12 best cordless vacuum cleaners, tried and tested

If having a clean home fills you with joy, the Shark stratos will make you euphoric. The suction power on both carpet and hard floors is a dream. It’s constantly working out the power levels you need to pick up the most mess. Its “clean sense IQ technology” is marketing jargon, but it actually works – the vacuum can automatically sense the mess you can’t see and adjust its cleaning power for effective vacuuming.

No pet hair, clothing fluff or larger-than-usual objects came close to getting stuck in the brush, making it useful for busy households when there’s barely enough time to use it, let alone untangle things that are clogging it up. We love the LED highlights, as they showed us where dirt had piled up and illuminated under furniture. It was also super easy to convert into a handheld vacuum for cleaning staircases or car upholstery.

But there are three features that impressed us the most. Firstly, it has a dual battery pack offering 120 minutes of runtime, which is double the next best model. Secondly, you can attach an anti-odour pack to make the floors smell as good as they look. Finally, the hose folds back on itself for compact and freestanding storage and charging. It’s fairly priced and actually works – it’s about as good as vacuuming gets.

Levoit is best known for its air purifiers and fans, and that focus on air quality is obvious with this vacuum. Allergy UK has certified the Levoit cordless vacuum for allergy sufferers. It has two washable HEPA filters and a four-stage filtration process that removes 99.99 per cent of dirt, including particles that are invisible to the naked eye. Generally, bagged cleaners are better for allergy sufferers than their bagless counterparts, but the Levoit holds its own.

It has four specialist nozzles and easily converts from stick to handheld mode, so it can tackle a huge range of different floor types and upholstery.

We were also impressed that it has an auto mode, which uses sensors to adjust the suction power according to the amount of dust and saves battery power. We’re often tempted to whack the suction up to the highest setting, just to be sure we’re getting all the dust up, so it was handy to have this little helper so we could operate the vacuum for longer.

This is a great cleaner if you have a larger home and like to get all rooms done in one go, and it’s under £200, which a great price for a vacuum. The only drawback we found is that it’s pretty heavy, so it can be uncomfortable to use after a while.

If you really want to know your house is clean, no other vacuum comes close to Dyson’s cordless whizz. The space-age stick has an ingenious sensor that continuously sizes and counts dust particles, automatically increasing the machine’s suction power when needed. It also logs precisely how much dirt has been collected and displays real-time results on an LCD screen, so you know when floors are immaculate. There’s no need to rely on your eyesight, either – the Dyson has an eye-safe laser to magically reveal even invisible dust on hard floors.

Once you’ve recovered from the shock of spotting areas you’ve always missed, you’ll be wowed by this vacuum’s overall performance. It’s a dream to glide between hard floors and carpets, adapting power for each as it goes, and suction doesn’t falter for the entire hour’s running time.

Unlike many cordless vacuums, it has no problem tackling larger debris, while its anti-tangle technology clears hair from the brush bar, so you don’t end up with a matted mess. We also love the slim 25cm-wide cleaner head, which could reach into narrow gaps and around table legs, so we didn’t miss a single spot.

With all that in mind, it’s perhaps a little surprising that this vacuum isn’t in the top spot. However, like all Dyson vacuums, you have to press the trigger constantly as you vacuum, which gets a little tedious. On top of that, it’s very expensive. If you have a spare £500 to drop on a vacuum, it’s worth it, but few of us do.

Read the full Dyson V15 review

This is an ingenious vacuum. Nothing beats a robot vacuum getting on with the cleaning while you’re busy doing something else. However, we’ve tested several in the past and find none of them do the whole job – either because they can’t quite get into corners or they can’t reach certain areas, such as stairs. This eufy vacuum solves the problem, though, with a handheld machine embedded in the robot’s body. Press a button and it lifts out to be used as a handheld, or with an attachment as a stick – a brilliant way to avoid having to buy two separate vacuums.

We found this vacuum cleans well in every mode. The robot was especially good on carpet (and getting under beds). It navigated obstacles well and automatically emptied into a 3l dust bin, though it is quite noisy. The stick has stronger suction and a smaller capacity and can be either manually or automatically emptied into a bag once it’s re-attached to the robot – ideal if you prefer dirt sealed away so you never come into contact with it. If the robot misses anything, the handheld mode is also excellent.

