Testing the best vacuum cleaners in New Zealand is pretty much our bread and butter here at TechRadar. We've reviewed nearly 200 of them and I, personally, have contributed a fair few of those myself. This has helped my colleagues and me build up a wealth of knowledge and expertise on what to look for when choosing the best vacuum cleaner for your home's needs.
After several hours of testing, I think the Shark Cordless Detect Pro with Auto-Empty Station is the best option for most homes. It's compact, cleans floors well and self-empties into a washable box so you don't even have to think about purchasing replaceable dust bags.
This model, however, might disappoint people who live in large homes as the dust canister is quite small – even auto-emptying it several times mid clean could become annoying. So I've put this guide together to help you find the best vacuum cleaner for you – whether you want a corded barrel option or a cordless handstick. I've even got a floor washer listed if you only have hard floors in your home. I've also included a robot vacuum cleaner options, so there's a variety to opt from.
Sharmishta has spent the last eight years testing vacuum cleaners of all shapes and sizes – Dyson, Shark, Ecovacs and other brands in between. She's fascinated by how far robot vacuums have come in the last few years, but is always on the lookout for a lightweight cordless vacuum that gets into the tight spaces of her flat.
Best vacuums: the quick list
Best for most people
It might be small, but it's mighty. This Shark vacuum is our favourite overall because it's versatile, effective and packs some impressive power for a cordless model. It's also self-emptying and doesn't require replaceable dust bags.
Best for suction
Dyson is arguably the most popular vacuum cleaner brand in Australia, and rightly so. While it can be heavy for some users, the Gen5detect is a powerhouse that will give your floors a thorough clean, even on carpets.
Best self-emptying
This Samsung cordless vacuum does what no Dyson can – auto-empty into a dust bag so you don't have to deal with any stray dust yourself. And it's the most powerful sucker there currently is, with its Jet mode outdoing any other cordless vacuum on the market. It looks good too.
Best robot vacuum
This squat robot vacuum does it all – vacuums, mops, auto empties, self cleans and dries itself. It's also able to boost its mopping if it detects extra dirt, and you get the Yiko voice assistant. And it doesn't cost the earth either.
Best wet-and-dry mop
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is that is mops remarkably well and that's despite the velvet roller suffering from a design flaw. That comes at no compromise to the vacuuming prowess – if you can spare the cash, this is a good all-rounder.
Best for large homes
We haven't reviewed it, but it's the love child of the V11 Outsize and the Gen5detect, both of which we have tested. The 1.9L bin canister from the former and the power of the latter, with up to 70 minutes of runtime and bigger cleaning heads makes it perfectly suited for larger homes.
Load the next 4 products ↓
Best barrel vacuum
Compact and powerful, this is arguably one of the best traditional corded vacuums you can get. And it's bagless too, with easy maintenance, although it might struggle with long hair.
Best for pet hair
An excellent hair-detangling floor head, strong suction and an anti-odour puck make this cordless vacuum an excellent choice for pet owners.
Best upright
If you're willing to sacrifice the versatility of a cordless stick vac, this corded upright delivers powerful suction and allows for uninterrupted cleaning.
Best for hard floors
This cordless option vacuums and mops at the same time so cleaning hard floors is quicker and easier. In fact, it will tackle both wet and dry spills with equal ease. It also makes maintenance easy thanks to its self-cleaning functionality, although you will need to give a once-over yourself.
Best vacuum cleaner overall
It might have a small bin canister of just 0.4L on the handstick itself, but the Shark Cordless Detect Pro with Auto-empty System has another 2L bin that can store up to 30 days of dust, dirt and dander. Better yet, there's no ongoing costs here to buy replaceable dust bags as Shark has designed its charging dock to house a rectangular washable bin instead. And this dock barely takes up any space.
To make sure this larger bin doesn't cause a stink, you have the option to use a deodoriser – what Shark calls odour-neutralising technology. Purchasing this is optional, of course, but you will need make sure you clean out the dock regularly.
Speaking of the technology here: it doesn't have the most powerful suction, but there's dynamic suction here that effectively vacuums different floor types. Importantly, it has sensors on the motorised cleaning head that knows when a wall is near and automatically boosts suction to clean edges.
Like the Fluffy Optics from Dyson, this vacuum also has a light on its main attachment, but it only lights up dark spaces like under furniture, as opposed to showing up invisible dust on the floor as the Dyson does.
The machine is remarkably light and easy to manoeuvre, there's plenty of suction to clean out the small bin on the handstick and there's up to 60 minutes of runtime on a single charge that's more than enough for an average two-bedroom home, or maybe even a little larger.
Read our in-depth Shark Detect Pro Cordless review
Best for suction
With 14 radial cyclones to create a suction of 262 air watts, the Dyson Gen5detect is one of the most powerful cordless vacuums available today. That plenty of power to suck up even find dust, but it easy clean up deeply embedded hair, pet dander or debris from within carpet fibres.
