The 11 Best Vacuum Cleaners of 2022

Every Saturday morning, without fail, our chore was to vacuum the house. Our mother instilled in us a sense of pride in a job well done, and when it came to vacuuming that meant really clean and neat vacuuming lines in the carpet. Is there any better sight?

No? That’s just us? Moving on, then.

We still have to use our vacuum cleaner often, thanks in large part to our wonderful, double-coated, part Labrador, part German Shepherd dog, a beautiful combination of the top two highest shedding dogs in the AKC. We love him, but he creates a number of dog hair tumbleweeds on a weekly basis that need, well, vacuuming.

The Carpet and Rug Institute promotes the regular use of your vacuum cleaner as a way to keep your carpet looking new. Carpet is an investment and regular vacuuming is likened to changing the oil in your car — the maintenance will extend the life of your carpet. Regular vacuuming removes soil and dirt that can stain and damage your carpet. The CRI recommends daily vacuuming in high traffic areas, and twice a week in lighter traffic areas.

And experts agree that vacuuming your home on a regular basis is good for your health. More than 50 million people in the US suffer from allergies, the sixth highest cause of chronic illness, costing us more than $18 billion a year. Using a quality vacuum with a good filtration system will vacuum up dust, mites, hair, and pet dander, as well as other seasonal allergens like pollen.

That’s all to say when it comes to vacuuming, we consider ourselves something of an expert. We’ve tried multiple brands and styles of vacuums on multiple surfaces, and realized sometimes there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to choosing the best vacuum cleaner for your life. Where once we had a large and powerful vacuum cleaner and wall-to-wall carpet, we now need a smaller, more lightweight stick vacuum. With mostly hardwoods, a giant vacuum cleaner might be overkill or worse, damage the floor surface.

We’ve assembled a list of some of the best vacuums out there, in our experience and in the experience of a number of reviewers. Here are our choices for the best of the best in residential vacuum cleaners.

The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.

Best Upright Vacuum Cleaners

Dyson Ball Animal 2 ($499.99; dyson.com)

As one of the most popular Dyson models, this vacuum cleaner does it all. The Ball Technology makes it more maneuverable, which is a complaint we’ve heard often about some upright vacuum cleaners. The Dyson motor is pretty powerful and that paired with this proprietary tech, makes it works on all kinds of flooring. It comes with several hand tools, including one that removes pet hair from upholstery and a high reach wand for cleaning ceiling corners.

The Ball Animal 2, like all Dyson vacuums. are bagless and luckily emptying the canister is fairly easy. It’s done with just one hand and the push of a single button. One of our favorite features is the washable filter, which means no replacement parts to order. It rinses under water in the sink, dries, and is ready to be used again. Lastly at 17 pounds, it’s a pretty average size for an upright vacuum, but the power of the motor makes it easy to use and navigate around your home.

Shark Vertex ($499.80; sharkclean.com)

Shark is a pretty powerful name in vacuum cleaners that sometimes gets eclipsed by Dyson. This Shark Vertex can stand up to any comparison. Our favorite feature is the brush roll instead of bristles. Why? Well, bristles can trap hair and roll it around the bar, which needs cleaning on a regular basis. The brush roll is self-cleaning, so hair won’t wrap around the bar. That feature alone is worth checking out, especially for folks with pets.

It comes with a washable, anti-allergen HEPA filter and a rather large capacity dust cup, so you don’t have to empty it every five minutes. The power is nice and for some reviewers almost a little too powerful, as it takes a bit to get used to the pull on this model. That just means it’s busy sucking up all the dirt and debris in your carpet.

Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet ($118.44; bissell.com or amazon.com)

Bissell vacuums are less expensive than Dyson or Shark, and they’re slightly less powerful, but they’re more maneuverable and are a great choice for pet owners who aren’t ready to pay $500 for a vacuum cleaner. At around $120, this CleanView Swivel is easy to carry up and down stairs, has powerful pet hair pick up, and a washable filter, which is important to those of us with allergies. And as a company, Bissell created their own foundation that to date has awarded more than $18M in grants to support animal shelters, spay and neuter programs, and microchipping, so if you’re an animal lover, this might make the decision for you.

