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Every kind of vacuum, from robot vacuums to cheap stick vacs, is sent to my doorstep to find the best vacuum cleaner. You can find me vacuuming near daily with powerful Dysons, automated robot vacuums, and even vacuums made for car cleaning as a toddler mom plagued by sand and snacks. And I'm not alone in this quest; you can find many of the WIRED staffers testing vacuums in their homes too, to help find the best of the best.
If you're looking for one place to find all of our vacuum cleaner recommendations, this is it. From my favorite stick vacuums from Shark and Dyson to a powerful budget robot vacuum from Eufy and even an adorable car vacuum from Worx, there's a ton of great models to consider for your home. There's a vacuum cleaner here for every kind of cleaning task, and you're sure to find one that works best for your home.
Looking for our guides that dive into each category? Check out our guide to the Best Dyson Vacuums, Best Robot Vacuums, Best Cordless Vacuums, Best Handheld Vacuums, and Best Pet Hair Vacuums.
Updated May 2026: I've updated this story with our new robot vacuum picks, updated details about our hand vacuum and cordless picks, and ensured links and prices are up to date.
In my latest round of cordless vacuum testing, Shark's PowerDetect has risen to the top with a great mix of features at an accessible price. It has your classic range of three power levels and comes with only two accessories, but the stick of the vacuum actually has a bendable point, so you can click to bend it and easily vacuum underneath surfaces without getting down on the floor to do it. It has impressive power levels and did the best job vacuuming up debris like sand and cereal on carpet, and it did a solid job getting dust out of carpet-covered stairs.
I think this is especially a great cordless stick vacuum if you have a mix of hard floors, rugs, and carpet in your home. If your home is primarily carpet, I'd recommend a Dyson for a deeper clean, but otherwise this Shark model will do fantastic. There's a version with a self-emptying docking station, too.
Amazon (V15 Detect)
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There are a lot of Dyson vacuum models, but the V15 Detect is the best in Dyson's lineup with a reasonable price—for a Dyson, that is—and a good mix of features. Time and time again, though, the power of a Dyson vacuum can't be beat, especially with the V15 Detect's power and attachments.
It gets a deeper clean on my carpet than cheaper vacuums, and the sensor can tell you how many particles it's picking up if you want to dig into the data. There's a nice range of attachments, including the Fluffy Optic cleaner head that has a green laser to find dust and debris on hard floors. It has a trigger-style power button, so you'll have to hold it down the entire time you use it. That can be annoying if you know you'll be using it on a lot of carpet or hard floors, but it's handy for target-cleaning areas like staircases. It's an all-around great vacuum and noticeably more powerful than cheaper options if you have the budget to splurge.
If you're looking for a great affordable stick vacuum, my favorites have come from Bissell. You'll get everything you want in a good cordless: solid power, a HEPA-sealed filter, and a couple attachments. I've loved the Bissell's FurFinder ($200) for my house, but the BissellPowerClean is an even cheaper version that skips the FurFinder attachment and leaves a few lights off of the headlight. WIRED reviewer Kat Merck found the headlight plenty bright enough to spot litter and dust on her floor. It has a 40-minute run time that she found to be just enough to clean all rugs, bare floors, and upholstery in a 3,000-square-foot house. It feels heavier than she expected, but it's a great cordless vacuum for the price, especially since it has a HEPA sealed allergen system to keep allergens from escaping the vacuum.
Just about every product category has some promise of how artificial intelligence will make it better. It's not always true, and sometimes it's hard to tell when the AI is actually doing something. My favorite robot vacuum, the Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal, makes it easy to tell when its intelligence is at work. The UV Reveal uses a UV light with a camera to spot stains on hard floors. It works a little funny: The robot vacuum will do its main cleaning of the floors, vacuuming and mopping to your preferences, and after it returns to the base, it'll analyze the footage and determine where it needs to return and scrub stains away. The base station will also announce this for you, telling you it's going back out to attack stains.
I was also impressed by this vacuum's corner cleaning abilities. The UV Reveal has both an extendable arm and can shoot out air to clean corners; I use a Cheerio test to see how well robot vacuums get into tricky corners around my home, and the Shark is the only one that's gotten a Cheerio out of the tight corner next to my fridge. It leaves my rugs and carpets feeling fluffy, too. The only downside is that this vacuum can't learn multiple floors. Shark also doesn't confirm the suction on this vacuum, but it left my home feeling plenty clean.
Robot vacuums have become expensive, especially ones that double as a mop. If you're looking to spend less but still get mopping and vacuuming abilities, plus multi-floor mapping (something the more expensive Shark can't do), then look no further than the Eufy Omni C28. This is Eufy's latest budget robot vacuum, packing similar features to the Eufy X10 Pro Omni we previously loved but with almost double the suction and some updated features.
The Omni C28 has a rolling mop pad instead of just rotating ones, making it better at self-cleaning so you don't spread grime around the house. I will say this vacuum didn't do an amazing job scrubbing stains or spills like the Shark did, but it still did a great job with overall cleaning. It didn't leave my rug or carpet wet like the older X10 Pro Omni did for WIRED reviewer Adrienne So, though I needed to make sure no cords were in reach of this vacuum's cleaning route. It uses a laser distance sensor and a laser line for its navigation.
