty System, which charges and empties the vacuum for you after each use.

Our favorite upright (and corded) Dyson alternative after extensive testing is the Shark POWERDETECT. Its mighty suction power makes it the best Dyson alternative for pet hair. We also prefer it to Dyson's 'Ball' upright models, as it has added features such as odor-neutralization and a Lift-Away pod for easier cleaning, which Dyson doesn't have.

The Shark Stratos Cordless, which costs around the same as the PowerDetect Cordless, has the strongest suction out of any cordless non-Dyson, but the PowerDetect Cordless has more advanced floor sensors and a lighter weight.

To spend a little less, our best mid-range pick is the Levoit LVAC-300 [at Amazon], and if you're looking for like-for-like Dyson features, the Dreame R20 is the closest option.

Our best budget cordless alternative is the Ultenic U16 Flex [at Amazon], which actually has a dust-revealing green laser, much like Dyson, and our best budget upright alternative is the Bissell SurfaceSense Allergen Pet Lift-Off.

To come to this conclusion, we try, test, and assess each vacuum in our homes, at our test center, and in a busy animal shelter to see how closely our alternatives can match the power and features of a Dyson vacuum on different floors and debris tests, and rank accordingly using our robust vacuum testing methodology.

The Quick List

Here's the useful cliffnotes of which Dyson alternative we recommend, and why. For more in-depth review details from our testing, use the 'Read more below' jump link to skip to the right place.

Compare: Dyson Features

We've fully tested the entire Dyson lineup, from the flagship Detect models to the more budget-friendly options, so we know exactly what to look for in a brilliant but cheaper Dyson alternative.

The main Dyson features we look for are: HEPA filtration, easy pet hair pickup, anti-hair wrap, boosted suction modes, automatic suction, and dust-revealing floorhead lights.

The other leading Dyson feature is immense, consistent suction that picks up mess in one or two passes every time. No vacuum in this guide has suction that's quite as strong as Dyson's best, apart from the Shark POWERDETECT Upright. That's because this big, corded upright isn't restricted by a battery or small motor, but it isn't cordless like the main Dysons.

Furthermore, one aspect that no cordless vacuum has replicated from Dyson is durability. I have spoken with vacuum technicians who praise Dyson's commitment to longevity in their engineering, making sure that each part is either fixable or replaceable. In comparison, Shark vacuums are difficult to repair as the entire main unit needs to be replaced when one part breaks.

Regardless, the vacuums in this guide have super-strong suction that performs well across different floor types. The main trade-off when comparing Dyson alternatives and Dyson vacuums: For suction that's a little bit weaker and a shorter lifespan, you're saving hundreds of dollars.

The Best Dyson Alternatives

The Best Dyson Alternative

Dyson-like features: HEPA filter, easy pet hair pickup, no hair-wrap, boosted suction mode, and automatic suction adjustment.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson V15 Detect and Dyson Gen5detect.

To get as close to Dyson's cordless cleaning power and smart features as possible, the Shark PowerDetect Cordless is your answer. Don't let its $449.99 price tag fool you – it's frequently on offer for as little as $299.99.

Dyson's latest cordless vacuums, the Dyson Gen5detect and the Dyson V15 Detect, are the best vacuums we've ever tested. The Shark PowerDetect Cordless is Shark's latest entry into this 'detect' genre of vacuums, offering similar features at a much lower price.

Like the Dysons, the Shark PowerDetect Cordless can detect the dust volume on your floor and adjust suction power accordingly on auto mode, or you can manually switch between boost mode and eco mode. It also has lights on the floor head to reveal dust on the floor, which is a feature Shark has used for a while, but it doesn't work as effectively as Dyson's green laser that reveals dust invisible to the naked eye. Still, it helps illuminate dimmer areas and under furniture.

But while it shares some of these key features, there's a slight compromise in suction power. Even though it's one of the strongest Shark vacuums we've got our hands on, this is to be expected from a non-Dyson vacuum. It isn't as drastic a difference compared to Shark's previous detect vacuum, the Shark Detect Pro, which wasn't the most impressive. But while it isn't quite as powerful as a Dyson, on test, the PowerDetect Cordless still performed strongly when vacuuming dust, large debris, and pet hair, seamlessly passing from hard floor to carpet with its dual brushrolls.

