The best cordless vacuum cleaner to keep your home spotless

Clean every nook and cranny of your home without a corded vacuum holding you back.

Cordless vacuum cleaners

by Rosie Floyd |
Updated on

Let’s be honest, vacuuming is nobody’s favourite chore, but the sight of a shining floor at the end of it is certainly a satisfying one - that's where finding the best cordless vacuum cleaner comes in. As vacuuming is one of those jobs that needs doing on the regular, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the best vacuum cleaner to tackle everything from crumbs to cobwebs. If you're after something that's lightweight and can easily be moved around your home, why not consider a cordless vacuum?

The best cordless vacuum cleaner will offer more flexibility with how it can be used, enabling you to get to those hard-to-reach places, such as under the sofa or the corners of your ceiling. Majority of hoovers come with a range of attachments and power modes too, so you can suck up dirt and dust in the easiest, most effective way possible.

The best cordless vacuum cleaner at a glance

Best for cleaning hair: Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner [IZ202UK] – £249.99
Best for homes with pets: Dyson V8 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner - £329.99
Best for constant performance: VAX Blade 4 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner £159
Best for allergy sufferers: Miele Triflex HX2 Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner – £599

For those on the lookout for a vacuum they can whip out for those smaller countertop messes and crumbs in between the sofa, a handheld vacuum cleaner may be what you need. It certainly won’t replace the need for a bigger vacuum, but it’s certainly handy for all manner of messes, from pet hair to car cleaning and tackling cobwebs in the garage.

We know that buying a vacuum can be an expensive purchase, so we've done your research for you, tried and tested some of the best vacuum deals before compiling our roundup. We've made sure to look at factors like run time capacity, weight and even noise level along with other practical features they come with to help you get the most for your money.

Best cordless vacuum cleaners

Best cordless vacuum for cleaning hair

Tackle floors, ceilings, stairs, sofas and much more with this Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner. The flexible wand bends so you don't have to, making it even easy to get rid of dust under low-lying furniture. You can also turn it into a handheld model and this was highly appreciated by several reviewers as it could be used on stairs, sofas and small surfaces. It is easy to put together and many found light feature which illuminates places where dust has accumulated to be very useful. 

The best feature is the anti-hair wrap technology. It has a unique comb and bristle guard to separate and remove long, short and pet hair from the brush roll as you clean, helping to rid it of tangles. Several users with pets strongly recommended this product as it does a thorough job of getting rid of any pet hair that could be stuck on your floors. Coming with two additional attachments, a Crevice Tool and an Upholstery Tool to help you get to every nook and cranny, this device could be the perfect choice to keep the house spotless. However, some customers found the machine to be a bit heavy, so the weight might be something to make note of before making your decision.

Pros

  • The wand bends for compact, freestanding storage
  • Removes hair from the brush roll as you clean to keep it tangle free
  • Five-year guarantee

Cons

  • Heavier compared to others

Want to see more options from Shark? We've rounded up the best Shark vacuums, which include both cordless and corded models.

Best cordless vacuum cleaner for homes with pets

Dyson V8 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
Price: £229.99 (was £329.99)

www.dyson.co.uk

Engineered for low noise, the Dyson V8 may be quiet but that doesn't mean it's not powerful. It offers up to 40 minutes of fade-free suction and is equipped with de-tangling technology in the motor bar to remove stubborn hair matted in your carpets without it wrapped around the brush bar. The machine also lifts tangled strands from the brush bar and sends them straight to the bin making your life easier. Lots of reviewers with cats and dogs have recommended this product as it sucks hair out of carpets, sofas and stairs with high powered suction. 

This makes it a great option if you've got pets, but what makes it even better is its advanced filtration system. It's able to capture dust and seal in 99.99 per cent of microscopic particles, as small as 0.3 microns.The device is light and can also be transformed into a handheld for higher and smaller surfaces. It also comes with an ejection mechanism so you don’t have to touch anything that you just cleaned up. The storage is also made easy as it comes with a wall mount. The only complain that a few users had was that the battery drains quickly when using in the max turbo mode even after charging for a long time. So if you are looking for heavy duty cleaning with a machine that needs to last for long, then you may want to weigh other options as well.

