Two of Shark's top cordless vacuums are down as much 44% just in time for spring – including our #1 pick

The term spring cleaning exists for a reason, and the new season officially arrives in Australia on Monday, September 1. That’s bringing a flood of vacuum cleaner discounts right now, including four excellent stick vacuums I wrote about last week that double as floor washers. But if your home has mostly carpet, or you’re happy sticking with a manual mop, investing in one of the best cordless vacuums in Australia is invaluable.

And while it might be tempting to opt for a Dyson, Shark makes some of the best on the market at cheaper prices even when not discounted. Right now, though, you can grab our top pick, the Shark Detect Pro Cordless for 41% off at Amazon; even better, the more powerful Shark PowerDetect Cordless is down 44% – they both represent excellent value for money at these prices and they’ve both scored very well in our reviews.

Shark Detect Pro Cordless

We said this cordless vacuum was "outstanding" in our review, praising it for its good suction power, intelligent power adjustment depending on floor type and the fact it’s easy to move around your home. This model on sale comes with the auto-empty base too, and there's no need to purchase replacement dust bags for the dock – the dirt empties into a 2L washable box.

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Shark PowerDetect Cordless

The Shark PowerDetect features the same automatic suction adjustment as the Detect Pro, but its power is higher, resulting in a better clean. The wand can bend, too, to get under furniture. It works wonders on carpets and hard floors and, as with the model above, this one comes with an auto-empty docking station for mess-free cleaning.

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You’d be forgiven for thinking the two models are awfully similar because of their names, but the PowerDetect is the higher-specced (and thus pricier) stick vacuum. You can read up on all the differences between the two in our comprehensive Shark Detect Pro vs PowerDetect guide but, long story short, they share much of the same DNA, although the latter has higher suction power.

The PowerDetect further justifies its higher price tag by offering an additional feature called DirectionDetect, which just means it can clean even as well when being pulled backwards as it does when pushing forward – a rare addition that you won’t find in many machines at its discounted price. It also has a bigger battery that’s rated for up to 70 minutes of runtime compared to just 60 for the Cordless Detect Pro.

Both models benefit from Shark’s detection features, which see them automatically adjusting suction depending on the floor type they sense, how dirty the floors are, when the cleaning head detects it’s near an edge, and when it detects low light. In the case of that last point, the cleaning head will automatically brighten the headlights on the cleaning head to reveal more dirt and debris.

Another handy feature they both share is a bendy wand so you can clean under furniture without needing to get too low yourself.

Ultimately, we’d recommend the more affordable Cordless Detect Pro to people whose homes have mostly hard floors and aren’t particularly too large. The PowerDetect is ideal for larger homes, and especially those with pets, as its floorhead can deal with fur and dander more effectively.

Either option is great, and both can definitely be considered to be among the best Shark vacuum cleaners around.

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