Meanwhile, our top performance pick with the best overall suction is the Dyson V15 Detect, which offers an advertised 230 air watts of suction power. Credit to Dyson for pioneering the cordless vacuum category with a series of capable — yet pricey — Cyclone V series stick vacs. Many years and many models later, Dyson remains a fixture of the category in 2023, but it’s not quite as dominant in our cleaning tests as it was five or 10 years ago. At this point, there are multiple competitors with top models that can go toe to toe with Dyson on our test floors.
“If I have one complaint, it’s that removing the hand vac part from the stick is a little awkward and clunky,” they admitted. Our guides feature vacuums ranging in price from $40 for a handheld to $600 for a self-emptying robot vacuum. If you’re looking for a good stick, canister, or robot vacuum, expect to pay $300 or more. When cleaning your whole house, you want a machine that is light enough to carry from room to room and up and down stairs, about 10 to 15 pounds.
Many of the cordless vacuums on the market are comparable, and in some cases better, to corded, upright vacuums when it comes to collecting dust and dander from carpets and hard floors. They’re more versatile than corded vacuums too, as they can be converted into lightweight, handheld cleaners that are suitable for use on upholstery, up high, and even in vehicles. Remember how our top pick from Tineco removed 78% of the sand from a midpile carpet in our toughest test?
The Samsung Jet 75 and Shark Cordless Pro each have their advantages. The Samsung has a rack station to hold two accessories, has a higher-capacity battery, delivers better performance on carpeted floors, is easier to maneuver, and makes less noise. Conversely, the Shark has a higher-capacity dustbin, can automatically adjust its suction power setting, and handles pet hair on furniture better with a simple straight-suction upholstery tool. It has no trouble dealing with pet hair on bare floors and low and high-pile carpeting, and its upholstery nozzle is a fantastic attachment for dealing with hair on fabric surfaces, like couches or car seats. Its odor-neutralizing cartridge also helps in masking unpleasant scents as you clean. Unlike most other Shark vacuums, you can remove its self-cleaning brushroll pretty easily, making it much easier to clear away the small amount of hair that can get stuck.
We were impressed with the battery runtime on this cordless vac—it powered off on its own at the 25-minute mark, even though the battery is only slated for a 15-minute lifespan. You can pick it up midway to redirect it or have it go over another part of the area for cleanup, but otherwise, this is a hands-off vacuum. It even re-docks and empties itself—later, just push a button to remove the canister to dump out the contents easily. If you have a lot of home to vacuum, you’ll want a model with good runtime. But overall, this is a trusty cleaning machine that’s made cleaning easier and faster for me. After roughly a year of regular usage, it’s still a beast of a vacuum, in all the right ways.
We want to know how well each model picks up dirt and debris embedded into carpet, sprinkled on bare floors and trapped along wall edges. We test how adept each vacuum is at removing pet hair stuck to carpeting shark pet vacuum as well as ease-of-use concerns like how heavy it is to carry. We assess the ease of removing and emptying the dust cup or bag, the usability of the attachments, a vacuum’s maneuverability and more.
This cordless stick vacuum employs Shark’s anti-hair-wrap tech to remove hair from the brush roll as you clean, saving you a particularly tedious job. If the Floor One S7 Pro sounds too techy—or too expensive—I recommend the iFloor 3. This older Tineco model lacks edge cleaning on either side of the motorhead, but it cleans efficiently and quietly. While it’s technically not a smart device, it does have a backlit LED display with visual alerts for battery level, power mode, and brush roll tangles. It will also let you know if the dirty water tank is full or if the clean water tank is empty.
But of those that do, Pullins says you should look for attachments that clean hair more easily from upholstery and carpets. We also found that the crevice tool was also quite helpful in picking up stubborn hair from upholstery and stairs. Manufacturers will often boast shark stick vacuum about their vacuum’s suction power in terms of air watts, a figure that quantifies airflow in terms of power usage. Generally speaking, more air watts means a more powerful vacuum cleaner, but the actual design of the vacuum head plays a significant role, as well.
In our tests, the Dreametech T30 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner emitted a high-pitched whine and struggled to pick up medium and large debris. Its uncharacteristically long wand may make it awkward to use for shorter people. The vacuum stands unsupported, so no need to scramble to find a place to prop it up if you get pulled away. The Ryobi 18V One+ HP Cordless Pet Stick Vac Kit with Dual-Roller Bar isn’t as lightweight, nimble, or snazzy as the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, but it stands out in several ways—and it costs much less.