The 4 Best Cordless Stick Vacuums of 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Sabine Heinlein

Sabine Heinlein covered floor care. Keeping her multi-pet home clean is one of her more acceptable obsessions.

The Dyson V12 remains a top pick, with the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty as a new top pick, for those who want a cordless stick vacuum with an auto-empty dock.

If you deal with frequent small messes, or you hate lugging out your full-size, plug-in vacuum cleaner, a cordless stick vacuum could be your dream cleaning partner. But like a good marriage, a cordless stick vacuum requires some compromises. We’ve tested dozens of models, and the perfect one just doesn’t exist.

Depending on your priorities, we recommend the light and nimble Dyson V12 Detect Slim, the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty Cordless Vacuum with self-emptying dock, or the durable Ryobi 18V One+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit. If you’re on a tight budget, the Tineco GO Pet Cordless Vacuum is a decent choice.

This nimble, high-tech model is light, powerful, and easy to maneuver. But it doesn’t stand up on its own, and the dustbin is tiny.

You save $100 (22%)

This model performs about as well as the Dyson V12, and it comes with a station that automatically empties the dustbin when the vacuum is docked. It struggles with fur, though.

This model is not as nimble as our top picks, but it’s an excellent cleaner, it has a large dustbin, and it comes with several useful tools.

This sturdy, versatile vacuum has excellent suction power, and it comes with several ingenious attachments. It stands on its own and recharges quickly, but it’s heavier and less agile than our other picks.

We’ve tested hundreds of vacuums over more than a decade, most recently evaluating 34 cordless stick models priced from $100 to $1,000.

We measured how much baking soda, cereal, birdseed, glitter, and hair each vac pulled from four types of rugs and bare floors.

We looked for cordless stick vacuums with at least a two-year warranty, as well as a replaceable battery—a major plus.

For each vacuum, we noted how easy and comfortable it was to maneuver, and we looked at whether the attachments fit their purpose.

This nimble, high-tech model is light, powerful, and easy to maneuver. But it doesn’t stand up on its own, and the dustbin is tiny.

You save $100 (22%)

The Dyson V12 Detect Slim comes closer to being an ideal stick vac than any model we’ve tested. It’s light and nimble around furniture and on stairs, and it even works on shelves, walls, and ceilings.

In suction, airflow, and cleaning power, the V12 Detect Slim rivals more-expensive vacuums (such as the Dyson V15). And the V12 comes with multiple brushes and attachments, including a motorized brush for pet hair. It runs for 45 minutes on a single charge—longer than most of the other vacuums we’ve tested.

This stick vacuum has high-tech features that make it almost fun to use; they include a sensor that automatically adjusts suction, a laser headlight that illuminates dust in dim corners, and an LCD screen with a battery countdown and other information. This stick vac is also one of the quietest models we’ve tested.

The V12’s biggest downside is its tiny, 12-ounce dustbin, which requires frequent emptying, particularly if you have pets. You also have to swap between two different brushes, depending on whether you use the vacuum on carpet or the bare floor.

It takes the V12 four hours to recharge—longer than it takes most other models—and it doesn’t stand up on its own. Dyson covers the V12 with a two-year warranty.

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This model performs about as well as the Dyson V12, and it comes with a station that automatically empties the dustbin when the vacuum is docked. It struggles with fur, though.

The Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty Cordless Vacuum is a powerful cleaner with an option for a self-emptying dock; this is an increasingly popular feature on stick vacuums because it reduces dust exposure and maintenance. In our tests, this model excelled at picking up Cheerios, birdseed, sand, and dust, performing on a par with our other picks. Its dual-brush cleaner head effectively handles debris on hard floors and carpets.

Like the Dyson V12, this vacuum has three modes, including an auto-detect feature that adjusts power for carpets. An LED screen monitors charge levels, and a versatile wand with an adjustable angle makes it easier to clean under furniture. The Shark PowerDetect struggles with pet fur, and it’s notably louder than our other picks.

This vacuum has a small bin, but the self-emptying dock (available as an add-on) can alleviate that by automatically sucking debris into a larger canister.

The Shark PowerDetect comes with a five-year warranty—the longest one among our picks. But finding replacement parts, including batteries, can be difficult.

This model is not as nimble as our top picks, but it’s an excellent cleaner, it has a large dustbin, and it comes with several useful tools.

