The best vacuum cleaners for 2025, tested and reviewed

A good vacuum cleaner should be powerful, nimble and easy to tote around. The best vacuums for 2025 take it up a notch with innovative features and hardworking accessories. Think: automatic gear-shifting, fluorescent lights that illuminate the tiniest dust particles and savvy tools that enable you to get into every crevice.

To find these machines, our team of home and tech writers — who have decades of experience covering and evaluating appliances — tested more than 80, including cordless stick vacuums, upright models, robot vacuums and handheld car options. We used them on different surfaces (from hardwood to high-pile carpets) and materials (Cheerios and kitty litter were involved). We set up obstacle courses to see how well these vacuum models could swivel, and we even piled fur on car mats to see how they’d fare for people with pets. Here, you’ll find all of our expert reviews, including hands-on test results and buying tips to help you choose the best vacuum for your home.

A quick note before we dive in: When we mention height, we’re referring to the assembled height of the vacuum. Length and width refer to the cleaner head’s dimensions, or what’s called the cleaning path — the area covered in one pass.

Table of contents:

Update, Sept. 26, 2025: We’ve confirmed current pricing and availability for all products. Our top picks for the best vacuums remain unchanged.

Best vacuums for 2025

Amazon

best upright vacuums is the Shark PowerDetect, which looks almost intergalactic and leverages a network of sensors to adapt to different environments and zap everything in sight.

How it works: The Shark PowerDetect includes a detangling cleaner head with two brush rolls and an odor-neutralizing pod, a HEPA filter, a large 1.9-liter dust cup, a long hose and a wand with a handle and controls. The wand clips into the cleaner head base, and the cup clips to the front of the wand.

There are buttons along the canister for detaching the dust cup for emptying or, separately, lifting it away (with the motor intact) for detailing corners, stairs and upholsteries.

Power settings are located along the top portion of the handle for easy reach. They let you select your floor type or put the vacuum in “Detect” mode, which automatically adjusts its suction.

Why it’s great: For being on the heavier side (a common feature among vacuums with strong motors and sizable dust cups), the Shark PowerDetect is incredibly agile, with swivel steering for optimal maneuverability and a shallow cleaner head that allowed us to get under and around furniture. The two-brush system meant more traction, additional coverage and shorter passes (less time and energy!), while LED lights helped with visibility. The cord length is also 30 feet, on the longer side for a vacuum in the upright category.

The PowerDetect proved a match for a variety of messes, sucking up Cheerios, rice, kitty litter, sand and stubborn pet fur, including against the edges of cabinets. The anti-wrap-style brush cleaner head worked well, with no issues of hair getting caught or tangling.

When we put this Shark vacuum into automatic “Detect” mode, we were able to harness its powerful pickup to navigate multi-surface homes with abandon, cruising from bare floors to low-pile and plush carpets smoothly. This feature was particularly helpful when it came to smaller areas of carpet, like kitchen mats, because it used just enough suction to vacuum effectively without getting stuck or pulling up corners. Based on our experience, that’s not an easy feat!

Read more in our guides to the best canister and upright vacuums and the best Shark vacuums.

Pros

• “Detect” mode automatically adjusts suction
• Lift-away style dust cup
• LED headlights
• Dual-brush cleaner head with odor-neutralizing pod
• HEPA filter

Cons

• On the heavier side
• No cord rewind

$549 at Amazon

Amazon

pet-friendly version of this vacuum with an extra “corner” attachment, plus automatic cord rewind. (Read more in our guide to the best budget vacuums.)

Pros

• Swivels for easy steering
• Five surface settings
• Cord rewind feature
• Includes specialty (pet) tools

Cons

• No headlights
• Large base and back wheels

$120 at Amazon

Amazon

best cordless stick vacuum is the Dyson Gen5detect, which has the strongest suction and longest running time of almost any stick vac we tried.

