With one of the best cordless vacuums you can clean all around your home without tripping over a power cord or having to constantly swap between outlets. While going cordless used to mean poor suction, short cleaning times and long waits for the battery to recharge, cordless vacuum technologies have improved massively over the past few years. Today's top models offer excellent suction and impressive battery life, and most of today's best vacuum cleaners on the market are cordless models.
At TechRadar, we've tested over 180 vacuum cleaners over the course of nine years. For each review, we assess each model's cleaning power on hard floor and carpet, how well it copes with different kinds of cleaning tasks (including pet hair), as well as things like battery life, comfort of use and maneuverability, effectiveness of any extra tools, and value for money.
Based on our expertise and testing, the Shark Detect Pro Cordless is the best cordless vacuum for most people. It combines great pickup power with a maneuverable design and some useful smart features, all for a reasonable price tag. However, it won't be perfect for everyone, so this guide also includes a range of alternatives for different needs and budgets.
Quick list
Best overall
Impressively powerful for a cordless vacuum and packed with excellent value-adding features, the Shark Detect Pro Cordless is an excellent all-rounder that will suit most people's needs.
Read more below
Best for pet hair
This cordless vac offers powerful suction to pull hair out of carpets, and boasts an excellent hair-detangling floorhead. An anti-odor puck help keep things smelling fresh, too.
Read more below
Best cordless Dyson
Most Dysons are cordless now, but the V11 is our favorite, delivering excellent performance, great maneuverability and innovative features at a price that won't make you wince.
Read more below
Best for hard floors
This Samsung cordless feels light and is comfortable to maneuver, and delivers excellent cleaning on hard floors. The mini pet brush is great for getting hair out of furniture, too.
Read more below
Best budget (US)
The S2 is widely discounted and incredibly affordable. Although it won't rival pricier cordless vacs when on suction power, we were still impressed with its dust pickup on hard floors. You'll struggle to find it in the UK, though.
Read more below
Best budget (UK)
The Henry Quick delivers excellent performance for a very affordable price. This is the best value cordless vacuum we've tested in the UK (it's available in the US but not so wallet-friendly there).
Read more below
Load the next 5 products...
Best for carpet
It's not the fanciest model here, but in terms of suction, this cordless vacuum shines. It packs enough power to get even ingrained dirt and dust out of carpet.
Read more below
Best lightweight
The Shark WandVac System is a handheld vacuum that converts into a lightweight floor vacuum. It's perfect for a variety of small clean-up tasks and reaching places a full size vac can't, but not a full home clean.
Read more below
Best for suction
A meticulously honed engine means that the Gen5 packs some incredible suction, and a HEPA filter. It also has sensors so it can tell you exactly what it's sucking up and when you're done cleaning. All that will cost you though.
Read more below
Best handheld
If you're after a handheld cordless, perhaps for cleaning the car, our top-rated option is this Shark model. It delivers good suction and comes with a range of versatile tools for tackling different cleaning tasks.
Read more below
Best wet and dry
This cordless vacuum that offers wet and dry cleaning, and it performs well at both. It's also easy to use and full of useful features. Ideal if you have a range of cleaning needs.
Read more below
Ruth is a Homes Editor at TechRadar, and has been reviewing consumer tech for over three years. She's spent the past 7 months focusing on home appliances, and vacuum cleaners of all kinds in particular.
The best cordless vacuum cleaner
✅ You have a mix of floor types: The Detect Pro will automatically adjust suction when it senses it's on carpet, for a fuss-free clean.
✅ You have allergies: There's an optional auto-empty base that can be added to the Detect Pro, meaning there are fewer chances for particles to escape back into the air.
❌ You have a lot of carpet or pets: If super suction is your priority, the Stratos Cordless (#2) or Halo (#7) are both better picks.
❌ You want maximum maneuverability: The Detect Pro's floorhead pivots well, but for maximum maneuverability, you can't beat a Dyson.
If you're looking for next-generation smarts at a not-too-painful price tag, the Shark Detect Pro is the best cordless vacuum cleaner right now (although the new, US-only Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum does more at a slightly higher price). It packs an impressive amount of power, with three suction modes including one that'll detect how dirty your floor is and adjust itself automatically. In our tests we found it worked well on hard floors as well as carpet, and was great at pulling built-up dirt from edges and corners of rooms, too. Features like the flexible stick that enables you to get right under furniture, and LED headlights for illuminating dingy corners, are genuinely useful additions.
