Best Cordless Vacuums We've Tested (July 2025)

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Best for:

The Shark Stratos is the best cordless vacuum you can buy, regardless of flooring type. We were blown away by its excellent performance on hardwood and carpet. Combined with its 60–minute runtime, five-year warranty, replaceable batteries, anti-allergen HEPA filter and $450 price ($299 as of this writing), this is the highest–scoring cordless vacuum on our list and an easy pick for Editors’ Choice.

Why we recommend it:

The Stratos generated some of the highest test scores we’ve seen on a cordless vacuum. It picked up 97.2% of sand from hardwood, 94% from less plush, low-pile carpet and 94.4% from mid-pile carpet. On average, it was able to pick up 95% of sand during our testing, beating out our previous best overall, the LG CordZero A949 (89.8%). “The Stratos is definitely the standout,” said Schylar Breitenstein, associate lab technician. “I use it to clean the floors in between pick-up tests because it picks up the most debris by far.”

The Stratos comes with a very capable DuoClean PowerFins HairPro brushhead, a two-brushroll system that’s able to dig deeper into the carpet to remove dust and pet hair. Unsurprisingly, we didn’t have many problems getting pet hair out of our test carpet, and the self-cleaning brushroll never tangled. It’s worth noting that for more deeply embedded hair, you may require more than one pass. Interestingly, there’s also some smart chops under the hood. Shark’s Clean Sense IQ is able to detect dirt and automatically boost suction power for better cleaning, although you can also manually change the cleaning modes if you prefer. It has a 60 minute tested runtime, which is better than many cordless vacuums we’ve tested and matches the Dyson V15 Detect.

There are also some useful quality-of-life features, like LED illumination lights for highlighting dust in dim areas, an LED display that shows you the runtime you have left, and a multi-flex wand attachment to help you get the vacuum under furniture and other tight spaces. It also folds up so you can put it away easily for storage, a blessing if you live in a cramped apartment like I do. The Stratos comes with a washable anti-allergen HEPA filter and odor neutralizing cartridges so gross things you suck up don’t fester.

Last, but not least, whether you buy it at its $450 full price or $299 sale price, it’s still half the price of flagship cordless vacuums from competitors like Dyson and LG. It’s almost hard to believe what a good value the Shark Stratos is.

Who shouldn’t buy it:

If you want a self-emptying dock, the Shark Stratos doesn’t come with one. It also doesn’t support mopping. The odor-neutralizing feature requires cartridge replacements every 6 months, which will cost you an extra $24.99 and are currently out of stock.

Best for:

If you need a capable cordless stick vacuum that can also double as a mop to wet clean your hard floors, the Dyson Detect Submarine V15S is the vacuum for you. At $799.99, it’s one of the more expensive cordless vacuums you can buy but there’s a good reason for it. During our testing, it showed strong performance on hardwood floors and was capable of tackling carpet too. It comes with a variety of cleaner heads to keep your space spick and span.

Why we recommend it:

The Dyson Detect Submarine did great in our test of removing sand from hardwood, tackling 91.4% of the sand. Carpet performance was also quite strong, removing 84.8% of the sand from low-pile carpet and 74% from mid-pile. It’s also no slouch at pet hair, removing fur from hardwood and carpet with ease. The performance isn’t as good as our best overall, the Shark Stratos, but it’s still better than many other cordless vacuums we’ve tested, and the Detect Submarine has other features to make it a strong contender.

For one, it comes with the Submarine Wet Roller Head, a brushed attachment that lets you wet mop hard flooring using water and floor cleaning solution. Think of it as a Swiffer with extra power. There’s also your standard Digital Motorbar cleaner head for standard vacuuming and the same Fluffy Optic cleaner head that illuminates dust that comes with the Dyson V15 Detect.

Tested runtime is a solid 41 minutes, a bit shorter than the 60 minutes Dyson estimates, but the battery is user-replaceable, which isn’t always the case with some cordless vacuums.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you don’t need a jack of all trades that can tackle wet messes, and just need an excellent vacuum, we like the Shark Stratos for most people. If you’re a Dyson loyalist and need to bust dust, the V15 Detect offers similar excellent performance without the mopping functionality.

