April 2025: We eliminated our testing that evaluated the ability of a cordless vacuum to pick up black rice from hardwood and carpet because almost every vacuum was scoring near 100%. We've kept our testing for sand on all three test surfaces and reweighted our scoring to take this into account. We also reweighted our scoring to increase the importance of battery life and consolidated the ease of use and comfort into UX as a measure of user experience. The Levoit LVAC-200, Dyson V15 Detect, and LG CordZero A949 still use our older scoring methodology, so you may see some discrepancies in score breakdown compared with our newer additions, but they are in the process of being updated with our new methodology. We removed the Tineco Pure One S15 Pet, Dirt Devil Grab & Go Plus and Samsung Jet 90. We added the Shark Stratos as our new best overall pick, replacing the LG CordZero A949. We added the Dyson Detect Submarine V15S, Shark Clean & Empty, Shark Pet Plus and Dirt Devil BD5700V. The Shark Stratos and Levoit LVAC-200 both received an Editors' Choice award.

June 2025: We tested and added the Tineco GoStation Smart to our best list for its array of premium features. We tested and added the Uninell UV5 to our best list for its large 1.6-liter dustbin. Infographics were updated with more current testing results. All the product cards were updated to include our tested battery life.

August 2025: We tested the Eureka ReactiSense 440, making it a new best overall. We also tested the Bissell PowerClean FurFinder, Levoit LVAC-300 (best midprice) and Dreame Z30 (best for battery) and added them to our top picks. We removed the Shark Pet Plus, Dirt Devil BD5700V, Levoit LVAC-200 and LG CordZero A949.

October 2025: Added two new sections covering cordless vacuum industry news and what we're currently testing in the lab. Added Shark Stratos back as a tied, best overall taking into consideration our new data study on cordless vacuum battery life.

November 2025: Added holiday shopping advice and the latest deals.

December 2025:Updated with our latest testing procedures.

February 2026: Added updates from CES 2026.

CES 2026 isn't usually big for cordless vacuums compared withrobot vacuums, but this year had one unique exception. I got to see theFraction, the world's first truly modular cordless vacuum. Every component can be swapped out, including the battery and motor, suggesting you can upgrade your vacuum to a more powerful model over time.

For more traditional vacuums, we're also waiting for the Dyson V16 Piston Animal, which is the newest flagship vacuum from Dyson that's expected to launch in the US market in 2026. I was able to gohands-on with it at the Dyson Soho Store and came away pleased because it solved one of the biggest pain points in cordless vacuums -- dustbin emptying. The V16 Piston Animal comes with a unique dustbin compression system, letting you use a lever to compact the dirt and debris in your dustbin, and letting you easily empty it without anything clinging onto the sides or in the crevice behind the filter. There are also a variety of other quality of life and design changes, included a padded grip, a button in place of the trigger, app support, built-in nozzles and accessories that are easier to swap out with just one hand.

Also upcoming is the Dyson V8 Cyclone. Not a flagship vacuum, but the Cyclone is the successor to the popular V8 Absolute, which was one of Dyson's best-selling vacuums. The new Cyclone will incorporate many of the same quality-of-life improvements as the Piston Animal. It'll also come with 30% improved suction strength, 50% longer battery life and a removable battery.

Another innovative vacuum from Dyson, the PencilVac is thethinnest and lightest cordless vacuum I've ever used. It's also expected to come to the US market in 2026, and it features a similar dustbin compression system to the V16 Piston Animal, but rather than a manual lever, it uses suction pressure to compress the dustbin as you vacuum, then uses a plunger-style system to empty. The dustbin doesn't have tons of capacity, but it's light, thin and incredibly easy to maneuver, making it a nice supplement for a quick cleanup to a larger or heavier vacuum.

We're currently testing a large batch of wet and dry vacuums. These are a unique type of vacuum that are capable of vacuum dry messes, but also wet mopping on hard surfaces. Some of them have already earned a spot on our list, like Dyson's V15S Submarine. Here are other ones we're evaluating with our new testing procedures.