Being able to accurately count picked-up particles (a feature that's present in Dyson's vacuums) isn't here; in all honesty, this isn't essential. It's insightful to know how much exists on your floors, especially when deep cleaning carpet, but it doesn't do too much in the name of improving how you clean.

Also, unlike any Dyson, it has a flexible wand. No Dyson vacuums have this feature, so it isn't exactly a Dyson dupe, but instead, it's a more affordable alternative with similarly capable cleaning power and some unique features that can change how easy it is to clean.

You also have the option of a Shark Clean & Empty System for an extra $100, which stores, charges, and empties the vacuum between cleans, minimizing how often you have to empty it yourself and expose yourself to common household allergens.

Read more in our full Shark PowerDetect Cordless review.

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The Best Dyson Alternative for Pet Hair

Dyson-like features: HEPA filter, flawless pet hair pickup, no hair-wrap, boosted suction mode, automatic suction adjustment.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson Ball Animal 3.

The POWERDETECT is Shark's latest upright vacuum, making the most out of Shark's most advanced motor tech and design features in this absolute powerhouse of a vacuum cleaner, that actually surpasses the cleaning performance we saw in Dyson's upright vacuum, the Ball Animal 3.

This is the best upright vacuum we've tested, with floor detection, odor-neutralization, pet hair performance and HEPA filtration are all on offer here.

The first (and best) thing our seasoned tester James Holland noted was the suction power. 'It’s able to suck everything up in its path efficiently and proficiently, no matter the debris. And, it’s equally capable regardless of the surface I used it on.' This is why we love it as a multi-surface vacuum.

This suction power works excellently on pet hair, too, as James learned on a carpet that required some deep vacuuming thanks to his shedding cat. 'With one pass, the Shark POWERDETECT had basically picked up every visible piece of hair (as well as litter near the litter box) from the carpet, filling the dust bin with an amount of hair equal to a second cat.'

It also matches Dyson's detection tech (as seen in the Dyson V12 Detect Slim), identifying floor type, dust volume and floor edges to adjust suction power (can boost up to 3x) whenever it's needed.

It doesn't share the signature green laser found in Dyson's cordless vacuums, but it does feature bright LED lights to better illuminate the floor. This is a significant difference as I can confirm, from my own hands-on experience, that the Dyson green laser does reveal dust that the naked eye can't see, whereas LED headlights such as these only illuminate the floor.

It's no surprise that this is one of, if not the most powerful, upright vacuum cleaner we've ever tested. This power may come at a sacrifice in weight; at 17.57lbs, it's slightly heavier than the 16-17lbs we usually expect from an upright vacuum, but much heavier than the 6-7lbs that Dyson's best cordless vacuums weigh. Nonetheless, the vacuum has Shark's famous Lift-Away feature that enables you to carry just the main component, leaving the heavier parts behind, so it's still a great choice for when you need more mobility (like on stairs or reaching above the head).

The hose offers more reach but, unfortunately it's a little limited in length (it's only two feet long compared to the Dyson Ball Animal 3's 15 feet of hose stretch). This is also where you clip on any attachment tools – depending on whether you buy the vacuum alone or the TruePet upgrade, this could include a duster crevice tool, multi-angled dust brush, anti-allergen dust brush, pet multi tool, and HairPro self-cleaning pet power brush.

All in all, the POWERDETECT is a thorough, comprehensive vacuum cleaner – and even more capable than Dyson's best upright models, the Dyson Animal Ball 3. Its 12-inch floorhead means you're covering a lot of ground with each pass, leaving your floors spotless and smelling ever-so-slightly fresh thanks to the odor neutralizer cartridge.'

Read more in our full Shark POWERDETECT review.

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The Best Dyson Alternative for Features

Dyson-like features: Decent pet hair pickup, no hair-wrap, boosted suction mode, automatic suction adjustment, dust-revealing light.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim (dust-revealing light and floor sensors); Dyson V8 ( suction).

As soon as I unboxed the Dreame R20, I recognised many design features similar to what has made Dyson so successful. It detects what's on your floors and adjusts the suction accordingly, and it has auto and turbo modes, similar to the auto and boost modes in the Dyson V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim.

It also has two separate floorheads, one soft and bristled, just like Dyson's soft Fluffy Optic floorhead and bristled Motorbar floorhead. These provide specialized cleaning on hard floors and carpets, respectively, making it one of the best multi-surface vacuums for homes with a mix of floors.

