I'm a home appliances expert, and these are the best Black Friday vacuum deals to buy

Welcome to TechRadar's Black Friday vacuum deals live hub! Ruth Hamilton here to guide you through all the best offers over the sales period. I've tested and written about vacuum cleaners extensively as part of my job, so I know what makes a great vac, the pros and cons of all the big brands, and what features to look out for.

I've also been keeping a close eye on prices, so I can tell you which of the many, many deals flying around are worth paying attention to. Let's get started...

Black Friday is always the final Friday of November 2024, so this year it's 29th (tomorrow). However, long gone are the years when it was just a one-day event. This year, Dyson launched an early sale at the start of November (across the US and UK) and Shark UK released 'Black Friday exclusives' in the first week of the month, too.

In the UK, the deals got steadily better as the month progressed, although to be honest, they're still slightly underwhelming at this point.

In the US, there were a handful of excellent offers early in the month, followed by a lull in the third week. By the weekend before Black Friday, the deals had come back in a big way, however, and right now there are plenty of excellent offers to choose from.

One key brand that crops up a lot in my roundup of the best vacuum deals is Shark. This brand has really come up in recent years, and is now perhaps the biggest competitor to Dyson. Shark's range is wide and varied, with your regular cordless stick vacuums, but also uprights, corded stick vacuums, robovacs, and plenty of other kinds of floor cleaner. Models come and go regularly, and it can be difficult to make sense of the range (I know this from experience!).

Today's best Shark vacuums offer strong cleaning power and generally excellent value for money. Shark has won over customers with its affordable pricing, and simple innovations to improve usability – the forward-bending wand for cleaning under furniture is a great example.

Is Black Friday the best time to buy a new vacuum? Probably. While the day's deals aren't quite as unique as they would have been a few years ago, it's still the day where you'll have the most choice of deals, and the fact that literally everyone runs a Black Friday sale can drive prices down as different retailers compete for your custom.

And even if it's not a new historic low, it's rare that a product's Black Friday deal doesn't at least match the cheapest price it's been before. So it'll never be a bad day to buy.

My pick for the best cordless vacuum deal in 2024 so far is the Shark Detect Pro cordless stick vacuum, now $179 (was $379.99) at Amazon. This model sits right at the top of TechRadar's best cordless vacuum guide, because it delivers the balance of cleaning power, useful smart features, and affordable pricing that'll make it a great fit for the majority of people. With this deal, it's even more appealing.

This model has had a few discounts since the start of November, and the current price matches a new historic low from earlier in the month. (I think the reason for the mega discount is that Shark has recently released the PowerDetect cordless stick vacuum, which is a similar but slightly better model in that is packs more outright suction power.)

Shark Detect Pro cordless stick vacuum: $179 (was $379.99) at Amazon

Where should you look for the best Black Friday vacuum deals? Every major brand and reputable retailer has some kind of Black Friday sale, and many of them are price-matching each other. I'd generally recommend figuring out the vacuum you want, then shopping around to find where it's on sale for the lowest price.

In the US, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target are some of the best places to shop for vacuum deals. UK shoppers should check places like John Lewis, Currys, Very and Argos, as well as Amazon. It's also worth looking at your chosen brand's own website – there are plenty of strong deals direct at Dyson and Shark.

Amongst this year's best Black Friday vacuum are some particularly strong deals on corded upright cleaners. While the market is very much focused on cordless stick vacuums right now, there are certain kinds of customer that would benefit from a corded upright.

Uprights almost always pack more outright suction power than cordless stick vacuums, so if you need to do a deep clean, or have lots of carpet or are drowning in pet hair, it shouldn't disappoint. The bins are generally larger, meaning less traipsing to and from your trash can, and the fact there's a cord ensures you'll literally never run out of juice. Unless there's a power cut. Whether all that's worth the obvious concessions you'll need to make in terms of weight and maneuverability is up to you.

My favorite cordless vacuum deal in the US is this less-than-half-price Detect Pro price cut at Amazon. However, it's not the most powerful Shark cordless vacuum. In fact, in September Shark released a competitor model that's also worth considering: the PowerDetect.

