7 Best Cordless Stick Vacuums, According to Testing by Cleaning Experts

Bagless vacuum cleaners have long had a dirty little secret. The dust cups need to be emptied and that's an irritating job, especially for allergy sufferers. But Samsung's Bespoke Jet Cordless Stick Vacuum has a charging and self-emptying station that when placed in a corner of a room might just pass for a high-tech air purifier or audio speaker. We think this feature is enough to make it worth the investment. We’re starting to see stick vacs move in the same self-empty direction that robots have been going in and we think the convenience they provide is a worthy upgrade.

This Samsung vacuum begins charging as soon as you place it into the stand and empties when you press the button on the front. You simply need to change the bag inside once it's full. We found that, in most cases, the dirt canister emptied almost completely leaving behind only a few stray hairs that had wrapped around the filter. A new model that we’ve already tested but is yet to be released empties more completely and even automatically closes the dustbin door. We’ll be swapping this model for that one, once it launches.

In the meantime, this Samsung is a worthy choice and is not just about good looks. In our tests, we found the suction to be powerful and the three cleaning modes — min, mid and max — suitable for cleaning any type of flooring we encountered. And while it comes with a backup battery, one battery had enough charge to give us over 53 minutes of run time on low speed and almost get us through vacuuming all the floors in a 2,000-square-foot home. The controls are easy to navigate and the display on the handle tells you how many minutes of battery life you have left on all suction settings. The attachments are handy and include an extending crevice tool and a bendable elbow that makes it easier to clean high, flat surfaces, like ceiling fan blades and bookcase tops. Our only qualm is that the accessory caddy, though easy to carry, must be plugged in separately to charge the extra battery. The caddy will be eliminated on the new model.

Great cleaning performance, lots of cool features and a price much lower than comparable models earned Bissell's IconPet Turbo Edge its spot as our best value pick. It aced our bare floor and edge cleaning tests and did a very good job removing pet hair from carpets, too. And we got almost a full hour of run time on a single charge. That was comparable to vacuums almost twice its price!

We found the dust cup very easy to remove, empty and replace, something we can't say for all the models in our test. We like the extended comfy grip and how well it maneuvered on bare floors and low- and medium-pile carpets. The controls are clear and easy to use and it comes with a wall-mountable caddy that holds all the vacuum's attachments — even a flexible hose — so nothing gets lost. Other nice touches at this price include a tangle-free brush roll, lighted crevice and dusting brush tool, a flexible hose for better reach and a sealed system to better trap dust and allergens, though we'd have loved to see a HEPA filter included on this model.

If you are looking to only spend around $100 for a stick vacuum to do occasional or light cleaning, this Vactidy Blitz V8 is a solid option. Weighing in at just over 5 pounds, it's lightweight and has a metal telescoping wand, which we like, though the plastic body feels more flimsy than other models we tested.

With high and low power modes, the Vactidy did a great job cleaning bare floors. And while it did a good job picking up pet hair from carpet, some hair clung to the nozzle and had to be removed by hand. Sadly, its edge cleaning was among the poorest in our test.

We did find the Vactidy easy to use and maneuver, and the dust cup was easy to remove, clean and replace. All of the filters, including its HEPA filter, are washable which is convenient and saves you from having to buy replacements. The battery is removable for charging, and a small wall dock holds the vacuum but not the attachments, so you'll have to store them separately.

Dyson's Detect vacuums are some of the coolest. Dirt, pet hair and dust bunnies can't hide from this vacuum with its innovative laser beam on its bare floor fluffy roller attachment. Simply turn it on to shine an angled beam of light directly in front of the vacuum to illuminate and nab the tiny pieces of dust and hair you can’t easily see in normal light.

In our tests, we were amazed. Specks and particles that were invisible in regular light — like those in the corners of stair treads — came into clear view when the laser hit them. And just in case you were wondering exactly what it's picking up, the colorful display shows the amount and size of the particles it's grabbing along with run time, power level and maintenance alerts. The only thing that would have made it better was having a second charged battery waiting in the wings.