It's also one of the only non-Dyson vacuums that actually lists the air watts figure, which is the most accurate measurement of suction power. The Dreame R20 comes in at 190 air watts, which is higher than the Dyson V12 Detect Slim's 150 and the Dyson V11's 185 – two of our best-on-test Dyson vacuums.

But suction power doesn't always equal cleaning power, and while the Dreame R20 is a fantastic vacuum with surprisingly strong suction at this price, its performance is still weaker than every cordless Dyson except the Dyson V8.

It isn't great at vacuuming pet hair from carpets, so if you're a pet owner, I'd recommend one of the best vacuums for pet hair instead. It also occasionally clogs when dealing with high volumes of debris, but this can easily be avoided by vacuuming more often and not letting the mess build up.

Otherwise, this is a stellar cordless vacuum. It's better than many of the competition we've tested around this price point, and it has no issues whatsoever vacuuming dust, debris, and hair from hard floors, thin rugs, and carpets.

It also has a maximum runtime of 90 minutes, exceeding any cordless Dyson. Of course, this runtime is only achievable on the lowest setting, but on auto, you can average around 40-50 minutes of cleaning, which is certainly longer than what you'll get in a 60-minute Dyson.

Read more in my full Dreame R20 review.

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The Best Cordless Dyson Alternative for Suction Power

Dyson-like features: HEPA filter, easy pet hair pickup, no hair-wrap, boosted suction mode, and automatic suction adjustment.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson V15 Detect (floor sensors); Dyson V11 (suction).

The Shark Stratos is, in many ways, one of the most like-for-like Dyson alternatives out there. It detects what's on your floors, optimizes its suction automatically, picks up pet hair well, has LED lights to illuminate the floor, and has HEPA filtration to trap household allergens.

But while other vacuums in this guide excel in certain areas – the Ultenic U16 Flex's light actually reveals hidden dust, and the Shark POWERDETECT Upright is unmatched in its pet hair pickup – the Shark Stratos Cordless has the best suction power you'll find in a non-Dyson cordless vacuum.

Cordless vacuums don't tend to be too effective when vacuuming carpet, but the Shark Stratos Cordless managed to vacuum a clean line through thick flour and sugar debris in one pass. Our 'pantry' test highlights how well a vacuum can handle dust, dander, and other super-fine particles that embed in carpets, and it proved itself as one of the best non-Dyson cordless sticks out there.

On hard floors, regardless of the mess I was cleaning (fine powder, food, large debris), the Stratos Cordless picked it up in one pass.

I also tested the Stratos Cordless in a local cat and dog shelter. On hard floors, carpets, thick rugs, and upholstery, it banished almost all visible fur, leaving only a few strands of tiny, stubborn hairs behind – something I find with almost all vacuums that I test. And importantly, the rollers were never wrapped with hair.

Its dust light and floor sensors aren't as adept as the Dyson V15 Detect – it takes 2-3x as long to automatically adjust the suction, and the light doesn't reveal hidden particles. Plus, its suction isn't quite as powerful as the V11, but it's more than Dyson's older models, such as the V8.

The Shark PowerDetect Cordless in this guide is another great pick, and surprisingly, you can find it discounted more often. It has better floor detection (it also detects edges and cleaning direction), but the Stratos has slightly stronger suction, so it depends on what's more important in your household.

Read more in my full Shark PowerPro Pet review.

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The Best Dyson Alternative for Revealing Dust

Dyson-like features: HEPA filter, no hair-wrap, boosted suction mode, dust-revealing light.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson V12 Detect Slim (weight and dust-revealing laser); Dyson V8 (suction).

The U16 Flex is a rare gem as it's one of the only vacuums under $200 that can actually do a decent job of cleaning your floors. It's not perfect, and does fall short when vacuuming carpet, but it can be a great, lightweight option for those easier cleans.

The Ultenic U16 Flex has clearly taken design notes from Dyson vacuums like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. It has a similar build (just in a different color scheme), but more importantly, it has the dust-revealing laser that we couldn't praise more from Dyson's laser vacuums.

In fact, when comparing this budget vacuum to a $750 Dyson, the U16 Flex is the closest we've ever seen to the Dyson green laser, as all other vacuums that have imitated just brighten up the floor, whereas the U16 Flex's GreenEye floorhead actually shows dust and hair that the naked eye can't see.

Also, like the Shark Cordless PowerDetect, it can bend at the wand, so you can easily clean under furniture without straining your back. It's quite satisfying how easily it snaps back into place, too.

