Best vacuum cleaners 2025, from cordless stick vacuums to robot vacuums

If you're down to do the vacuuming yourself, so long as you get to do it with a Dyson, the V12 Detect Slim should be the main one you're considering. It's not the most basic or heavy-duty option. In fact, those hoping to spend $500 or less on their new vacuum should be able to find the V12 Detect Slim on sale for $499.99 or $449.99 at almost any time of the year.

With up to 60 minutes of runtime, it can tackle full multi-bedroom apartments or a single floor of a home a few times without needing to be charged, but homes larger than 2,000 square feet or with more than two pets might prefer a heavier-duty Dyson. As Dyson's most compact cordless vacuum, the V12 Detect Slim will fit better than most cordless competitors into homes with limited storage space, even if that's under a couch or in a sliver of the closet.

Crowning the V12 Detect Slim as a Mashable Choice Award winner was a no-brainer: It's Dyson's most affordable vacuum that's equipped with the game-changing laser. I almost never choose the Digital Motorbar (the other cleaning head in the box) over the Fluffy Optic laser head because the laser really is that helpful. With it, I'm able to sniff out kitty litter dust, rogue hairs, crumbs, and even invisible broken glass on my apartment's hard floors that I wouldn't have seen otherwise but definitely would have hated to step on with bare feet.

Though the laser alone could be enough to sway someone this way over the similarly-priced Dyson V10 or a model from another main brand, the V12 Detect Slim seals its "bang for your buck" status with totally sufficient suction power, a motorized handheld attachment that's essential for cleaning pet hair off furniture, and the best one-handed maneuverability I've experienced in a vacuum. Even with so many vacs in my house to choose from (including robots), the Dyson V12 Detect Slim is so efficient and easy to use that I find myself relying on it the most.

Read my full review of the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

The Roborock Qrevo Master is a worthwhile investment for people who are picky about their cleaning and are willing to pay close to a grand in the name of thoroughness.

With self-washing and self-drying mopping pads, very strong suction power, and an extending side arm and side mop that reach out and pay real attention to corners, this Roborock is a full-fledged floor care suite that does the most in terms of cleaning and maintenance. Its array of powers and features also make it an ideal companion for pet parents.

Though the Qrevo Master isn't Roborock's absolute most expensive vacuum (that's the $1,799.99 S8 MaxV Ultra), it still packs almost every single fancy feature that the S8 MaxV Ultra does — just for way less money, especially when you can find it on sale for under $1,000.

These standout features include two FlexiArms. The vacuuming one extends out from underneath the vac several inches further than the average crappy robot vacuum side brush, sweeping directly in corners and along wall edges. The mopping one is a spinning dual pad that reaches out underneath to mop outside of the robot vacuum's circumference, allowing it to scrub areas that the full height of the robot vacuum may not fit, like under the lip of kitchen counters. It's not exactly the same level of detailed edge cleaning that I can achieve with my Dyson stick vac, but it's a world of a difference over bots that just skim the edges and hope for the best.

The Qrevo Master dishes out the same 10,000 Pa suction power as the pricier Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, automatically working harder when the vacuum senses carpet. And there's one more cool feature that the Qrevo borrowed from its more expensive sibling that most other brands don't offer: a pet camera that gives you the POV of the vacuum as it's cleaning. Pet parents in the market for a robot vacuum to keep up with shedding could also be getting a livestream pet camera out of their purchase, which is actually a really comforting tool for checking on pets when you're not home.

So you don't just want any robot vacuum — you want the street cred that comes with a Roomba. I wouldn't instinctively recommend one of the most expensive Roombas just because they're the most advanced on paper. If your main priority past adequate suction power is the navigational ability to maneuver all around the house, the best Roomba value is actually the Roomba j7 or j7+.

This mid-range choice vacuums well enough to keep daily debris like pet shedding and crumbs at bay, and would be a particularly smart choice in apartments or other small spaces with a cramped furniture setup — or a tendency to have a floor cluttered with phone chargers, pet bowls, or laundry.

iRobot offers a handful of iterations of the j7 so that you're not overpaying for features you won't use much: a standalone option that doesn't mop (as low as $299 on sale), a self-emptying option that doesn't mop (as low as $419.99 on sale), and a self-emptying option that does mop (as low as $699.99 on sale). All three go on sale pretty often, making them a much less intimidating investment than the more premium Roombas.

The j7 line is so clutch because it's an affordable way to bring home iRobot's stellar small obstacle avoidance technology. iRobot's room-to-room smart mapping has been super accurate in my experience, but most robot vacuums with smart mapping are pretty spot-on at this point. iRobot pulls ahead with its front-facing camera that helps it steer clear of items that a less-advanced robot vacuum would surely try to eat, like cords, socks, or pet waste. Of all the vacuums with small obstacle avoidance tech that I've tried, that of a Roomba has been the most reliable.

Read my full review of the Roomba j7+ and Combo j7+.

If much of the vacuuming your home requires involves deep cleaning carpet, the Shark PowerDetect is the heavy-duty pick I'd suggest over the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. In my experience, it's just as thorough (if not more thorough) on my pet hair-covered rugs as the most powerful Dysons that cost several hundred dollars more, but is able to balance its airflow in a way that mostly keeps it from getting stuck on carpet — an issue I've run into when a Dyson is just too powerful.

Because all Dysons require manual emptying, the fact that the Shark PowerDetect does self-empty could be your sole deciding factor. If you'd prefer to keep that harrowing gray dust bunny out of sight and out of mind, you'll appreciate not having to empty the PowerDetect into the trash on a daily basis — especially if you're keeping up with pet hair.

Not to be confused with the Shark PowerDetect robot vacuum, the Shark PowerDetect cordless stick vacuum doesn't get enough attention for the value it packs. The chance to combine the suction power and handheld control of a manual vacuum with the hands-free convenience of an auto-empty station is inherently huge because it's still pretty rare — automatic emptying isn't the norm for upright vacuums like it is for self-emptying robot vacuums.

As Shark's most powerful cordless vacuum, this thing sucks — I can literally feel the double brush rolls snatching up the cat hair and other gunk embedded in my rugs as it pulls my hand across the room. The suction actually gets so tenacious and loud that I often find myself switching to Eco mode over Boost or Detect mode. The evidence of how hard it's working lies in a quick glance at the dustbin just a few minutes into sweeping. Because it automatically empties each time it gets hung back on the dock, each cleaning session starts with an empty bin. Even if my floors didn't have much visible debris that time, I was always greeted with a giant gray ball of whatever was invisibly chilling on my rugs.

My only real complaint isn't regarding the cleaning itself, but the bulkiness of the cleaning head that does limit how far you can get into or under some spaces. The PowerDetect is also about two pounds heavier than Shark's Detect Pro cordless vacuum, which I also tried and really liked.