• Dyson Wash G1
• Roborock F25 Ace Combo
• Roborock F25 Combo
• Roborock F25 Ultra: I'm currently testing this wet and dry vacuum in my pre-war apartment with a view toward evaluate whether it's as safe to use on wood floors as Roborock claims. It'll also undergo our regular lab tests.
• Dreame H15 Pro Heat
• Dreame H15 Pro CarpetFlex
• Dreame H12
• Tineco Floor One S3 Extreme
• Narwal S30 Pro
• Roborock Hub 60 Series:

Eureka

Eureka RapidClean Pro: The RapidClean Pro from Eureka is another affordable cordless stick vacuum that you can get for less than $200. It offers generally solid performance, removing 94% sand from hardwood, 64.8% from low-pile and 60% from midpile carpets. However, like many vacuums in this price range, it's edged out in performance by other picks that earn a spot on our best list.

Dyson

For a deeper dive into Dyson as a brand, take a look at our tested list of thebest Dyson vacuum cleaners.

Dyson V8 Absolute: The V8 Absolute is one of the more affordable Dyson vacuums you can buy. Normally $520 at full price, you can usually get it for less these days. While the price isn't bad, the performance doesn't live up to expectations. While it did great on hardwood, removing nearly 98% of sand, it didn't do as well on carpet. The Absolute was able to remove 68.3% of sand from low-pile and 52% from midpile carpets, falling short of many competitors, including the Levoit LVAC-300 and Eureka ReactiSense 440.

Dyson V11 Torque Drive: With a motor that automatically adapts to the type of floor it's cleaning and a fancy LCD screen, the Dyson V11 Torque Drive might feel like an upgrade. It typically retails for about $600 but you can often find it on sale for less. While the Dyson V11 lived up to the hype with highly consistent cleaning power across all of CNET Lab testing, it was, however, outperformed by newer models like the Dyson V15 Detect and other competitors on our best list.

Dyson Gen5 Detect: The Gen5 Detect is one of Dyson's latest and greatest cordless vacuums. It's also one of the most expensive at $950. The performance you get is fairly good, with 95.4% of sand removal from hardwood, 65.3% from low-pile carpet and 66.7% from midpile carpet. However, this performance falls short of our current best overall, the Eureka ReactiSense 440, which offers even better scores for a fraction of the price. If you like the dust detection feature, we're also partial to the Dyson V15 Detect, which offers stronger performance on carpet and hardwood, and the Dyson Detect Submarine V15S, which has all-in-one capabilities, including mopping.

Dreame

Dreame R10 Pure: The Dreame R10 Pure is the company's more affordable entry-level cordless vacuum, priced at $200 full price. It comes in an attractive white color, is notably lightweight at 3.64 pounds, and offers decent performance. It scored 86.42% on sand pickup for hard flooring, 67.16% from low-pile carpet, and 65.69% from midpile carpet. The carpet performance isn't particularly impressive, so it'll be a better option for those with hard flooring. Battery life was solid at 41 minutes, but not as long as the 60 minutes claimed by Dreame. Generally, for the price, you can get better performance from competitors like the Levoit LVAC-200.

Dirt Devil

Dirt Devil BD5700V: 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 $150 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. 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 starts at $150, making it even cheaper than the Eureka ReactiSense 440, though it won't match the performance on carpet. If you have a lot of carpeting at home, the BD5700V isn't for you. It scored 69% removal on less plush low-pile carpet and managed 70.1% on more plush midpile, but you can do better for the price. 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 competitors, and it's also not user-replaceable.

Levoit

Levoit LVAC-200: This older Levoit model first proved that you don’t have to spend much money to get a quality cordless vacuum, although it's recently been replaced by the Eureka ReactiSense 440 as our pick for best value, and has a successor with the LVAC-300, which provides better carpet performance. At the time of our testing, the LVAC-200 excelled at cleaning on hardwood floors, capturing 98.7% of sand. It also handled low-pile well, suctioning 80.2% of sand. Midpile was slightly lower at 74%. Levoit isn’t using a HEPA filter in this unit; it does use a five-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 two-in-one crevice tool and a two-in-one pet tool to help clean up any and every mess, although it would have been nice to have some additional attachments for cleaning upholstery or digging deeper into carpet for pet hair. The one downside is battery life, 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 bepurchased from Levoit for around $70. If you need a longer running time, 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 the Shark Stratos and Dreame Z30 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.

