Shark

PowerDetect Clean & Empty IP3251

from £330.60

What we love
Excellent at cleaning, empties into its own docking station

What we don’t love
Expensive

If there’s one thing that makes cordless vacuum cleaners a pain, it’s the emptying: taking it to the bin and jettisoning the debris after vacuuming. And, if your family is anything like mine, you may have to do it before you clean too, because someone else didn’t bother to empty it. That won’t be the case with this Shark vacuum, though: it empties itself. It’s also very good at cleaning.

Why we love it
The Shark IP3251 comes with a base station that operates as a stand and charging dock. When you rest the cordless vacuum cleaner on it, it springs into life, opening the base of the vacuum’s collection bin and sucking its contents into a larger container, leaving the cordless stick empty and ready for next time. The secondary bin has a volume of two litres, so it can take a few empties of the 0.7-litre stick.

That would all be pointless if the device itself wasn’t up to snuff, but it’s an excellent cleaner. Its floor head has a fluffy roller for hard floors and a brush bar for carpet, and it works well on both surfaces, performing a literal clean sweep in my tests.

It’s a shame that … I found it worked better if I held it lower while vacuuming on some carpets, with the fins on the base otherwise catching when I pulled it back. That may make it better for shorter than taller people.

Weight: 3.71kg
Max suction power (measured): 28kPa
Battery life (measured): 43mins
Dust capacity: 0.7l
Additional filters supplied? No

Vax

HomePro Pet-Design

from £179

What we love
Affordable, effective and easy to use

What we don’t love
Best on carpet, with no soft roller option for hard floor

The Vax HomePro Pet-Design is good value for money, sitting at the lower end of the price spectrum but still coming with a good selection of tools for handheld use. It also performed well in all the tests.

Why we love it
It’s comfortable to hold and use, and simple to operate, with just two large buttons – one to switch it on and the other to boost the power. Battery life is displayed by a light-up ring and lasted a decent 34 minutes in our rundown test.

Emptying it is straightforward, too, with a button to open the collection bin, while a pump action lifts dirt off the filter, so you don’t have to poke your hands in. It’s one of the few cordless stick vacuums that can support itself when standing up, so there’s no need to find somewhere to lie it down between cleaning jobs.

It’s a shame that … the floor head is a basic single-brush bar, which is unsophisticated when compared with the alternatives you get on Shark and Dyson models. Still, for the price, it’s ultimately forgivable.

Weight: 3.5kg
Max suction power (measured): 19kPa
Battery life (measured): 34mins
Dust capacity: 0.7l
Additional filters supplied? No

Dyson

V15 Detect Absolute

from £549

What we love
Superb cleaning on both carpet and hard floor

What we don’t love
Expensive and messy to empty

Although the V15 Detect Absolute was usurped at the top of Dyson’s range by the new V16 Piston Animal, it remains widely available. That’s good news, because this older model did a much better job of cleaning up in my tests than the V16.

Why we love it
The V15 Detect Absolute is as close to vacuuming perfection as we’ve seen to date. It comes with two interchangeable floor heads: one with a brush bar for carpet, the other with a fluffy roller for hard floor. They blitzed my tests, with the anti-tangle brush bar leaving only tiny fragments of cat litter and a light trace of flour on carpet after a first pass, both of which were easy to deal with on a return visit. On hard floor, the fluffy roller is king, picking up every last morsel of mess that I dropped. Its dust-detecting green glow is a genuine help, highlighting just how effective it is at collecting even tiny particles.

Remove the extension wand, and the Dyson converts into a useful handheld. The included crevice tool is good at getting into tight corners, while the combination upholstery and dusting tool copes with most other problems. Sadly, it doesn’t come with the hair screw tool, which is really effective at removing pet hair from upholstery and also handy on stairs. It’s well worth seeking out as an optional extra if you let your pets on your furniture (and suffer the consequences).

It’s a shame that … Dyson hasn’t managed to solve the conundrum of messy emptying, with this model creating quite a dust cloud when you release dirt into the bin. It’s also really expensive.

