Ultimate flex: The best vacuum cleaners for 2026 make cleaning less of a chore by saving you time, energy and stress. (Shark, Freo X Ultra, Dyson)
A good vacuum cleaner should be powerful, nimble and easy to tote around. The best vacuums 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 vacs, including cordless stick and upright models as well as robot vacuums and handheld car vacuums. We used them on various surfaces, from hardwood to high-pile carpets, and materials (Cheerios and kitty litter were involved!). We even set up obstacle courses to see how well these vacuum models could swivel. 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.
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 (a.k.a. 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.
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 vacuum 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.
For robot vacuums, we let the machines loose in our homes, testing them against small and large carpets and hard-surface floors. We noted how long it took to set them up, how well they navigated obstacles and how quickly and well they cleaned.
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 are also 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.
Cylinder (a.k.a. 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.
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 a week. Pet owners should aim to do a quick maintenance vacuum daily to keep fur and dander at bay.
To ensure your vacuum remains in tip-top shape, many brands, such as Dyson, advise 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.
Update, Nov. 28, 2025: We’ve confirmed current pricing and availability for all products.
We received complimentary samples of some products and purchased others ourselves, but we reviewed all products using the same objective and unbiased criteria.