The hose is a touch shorter than on some other vacuums, though – if you’re tall, you may prefer the Miele duoflex HX1 total care. You’ll also need to find an accessible space to store the auto-emptying station, so the robot can reach it. On top of that, there is a strange irony in the fact that the machine itself is a complete dust magnet, so it needs a regular wipe down.

The Halo capsule X cordless vacuum boasts an impressive combination of power and lightness. Thanks to its carbon fibre construction, it weighs a mere 2.6kg, so you’ll never get tired holding this vacuum. Even though it’s light in weight, it’s high in power. The capsule X boasts a 2l dustbin, which is up to five times larger than some competitors, and delivers a runtime of up to 60 minutes per battery.

With its array of attachments, including a crevice tool, dusting brush, power brush, mini pet hair brush, and hard floor roller, it handled any cleaning task we threw its way, from stairs to the much-used corner sofa. We also like the bags that come with it, meaning you don’t have to physically see or smell what you’re clearing up. When the bag’s full, you can lift it all into the bin, keeping dust particles out of the air, which would be a welcome relief for allergy sufferers.

The only drawback is that it’s a little clumsy. Other vacuums are easier to manoeuvre, and this one is particularly ill-suited to vacuuming ceilings; all the weight is in the floorhead, so the balance is off.

Vacuums are hardly the most stylish home gadget, but this one really is a looker, complete with bronze trim and hose. It delivers on cleaning power, too, with incredibly powerful suction that had no problem dealing with bigger messes, such as spilled cereal. There was no loss of power, even towards the end of the vacuum’s battery life, which lasts for nearly an hour. However, we were a little surprised to find this vacuum had no digital display (especially considering the price). Instead, lights indicate when the battery is running low.

Unlike the Dyson v15 detect absolute, we liked the fact that you don’t need to leave your finger on the button constantly while you clean with the duoflex. Simply press one button and go, with a second button to switch between power levels. Usefully, the vacuum automatically detects different floor types and adjusts suction accordingly, so you don’t need to worry about changing settings or brush heads. Just be aware that the hose is longer than on the other vacuums we tested, so it’s best suited to taller people.

Moving the sleek, slimline V12 around the house felt very futuristic. The LED screen shows what’s been sucked up, displaying real-time scientific proof of a deep clean. The performance is unbeatable. We were impressed that it never lost any suction power during the whole 60 minutes of usage and zapped up all visible dirt into its insides like it was nothing. This could be down to the inclusion of a piezo sensor, which continuously sizes and counts dust particles – automatically increasing suction power when needed.

Pet owners will really appreciate the hair-screw tool, which is an anti-tangle conical brush bar that spirals hair off your surfaces and into its bin. As pets can often bring germs and invisible dirt into the house, there’s a precisely angled blade of light, which makes dust visible on hard floors, so you don’t miss anything.

When the vacuum’s full, you don’t have to touch any dirt or hair, thanks to a fast, easy ejection mechanism. Press the button and it drives dust and debris deep into your bin, in one action.

But despite being an older model, it’s still fairly expensive, and like all Dysons, you have to push down on the button the entire time you use it.

We loved the nozzle foot release on this vacuum. Tap it gently with your foot, and the nozzle detaches from the brush, so you can clean corners or ceilings. Not only do you never have to bend down to clean hard-to-reach places, but you also don’t have to stretch or struggle with any hose adjustment ever again. We highly recommend this for elderly people or those with limited mobility.

Plus, if you tap the front of the vacuum gently, the bendable flex tube folds 90 per cent flat, for effortless cleaning under furniture. We’ve never seen a vacuum cleaner that folds this flat before, which made it fun to use, as well as less effort, with no need to bend down.

There’s no LED display to tell you how much power you have left, but the LED lamps on the brush are powerful, working like floodlights to show where the dirt is. It’s good value, too. The unlimited 7 comes with an impressive 10-year guarantee, which effectively means the price works out as £31 a year.