Most cordless stick vacuums that cost less than $200 are terrible. The Tineco GO Pet (often on sale for around $150) is a rare exception. It rivaled our top picks in pickup power, efficiently and reliably sucking up sand, Cheerios, birdseed, and dust. (It even outperformed a pricier Tineco model we tried.)

This vacuum includes a single cleaner head, so it eliminates the hassle of having to switch heads when you’re transitioning from bare floors to rugs and wall-to-wall carpeting. However, the Tineco Pro Pet seizes on certain lightweight rugs.

With a generous, 34-ounce dustbin, the GO Pet is designed with bulky fur in mind. It quickly transforms into a handheld vacuum, and it comes with several useful tools, including a mini power brush, for tackling fur on upholstery, and a combination brush tool, for dusting and getting crumbs off of above-floor surfaces.

The GO Pet has a decent runtime of 38 minutes, and it’s lightweight and agile, maneuvering smoothly around chairs and tables. But it’s noisier than other stick vacs, and its dustbin can be annoying to reassemble. It comes with a three-year warranty, and the battery is replaceable (but finding one is a hassle.)

This sturdy, versatile vacuum has excellent suction power, and it comes with several ingenious attachments. It stands on its own and recharges quickly, but it’s heavier and less agile than our other picks.

The Ryobi 18V One+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit is a bulky yet well-rounded workhorse, so it’s a great choice both for homes and for garages.

In our tests, this model readily picked up debris particles of different sizes and weights on all types of floors—it even rivaled the Dyson V12 in our sand-pickup tests. Its large, 33-ounce dustbin won’t quickly fill up with debris or fur, so this vac is ideal for people with pets and workshops.

Its motorized cleaner head works on bare floors and on carpet (you don’t have to swap brushes, as you do with the Dyson V12 Detect Slim). And it comes with a variety of useful attachments, including an excellent motorized brush tool, for pet hair, and a surprisingly useful micro crevice tool, for getting into tight cracks. But this model is heavy and less agile than our other picks.

The vacuum stands upright on its own and runs for up to 32 minutes. The battery charges in two hours (one of the fastest charge times we saw in our tests). And the battery is widely available and compatible with various Ryobi machines, so it’s a good choice if you already own One+ Ryobi tools. It has a limited three-year warranty.

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Sabine Heinlein has been a journalist for over two decades. She’s tested dozens of floor-care machines. With a menagerie of rabbits and cats, she has obsessed over how different types of fur adhere to upholstery and how to remove hairballs from heirloom rugs. Liam McCabe wrote the previous versions of this guide, testing over 100 vacuums for this and other vacuum guides.

For this guide:

At their best, cordless stick vacuums are versatile, shape-shifting creatures that can change configurations with the help of useful attachments. These models promise to clean everywhere, all at once, untethered by cords. Most cordless vacs are lithe and comfortable to handle, even in cramped spaces or on stairs. And because cordless vacuums are compact and often packaged with either a wall-mountable charging dock or a floor stand, they are often stored within arm’s reach and in plain sight.

But even the priciest cordless stick vacuums can’t match the suction and deep-cleaning power of a good upright or canister vacuum, especially if you have wall-to-wall carpeting, lots of rugs, or shedding pets. Their batteries typically last 30 to 40 minutes on a full charge; this is enough time to clean a room or two, but it’s unlikely long enough to tackle your home from top to bottom. Cordless stick vacuums also have a shorter life expectancy than good plug-in vacuums. For most people, a cordless stick vac should be a sidekick to a plug-in vacuum.

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In our most recent round of testing, we tried nine new cordless stick vacuums. Here’s how we evaluated them:

We first measured each vacuum’s airflow with an anemometer, and we evaluated its suction with a specialized suction gauge. A vacuum needs high airflow because suction alone can’t move debris up the wand and into the bin, explained James Brown, service specialist and museum curator at Mr. Vacuum Cleaner. “If I put a penny on my hand, put the nozzle over the penny, switched the machine on, switched it off, and let it wind down, the penny would still be there because there’s no air moving down the tube to take it to where it needs to go. But you can still feel the pressure of it pulling your hand to the nozzle.”

