However, the Shark feels sturdier, has a larger dirt compartment, and does a better job of picking up debris on high-pile carpet. You should also consider how big of an area you need to vacuum and the size and weight of the vacuum, especially if you plan on carrying it up and down stairs or need extra maneuverability in tight spaces. Dena Ogden is a lifestyle and home writer who’s been writing professionally since 2016, and with The Spruce since August 2022. She specializes in appliances, cleaning, home tech, and organization topics, and has written about everything from baskets and bins to carpet shampoos and robot vacuums.
The machine’s HEPA filter and Anti-Allergen Complete Seal pulls in and traps 99.9% of pet dander, dust and allergens. Upright vacuums are cost-effective and perform well with endless suction power. Stick vacuums are versatile, lightweight, and convenient but typically have smaller dustbins. Cordless models have started to rival the performance of corded ones, but battery life can really range across brands. Remember how our top pick from Tineco removed 78% of the sand from a midpile carpet in our toughest test? The V15 Detect was able to remove 88% in the same challenge, as well as 95% from low-pile carpet.
Admittedly, we didn’t rate the green headlights in use – they only really made a difference in dim areas, and in daylight all they did was show up imperfections in our floor tiles. However, the P12 otherwise performed well and was easy to maneuver – although it’s shark handheld vacuum a little heavy compared to some rivals; the quoted weights are for the cleaner in handheld mode with no accessories fitted. This impressive vacuum from Tineco not only sucks up all the dirt but also mops your hardwood floors for deeper cleaning all at once.
Its electric cleaner head struggled to remove all of the baking soda on bare floors close to the baseboards, but its parquet attachment excelled at this. If you live in a small petless apartment with just a couple of rugs, you may get away with a cordless stick or a robot as your sole vacuum cleaner. But if you have a bigger home, or if you have pets, lots of rugs, or wall-to-wall carpets, you’ll likely want a plug-in upright or canister model. Pet owners will really appreciate the hair-screw tool, which is an anti-tangle conical brush bar that spirals hair off your surfaces and into its bin. As pets can often bring germs and invisible dirt into the house, there’s a precisely angled blade of light, which makes dust visible on hard floors, so you don’t miss anything.
It required assembling on the first use and, unlike the Dysons and the Sharks of the vacuum world where everything slots intuitively into place, there were screws and fiddly placements. The stick was easy enough to hold in place while I inserted the screws, but I had more trouble with inserting the soft-shell middle into the brush head. I have to admit to being a little intimidated by the Sebo cordless straight out of the box. Designed chiefly for commercial use, it comes with one brush head which is far bigger and heavier than anything I’d seen on any of the other vacuums.
We tried it on rugs, bare floors, car seats, and upholstery, and it did an excellent job of picking up all kinds of debris. In our baking-soda cleaning test, this Ryobi model extracted 96% of the debris—nearly shark pet vacuum as much as the Dyson V12 Detect Slim picked up. Our expert Product Testing Team tested five popular Shark vacuum models in order to find the best Shark cordless vacuum cleaners for every budget and space.
Specks and particles that were invisible in regular light — like those in the corners of stair treads — came into clear view when the laser hit them. And just in case you were wondering exactly what it’s picking up, the colorful display shows the amount and size of the particles it’s grabbing along with run time, power level and maintenance alerts. The only thing that would have made it better was having a second charged battery waiting in the wings. We think the cordless vacuums we’ve listed above are the best of the best, but it’s essential to consider your personal needs. However, we found that the larger size made the vacuum cumbersome and heavy to use in handheld mode so it’s best suited to using on the floors throughout the home rather than reaching for the corners in the room.
We’re big fans of how this vacuum performs without that add-on, and only have run into minor hiccups, like how the attachments tend to fall off the storage areas located on the base of the machine. Corded vacuums, on the other hand, can be quite heavy and sometimes hard to maneuver, but their suction power is superior. By the end of the home testing period we had gotten rid of our old vacuum because this one performed so much better. It cleaned high-pile rugs more efficiently and had an easier time picking up bigger pieces of debris like kibble and popcorn kernels.
Its purpose is to highlight dust and other small bits of debris otherwise hard to spot with the naked eye. The system does work, and we observed plenty of dirt on the hard floor we’d normally miss. One drawback is that the laser isn’t visible under strong indoor lighting or sunlight. Dyson vacuums do well in the tests we run on them, though there are stick vacuums from other brands that cost less and offer similar performance. Dyson has a reputation for making powerful vacuums with sleek design and a long lifespan. Carolyn Forté has tested and reviewed hundreds of vacuum cleaners, carpet cleaners, mops and other major (and small) home appliances as executive director of the GH Institute Home Care and Cleaning Lab.
For those seeking an upright vacuum that doesn’t run on battery power, this Dyson model is the best you can buy right now. It’s a little older than many designs in this list – it’s from 2017, shortly before Dyson decided to concentrate solely on the cordless market. This high-performance cordless vacuum is packed with smart features such as dust-detection tech and a flexible wand tool, but more affordable than rivals. If you have wall-to-wall carpeting you might consider upgrading to a model with an electric cleaner head, like the Complete C3 Kona PowerLine.