Weight: 2.96kg
Max suction power (measured): 31kPa
Battery life (measured): 50mins
Dust capacity: 0.77l
Additional filters supplied? No

What we love
Dirt collects in bags, eliminating mess when emptying

What we don’t love
Disposable bags cost money and are an environmental issue

Most cordless sticks create a dust cloud when you deposit the contents of their collection bins into your dustbin. The Henry Quick Pro is the only cordless vacuum we’ve reviewed here that doesn’t do that because of its disposable dirt-capturing bags.

Why we love it
We can’t emphasise this enough – it’s frustrating to vacuum the floor only to have the dust billowing out of your bin and back into the air when you empty it. With the Henry Quick Pro, you push a lever on the top, and the base opens, jettisoning the bag of collected rubbish out of the bottom. It leaves no mess and has the added benefit of no filters to clean.

In my tests, the Quick Pro performed decently enough, other than on hard floors with the cat litter, which it pushed ahead instead of sucking up. That job would be better tackled by removing the extension wand and using the device with a handheld attachment. It comes with a comprehensive selection of accessories, including a motorised mini head for stairs and upholstery, a flexible hose and a useful handle extension for taller users.

It’s a shame that … the bags have a plastic top that holds them in place inside the collection bin. Henry manufacturer Numatic claims to offset the carbon cost, but it would be better environmentally if it didn’t use any plastic at all. They also cost £1.30 per 1-litre bag.

Weight: 3.2kg
Max suction power (measured): 10.75kPa
Battery life (measured): 1hr 11mins
Dust capacity: 1l
Additional bags supplied? Yes, six pods (bags)

Eufy

Robot Vacuum E20

£249

What we love
Two-in-one design cleverly combines robot and cordless stick

What we don’t love
Small capacity bin that’s fiddly to empty in cordless mode

While robot vacuums are excellent at keeping on top of everyday cleaning, they can’t completely replace your regular vacuum. You’ll still need a cordless stick or upright cleaner for heavy-duty jobs, focused spot cleans and hard-to-reach places that robots find difficult. The Eufy Robot Vacuum E20 solves this by offering both devices in one package.

Why we love it
While I was testing the E20’s cordless capabilities, I also ran it as a regular robot. It’s an excellent performer, with Eufy’s superb smartphone app providing total control over regular cleaning tasks.

However, lift the vacuuming unit out of the robot chassis, and it immediately looks like a handheld. It comes with basic handheld accessories (a crevice tool and a combo funnel/dusting brush), but also an extension wand and floor head to convert it into a full cordless stick.

The floor head has a regular brush bar that proved very effective on carpet in my tests, picking up all of the cat litter and 98% of the flour. Pet hair was also plucked from the carpet, although some stuck to the roller bar as there’s no anti-tangle mechanism. It was less effective on hard floors but still performed well.

It’s a shame that … it has a fairly small collection bin that’s fiddly to empty. However, you can place it back into the robot chassis and let it empty itself into the three-litre bag that’s hidden inside the charging dock.

Weight: 2.4kg
Suction power (tested): 28kPa
Battery life (tested): 48mins
Dust capacity: 3l (self-emptying base)
Additional filters supplied?: No

What we love
Handheld cordless vac that’s as powerful as a regular Dyson

What we don’t love
A fully-equipped Dyson V8 doesn’t cost much more

Dyson doesn’t manufacture a vacuum purely for handheld use, instead opting to repackage an existing cordless stick without the extension wand. The result is a handheld device so powerful that you may wish you could also use it on the floor.

Why we love it
The Dyson Car+Boat is a cunning repackage of the Dyson V8. That model is now the bottom of the range of Dyson’s regular cordless stick cleaners, but it makes for a handheld unit that performs above and beyond expectations.

It comes with three key attachments: a mini motorised tool for upholstery and stairs; a crevice tool for gaps; and a combination dusting brush and funnel. It’s a powerful combo that cleaned up my test messes with aplomb. I had to use the funnel rather than the motorised tool to collect cat litter, though, because there’s no way this smaller device wouldn’t just push them ahead.

It’s a shame that … you can still buy the V8, with the extension tube and attachments, for a similar price. It also comes with Dyson’s old mini-motorised tool. Newer models come with a better-designed tool, which has a tapering roller that doesn’t trap longer hairs. It would have been a nice addition to this repackage.

