The Best Vacuum Cleaners

Plug-in upright vacuums are powerful, versatile, reliable, and capable of cleaning every inch of your home—from thick rugs to hardwood floors. They suck up dust, debris, pet fur, and pollutants.

The best uprights have extra-strong suction and swappable brush heads (a motorized cleaner to agitate and lift dirt and debris from deep within carpets, and a soft parquet brush for delicate hardwood flooring). They feature useful hose attachment tools for cleaning stairs, sofas, bookshelves, and tight corners.

High-end upright vacuums have powerful filtration (HEPA or S-class) and seal debris in bags, so these cleaners are ideal for indoor allergy sufferers. Because they stand upright, they stow easily in a closet or corner. And with proper maintenance, they can last for a decade or longer. Read more about the best upright vacuums.

Consider an upright vacuum if:

• You want a classic vacuum that can deep-clean. Only powerful plug-in vacuums can truly clean even the thickest rugs. Their bags and filtration make them excellent for indoor allergy sufferers.
• You’re willing to spend on a vacuum that can last. The best uprights are pricey, but they have long warranties and replaceable and repairable parts, and they should last for a decade or more.

Skip an upright vacuum if: 

• You have arm or wrist issues. Compared with a canister vacuum or lightweight cordless stick vacuum, an upright can feel heavy on your hands and wrists.
• You hate cords. Upright vacuums lack automatic cord rewinds, so you’ll have to unwrap and wrap the cord.

The best affordable bagless uprights work well with just about any type of vacuumable debris (including pet hair) and floor type (including most carpets, wood, tiles, or anything else). And they should last at least five years without much maintenance (no new belts are required) and with minimal cost (the filters are washable, and these vacs don’t need bags). On the most common types of flooring (like low- or mid-pile nylon carpeting and most bare floors), great bagless uprights work almost as well as the strongest overall vacuums, often for much less than half the price. But they come with less-generous warranties than pricier models, and you may be on the hook if a part breaks. Read more about the best upright vacuums.

Consider an affordable bagless upright vacuum if:

• You want decent performance on a budget. The good bagless upright vacs are reasonably priced, have no recurring costs, and should last for at least five years. Getting one is the best way to stretch your dollar when buying a vacuum cleaner.

Skip an affordable bagless upright vacuum if:

• You have allergies. Bagless vacuums don’t seal away dust and debris as effectively as bagged models do.
• You have delicate flooring or really thick rugs. If you have hand-knotted rugs, extra-thick carpets, or soft wood or tile that’s prone to scratching, you might want a vacuum with a cleaning head that’s specifically designed for these surfaces.

If you like your rugs and floors to stay very clean, and you’re willing to pay big bucks for a vacuum that will last a decade or more, get a high-end canister vacuum. Canister vacuums come in two connected parts: a wand with a hose and a pod or canister that contains the motor and dustbin or bag. Though initially it can feel weird to use a canister vacuum, we’ve known many longtime upright-vac users who made the switch because canisters feel lighter to steer and are easier to maneuver up and down stairs. They tend to clog less often and most come with a convenient automatic cord rewind.

Like high-end upright vacuums, canister vacuums do an excellent job on all types of floors, from thick, high-pile carpet to delicate wood floors. They come with useful attachments for cleaning everything from sofas to radiators, and the best ones will last for a decade or longer. Read more about the best canister vacuums.

Consider a high-end canister vacuum if:

• You want something that will last a long time. They don’t make most stuff like they used to, but great vacuums are an exception to that rule.
• You want excellent performance and maximum versatility. These vacuums can suck fine dust out of nearly any rug (even high-pile), while also offering gentle parquet brushes for delicate wood flooring. They come with a range of attachments for cleaning furniture, shelves, and even pets.

Skip a high-end canister vacuum if:

• You prefer uprights. Some people just can’t get comfortable dragging a little pod behind them while they clean—especially with a cord attached to it.

Cordless vacs cost more, don’t last as long, and they don’t have enough run time to clean large homes in a single pass.

That said, cordless vacuums make it so easy to clean that you may be just fine with those tradeoffs. These models are especially life-changing if you live in an apartment or smaller house with a cramped floor plan, because they’re thin and light and easy to steer, and there’s no cord to get caught on any corners. And even in bigger homes, you may find that you get used to cleaning just a few rooms at a time, so that battery life isn’t such a big deal. The best cordless vacs are strong enough to clean nearly as well as plug-ins, even on most types of rugs.

Most cordless vacuums also double as handheld vacuums, so you can buy one vacuum to clean both your floors and your car. Read more about the best cordless vacuums.

Consider a cordless vacuum if:

• You live in a small apartment or house. It’s much easier to vacuum a home that has a cramped floor plan when there’s no cord getting caught.
• You don’t want to deal with a cord. It takes just a few seconds to grab your cordless vacuum and start cleaning—no obstacles, no excuses!

Skip a cordless vacuum if:

• You want the most value for your money. When you compare cordless and plug-in models that have similar cleaning power, the cordless models cost more and die sooner.

Even a basic robot vacuum can keep your floors tidy with little effort on your part, handling pet hair and dust adeptly. Top-tier models can map your home, schedule cleanings, take voice commands, and empty themselves.

But while these machines excel in routine midweek cleanups, they can’t replace traditional plug-in vacuums, especially on rugs. And even the fanciest models get tangled or trapped, and miss piles of dirt. Read more about the best robot vacuums.

