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From Dyson to Miele, these expert-tested stick vacs will leave your house looking spick and span.

Vacuuming is arguably one of the most satisfying household chores, but lugging a heavy, corded upright up and down stairs soon gets tedious. Ditto all that plugging and unplugging as you move between rooms. Enter the best cordless vacuum cleaners, or stick vacs, to save both time and your back.

These lightweight models run on rechargeable batteries, most convert into a handheld, and some can be mounted on the wall for easy storage – hurrah!

Naturally, you should expect to pay more for a powerful stick with a long battery life and plenty include attachments (think furniture brushes and crevice tools), but there are options for all needs and budgets. Case in point, there’s a great Hoover on our list for just £99!

Here at House Beautiful, we take shopping seriously, particularly when there are big bucks at play. To find the best cordless vacuum cleaners you can buy, our dedicated testing team put 52 sticks to the test to find the top picks for cleaning carpet, hard floors, cars and more. Got pets or a large family? No problem, we’ve got you covered too.

But first, consider whether a cordless vacuum cleaner is for you. While we find them the superlative choice for convenience, if you have a bigger home, you may find frequently emptying the dust canister and regularly recharging the battery annoying. Unless you can stump up for the new Dyson Outsize Absolute, that is. If that's too pricey, try a cylinder model, like this impressive Sebo Airbelt E3.

Dead set on a stick? Consider the following factors before you 'add to trolley':

Weight: Bear in mind that anything over 3kg will feel heavy, while bottom-heavy designs will be the easiest on your arms.

Battery life: This varies between models, but you should get at least 40 minutes of use in standard power mode. Consider the recharging time, too, as this ranges from 2.5 to 6 hours – that's quite some difference! Some pricier models feature battery indicators that count down your remaining juice so you won’t get caught short moments before guests arrive (it's always the way). Others boast efficient sensory technology that auto-adjusts the power to suit the floor type.

Bagged or bagless: If you suffer from allergies or simply find emptying dust canisters too messy, you may prefer a bagged vacuum – you simply replace the bag once it's full, without needing to touch the dirt.

Included attachments: These can be a blessing and a curse – the former if you’ll genuinely use them all, but very much the latter if storage space is at a premium. Before splashing your cash on a stick that comes with a huge range of tools, make sure it suits your lifestyle. Mini motorised pet brushes, crevice tools and upholstery brushes can be particularly useful, but you might not need much else.

Our expert testers put 52 cordless vacuum cleaners through their paces on carpet, hard floors and laminate. Firstly, they laid down a specially designed formulation of dust (told you they were experts) and weighed how much each stick collected within a set number of sweeps.

Next, they ground fur collected from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (again, this is commitment) into carpet before testing its pet hair pickup. They also gauged how well it picked up crumbs, particularly when used as a handheld.

Lastly, our trusty team judged how lightweight each model felt to manoeuvre between rooms and on stairs and how easily it tackled crevices in the car. Design, innovative features, ease of use and value for money were all taken into account when compiling their top 12.

Ready to give Mrs Hinch a run for her money in the cleaning stakes?

This slick stick scored a perfect 10 for its cleaning performance, lifting close to all dirt from our carpet, floorboards and laminate and banishing pet hair in a single sweep.

If you have a lot of house to hoover, its battery life was the best on test; it lasted an impressive 37 minutes when used as we would at home, across various surfaces and speeds. It takes four hours to recharge, but it comes with a spare battery so you can simply swap them over.

You’ll find all the gear you’ll actually use in the box, including a crevice tool for nooks and crannies and an anti-allergen brush for sofas. It folds in half for stress-free storage, even in small flats.

Key specs Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.7 litres Weight: 4.58kg Running time: Up to 60 minutes Recharging time: 4 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Crevice tool, multi surface tool, anti allergen brush, pet tool, accessory bag

Have you ever seen a more beautiful cordless vacuum cleaner? This luxury, lightweight Samsung looks so stylish, we’d happily leave it out on display. And yes, it’s got substance too.