In our testing, we loved the Fluffy Optic's light that illuminated dust and hair that the naked eye would normally miss – just leave it in Auto mode and it will do the best job needed depending on the mess you've got on the floor.
Also improved is the battery life – the Gen5detect can run up to 70 minutes when using a non-motorised cleaning tool, which is better than any model than came before. This, however, means Dyson has had to use a bigger battery capacity, which makes the whole machine heavier than any of its V-series predecessors. At 3.5kg, it's a heavyweight, with most of it on the handle and that makes it cumbersome to use handheld for long periods of time.
As with the Dyson V15 Detect that came before it, you get a visual representation of the dirt and debris being sucked up, displayed graphically on the screen at the top of the handle.
If you think you're strong enough to take on its weight and have the budget to spend on a vacuum, this one's good for carpets and pet hair alike.
Read our full Dyson Gen5detect review
Best self-emptying vacuum
The best vacuum cleaners in the business aren't just competing in terms of suction power, but also in design and feature set. While Dyson has been a market leader for a very long time, Samsung has stepped up to the challenge with its Bespoke Jet vacuum range and its second-generation model blows its competition right out of the water.
With 280 air watts of maximum suction matches the Dyson Gen5detect's suction but, in use, I found that its Jet mode was far superior than what its competition can achieve in Boost mode – it's able to suck up a whole load of matted hair and fur off a piled carpet in a single pass.
And while it can be argued that the Dyson design aesthetic is more popular, I will admit to being partial to Samsung's alternative and that's all because of the Clean Station.
Not only does the free-standing dock look lovely (and it's available in a few colour options), it's also got its own very powerful suction to clean out the onboard bin canister quite well. When I tested it, I found that all that remained in the canister was a very thin film of dust along the plastic inside which could well be because of static energy. A little bit is easily forgiven, especially since the canister is easier to take apart than a Dyson for washing out if needs be.
There are a few variants of the Bespoke Jet AI available, so the attachments you get will differ according to the model you choose, but they all give you up to 60 minutes of runtime, which is pretty standard these days. The batteries, though, are replaceable, so you can buy an extra if you want to clean a large family home in one go.
It also costs about as much as a Dyson these days, but considering you're getting the auto-empty feature, there's admittedly more value here. That said, you will need to consider the ongoing cost of replacing the dust bag as and when necessary.
Read our full Samsung Bespoke Jet AI review
Best robot vacuum
The main reason to get yourself a robot vacuum cleaner is so you can either put your feet up and get something else to do all the hard work for you, or so you get more time to do more important things – or perhaps both. And that's exactly what the Deebot T30 Pro Omni will do, just without the very high price tag of other similar robovacs.
While I haven't tested the Pro model, I've reviewed the standard T30 Omni and there are only minor differences between the two – better mopping in the Pro model and the addition of Ecovacs' Yiko voice assistant. The standard model, though, isn't available in NZ.
In my review of the standard T30 Omni, I called out how well it performed, both in terms of vacuuming and mopping, although I noted that it may struggle cleaning very dirty carpets. For the regular day-to-day cleaning, it excels and even manages to clean along room edges. It might miss a few corners, but that's going to be the case for nearly any other robot vacuum you'd get at this price.
I really appreciate the simple yet effective design. You can easily place under a countertop if you have the space, particularly since the tanks don't need to be removed by being lifted out of the dock as in other models.
Practically everything about it well thought out, although I'm still not sold on the idea of robovacs needing their own voice assistants. The app is quite basic, but gives you plenty of customisable routines, and you can set up schedules.
All in all, an easy to use robovac that requires minimal attention and won't fully empty out your bank account even if you need to pay full price for it.
Read our full Ecovacs Deebot T30 Omni review to get an idea of the Pro model
Best vacuum mop
It's admittedly hard to recommend a vacuum cleaner that costs you well over a grand, but that's quite standard with a lot of Dyson's latest vacuum cleaners. And, honestly, if you're getting an attachment that can also mop, it could well be worth every penny you spend.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is an excellent vacuum, as you'd expect from the British brand, but the new Submarine wet roller attachment is the headline act here. It's made from velvet and it's more than capable of cleaning up wet and dry spills – if it's wet, it mops your floor dry; if it's a dry spill, it can be wet enough to clean up dried-up stains.
What it isn't great at is keeping the dirty water inside the compartment when it starts filling up. It's not sealed so, when full, and you're moving the appliance, it can create its own spills. It's not a deal breaker but can be annoying, despite coming with a spill tray.
If you can spare the extra cash for the Dyson-exclusive Complete model, then you also get an upgraded Fluffy Optic that has an LED light that shines brighter and with a broader beam than the original laser-lit one that came with the older V15.
