Honorable Mentions
We haven’t tried a vacuum yet that we absolutely hate. These ones below are solid vacuums, and in some cases are much cheaper than our top picks, but we didn’t like them as much.
Dirt Devil Power Swerve Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum for $93: We previously recommended this as a budget pick. It’s a good vacuum for the money, but there are mixed results on how long the battery will last and the build quality.
Eureka Innova Cordless Stick Multi-Surface Vacuum for $207: This is a good stick vacuum at a reasonable price. It cleaned up a litter mat especially well, and there are specific carpet and hardwood settings. However, to suck up larger pieces like Cheerios, I had to lift the vacuum up and place it directly on top of them.
Hoover OnePwr Emerge Pet for $230: Our tester said that this wasn’t a bad vacuum in regular mode, but the attachments felt flimsy with weak suction power. Otherwise, it got the job done.
Mova S1 Detect Cordless Vacuum for $299: This is a nice stick vacuum that comes with a nice set of attachments, and it worked well in my home. Our top picks can do a similar job for cheaper, though.
Proscenic P13 Cordless Vacuum for $200: I haven’t tried the Dyson pick above with the green laser, so I was amazed how well the green light on this vacuum illuminated dust and dirt. It was almost gross to see how much goes unnoticed in regular lighting. However, it required many passes to actually clean most of that debris. For the price, it’s not bad as an untethered day-to-day vacuum, but you’ll definitely need a more powerful upright vacuum for deeper cleans.
Worx 20V Cordless Stick Vacuum for $228: This is a fine enough vacuum, but the dustbin was difficult to clean out compared to others I tested.
How We Tested
The best way to test a vacuum is to use it like you usually would. So, for a few months, we lived with these cordless vacuums, rotating through them to handle day-to-day messes and weekly deep cleans on hardwood floors, area rugs, and carpets. We charged them, asked our partners to use them, and even took some to a retail store to clean up after antique furniture and heavy foot traffic.
We also performed head-to-head testing, comparing how each picked up piles of Cheerios and cat litter, seeing if they blew debris around or needed several passes. We also took heaps of already matted dust and dirt from inside the vacuum bins to see how easily the vacuums could suck them back up in their thickened state.