Dyson's vacuums impress us again and again, and Dyson's handheld-only models are no exception. WIRED reviewer Molly Higgins previously loved the older Dyson Humdinger handheld, and the Dyson Car+Boat came out in early 2025 as a replacement. It feels similar to the design of the top of one of Dyson's stick vacuums, sans the stick, but still packing powerful suction. It has only two cleaning modes, though, and no screen. There's just a switch for the two modes and a trigger button for power. The Car+Boat also comes with a couple attachments, which is a nice bonus, and it’s a good price for Dyson power. It also has a decent battery life, which is rare in handheld vacuums, and it's one I would grab if I wanted something to deep-clean staircases and cars.
For a cheaper handheld vacuum, the Ryobi 10V One+ is a powerful small hand vacuum that WIRED reviewer Molly Higgins says is the best one she has tried that’s under $100. This handheld is lightweight and powerful, and it comes with two attachments that work well on pet hair and car debris. It has a fine battery life of around 25 minutes, at least in Molly's testing.
Bissell PowerClean FurFinder for $200: This was our previous top pick for the best cordless vacuum, and it's still a great affordable stick vacuum. But the regular Bissell PowerClean ($150) is a touch cheaper since it doesn't come with the FurFinder upholstery attachment, while Dyson and Ryobi's vacuums have more powerful suction for pet hair.
Black and Decker Dustbuster Flex for $110: This is another cool handheld vacuum that's great for cars or even indoor areas like staircases. It has a 4-foot hose, longer than most compact vacuums, and a handy little charging mount that the accessories clip into. And thank goodness for the charging mount, since the battery only lasts 15 minutes.
Dyson Gen5 Detect Cordless Vacuum for $800: This is Dyson's current top-of-the-line stick vacuum, and it's fantastic, especially for homes with a lot of pet hair. But it's expensive and rarely on sale, making it a hard upgrade when you'll still get a great experience with the Dyson V15 Detect. This vacuum does have a HEPA filter, while the V15 Detect does not.
Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones for $450: This is a unique take on a stick vacuum. It's an impressive feat with the motor and dustbin built into the slender handle. There's both a Fluffycones version, which I tested, that has four fluffy cone-shaped rollers in the head, and a cheaper Fluffy version. I was impressed with the maneuverability of the PencilVac Fluffycones and often find myself grabbing it between runs of my robot vacuum to keep debris and cat litter under control. It's also lightweight and easy to push, and it has a freestanding charging mount. But it's a little pricey for being meant only for hard floors.
Ecovacs Deebot X11 Omnicyclone for $999: If you want a newer robot vacuum, the Ecovacs Deebot X11 Omnicyclone has a unique design with no dust bag. Instead, it has a rounded canister like a Dyson or stick vacuum, circling the debris to keep it from tangling. It's a good design, and this is overall a great robot vacuum, especially if you don't want to buy dust bags over and over.
Eufy X10 Pro Omni for $480: This was our previous top pick for a robot vacuum. It's still a great choice and well-priced for a robot vac that can vacuum and mop, and has a solid 8,000 Pa of suction power. But Eufy does have a newer model that you can pick up for just a little more if you want a self-cleaning roller mop instead of roller pads, with almost double the suction power.
Roborock Saros 20 for $1,600: Roborock's latest robot vacuum is overall pretty good, but WIRED reviewer Adrienne So noticed it left debris behind on her hard floors, specifically on the divider when it moved from her carpet onto hard flooring. This could be a fault of the super-high suction, which hits 36,000 Pa. There are a few other features she hoped would work better, too, including the AdaptiLift and beta stain-detection feature. We're in touch with Roborock about these issues, but overall it's a solid robot vacuum.
Tineco Pure One Station 5 for $459: If you want a cordless stick vacuum but don't want to deal with emptying it all the time, this Tineco vacuum comes with a self-emptying docking station. You'll eventually have to empty the station, but it's a great bonus feature and keeps the vacuum from falling over around your home since it's stored safely in the docking station.
Which Style Vacuum Is Right for You?
To help you choose which one to buy, here's what makes each vacuum style great.
What About Upright Vacuums?
An upright vacuum is the classic, original vacuum style that sits straight up on its own, is much heavier than a cordless stick vacuum, and requires an outlet connection to operate. We don't have an upright vacuum we recommend, since cordless stick vacuums have become the main focus for most shoppers (and as frequent vacuumers ourselves, we usually reach for cordless and robot vacuums anyway). We're considering upright vacuums to test in the future, however, so feel free to comment on this guide with models we should consider.
Do You Need a Stick Vacuum and a Handheld Vacuum?
Do you need a handheld vacuum if you already have a cordless vacuum? Likely not, because most stick vacuums can transform into a handheld vacuum. Stick or cordless vacuums usually allow you to remove the stick part from between the vacuum head and canister base and instead connect those two pieces directly, making it into a handheld vacuum. It'll be much heavier than a handheld-only vacuum and might be irritating for some use cases, but you don't need both unless there's a specific reason. A handheld is a good add-on if you already have an upright vacuum you love that doesn't need replacing.
How Often Should You Replace Your Vacuum?
Vacuums last about five years, depending on the use frequency and build quality. Some cheaper stick vacuums might last only a year or two, though, so it's worth investing in a better vacuum rather than a cheap dupe. If you're curious what signs might indicate your vacuum needs replacing, check out our guide to how long vacuums can last.
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