Best for:

The Levoit LVAC-200 proves that you don’t have to spend much money to get a quality cordless vacuum. At just $200 at full price and $150 on sale, it’s almost hard to believe that a vacuum this affordable offers such excellent performance.

Why we recommend it:

The LVAC-200 excelled at cleaning on hardwood floors, capturing 98.7% of sand. It also handled low-pile carpet with aplomb, suctioning 80.2% of sand. Mid-pile was slightly lower at 74%, but still very impressive. Levoit isn’t using a HEPA filter in this unit; it does use a 5-stage filtration system, capturing 99.9% of particles as small as 0.3 microns.

A feature typically found on more expensive cordless vacs is LED lights on the front of the vacuum head to help ensure you don’t miss a speck of dust. Levoit LVAC-200 also comes with a 2-in-1 crevice tool and a 2-in-1 pet tool to help clean up any and every mess, although it would have been a nice to have some additional attachments for cleaning upholstery or digging deeper into carpet for pet hair.

The one downside is battery runtime, which is not very impressive at just 25 minutes (although this can vary depending on your mode). On the plus side, the battery is user replaceable and additional units can be purchased from Levoit for $70.

Who shouldn’t buy it:

If you need a longer runtime, the LVAC-200 isn’t the cordless vacuum for you. It only lasted 25 minutes during our testing so you’ll want to take a look at our Shark and Dyson picks for cordless vacuums that can last an hour or more. If you’re sensitive to allergies, this also doesn’t have a HEPA filter. And obviously, at this price, you won’t get a docking station or mopping functionality.

Best for:
Say hello to the best Dyson cordless vacuum, the Dyson V15 Detect. Like its predecessor, the V11, the V15 ripped through our suite of vacuum cleaner tests with ruthless power and completeness. I was also impressed by the 60-minute battery runtime.The dust detection feature is also no gimmick. It actively highlights dust you can’t easily see and helps ensure you don’t miss any spots.

Why we recommend it:

The trick up this Dyson’s sleeve is the impressive 230 air watts of suction power from the cleaning head. That suction translates into performance. The V15 Detect was able to remove 88% of sand from mid-pile carpet, as well as 95% from a low-pile carpet. We consider anything above 50% to be good, but the best cordless vacuums can often do even better. The V15 is a great cordless vacuum for pet hai,r too. Whether vacuuming across hardwood floors or low- or mid-pile carpeting, the V15 barely left a tuft in its wake. The 60-minute tested battery life is also quite good, putting it in the top tier of cordless vacuums.

Several features set the V15 Detect apart, including its Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head. Designed for hard floors, it projects a green laser onto the surface as you clean, making it easy to spot dust and small debris that would otherwise be hard to see. It isn’t much help under strong indoor lighting or sunlight but it’s still a unique feature that we found helpful as we cleaned. The readout on the back of the vacuum, which lists the ratio of dirt collected by particle size, was also interesting.

Bundled with the vacuum are seven cleaning attachments. Along with the Laser Slim Fluffy, you’ll get a high-torque cleaner head, a hair screw tool and a crevice tool, just to name a few. It also comes with a wall-mounted charging dock.

Who shouldn’t buy it:

The V15 is still a fairly expensive vacuum, at $749.99 MSRP. It also lacks mopping functionality or a self-emptying dock. Unless you’re a true Dyson loyalist, the Shark Stratos will give you more or less the same performance, minus the dust illumination head, for half the price. However, Dyson also has some newer models in its lineup, including the Dyson Detect Submarine V15s, which earned a spot on our list for its strong vacuum and mopping functionality. It also comes with the Fluffly Optic cleaner head.

Best for:

If you want the power and cleaning performance of the Shark Stratos with the benefits of a self-emptying dock, the Shark Clean & Empty is the cordless vacuum for you. It boasts powerful suction on all flooring types and the included dock will automatically charge and empty the dustbin after every use. At just $349.99 at full price and currently on sale for $299.99, it’s even cheaper than our best overall, the Shark Stratos, while offering similar great performance. It also comes with the same generous five-year warranty.