Like all Dyson vacs we've tested, it's fully featured with powerful suction, great filtration and lots of useful attachments, including a unique cone-shaped tool that picks up pet hair and spirals it into the bin without tangling. In the Cleaning Lab, this Dyson model aced all of our performance tests for bare floor cleaning, pet hair pick-up and edge cleaning and ran on Eco mode for just over 50 minutes. And at just about 5 pounds, we found it lightweight and easy to maneuver, store and clean. Plus, we applaud Dyson for equipping this model with a push button on/off switch for continuous operation. Gone is the trigger that you had to hold down to keep the vacuum running that many users complained about.

We loved the Miele Triflex HX1 stick vacuum and this newer version — the Triflex HX2 — is even better. No other stick vacuum is as innovative and adaptable as the Miele Triflex. Most stick vacuums can be used in two configurations — upright and handheld. But the Miele can transform into a third design. With the motor, battery and dust cup (the power unit) placed up top, it works like a traditional pole vacuum, making it easy to reach under low furniture or up high to clean ceiling moldings and light fixtures. But there's more! Move the power unit — and the weight — down by the nozzle and it's now easier to push and maneuver across bare floors, areas rugs and carpets. And with more of the weight at the bottom, it can now do a better job cleaning deeper pile carpets. Finally, you can detach the power unit completely and use it as a handheld for stairs, upholstery and other above-the-floor cleaning needs.

In our testing, we experienced great bare floor cleaning, pet hair pick-up and edge-cleaning performance on all our test surfaces. Though heavier than other vacuums we've tested, the Miele Triflex was easy to use with features like fingertip controls, battery indicator lights, a bright headlight on the wide floor nozzle and a lifetime HEPA filter that never needs washing or changing. New with this version is the crank on the filter. As you turn it, fine dust is knocked from the filter into the cup for better cleaning and emptying. And a cleaner filter means better, longer-lasting suction, too. The battery offered up just under 30 minutes of run time on the lowest power setting with the power nozzle attached, which is less than others in our test.

Hardwood floors need gentle but powerful cleaning to nab the ultra-fine dust that sticks to them that regular vacuum nozzles and brushes can't seem to grab. This Dyson Omni-Glide is a whiz at cleaning hardwood floors. Its dual soft fuzzy rollers hug the floor and let you pick up dirt whether you push or pull it. And the omnidirectional head cleans quickly in any direction — even sideways. It impressed us with how easily it maneuvers around obstacles like table legs and how it fits perfectly on a stair tread for speedy side-to-side cleaning. It has powerful suction and whole-machine filtration to trap at least 99.7% of dust and allergens.

Weighing in at less than 4.5 pounds, its super low-profile head (just over 3.5 inches tall when laid flat) goes where others can't, such as beneath low couches to grab difficult-to-reach dust bunnies. We love that it transforms easily into a slim handheld vacuum with just one click and is simple to operate with just two thumb-operated buttons. Other features include a dust bin that opens from the bottom, washable components and an unobtrusive wall-mounted charging dock. Just be careful if you lean it against a wall. It will likely fall over, and you don't want it to nick or damage your furniture.

For those who prefer a more traditional stick vac configuration with an easy-to-grab handheld vacuum that piggybacks on board, this Electrolux WellQ7 is a great choice. Plus, it's slim, streamlined and stands up on its own (which we love!). And, it's got lots of upscale extras like two power nozzles, an extending crevice tool and a pedal that you press to snip hair wrapped around the roller brush.

We found it refreshing to review this vacuum among all the other pole vacs in the test. It was simple and straightforward to use and did a great job in our bare floor and pet hair pick-up tests. The hand vac and stick vac share the same dust cup with a multi-layer filter system. And this design makes it easy to pop off the hand vac quickly when you need it without having to disassemble the entire vacuum.

The Electrolux maneuvered easily on all surfaces and around corners and ran for over an hour on low power on a single charge. The only hiccup was that it stumbled on our edge-cleaning test. To clean along edges, you'll have to attach the crevice tool to the handheld vacuum. Storage and charging are easy — simply set it on its base. We like our vacuums out of site instead of mounted on a wall, and this vacuum tucks neatly away.