We paid special attention to each vacuum’s cleaner head, and we ruled out models that didn’t come with a motorized brush roll, because suction and airflow alone can’t remove dirt. “You need agitation, which is what the brushes do,” Brown explained. “They vibrate and sweep the carpet and dislodge the dirt. The airflow takes it away.” We also preferred models with an easy-to-remove brush roll, so we could detangle and clean it without using special tools.

We then tried each vacuum on different types of rugs and on bare floors strewn with Cheerios, fur, baking soda, birdseed, and glitter. We looked for models that didn’t snowplow (when a vacuum’s low-riding cleaner head pushes around heavier debris instead of sucking it up), dump (when debris falls back out of a vacuum that’s turned off), or jam (when the motorized brush seizes on certain types of rugs and rug pads). We also checked each model’s anti-tangling technology by vacuuming up colorful hair extensions. We then ran the top performers in a multi-person, multi-pet, multi-rug home for several weeks, to see how they handled a variety of surfaces and messes (cat and bunny litter included).

With each vacuum, we tested how comfortable it was to handle and how easy it was to maneuver. To measure the performance of above-floor attachments, we tried them in a dirty car, a sewing room, and a laundry room, as well as on different types of upholstery. And we examined other sources of delight or dismay, including the dustbin’s emptying process, the vacuum’s ability to stand up on its own, and the presence of any extras, such as a headlight or an LCD screen. We also measured each vacuum’s noise level, with the SPLnFFT app.

Several company spokespeople told us that a cordless stick vacuum’s advertised run time is typically measured on its low power setting in handheld mode. That number rarely holds up in real life: Running a cordless stick vac’s motorized brush on bare floors and rugs draws more power and depletes the battery faster. We considered anything over 30 minutes to be an acceptable real-life run time.

We looked for batteries that charged within four hours or less. And we considered it a plus if a vacuum’s run time exceeded 30 minutes and its battery could work in a variety of tools from the same company.

In addition to occasionally suffering from battery failure, cordless stick vacs are prone to the same clogs, cracked plastic, and other mechanical failures as plug-in machines. We called customer service for each of our top performers, so we could experience the process and determine how easy it was to order new parts.

We favored models with a warranty of more than two years. Damian Lee, a former engineer at Dyson and Shark, agreed that a long warranty is meaningful when you’re making a buying decision: “[It] gives you confidence that a company is standing behind their product.”

Most cordless stick vacuums have HEPA filters, but the existence of such a filter wasn’t a major factor in our decision-making. Even with a HEPA filter, a cordless stick vac is likely to expose you to dust and other allergens when you empty the bin. If you have serious allergies or asthma, you’re better off with a vacuum that collects debris in a self-sealing, disposable bag.

This nimble, high-tech model is light, powerful, and easy to maneuver. But it doesn’t stand up on its own, and the dustbin is tiny.

You save $100 (22%)

Of all the models we’ve tested, the nimble, powerful, and reliable Dyson V12 Detect Slim comes the closest to being the ideal cordless stick vacuum. It’s light and easy to store, but it can’t stand on its own, and its dustbin is tiny.

It’s lithe and graceful. Weighing just over 5 pounds (4 pounds in hand), the V12 Detect Slim maneuvers easily in awkward spaces and on stairs. Most of its weight sits on top, yet we found that this model was the most comfortable for our hands and wrists. Its cleaner head swivels 180 degrees, so it can reach into tight corners, around table legs, and between furniture better than other models we’ve tested. And at 72 dB, it’s fairly quiet.

The V12 Detect Slim has an on/off button, whereas previous Dyson models had an uncomfortable, trigger-style switch that you had to squeeze to get the vacuum to operate.

It sucks (in a good way). The V12 Detect Slim offers powerful suction and airflow, and it excels at picking up dust and debris on both bare floors and rugs. In our controlled rug-cleaning test, it devoured almost 100% of the baking soda we’d spread out on medium-pile rugs—a clear sign that the V12 is capable of targeting deeper-dwelling dust and dander, which other cordless sticks might miss. (One competitor picked up just a little over 40% of it.) It also effectively extracted fur from rugs.

The V12 Detect Slim has three suction modes: eco (lower suction, which conserves battery), boost (stronger suction), and auto. The auto mode is particularly helpful because the dust sensor detects dirt and triggers increased suction power when necessary. For example, in our tests, the V12 Detect Slim regularly went into boost mode near a cat’s litter box.