Why we recommend it:

The Shark Clean & Empty performed exceptionally well on all our tests, putting it within spitting distance of our best overall, the Shark Stratos. It removed 96% of sand from a hardwood floor, 90% from low-pile carpet and 88% from mid-pile carpet, resulting in an average performance of 91% in suction testing. This is just a few percentage points shy of the Stratos, which hit a 95% average on sand removal across floor surfaces. The vacuum automatically adjusts the brush roll speed depending on flooring type, although it doesn’t have the same intelligent dirt detection feature as the Shark Stratos.

As you might have guessed, pet hair was also no problem. The Clean & Empty was able to remove pet hair from hardwood and carpet without much difficulty, and the self-cleaning brush roll is designed to minimize the hair that wraps around it.

The big selling point for picking the Clean & Empty over the Stratos is the included charging dock with the auto-empty base. The base station lets you dock the freestanding cordless vacuum and it’ll automatically charge and empty the dustbin. You can go up to 30 days without needing to empty the dock’s bin. The vacuum and dock have a HEPA filter that Shark claims can lock away dust, dirt and allergens.

Like other vacuums in Shark’s lineup, the Clean & Empty comes with the company’s generous five-year warranty and accessories including a dust crevice tool and pet multitool.

Who shouldn’t buy it:

If battery life is important to you, the Clean & Empty doesn’t last as long as the Stratos. We tested it to 26 minutes of cleaning on medium suction, rather than the 40 minutes claimed by Shark. The Stratos, by contrast, lasted for 60 minutes of cleaning. That said, this will depend on the suction, and the charging dock does help make up for this, as it’ll keep your vacuum topped up every time you dock it.

Best for:

Tineco is a brand that’s earned a number of spots on our roundups over the year for offering high-quality cordless vacuums at a reasonable price. The feature-packed Tineco GoStation Smart is no exception to that rule. It offers great suction performance on hardwood and carpet alike, comes with a self-emptying, self-cleaning charging dock and has premium features like a dust-busting green LED light similar to the Dyson V15 Detect. Best of all, it only costs about $500 at full price, but can often be found on sale for $350.

Why we recommend it:
Let’s start with the bread and butter. The GoStation Smart tests in the upper tier of cordless vacuums, suctioning 97.53% of sand from hardwood floors. It also does quite well on carpet, with 78.43% pickup from low-pile and 81.86% from mid-pile. This is more or less on par with the Shark Stratos for hardwood floor pickup (97.22%) and actually beats the Dyson Gen5 Detect in carpet performance (65.3% low-pile and 66.67% mid-pile). This is pretty remarkable for a vacuum that costs half of Dyson’s flagship model.

When it comes to pet hair, the GoStation Smart benefits from the ZeroTangle Brush that’s included with the brushed. As the name suggests, it avoids tangling and doesn’t get clogged. We didn’t have any problem getting pet hair off either hardwood or carpet.

Battery life is solid, lasting 42.5 minutes in our testing. This is less than the 70 minutes Tineco predicts, but that’ll depend on your suction strength. For reference, we run this test three times on medium suction and take the average of the three results. On the plus side, the battery is removable and replaceable, and the vacuum will charge every time it’s docked.

Now, let’s get to the bells and whistles. The GoStation Smart is feature-packed. It earns the smart name by incorporating a 3D sensor into its main brush head that can identify the soil level of your flooring, detect walls and corners, and optimize suction to maximize debris removal and battery life. Like the V15 Detect, the brush head has a green LED light that helps illuminate dust better.