Pros

  • Comes with a wall-mounted charging dock
  • Great for homes with pets because of its de-tangling technology
  • Three power modes

Cons

  • Some reviewers found the battery drained quite quickly when using it on MAX power

Best cordless vacuum cleaner for constant performance

The VAX Blade 4 is controlled by VAX Core Technology, which is continually working to maximise cleaning efficiency and performance. This means it maintains its high pick-up performance even when the bin is full or the battery is running low. If you've got a particularly stubborn mess to suction up, you can put the vacuum into boost mode, which gives you three times as much power at the touch of a button. To help you in those hard-to-see areas, it comes with an LED light so you know exactly where needs cleaning. 

This vacuum cleaner was tried and tested by Maria Martin, Digital Group Editor for Yours and Motherandbaby.com. Convenience and flexibility were her two buzzwords to describe the Vax Blade 4 Cordless Vacuum. Weighing just 3.1kg, she felt that it is so much more lightweight than any other vacuum she has used meaning there's no more lugging a heavy hoover up the stairs. “The textile tool was a godsend at getting the fine hairs of our black and white cat off the sofa. Meanwhile, the tough dirt tool was ideal for seeing off an irritating trail of ground-in mud that my other half had stamped into the hallway straight from a muddy walk. And the crevice tool - a fairly standard addition - really got into those corners and allowed me to finally be rid of some tiny flecks of wallpaper I'd had lurking in the edge of the carpet since I decorated but had never been truly able to suck up and vanish with a vacuum,” she added. 

It also comes with a stretch hose, an extendable tool that allows you to get to those really difficult places including blasting off the cobwebs from the ceiling. It wracks up an impressive 45 minutes making it ideal for the regular once-over hoovering of most houses. However, she found that it was missing the anti-hair wrap technology and seemingly an entire wig's worth of my hair was wrapped around the bristles although this is an issue that can be easily sorted. Putting the bits together and removing the bin also takes a while to get used to, she has noticed. 

For further information, you can read our full review of the The VAX Blade 4 Cordless Vacuum.

Pros

  • Brushless motor
  • Runs for 45 minutes with consistent power
  • LED light to help you see the dirt
  • Three-year guarantee

Cons

  • Does not come with the anti-hair wrap technology to deal with tangled hair
  • Assembling and detaching parts takes some time and knack to get it right

Best cordless vacuum cleaner for tackling hard-to-reach places

The Bosch Unlimited 7 comes packed with smart solutions to make life effortless. With this cordless vacuum cleaner you can take the guesswork out of cleaning with the Auto Detect function, and let the Flex Tube do the bending under low furniture. The Auto Detect function senses the floor type being vacuumed and adjusts power accordingly for the most effective clean. Move seamlessly between glossy wooden floors and deep pile carpet without having to guess the best setting.

This vacuum cleaner was tried and tested by Stephanie Spencer, Deputy Digital Editor of Yours.co.uk and she was a fan of how the vacuum came with three additional accessories - a long flexi nozzle which is perfect for getting into corners and ceilings, a smaller narrow nozzle which is great for stairs but I’ve found it doesn’t stay on very snugly so you kind of have to hold it on when you’re using it and the smaller brush attachment which is perfect for sofas and upholstery. As someone who owns two dogs, she feels the brush is stiff enough to pick up loose hairs, but it’s also gentle enough for the leatherette sofas.

She also found that the wall docking station comes with a small magnet which is really useful as it helps to ‘click’ the Unlimited 7 into place properly. However  she found that it is not possible to charge the vacuum while it’s in the dock, which would be a nice feature and instead you need to remove the battery and put it in the separate charger. Another improvement she feels would make the vacuum better is a larger bin capacity.

For further information you can read our full review of the Bosch Unlimited 7.

Pros

  • 10 year motor warranty
  • Strong suction
  • Great battery life
  • Flexible for easy cleaning

Cons

  • Bin capacity is quite small

Best simple cordless vacuum cleaner

Looking for a no-thrills cordless vacuum cleaner that's lightweight and easy to use? This one by Hoover may be exactly what you're looking for. Suitable for use on both carpets and hard floors, it can be used as both a stick and handheld vacuum cleaner and comes equipped with a dusting brush and mini crevice tool stored onboard to make light work of dusting those hard-to-reach areas. 

