No matter how hard you try to avoid or prevent it, keeping your car completely clean is impossible. Kids accidentally drop snacks on the floor while pets shed or leave mud prints on the upholstery. Luckily, a vacuum designed for cleaning your car's interior can help make your automobile feel like it's dealership-new once again. These vacuums tend to be very portable and lightweight. They also favor better performance on low-pile carpets over other surface types, and they come with several tools to help you reach more difficult areas like crevices.
We've tested over 105 vacuum cleaners, and below are our recommendations for the best vacuums for cars. They were chosen based on their performance on different types of surfaces, their feature set, and finally, their battery life. For more recommendations, look at our lists of the best vacuums, the best cordless vacuums, and the best vacuums for pet hair.
Quick Look
We've independently bought and tested over 105 vacuums with no cherry-picked manufacturer samples. We run each vacuum through a gauntlet of tests whose results are validated by multiple teams to ensure you get an accurate picture of how each model will perform and can easily compare them. We keep the products in our lab so we can periodically go back and see how they stack up to the newest competition.
Want to learn more about our testing and review pipeline? Check out our How We Test Vacuums article for insight into our lab and writing processes.
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Best Car Vacuum
Cars8.2Workshop5.7Range10Storing7.2Vacuum TypeHandheldCordlessYesBaglessYesSee all our test resultsVolume0.11 gal (0.40 L)The best car vacuum cleaner we've tested is the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+. While this isn't the smallest handheld vacuum, it's still compact enough to stow away easily on a garage shelf or even in the trunk of your vehicle. It's also very lightweight yet still feels solidly built. It does a fantastic job of handling debris on flat, hard surfaces and is impressively effective in dealing with messes on carpeting and floor mats. Its dirt compartment is quite large for a handheld model, so you won't need to empty it at the end of every cleaning session. The CH951 variant comes with a crevice tool for dealing with debris in tight corners and a miniature turbo brush.
Unfortunately, the brush is bulky and has difficulty picking up pet hair on fabric surfaces. Another downside is its meager 10-minute battery life, which is pretty poor, even by the standards of other handheld vacuums. The battery isn't replaceable, so you can't swap in a new pack if performance degrades over time. Finally, this vacuum is terrible at sealing in fine particles, which can easily escape from its exhaust. If that's an issue, consider the eufy HomeVac H11, which does a much better job of trapping allergens. It's also one of the best car vacuums we've tested, but it struggles with bulkier material, which can clog its suction inlet.
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Best Mid-Range Car Vacuum
Cars8.2Workshop5.7Range10Storing9.1Vacuum TypeHandheldCordlessYesBaglessYesSee all our test resultsVolume0.16 gal (0.60 L)The Black+Decker 16V MAX dustbuster Cordless Hand Vacuum is the best cordless car vacuum we've tested that balances cost and performance. It's cheaper than the Shark, uses a less expensive filter, and has an even higher-capacity dustbin that you won't need to empty as often. Despite its bulkier size, it still doesn't weigh much, so you can easily carry it wherever you need it. Its integrated extension wand/crevice tool makes it easier to clean tight spots, like between car seats, your center console, or the depths of cup holders. It also has a built-in hard-bristle brush for scrubbing away stuck-on dirt from seats or any plastic surfaces, and the brush stows away when not in use, so you don't have to worry about misplacing the attachment.
Unlike the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+, it doesn't come with a turbo brush attachment, making it a little annoying to clean larger carpeted or upholstered areas, like seats or carpet mats. It also takes much longer to recharge than the Shark and has a similarly short battery life of around 10 minutes. Another common downside it shares with the Shark is that its battery pack isn't replaceable; you can't swap it out without disassembling the vacuum first.
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Best Budget Car Vacuum
Cars8.6Workshop5.0Range10Storing7.9Vacuum TypeHandheldCordlessYesBaglessYesSee all our test resultsVolume0.01 gal (0.05 L)If you're looking for a highly portable option that won't break the bank, get the BISSELL AeroSlim/TurboSlim, the best car vacuum with a portable design we've tested. While its super-small design limits the amount of debris it can hold, especially compared to a larger model like the Black+Decker 16V MAX dustbuster Cordless Hand Vacuum, it's much easier to use in tight spaces, like the inside of a compact car. In fact, it's small enough that you can even stand it upright in an extra-large cupholder. This vacuum feels well-built, especially for a handheld at this price point, and its simple design makes emptying its tiny dustbin or accessing its filters easy. Its battery life is about 15 minutes, longer than any of our more expensive picks above.