As mentioned, it comes with a self-emptying charging dock that also self-cleans the entire vacuum system every time you dock it, including the brush, tubes, and filters. The vacuum’s dustbin is on the smaller side at 0.3 liters, but the docking station has a massive 3-liter capacity that should allow it to last for 45 days before needing to be emptied. It includes a 5-stage HEPA filter that Tineco claims can remove 99.99% of dust.
Who shouldn’t get it:

For a similar price, the Shark Stratos, our best overall pick, offers superior carpet performance and has smart chops that let it adjust suction, though it won’t come with the self-emptying dock (the similar-performing Shark Clean & Empty can fit that need). Included tools are also limited, with just a crevice tool and 2-in-1 dusting brush.

Best for:

Uninell may not be a well-known brand next to others on this list, but we were pleasantly surprised by the performance of its UV5 cordless vacuum when we tested it. It offered equally capable performance on hardwood and both types of carpet we tested on. Its standout feature is also the massive 1.6-liter dustbin, one of the largest capacities we’ve seen on a cordless vacuum that doesn’t come with a dock. Best of all, with a $200 MSRP and $170 on sale, it’s one of the most affordable cordless vacuums you can get, even at full price.

Why we recommend it:

The UV5 is a surprisingly consistent performer. It scored 93.83% on sand pickup for hardwood floors. It also did quite good for low-pile and mid-pile carpet, scoring 77.45% and 79.9%, respectively. This puts it a little short of the Levoit LVAC-200 for our pick for the best cordless vacuums under $200 for hardwood flooring (98.72%), but it’s in a dead heat for low-pile carpet (80.21%) and outperforms the LVAC-200 for mid-pile (73.96%). The capacious 1.6-liter dustbin should also store plenty of debris before needing to be emptied.
Pet hair was alson’t much of a challenge. The UV5 has the V-shaped roller brush we’ve seen other brands adopt, which helps scrape up pet hair and direct it toward the nozzle without tangling or clogging.

Battery runtime is good, with 48.6 minutes tested, though it’s less than the 65 minutes Uninell estimates. The company claims that a second optional battery can give you an additional 130 minutes of runtime. The battery is user-replaceable, which is another nice selling point.

Other small touches which we appreciate are that the vacuum is self-standing and includes a power level display so you can see the charge and suction setting at a glance. It also comes with a 7-stage HEPA filter and green LED headlights similar to the Dyson V15 Detect to help it spot dust. Warranty is about standard at two years.

Who shouldn’t get it:
If you need the best carpet performance possible, you’ll generally get better results with our best overall, the Shark Stratos, though it’ll cost you nearly double the UV5. It also doesn’t come with a self-emptying dock, but that’s tough to find at this price point. Your best bet for that would be picking up the Shark Clean & Empty or Tineco GoStation on sale.

Best for:
Surprise, another Shark vacuum makes the cut. We recommend this one for those who want a good vacuum without spending more than $400. It boasts strong suction on all our test surfaces, has HEPA filtration, and comes with Shark’s generous five-year warranty.

Why we recommend it:
The Pet Plus excelled on hard flooring, removing 94% of sand. It was no slouch on carpet either, tackling 90% of sand from low-pile and 84.3% from mid-pile carpets. The scores put it right up there with some of our top performers like our current best overall, the Shark Stratos and our previous best overall, the LG CordZero A949.

There’s no dock or mopping functionality but the vacuum is freestanding, which is a nice feature we look for because you can leave it in a corner if something calls your attention. It’s also easy to maneuver, weighing a little less than eight pounds, putting it on par with the lightweight Dirt Devil BD5700V.

Battery life is middle of the pack at 42.3 minutes, which is less than the 60 minutes we got on the Stratos but the battery is removable. The Pet Plus comes with several useful cleaning tools. You get a multi-angle dusting brush, pet multi tool and wide upholstery tool. If you’re more sensitive to allergies, you’ll be pleased to know that the Pet Plus does have a HEPA filter and an anti-allergen seal.

Last, but not least, we get to the price. The Pet Plus falls firmly in the middle of the pack, costing $329.99 at full price but it’s currently on sale for $249.99 on Shark and at other retailers. This makes it quite the steal and one of the few high performing cordless vacuums you can get for less than $300.