Samsung

Samsung Jet 75: Nearly identical to the Jet 90, the Samsung Jet 75 offers comparable cleaning power, a similarly attractive build, the same 60-minute battery life, the same HEPA filtration and the same 200 air watts of suction. The main difference is that the docking station needs to be drilled into the wall, while the Jet 90 uses a freestanding dock. The Jet 75 didn't perform as strongly as the Jet 90 in the CNET Testing Labs midpile sand test, but because it's at a lower price, that might be worth the deal for some consumers.

Samsung Jet 90 (Update: Out of stock): Our former best cordless vacuum for carpets, the Samsung Jet 90 is no longer in stock. One of the toughest cordless vacuum cleaning challenge is the midpile sand test, where we see how much sand each vacuum can suck out of the thick, plushy carpet. Only three of the 15 cordless vacuums we've tested in recent years have been able to average pickup percentages better than 80% in that test: the Dyson V15 Detect, the Tineco Pure One S15 Pet and the Samsung Jet 90, which led the way overall with an outstanding midpile sand pickup percentage of 98%. The Samsung Jet 90 is one of the lighter models we tested and sports a sleek, futuristic look. It's a splurge at a retail price of about $600 but it's the best HEPA cordless vacuum option if you have a lot of thick carpets in your home.

Shark

For a deeper dive into Shark as a brand, take a look at our tested list of thebest Shark vacuums.

Shark Rocket Pet Pro: Typically retailing for less than $350, the Shark Rocket Pet Pro remains a solid budget option provided you can find it in stock. It offers excellent cleaning performance with crumbs and other small bits of debris on hardwood floors and satisfactory pickup power on carpets and with dust. It features HEPA filtration and a self-cleaning, anti-tangle brush head (helpful for preventing pet hair clogs) and converts to a convenient handheld cleaner when needed.

Shark Pet Plus: We still recommend this one for those who want a good vacuum without spending more than $400. It delivers strong suction on all our test surfaces, has HEPA filtration and comes with Shark's generous five-year warranty. 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 midpile carpets. The scores put it right up there with some of our top performers, like our current best overall, the Eureka ReactiSense 440, and our previous best overall, the Shark Stratos. 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 8 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 $330 at full price.This makes it quite the steal and one of the few high-performing cordless vacuums you can get for less than $300. However, there are a few things that keep it off our main list. 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 midpile 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.

Shark Vertex IZ492H: The Shark Vertex is a capable midprice cordless vacuum ($380 at full price). It offers strong hardwood floor sand pickup at 97.53% and does fairly well on carpet with 78.43% on low-pile and 80.39% on midpile. While these are good scores, it's outperformed by the Shark Stratos and Shark Clean & Empty, making them better picks for roughly the same price, or our best overall, the Eureka ReactiSense for $180. On the plus side, it does have one of the longer battery lifespans we've tested, at 63.6 minutes.

Shark Pet Pro: The Pet Pro is one of the better Shark vacuums for under $300. It has fairly consistent performance, with 91% sand pickup on hardwood, 81% on low-pile carpet and 80% on midpile, making it good for all types of surfaces. Battery life is decent, though nothing special at 45 minutes, but the dustbin is larger than average at 0.78 liters. What keeps it off our main list is that the Shark Stratos offers superior performance and a longer battery for $100-150 more while the Eureka ReactiSense has better performance for a much lower price, making it hard to justify the Pet Pro unless it's on a steeper sale.

Shark Pet IX141H: The most basic Shark model, it offers solid performance at just $180 (this seems to be a perma-deal, though on paper its full price is $300). It scored 89% sand pickup on hardwood, 84% on low-pile carpet, and 86% on midpile carpet, making it a better choice than the Pet Pro and one of the most affordable options in Shark's lineup. The 45-minute battery life and 0.78-liter dustbin aren't anything to scoff at either. What keeps it off our main list is that there are plenty ofcheap vacuums to choose from that can cost as little as $100 to $150 while offering similar or better performance.

