Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaner of 2024 – CNET

We use three types of soil. To simulate small particle sizes, we use a mix of play sand and landscape sand. To simulate larger dirt particles, we use uncooked black rice. To see how vacuums handle pet hair, we use a mix of clippings that we get from our local zookeeper.

We perform a minimum of three runs on each floor type. We also test the suction power with sand and rice separately. That amounts to a minimum of 18 tests per vacuum cleaner. To measure the results, we weigh the vacuum cleaner’s dust container both before and after each run.

From there, we can calculate the percentage of dirt and debris that is sucked up per pass, and the average amount of dirt that a vacuum can remove. We also perform anecdotal (visual) pet hair tests for each vacuum, on all three floor types, to help us select the best cordless vacuum.

Which cordless vacuums performed well in CNET tests?

Let’s get straight to the numbers, starting with our sand tests. The table below tells you the average percentage of sand each vacuum was able to remove from each of our three test surfaces. The vacuums are listed in order of total sand removed, from most to least, so feel free to think of this as a sort of scoreboard for sand tests. As you can see, the Dyson V15 Detect is our best cleaner in these sand tests, but keep in mind that the Samsung Jet90 performed significantly better on thick, fluffy, medium-pile carpeting. Vacuuming grit out of carpets like this is a real challenge. Most vacuums we test can’t even remove 80% of the stuff when all is said and done. The Jet 90 managed almost 98%, which is pretty excellent. If you have thick carpets like this in your home, it’s worth looking into.

Meanwhile, the Tineco Pure One S11 is the only cordless vacuum in our top 5 vacuum tests that retails for under $500. At $400 (or less, if you can find a deal), it offers a high level of performance at a strong value relative to the competition, which is a big part of why it’s our top recommended cordless vacuum.

That’s it for sand. Let’s see how the cordless vacuums we tested handle uncooked black rice, our go-to for crumbs and other larger bits of dirt.

As you can see, the black rice test is less challenging than the sand test, and several of the vacuums we tested, including the highest-rated Tineco Pure One S11finished with a perfect rating on all three surfaces. Interestingly, that shortlist of perfectly rated cleaners includes two of our worthy picks, the Shark Rocket Pet Pro and the Moosoo XL-618Neither was a standout with sand (in fact, the Moosoo model was one of the worst in those tests), but they certainly handled larger crumbs just fine.