Customers have found this device very easy to handle and manoeuvre as one reviewer with very bad arthritis mentioned that it is easy to push, light to lift and comes with a switch so you don't have to hold the button when cleaning. She found that the suction on this cleaner is really good even when using the attachments. With a 25 minute run time at full charge, it also comes with a large 0.9L bin. However, several customers felt that the bin emptying process could have been made more simpler and neater as now the filter needs to be removed by hand to ensure everything is out and this makes the hands quite messy. So if this is a concern for you, it is worth keeping this in mind while considering your options.

Pros

  • LED lights in the floor nozzle
  • Can be used for cleaning worktops or inside your car too
  • Easy to use and light to manoeuvre

Cons

  • Could have a better run time
  • Have to remove the filter by hand to completely empty the bin

Best cordless vacuum with bags

We're sure everyone's heard of a Henry, but did you know that this much-loved and well-known vacuum cleaner comes in a cordless version too? Unlike other cordless vacuums in our list, the Henry Quick Cordless Vacuum Cleaner compacts dust inside pods in order to give it a bigger capacity and one-click, dust-free emptying. Our product writer, Bryony Firth-Bernard tried and tested this vacuum cleaner and found that it can easily run for 70 minutes on the low power setting or 16 minutes in ‘boost mode’. She also noted that it takes over two hours to fully charge up and the little light indicator on the top of the vacuum tells you how much battery is left. 

Its powerful, motorised brush head easily tackles dust, dirt and pet hair on carpets, hard floors, stairs and furniture. She also found the boost mode a little too powerful, so if you have lots of carpet in your home this vacuum will last a long time as you can just use it on low power. The little light on the end of the vacuum head means nothing goes amiss and it has handy accessories for hard-to-reach cleaning. It stores neatly away on the wall dock included and we love that it has a nod to the original Henry with the face drawn on the side.

One downside she noticed was that the battery is so big that it really weighed the vacuum down. “It made it a lot heavier than other stick vacuums and it’s certainly not suitable to be used as a car vacuum, because the size of the cylinder and the weight of the battery do not make it easy to manoeuvre,” she added. Overall she feels that for small households, it's definitely handy, but for larger homes, it would be worth it to fork out on something a little more expensive.

For further information you can read our full review of the Henry Quick Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

Pros

  • Pods (also known as bags) provide multi-layer filtration with dust-lock seal
  • No filter to clean
  • Large capacity

Cons

  • Heavier than other stick vacuums
  • Have to purchase the bags for the vacuum

Best cordless vacuum cleaner for allergy suffers

The advanced filtration system on the Miele Triflex makes this vacuum a great choice for pet owners and allergy sufferers. It offers 99.999 per cent filtration and a maintenance-free HEPA lifetime filter so dust particles are removed while air is freed from allergens and viruses, contributing to a more hygienic living climate. Several customers found the LED light feature that comes with the machine very useful for illuminating hair and fur that can easily go unnoticed due to their light colour and fine texture. 

The ultra-wide brush allows you to pick up more dust and dirt at a time compared to other vacuums and whether you're vacuuming carpet or hard floors, it will automatically change the speed and power. While reviewers felt that it takes longer to charge than other vacuums, it makes up for it with the long run time which is for 60 minutes with power level 1. However, what put off several users was the small size of the bin which fills up quite fast with pet hair and it will need to be emptied out more frequently.

Pros

  • Comfort, reach and compact modes so you can clean every part of your home with ease
  • Ultra-wide brush that adjusts speed and power to suit your floor type
  • 99.999 per cent filtration for capturing fine dust, allergens and viruses

Cons

  • The capacity of the bin is smaller compared to others

Best cordless vacuum for power

Bosch Unlimited Serie 6 BCS612GB ProHome 18 V Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
Price: £229

The compact and lightweight design of this Bosch vacuum makes cleaning easy and effortless. It can be switched from a stick to a handheld and comes with a range of tools to help you get every last speck of dust. We particularly like how the crevice tool is flexible and that a mattress tool is included so everything inside your home can be cleaned to the best of its ability. 