Roborock

Roborock Ace F25: This expensive wet and dry vacuum will cost you $650 at full price. It exists in the same category as the Dyson Submarine, letting you vacuum your floors but also clean up spills. As far as vacuuming goes, it does well on hard flooring, with 93.06% sand pickup. Carpet is a mixed bag, with 73.33% pickup from low-pile and 60% from midpile. We're still evaluating the mopping abilities of the Ace F25, so until then, we're withholding judgment but there are a few features that may put it above the Dyson, including its 194 degrees Fahrenheit hot air flash drying and hot water self-cleaning.

Bissell

Bissell PowerClean FurFinder: We had high hopes for the Bissell PowerClean FurFinder as it's one of the brands that earns top marks in our list of thebest carpet cleaners. As a cordless vacuum, the FurFinder is just ok, scoring 71.6% on sand pickup from hard flooring. Most cordless vacuums, even the cheapest ones, excel in this category, picking up 90% or higher, so this was disappointing. Carpet performance is average at 69.12% low-pile and 64.71% midpile. Most cordless vacuums we've tested can usually manage closer to 80% and above. Battery life was also subpar at 25.6 minutes. Most disappointingly, it didn't perform well at extracting pet hair from carpet either. At $230 full price, you can do better.

Bissell IconPet Turbo: Designed for tackling pet hair, the Bissel IconPet Turbo offers solid overall performance for a reasonable $199. It did reasonably well in testing, scoring 89.7% in sand removal from hardwood, 66% from low-pile and 54% from midpile carpets. However, despite the reasonable price and decent performance, it was outperformed by our value picks, the Levoit LVAC-200 and Dirt Devil BD5700V.

Tineco

Tineco A11 Hero (Update: Out of stock): The Tineco A11 Hero is no longer available but it was a solid and reasonably affordable cordless vacuum when we tested it. It scores 98.5% removing sand from hardwood, 82.5% from low-pile and 72.5% from midpile carpets. It's traded spots with the Tineco Pure One S11 and S15 Pet in terms of performance and value.

Tineco Pure One S11: The Tineco Pure One S11 is a high-performing cordless vacuum with impressive suction power on hard floors and carpets. Versatile attachments, HEPA filtration and a dirt-detection feature add to its value. The design is basic and battery life is moderate and its excellent cleaning performance makes it a great choice.

Tineco Pure One S15 Pet (Update: Currently unavailable): This is our former pick for the best cordless vacuum for pet hair. Tineco does great work with cordless vacs and the Pure One S15 Pet is fantastic. A 500-watt motor and cyclonic dust collection system creates 120AW of suction power. This adds up to a solid cleaning experience. When cleaning up the smaller sand particles, the vac did a wonderful job of getting them all off the hardwood. As expected, pulling the sand from carpets was tougher. The Pure One S15 Pet still got more than 88% from low-pile carpets and more than 81% from midpile carpets. Tineco's specially designed brush did a good job of removing hair from the brush as it cleaned, resulting in nearly zero tangles. You'll also find LEDs on the front of the brush head to help see what you're cleaning up and an iLoop Smart Sensor built in. This sensor helps the vacuum to automatically ramp up its suction power when it detects more debris on the floor. You can see its progress on the LED display on top of the handle.

Uninell

Uninell UV5 (Update: Currently unavailable): Uninell UV5Uninell 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. At $200 MSRP, it's also quite affordable, costing just $20 more than our best overall.

Other cordless vacuums

Miele Triflex HX2: Priced at about $1,100, we had high hopes for the Miele Triflex HX2. The three-in-one stick vac performed poorly in the sand test with low- and midpile carpets bringing down its overall performance score.

Greenworks 24V Cordless Vacuum: This vacuum is a true contender, able to match the performance of some $500 or more hand-held stick vacuums while coming in around $320. In addition to all the tools it includes, it touts a fast 30-minute recharge time and a solid 45-minute running time.

Moosoo XL-618: It wasn't a strong performer in our toughest tests, but the Mooso XL-618 proved perfectly capable of basic cleaning, particularly with crumbs and on hardwood floors. It also converts to a handheld vacuum that you can use to clean your car or furniture. Frequently on sale for less than $80, the XL-618 is about as inexpensive as cordless vacuums get. If you're willing to sacrifice some cleaning power to save some cash, it's worth a look.

Black & Decker PowerSeries Extreme Max: The Black & Decker PowerSeries Extreme Max is a budget-friendly cordless vacuum that offers strong cleaning performance and a long running time. Its ability to convert into a handheld vacuum adds to its versatility, making it a standout option for its price.

