A look at the best Dyson vacuum cleaners, from cordless sticks to corded uprights
There aren’t many vacuum cleaner brands that can match Dyson when it comes to recognizability, and for good reason. We’ve tested over 90 vacuum cleaners so far, and Dyson’s offerings have consistently impressed us with their innovative and intelligent designs.
Famous for its bagless vacuum cleaners that use cyclonic separation to remove dust from the air stream, Dyson has a range of stick and upright vacuums to suit all households and their needs. However, with such a broad and varied catalog of models, it can be tough to pick the best Dyson vacuum for you.
To help you choose, we’ve put together mini reviews of the very best Dyson vacuum cleaners across a range of budgets. This is followed by a buying guide, outlining a few key considerations and the various categories of cleaner to choose from.
How we test Dyson vacuum cleaners
We test Dyson’s vacuum cleaners in the same way that we test all vacuum cleaners: with a series of hands-on tests that truly test their mettle. Using these results we can compare Dyson’s latest vacuum cleaners with previous models and see how they fare against their rivals.
Upright and cordless cleaners are tested on both carpet and hard floor. We test them with a trio of tricky substances: flour, Cheerios, and pet hair. We drop measured quantities of these onto both types of surface and weigh the collection bins before and after they have made a single pass over the mess to see how much they collect.
We also measure the suction each vacuum is capable of and, if it’s a cordless model, we test the battery life by running it constantly from a full charge until the battery runs out. Both of these tests are carried out on each vacuum’s most powerful and most efficient settings.
Robot vacuum cleaners are tested in a similar way, using rice, flour, and pet hair on both carpet and hard floor. Extra tests are performed with these devices to see how good they are at navigating, mapping, and dealing with a variety of obstacles.
We also use the vacuum cleaner to do our own cleaning at home over a period of time, to see how useful and practical they are in everyday life.
The best Dyson vacuum cleaners you can buy in 2024
1. Dyson V8: Best-value Dyson vacuum cleaner
Price when reviewed: $449 | Check price at Amazon
The Dyson V8 is an affordable cordless stick vacuum cleaner, starting at $470. The V8 features a design that will be familiar to users of the older V7, with a side-on collection bin and a trigger controller. However, the V8 has more power (115AW) and a longer battery life (40 mins).
The latest models come with Dyson’s hair-detangling floor head, which combs the brushes of its rotating brush bar as the vacuum cleans, ensuring that hair doesn’t get tangled.
The standard V8 is ideal if you have a relatively small living space that’s mostly carpeted. If you have mostly hard floors, we suggest seeking out the V8 Absolute, which comes with an additional fluffy roller.
Key specs – Dimensions (WDH): 9.8 x 8.7 x 49.5in; Weight: 5.6lb; Bin capacity: 0.14 gallon; Vacuum type: Cordless stick; Bagless: Yes; Suction power – stated: 115AW
2. Dyson V15 Detect Absolute: Best overall Dyson vacuum cleaner
Price when reviewed: $750 | Check price at Dyson
To date, each new generation of Dyson cordless stick vacuum cleaner has bettered the previous, but with the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, the company has taken things a few steps further.
Naturally, this model brings an increase in the suction, with the stated suction power upgraded to 240 air watts, compared to the 185 air watts in the equivalent V11. We tried to measure the airflow using an anemometer, but the vacuum’s most powerful setting maxed out our measurement device with its intense updraft.
But the headline innovations in this model are actually located in its motorized heads. The Absolute model comes with three in the box: a hard floor head with a laser that highlights the dust on your floor to provide proof of your clean; a hair screw tool that combs hair from itself as it vacuums your carpets; and a smaller motorized head for furniture and stairs that has a unique corkscrew-shaped brush that also releases hair from itself as it spins.
The screen on the vacuum unit also has new features and while it still helps you choose your cleaning mode and shows you how long your battery has left, it also reports on how well the V15 is cleaning your home and what kind of dust and dirt particles it’s collecting.
Put it all together and you have the best Dyson you can buy: its most powerful cleaner to date, coupled with new technology that we found genuinely useful.
Key specs – Dimensions (WDH): 9.8 x 10.5 x 49.6in; Weight: 6.8lb; Bin capacity: 0.2 gallon; Vacuum type: Cordless stick; Bagless: Yes; Suction power – stated: 240AW