In our Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum review, we awarded this new model an impressive four stars. If you're deciding between the Shark Detect Pro vs PowerDetect cordless stick vacuums, there are a few things to know.

The PowerDetect has all the same detection capabilities as the Detect Pro, plus one more. So that's EdgeDetect (boosts suction when the floorhead is close to the edge of a room), LightDetect (brightens headlamps in dingy areas), and FloorDetect (increases suction when moving from hard floor to carpet).

The PowerDetect also has DirectionDetect, whereby it's designed to pick up dust and debris just as effectively when being pulled backwards as it does when being pushed forwards. It also has more suction power than the Detect Pro (hence the 'Power' bit, probably).

Those extra features mean it's more expensive, but there's a Black Friday vacuum deal in the US to help make it more affordable:

Shark PowerDetect cordless stick vacuum: was $429.99 now $299.99 at Sharkclean

If you're feeling flush, you might end up choosing between the Dyson V15 vs Gen5detect. These are Dyson's two newest and most advanced vacuums.

The V15 Detect is the older of the two, and the first in Dyson's lineup to offer 'dirt detection', where sensors in the main floorhead monitor the size and volume of particles being sucked up, and report it live on the vacuum's screen. It was also the first to add a laser to its fluffy floorhead, to illuminate dust on hard floors.

The Dyson Gen5detect has both of these features, but with some tweaks and improvements (the laser is brighter and far more visible, even in bright daylight, for example. It also boasts a new and improved motor compared to the V15, and a better battery, offering longer runtimes. However, the payoff is that it's heavier (and the V15 isn't especially light in the first place), and also significantly more expensive. However, both have come in for Black Friday deals, so the price tags are slightly less eye-watering than usual right now.

Good morning, and welcome to Black Friday!

We're going to do a round of price checking, so stay tuned for a mega update in the next hour. Happy hunting!

We've checked the deals, and they're all still live. There haven't been any major price drops on the devices listed above just yet, meaning it's go-time if you've been squirreling them away in your basket - these are the best prices you'll see this side of Christmas.

If you have your eye on a Dyson, first choose which model you want (so probably, either a V-something or, if you're feeling flash, a Gen5detect). Beyond that, there are different iterations, which have a word like 'Absolute', 'Complete' or 'Animal' tagged on at the end. Generally, these suffixes mean the vacuum comes with a different range of Dyson vacuum tools, or an extra floorhead. Occasionally, it'll just be a different colorway, with all the insides the same. Most tools can be purchased individually, direct from Dyson, if there's one missing with the vacuum you go for.

One key brand in this space is Dyson. Today's best Dyson vacuums are consistently high quality, thoughtfully designed, and feature advanced engineering and cutting-edge features. They're also, broadly speaking, more expensive than most alternatives from other brands, even with the current discounts.

This brand is all about engineering, and its vacuums are consistently best-in-class when it comes to suction, filtration, and battery life. The newest models can do things like provide live reports on what they're sucking up (cool, but perhaps not strictly necessary for your average shopper).

When navigating Shark's unwieldy vacuum range, it helps to have a loose grasp on the various jargon terms being thrown at you. To help with that, I've put together this Shark vacuum technologies guide. There, you can learn that, for example, a model with 'DuoClean' has a floorhead with two brushrolls: one soft brushroll to clean and buff up hard floors, and another with bristles to dig into carpet fibers and pull up embedded dirt and hair.

If you go for a model with 'QuadClean', there's only one roller, but it has lots of different parts, which make it suitable for tackling different types of floor and dirt. QuadClean rollers are mostly fluffy microfiber, but they also include strategically positioned rubbery 'PowerFins', firmer bristles, and ribs.

Wondering why you should listen to TechRadar's advice this Black Friday? We've been reviewing vacuums since 2015 and have tested a total of 187 vacuum cleaners of all kinds in that time, including 31 in 2024 so far.

We keep a close eye on the technological developments and new releases, and personally test out all the key launches from the most popular brands, like Shark and Dyson, as well as plenty of alternative options from smaller names. We also monitor vacuum pricing all year round, both in terms of patterns for our favorite models and general seasonal trends. So we know what a good deal looks like.