Lubluelu 23Kpa cordless KB-H009 (Update: Out of stock): The Lubluelu KB-H009 was a solid, if unexceptional, cordless vacuum. Priced about $400, it did great in our testing on hardwood, scoring nearly 98% sand removal. It did decently on low-pile carpet, removing 68.3% of sand, but had middling performance on midpile at 52%.

LG CordZero A949:The CordZero A949 was a do-it-all cordless vacuum for those who want vacuuming and mopping in one device. It used to be our best overall pick, but now it loses the crown to Eureka ReactiSense 440, which outperformed it in testing and comes in at a fraction of the price. During testing, the LG CordZero A949 suctioned nearly 90% of the debris from carpet and hardwood flooring. It did great in testing, scoring 95% sand removal from hardwood, 87.8% from low-pile carpet and 86.8% from midpile 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. This is one of the most expensive cordless vacuums we recommend at $1,000 at full price, which keeps it off our main list. 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 $180 Eureka ReactiSense 440. The battery life was also a big letdown during testing, with us getting just 10.5 minutes, although it is user-replaceable and charges while on the dock.

All the vacuums on CNET's best lists are tested and evaluated in our state-of-the-art test labs. CNET Testing Labs go beyond product specifications to test in real-world conditions with real-life messes. Over the years, our experts have tested 50 cordless vacuums and counting.

Here's a breakdown of how we measuredcordless stick vacuum performance.

Cordless stick vacuum scoring methodology

Our team of experts and engineers use a mix of play sand and landscaping sand to mimic dirt and dust. Each vacuum is tested on a low-pile carpet, midpile carpet and a hard surface with sand. This test reveals exactly how much physical debris a vacuum is able to pick up off the floor.

Using the dust area adjuster (what we use to disperse sand or pet hair onto the floor), we subtract one inch from the measured nozzle width to allow the stick vacuum ample coverage and opportunity to pick up all debris on the carpet or hardwood. We use different nozzle widths and different amounts of debris based on the square footage of the floor sample size.

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During testing we set controls in place to make sure each vacuum faces the same test. For example, each vacuum is set to the same nozzle width and we measure and lay down the exact same amount of debris each time.

We conduct three cleaning runs (at minimum) on each floor type and we re-run test cycles if there is an obvious outlier in the three tests, whether that be one test that is much higher or lower in pickup percentage. We also conduct separate cleaning tests with pet hair (acquired from a nearby groomer) on each surface type where we photograph and visually evaluate how much pet hair (if any) is left after running the vacuum over it.

We weigh the dustbin before and after each run. From there, we can calculate the percentage of debris pickup for every cleaning run and the average amount of soil a vacuum manages to remove.

For pet hair, we don't weight the pet hair after the tech, we use before and after pictures of the cleaning run to subjectively evaluate the effectiveness of the cordless vacuum at picking up pet hair.

Cordless vacuum battery life and running time

To test battery life, we fully charge the vacuum battery to full, then run it at the medium setting until drained (no Max or Eco mode). We do this three times and take the average of the three tests. The longer the duration, the better the score. Most of the vacuums on our list have a battery life of 25 to 40 minutes before needing another charge, although many models are starting to offer higher-capacity batteries with running times of 60 minutes per charge. Several of the vacuums we've tested can do even better, like the Shark Stratos (80 minutes) and Dreame Z30 (110 minutes). In truth, it's a rare occasion that one would need more than 40 minutes for a single vacuuming session, and the prevalence of charging docks makes it easy to recharge in between cleaning runs.
Most cordless vacuums we recommend also have replaceable batteries these days, meaning you can buy an extra if you need more running time or you're worried about battery degradation over time.

Several of the graphs below show the relationships we discovered in our study between battery life and suction, battery life and price and battery life and weight. Arecent lab data study we did also revealed that most cordless vacuums with stronger suction power also have a shorter battery life, but you don't need to spend a lot to get a high-performing vacuum.

