The best vacuum cleaners 2023

Samsung’s latest cordless cleaner is the Bespoke take on its Jet vacuum cleaner.

The Bespoke Jet builds on all the features that made the Jet 90 a really effective cleaner: it’s powerful, modular, comes with well-designed cleaning accessories, has a swappable battery, digital display and washable filter. It’ll give you 50 minutes of cleaning time on its lowest setting and will charge in 3.5 hours.

But the real selling point of the Bespoke is the fact that you won’t need to find a dark corner to store it. The completely redesigned dock is slim and attractive, and it not only charges the cleaner but will empty it via suction as well. 

Our only issue with the vacuum itself is that it feels heavier than its 6lbs (2.72lbs with its main cleaning head), something that’s compounded by its uncomfortable grip.

But we do have to take issue with Samsung’s definition of Bespoke: in the UK, you can’t just choose the colour option you’d like from Woody Green, Midnight Blue and Misty White – each of the three colour options is a different model with a different price point and accessories. 

This is a great product, at a great price, particularly when compared to market-leading brands. Capsule is an independently designed and produced vacuum cleaner, the creation of an engineer with two decades of industry experience.

Cordless, manoeuvrable and very light at 2.6kg – thanks to its carbon-fibre shell – it has the power of an upright and some very nice design features that set it apart from competitors.

Its specifications are also an improvement on those of rival products. Capsule needs three hours to charge its lithium-ion batteries and after that will run for at least half an hour without a loss of suction. It also has a dust-collection capacity of 1.6 litres.

Replacement parts are easily available and Capsule’s makers encourage you to send it in for servicing, so it’s both environmentally friendly and budget friendly as well. 

There are no bells and whistles, just solid cleaning power. We’d highly recommended it for smaller homes, flats or as a versatile handheld.   

The latest Dyson vacuum cleaner not only ups the power (from the V11’s 185AW to 240AW) but adds totally new technology in the form of a green laser, which illuminates dust that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. Bear in mind that this is only effective on hard floors, not on carpets.

But that’s not all. A piezo sensor links to the LCD screen, showing the size and volume of dust particles captured, allowing you to see exactly how much dirt you’ve sucked up. Is it a bit of a gimmick? Maybe, but it’s pretty addictive to use and gives you a sense of a job well done. The screen also displays arguably more useful info, such as the battery life and troubleshooting help.

On the minus side, the battery will only last you for about 20 minutes if you’re using the High Torque head in Auto mode and it then takes 4.5 hours to charge. A second battery will solve this problem but will add to the V15 Detect’s already significant price.

This flagship cordless Shark vacuum is filled with great features but signIficantly undercuts its rival Dyson on price. It comes complete with LED headlights to help you to spot dust and hair you’d otherwise miss, plus its ‘Clean Sense IQ’ tech will ramp up the power when it finds more dirt to tackle. It also comes complete with anti-odour cartridges to combat the musty smell you may associate with vacuuming.

Plus, it has some of Shark’s best-ever features, such as the jointed wand that will let you vacuum under your bed or sofa without stooping and its anti-hair wrap technology.

We only had a couple of complaints: it’s a fairly heavy vacuum and the battery life didn’t last as long as it should. Still, it does have a swappable battery, so if you don’t mind buying a second one, you’ll be able to get around this problem.

Corded vacuum cleaners are making it back into this round-up as brands are releasing more innovative designs. That’s certainly the case with Miele’s Boost CX1, a corded vacuum cleaner with many of the design features of a cordless, including a bagless system, adjustable wand length and 360° manoeuvrability. 

It’s a very compact canister vacuum (its body can sit within the footprint of an open magazine) with impressive suction and an automatically retracting cord. 

It telescoping wand means you’ll be able to remove cobwebs from your ceilings with the vacuum on the floor. However, even though it has a useful carry handle on top, it’ll still feel heavy if your stairs aren’t deep enough to stand it on while you vacuum. And, although it has the power to clean carpets, it’s not as easy to use as it is on hard flooring. 

Still, if you have a smaller place and are looking for a compact alternative to a corded vacuum, with better cleaning power, this well-made, well-priced appliance should be a contender. Don’t buy it if you have acres of carpet though.

If you have a lot of hard flooring – whether its floorboards, laminate, tile or vinyl – it’s well worth considering buying the Ultenic AC1. It’s not for carpet but it will replace your usual vacuum on hard surfaces, as well as mopping the floor at the same time. We were blown away by how easy it is to use and how effective it is.

It also has some fantastic tech features: an LCD display, app compatibility and a voice assistant. Even better, when you dock it to charge, it’ll automatically clean and dry its roller brush.

It has a swappable battery and buying a second one costs much less than one for a regular vacuum. It’s around $59.99/£39.99 (Ultenic in the US; Amazon UK).

It’s not perfect, however. Even though its self-drive feature gives it a forward propulsion that makes cleaning easier in one direction, you’ll have to work harder to drag it back, so it’s not suitable for someone elderly or infirm. And its poorly translated user manual means that a couple of its features are mysterious, even after use.

This is a brilliantly designed vacuum cleaner for hard floors. Its manoeuvrability takes a lot of the labour out of vacuuming.

But it is specialist vacuum cleaner. It won’t be ideal if you have (for example) a large, fluffy dog as pet fur is likely to clog up the tiny bin and get tangled in the casters that give the Omni-glide its impressive moves.

Still, if you have a city pad, or if you’re looking for a second vacuum cleaner as a kitchen runaround, we’d recommend it. 

This high-quality cleaner would be an excellent option for people with larger homes who are looking to replace their upright with something cordless. However, we’d recommend investing in a second battery, or buying the Pro model, which comes with one.

The TriFlex is a solidly built appliance that we would expect to last for a very long time. As a trade-off, it’s heavier than the Dyson V11 and the Samsung Jet 90. This isn’t an issue in Comfort mode, which is where the TriFlex really comes into its own and beats the competition hands-down (and, in fact, hands-off). It bears its own weight and will stand up by itself, unlike most other stick cleaners, so it has all of the advantages of an upright cleaner, without the cord.

However, in its Range and Compact modes, it’s a little heavier than competing stick/handheld cleaners. But if you want a replacement for an upright, with the versatility you need to clean upholstery, blinds and curtains, the TriFlex is our recommended option.

Henry is a classic for a reason, and if you’re looking for a hardy, large capacity vacuum cleaner, it should be high on your list. Its six-litre capacity gives you around five times as much potential vacuuming as most cordless models before you need to change the bag. Bear in mind that this also means that it can get very heavy: the machine and kit weigh 7.5kg alone, so it can be a bit of a pain to drag around. But that’s one of the few downsides of this reliable workhorse cleaner.

It has a long 26.1m reach, an accessory set for upholstery (and more) which is stored onboard and is effective and easy to use.

Added to that its very reasonable price point, and you can see why it’s such a favourite.

The Cyclone V10 is undeniably a phenomenal cordless vacuum. It packs more than enough power to justify the steep price, with three settings, multiple attachments, and a slick design with added options like wall-mounting.

The hour-long battery life (less on higher speeds) isn’t quite enough to clean a big house top-to-bottom, and the weight will also be an issue if you’re trying to clean for that long anyway – but for most people, this will be plenty.

Just stick to the Animal model, and resist paying over the odds for unnecessary add-ons in the Absolute and Total Clean versions.