Best cordless vacuum cleaners of 2024 in UK – our top 6 stick vacuums after testing dozens

Make cleaning convenient with the 6 best cordless vacuum cleaners that the Ideal Home team can't live without

Three of the best cordless vacuum cleaners on Ideal Home style background
(Image credit: Future/Shark/Vax)
Best cordless vacuums 2024: Jump Menu

The list in brief
1. Best overall: Shark Stratos
2. Best budget: Vax Blade 5
3. Best for pets: Miele Triflex
4. Best under £250: Henry Quick
5. Best under £300: Hoover HF9
6. Best for carpets: Shark ICZ300UKT
How we test
FAQs

Upgrade to one of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, which are engineered to extend to every corner of your home to banish dust and dirt.

To make investing in the top-rated cordless vacuum for your budget a little easier, we've tested every single choice you can see in this guide and highlighted which ones are the best value for money. 

A number of our top 6 come in at £300 or under if you want the convenience of cordlessness for less – you'll be able to tell them from their 'Budget Buy' badges.

As part of our review process, these vacuums have been put to work on hard floors and carpets, often for months at a time, before we come to a verdict on suction power, ease of use and adaptability to homes with pet hair and other obstacles. 

Some of the best cordless vacuum cleaners also feature in our guide to the best vacuum cleaners. While cord-free vacs are sometimes not quite as powerful as corded models, they more than make up for it in lightweight design, attachment selection, and convenient use. These are the cord-free ones that the Ideal Home team wouldn't be without.

The best cordless vacuum cleaners – the quick list

Best cordless vacuum cleaners - tried and tested

Why you can trust Ideal Home Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Best overall cordless vacuum cleaner

The best cordless vacuum for hair pick-up

Specifications

RRP: £549.99
Bagged or bagless?: Bagless
Dust bin capacity: 0.8 litres
Weight : 4.07kg

Reasons to buy

+
Flawless hair pick up 
+
Excellent CleanSense feature 
+
Anti Odour capsules are great 

Reasons to avoid

-
Would benefit from a stand 
-
Dust tool is redundant 
BUY IT IF

✅ You're a fan of new innovative features. The Stratos features anti-odour capsules, a sensor to detect dirtier areas, and an indicator to show you where you need to amp up the power. 

✅ You want a vacuum that's easy to clean. One of the best things about the Stratos is how easy it is to take apart.

✅ You need a vacuum to deal with pesky hair, either pet or human.  As well as having excellent suction, you won't need to cut the hair out of the brush roll.

DON'T BUY IT IF

❌ You don't want another device to remember to charge. Sometimes a plug-in vacuum suits your lifestyle better.

❌ You're not looking to splash the cash. All of those fancy features come at quite the price.

THE BOTTOM LINE

🔎 The Shark Stratos IZ420UKT is our favourite cordless vacuum, combining wonderful new tech and straightforward power and suction to clean your carpets and floors. It's an all-out winner.

The Shark Stratos range was released in 2022 and goes further than other vacuums to make debris and dust pick-up as seamless as possible. This particular cordless Stratos showed unbelievable suction power during testing, and left carpets visibly cleaner, with no issues with pet hair or human hair. Gone are the days of lengthy maintenance with the Stratos too, with easy-to-clean mechanisms that you'll be unbelievably grateful for. 

Our verdict
There's no doubt that our testing process proved that the Shark Stratos is worth the large price tag. Even if you don't have pets, the ease with which this vacuum does away with hair is astounding, and our Ecommerce Editor Molly found that it was unmatched when it came to suction. 

The capacity of this vacuum to transform into a smaller handheld model is also phenomenal, and you'll be reaching for the smaller attachments all the time to quickly resolve smaller messes all over your home. One non-essential that we are obsessed with is the anti-odour capsules that you can pop into the dustbin. These mean that there are no more musty smells when you're emptying your vac. 

Value for money
You can fork out more for the two-battery Shark Stratos model if you think you need a spare pack on charge while the other is in use, but it's not a necessity if you live in a small or medium-sized home. All in all, this is admittedly a pricier vacuum, but if you can afford it, we're sure it will impress you time and time again. 

Our Shark Stratos IZ420UKT cordless vacuum review has the full details.

Best budget cordless vacuum

2. Vax ONEPWR Blade 5

Best budget cordless vacuum

Specifications

RRP: £450.00
Cordless: Yes
Dust tank capacity: 0.7 litres
Weight: 3.85 kg

Reasons to buy

+
You can get it at a steal of a price on sale
+
Flexible with a large floorhead
+
Impressive battery
+
Good on both carpet and hard floors

Reasons to avoid

-
An extra tool kit will set you back extra
BUY IT IF

✅  You want to spend less time vacuuming. The large floorhead of the Vax Blade 5 means you need to make less passes as you clean.