On hard floors, the U16 Flex had no issue vacuuming all types of mess during our tests. But on carpet, it took around 10 passes to fully clear flour and sugar, which represents how well the vacuum can handle fine particles like dust and dead skin.

This is the sacrifice when choosing a budget vacuum. It can be an incredible way of saving money if your home doesn't have any carpets, but if it does, I'd recommend one of the Shark vacuums in this guide. The U16 Flex has weaker suction than every Dyson vacuum on the market.

The U16 Flex's materials also feel cheap, so I can't vouch for their durability, but this also makes it one of the most lightweight vacuums we've ever tested.

I tested the Ultenic U16 Flex in a local pet shelter and found that its anti-hair wrap works surprisingly well for this price. It wasn't always able to clear every strand of cat and dog hair, but it vacuumed the majority of it, even removing pet hair from fabrics like upholstery and soft chair padding.

Read more in our full Ultenic U16 Flex review.

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The Best Budget Upright Dyson Alternative

Dyson-like features: HEPA filter, easy pet hair pickup, no hair-wrap, boosted suction mode, automatic suction adjustment.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson Ball Animal 2.

For a sub-$300 upright vacuum, the Bissell SurfaceSense Allergen Pet Lift-Off cleans pretty impressively and has smart features similar to Dyson's that other brands would charge twice the price for.

The most notable is its floor detection, which is one of my favorite aspects of Dyson's flagship cordless 'Detect' series. Like the Dyson V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim, this Bissell vacuum can sense whether you're vacuuming dusty areas or thick carpet and adjust the suction accordingly. It's an important feature when designing one of the best multi-surface vacuums, saving you from switching modes every time you move to a new surface.

None of Dyson's corded upright vacuums have this floor-sensing tech, meaning it actually has additional functionality when compared to the Dyson Ball Animal vacuums.

Its suction isn't as strong as either the Dyson Ball Animal 2 or 3, either, so it's closest in performance to the Dyson Ball Animal 2, which isn't released as new anymore.

The Bissell also has LED headlights that you won't find in the Ball Animal vacuums, but they aren't as effective as the green laser in Dyson's cordless vacuums. They still do a decent job of illuminating what's on your floors more clearly, and helping you see whether any dirt is remaining.

During our vacuum tests, the Bissell SurfaceSense didn't vacuum the various messes as efficiently as others in this guide, but still performed better than expected at this price point.

Our expert tester, Camryn Rabideau, said, 'It did particularly well when vacuuming hardwood floors, where it picked up all the debris in just one pass back and forth. It even pulled up the debris from cracks between the floorboards.'

It took a few additional passes on carpets, but it was still able to achieve a full clean. It's certainly not as powerful as the Dyson Ball Animal 3, which is so strong it suctions itself to your floors, but it's three pounds lighter, making the Bissell one of the best lightweight vacuums for upright models.

And when it comes to pet hair, the Bissell's motorized pet attachment works like a treat on furniture, and its main floorhead had no issues whatsoever vacuuming pet hair. On hard floors, it was able to pull hair in from inches away.

Read more in our full Bissell SurfaceSense Allergen Pet Lift-Off review.

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The Best Mid-Range Cordless Dyson Alternative

Dyson-like features: HEPA filter, decent pet hair pickup, boosted suction mode, automatic suction adjustment.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson V8.

The Levoit LVAC-300 is a budget-to-mid-range cordless vacuum, depending on promotions that makes it a great choice to bring decent cleaning power into your home without breaking the bank.

It costs around twice as much as our budget cordless pick in this guide, but the Levoit LVAC-300 can actually vacuum carpets – not perfectly, but enough if your home isn't exclusively carpeted.

This performance puts it at a similar level to the Dyson V8.

On hard floors, the LVAC-300 performed great when vacuuming fine powders, dust and pet hair, making it one of the best vacuums for hardwood floors at this price. Using the attachments also showed how capable its suction is, as flour could be pulled in from about an inch away when using the crevice tool.

It has LED headlights on the floorhead, but they don't compete with the Dyson's green laser that reveals 'invisible' dust. However, it's just as nimble as a Dyson and can lay completely flat, and weighing just 6.61lbs it's lighter than most Dyson models.

I'm a big fan of how swiftly dust falls out of the dustbin when emptying, while barely blowing any mess back into your face. This ease helps to avoid overfilling your vacuum.