It has two effective cleaner heads for different types of flooring. Designed to deep-clean rugs and carpets, the V12’s Motorbar cleaner head has tooth-like rubber vanes that, Dyson claims, automatically clear wrapped hair during cleaning. In our testing, the head readily captured 6-inch strands of hair, but the brush was less effective with 18-inch strands. (You can remove the brush, and you can cut off long locks with scissors or a box cutter.) On bare floors, the Motorbar head efficiently cleaned up baking soda and seeds, but it tended to snowplow Cheerios. (A warning about using the Motorbar on valuable rugs: This brush is powerful and aggressive on sensitive fibers. During our tests, it pulled a significant amount of red carpet fibers out of a vintage Persian rug.)

The second cleaner head, the Laser Slim Fluffy, is made of soft microfiber fabric, and it’s specifically designed to snag dust and fur from bare floors. It has a laser light that spookily illuminates dark corners—one moment the dust is spotlighted, the next moment it’s gone. (If you want the laser effect without committing to a Dyson, you can buy this nifty add-on and attach it to any vacuum.)

In our testing, we found that the Laser Slim Fluffy head picked up larger debris, which the Motorbar head tended to snowplow. The Laser Slim Fluffy head swallowed everything we presented it with, aside from a large mound of Cheerios (which it choked on) and a huge cockroach (which got stuck in the brush housing).

It converts into a handheld vacuum with useful attachments. The V12 Detect Slim easily converts into a handheld vacuum, and it comes with helpful attachments for tasks around the home and in the car. Its mini motorized brush tool was one of the best we tested for removing pet hair from couches, cat beds, and car upholstery. Its combination tool allowed us to quickly switch between a wide nozzle and a brush; we found the brush particularly handy for dusting bookshelves and windowsills.

It has a decent warranty, and its battery and many of its parts are replaceable. Dyson’s two-year warranty on this model is decent, though that’s less coverage time than we’ve seen for many other high-performing cordless sticks. The V12 Detect Slim uses swappable, click-in batteries. And you can buy spare packs to extend the run time, though we’ve noticed they are sometimes out of stock on the website. (Sometimes you can get them by calling the company. Or you can find cheaper knockoff batteries, but we don’t recommend them.) On cordless stick vacuums, the battery is one of the most common failure points. So due to Dyson’s swappable design, you won’t have to toss the whole vacuum if the battery fails. Many of its other parts, including its washable filter, are replaceable too.

It has cool features. The V12 Detect Slim’s LCD screen shows animated maintenance reminders, troubleshooting tips, and, most importantly, a battery-life countdown. Its chief gimmick is its particle counter; it estimates the number of differently sized particles collected and displays the tallies in a bar graph—supposedly to help you feel confident that you’ve deep-cleaned your flooring. We don’t know how accurate or useful the particle counter is, but it can be a fun motivator.

Like those of many other powerful stick vacuums, the V12’s brush roll tends to seize on lightweight rugs. And unlike the Ryobi’s brush roll, the V12’s can’t be turned off.

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In general, Dyson is a reliable company with a well-earned and particularly devoted following. If the Dyson V12 Detect Slim isn’t for you, the Dyson line includes other options (though they come with triggers).

We reviewed the Gen5detect, and it’s a great cleaner that is equipped with a couple of meaningful upgrades, including a valve to adjust the suction, a longer runtime, and a (relatively) large dustbin (it’s twice the size of the V12’s dustbin). But the Gen5detect is heavier than the V12, it’s less comfortable to use, and it’s less convenient to maneuver and store.

The V15 Detect’s dustbin is also twice the size of the V12 Detect Slim’s bin. Even though the V15 Detect’s motor has more muscle, in our tests, this model did not clean significantly better than the V12 Detect Slim.

The V8 Absolute is less powerful than the V12 Detect Slim and the V15 Detect, but it’s still a good value. Its bin capacity is somewhere between that of the other two models, and it comes with many useful attachments.

The Outsize Plus has a wider brush and an even larger bin than the V15 Detect, but its motor is slightly less powerful.

This model performs about as well as the Dyson V12, and it comes with a station that automatically empties the dustbin when the vacuum is docked. It struggles with fur, though.