✅ You want to be able to store your vacuum on the wall. The Blade 5 features a very handy wall mount.

DON'T BUY IT IF

❌ You need the cheapest possible option. We also love the Vax Blade 4 if you want to minimise on cost. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

🔎 The Vax ONEPWR Blade 5 is a super choice if you want to spend a little less than you would on the Stratos and get hold of an excellent perfoming cleaner for your home.

If you're debating buying a new cordless vac, it wouldn't be a surprise if VAX was a brand near the top of your list. We think they deliver consistently great vacuums, which is why we've replaced the Blade 4 in this list with the Blade 5, which has a good number of improvements on its predecessor.

Our verdict
The suction power on the Blade 5 is brilliant, and the oversized floorhead means that you'll be done with swooping around your house or flat in a quick time. The battery life on the Vax Blade 5 gave us absolutely no trouble, and we completed all of the tasks we needed that day without having to return for a second charge. 

Even better, with the Vax Blade 5 you get access to two batteries, which means you should get up to 90 minutes of charge, and you'll never be without your sturdy Vax vac when you need it. The Blade 5 is admittedly a little heavier than its predecessor, but it is brimming with great accessories and comes with a wall mount too, so that storage is straightforward.

Value for money
Both the Vax Blade 4 and the 5 get the great value seal of approval from us - stick with the former if you're on a tight budget, and enjoy the features that come with the upgrade if you can stretch to the ££ of the latter. While the RRP of the Vax Blade 5 looks quite daunting, you can regularly find it on sale for much, much less, which is why we think it's a great choice to look out for if you're on a budget. 

Best cordless vacuum for pets

3. Miele Triflex HX2 Pro Vacuum Cleaner

The best cordless option for homes with pets

Specifications

RRP: £899.00
Cordless: Yes
Dust tank capacity: 0.5litres
Weight : 3.6kg

Reasons to buy

+
Fantastic quality vacuum 
+
Seamless results on hard floor and carpet
+
Great hair pick up 

Reasons to avoid

-
A little tricky to empty
-
Pricier than most
BUY IT IF

✅  You care most about how much power your cordless vacuum has. This is our top pick for suction when it comes to pet hair. 

✅ You want a vacuum you can angle under various furniture. This is a super flexible choice.

DON'T BUY IT IF

❌ You're on a budget. This is a seriously pricey choice.

❌ You want a vacuum that stands up on its own. Due to the top heavy design of this one, it's a bit tricky to lean against walls.

THE BOTTOM LINE

🔎 The Miele Triflex HX2 Vacuum Cleaner is our favourite cordless choice for those with pets. The proof? It's the vacuum of choice of our Editor-in-Chief Heather Young.

The Miele Triflex HX2 Vacuum Cleaner is the most pet-friendly cordless vacuum cleaner we've tried, with a powerful motor to help you banish hair and dirt from your favourite four-legged friends. 

Our verdict
There are two standout features here to love: the unbelievably powerful motor and the very capable floorhead, which whizzed around our testing space picking up a huge amount of hair without getting tangled. 

One drawback with this vacuum is that it's pretty top-heavy, making it harder to manoeuvre than it might need to be. Cleverly you can move the position of the dustbin around to give it more balance, but it's not great at standing up on its own. It's also trickier than it should be to empty the dustbin, which will become annoying pretty quickly if you're cleaning a large space.

Value for money
It's a flexible model, with a great reach to get to every corner of your home and 60 minutes of runtime, so that you can adequately cover all the ground that you need it to. It's also got an auto-adjustment feature, which means that it'll sense the kind of ground it's covering, and amp up the power accordingly. 

It's extremely pricey at near the £800 mark, but the quality of the materials is excellent, and it feels like this is a vacuum that'll help you clean up after your pets for a good few years at the very least.

Best cordless vacuum under £250

Best under £250

Specifications

RRP: £300
Bagged or bagless?: Bagged
Dust tank capacity : 1 litre
Weight : 3.2kg

Reasons to buy

+
Very lightweight and easy to use 
+
Iconic design 
+
Allergy sufferer friendly 
+
Good dust bin capacity 

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacks high-tech features 
BUY IT IF

✅ You want the reliability of a Henry in cordless form. This stick version is just as dependable as the nation's favourite friendly plug-in. 

✅ You have allergies or prefer to use vacuum bags. Lots of people are still pro-bags when it comes to the bagged vs bagless debate, especially if you need to keep dust or pet hair at bay for medical reasons.

DON'T BUY IT IF

❌ You want to avoid a repeat expense. You'll have to replace the vacuum bags you need over time.

❌ You want lots of different modes and features. This is a pretty straightforward model.

THE BOTTOM LINE

🔎 The Henry Quick cordless vacuum cleaner is so simple to use and is available at a truly fantastic price point given the power it packs.

