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Best Vacuum Cleaners (2026): Cordless Vacuums, Robot Vacuums, Dysons
In my quest to find the best vacuum cleaner, I’ve tried every kind, from robot vacuums to cheap stick vacs. As a toddler mom plagued by sand and snacks, you can find me vacuuming almost daily, rotating between powerful Dysons, automated robot models, and even vacuums made for car cleaning. And I'm not alone in this pursuit; many other WIRED staffers also regularly test vacuums in their homes to find the best of the best.
If you’re looking for all of our vacuum cleaner recommendations in one place, this is it. From my favorite Shark and Dyson stick vacuums to a powerful budget robot vacuum from Eufy, there’s a vacuum cleaner here for every kind of cleaning task, home, and lifestyle.
Looking for our guides that dive into each category? Check out the Best Dyson Vacuums, Best Robot Vacuums, Best Cordless Vacuums, Best Handheld Vacuums, and Best Pet Hair Vacuums.
Updated July 2026: I've updated this guide with my new top cordless vacuum picks: the Shark PowerDetect Speed and Dyson Gen5Detect. I've also added notes on Dyson's newest vacuum models to Honorable Mentions.
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Shark continues to be my go-to for great, well-priced cordless vacuums. My new favorite is Shark’s latest addition to its PowerDetect vacuum lineup, the PowerDetect Speed. It’s a lighter and slightly cheaper version of my previously favored PowerDetect but still packs 350 watts of power, three cleaning modes, intelligent floor-type detection, and a bendable vacuum wand so you can get under furniture without bending over.
Compared to the original Shark PowerDetect, you’ll save a little bit of cash with this vacuum while losing only 10 minutes of battery life, edge detection, a smidge of power, and a bit of dust-cup size. There is a Clean & Empty version of both the PowerDetect and the PowerDetect Speed that includes a self-emptying base station. There’s also a Luxe line of PowerDetect Speed Clean & Empty vacuums in prettier colors, so you can choose one that won’t be an eyesore in your house. The Clean & Empty version includes a light on the vacuum to illuminate dust, and that version is easier to find at most retailers.
Even though it’s three years older than the newest Dyson stick models, the Gen5Detect remains my top pick. It earned a near perfect score in five rounds of comparative testing.
The Gen5Detect has 262 air watts of power and comes with both the Digital Motorbar head for carpet and the Fluffy Optic head for hard floors. It only struggled with vacuuming sand on a thin rug, but worked perfectly on a thicker rug. In every other test—Cheerios on carpet; piles of cat litter on hard floor; cat hair on the stairs—it outperformed the rest of the Dyson lineup. Its powerful suction and HEPA filtration is excellent for pet owners, or anyone with carpet and allergies. It also comes with a couple accessories, and can be used as a handheld vacuum—you can often catch me using it in handheld mode to get all the pet hair and dander out of my carpeted staircase.
If you’re looking for a great affordable stick vacuum, I recommend Bissell. You’ll get everything you want in a good cordless: solid power, a HEPA-sealed filter, and a couple attachments. I love the Bissell FurFinder ($260) for my house, but the BissellPowerClean is an even cheaper version that skips the FurFinder attachment and leaves a few lights off the headlight. WIRED reviewer Kat Merck still found the headlight useful for spotting litter and dust on her floor. It has a 40-minute run time which was just enough to clean all the rugs, bare floors, and upholstery in a 3,000-square-foot house. It feels heavier than she expected, but it’s a great cordless vacuum for the price, especially since it has a HEPA-sealed system to keep allergens from escaping.