The Best Vacuum Cleaners

If you want an affordable, versatile vacuum cleaner—nothing fancy, but something dependably solid—look for a bagless upright vacuum that costs about $150. It will work well for most people in most homes. (The Shark Navigator line has been our favorite for this style for many years.) But if you’re looking for something different, we’ve also rounded up the best of the rest—from cordless sticks and long-lasting canisters to cheap handhelds and even robots—for all types of homes.

Best Overall Vacuum: An Affordable,

The best affordable bagless uprights work well with just about any type of vacuumable debris (stanley 2.8 hp shop vac filter) 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 in the $150 range work almost as well as the strongest overall vacuums (like Miele canisters, among some others), often for much less than half the cost. They’re easier to maintain than cheaper uprights and most canister vacuums, and should last longer than all but the sturdiest high-end machines. Read more about the best upright vacuums.

Consider an Affordable Bagless Upright Vacuum if:

You want quality 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’ll avoid cleaning because you need to unravel the cord. No shame! Cordless vacuums and robot vacuums are a lot more convenient to use. They do cost a lot more than plug-ins with similar cleaning power, though.

You have delicate flooring. If you have hand-knotted rugs, or soft wood or tile that’s prone to scratching, you might want a canister vacuum with a cleaning head that’s designed for these surfaces.

Upgrade Pick: A Deep-Cleaning, Long Lasting

If you like your 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. It’s a big investment, but it can pay off in the long run.

The best canister vacs are arguably the best vacuum cleaners. Their big, high-suction motors and versatile, adjustable cleaning heads do an excellent job cleaning all types of floors (even delicate or high-pile rugs) without being too unwieldy to handle, since the weight is distributed among their different parts. They should last for at least a decade (usually much longer), and tend to do an excellent job of maintaining great indoor air quality—though you’ll need to pay for fresh bags and filters every few months for as long as you own the vacuum. Read more about the best canister vacuums.

Also Great: A Convenient Cordless Stick Vacuum

For most people, great cordless vacuum cleaners are now strong enough to replace plug-in vacuums. But cordless vacs cost more, they don’t last as long, and unless you spring for a really high-end model, they may not have enough run time to clean big homes in a single pass.

All that said, cordless vacuums make it so easy to clean that you may just be fine with those tradeoffs. They’re especially life-changing if you live in an apartment or smaller house with a cramped floor plan, because they’re so 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 models are strong enough to clean as well or nearly as well as plug-ins, even on most types of rugs.

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

If you’re interested in a robot vacuum and willing to pay for one, then hell yeah, get one. They don’t clean rugs as deeply as traditional vacuums do, and they never navigate perfectly (though some are getting pretty close). But they can keep your floors tidy, with very little effort and oversight on your part. They’re particularly advantageous for pet owners, but most people are pleasantly surprised by how much stuff robot vacuums manage to pick up.