It moved effortlessly across all flooring, sucking up almost every speck of dust. It lifted both pet hair and back-of-the-sofa biscuit crumbs with ease and proved well-designed for cleaning stairs, with a long extension nozzle for tackling those hard-to-reach spots. Once you’re done, simply push a button and it’ll dump its contents into the included two-litre docking station.

Its battery life felt a bit lacklustre, lasting 19 minutes over a mix of speeds and surfaces, but you get two batteries for your buck and they can recharge simultaneously. A digital display tells you how much juice remains, too.

Key specs Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.5 litres Weight: 2.7kg Running time: Up to 60 minutes Recharging time: 3.5 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Combination tool, crevice tool, flexible tool, jet dual brush, pet hair tool, sweeper, upholstery tool

Neat, nimble and not a total nightmare for your bank balance, this great value cordless vac is an agile joy to use both in stick and handheld form. It has a clever flexible wand that bends in the middle, allowing you to clean under low furniture without having to move it.

It performed brilliantly on hard flooring, leaving next to no dirt in its wake, but struggled slightly with deeper-set dust and pet hair on carpet. It lasted a respectable 23 minutes on high power and the digital display not only shows how much battery life is left, but also the power mode you’re in.

Though slightly basic and plasticky in build, its compact size makes it a top pick for freshening up stairs and cars, and the included wall-mounted dock features enough space to store all the bits and bobs.

Key specs Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.45 litres Weight: 3kg Running time: Up to 45 minutes Recharging time: 4 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Motorised bed nozzle, flexible tube, brush nozzle, crevice nozzle

This is another high-end choice, but Dyson’s new hero model has a huge capacity and packs a lot of power. Smartly designed as ever, it gobbled up more dust than we had laid from long pile carpet, and made light work of pesky pet hair.

It lasted for a strong 34 minutes when used across a range of surfaces and settings, and over an hour on eco mode. A digital display accurately counted down the battery life, and once again, you get two batteries.

It comes with a raft of useful add-ons, including a dusting brush and crevice tool, and you can clip two to the unit for easier access while cleaning. It’s heavy at just over 3.5kg, but it’s the stand-out choice for bigger homes.

Key specs Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 1.9 litres Weight: 3.56kg Running time: Up to 120 minutes Recharging time: 4.5 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Cleaner head, combination tool, crevice tool, hair screw tool, dusting brush

If it’s value for money you’re after (and frankly, who isn’t?), then this compact, ultralight Hoover offers it in spades.

It scored full marks in most of our pick-up tests, especially when faced with pet hair, which its rotating floorhead brush nipped out in a flash. This, coupled with its handheld turbo brush, makes it a top pick for anyone with furry friends in the family.

It made light work of crumbs and fine dust, but its crevice tool is a tad stumpy. It's a shame it takes so long to recharge (six hours, groan), but our testers loved that it stood up on its own, without toppling over.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.45 litres Weight: 2.2kg Running time: Up to 40 minutes Recharging time: 6 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Crevice tool, 2-in-1 dusting and upholstery tool, mini turbo brush

The clue’s in the name that this stick is aimed at pet owners, but it's also a reliable choice for anyone with mostly carpeted rooms. It sucked up every speck of dirt in a single swipe to leave ours looking pristine, with the boost mode proving remarkably punchy for a cordless model.

It fared well as a handheld, too, banishing leaves and small stones from our car's interior, but angle it slightly away from the floor to pick up crumbs more efficiently.

The dust canister is a breeze to empty and it’s three-hour recharge time is, relatively, pretty speedy, making this a solid all-round buy at a reasonable price.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.6 litres Weight: 3.1kg Running time: Up to 45 minutes Recharging time: 3 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Crevice tool, dusting brush, mini motorised pet brush

Time is of the essence for many of us, which is why we squawked with glee upon discovering that this mid-range Vax takes just two-and-a-half hours to recharge (one on our list takes six, so this is excellent).