This vacuum is the next chapter in Henry's huge history of influence in cleaning in the UK. With a cordless stick design for the first time, the Henry Quick holds on to all of the iconic branding quirks that we love while packing in respectable suction power and a lightweight design to make your vacuuming routine easier. 

Our verdict
During testing, our Ecommerce Editor Molly found this vacuum to be a super reliable choice. The design was endearing and impressive and will speak to fans of the usual happy-faced Henry vacs that we all know and love. Standout features included just how easy this was vacuum to use, with a two-button control panel, and LED lights that help with cleaning in the evenings. If you love Henry but are a little apprehensive about making the move to a cordless model, this vacuum is a great place to start.

One thing that sets Henry Quick apart from other vacuums on this list is the use of dust bags. You receive 26 of these bags with your Henry and using them most definitely cuts back on dust clouds upon emptying and means you can go longer without needing to empty at all. Allergy sufferers who want to use a cordless vacuum will massively benefit from this type of design, but repurchasing dust bags in the future may not be for everyone.

Value for money
Henry vacuums tend to be very reliable workhorses, and with an RRP of £300 (but easy to find for closer to the £250 mark), you're onto a winner if you want to invest for the long term. The fact that the Quick uses a bagged system may also be a win when it comes to durability, as it means that your vacuum's parts stay cleaner on a day-to-day basis. 

Our NUMATIC Henry Quick cordless vacuum review has the full details.

Best cordless vacuum under £300

Best under £300

Specifications

RRP : £279.00
Bagged or bagless?: Bagless
Dust tank capacity : 0.7 litres
Weight : 3.4kg

Reasons to buy

+
Often on sale for under £300 
+
Design to rival more expensive brands
+
Lightweight, easy to manoeuvre 
+
Good, solid suction power 

Reasons to avoid

-
No extra fancy features
BUY IT IF

✅  You see it on sale. This vacuum is already a bargain price at RRP, so if you see it with a further discount it's definitely worth pouncing.

✅ You have hard floors and carpets at home. We found it worked pretty equally well on both during testing.

DON'T BUY IT IF

❌ You want dedicated pet-specific accessories. This is a great vacuum, but it lacks super technical features.

THE BOTTOM LINE

🔎 The Hoover HF9 is our favourite cordless vacuum under £300, but if you wait around long enough, you can also find it for way less.

The Hoover HF9 doesn't have the lowest RRP of the bunch here, but you can almost always find it on sale for under £300 - and it's a great workhorse for that price. With a design that's pretty similar to high-end brands but without the flourish of high-tech features, it's a solid buy for family homes.

Our verdict
One of the best things our Ecommerce Editor found during testing was the strong suction, which was favourable on hard floors as well as carpets. And, if you turn the controls up to Turbo, you've got a whole new level of power to work with to banish pet hair, dust and all other sorts of gross stuff. 

Ok, so it's not quite at Dyson levels when it comes to high-tech features - no lasers or Piezo sensors in sight - but it is a strong, reliable choice for vacuuming. It's pretty strong when it comes to charging too, with 30 minutes to work with. 

Value for money
It can be tricky to know how much to spend on a cordless vacuum, but if you can pick up the HF9 on sale for around the £240 mark, then you will most definitely get your use out of it in just a couple of years. If this is going to be a supplementary cordless number to ease pressure on your main vacuum, or maybe your first vacuum since you've moved out of your parent's house, it's a great find. 

Our Hoover HF9 Cordless Vacuum review has the full details.

Best cordless vacuum for carpet

Best for carpets

Specifications

RRP: £429.99
Bagged or bagless?: Bagless
Dust tank capacity: 0.6 Ltrs
Weight: 6.2kg

Reasons to buy

+
Seriously high power
+
Liftaway design for cleaning cars or stairs
+
Capable of tackling the whole home

Reasons to avoid

-
Heavy design
BUY IT IF

✅ You want the power of a corded vac without the cord. This is the best of both worlds from Shark.

✅ You'd like an eco-power mode to conserve battery. As it can be annoying to be constantly putting your cordless vac on charge.

DON'T BUY IT IF

❌ You want the newest technology. Though this vacuum is a strong perfomer, it's still pretty pricey considering it's been around for a good while.

THE BOTTOM LINE

🔎 The Shark ICZ300UKT is worth splashing out on if you want an upright cleaner with all the power needed to tackle every floor of your home.

We know it looks like many of Shark's upright vacuum cleaners, but the Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner is completely cordless, with all the power we're used to seeing on plug-in alternatives. It's got a front-facing dustbin that's connected to the filter and battery, and you can lift this away to remove the cleaning unit from the stick and carry the vacuum up the stairs or out to the car.

Our verdict

For a cordless vacuum, the power available to you is astounding. It was brilliant on pet hair when our reviewer Millie put it to the test, and while it's one of the heaviest options on the market, it was up to heavy-duty work and rivalled a corded vacuum in cleaning up the whole home. Millie found the control panel easy to toggle and reported that even the eco power mode, which is the lowest of the three settings, was plenty on tiled floors.