Several users were happy with the turbo mode and the powerful suction it provided, although it uses up the battery quickly. On normal mode, it runs for up to 60 minutes letting you clean the entire house in one go if you are not looking for a deep clean. Another great feature is that the exchangeable battery can be used with all cordless 18-Volt home and garden tools from Bosch so that will certainly come in handy if you have any of their other products.

Pros

  • Comes with two batteries
  • Comes with a choice of tools
  • Wide brush diameter for intense cleaning on every surface

Cons

  • Some reviewers thought the suction could be more powerful on the standard mode
  • Many reviewers feel that the battery life could have been better

FAQs

What are the advantages of a cordless vacuum cleaner?

With the help of Gtech, we've rounded up some benefits of cordless vacuum cleaners to help you decide whether a cordless cleaner is the right one for you.

Easy to move around

Short cables and cylinders won't get in your way with a cordless cleaner. Everything you need for a speedy cleaning job is contained in a cordless vacuum, so you don't have loads of additional components to carry around the house with you.

Low maintenance

Corded cleaners come with fiddly and often dirty filters, whereas cordless ones are much less hassle. Filters on cordless models are usually easier to pull out, wash, and slot into place. Cordless cleaners also offer easy dirt disposal too. With most of them, you can just simply eject the compressed dirt straight into the bin without the need of changing a bag.

Super lightweight

Another bonus of cordless cleaners is that they're much lighter than corded models. This is because they don't use heavy AC motors and have lightweight Li-ion batteries to power them instead. This combined with ergonomic attachments means you can tackle hard-to-reach places without getting achy arms.

You can clean anywhere

One of the biggest benefits of a cordless vacuum is that you can clean anywhere and everywhere in your home, or even outside your home, with them. You haven't got to reach for your nearest plug socket every time you move rooms and no cords to restrict your movement.

Cordless cleaners can come with a range of attachments too. So whether you've got cobwebs sitting in the corners of your ceiling, crumbs collecting in the crevices of your sofa, or an awkward angle that a standard head can't reach, you can pop on the appropriate attachment and you're good to go.

What are the different types of cordless vacuum cleaners?

There are two main formats to the best cordless vacuum: cleaner: A stick and an upright

The differences are mainly related to design. Sticks usually offer more versatility as they can be used as both a standard vacuum and a handheld, coming with a variety of tools to help make the chore of keeping your home spick-and-span that little bit easier. Uprights don’t tend to offer these extra features but come with the benefit of being able to stand, as the name suggests, upright, which can make storage easier if you’ve got an airing or hall cupboard to put it in. For this reason, many stick vacuums come with wall docks as they can’t support themselves. This way, you can store your vacuum off the floor while charging it at the same time.

We've concentrated on stick and uprights in this roundup but, of course, there are other types of cordless cleaners which you may want to consider depending on your needs.

If you’d prefer to get your floors cleaned completely hands-free, you may want to consider a robot cleaner. The best robot vacuums offer a range of clever features such as voice command, side brushes, and fancy navigation systems. However, these are probably best suited for smaller messes and rooms as they don’t have as big a capacity as other cordless vacuum cleaners. For those after a vacuum they can whip out for those smaller spaces, a handheld vacuum cleaner may be what you need.

Vacuum

Are cordless cleaners good for the whole house?

There’s no denying the power of a cordless cleaner but you may be concerned about whether you’ll be able to get around the whole of your house before the battery runs out. Of course, this will all depend on how many rooms your house has, how often you vacuum it and the battery life of your chosen cleaner.

If you’re wanting to give your rooms a quick once over, we think you could do it on one charge. However, if you’re wanting to vacuum those areas that might not get a regular cleaning, like under the sofas and sideboards, these may require your vacuum to run on a more powerful setting, which will make the battery run out more quickly. For those days when you want to do a deeper clean of your home, you may need to stop for a battery recharge.

Rosie Floyd is a Pets, Homes and Garden Product Writer for Yours, specialising in home appliances, décor and furnishings, as well as all things dogs. After completing her Journalism & Media degree from Coventry University back in 2015, she started her career writing about must-visit holiday destinations, moving on to creating content around outdoor living and garden buildings, before joining the team at Bauer.

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