As both a vacuum and mop, the V15s Detect Submarine does well along room edges too, but be wary of the mop leaving dirty water stains on the walls if you're running it perpendicular to the edge. All in all, it's a good all-rounder for all kinds of floors, with up to 60 minutes battery life.
The only downside to this Dyson is its uneven weight distribution that makes it slightly harder to use as a handheld.
Read our full Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review
Best for large homes
If you live in a large family home, there really is no need to lug around a traditional corded machine every time you need to clean the floors. The Dyson Gen5outsize is more than capable of tackling multiple rooms, thanks to its 70-minute runtime. And if that's not enough, you can always pick up an additional battery for a little extra cash and get up to 140 minutes of use per charge.
While we haven't reviewed this specific model, it borrows elements from both the Dyson V11 Outsize (the bin) and the Dyson Gen5detect (the power). It's two cleaning heads also have larger footprints to cover your bigger floor plan quickly, so you don't need to spend hours vacuuming multiple rooms.
The larger battery, bin and attachments, however, make it a heavy beast, but if that doesn't bother you, the Gen5outsize is a fantastic investment if you need to keep a large floor space clean. And the good news is we've seen it drop in price dramatically over major sales, so hold off till you see a good discount.
Read our full Dyson V11 Outsize review and our Dyson Gen5detect review as they both embody what the Gen5outsize is like.
Best barrel vacuum
If you thought the traditional barrel vacuums with cords were a thing of the past, think again. Miele is keeping that tradition alive, but has brought its corded vacuums into the future by changing up the design. Embodying this to perfection is the Miele Boost CX1, with its compact design that can see it stored neatly away in tight spaces. It's small size, though, means you only get a bin canister of 1L capacity, although our reviewer found it very easy to clean out.
It's also just as easy to use, with a simple dial to change modes and we found that it performs best on hard floors. In our testing, the Boost CX1 struggled on thick carpets, particularly if there was hair to be sucked up, although it didn't leave any visible debris.
The only major design flaw it has is its rather short power cord that frustrated our reviewer, so be prepared to repeatedly plugging it into different power sockets as you clean your home. Thankfully its manoeuvrability isn't too bad.
While it won't have the plethora of tools that typically come with several cordless models, the Miele Boost CX1 has a pared-back selection that easily be stored on the holder that attaches to the handle.
Read our full Miele Boost CX1 review for more details
Best vacuum for pet hair
The Shark Stratos Cordless is the best vacuum if you need to tackle pet hair. It packs an impressive amount of power for a cordless model and boasts a few features that make it especially well suited to households with hairy pets (or indeed, hairy humans). The main floorhead – which is suitable for hard floors as well as carpet – is designed in such a way that it'll siphon hair off the brushroll as you clean, and direct it straight into the dust cup. This stops things getting clogged, while the built-in odor neutralizer keeps it all smelling fresh.
There's up to a full hour's cleaning on one charge, and a generously sized dust cup, which means you can clean for longer without having to empty it. A wand that can bend forwards to 90-degrees means getting right under furniture is a cinch, and on test we were also impressed with this vacuum’s ability to remove hair from furniture when used in handheld and Boost mode.
If you don't have such demanding cleaning needs, you'd be better off with the Shark Cordless Detect Pro (#1 on this list), which is lighter and more streamlined. On the flip side, if you need maximum power and are happy to sacrifice manoeuvrability to get it, you can't beat a corded upright like Shark Stratos XL Pet Pro Upright (see below).
We haven't tested the ANZ version of the Shark Stratos Cordless, but we have tried the UK model, which is identical but with a different name and in a different colour scheme.
Read our full Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ IZ862H review
The best upright vacuum cleaner
If you want outright power, a corded upright is typically the best option, and our top pick in this category is the Shark Stratos Upright. If you need something for deep cleans, it's an excellent choice, and on test we found it was great for tackling pet hair, too. The cord means there's no time limit on your cleaning session, and the large dust cup means you won't be traipsing back and forth from the trash can, either. Like many of Shark's newer vacuums, there's an anti-odor puck that keeps things smelling fresh.
While it's clearly bulkier and heavier than the cordless vacuums in this list (including the stick option from the same range, at #5), it has been designed for maximum flexibility within that upright form factor. So the dust cup / motor part can be lifted off and held in your hand, and the cleaner head added to the end of a stretch hose – super useful for tackling things like stairs. If you're not sure it's right for you, our guide to the best upright vacuums has plenty of alternative options.
As with the Shark Stratos Cordless listed above, we haven't tested the ANZ model of the Upright either. However, our colleagues in the UK have tested their local edition, where it goes by a different name but is otherwise very similar.
