A good cordless vacuum is a helpful addition to any household cleaning arsenal. The best models offer a balance of performance and runtime. They should be powerful enough to clean bare floors, stairs, shelves, furniture, and carpets in your home on a single charge. Cordless vacuums are also great for cleaning your car's interior, no extension cord required. They should have enough accessories and tools to tackle any of these jobs. And you'll want to look for a model with a good filter to avoid blowing dust around while you clean.
We've tested over 105 vacuums, and below are our recommendations for the best cordless vacuums. We evaluate them based on their performance on different surface types and their feature set, battery life, impact on your home's air quality, and price. For more options, look at our lists of the best vacuums, the best stick vacuums, and the best vacuums for high-pile carpet.
Quick Look
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Best Cordless Vacuum
House7.4Small Apartment8.7Stairs8.5Cars8.1Air Quality8.1Hard Floor Pickup8.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup8.0See all our test resultsLow-Pile Carpet Pickup7.5The Dyson V15 Detect is the best cordless vacuum we've tested. While it's hardly the newest kid on the block, it's still a top choice and one that performs very similarly to current flagships at a slightly more attainable price. It's equipped with a 230 AW suction motor, which is remarkably powerful for a cordless stick vacuum. Its built-in piezo sensor measures and counts debris sucked into the vacuum, so you can monitor allergen levels inside your home, and allows it to change its suction setting depending on the floor type you're on. The HEPA filter is just about perfect at keeping dust out of the air and won't negatively impact air quality in your home.
At about 6.5 pounds, it's heavier than some other stick vacuums on the market, though far from unwieldy. Unfortunately, its strong suction can cause it to get stuck on thick, shag-pile rugs. And, as with almost all bagless vacuums, you'll create a cloud of dust when you empty it, so it's best to do so outdoors if possible.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Cordless Vacuum
Stairs8.4Cars7.7Hard Floor Pickup8.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup7.0See all our test resultsLow-Pile Carpet Pickup7.0Our best cordless vacuum pick in the upper mid-range category is the Shark Stratos Cordless. Its bulkier twin-roller floorhead and relatively heavy body make it less portable than the Dyson V15 Detect, and its suction motor isn't quite as powerful. That said, it has a few advantages beyond a lower price tag. Like the Dyson, it features an automatic power adjustment system, allowing it to increase its suction level when passing over an area with a high concentration of debris. The HEPA filter keeps allergens and dust out of the air as you vacuum. It also features an odor-neutralization system, which is housed in a replaceable cartridge mounted in its floorhead.
Its maximum battery life of about an hour is fairly long for this type of vacuum, but note that it takes almost four hours to recharge, which can be inconvenient during longer cleaning sessions. And unfortunately, this vacuum's floorhead can easily get bogged down in thick-pile rugs. Since this is a bagless vacuum, you should also be aware that it'll release a cloud of dust when you empty it.
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Best Mid-Range Cordless Vacuum
House6.9Small Apartment8.2Stairs8.1Cars7.8Air Quality8.2Hard Floor Pickup6.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup7.5See all our test resultsLow-Pile Carpet Pickup6.5In the mid-range, the Dyson V8 is the best cordless stick vacuum we've tested. It's an older model and doesn't perform at the same level as the Dyson V15 Detect, but it still offers good performance in a more affordable vacuum. For a small apartment, it's a great option. Its filter won't blow dust and debris all over a small space; it's easy to store; its runtime is sufficient; its debris pickup is decent; and it excels at picking up pet hair. You'll also find it well-suited to cleaning stairs and cars for much the same reasons. It comes with a nice assortment of accessories, though not as many as the V15, and it'll give you the flexibility to tackle most jobs.
However, its previous-generation battery delivers inadequate runtime for large homes or for big messes that require sustained maximum power. Also, while its floorhead works well at picking up fine material, it's so low that it pushes around medium and large debris, requiring you to lift the floorhead and set it down again on top of the displaced material. Finally, it has the same problem as almost all bagless vacuums: emptying it releases a cloud of dust that's extremely difficult to contain.
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Best Budget Cordless Vacuum
Stairs8.5Cars8.2Hard Floor Pickup7.5High-Pile Carpet Pickup6.5See all our test resultsLow-Pile Carpet Pickup6.5The Tineco PURE ONE S11 is the best cordless vacuum cleaner we've tested at a budget price. Like the pricier Shark Stratos Cordless, it features an automatic power adjustment that increases suction strength when passing over an area with a lot of debris. It also features a HEPA filter that effectively traps allergens as you clean. This variant of the S11 comes with a combination crevice tool/dusting brush, as well as a miniature turbo brush that's quite effective in handling pet hair on upholstered furniture.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of downsides. It doesn't feel very sturdily built, and has a slightly shorter runtime than the Dyson V8 of around 40 minutes in its lowest power mode. At a little under six pounds, it's very easy to pick up and carry, but its floorhead pivoting mechanism feels cheap and doesn't operate smoothly, making it challenging to maneuver around furniture and other obstacles. And like almost all bagless vacuums, you'll create poor air quality from dust release if you empty this vacuum indoors.
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Best Cheap Cordless Vacuum
House6.7Small Apartment7.6Stairs7.8Cars7.0Air Quality7.6Hard Floor Pickup5.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup6.0See all our test resultsLow-Pile Carpet Pickup7.0The Wyze Cordless Vacuum S is the best cheap cordless model we've tested. While this vacuum's price can fluctuate widely, you can often find it for less than $90 USD. Unlike the pricier Tineco PURE ONE S11, this wallet-friendly cordless stick vacuum has no automatic power adjustment feature. If that's not a dealbreaker, the Wyze is definitely worth a look. It still delivers good debris pickup on bare floors and carpeting, and effectively clears away pet hair thanks to its stiff-bristled brushroll. Luckily, you can easily remove the roller to clear out any tangled hair or trapped fur, too. The HEPA filter, a surprising feature for a cheap vacuum, works as well as the best cordless vacuum cleaners at keeping allergens out of the air.
The battery lasts around 45 minutes in the vacuum's low-power ECO mode, which is not only on the longer side for a cordless model in this price range but also equals the pricier Tineco's runtime. However, there's only a crevice tool included. Also, the Wyze's thin, plastic chassis feels even more cheaply built than the Tineco's and is prone to scratches. You'll also have to contend with the inevitable dust cloud when you empty it, so it's best to do so outdoors or away from living areas.
Recent Updates
Jan 26, 2026:
We reviewed the article for conciseness. We removed the Dyson Digital Slim and replaced it with the Dyson V8 as the mid-range recommendation, given recent price drops. We reorganized our recommendations based on current availability and pricing. We also removed all Notable Mentions for improved readability.
Nov 05, 2025:
We verified all recommendations and Notable Mentions for accuracy and current availability, and made small changes for clarity.
Jul 14, 2025:
We replaced the Wyze Cordless Vacuum with the Wyze Cordless Vacuum S as the former is discontinued, and added the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra as an alternative to the Dyson V15 with a self-emptying dock.
Apr 23, 2025:
We've made small edits to the text to improve clarity. We also ensured that our picks are still in stock and represent the best options for most people.
Mar 12, 2025:
Due to availability, we replaced a mention of the RYOBI PCL720K with the Shark Cordless Pro. We also made some minor adjustments throughout the article for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations are based on what we think are currently the best options for most people. 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 cordless vacuum reviews. 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.