Hoover MAXLife Elite ($129.99, originally $179.99; amazon.com)

Also one of the less expensive uprights, the Hoover MAXLife Elite picks up pet hair like it’s a full time job. Hoover put a carbon filter in this to help eliminate pet odors which can linger in a vacuum cleaner, making vacuuming unpleasant at best. The extra-large dirt cup means fewer trips to the garbage to empty, getting your vacuuming done in less time. The biggest complaint from reviewers was the brush bar, which does not stop rotating when the vacuum is upright, so you’ll have to be careful where you park the vacuum when using the extending hose and tools.

Best Stick Vacuum Cleaners

Dyson V8 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner ($349.99, originally $449.99; dyson.com)

At somewhere around $500 (but generally on sale for $399), this is a pretty expensive stick vacuum cleaner, but it is a Dyson, and they tend to be worth the extra money. In addition, it transforms into a hand-held vacuum cleaner, so it’s like having two-in-one. As a Dyson, it’s put through extensive testing, including 290 miles of pushing, so it’s likely this will last you longer than your carpet. We’re also impressed by the accessories, including what they call an “up top” adapter, which allows cleaning in hard to reach areas (like the tops of ceiling fans).

Shark Cordless Pet Plus ($349.99; sharkclean.com)

This is our personal favorite, and similar to the older model we use at home. For a cordless stick vacuum, it’s got a lot of power, and transitions well from hard floor surface to rugs and carpet. The new flexible silicone fins on the roller replaced a traditional brush roll, and keeps the dreaded hair wrap from occurring. It’s lightweight at just under eight pounds, and when fully charged will clean for up to 40 minutes. We think the canister could be a little bigger, as we find ourselves emptying it often, but we forgive it because of the great job it does vacuuming up pet hair and dirt.

Bissell PowerEdge ($257.49; bissell.com)

The PowerEdge vacuum has some really neat features, like the edge cleaning brushes, which help you get those pesky crumbs under the cabinets in the kitchen, for example. The dirt tank is pretty sizable, and at 30 minutes average run time, it will run long enough to clean a small condo. However, this stick vacuum is only for hardwood floors, which has some advantages. The brush roll, made specifically for hard flooring, is more gentle than some other stick vacuums made for both hard floors and carpet. That can keep your vacuum from damaging the finish on some softer hardwoods. It also converts to a handheld vacuum cleaner, with extended reach capabilities. Reviewers loved how lightweight it is and several mentioned it was perfect for the elderly or those with back issues.

Hoover ONEPWR Blade MAX ($289.95, originally $414.99; amazon.com)

This might be the best of both worlds, mixing carpet and hardwoods. The Hoover comes with a standard brush roll, but also a microfiber hard floor nozzle that is more gentle to hardwoods than a traditional brush roll. It also comes with a few additional tools like a pet hair tool, an upholstery tool, a dusting brush and a crevice tool. It also comes with two batteries, which if timed right can double the standard run time of around 45 minutes.

Best Handheld Vacuum Cleaners

As a note, we didn’t include Dyson in this category because they don’t make a specific handheld vacuum cleaner. All of their cordless stick vacuum cleaners convert to a hand-held vacuum. Here we focused on models that are specifically designed for handheld use.

Shark WANDVAC ($129.99; sharkclean.com)

This sleek handheld vacuum is good looking enough to leave out on a counter for all to see. They’re slim, lightweight, and perfect for cleaning up small messes in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom. It’s also small enough to get into crevices in your car, and comes with an even smaller crevice tool to get in those impossible to reach areas. One reviewer uses theirs around bird cages, because it’s quiet enough not to startle the birds while it picks up errant seeds.

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Handheld ($72.09, originally $79.95; bissell.com or amazon.com)

At three pounds, it’s a little heavier than the Shark, but it’s also a bigger vacuum with more dirt capacity, meaning fewer trips to empty the bin, but it is a two-step, two-handed process. It’s fairly powerful, for a handheld, and like other Bissells it is designed with pet hair in mind. We’ve used it before, an earlier generation, and it’s important to keep the filters clean and replace them. That's a disadvantage to this model, as the filters are not washable and the mesh filter frame is a little fragile.

Hoover ONEPWR Cordless Handheld ($89.99, originally $99.99; amazon.com)

A lithium ION battery powers this nifty Hoover handheld vacuum cleaner, and if you have a series of ONEPWR products, the batteries are interchangeable and rechargeable. Reviewers report a longer than average usage time, up to an hour depending on how it’s used, and that it’s perfect to keep around a litter box for cleaning up the spillover. It only comes with one attachment, a crevice tool, but it lives on the unit itself so it’s always handy.

Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.