Every vacuum known to man arrives at my door. Robots, sticks, handhelds. I live in a house with toddlers. This means sand. It means snack dust. It means I vacuum near daily.
WIRED staffers test these things in their own homes too. We want the best. Here is what actually works.
Updated May 2026: New robot picks, fresh prices. Links updated.
The Best Cordless Stick
Shark PowerDetect
$300 (was $450)
Shark won the latest round of testing. Good price. Solid features. Three power levels. Two attachments. That’s it. But here’s the trick: the stick bends. Click it. Bend it. Reach under the sofa without getting on your hands and knees.
Power is impressive. Sand? Gone. Cereal? Gone. Stairs? Solid.
Great for mixed floors. Rugs plus hard wood plus carpet. If your home is 100% deep pile carpet, get a Dyson. Otherwise, the Shark works fantastic. There’s a version with a self-empty dock if you hate emptying bins.
- Capacity: 0.7 liters
- Power: 380W
- Run Time: 70 mins
- Filter: HEPA
- Warranty: 2 years parts, 5 years limited
The Best Dyson Stick
Dyson V15 Detect
$599 – $850 depending on retailer
Lots of Dyson models. Too many. The V15 Detect hits the sweet spot. Reasonable price for a Dyson. Feature-rich. And Dyson power is just different. You feel it.
Deeper clean on carpet than cheaper rivals. It even counts particles if you like data. The Fluffy Optic head shoots a green laser at dust on hard floors. You’ll see things you didn’t know were there.
One gripe. The power button is a trigger. Hold it. Down. All the time. Anoying for whole-house cleaning. Great for targeted hits on stairs.
If you have the budget, splurge. It’s noticeably better.
- Capacity: 0.8 liters
- Power: 240W
- Run Time: 60 mins
- Filter: Whole-machine filtration
- Warranty: 2 years parts & labor
Best Cheap Cordless
Bissell PowerClean
$150 (was $200)
Budget doesn’t mean weak. Bissell proves this. The PowerClean is cheap but keeps the essentials. Good suction. HEPA sealed filter. Enough attachments.
I used the more expensive FurFinder ($200). The PowerClean skips that attachment. Saves you fifty bucks. WIRED reviewer Kat Merck liked the headlight enough. She cleaned her 3,000 square foot house—rugs, bare floors, upholstery—in one charge. Forty minutes. Just enough.
It’s heavier than it looks. But the price? Hard to beat. The HEPA seal keeps allergens trapped inside, not in the air.
- Capacity: 0.4 liters
- Power: 200W
- Run Time: 40 mins (low setting)
- Filter: HEPA Sealed
- Warranty: 5 years limited
Best Robot Vacuum
Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal
$1,300
AI promises a lot. It often fails. The Shark UV Reveal actually does something with intelligence. It uses UV light and a camera to spot stains.
How it works: The bot vacuums and mops as usual. It docks. Then it looks at the footage it just took. It decides: “That wine stain needs attention.” The base announces it’s going back out. It scrubs.
Corner cleaning? Flawless. An extendable arm helps. Air jets help. I put a Cheerio in the tightest corner by my fridge. Shark got it. Others failed. Carpets left fluffy.
One downside: It doesn’t map multiple floors. Suction isn’t confirmed by Shark, but the results speak. Home felt clean.
- Capacity: 0.4 liters
- Run Time: 180 mins
- Warranty: 2 years limited
Best Cheap Robot
Eufy Omni C28
$500 – $800
Robots cost more now. Especially with mops. The Eufy Omni C28 changes the game for budget shoppers. You get vacuuming. You get mopping. You get multi-floor mapping.
Better than the X10 Pro. Double the suction. New rolling mop pads self-clean better than old rotating pads. You won’t spread grime around.
It’s not as good as the Shark at scrubbing stains. But overall cleaning is strong. No wet carpets this time around. Watch out for cords, though.
- Capacity: 3 liters (base)
- Power: 15,000 Pa
- Run Time: 123 mins (vacuum/mop); 216 mins (vacuum only)
- Warranty: 1 year limited
Best Handheld Vacuum
Dyson Car+Boat
$230 (was $300)
Dysan handhelds are legit. The old Humdinger was good. This replaces it. Same feel. Same power. Just no stick.
Two modes. No screen. A switch and a trigger. It comes with attachments. Rare for handhelds to have good battery life, but this one lasts. Use it for cars. Stairs. Quick messes.
- Capacity: 0.5 liters
- Suction: 115 AW
- Run Time: 40 mins
- Warranty: 2 years
Best Cheap Handheld
Ryobi 18V One+
$54 – $99
Under $100? This is it. Lightweight. Powerful. Molly Higgins said it was the best she’s tried in this price bracket. Pet hair. Car debris. Two attachments included.
Battery lasts about 25 minutes in real-world testing. Not forever, but fine for quick jobs.
- Capacity: 0.7 liters
- Run Time: ~25 mins
- Warranty: 3 years
Comparing Them
| Model | Power | Run Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shark PowerDetect | 380W | 70m | Best value cordless |
| Dyson V15 | 240W | 60m | Laser detection |
| Bissell PowerClean | 200W | 40m | Cheapest cordless |
| Shark UV Reveal | N/A | 180m | Best robot cleaner |
| Eufy C28 | 15k Pa | 216m | Best cheap robot |
| Dyson Car+Boat | 115AW | 40m | Powerful handheld |
| Ryobi One+ | ~37″ IOW | ~25m | Cheap handheld |
The Rest of Them
Bissell FurFinder ($200)
Former top pick. Still great. Just pricier than the basic PowerClean unless you really need the upholstery tool.
Black & Decker Dustbuster Flex ($110)
Long hose. Good for stairs. Charging mount is a lifesaver since the battery dies in 15 minutes.
Dyson Gen5 Detect ($800)
Top tier. Fantastic for pet hair. Rarely on sale. If you can live without it, save your money and get the V15.
Dyson PencilVac ($450)
Slim handle. Motor inside the handle. Four fluffy cones. Lightweight. Hard floor only. A bit pricey for what it does.
Ecovacs Deebot X21 ($999)
No dust bag. Cyclonic design like a stick vacuum. Good if you hate buying bags.
Eufy X10 Omni ($480)
Old top pick. 8,000 Pa suction. Good. But the new C28 has better mopping and more suction for not much more money.
Roborock Saros Z50 ($1,600)
High suction (36,000 Pa). But reviewer Adrienne So said it missed debris on transitions between carpet and hard floors. Mixed feelings.