In terms of accessories, it comes with a crevice tool to extend your reach in the crevices between seats and in cup holders, as well as a slide-on soft-bristle brush for cleaning plastic surfaces that scratch easily, such as your car's center console. Unfortunately, like the Black+Decker above, it lacks a miniature turbo brush tool or a wide-nozzle upholstery tool, which are essential for cleaning larger fabric-lined or carpeted areas, such as the trunk or floor mats. Additionally, while it's highly effective at clearing away pet hair and lightweight debris, bulky material can easily clog its narrow suction inlet. You'll want to clear away any large debris by hand or with a broom before using it for cleaning.
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Best Shop Car Vacuum
Cars7.6Workshop8.6Range10Storing8.2Vacuum TypeHandheldCordlessYesBaglessYesSee all our test resultsVolume3.35 gal (12.67 L)A shop vac can be a great investment if you want a vacuum that can handle dry and wet messes inside your car or something that can pull double duty as a compact garage vacuum. The RYOBI 18V One+ 3 Gal. Project Wet/Dry is a great option for this use and is among the best cordless car vacuums we've tested. It's relatively compact for a workshop vacuum, so you can store it away on a shelf or under a worktable when not in use. That said, it's still much bulkier than a conventional handheld, such as the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+, so you might have trouble fitting it within the confines of your car. The benefit of this larger design is a much greater debris capacity and a far more powerful suction motor, allowing it to clear away heavy debris and liquids easily. Just make sure to remove the filter before cleaning up wet messes.
Of course, the downside of its greater debris capacity is that it makes the vacuum somewhat hard to carry around as it fills up. Also worth noting is that while there's a crevice tool to extend your reach, its hose is still very short, making it difficult to clean the furthest recesses of your car's interior or tight spots, like underneath seats. Finally, while the included 4.0 Ah battery only supplies enough power for roughly 15 minutes of runtime, you can easily swap out the depleted battery for a fully charged one, which is likely something you already have if you own any other RYOBI One+ products like a cordless drill, reciprocating saw, or even a shop light.
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Best Corded Car Vacuum
Cars7.9Workshop5.1Range7.1Storing6.6Vacuum TypeCanisterCordlessNoBaglessNoSee all our test resultsVolume0.74 gal (2.80 L)The Eureka Mighty Mite is the best car vacuum with a corded design we've tested. It has a short power cord, so you'll likely need an extension cord to clean hard-to-reach spots in your car. However, its lightweight design makes it easy to pick up and carry around compared to most conventional canister vacuums. Despite its affordable price point, it features a reasonably potent 12-amp motor, which allows it to lift heavier debris or material embedded within floormats with little trouble. It also does a great job of clearing away pet hair on upholstered surfaces, such as car seats, when used with its mini brush tool, although it doesn't include a mini turbo brush. The vacuum has a simple design, allowing you to quickly dispose of its dirt bag once it fills up and replace the filter.
Unfortunately, the Eureka's build quality isn't especially impressive; most parts are made of cheap-feeling plastic, which isn't surprising given its bargain price. While its long wand, made of two hollow plastic tubes, gives you a bit of added reach for cleaning tight spots, it's worth noting that those plastic tubes can easily fall apart if you don't wedge them together very tightly. In addition, unlike an actual shop vacuum like the RYOBI 18V One+ 3 Gal. Project Wet/Dry, you can't use it to clear away liquid spills.
Notable Mentions
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Shark WANDVAC:
The Shark WANDVAC performs very well on low-pile carpets and has much better air filtration than the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+. However, it lacks a miniature turbo brush tool.
See our review -
Black+Decker dustbuster AdvancedClean+ Pet:
The Black+Decker dustbuster AdvancedClean+ Pet is a better option than the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ if you want something that's better at handling pet hair. It has a bigger dirt compartment and lower recurring costs, but it doesn't feel as well-built and is more expensive.
See our review
Recent Updates
Nov 14, 2025:
We made slight text adjustments to further clarify product details.
May 02, 2025:
We've verified that our recommendations are available and represent the best choices. We also made small edits for clarity.
Mar 20, 2025:
We replaced the mention of the Wyze Cordless Vacuum with the eufy HomeVac H11 due to availability. We also made some minor text adjustments.
Jan 23, 2025:
Removed the Hoover ONEPWR Cordless Hand Vacuum from the Notable Mentions because it isn't available. Added the Black+Decker dustbuster AdvancedClean+ Pet as a Notable Mention. Small text changes for conciseness and clarity.
Oct 08, 2024: We've verified that our recommendations are available and represent the best choices on the market. We've also made edits for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations are based on what we think are currently the best full-sized and the best handheld car vacuums that we've tested. We don't just base our results on overall performance but also on factors like availability, price, and reader feedback.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our vacuum reviews, ranked by their suitability for car cleaning. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no vacuum is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.