When it comes to picking out the best cordless stick vacuums on the market, the ones that are lightweight, manoeuvrable and deliver comparable cleaning power to that of a corded model and without costing too much either are nearly always the standouts. Experts have spent years testing dozens of models. Our ultimate favourite cordless stick vacuum is the Tineco Pure One S11. It has a lightweight design and a lower asking price than models from the likes of Samsung, Dyson and other competitors. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the epic cordless cleaning power this model is capable of.
Best cordless vacuum overall
The 15 cordless vacuums we’ve tested in recent years range in price from $105 to $899. The Tineco Pure One S11 sits right in the middle of that pack with a retail price of $400 but it performs as if it costs a lot more, with outstanding results in each of our main cleaning tests.
To be specific, the Pure One S11 tied for second place among all of our lab’s cordless vacuums on hardwood floors, sucking up 99% of the sand we scatter to simulate dust and other fine particles, and 100% of the black rice we use as an analogue for crumbs and other larger bits of debris. It was our No. 1 finisher on low-pile carpet, with a sand score of 93% and another perfect 100% with the black rice. It’s a strong performer on plushier, midpile carpet, too, which is our most difficult test. The Pure One S11 finished in third here, gathering up 78% of the sand and, once again, 100% of the black rice. Crumbs don’t stand a chance against this thing.
Like just about every cordless vacuum, the Pure One S11 comes with a variety of useful cleaning attachments, and it shrinks down into a handheld vacuum that you can use to give your furniture or the inside of your car a quick clean, too. It features four-stage HEPA filtration to help keep your home’s air quality in check, and we were also intrigued by the subtle ring of colour-changing lights on the top of the canister that glow red whenever the vacuum detects dirt, then change to blue as it sucks everything up. When cleaning is finished, you can stash the thing away on its wall-mounted charging dock. The Pure One S11’s black-and-white build is perhaps a bit bland, and we wish that it offered a bit more than 40 minutes of runtime under optimal conditions. Still, those are fair trade-offs at this price, especially considering how well it cleans. At $400 or less, it’s the first cordless vacuum we’d recommend for just about anyone in need of a new one.
Best cordless vacuum suction
G’day to the best Dyson cordless vacuum, the Dyson V15 Detect. As the company’s flagship cordless vacuum, it’s expensive, retailing at $750 — but, like its predecessor the V11, the V15 ripped through our suite of vacuum cleaner tests with ruthless competence.
The trick up this Dyson’s sleeve is the whopping 230 air watts of suction power from the cleaning head, which is 100 air watts more than any Tineco vacuum, and more than you’ll get from Samsung vacuums that are even costlier than the V15. That suction translates into performance. Remember how our top pick from Tineco removed 78% of sand from midpile carpet in our toughest test? The V15 Detect was able to remove 88% in the same challenge, as well as 95% from low-pile carpet. The V15 is a great cordless vacuum for pet hair, too: No matter if it was vacuuming across hardwood floors or low-pile or midpile carpeting, the V15 barely left a tuft in its wake.
A few other features help set the V15 Detect apart. One is the vacuum’s Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head. Designed for hard flooring, it shines a green laser out onto the floor as you clean, making it easy to see dust and other small bits of debris otherwise hard to spot with the naked eye. It isn’t much help under strong indoor lighting or sunlight, but it’s still a nice, unique feature that we found helpful as we cleaned. Also interesting is the readout on the back of the vacuum, which lists the ratio of dirt collected by particle size.
Bundled with the vacuum are seven different cleaning attachments. Along with the Laser Slim Fluffy, you’ll also get a high-torque cleaner head, a hair screw tool and crevice tool, just to name a few. If money is no barrier, and you want the most powerful cordless vacuum for your cash, the V15 is tough to match.
Best cordless vacuum value
The last time we updated our list of the best cordless vacuums, we pointed to the Tineco A11 Hero as an outstanding midrange option. Now, in 2023, it’s available for $260 or less, if you catch it on sale (we’ve seen it fall below $200 pretty regularly in recent months). That makes it more of a value pick and as value picks go, it’s one of your best options.
Apart from being a strong performer in our pet hair tests, the A11 Hero was near flawless on hardwood floors, vacuuming up 97% of sand and 98% of black rice. It finished just outside the top 5 on low-pile carpet, removing a respectable 83% of sand and a near-perfect 99% of black rice and every vacuum that did better in that test costs hundreds more. With all of those extra fibres for dirt to cling to, midpile carpet was more of a struggle, as the A11 Hero’s sand score fell to 73%, but it still nailed the black rice test, sucking up 98% of the stuff.
The design of the Hero isn’t too shabby either. The dustbin is a cinch to empty and clean, and the battery is removable too. Replacements are priced at $80 each, which is pretty reasonable by cordless vacuum standards. There’s also a handy trigger lock lever to keep the vacuum running without constant finger pressure.
All of that adds up to a great cordless vacuum at a price that won’t clean out your bank account. If you’re looking for value, start here.
