Depending on what kind of floors you have and the debris you encounter, having the best vacuum for the job is crucial to keeping your space clean. While there are many factors to consider, generally, the best vacuum will have sufficient range or battery life to clean your home or apartment, good performance on both bare floors and carpet, and it should filter effectively, not blowing dust out of its exhaust and into the air. Of course, there's lots more to think about when buying a vacuum, and these suggestions just scratch the surface. Take a look at our table of reviews at the end.
We've tested over 105 vacuums, and below are our recommendations for the best vacuums you can buy. If you're looking for more to consider, check out our recommendations for the best lightweight vacuums, the best cordless vacuums, and the best bagless vacuums.
Quick Look
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Best Vacuum
House8.9Small Apartment8.2Air Quality7.7Vacuum TypeCanisterBaglessNoCordlessNoAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)YesSee all our test resultsWet CompatibleNoThe best vacuum we've tested is the SEBO Airbelt D4. This high-end canister vacuum is usually only available from specialized vacuum retailers or directly from SEBO's website. It has the range, power, and performance to tackle debris on bare floors and carpet in your home or apartment. The Premium trim of this vacuum comes with both a parquet tool with removable front bristles, which allows the vacuum to pass over larger debris, and SEBO's ET-1 powerhead, which has four height adjustment levels, enabling it to adapt to a wide variety of carpet pile lengths. This vacuum also offers excellent build quality. It uses high-capacity dirtbags and long-lasting filters, keeping ownership costs relatively low.
The inevitable flip side of this tough build quality is general heaviness, which can make this vacuum a bit of a hassle to maneuver in tight areas like small apartments. In terms of air quality, dust emissions are quite low, but not as low as the HEPA-certified vacuums below. That said, it's easy to contain all the dust when you empty this vacuum: you simply seal the dirtbag, and the dust stays in the bag when you lift the dirtbag out and dispose of it.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Vacuum
House7.4Small Apartment8.7Air Quality8.1Vacuum TypeStick/HandheldBaglessYesCordlessYesAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)YesSee all our test resultsWet CompatibleNoThe best upper mid-range vacuum we've tested is the Dyson V15 Detect. This high-end stick vacuum is remarkably powerful, with debris pickup performance similar to that of many corded models. Not only does it offer debris pickup that rivals many corded models, but it also deploys and maneuvers remarkably easily. Its surface detection system automatically adjusts its suction power based on the surface it's on, and it also features a dirt sensor that counts and measures the size of particles sucked into the dustbin.
The powerful motor can drain the battery quickly if you have a lot of carpet or if the dirt sensor detects heavy deposits, making runtime an issue in larger spaces. Also, while the V15's HEPA filter works just about perfectly in keeping dust out of the air while you vacuum, emptying it releases a cloud of dust, like almost all bagless vacuums. You should empty this vacuum outdoors or away from any living area.
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Best Mid-Range Vacuum
House6.9Small Apartment8.2Air Quality8.2Vacuum TypeStick/HandheldBaglessYesCordlessYesAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)YesSee all our test resultsWet CompatibleNoThe Dyson V8 is a great mid-range vacuum. This older model can't offer the latest features like the Dyson V15 Detect, but it's still well-suited to a variety of cleaning tasks in a home or apartment. You'll find the same outstanding filter performance: this vacuum seals away dust during operation just as well as the best vacuums. In terms of pickup performance, it works well on fine material across various surfaces, though you'll need to lift the floorhead to avoid pushing medium- and large-sized debris. Alternatively, you could get the Absolute variant with a fluffy rollerhead, which won't have this issue.
However, this vacuum uses a previous-generation battery and doesn't deliver enough runtime to clean a large area or a heavy mess on maximum power. It doesn't feel especially sturdy either, with lightweight plastic construction that creaks and flexes in operation. And, like almost all bagless vacuums, emptying it releases a large amount of dust that'll be difficult to contain.