Weight: 1.9kg
Max suction power (tested): 21kPa
Battery life (tested): 38mins
Dust capacity: 0.54l
Additional filters supplied? No

Dyson

PencilVac Fluffycones

from £429

What we love
Glides across hard floor, superb in tight spaces

What we don’t love
Doesn’t work on carpet, so won’t replace your existing vacuum

Best for: hard-floor sweeping

Dyson’s PencilVac Fluffycones is a hard-floor expert, designed for a quick, regular sweep of kitchens, dining areas and bathroom floors. It doesn’t work on carpets and is best with dust, crumbs, fluff and light scatterings of pet hair, rather than clumps or chunks of dirt.

While that minimises its usefulness, it’s fantastic at what it does. A clever floor head design makes it feel like it’s floating on air, and it can be pushed in any direction, manoeuvring around chair and table legs with ease. As a secondary device just for hard floor, it’s hard to beat.

It didn’t make the final cut because … it only works on hard floor, so can’t replace your existing carpet-friendly vacuum cleaner.

Weight: 1.8kg; suction power (measured): 21kPa; battery life (measured): 23mins; dust capacity: 0.8l; additional filters supplied? No

Read our full Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones review

Tower

VL220 Cyclone

from £179

What we love
More affordable self-emptying model than the Shark

What we don’t love
Fluffy roller isn’t great on carpet

Best for: budget self-emptying

If you like the idea of the Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty IP3251 but are put off by the price, Tower has a more affordable alternative. This uses a similar self-emptying base that sucks the dirt out of the collection bin and doubles up as a charging station.

The vacuum cleaner is less sophisticated than Shark’s, with fewer features. It still performed reasonably well in my tests, but it only comes with a fluffy roller. That makes it ideal for homes with mostly hard floors, but it lacks the ability to dig deep into carpet.

It didn’t make the final cut because … it left too much flour and pet hair behind in my carpet cleaning tests.

Weight: 2.6kg; suction power (tested): 26.5kPa; battery life (tested): 43mins; dust capacity: 2l (self-emptying base); additional filters supplied? Yes, one spare

Dyson

V16 Piston Animal

from £748

What we love
One floor head for carpet and hard floor means no switching

What we don’t love
New floor head not as good at cleaning as the old system

Best for: a Dyson that doesn’t require you to switch floor heads

The V16 Piston Animal is a significant change for Dyson, using a single floor head for both carpet and hard floor. Previously, Dyson’s top-end cordless vacuums came with two interchangeable floor heads, which needed switching over as you changed surfaces.

The new floor head has several design tweaks, but basically uses a brush bar with both bristles and fluffy strips so that it works with either surface. By detecting what it’s cleaning, the vacuum adjusts its spin speed and suction to get the best performance.

Eliminating the requirement to switch makes using this Dyson less of a faff. The downside is that, in my tests, the new floor head wasn’t as effective on either carpet or hard floor as the V15 Detect Absolute above.

It didn’t make the final cut because … I’m used to Dyson’s vacuums producing near-perfect results in my tests, but the redesigned floor head in the V16 fails to deliver, making the V15 a better option.

Weight: 3.4kg; suction power (tested): not tested; battery life (tested): 1hr 11mins; dust capacity: 1.3l; additional filters supplied? No

For more, read our full Dyson V16 Piston Animal review

Gtech

AirRam 3

from £299.99

What we love
Small, compact and great for getting into corners

What we don’t love
Not a great performer when cleaning flour and pet hair

Best for: smaller homes

The Gtech AirRam 3 is a third-generation refinement of a cleaning device that looks more like an old-fashioned carpet sweeper than a vacuum cleaner. The collection bin is in the base – you lift it out by its classy leather strap and can tip the debris straight into the bin.

I particularly liked that it has edge sweepers on its front corners – a concept borrowed from robot vacuums. These flick debris out from the very edges of skirtings and kickboards into the path of the suction. It’s an area in which few other vacuums are particularly effective.

It didn’t make the final cut because … although it was brilliant with cat litter, it didn’t fare well with my pet-hair or flour tests, leaving behind dirt when I lifted the collection bin from the floor head.