Who shouldn’t buy it:
Believe it or not, despite the name, the Shark Pet Plus didn’t do as well at removing pet hair. While it did fine sucking it up from hardwood, it left quite a bit of pet hair on our low-pile and mid-pile test carpets. The dustbin is also quite small at just 0.32 liters. It’s actually one of the smallest capacities we’ve seen on a cordless vacuum that didn’t come with a self-empty dock.

Best for:

For those with primarily hardwood flooring, the Dirt Devil BD5700V delivered one of the highest scores we’ve seen on a cordless vacuum, removing nearly 100% of sand from a hardwood floor. Most impressive of all, it only costs $149.99 at full price. The only thing holding it back from being our best budget pick is middling carpet performance compared with the Levoit LVAC-200.

Why we recommend it:

The Dirt Devil BD5700V is notable for its classic bright red accents and remarkably lightweight body. At just 7 pounds, it’s easy to maneuver around the home but it doesn’t compromise on suction strength. It did incredibly well on our test that measures the ability of a cordless vacuum to remove sand from a hard floor, removing 99% of sand. It did quite well removing pet hair from hardwood, leaving no traces, but struggled more with carpet, leaving traces of fur despite a few swipes.

The Dirt Devil is also freestanding and has LED headlights on its primary cleaning head, a nice feature not always found on more affordable cordless vacuums. There isn’t a HEPA filter, but it is washable.

The big selling point here is the price. Without any sales or discounts, the DirtDevil start at $150, making it $50 cheaper than the LVAC-200 when it’s not on sale.

Who shouldn’t buy it:

If you have a lot of carpeting at home, the BD5700V isn’t for you. It didn’t do too badly on carpet, scoring 69% removal on less plush low-pile carpet and managing 70.1% on more plush mid-pile, but you can do better for the price. For $50 more at full price, the Levoit LVAC-200 outperformed it in both categories with 80% and 74%, respectively, while still hitting a 98.7% score on hardwood. Dustbin size could also be bigger; it’s only 0.48 liters meaning more frequent emptying during cleaning sessions. The battery lasted 23.5 minutes during our testing, which is shorter than many compeittors and it’s also not user replaceable.

Best for:
LG CordZero A949 is a do-it-all cordless vacuum for those who want vacuuming and mopping in one device. It’s packed with high-tech features, such as self-emptying, a Kompressor, Power Mop Pro and more, but don’t let all the buzzwords and impeccable design fool you. In CNET’s testing, it outperformed most of the other vacuums we tested. It used to be our best overall pick but now it loses the crown to the Shark Stratos, which outperformed it in testing and comes in at half the price.

Why we liked it:

During testing, the LG CordZero A949 suctioned nearly 90% of the debris from carpet and hardwood flooring. This can be chalked up to a powerful 265 air watts (a measure of suction) and intelligent, automatic suction adjustments. It did great in testing, scoring 95% sand removal from hardwood, 87.8% from low-pile carpet and 86.8% from mid-pile carpet. Pet hair was also no challenge, with the A949 pulling it out of hardwood and carpet with ease.

Aside from the impressive cleaning power, the LG CordZero A949 also has a charging dock that stores the accessories, charges the vacuum and the extra battery, and the base automatically empties the vacuum. The accessories include a crevice tool, an adjustable wand, a power mini nozzle and a combination tool. It also has a power mop attachment with spinning pads to clean up wet messes.

A small but much-appreciated feature of the LG CordZero A949 is that it’s freestanding. This means when you need to pick something up that’s in the way of cleaning, you don’t have to lean the vacuum against something or lay it on the ground. An underrated feature is also the dustbin capacity: it can hold a full liter before you need to make use of the self-emptying dock.

Who shouldn’t buy it:

This is one of the most expensive cordless vacuums we recommend at $1,000 at full price (although it’s currently $749.99 on sale). If you’re price sensitive, this may not be the cordless vacuum for you as there are options with similar capabilities for half the price, including our current best overall, the Shark Stratos. The battery life was also a big letdown during testing, with us getting just 10.5 minutes, though it is user replaceable and charges while on the dock.