If you're in the market for a new Dyson V12 Detect, the best place to go on Black Friday is straight to the source! Right now you can get the lowest-ever prices at Dyson's website in both the US and the UK.

The UK model is now just £399, down £150 from £549. If you're in the US, score $250 off the price of $649, now just $399. Both of these deals are way cheaper than anything Amazon is offering right now.

The V12 Detect Slim comes with 60 minutes of battery life and is both lighter and cheaper than the V15. It's got a smaller bin and slightly less suction than some options, but otherwise our only gripe was its expensive price tag, a problem solved by this deal.

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: was £549.99 now £399.99 at Dyson

Dyson V12 Detect Slim: was $649.99 now $399.99 at Dyson

Let's have a look at some individual retailers. First up: John Lewis. There are some strong vacuum price drops here, but also a range of different offers, such as the option to claim an extra three-year guarantee. Some options simply have a 'price drop' sign attached, but no indication of the discount or original price, which makes my job a little difficult.

There's a wide range of brands on sale here – including Samsung, Bosch, Vax Hoover, Miele and Dyson – but only a handful of models from each. There are a number of uprights and canister vacuums alongside your regular cordless stick vacs, and things like steam cleaners, too.

This is the biggest Black Friday vacuum discount at John Lewis (although, technically, it's a clearance offer rather than an actual Black Friday deal):

Bosch BCS8224GB Unlimited 8 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner: was £529.99 now £299 at John Lewis

Another big Black Friday saving can be found on Dyson's older V11. It still holds it own in 2024 even though there are newer models now available. It still delivers powerful suction and auto mode adjusts depending on your floor type. It also offers up to 60 minutes of run time and an LED display that shows you the remaining battery life.

Right now you can score one for $349 in the US, a good saving of $250, that's only $50 cheaper than the V12, so it might be worth pushing the boat out for that instead.

The UK V11 is £299, so £100 cheaper than the V12, making it a better budget pick thanks to the price difference.

Dyson V11: was £429.99 now £299.99 at Dyson

Dyson V11: was $599.99 now $349.99 at Dyson

So what's going on at Best Buy? Filtering by 'Black Friday deals under the vacuums section, and excluding anything out of stock gets me 135 deals. Brands that have come in for discounts include all the big names (Dyson, Samging, Shark, LG, iRobot), as well as some more obscure options (to this UK writer, in any case). Has anyone here heard of JIMMY, JIGLOO or bObsweep?

Setting my inherent distrust of any brand misusing capital letters aside, some of these smaller names have some serious discounts going on – albeit in the robovac space rather than manual vacuums, which are the main focus of this hub. The bObsweep UltraVision is down from $1,129 to $289.99, and boasts a reassuring 4.6* average over 50 reviews. Even the dog from the press pic above looks impressed.

In terms of regular vacuums, LG's CordZero cordless stick vacuum with self-empty dock is down $200 (was $599.99) while Tineco's FloorOne three-in-one wet and dry vacuum is half price, down from $399.99 to $199.99.

When choosing a new vacuum cleaner, suction power is probably one of the key things you're going to be focused on. Rather unhelpfully, it's actually quite difficult to figure out how much suction a vacuum cleaner has.

One spec worth paying attention to is wattage. This will give you an idea of how much power a vacuum has, but it's not enough to focus on this spec alone, because design comes into it too – a high-wattage vacuum that's been poorly designed isn't going to provide much suction.

A better measure is Airwatts or Air Watts. This spec takes into account both airflow (how much air the vacuum moves) and water lift (how strong the suction is). However, not all vacuum brands provide this stat.

It's much easier in the robovac world, where pretty much everyone provides their vac's suction in Pascal (Pa), with the exception of iRobot, which likes to keep that spec a secret *glares*. This is an indication of how much pressure the vacuum creates to lift dust and debris.

In the case of manual vacuums, do remember that outright suction power isn't the only thing to consider. If you have too much suction, you won't be able to move your vac on carpet. Most good vacuum brands have floorheads designed to dig into carpet fibers and agitate the dirt there, to help with pickup.