A number of these features also appear in the newest Dyson cordless models. The Gen5detect (#9) delivers more advanced dirt detection and its laser illumination for hard floors is far superior to Shark's LED headlights, but it's also significantly more expensive.
In terms of extra attachments, there's only a Crevice tool included as standard (unless you're in Australia, in which case you also get a Pet Tool). However, the main machine converts easily into a handheld (albeit a slightly heavy one) and on test our reviewer found it could tackle almost any household task very effectively.
At time of updating this guide, it was on sale almost everywhere, and at that discounted price it sits on the boundary between our budget and mid-range price brackets, and delivers incredible value for money. See how it compares to other models from this brand's range in our guide to the best Shark vacuums, or and before you buy it's worth checking our Shark promo codes page, to make sure you're not missing a bargain.
Read our full Shark Detect Pro Cordless review
The best cordless vacuum for pet hair
✅ You have pets: The suction here is excellent for a cordless model, and great for pulling fur out of carpets and furniture.
✅ You need to vacuum under furniture: Like most Shark vacuums, the Stratos has a wand that can bend forwards, so you can vacuum right under furniture without bending down.
❌ You have mostly hard floors: The Stratos is heavier and less smart than the Detect Pro (#1), so if you don't need the extra suction, you might prefer that model.
❌ You want something light and flexible: There are lighter and more maneuverable cordless vacuums in this roundup.
The Shark Stratos is the best cordless vacuum for people with pets. It's a little heavier and less feature-packed than our #1 Shark pick, but the payoff is more power, which is key if you're trying to pull stubborn pet hair from your carpets. The floorhead has been designed in such a way that it'll funnel hair straight into the dust cup rather than letting it tangle and clog up the rollers – more useful for long human hair than short pet hair, but still worth noting.
Speaking of the dust cup, it's generously sized, to allow you to do plenty of cleaning without having to make a trip to the bin. You'll get up to a full hour's cleaning on one charge.
Unique to Shark, as far as we can tell, is the built-in odor neutralizer puck, which keeps the machine smelling fresh. And while you won't get the dragonfly-like movement possibilities of a Dyson model like #3, it can pivot on the horizontal plane and on test we found it delivered good maneuverability. Our tester was especially impressed with the forward-bending wand, which is great for getting right under furniture.
While making your purchasing decision, it's worth bearing in mind that a corded vacuum (and often even a bulky upright vacuum) will almost always pack more power than a lightweight cordless model. So you'll want to weigh up if your priority is power or usability. Head to our guide to the best vacuums for pet hair for a range of alternatives.
Read our full Shark Stratos Cordless with Clean Sense IQ IZ862H review
The best cordless Dyson vacuum
✅ You want maximum maneuverability: Dyson vacuums are the most maneuverable vacuums we've tested – the floorheads easily pivot any way you need them to.
✅ You want Dyson engineering: There are plenty of copycats about now, but Dyson has its reputation for a reason – these are excellent vacuums.
❌ You want the latest and greatest Dyson: The V11 offers the best cost-to-performance balance, but if you want the very latest smarts and maximum suction, you need the Gen5 (#9).
❌ You're on a tighter budget: Even with older models like this, you're paying a little bit more for the Dyson name – it's worth checking out Shark's range if you want maximum value for money.
Based on a balance of price to performance, the best Dyson cordless is the V11. (Actually, Dyson did away with cords a while ago, so the full range – with the exception of the Dyson Ball Animal – is cordless.) It's not without good reason that this brand is lauded so highly in the vacuum cleaner world – its cleaners have been meticulously engineered for maximum performance, and it continues to lead the way in terms of innovation too.
That said, Dysons are often expensive, so you'll need to balance how much you want to spend with which features you actually need. The V11 hits that sweet spot for us. On test, we found this cordless vac sailed through all the cleaning tasks we put to it, delivering impressive suction even on the lowest-powered Eco mode. Like the rest of the Dyson range, it's incredibly easy to maneuver, with a floorhead that can pivot any which way you want it. There's no other cordless vacuum that can come close on this front. However, it's worth noting that the design is a little top-heavy, so it can feel unwieldy in handheld mode.
In Auto mode, the V11 will automatically adjust power depending on if it's on hard floor or carpet, to make the most efficient use of the battery. It won't, however, adjust based on how dirty the floor is, like the Shark Detect Pro (#1) and Dyson Gen5detect (#9, the best Dyson vacuum based on specs) can. An LCD screen provides useful information, including a countdown for exactly how much cleaning time you have left in the current power mode.