My only gripe is that for just $50, you can get the Dyson V8, and after recently updating our testing methodology, we found that the Dyson V8 is still worth it. It offers stronger suction, tighter filtration, and more long-lasting materials, but it has a lower runtime of 40 minutes.

Read more in our full Levoit LVAC-300 review.

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The Best Alternative to the Dyson WashG1

Dyson-like features: Simultaneous dry and wet vacuuming, floor scrubbing, 180-degree lie-flat, different moisture levels.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson WashG1 and Dyson Clean+Wash.

The Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 is one of the best vacuum-mop combos we've tested at Homes & Gardens. Like the Dyson WashG1, Dyson's entry into the world of wet floor cleaners, it can clean your floors while vacuuming up wet and dry spills. But when you compare the two, the Tineco cleans better, while costing $100 less.

They share a few features: both can lay completely flat to reach under furniture, both have different suction modes and moisture levels, both have a self-cleaning charging dock.

But their differences are what makes the Tineco a more capable floor cleaner. The Dyson WashG1 uses fresh water and agitation to clean your floors, while the Tineco S6 uses actual cleaning solution to wash the floor's surface. Also, when laying completely flat, the Tineco has power adjustment so that there's no loss of suction when cleaning in this position.

The Tineco also gives you more control over cleaning modes. The Dyson has three moisture levels for you to choose between, but the Tineco lets you control moisture levels and suction mode. It also has auto mode, where it responds to how dirty your floors are, as well as suction and max presets.

On test, the Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 never really struggled to clean up different spillages, from milk and cereal to chunky pasta sauce. The Dyson, at one point, was unable to clean raw egg, but the Tineco was able to easily – as was the newer Tineco Floor One S7 Pro, which we also love.

My only gripes with the Stretch S6 are its inconveniently positioned clean water tank and its occasional delay in vacuuming debris. The clean water tank is in the floorhead, meaning you can't bring it up to your kitchen sink, but it's a minor inconvenience, as all you need is a cup or measuring jug to pour it in.

And sometimes, it will take a few passes to vacuum up solids, but it always gets there eventually. If you're looking for a more efficient clean, the Dreame H14 Pro is the best we've tested.

Find more info and videos in my full Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 review.

The Best Alternative to the Dyson 360 Vis Nav

Dyson-like features: Strong suction, easy navigation.

Dyson alternative for: Dyson 360 Vis Nav, and the soon-to-be-released Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai.

The Dyson 360 Vis Nav, the only robot vacuum currently available from Dyson, was a disappointment. It didn't live up to the expectations set by the level of cleaning set by Dyson vacuums. After testing, our reviewer Helen McCue actually ended up reverting back to using her much-older and more affordable eufy X8 Pro as it cleaned more thoroughly and bashed into furniture less.

But our pick of the best alternative robot vacuum is the eufy X10 Pro Omni. It's not the best robot vacuum we've ever tested; that would be the eufy S1 Pro Omni and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+. But as both of these models cost more than the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, I can't recommend them as cheaper alternatives.

The eufy X10 Pro Omni can also mop your floors, which the 360 Vis Nav isn't able to. 'Regular mopping fared great with this eufy robot, leaving my floors clean and quickly dry,' wrote tester Punteha van Terheyden in our review.

'I brought mud, mixed with water, in from the back yard and spread 100 ml of it on the bathroom linoleum. The mop tackled my proxy-wet-and-muddy-paw-prints with ease on the first pass,' she added, which is why we love the X10 Pro Omni as one of our best robot vacuums for pet owners.

If you buy this separate eufy replacement roller for $19.99, the X10 Pro Omni can also pull up pet hair, even from carpets, without any tangling. Before switching out the roller, the robot was able to pick up hair, but it all instantly tangled, creating a frequent task of manually removing it from the roller.

'Where this robot vacuum excels, in my view, is on hard floors. It picked up absolutely everything in its path,' Punteha wrote, so if you're looking for a vacuum for hardwood floors, this could be a great way to take some chore time off your hands.

Read more in our full eufy X10 Pro Omni review.

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More Dyson alternatives to consider

Our top nine are the best picks to consider when choosing your next vacuum cleaner, but if you're looking for something more specific, there are still other models that I recommend.