The Shark PowerDetect Cordless Stick Vacuum (IP1251) is a powerful cleaner with useful modes and attachments. You can choose to add a self-emptying dock, which automatically sucks debris into a larger canister after a cleaning session; this eliminates the hassle of having to frequently open and empty the dustbin (and it cuts down on your exposure to the resulting dust plumes).

It’s an excellent cleaner, with well-designed brushes. In our tests, the Shark PowerDetect cleaned just as well as the Dyson V12 and the Tineco GO Pet, efficiently sucking up Cheerios, birdseed, sand, and dust.

Its single cleaner head houses a velvety front brush (which grabs dust on hardwood floors, tile, and vinyl) and a back brush (which, with its stiff bristles, digs up dirt from carpets and rugs).

The brushes are designed to pick up debris in both forward and reverse motion, making cleanup particularly fast and efficient. (Be aware, though, that the powerful brush roller should not be used on delicate vintage or antique rugs because it’s prone to pulling out fibers along with dust and debris.)

In our testing, the Shark ran for about 58 minutes in eco mode on a single charge—the longest of our picks. (Shark claims the vacuum runs for up to 70 minutes, but we weren’t able to replicate this.)

It’s relatively lightweight. The Shark PowerDetect is not quite as lightweight as the Dyson V12, but it weighs significantly less than the Ryobi 18V One+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit.

It’s got some nifty features. Like the Dyson V12, this model has three cleaning modes, including an auto-detect mode, which amps up power when the machine detects carpet and debris. The LED screen also monitors charging levels.

The wand has a convenient trigger on the handle for switching modes, along with an adjustable angle for tackling hard-to-reach spots. Simply press the latch on the back to fold the wand into a right angle, perfect for cleaning under furniture. This feature proved especially useful when we vacuumed beneath the vanity in a narrow bathroom.

It’s got decent tools. This model comes with a long combination tool that easily transforms from crevice to brush tool, making it ideal for tight areas and dusty bookshelves. While its “pet multitool” manages to pull fur off of upholstery, we often had to rid the brush of embedded fur by hand. The mini turbo brushes included with our other three picks were far more efficient at removing pet fur. (Shark sells a motorized hand tool separately, but it’s been out of stock.)

It has a great warranty. The Shark’s five-year warranty is the longest of our picks.

The self-emptying dock really works. This model has the option of including a large, bagless self-emptying dock. Because of its generous size, the dock’s debris container has to be emptied only once every other week to once a month (depending on the size of your home), and it is easy to remove and reinstall.

If you choose the model without the dock, you’ll likely have to empty the small dustbin (24 ounces) on the stick vac mid-cleaning.

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This model is not as nimble as our top picks, but it’s an excellent cleaner, it has a large dustbin, and it comes with several useful tools.

We’ve tested numerous affordable cordless stick vacuums, but most come with too many compromises to earn our recommendation. Although the Tineco GO Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum isn’t perfect, it’s a capable cleaner with a generous dustbin and useful tools. If you have only about $200 to spend on a cordless stick vacuum, this is the model you should consider.

It’s a great cleaner. The Tineco GO Pet handled all types of debris, including sand, as efficiently as the Dyson V12.

The GO Pet comes with just one cleaner head, with both soft and hard bristles, and it’s suitable for all kinds of floors. In our tests, its brush roll grabbed dust, Cheerios, and birdseed in one or two passes without snowplowing or dumping. You don’t need tools to remove the brush roll for maintenance, since it can easily be pulled out by twisting the corresponding wheel on the side.

But this vacuum struggles on lightweight rugs. While the machine did well on bare floors and carpets, we noticed that the GO Pet’s brush roll seized on certain lighter rugs.

It has some excellent tools, and it comes in two colors. The Tineco GO Pet comes with three useful attachments: a crevice tool; a 2-in-1 dusting brush, for crumbs on couches and countertops; and a mini power brush, for fur pickup on grippy surfaces (a rare tool for stick vacs in this price range). We tried the power brush on a velvet couch in a four-pet household, and it removed fur without much effort. The Tineco GO Pet comes in two colors, teal and seafoam.

It has a large yet finicky dustbin. With a capacity of 34 ounces, the Tineco GO Pet’s dustbin is the same size as the Ryobi 18V One+ HP’s dustbin, and it’s nearly triple the size of the Dyson V12’s. The GO Pet’s dustbin can be emptied with a lever, without having to detach it from the main body. But we recommend taking it off to empty it, to avoid spills and dust exposure. Unfortunately, the bin can be tricky to clip back on. (Make sure to do a little wiggle test once you put it back on, to verify that it’s secure!)

