Everyone’s home cleaning needs are different. You might have high carpet, low carpet, hard floors, pets, children -- or all of the above.
Whether you're looking for a top-of-the-line vacuum with all the bells and whistles or a budget-friendly option, we've tested dozens of cordless vacuums in CNET’s state-of-the-art testing labs to help you narrow down your choices.
We chose the Tineco Pure One S11 as CNET’s pick for the best cordless vacuum cleaner, for its suction score performance with both carpet and hard floors, and its middle-of-the-road price.
Samsung Jet 75: Nearly identical to the Jet 90, the Samsung Jet 75 offers comparable cleaning power and a similarly attractive build, as well as the same 60-minute battery life, the same HEPA filtration and the same 200 air watts of suction. Build-wise, the main difference is that the Jet 90 uses a free-standing dock while the Jet 75's dock needs to be drilled into your wall. It wasn't nearly as strong a performer as the Jet 90 in that midpile sand test, but the Jet 75 still performed well overall, and at $355, it retails for a little less.
Dyson V11 Torque Drive : With a motor that automatically adapts to the type of floor it's cleaning and a fancy LCD, the Dyson V11 Torque Drive certainly feels like part of an upgrade pick. At a retail price of $700, with sale prices often bringing that number down closer to $475, it's priced like one too. The good news is that the vacuum lived up to the hype with highly consistent cleaning power across all of our tests, but it was outperformed by newer models like the Dyson V15 Detect, as well as competitors that cost less from Tineco and Samsung.
Miele Triflex HX2: Unfortunately, testing style isn't on our list, or else the Miele Triflex HX2 might have run away with the show. It was also unfortunate how poorly the three-in-one stick vac collected sand in low- and midpile carpets. With those two exceptions, it showed generally stellar performance, but costing around $700, we would have hoped for better results across all our tests.
Greenworks 24V Cordless Vacuum: This vacuum is a true contender, able to match the performance of some $500 or more hand-held stick vacuums while coming in around $320. In addition to all the tools it includes, it touts a fast 30-minute recharge time if its 45-minute runtime isn't long enough.
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We use three types of soil. To simulate small particle size, we use a mix of play sand and landscaping sand. To emulate larger dirt particles, we use uncooked black rice. To see how vacuums deal with pet hair, we use a mixture of clippings sourced to us through our local pet groomer.
We run tests in a straight line across all three floor types.
Brian Bennett/CNETWe perform three runs (at minimum) on each floor type. We also test suction power with sand and rice separately. That comes to at least 18 tests per vacuum. To measure the results, we weigh the vacuum's dust bin both before and after each run.
From there we can calculate the percentage of dirt and debris pickup for every run and the average amount of soil a vacuum manages to remove. Additionally, we run anecdotal (visual) pet hair tests for each vacuum, on all three floor types, to help us select the best cordless vacuum.
Which cordless vacuums cleaned up in CNET tests?
Let's get right to the numbers, starting with our sand tests. The table below tells you the average percentage of sand each vacuum was able to remove from each of our three test surfaces. The vacuums are listed in order of overall sand removed in total, from the most to the least, so feel free to think of this as something of a sand test leaderboard. As you can see, the Dyson V15 Detect is our top overall cleaner in these sand tests, but note that the Samsung Jet 90 outperformed it by a considerable margin on thick, plushy midpile carpet. Sucking sand out of carpets like those is a real challenge. Most of the vacuums we test can't even remove 80% of the stuff when all is said and done. The Jet 90 managed almost 98%, which is pretty outstanding. If you have thick carpets like those in your home, it's worth a look.
Meanwhile, the Tineco Pure One S11 is the only cordless vacuum in the top 5 of our sand tests that retails for less than $500. At a price of around $350, it offers a high level of performance at a strong value relative to the competition, which is a large part of the reason why it's our top recommended cordless vacuum.
That does it for sand. Let's take a look at how the cordless vacuums we tested handled uncooked black rice, our stand-in for crumbs and other larger-sized bits of debris.
As you can see, the black rice test is less of a challenge than the sand test, and a number of the vacuums we tested, including the top-rated Tineco Pure One S11, finished with a perfect rating across all three surfaces. Interestingly, that shortlist of perfect-rated cleaners includes two of our value picks, the Shark Rocket Pet Pro and the Moosoo XL-618. Neither one was a standout with sand (the Moosoo model was actually among the worst in those tests), but with larger crumbs at least, both are perfectly capable.
The Bissell IconPet features headlights and a nice-looking black and green build, but it wasn't a top performer in our tests.
Ry Crist/CNETWhen choosing the best vacuums in various categories we considered other factors associated with each. We noted any vacuums with especially short battery life or a particularly heavy weight that might make them a less desirable option.
Cordless vacuum battery life and runtime
Most of the vacuums on our list feature a runtime of 40 minutes before needing another charge, although a growing number of models are starting to offer higher-capacity batteries with runtimes of 60 minutes per charge. In truth, it's a rare occasion that one would need more than 40 minutes of runtime for a single vacuuming session, and the prevalence of charging docks makes it easy to recharge in between cleaning runs. Because of this, battery life was not weighted as heavily as other features.
Cordless vacuum weight, size and bin capacity
All of the cordless vacuums we tested were between 4 and 7 pounds, but none were so heavy that it affected our recommendation. All of the vacuums on this list were also very similar in height and overall size. The Dyson models are both roughly 49 inches, while the Tineco A11 is shorter at just 43 inches tall.
The Dyson and Tineco models all have bin volumes of about 0.6 liter, which is fairly common across the category. Our alternate budget pick, the Moosoo XL-618, has double that capacity (1.3 liters) so you'll need to empty the bin less often.
Cordless vacuum warranties
Cordless vacuum warranties will vary by manufacturer and by model, but the majority of models we've tested will offer at least a year of coverage if not two. The Dyson and Tineco models we tested each offer two years of coverage, as does the Samsung Bespoke Jet, although Samsung only offers a single year for its Jet 75 and Jet 90 cleaners.
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Based on our tests, the cordless vacuum with the best suction power is currently the Dyson V15 Detect, which offers 230 air watts of suction. Not surprisingly, the V15 Detect was a powerful performer in our tests, particularly in our sand tests, where it removed the largest cumulative amount of sand from our hardwood, low-pile carpet and midpile carpet test floors.
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 2024, but it's not quite as dominant in our cleaning tests as it was five or 10 years ago. At this point, multiple competitors with top models can go toe to toe with Dyson on our test floors.
Even so, Dyson vacuums consistently test well, and they often come with unique features like dust-revealing lasers and auto-adapting brush rolls that are the result of the company's years of in-house research and iterative design. That makes them a justifiable splurge for many households.
Manufacturers will often boast 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. The tighter a vacuum is against the floor, the greater the suction. If it's too tight against the floor, larger bits of debris won't be able to make it underneath the cleaning head, at all. The type of flooring you're trying to clean makes a big difference, too.
That's why CNET puts each vacuum we review through rigorous and controlled cleaning tests to get a better sense of how their cleaning capabilities compare across different surfaces and concerning different-sized bits of debris. Currently, our top-recommended cordless vacuum overall, the Tineco Pure One S11, offers 130 air watts of suction power. 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.
Upright vacuums are the traditional options that most likely come to your mind when thinking of a vacuum -- sturdy, with a large canister and a wide cleaning head. They often come with various attachments and sometimes even have adjustable settings. Since these are more powerful, they are ideal for deep cleaning carpets.
Stick vacuums, on the other hand, are sleek, modern and lightweight. They are fantastic for quick cleanups, especially if you have a smaller living space or a mix of flooring types.