Wondering whether to stick with a manual vac or opt for a robot vacuum this Black Friday sales season? I don't blame you – there are tons of excellent robot vacuum Black Friday deals around, with very appealing price. I love a robot vacuum, but there are some key compromises to be aware of before buying.

First up, a robot vacuum is basically never going to be as powerful as a good, manual option. These are designed to help you stay on top of regular, light cleans – if you want to deal with ingrained dirt of do some deep cleaning, a manual vacuum is a better choice.

Second, there are limits to where they can go. They still can't navigate stairs, you won't be able to use them on your furniture or in your car like a cordless vacuum (many of which convert to handheld these days). And actually, they're not too good at cleaning right up to the edges of rooms, either, although advanced models are starting to get the hang of this now.

The vacuum cleaner world isn't exactly rife with innovation, but recently I've started seeing one interesting new development: vacuums with self-empty docks. It's an idea borrowed from robot vacuums.

Essentially these vacuums come with a dock that has a larger dust cup. When the vacuum is docked, it charges, but the onboard bin also empties into the larger one in the base. That makes it a good choice if you're dealing with lots of dirt and dust, but also for allergy sufferers – because the less times you need to manually empty the bin, the fewer opportunities the allergens have to escape back into the air.

Shark has two models with self-empty docks, and you can read about them in our Shark Detect Pro cordless review and our Shark PowerDetect cordless review.

Another popular feature on modern vacuum cleaners is headlamps on the floorhead. These appear across a wide range of brands' models, including many of Shark's. However, Dyson does things a little differently.

Its V15 Detect and Gen5detect vacuums have laser lights on their fluffy floorheads. These are much brighter than the lights you'll find on most vacuums, and designed specifically to illuminate dust and debris that might have otherwise been missed. The Gen5detect in particular is super-bright, and visible even in bright daylight.

US deal: One of the best Black Friday vacuum deals in the US is on the Shark PowerDetect cordless stick vacuum. You can pick up just the vacuum with $130 off, but I think a better deal is actually to go for the version with the auto-empty dock. This model is $50 more than just the vacuum, and you get not only the dock, but a vac-mop bundled in for free, to spruce up your hard floors.

The PowerDetect is a new line from Shark, and the cordless stick vacuum in the lineup is designed to combine the suction of the brand's most powerful vacuums, with the smart features of its smartest vacuums. In our Shark PowerDetect cordless vacuum review, we were impressed, and scored this model 4 out of 5 stars. The idea of auto-empty docks for manual vacuums is pretty new, but it makes a lot of sense. If you have space for a slightly bulkier dock, it means you won't need to manually empty the vacuum's bin nearly as often.

Shark PowerDetect Stick vacuum: was $429.99 now $299.99 at Shark
Shark PowerDetect Stick vacuum with auto-empty base: was $499.99 now $349.99 at Shark

UK deal

Head to John Lewis and you can pick up the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute with £170 off. That's the best Black Friday deal still available on this model. Annoyingly, on Thursday there was a slightly better one at Dyson direct – there, you could pick up an Absolute+ with a free floor dock, for only £1 more, but that's no longer available.

Still, £170 off is an excellent price for this model. It's one down from the most advanced Dyson vacuums around, and boasts super hi-tech features like the ability to detect and report on exactly what it's sucking up, and display it on the screen as you clean, so you can be doubly sure the patch of floor you're vacuuming is dirt-free before you move on.

Dyson V15 Detect Absolute: was £649.99 now £479.99 at John Lewis

What Black Friday vacuum deals are still live?

You'll be pleased to know it's a vast majority of them - and all of the devices I've listed above are, as of writing, up-to-date, meaning you can shop with confidence. It's been a great year for vacuum deals, especially in the US, so there's plenty to choose from!

Price drops today

There are a couple of price cuts today in the US which is always nice to see. They might not be the biggest drops, but still, if you've been holding out, this might be your best chance.

LG CordZero with Auto-Empty: was $599.99 now $399.99 at Lowe's
Dyson V7 Advanced Cordless: was $399.99 now $219.99 at Walmart
Dyson V15 Detect: was $749.99 now $499.99 at Dyson Inc.