How it works: Like most Dysons, the Gen5detect is made up of three main parts — a cleaner brush head, a long tube and an upper — that click into place in a matter of seconds.

The upper doubles as a handheld vacuum when used with any of the included accessories. For easy emptying, the dust cup has a lever that pops it open and forcibly removes the contents.

Why it’s great: The Gen5detect comes with a digital “Motorbar” (aka “de-tangling” or “vane”) brush that can be adjusted for different surfaces and materials. It also includes a special “Fluffy Optic” brush, designed specifically for hard surfaces, that highlights anything in its path fluorescent green for peak visibility. We felt like real-life Ghostbusters powering this thing!

Because both brushes are so narrow and shallow, they got right up against baseboards and didn’t miss finer materials (such as rice and sand) in our testing. And because the “Fluffy Optic” brush is so soft, we didn’t have to worry about scuffing up molding when using it to get into small crevices. Bonus: This brush is so nimble that we rarely needed to break out the Dyson accessory tools when navigating tighter areas, such as around dining room chairs and toilets.

Additionally, the Gen5detect is the only Dyson, other than the Dyson V12 Detect Slim, to feature a power button you push on and off (other Dyson stick vacuums require you to hold down a button to keep them going). 

The digital screen not only displays modes and remaining run times (down to the second) but also tells you how much debris is detected and cleared from an area. Our only gripe with the Gen5detect is that, as with all Dyson cordless stick vacuums, it doesn’t have headlights. That said, the “Fluffy Optic” brush can also work on flat rugs in a pinch. (Read more in our guides to the best Dyson stick vacuums and best stick vacuums from other brands.)

Pros

• Includes slim fluffy cleaner head with laser for hardwood visibility
• Handheld portion has built-in attachment
• Generous run time
• High-tech LCD display with debris reads

Cons

• Pricey
• No headlights

$980 at Amazon

Amazon

other pet vacs to the ultimate test, I took them to my grandmother’s house. Or, more precisely, I took them to her cat Caylee’s nesting spot, an area of carpet with so much embedded fur that it had formed a furry veil most vacuums can barely touch. As my grandmother and I witnessed in awe, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 managed to get up every last hair.

As a bonus, this vac has one of the largest dust cups of the models for pet hair we tested and the longest cord at 50 feet. It features a washable HEPA filter for greater efficacy and easier maintenance. 

The roller brush is anti-tangle, especially important for anyone who has a long-haired dog or cat, and the “Extra” version comes with additional attachments, including a tangle-free turbine tool for lifting pet hair and a grooming tool for getting right to the source of things. 

Of note: While the cleaner head is fairly narrow, the large swivel ball on this vacuum makes it difficult to tackle shallow areas such as under a sofa. (Read more in our guide to the best vacuums for pet hair.)

Pros

• Strongest suction and greatest reach of pet vacuums tested
• Swivels for easy steering
• Three surface settings
• Includes specialty tools

Cons

• Pricey
• No headlights

$449 at Amazon

Amazon

bagless models for those who are ready to leave the bag behind. (Read more in our guide to the best canister and upright vacuums.)

Pros

• Customizable suction settings
• Adjustable wand
• Automatic cord rewind
• Three-tiered filtration system

Cons

• No headlights
• Have to swap cleaner brush heads for different floors
• Need to change bag

$399 at Amazon

Amazon

SGS-certified.

Why it’s great: Though not perfect, but the Narwal Freo X Ultra is the best robot house cleaner we’ve tested. It vacuums and mops most reliably and is least likely to require intervention. Plus, it looks really slick, its glossy all-white dock reminiscent of something you’d find in an Apple Store.

We were particularly impressed by this vacuum’s tangle-free brush, which remained completely clean following months of testing. It’s also very clever about the way it self-empties its dustbin: It doesn’t, instead compacting all the debris it collects. The result is a dock with room for larger water tanks, and therefore fewer trips to the sink to empty/refill.