Cordless vacuum weight, size and bin capacity

Most of thecordless vacuums we tested weighed between 4 and 8 pounds. When a vacuum weighs 10 pounds or more, we consider it more unwieldy. Most of the vacuums on this list were also very similar in height and overall size. They also come with accessories that can be attached and detached to give you flexible cleaning options. For instance, a common tool is a crevice cleaning attachment that lets you fit the vacuum nozzle into tight spaces and corners to clean in places where a larger brush head wouldn't reach.

For dustbin size, we consider anything of 0.6 liters and more to be good. Generally, anything less than 0.5 liters will require you to empty it after every cleaning session. A large dustbin means you can go longer without emptying. However, if the cordless vacuum comes with a self-emptying charging dock, it can often store dust and debris for 30 days or more, minimizing the amount of dust you're faced with when vacuuming.

Cordless vacuum warranties

Cordless vacuum warranties will vary by manufacturer and model but the majority of models we've tested offer at least a year of coverage if not two. The best warranty we've seen is from Shark Ninja, which offers five-year limited warranties on its cordless vacuums. A longer warranty period is good because it means your vacuum is covered if a part breaks or something is defective.

Filters and air quality

Most cordless vacuums have some kind of filter that stops the exhaust from putting dust back into the room while you're vacuuming. This can be a simple washable cloth filter to an anti-allergy HEPA filter (commonly found inair purifiers) that can filter particles as small as 0.3 microns. Most of the best cordless vacuums come with replaceable HEPA filters, while cheaper models may have a more basic cloth filter. One recent innovation we're also seeing from Shark Ninja is incorporating an anti-allergy seal and anti-odor capsules that keep your vacuum and dustbin from festering.

User experience (Ease of use and comfort)

While it's not necessarily a factor that weighs heavily, the ease and comfort of using a cordless vacuum and emptying its dustbin does play a role. We now consider this category as user experience. We like when a cordless vacuum is freestanding, meaning you can leave it upright and unattended without having to worry about it tipping over. We also like when it has a charging dock or self-empties because it means you need to do less maintenance on your end. Strong bonus points go to a vacuum docking station that empties dust intoa bag rather than a bagless dust canister because it means that dust is less likely to get all over your newly vacuumed floors when you empty it into the trash.

Other features

As new cordless stick vacuum models emerge, we are seeing the ability to detect dirt types and floor types and adjust suction power accordingly. "This means that when a large amount of dirt is detected, suction increases and when less dirt is present, suction decreases," says CNET's Lab EngineerGianmarco Chumbe. Chumbe, who's been testing home tech products at CNET Labs for 8 years, says the latest vacuum tech can sense floor type and boost suction power in response. "The main benefit of this feature is increased battery efficiency, resulting in a more effective and longer-lasting cleaning experience."

Consumers shopping for vacuums today, Chumbe says, should consider the cost-to-value ratio. "Ask yourself, does the price justify the performance, features and comfort it offers?" CNET writers and editors use price and value in ourvacuum scoring just for this reason.

Most, if not all, of the cordless vacuums on this list can be broken down into a handheld vacuum, making it possible to use them to clean your car or upholstery. However, we use a slightly different testing methodology when testing handheld vacuums, so we recommend looking at our recently updated list of thebest handheld vacuum to see our recommendations for use cases ranging from cleaning cars to pet hair. Many handheld vacuums can weigh as little as 1.2 pounds, putting them in a different weight category from these cordless vacuums.

It’s easy to forget that the very tools that help us clean (like vacuums) also need to be cleaned from time to time. This is true even if they have a charging and self-emptying dock as the main dustbin still needs to be emptied. Issues like hair tangled around the brushes or clogged filters need occasional attention to ensure your cordless vacuum continues performing at its best.

Some of the routine cleaning that needs to be done for your cordless vacuum is daily, while other aspects can be done weekly or even monthly.

• Daily:Emptying the bin, checking brush for stuck debris.
• Weekly: Cleaning brush rolls, filters and wheels.
• Monthly: Cleaning any sensors, replacing the filters, removing and deep cleaning the brushes.

Some of the maintenance will depend on how often you use your cordless vacuum. If you only use it once or twice a week, you may not need to replace the filters every month. Checking with your particular vacuum model's manual to determine when to replace the filter is a wise idea. Also, some filters are washable, which means you can get more life out of them before it's time to replace them.

Most of these tasks take just a few minutes but offer great returns in keeping your home cleaner.