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Best Budget Vacuum
House8.6Small Apartment8.6Air Quality9.3Vacuum TypeUpright/HandheldBaglessNoCordlessNoAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)YesSee all our test resultsWet CompatibleNoIf you're looking for an all-around solid budget vacuum that can do a bit of everything competently, consider the Kenmore Intuition Bagged. It's excellent for a house or an apartment and offers superb dust filtration. Like all bagged vacuums, it keeps dust contained when you empty it, too. It performs well on every surface and does a good job picking up pet hair from carpet and furniture. Unlike some vacuums, you can turn the brushroll off to optimize performance while switching from carpet to bare floor.
Unfortunately, build quality is a consistent complaint from users, with many reporting failures over time, and some internal components feeling fragile. You'll also find this vacuum bulky and hard to maneuver due to the thickness of the canister suspended in front of the vacuum. You can detach the canister from the vacuum and use it in handheld mode, but the weight of the canister hanging from your arm, along with the short hose, makes using the vacuum this way quite difficult.
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Best Cheap Vacuum
House7.6Small Apartment6.5Air Quality4.9Vacuum TypeCanisterBaglessNoCordlessNoAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)NoSee all our test resultsWet CompatibleNoThe Eureka Mighty Mite is a good choice for something cheap yet surprisingly powerful. While the straight suction head sits too close to the ground to pass over larger debris easily, it excels at clearing away smaller material. Unfortunately, this head doesn't provide much surface agitation on carpets. Still, it's worth considering as a cheap vacuum for homes and small apartments.
Its chief drawback is its terrible filtration. Dust passes right through its bag filter and out of the exhaust. You can find third-party HEPA dirtbags that might improve performance. Fortunately, emptying this vacuum by removing the dirtbag doesn't scatter dust.
Notable Mentions
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SEBO FELIX:
The SEBO FELIX has much in common with the SEBO Airbelt D4, like superior build quality and the same powered floorhead. It's smaller and more maneuverable due to its upright form factor. However, it's not as powerful, and it's quite difficult to adjust its floorhead to the ideal height to catch all debris on carpets.
See our review -
Wyze Cordless Vacuum S:
The Wyze Cordless Vacuum S is a good cordless alternative to the Kenmore Intuition Bagged, if you can find it on sale. It's far lighter, more maneuverable, and offers the same HEPA filtration, but its performance lags behind the Kenmore's, and, like almost all bagless vacuums, emptying it creates a dust cloud.
See our review
Recent Updates
Jan 20, 2026:
Replaced the Shark Stratos Cordless IZ862H with the Dyson V8. Replaced all Notable Mentions with the SEBO FELIX and the Wyze Cordless Vacuum S.
Nov 05, 2025:
We replaced the Notable Mention Samsung Jet 90 Complete with the Dyson V11, and the NaceCare HVR 200 Henry with the Shark Stratos Upright AX3002 based on availability. Verified our other picks are available and represent the best choices.
May 06, 2025:
We've replaced the Wyze Cordless Vacuum with the Wyze Cordless Vacuum S as the former has been discontinued. We also added a link to the SEBO website, since the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium can be hard to find, and made small edits to the text for clarity.
Feb 10, 2025:
Replaced the Miele Complete C3 Brilliant with the SEBO Airbelt D4 Premium as the 'Best Corded Vacuum' pick and replaced the Miele Classic C1 Pure Suction with the SEBO FELIX as the 'Best Mid-Range Corded Vacuum' pick due to current product availability and to better align with other recommendation articles.
Dec 09, 2024:
We've verified that our picks are all available and represent the best choices and made edits for clarity. We've also expanded our recommendations for the 'Best Corded Vacuum' to better reflect the Miele Complete C3 lineup variants.
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are the best vacuum cleaners for most people. We factor in price, visitor feedback, and availability. If you're trying to decide between a bagged and a bagless vacuum, be sure to check out our article discussing the differences, particularly around air quality, so you know what to expect.
If you'd like to choose for yourself, here is the list of all our vacuum reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While there's no single best vacuum for every conceivable use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.