In terms of cons, the Freo X Ultra struggles to avoid cords on the floor, and its mop pads don’t raise high enough to avoid dragging on medium-pile carpet. Even so, it was our favorite robo-butler to date. (Read more in our guide to the best robot vacuums.)

Pros

• A fast, effective cleaner
• Quieter than other robot vacs in testing segment
• Auto-lifting mop pads raise higher than most…
• Ingenious anti-tangle brush actually works
• Large-capacity water tanks

Cons

• Questionable navigation at times
• Map customization can be tricky
• …but still not high enough for plush carpet
• Not good at avoiding things like cords and shoelaces

$700 at Amazon

Amazon

best car vacuums.)

Pros

• Small enough to fit in your trunk
• Lightweight
• Large dust cup
• Built-in flexible hose makes it easy to reach under seats
• Sucks up large debris like pebbles

Cons

• Battery isn’t replaceable
• Loud

$89 at Amazon

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Factors to consider when choosing a vacuum

Size: Bigger vacuums generally have larger dust cups and cleaner heads. Longer hoses, wands and cords equate to greater reach. Longer brush rolls mean fewer passes. Wider and dual brush rolls mean shorter passes.

Weight: The lighter the vacuum, the easier the lift (and steer). Lightweight designs glide across hardwood floors seamlessly but can mean less grip on thick carpets. Lighter models are often also associated with smaller dust cups and fewer tech components (like LCD screens and the respective engineering that makes a vacuum top-heavy), though not always. Swivel cleaner heads can help with maneuvering, especially with heavier vacuums.

Bin capacity: Larger cups house more dirt so you don’t have to take as many trips to the trash can. Aside from capacity, look for a dust cup that releases forcefully with the help of a lever so you don’t have to manually unclip the cup lid and pull out debris with your fingers.

Vacuum type:

• Upright vacuums consist of a cleaner head, a dust cup, a hose and a wand. Dirt travels to the dust cup via the hose and the dust cup sits above the cleaner head, with the wand behind it and handle up top. Detachable hoses (and wands) can be paired with attachment tools, but canisters usually remain in place. If you don’t want to have to carry an entire vacuum up the stairs, you may want a “lift-away”-style canister, which can be detached while cleaning. Also helpful: longer cords for greater reach, plus cord-rewind options so you don’t have to wrap up the cord manually.

• Stick vacuums consist of a cleaner head, a long tube (aka wand) which the dirt travels through and a vacuum head upper (or “brain”) that features power controls and any LCD screens. The upper also houses the dust cup and can typically be detached and used as a handheld vacuum with attachments. Cordless stick options allow for more freedom and flexibility when vacuuming, but require charging and, in cases of non-freestanding options, docking.

• Canister vacuums (also referred to as cylinder or barrel vacuums) have a body (motor and dust cup) that sits on the floor. That body trails behind the hose, attached to a wand (held by the user) and attachment tool or cleaner head.

Filters: Vacuum filters zap pollutants and improve air quality, with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters considered the gold standard. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), HEPA filters “theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns,” with larger or smaller particles “trapped with even higher efficiency.” Follow instruction manuals for how and when to replace ⁠or clean filters for optimal results. Many brands like Dyson now use washable filters for cost efficiency.

Wattage: A higher wattage often correlates to greater suction power. When it comes to cordless vacuums, high-voltage batteries generally have a longer run time, so you can tackle more spaces or several jobs in one go without recharging.

Brushes and attachments: Most vacuums come with a detangling-style brush roller (in many cases, customizable or auto-adjusting) that can be used for multiple floor types. Brush cleaner headlights offer more visibility in low lighting and beneath furniture, while mini roller attachments help tackle tighter spaces (such as vacuuming inside your car; they’re also great for getting stubborn pet fur from sofas). Attachment tools aid in detailing and spot-treating cushions and curtains, and crevice tools are a must for navigating ceilings and wall corners.

