7 Best Cordless Stick Vacuums of 2023, Tested by Experts

Armed with a powerful 22V rechargeable battery, this model was designed to power through pet hair and dander- on almost any surface. Use upright for large areas, and slide off the handheld attachment for bissell handheld vacuum stairs and tight spaces. If you’ve got furry friends at home, this cordless vacuum is an investment you won’t regret. The Bissell Featherweight is appropriately lightweight, weighing in at only 4 pounds.

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 $ but it performs as if it costs a lot more, with outstanding results in each of our main cleaning tests. Sometimes big messes are unavoidable, and when you need a serious machine for larger-than-average areas, this vacuum cleaner will do the trick.

I would say that the battery life on this vacuum is about what I would expect from a cordless vacuum. This vacuum does allow you to adjust the suction to 3 different levels (which means 3 different levels of power used). When I use the vacuum it lasts much longer for me because I do adjust it when I’m on the hard floor surfaces as opposed to the carpet where it needs to be on full power. When my younger kids are using it, they don’t really remember to adjust for this feature yet.

All of the vacuums on this list were also very similar in height and overall size. The Dyson models are both roughly 49 inches, while the Tineco A11 is shorter at just 43 inches tall. Most of the vacuums on our list feature a runtime of 40 minutes before needing another charge, though a growing number of models are starting to offer higher-capacity bissell cordless vacuum batteries with runtimes of 60 minutes per charge. In truth, it’s a rare occasion that one would need more than 40 minutes of runtime for a single vacuuming session, and the prevalence of charging docks makes it easy to recharge in between cleaning runs. Because of this, battery life was not weighted as heavily as other features.

Using a custom-built vacuum testing machine, dirt is embedded into a test carpet, then each vacuum is passed over the carpet an equal number of times. By comparing the weight of the empty dust cup before testing and the dust cup’s weight after testing, our experts calculate just how much dirt is picked up by each vacuum. 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.

The ICONpet Cordless Vacuum has a high-powered motor to clean your floor quickly. And since it runs on a 22-volt battery, you won’t have to wrestle with a pesky cord getting in your way while you’re tidying up. Here at my house, what I’ll find in furniture is a guessing game. Most of the time it’s leftover breakfast and dog hair, both of which the Bissell sweeps right up!

This is significantly less than other stick vacuums on the market. You also don’t have to change bags, though the dust bin is smaller than some other models’. Less convenient is the fairly short cord, which you’ll likely have to unplug and move between outlets if you’re working with a larger space. But the three-in-one design means you can restructure it to work as a full-height floor vacuum, hand vacuum with crevice tool, or stair vacuum (the hand vac setup, but with a floor nozzle rather than crevice tool). Credit to Dyson for pioneering the cordless vacuum category with a series of capable — yet pricey — Cyclone V series stick vacs. Many years and many models later, Dyson remains a fixture of the category in 2023, but it’s not quite as dominant in our cleaning tests as it was five or 10 years ago.

While the ICONpet cordless vacuum did a great job cleaning up after Gunther, there were a few pieces of litter here and there that still escaped. The brush roll inside the vacuum picks hair off surfaces, and is designed to stay tangle-free so your pet’s hair doesn’t end up wrapping around it (which saves you the headache of having to unclog anything). I love that it lights up, making it easier to spot any dirt on the floor. I have not noticed any loss of suction since we first started using it. Brand owner satisfaction is based on the proportion of members who are extremely likely to recommend their cordless stick vacuum to their friends and family. Like its cousin the ICONPet, the ICONPet Pro is designed to take care of all of your household shedding concerns with a tangle-free brush roller, lay-flat design, and LED lights.

This is why your needs are most important when deciding which of the many models is the best Bissell vacuum for you. To measure the results, we weigh the vacuum’s dust bin both before and after each run. Eureka and BISSELL vacuums occupy a similar budget-friendly niche, and offerings from each brand tend to have strengths. When comparing like-for-like models, BISSELLs usually have a wider array of convenience features, while Eurekas offer superior debris pickup performance. Shark vacuums are generally better built than BISSELL’s comparable offerings and deliver better overall performance.

Dyson vacuums tend to occupy a much higher price point than BISSELL’s offerings, which is reflected in generally superior performance and better build quality. That said, BISSELL’s selection of corded models is far more extensive than what Dyson offers. Setting aside the matter of price, the best option depends on how much cleaning you need to do—and how much time you’ll take to do it. The best products in each of these categories all have similar user ratings, which is a sign that there’s no single category of mop that’s clearly superior. “In addition to picking up litter, the vacuum did a great job picking up Gunther’s shedded hair as well as dry food kibbles and dry food dust.” — Bill S.