Read our full Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum review
Best vacuum for hard floors
Not only can this machine vacuum and mop at the same time, it's also a lot cheaper than several of its competitors. It does come with a couple of minor concessions, namely that you will need to clean it yourself even though there is a self-cleaning cycle. The other little problem is that it can be noisy when in use.
Other than that, it's a fantastic option if you only have hard floors at home. It can, in fact, tackle different types of hard floors with ease, cleaning both wet and dry spills equally well. It works by sucking up solids as you go back and forth over an area, and mopping at the same time. The solids and the dirty mop water get collected in the same tank and that's the part you will need to clean yourself or it can get grimy inside, growing its own little ecosystem.
In our testing, our reviewer found that it worked quite quickly too, cleaning up various types of spills like milky cereal, baked beans and biscuits faster than expected. Like all its counterparts, though, the large cleaning head won't get into corners, so you will still need to keep a handstick handy with a crevice tool.
If that's not going to be an issue, this is arguably a great option for a 2-in-1 that won't burn a hole in your pocket.
Read our full Shark HydroVac Cordless review
Best vacuum cleaner FAQs
What to consider when buying a vacuum cleaner
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
As we’ve mentioned already, knowing which type of vacuum to choose can end up leaving you confused. However, considering the type of property you have will help you decide.
These days, cordless vacuums are some of the most powerful vacuums when it comes to suction and they ensure you’re not restricted by the length of the wire. However they can also be some of the most expensive too. Check how long the battery will last between charges, and whether the battery is swappable, so you can simply replace it and carry on vacuuming, rather than the floor cleaner being out of action completely while it recharges.
Corded vacuums are often more affordable than cordless models, and many have wider floor headers, which can ensure vacuuming is a much quicker task. Although if you have nooks and crannies the vacuum may not be able to reach them. For those with stairs, consider models with extra-long hoses so you can clean the stairs without moving the vacuum.
Robot vacuums are good for regular cleans, however with suction that can’t match the best cordless vacuums they’re not suitable for a deep clean, and struggle to suck up dust embedded in carpets.
If you have hard floors, look for a vacuum cleaner that comes with a dedicated cleaner head, which has a softer brush roll to ensure the flooring isn’t damaged when vacuuming.
Whichever style you select, consider whether the dust canister is large enough to clean all of the floors in your home, without needing to stop and be emptied half way through.
Dyson vs Shark: which brand has better vacuums?
Shark and Dyson are two of the biggest names dominating the floor care market right now, so if you’re considering kitting your home out with a powerful new vacuum, it makes sense to opt for one of these brands. But which is best?
In a nutshell, Dyson vacuums are more expensive but this ensures you get a vacuum cleaner that’s extremely powerful but still lightweight and easy to maneuver around your home. Dyson vacuums are stuffed with cutting edge technology too, from lasers that highlight hidden dust to innovative floor heads that can be moved in any direction. If you prefer a cordless model, they also come with long-lasting batteries too.
Shark’s vacuum cleaners are more affordable than Dyson’s offerings, but they can still match the stalwart when it comes to suction power. Shark models are not usually as sleek and stylish as Dyson’s, and they’re often heavier too, but they do come with useful technology such as the ability to stop hair getting tangled around the brush and flexible wands to ensure you can clean in hard to reach places.
Shark vacuums tend to have larger dust canisters than most of Dyson’s models, but the battery doesn’t last as long. So are they better? It very much depends on the layout of your home and your budget. Read our Shark vs Dyson article for a more in-depth look at the two floor-cleaning brands.
How often should you vacuum?
“When the floor looks dirty” I hear you cry, but to keep your home allergen-free and your floors as clean as possible, you’ll need to vacuum more regularly than this.
We recommend vacuuming most floors once a week while increasing this to twice a week in high-traffic areas such as hallways and doorways. Especially, if you have carpet, as the longer dust is left, the more it becomes embedded in the fibres making it hard to thoroughly clean.
While this may seem like a lot, vacuuming this regularly will ensure there is less dust to suck up each time, making cleaning your floors a quicker process.
For more on this, head to our full feature on how often should you vacuum?
How we test
How we test vacuum cleaners
To find the best vacuum cleaner, we’ve assessed how well each model collects everything from fine dust and dirt to larger debris such as cookie crumbs and cereal. As well as evaluating how well floors are cleaned, we’ve also compared how easy the vacuum cleaners are to manoeuvre on carpet and hard floors, as well as whether dust pickup is evenly distributed across the cleaning head or concentrated in one area.
We rated each design on how durable it is, as well as simplicity of emptying, how loud it is during use and how long the battery lasts (if it has one). For each model we wanted to know whether it was easy to convert into other modes – such as a handheld vac – the useful tools and accessories it came with to clean edges or remove pet hair, and that it didn’t require reading a thick instruction manual before use.