App-based mapping and scheduling and smart obstacle-avoidance (for robot vacuums): Got pets? Cords? Curtains? Kids? Newer, smarter vacs can avoid toys, socks, pet accidents and other items that would trip up other models. Take note that this feature sometimes relies on a camera, one that may be able to stream a live feed to your phone through your Wi-Fi. Modern machines will use smart mapping to scan your entire space, label individual rooms and allow you to create virtual “no-go” zones. Mapping capabilities happen in a companion app, which also allows for scheduling, spot-cleaning, smart-assistant integration and much more.

How we tested these vacuums

We set up several obstacle courses to test these vacuums against materials with varying shapes, textures and densities on different surfaces like carpet and hardwood. We also tested their respective attachments on upholstered furniture, curtains and hard-to-reach areas. Then we put the vacuums through their paces in real-life scenarios, prioritizing homes that needed a good cleaning and/or had pet inhabitants. The nitty gritty:

• “Carpet course” test: We spaced out materials — faux fur, rice, Cheerios, kitty litter and sand — across a plush carpet to see if the vacuums managed to cut through the clutter.

• “Kitchen sink” test: We poured rice and Cheerios on a hardwood kitchen floor to gauge how well the vacuums could get a grip — especially against trims and in cabinet crevices.

• “Passenger pet” test: We asked family and friends to avoid vacuuming for a week, then used car mats to collect the fur their pet companions had shed and attempted to vacuumed it in pursuit of the best suction.

• “Vacs gone wild” test: We didn’t stop there! We’ve clocked countless hours testing vacuums in different houses and settings to assess how they rise to different occasions.

For car vacuums, we scattered a mix of soil, sand, pet hair and crushed crackers all over the back seat and floor of a compact SUV. We weighed the mixture before dumping it, then weighed the amount of debris each vacuum picked up after a set amount of time. While cleaning, we noted how easy or hard the vacuum was to maneuver and how often we had to empty the dust bin.

Vacuum FAQs

What’s the difference between a stick and an upright vacuum?

Stick vacuums typically consist of a handled vacuum head, complete with a battery, dust cup, control buttons, filter and sometimes a digital display screen (think of the head, or “upper,” as its central processing and operating unit). The vacuum head attaches to a thin tube, which then connects to a cleaner head with roller brush(es). The “upper” can be attached to various tools for handheld use.

Like many upright vacuums these days, stick vacuums are often bagless (thanks to their dust cups). They also are often cordless, whereas most upright vacuums have a cord. Given their svelte silhouettes and detachable parts, cordless stick vacuums tend to be more nimble and storage-friendly. But they may not pack as much power as an upright vacuum.

Are upright vacuums better than cylinder vacuums?

Cylinder (aka canister) vacuums are often lighter and more compact, and therefore easier to maneuver and store, than upright vacuums. As they typically have more room to support bigger motors, cylinder vacuums can also prove more powerful than uprights. The downside is that because a cylinder vacuum’s body trails behind the cleaner head, it’s more likely to bump into things.

How often should you vacuum?

It depends on how many people (and pets!) are in your home. As a general rule of thumb, cleaning services like Molly Maid suggest vacuuming carpeted floors twice per week, and hardwood and tile floors once. Pet owners should aim to do a quick maintenance vacuum daily to keep fur and dander at bay.

How do you clean a vacuum?

To ensure your vacuum remains in tip-top shape, many brands, such as Dyson, advise cleaning washable filters cleaning washable filters at least once a month with regular use. We recommend consulting your vacuum’s manual for tips, including when to wash and/or replace filters and brush rollers. Look for dust cups that have levers for forcefully ejecting dirt into the trash can. And, because vacuums are often at the center of the action, wipe yours down regularly to reduce the amount of dust and dirt that can emanate.

We received complimentary samples of some products and purchased others ourselves, but we reviewed all products using the same objective and unbiased criteria.

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