It’s midweight and convenient to use, but it’s also a bit noisy. Weighing 6.8 pounds (4 pounds in hand), the Tineco GO Pet is lighter and easier to maneuver on stairs than our Ryobi pick. It navigates well around furniture, though it’s not nearly as nimble as the Dyson V12. At 77 dB in low mode, this model is significantly louder than our other picks.

It has a decent warranty, a replaceable battery, and an average runtime. This model has a two-year warranty (now mostly standard for cordless vacuum cleaners). Although Tineco claims the GO Pet runs up to 60 minutes, we got barely 40 minutes out of it on low mode (with the cleaner head attached).

The GO Pet’s battery is technically replaceable, but it isn’t sold online. When we reached out to customer service, a representative requested our mailing address just to check the company’s inventory. The rep said if the battery was available, they promised to send a specific ordering link—a process far more cumbersome than simply ordering a Ryobi replacement battery online.

This sturdy, versatile vacuum has excellent suction power, and it comes with several ingenious attachments. It stands on its own and recharges quickly, but it’s heavier and less agile than our other picks.

The Ryobi 18V One+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit isn’t particularly lightweight, nimble, or snazzy. But if you’re looking for a durable, high-capacity workhorse, this model might be right for you.

It’s a great cleaner. In suction and airflow, this Ryobi stick vacuum performs almost as well as its most powerful competitors. We tried it on rugs, bare floors, car seats, and upholstery, and it did an excellent job of picking up all kinds of debris. In our sand-on-carpet cleaning test, this model didn’t extract as much as the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, but it still performed better than most of its competitors in the price range.

The Ryobi 18V One+ HP vac has three cleaning modes. We found that the medium mode worked fine for most surfaces and dirt, and it saved battery life. But the boost mode comes in handy when you’re confronted with stubborn, clingy debris on certain types of rugs.

Its all-in-one cleaner head is effective on a variety of surfaces. In contrast with the Dyson V12, this Ryobi model comes with one cleaner head, with a plush roll in the front (for bare floors) and a brush roll with stiff bristles and rubber fins in the back. (The latter roll excels at removing fur and other grippy debris from carpets and rugs.) The single cleaner head has a white headlight that doesn’t detect dust quite as efficiently as the headlight on the V12. But in our tests, the Ryobi was equally effective at picking up Cheerios on slippery tiles and pet fur on a medium-pile rug.

Despite the cleaner head’s depth—about double that of the V12 Detect Slim’s Motorbar—it swivels smoothly around corners and furniture.

It has an extra-large dustbin. The Ryobi 18V One+ HP vacuum’s dustbin holds 33 ounces—nearly three times the capacity of the V12 Detect Slim’s bin. The dustbin is easy to empty, and you can clean and replace the filter.

It has an okay run time, and it charges especially quickly. This model runs for about 32 minutes in eco (low) mode, which is enough time to vacuum a small or medium-size apartment and for a quick workshop cleanup. Its battery recharges in under two hours—faster than the battery on any other vacuum we tested in our latest round. And the Ryobi battery has a helpful charge-level indicator light.

It is (relatively) quiet but heavy. Equipped with Ryobi’s Whisper Series Technology, this vacuum measured around 71 dB when run on eco mode, so it’s a smidge quieter than even the Dyson V12.

The Ryobi 18V One+ HP vacuum isn’t quite as clumsy as it looks, but it’s over 10 pounds, so this vac is the heaviest among our picks. The weighty battery sits behind the handle, with the motor directly below—this design can make it uncomfortable to use, and we found ourselves switching hands frequently while vacuuming.

It stands on its own. The vacuum stands unsupported, so if you get pulled away suddenly, you don’t have to scramble to find a place to prop it up.

It morphs into a handheld vacuum, and it has useful attachments. The Ryobi easily transforms into a handheld vacuum, and its attachments are versatile and better designed than those of other models we’ve tested. In our experience, the crevice tool and pivoting brush worked great in a car’s tight storage compartments. And the motorized mini brush was one of the few tested tools that made a dent in the thick layer of fur on a car’s clingy trunk upholstery. This Ryobi vacuum also includes a micro crevice tool, with thin, flexible straws; we found this tool ideal for cleaning the interior of a dusty sewing machine and a dryer vent.