The brush head here is a little clunky and it lacks the nimble motions of stick vacuums, but if you want a cordless vacuum cleaner to stay on top of a busy home with different floor types, you'll love how easily you can switch between hard and soft floors with the touch of a button with this vac.

Value for money
Another pricier option from Shark - but if you're looking for maximum power because you're just going to have one vacuum in the house, then it's worth stretching to the extra expense. 

Our Shark ICZ300UKT cordless vacuum review has the full details.

How we test cordless vacuums

At Ideal Home, we know how important it is to have hands-on experience with the products we recommend to you in our buying guides. That's why, as part of our testing protocol, we've tested every vacuum in this guide for at least two weeks (and at times up to two months) before deciding on why you should buy it for your home. Our in-depth explainer on how we test vacuum cleaners has the full details. 

To get to that verdict, we put these vacuums up against various challenges, from everyday dirt and debris to scattered cereals and pet hair, so you know exactly what you will be getting from the model you choose. 

As well as allowing us to test out the suction, power and various features of this vacuum, we believe testing at home gives us the best chance of seeing how these picks fare in everyday life. Learning how easy these vacuums are to store, clean and use gives us a true idea of what it will be like for you to buy. 

FAQs

When is the best time to buy a cordless vacuum?

You can find cordless vacuums on sale during every month of the year, but there's one period that's more advantageous than any other if you want to get a really great price on this cleaning must-have. 

Yep, we're talking Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, which always fall on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US. Now this shopping event is huge on this side of the pond too, and last year we saw cordless vacuums start to benefit from discounts from the start of November. Our cordless vacuum deals page is always up to date with the best deals, including the best Boxing Day and January sales prices. 

Another good time to shop is on Amazon Prime Day, which in recent years has become a twice-yearly phenomenon, in July and early October. We have no intel yet on when the next event will be, but if you're a Prime member then it's a great time to score money off on a top-rated cordless vacuum.

Do vacuums go on sale for Black Friday?

Yep! We've been covering sales at Ideal Home for years now and can confidently say that big-time discounting happens on vacuums during the November sales period. Last year saw discounts from Shark, Dyson, Vax and more, so it's most definitely a good time to save up and spend. 

What are the different types of cordless vacuum?

  • Stick vacuum cleaners are handhelds that you add a wand to, to extend the reach – then add a brush head to clean floors or a smaller tool for cobwebs and other hard-to-reach spots. They’re fast, manoeuvrable and good for getting under furniture. But the weight is all in your hand, which can be tiring after a while. They often can’t stand up by themselves if you want to pause to move something.
  • 2-in-1 upright vacuum cleaners look more like traditional upright vacuum cleaners. The weight is fairly low down, but the middle section pops out and doubles as a handheld cleaner for small stuff. Often the upright’s handle also pops off and doubles as a wand, giving the handheld extra reach for high-up stuff like cobwebs.

How much should I spend on a cordless vacuum?

Budget around £150 for a good-quality cordless with decent cleaning power. But you can spend more than three times as much on premium models. More money can buy you powerful suction, longer battery life or better tools.

Some of the best cordless vacuums we tested came in at the £250 mark. If you can afford it though, it's worth spending the extra money. More power and longer battery lives will pay off in the long-run, and the convenience of a cordless vacuum won't be outweighed by limited power.

Bagged vs bagless vacuum cleaners: which is better?

It's a tricky choice. On the one hand, bagless vacuums reduce the environmental impact and the expense of buying vacuum bags, only to throw them away. However, removing dirt from a bagless vacuum isn't without its challenges. Hair can get wrapped around the filter and you'll likely let off a bit of a dust cloud. Of course, brands like Dyson are constantly developing solutions to this. The new Dyson range has ejector technology that makes emptying the dustbin completely hands-free. For this tech though, you will have to pay a little more.

We think these cordless vacuums are the very best on the market, and will make your cleaning schedule much easier to manage. From storage to accessories, we think there's bound to be an option in this list to suit you.

Molly Cleary
Ecommerce Editor

After writing for all of Future's Homes titles, Molly is now an Ecommerce Editor at Ideal Home, working across a range of shopping content to find the best buys for your space. Previously, she was the Staff Writer at TopTenReviews, another Future site, where she covered home content, which to a US audience is anything from turkey fryers to ride-on lawn mowers. Now, she spends her time writing reviews of appliances she’s tested at home and at our testing facility (we're talking air fryers, vacuums, dehumidifiers and more!), as well as curating buying guides. She's a certified Consumer Expert for several product categories after passing a five-step program including hands-on experience, consumer interviews and extensive research into her specialist areas including kitchen appliances and vacuums.