The Best Vacuum Cleaners for All Types of Floors and Homes

Shark’s Apex boasts the best brush roll that self cleans and can handle both carpets and hard floors. In Good Housekeeping’s testing, this vacuum not only performed highly in the cleaning test but was also one of the quietest models. It can convert from upright to canister use with all the expected accessories, and we love that the vacuum is sealed with a washable HEPA filter.

Eufy is one of the best budget-friendly robot vacuum brands, and the RoboVac G30 offers smart mapping abilities, good navigation skills, and a convenient low-profile design, all for a reasonable price. (It’s worth noting that you can find some robot vacuums under $200, but most of them don’t have smart capabilities and clean in a random pattern, bouncing off obstacles and zigzagging across the room.) The G30 is less than 3 inches tall, which means it fits under most furniture, and it even provides an automatic boost of suction on carpeting for a more thorough clean.

When I think of canister vacuums, Miele comes to mind, and I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one. The brand is known for its extremely powerful, well-designed canister vacuums, and the Classic C1 is, well, a classic. It has six suction power settings, including options for hard floors, rugs, and even furniture, and the floor head has a toggle switch that you can operate with your foot, switching between cleaning carpeting and hard floors easily. This canister vacuum captures dirt and debris in its self-sealing dust bags, and you’ll be able to clean for longer before needing to do any maintenance.

If you like the idea of a canister vacuum but don’t want to buy vacuum bags, the Bissell Zing Canister Vacuum has a convenient bagless design. It’s lightweight, which makes it easy to maneuver around your home, and despite its affordable price point, it packs a punch with suction power. There’s a switch on the vacuum head that makes it easy to switch between vacuuming hard floors and carpeting, and the vacuum even has an automatic cord rewind—a feature often reserved for more expensive models. However, the construction of this vacuum does feel somewhat cheap, and some people find the curved wand awkward to use.

Dyson is the top brand when it comes to cordless stick vacuums, and I’ve personally tested several of the current models. The V15 Detect stands out thanks to its impressive suction power, which rivals that of some full-size vacuums, and its laser dirt detection. When the Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head is attached, the vacuum uses a green laser to light up your floors, revealing every spec of dirt, dust, and hair. It also comes with a separate brush head for carpeting, which has a de-tangling mechanism that prevents pet hair from getting wrapped around the brushroll. On its normal setting, this vacuum can run for around 20-30 minutes per charge, and the Fluffy brush bar can actually be washed to get dust and dirt off.

I’ve owned the Dyson V8 stick vacuum for more than four years, and it’s so great for picking up dog hair that I actually purchased a second one for my home. This stick vacuum is quite affordable as Dysons go, and it’s lightweight, making it easy for anyone to use. It comes with a variety of attachments, including a mini motorized tool that’s perfect for getting pet hair off furniture, and a Direct Drive cleaner head, which works amazingly well on high-pile carpeting. However, if you have a lot of hard floors in your home, you might want to spend a little more for the Dyson V8 Absolute, which includes a soft brushroll that picks up small particles better, as well as several other attachments.

A handheld vacuum like the Dustbuster AdvancedClean is ideal for cleaning up small messes—spilled food, clumps of dirt, pet hair, and so on. It has a compact and lightweight design so that you can easily store it in a closet. The vacuum also offers several useful features, such as a rotating nozzle, flip-up brush tool, and washable dustbin. Just keep in mind that handheld vacuums like this have fairly short battery life, so you’ll likely only get 10 to 15 minutes of runtime per charge.

Roomba, now owned by Amazon, has always been one of the top robot vacuum brands, and the j7+ is one of the best options out there today. This robot vacuum has several features that make it stand out from many others—first, it has a self-emptying dustbin that holds up to 60 days worth of debris but is still fairly compact, and second, it’s better at avoiding obstacles like power cords and the ever-dreaded pet waste, meaning you don’t have to clean up as much before it runs. Plus, the Roomba app is extremely intuitive and easy to use, and you can easily set up cleaning schedules and direct your robot to clean just one room, if needed.

If you want a more affordable cordless model, the Hoover ONEPWR is a reliable pick. It’s sleek and lightweight, at under 9 pounds, and can transition to multiple surface types. For homes with pets, this vacuum has an antimicrobial pet filter and brush roll, and the brush roll is completely removable for easy cleaning. The brand claims the battery will last for up to 35 minutes per charge, and unlike most cordless stick vacuums, this model is able to stand up on its own, saving you from having to lean it on things when you take a break from cleaning.

If you’ve ever tried to vacuum up cat litter or other small particles, only to have your vacuum shoot them all over the floor, you’ll appreciate this upright vacuum from Bissell. Its brushroll is specially designed to reduce scatter on hard floors, allowing you to clean up your home in fewer passes. The vacuum also features on-board storage for its various accessories, saving you the hassle of finding somewhere to store them. While affordable, the Bissell has plastic materials that might feel somewhat lower-quality compared to what you get with a more expensive vacuum, but it will certainly get the job done.