• If your home has only (or predominantly) hard floors, the Bissell Hard Floor Expert is a great, affordable canister vacuum without any carpet cleaning attachments to save you $100s.
• The Dreame H14 Pro cleans better than both the Dyson WashG1 and the Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 in this guide, and costs the same as the Dyson WashG1.
• The eufy S1 Pro Omni is the single best robot vacuum we've tested, but its $1,499 price point makes it more expensive than anything Dyson sells. If you want spotless floors all the time, though, this is the one, as it reduced canister vacuum use for our tester (who has two cats) by 90% in our tests, and is great at mopping and self-cleaning.
• The Miele Duoflex and Miele Triflex both have exceptional suction and a suite of floorheads and attachments for varied cleaning, just like the Dysons, but they cost a similar price while being slightly weaker than Dyson's top models.

How to Choose the Best Dyson Alternative

Choosing the best Dyson alternative is slightly different from simply knowing how to choose a vacuum. The best Dyson vacuums can detect what's on your floors, reveal invisible dust, completely avoid hair wrap and swiftly pick up all types of mess regardless of the surface. If you're after an alternative, these are the features to look out for.

Floor detection is becoming a common feature across different vacuum types now, as we've seen in the Shark Cordless PowerDetect and Shark POWERDETECT Upright in this guide which can sense floor type and dust volume automatically, just like the Dysons. It's a small touch, but one that streamlines your cleaning, avoiding you having to manually change suction mode each time you change surface. It also preserves battery life in cordless vacuums while still being able to extract heavy amounts of dust when necessary.

Many newer vacuums have LED lights on the floorhead to better illuminate what's on your floors, but no model can do so as well as Dyson's vacuums, like the Dyson V15 Detect, which actually reveals invisible particles. The closest we've found is, surprisingly, the Ultenic U16 Flex (at Amazon), the most affordable vacuum in this list.

The best vacuums for pet hair manage to avoid hair wrap to varying success. Dyson's vacuums avoid it more than any others we've tested, but the Sharks in this guide come pretty close. Unfortunately, almost every vacuum will list 'anti-hair wrap' as one of its features, so the only way to know for certain is by reading reviews like ours.

And finally, Dyson's suction power is among the best in the market, and when shopping for a Dyson alternative, this is usually the sacrifice. That being said, if raw suction is most important for you, consider the best upright vacuums or the best Miele vacuums. Miele's cordless vacuums perform similarly to Dyson's but can cost just as much, if not more.

Shark has been making some of the best vacuums for a long time, and while Dyson is famous for offering the most powerful tech, Shark has crafted their own excellence with truly helpful features, multi-purpose floor heads, and strong suction – all at a more affordable price.

How We Test the Best Dyson Alternatives

At Homes & Gardens we only review vacuums with which we have had personal, hands-on experience. We want to be able to vouch for every product we feature, so that you can trust us to be truthful and critical, where necessary.

You can read about our full vacuum testing methodology in our guide on how we test vacuums. It gives the full low-down on where we test, for how long, and the individual cleaning tests we carry out.

But in a nutshell, when testing to see if a vacuum is worthy of being a Dyson alternative, we assess how comparable its features are to what we know and love about Dyson's floor cleaners. Most importantly, they need to be considerably more affordable, as the one major drawback of Dyson vacuums is usually the steep price.

If we find the alternative vacuum's suction power, pet hair pickup, dust detection, and smart features as strong, but the price isn't too far off a Dyson, we'll still recommend spending that little bit extra for the real deal. If these features aren't quite as good but the vacuum is much more affordable and still a good cleaner, we've found a winner.

Meet the Testing Team

Dyson Glossary

To become more familiar with Dyson's floorcare range and the features that alternative brands have recreated, here's a helpful explainer:

• Detect: The range of cordless vacuums, including the V15 Detect and V12 Detect Slim, that adapt suction based off what's on your floors, and with a dust-revealing laser.
• Fluffy Optic: Floorhead found in Detect vacuums, with a soft roller and dust-revealing laser.
• Motorbar: The most common floorhead found across most Dyson cordless vacuums. It cleans multiple surfaces, but works best on carpet, and never wraps with hair.
• Root Cyclone: Dyson vacuums were the first to use 'cyclone' engineering to develop the bagless vacuum cleaner.
• Multi-stage filtration: Unlike many vacuum cleaners that have an internal HEPA filter, most Dyson vacuums have whole-machine HEPA filtration, ensuring more effective capturing of allergens and microscopic particles.