This model’s charging station must be mounted to the wall, which may be inconvenient for some people. We found our previous pick’s small floor charger to be more accommodating and versatile, since it can easily be picked up, stored, and moved around.

It has a generous warranty and replaceable parts. Ryobi’s three-year limited warranty on this model is longer than the coverage on most other stick vacuums, including Tineco’s and Dyson’s. It’s made from thick plastic and metal, and it feels sturdier in construction than the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. Its battery and most of its parts and accessories are replaceable, and the battery is compatible with many other cordless Ryobi tools.

Ryobi has a history of availability issues. Ryobi products are sold exclusively through Home Depot and Ryobi’s website. The previous Ryobi cordless stick model we recommended went out of stock at times, often for several days or weeks. We haven’t seen stock issues with our current pick, but we’ll keep an eye on it.

Ordering replacement parts is confusing. Ryobi’s replacement-parts ordering portal isn’t directly linked on Ryobi’s homepage, and we found it confusing to navigate. It took multiple calls and an email to the marketing department to find the part we were looking for.

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We tested the Dreame Z10 Station, but we found it expensive ($600 at the time of writing) for what it had to offer. It did well enough picking up light dust, yet it struggled with larger debris. Also, the Dream Z10 frequently dumped cereals out of the cleaner head when it was put back on station. The dust bag in its self-emptying station is tiny, and its one-year warranty is sub-standard.

The Black + Decker SUMMIT SERIES Select Stick Vacuum had little going for it: subpar pickup, non-exchangeable battery, short warranty. And the cleaner head felt scratchy on hardwood floors.

The Tineco Pure One Station 5 is a good example of Tineco’s inconsistency. While we chose the much cheaper Tineco GO Pet as our budget pick, we found the Pure One Station 5 disappointing for the price. The vacuum struggled to pick up Cheerios, and it dumped them back out when we turned it off (a problem that most other stick-vac manufacturers have solved at this point). It’s virtually impossible to take its self-emptying dock apart, and this vacuum performed poorly on fur.

The lightweight Levoit LVAC-200 Cordless Vacuum (3.2 pounds) may suit you if you have hand, shoulder, or wrist issues. But its middling cleaning performance makes it an okay small-mess vacuum at best.

We found the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner to be heavy, awkward, and, at nearly $1,000, ridiculously pricey. Like the V15 Detect—its much lighter, vacuum-only cousin—this model has a trigger instead of a button. Its mopping performance pales in comparison to that of an old-fashioned mop. It’s also leaky, and its five separate parts need to be painstakingly disassembled to be cleaned.

The Tineco Pure One S11 was a previous top pick, but our current picks are better cleaners. We also tested the new Tineco Pure One S15 Pet and the Tineco Pure One Air, the S11’s lighter, less powerful cousin. But both models allowed heavier debris to drop back out when we shut them off. Tineco’s product team told us they were working to improve the issue.

The pricey Samsung Bespoke Jet comes with a freestanding (and bulky) charging and auto-emptying station. But when we tested this model, it wasn’t any better than the Dyson V12 Detect Slim or the Ryobi 18V One+ HP vacuum.

Although the Hoover OnePwr Emerge Pet+ is similar in looks and performance to the Ryobi 18V One+ HP model, it costs more, has a smaller dustbin, and runs for a meager 25 minutes. We also tried the Hoover OnePwr Evolve Pet Elite. But we found it to be less versatile than the Emerge Pet+ because it lacked attachments for cleaning shelves, stairs, and ceilings. In addition, after using the Evolve Pet Elite, we were unable to disassemble it for storage because its stick wouldn’t detach from its body. (We ran into a similar problem with the Bissell ICONpet Turbo Edge: After we emptied the bin, reinserting it was impossible.)

The Electrolux WellQ7 felt flimsy, and it was also a worse cleaner than our picks.

Several contenders—including the Greenworks 24V Cordless Green Stick Vacuum and the Fabuletta FSV001 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner—had cool LED displays or LCD screens, but they were incapable of sucking up and holding in debris effectively.

The Black+Decker PowerSeries+ 16V Max Cordless Stick Vacuum snowplowed debris and dumped some back out when we switched it off.