It impressed throughout testing but most excelled on hard floors, displaying near-perfect pick-up and sending all pet hair packing in one to two sweeps. Pushing a button on the battery tells you how much juice is left and it can be wall-mounted to save cupboard space.

The only downside is its weight, which just surpasses our 3kg limit for prolonged comfortable use.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.6 litres Weight: 3.1kg Running time: Up to 40 minutes Recharging time: 2.5 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Crevice tool, dusting brush, mini motorised pet brush

Let’s get our niggle out of the way early doors – this Hoover will cut out after 35 minutes, which is the shortest run time on our roundup. If you can overlook that, perhaps due to living in a flat, then this cordless vacuum cleaner is a bargain.

For under £100, you get a generous array of attachments, including a tool for dusting radiators, and smartphone connectivity that lets you check the battery status, filter condition and monitor how many calories you’re burning as you vacuum.

Our testers raved about its pick-up on both hard floors and carpet, and found its extra-long, bendy crevice tool notably handy when cleaning the car. In short, it’s a star of a steal.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.7 litres Weight: 2.75kg Running time: Up to 35 minutes Recharging time: 5 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Crevice tool, 2-in-1 large dusting and furniture brush, mini turbo nozzle, radiator tool, deep cleaning brush

The pet-specific model that we voted best for carpet is more advanced, but this fuss-free Vax is blissfully intuitive to use, saving you from faffing about with the manual.

Its controls are thoughtfully placed on the handle for easy access, LED lights in the floorhead help you grab all grime when vacuuming under furniture and its motorised brush can be switched off to protect delicate floors.

It glides and manoeuvres a treat, successfully making dust disappear, but it proved slightly cumbersome as a handheld in tight spaces.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.6 litres Weight: 3.1kg Running time: Up to 45 minutes Recharging time: 3 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Crevice tool, dusting brush

Dust loves to hang out in all those pesky nooks and crannies, but this Beko cordless vacuum cleaner is here to save the day. It comes with a flexible nozzle extension for reaching into tricky spots, with LED lights to guide the way in low light.

Its pick-up was strong, so you can rely on it to deep clean high traffic rooms, and its ‘SelfStand’ feature means it can stay upright unsupported.

Its design could be sleeker – it felt a bit bulky to use, especially as a handheld, and its charging station is bigger than average – but it comes with a string of genuinely useful tools.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.9L Weight: 2.8kg Running time: 45 minutes Recharging time: 6 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Dusting tool, 2 in 1 tool, crevice tool, flexible extension, motorised turbo brush head, hard floor head

This high-tech whiz of a stick boasts a fancy laser that lights up all the dust and dirt on hard floors.

Its hair screw tool is a bonus if you have pets (or simply long hair that gets everywhere) and there’s a clear LCD screen for keeping an eye on the battery life. Its supreme suction power meant it laughed in the face of all manner of debris, picking every speck up with ease during testing.

Less positively, it was hard to control on long pile carpet in boost mode (switch to eco to make this more manageable) and the absence of a continuous power button means you have to keep your finger on the trigger, causing it to ache.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.76L Weight: 3.1kg Running time: 60 minutes Recharging time: 4.5 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Hair screw tool, combination tool, crevice tool, soft dusting brush, wand clip

This Miele caused quite the stir when it launched, thanks to its 3-in-1 design that lets you use it as an upright, a stick or a handheld for optimal comfort and convenience (tip: shift the centre of gravity to the handle when vacuuming high places, your arms will thank you).

It earned high praise from our testers for its outstanding pick-up, especially on short pile carpet, and they were in raptures over its 17-minute run-time in boost mode. It looks slick and its dust canister was refreshingly clean to empty.

It’s pricey at just over £400, but if you’ve got a roomy home or tend to do all your cleaning at once, that epic battery life is a deal-breaker.

Key specifications Bagged or bagless: Bagless Capacity: 0.5 litres Weight: 3.64kg Running time: Up to 60 minutes Charging time: 4 hours Variable power: Yes Tools: Motorised rotary brush with headlights, crevice nozzle, dusting brush, upholstery nozzle