The crosswave max vacuums and mops hard floors at the same time, picking up wet and dry debris simultaneously. To start, we tested it on crumbs of toast with jam, which it soon ate up, leaving no sign of any stickiness. Then we emptied some cereal and milk onto the floor, and it handled that perfectly, too.

If muddy footprints or pawprints are brought into the house, this multi-tasking appliance will suck and mop floors clean in about a quarter of the time it would take to get a mop and bucket. There are no streaks either, as the crosswave has two tanks, so clean and dirty water are kept separate and you’re never wiping dirty water over your floors. When finished, it has a self-cleaning cycle to flush out dirt and debris, leaving it fresh for the next time you need it.

At more than 5kg, it is heavier than other cordless vacuums we tested and it had the shortest battery life. You couldn’t clean your whole house in one session, and you can’t use it on carpet, but it’s the perfect tool for hallways, kitchens and open-plan areas.

This is a nifty little vacuum cleaner for a fair price. It’s one of the lightest models we tested – half as heavy as the Bissell crosswave cordless max – and very easy to operate. There’s no need to keep your finger on the trigger as you clean, and although there’s no digital display, there are lights to show what mode the vacuum is using.

We found this model wasn’t quite as smooth around corners as the Miele duoflex HX1 total care, but the dust bin is a revelation – although tiny, it compacts dirt to triple its capacity, so we didn’t need to empty the bin during a full clean of our house. Better still, there’s no rubber seal inside to trap dirt, and the entire bin slides open for easy emptying. We also liked the handy slider button to open the floor head from the top to clean it, although the anti-hair-wrap brush meant we didn’t suffer any dreaded tangles when cleaning anyway.

If you hate fiddly buttons and confusing extras, this is a fantastic vacuum to choose. Ease of use is prioritised here, with a large, comfortable handle, labelled attachments (so you’ll never forget what each one is for), and sensors that automatically increase suction power when needed. There are also large chunky buttons – they felt a little flimsy during testing, but could be invaluable to anyone with sight issues or problems with mobility in their hands.

Its performance is excellent, too. The vacuum has LED lights to reveal hard-to-see dirt, and a bumper around the floor head to protect skirting boards and furniture. Hair never tangled around the brush, and we loved the fact that this vacuum stands up on its own. The flexi-wand is fantastic for cleaning under furniture and very easy to operate, as the cover simply slides up. However, the floor head is wide and quite deep, so we found it didn’t get under very low furniture and was trickier to use in tight corners and around table legs.

Bosch is a name to know when it comes to powerful home appliances, so we had high hopes for this cordless vacuum, which has been designed to save you time and effort by combining two cleaning modes in one.

There are three power modes to choose from (auto, turbo and eco), with the latter preserving most of the battery. While the brand claims it has a 40-minute battery life, we found it ran out of charge after 30 minutes when in auto, which is something to bear in mind if you have a large home.

As for its performance, the vacuum has a powerful suction, making light work on our floors (although we noticed it worked slightly better on wood floors and required a little extra effort on carpets). The flexible tube allowed us to clean hard-to-reach areas of our home, particularly under sofas and beds. We also appreciated the range of attachments, including the short crevice nozzle, which allowed us to vacuum up dust and dirt in the nooks and crannies.

To switch to the mop, simply replace the vacuum with the mop, which is to be filled with your detergent of choice and water. After testing the vacuum, we were expecting great things from the mop and thought that the performance could be improved slightly. Though it delivers a decent surface clean of floors, releasing water automatically, we noticed that our floors weren’t getting sufficiently wet, and areas of tough grime needed a lot of legwork to remove.

That being said, it’s a small price to pay for having the ability to mop and vacuum at the same time. We like that once you’ve finished with the mop, the pads can be washed at 40C in the washing machine, ready to be reused. This really is a great cordless vacuum for those who have hard floors throughout their home.

The lightweight vacuum can be stored on the back of a door thanks to the included brackets and charging dock, but one small gripe is that it can’t stand up on its own, and we found that if we rested it against a wall, it’d slip and fall over.