There are few different iterations of the V11, but the difference is mostly in the tools included. We've been impressed by all the Dyson attachments we've tested out, but do check you're getting the ones you want with the version you're buying.
Read our full Dyson V11 review
The best cordless vacuum for hard floors
✅ You have hard floors: On test, we were impressed with the pickup on hard floors, as well as finding it comfortable to use and easy to move around.
✅ You have furry friends: The Pet version of this vacuum comes with a mini motorized pet hair brush that's one of the best we've tested.
❌ You have carpet: This cordless vacuum didn't offer such good performance on carpet – consider the Halo (#7) or Stratos (#2) instead.
❌ You often have to suck up chunky spillages: There's a roller in the front of the floorhead that sits flush to the floor, making it tricky to pick up larger debris.
The Samsung Jet 85 Pet is the best vacuum cleaner for hard floors. It feels light in the hand and is comfortable to use, with good maneuverability and excellent pickup power on hard floors. There are four suction modes, and you'll get a decent 44 minutes of cleaning time on the lowest of these. If you really need to break out the big guns, you can unleash the 'Jet' mode this vacuum gets its name from, but our tester found that perhaps a little too powerful.
There's a mini motorized pet tool designed for use on upholstery, and we were extremely impressed with how well it worked to get hair out of furniture – it's easily as good as the equivalent tool from Dyson. However, we weren't so impressed with the performance of the main vacuum cleaner on carpet, so if you have a mix of floor types in your home then you'd be better off with something like the Shark Detect Pro (#1). Unfortunately, it's also currently not available in the US.
Read our full Samsung Jet 85 Pet vacuum cleaner review
The best budget cordless vacuum in the US
✅ You're on a budget: The Roidmi is very affordable and the performance is above what we'd expect for the price. An excellent budget pick.
✅ You don't need fancy features: As you'd expect, it's just the basics here, but three power modes give you decent control over your clean.
❌ You live in the UK: The S2 isn't available here – the Henry (#6) is our favorite budget UK pick.
❌ You need to deal with lots of dust or hair: The dustbin is small and messy to empty, so those hoping to tackle larger volumes of dirt should look elsewhere.
The Roidmi S2 is our pick for the best budget vacuum around, and it's also a great choice if you're short on space. This stylish, matte white cordless vacuum comes with a thoughtful range of sturdy, well-made accessories. It offers three suction levels, selected via a button on the handle; and even the wall-mounted charging dock is compact and discreet. That makes it a good option for places where space is at a premium.
The Roidmi S2 has good suction and maneuverability, but it can be a little noisy and heavy when used as a handheld vacuum. And inevitably there's a trade-off because of its small size: it has a small dust container, so you'll need to empty that fairly frequently. It's simple enough but it does mean this probably isn't the vacuum for you if you have a large home, shedding pets, or both.
Don't pay the full asking price: this vacuum is almost constantly discounted, often by very large amounts. If you can bag this vacuum at a reduced price – in the region of $175 – then it's the best cheap vacuum around. If you live in the UK, where the S2 is very hard to find now, check out the Henry Quick (#6) instead.
Read our full Roidmi S2 cordless vacuum cleaner review
The best budget cordless vacuum in the UK
✅ You're on a budget: This Henry is affordable, and punches above its price tag when it comes to performance.
✅ You have allergies: The fact this uses bags might be a benefit to those who struggle with allergies, and don't want particles escaping back into the air when emptying.
❌ You live in the US: You can find this model in the US, but it's generally pretty expensive. Stateside shoppers should look at the Roidmi at #5, instead.
❌ You want something bagless: If you're wary of ongoing costs, or want to see what you've sucked up, the Henry isn't the vacuum for you.
Brits looking for a bargain cordless vacuum should definitely check out the Henry Quick – a stick sibling to the iconic (if unwieldy) cylinder vacuum, with the same friendly face (although here it's a bit more awkwardly placed). It delivers outstanding performance for a very affordable price. You can get it in the US, but it's less good value for money there.
On test, our reviewer found that the full power setting was on a par with their favorite corded vacuum, and the lowest setting worked brilliantly on hard floors. If you have pets around the home then the Henry Quick will gamely tease the stray hairs with ease from the hard floors, plus upholstery and deep-pile carpets. Since it's bagged, you can just release the bag from the Henry Quick and get on with your day, making it a solid option for allergy-sufferers.
Our only real complaints are that this vacuum can be a little heavy when in use for long periods, and the fact you'll need to shell out for new bags.
Read our full Numatic Henry Quick review