(Curious about robot vacuum-mop combos? We’ve tested over a dozen of these new machines, and we don’t recommend any of them—yet.)

Consider a robot vacuum if:

• You have pets, kids, or both. Most people don’t have the time to keep up with the mess that a shedding pet or a Cheerio-trailing toddler creates. But robots never procrastinate or get bored or have other plans, so they’ll have no trouble picking up the pet hair or crumbs almost as fast as they fall.
• You simply will not use a regular vacuum. A robot that runs for an hour every other day will keep your home significantly tidier than 20 minutes of you half-heartedly pushing a traditional vacuum a few times per month.

Skip a robot vacuum if:

• Your home is filled with robot hazards. Stray charging cables, tall thresholds, and general messiness can all cause problems for bots—though some expensive models are getting a little better at dealing with them.
• Deep-cleaning carpets is a priority. Robot vacuum cleaners are great superficial cleaners but they do not have the suction power of an upright or canister vacuum cleaner that is capable of penetrating rugs and carpets deeply.

It’s handy to have a little handheld vacuum to deal with small messes. Today’s handheld vacuums can be surprisingly strong without costing too much. The best ones have enough oomph to quickly suck up crumbs, grit, and other types of obvious debris, with adjustable nozzles that can make it easier to get at hard-to-reach spots without wrenching your wrist. Read more about the best handheld vacuums.

Even the cheapest vacuums can pick up pet hair off a bare floor, and any vacuum that’s good at getting dust out of rugs will also be good at digging pet hair out of rugs.

You don’t even have to limit yourself to models that have the words pet or animal in their names. That just means they come with a tool for getting pet hair off of upholstery, or (occasionally) that a vacuum’s brush roll won’t tangle easily. Those are nice features! But plenty of vacuums with names that don’t include animal or pet have these features, too.

Read more about the best vacuums for pet hair.

If you have asthma or severe allergies, and indoor air quality is crucial to your health, a high-quality bagged vacuum is a safe bet. Our favorite high-end vacuums do an excellent job of sucking up allergens and irritants—and keeping them contained during disposal.

There’s a bit of controversy on this topic. Experts disagree on the traits a “clean-air” vacuum needs to have. Most salespeople and technicians told us that they would not recommend bagless models for households in which air quality was a major concern, because the act of emptying a bagless vacuum re-pollutes your air. We’d recommend erring on the side of caution with a bagged, sealed-system vacuum that has a HEPA or S-class filter.

What if you don’t have asthma or severe allergies? Well, it never hurts to have a HEPA or S-class filter on a vacuum, but they’re overkill for many people. Also, a vacuum can come equipped with a HEPA filter but have mediocre overall filtration, if the transfer points throughout the vacuum don’t have rubber gaskets. So don’t be fooled into paying extra just because a vacuum has a HEPA or S-class filter.

Cleaning bare floors is the easiest task for a vacuum cleaner, and you don’t need anything special. But if you want to make the job a little easier, there are a couple features to consider.

For a mix of bare floors and rugs, the surest bet is to get a vacuum that lets you turn the brush roll on or off. An aggressive brush can scatter certain kinds of debris on bare floors, or even scratch certain types of flooring, so it’s helpful to be able to switch it off. Most plug-in vacuums (including the upright and canister models we recommend) have this option, though it’s less common among cordless vacuums.

If you don’t plan to clean rugs (or at least not very deeply), you can get a vacuum that’s purpose-built for cleaning bare floors. Most of these are “suction-only” models, without a brush roll (and some of these are dirt cheap). But a few of them use a specialty soft-fabric brush roll to help “hug” the debris toward the intake. Read more about the best vacuums for hardwood floors.

High-pile carpets (like shag, frieze, saxony, cable, or long plush) pose a problem for some vacuums: The long fibers can tangle around the brush roller and/or block the intake, essentially choking the vacuum.

If you have any carpeting like that, and you want to clean it thoroughly, your best bet is to get a vacuum with an adjustable cleaning head—one that can rise or fall with the carpet height.

Alternatively, you can try to clean longer rugs by turning off the brush roll or turning down the suction (if your vacuum has those options). Read more about what makes a vacuum great on carpet.

For most people, a great handheld vacuum is the best tool for car cleanups. The powerful, quick-charging Ryobi 18V One+ Performance Hand Vacuum Kit is best for most routine car cleaning, and the Black+Decker Dustbuster Advanced Clean+ HHVK515JP07 is great if you need to clean pet fur. But if you want something lighter-weight and more comfortable to handle, opt for a handheld vacuum with an extendable hose: the Black+Decker 20V Max Lithium Flex BDH2020FL or the Worx 20V Power Share Cordless Vac WX030L. You'll sacrifice some suction and performance, though. Read more about the best car vacuums.

We’re currently testing Dyson’s new WashG1 cordless wet and dry vacuum, along with a range of new vacuum-mop combos.

We plan to test several new cordless stick vacuums soon, including the Tineco Pure One Station Furfree Smart Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner, which is a hands-free self-cleaning vacuum that promises to empty its dustbin and clean its brush roll and filters automatically.

We’ve also got our eyes on the Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit, which Ryobi bills as its most powerful and quietest stick vac, and the Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP High-Capacity Stick Vacuum Kit, which carries its weight on the bottom instead of below the hand. We’re curious to see how both models compare to our current Ryobi stick-vac pick.

Liam McCabe wrote a previous version of this article, first published in 2018. This article was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.