Weight: 3.8kg; max suction power (tested): not tested; battery life (tested): 25mins; dust capacity: 0.8l; additional filters supplied? No

Gtech

AirFox Platinum

from £188.99

What we love
Stands up without support, cleans smaller particles well

What we don’t love
Struggled with cat litter, not comfy to hold for long spells

Best for: light weight and light use

A constant source of annoyance with cordless vacuum cleaners is that you have to find somewhere to lean them when you want to put them down. The AirFox is light and well-balanced enough to stand on its own, so you can leave it in the middle of the room while you do some dusting, and it won’t fall to the floor.

The trigger needs to be held down to keep the vacuum running, and while there is a trigger lock to keep it in place, it’s fiddly to use. It cleaned well in my tests, though, only really struggling with the cat litter, which seemed to get stuck in the floor head.

It didn’t make the final cut because … I found it uncomfortable to hold for extended periods because the back extends out over the handle, getting in the way of my wrist.

Weight: 2.9kg; max suction power (tested): 31kPa; battery life (tested): 1hr 9mins; dust capacity: 0.4l; additional filters supplied? No

Miele

Duoflex HX1 Total Care

from £499

What we love
Good performance on carpet

What we don’t love
Short battery life, basic features

Best for: simple operation

Despite being a high-end brand in most categories of domestic appliances, the Miele Duoflex HX1 sits in the middle of this gathering in terms of price. That’s largely thanks to the lack of additional features you get when compared with the likes of Shark and Dyson. It performed well in my cleaning tests but generally proved better on carpets than on hard floors.

It operates in either floor or handheld mode. The floor head is basic, with a simple brush bar and no anti-tangle features. It comes with three handheld attachments – a crevice tool, a basic upholstery nozzle and a dusting brush.

It didn’t make the final cut because … emptying relies on gravity alone, so you end up having to poke your fingers into the collection bin to clear it out. Most disappointing was the battery, which didn’t last long with the floor head attached, even on the weakest suction setting.

Weight: 3.1kg; max suction power (tested): 12.5kPa; battery life (tested): 13mins; dust capacity: 0.3l; additional filters supplied? No

Bosch

Unlimited 10 BCS1051GB

from £499

What we love
Solid build quality, good cleaning performance

What we don’t love
Unnecessary features drive up the price

Best for: super-long battery life

With the Unlimited 10, Bosch has gone all in on the bling. It has a very flashy screen, which informs you visually when you’re changing floor surfaces, and lights up in a different colour depending on what power setting you’ve got the suction on. It’s useful, but possibly not useful enough to justify its higher-than-average cost.

The overall build quality is excellent, though. I loved the spring-loaded filter-clearing lever on the back, which means you can empty the collection bin in a smooth single-push motion rather than the banging and poking you have to do with most other vacuums. This lever can also compact the rubbish as you clean to reduce how often it needs emptying. The Unlimited 10 also had the best battery, which made the unit heavy but lasted an astonishing hour and a half in its Eco setting.

It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s a bit expensive without there being enough of a cleaning benefit to justify it.

Weight: 3.8kg; max suction power (tested): 13kPa; battery life (tested): 1hr 34mins; dust capacity: 0.4l; additional filters supplied? No

Beldray

Airgility Pet Plus+

from £77.99

What we love
Extremely affordable and a fair performer

What we don’t love
Prone to getting blocked by larger particles

Best for: lowest price

If most of the other reviews left you thinking that you were going to have to take out a second mortgage to get a new cordless vacuum cleaner, the sub-£100 price tag of the Beldray Airgility Pet Plus+ should be a breath of fresh air. It’s light and petite but has small attachments, too, which aren’t large enough to pick up larger particles. It doesn’t collect dirt as well as the best vacuum cleaners here, but for a fraction of the price, it does a reasonable job.

The biggest problem was cat litter, which was sucking OK from the floor but caused a blockage after only a tiny amount had entered the collection bin. It was surprisingly proficient at removing flour from hard floors but failed to agitate my test carpet enough to replicate that success. It also left a bit of pet hair behind during testing, either on the floor or stuck to the rollers.

It didn’t make the final cut because … it didn’t perform as well as more expensive rivals, though it does still impress for the price.

Weight: 2.2kg; max suction power (tested): 9.25kPa; battery life (tested): 41mins; dust capacity: 1.2l; additional filters supplied? Yes, one