The Shark Wandvac Self-Empty System comes bundled with an auto-emptying station, and in our testing it failed to extract all of the debris from the vacuum’s teeny dustbin. Emptying the dustbin manually was awkward and easily led to spills.

The Miele Triflex HX2 Cat & Dog cleans about as well as our picks, and it’s beautifully designed, nimble, and a pleasure to maneuver. It can work in three configurations: as a handheld vacuum cleaner, with the bin and motor (the heaviest part) below the handle, or with the bin and motor directly above the cleaner head. (We found the last configuration to be the best.) But it’s expensive. In our tests, its cleaner head jammed easily on certain rug and rug-pad combinations, and we found opening the dustbin to be a hassle. On top of all that, its 25-minute real-life run time and two-year warranty are disappointing.

Vacuum owners often think their machines are broken when all they really need is a cleaning. Cordless stick vacuums are sold on the convenience of not needing bags, but they do require regular maintenance. “The number one problem is that people buy [cordless stick] vacuums, but they never clean the filter,” said vacuum repair specialist and collector Tom Gasko. Our full article on how to clean a vacuum cleaner includes information on cleaning all types of vacuums. But here are six ways to keep your stick vacuum clean and maintained:

Wash or replace the filter. All of our picks have washable filters. (Check the manufacturer’s guide for specific instructions on cleaning the filter.) “Remember that the motor is trying to draw air to breathe through the filter,” Gasko said. “Clean the filters often, like at least every other use.”

Empty and clean the bin. An overstuffed bin inhibits airflow and suction. Hold the bin over a trash can, and tap it until it’s empty. If the bin gets grimy, pop it out, and clean the whole bowl (consult the manual first). Let it dry fully.

Check for clogs. Anything oversize or slightly sticky runs the risk of gumming up the works. Peer into the mechanism, and pull out anything that’s stuck. If any part of the vacuum cleaner is clogged up, the machine will lose suction power.

Clean the attachments. It’s important to clean out any fur, hair, or strings (and, in my house, hay). Tangled-up brushes affect cleaning performance, and they also reduce battery life. “A brush clogged with hair means the motor is going to draw a lot more juice out of the battery and really reduce the amount of time that you can get out of the vacuum,” Gasko explained.

Don’t run your vacuum on high for more than a minute or two. Keep it on low or an “eco” setting as much as possible, and save the high-power or “boost” mode for spot cleaning. Running your vacuum on the high setting for long periods can damage the battery, said James Brown, service specialist and museum curator at Mr. Vacuum Cleaner.

Maintain the battery and charger. Once your vacuum is fully charged, unplug it. Or, better yet, charge it only when you need it. Keeping the battery in the charging dock can shorten its lifespan, said Matthew Childe, director of energy storage at Dyson. Make sure that the charging contacts are clean and that the power adapter is in working order.

This guide was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.

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Damian Lee, engineer at Ember and former engineer at Dyson and Shark, Zoom interview, January 31, 2023

Tom Gasko, vacuum-cleaner collector and repair specialist and owner of Mid Missouri Vacuum, Zoom interview, February 1, 2023

James Brown, service specialist and museum curator at Mr. Vacuum Cleaner, Zoom interview, December 30, 2022

Chris Kobrick, director of Kenmore product management, email interviews, February 15 and 16, 2023

Matthew Childe, director of energy storage at Dyson, email interviews, March 21 and 22, 2023

Sabine Heinlein

I was a senior staff writer on Wirecutter’s home appliance team, where I covered all kinds of vacuum cleaners. I also ventured into the wild world of bunny care, vacuum cleaner enthusiasts, and basement flood prevention. Keeping my two-cat, two-rabbit home clean is one of my more acceptable obsessions.

by Sabine Heinlein

We recommend six vacuums that have the tools, power, and maneuverability to tackle pet fur in your carpets, on your couch, or in your car.

by Sabine Heinlein

The new Dyson Gen5detect is long on upgrades but falls short of the maneuverability and overall convenience that a great cordless stick vacuum should deliver.

by Sabine Heinlein

For a dependable, versatile, and affordable cleaner, we prefer a bagless upright, but we have recommendations for other types of vacuums as well.

by Sabine Heinlein

To clean carpets and rugs well, you need a vacuum that is equipped for the task. The SEBO Felix Premium and SEBO Airbelt K3 Premium are excellent choices.

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