We haven’t tried a vacuum yet that we absolutely hate. These ones below are solid vacuums, and in some cases are much cheaper than our top picks, but we didn’t like them as much.
Levoit VortexIQ 40 Cordless Stick Vacuum for $230: This used to be a top pick. Stock became limited, but it seems to have evened out so if you can find it, it’s a solid vacuum. With a few passes, it sucked away all the hair, cat litter, and Cheerios I laid out for it. I like its auto mode, which adjusts the power as needed, like when I went over a patch of litter and it jumped to high suction and then dropped back down again. It can also turn into a capable hand vac like some pricier vacs.
Proscenic P13 Cordless Vacuum for $170: I haven’t tried the Dyson pick above with the green laser, so I was amazed how well the green light on this vacuum illuminated dust and dirt. It was almost gross to see how much goes unnoticed in regular lighting. However, it required many passes to actually clean most of that debris. For the price, it’s not bad as an untethered day-to-day vacuum, but you’ll definitely need a more powerful upright vacuum for deeper cleans.
Eureka Innova Cordless Stick Multi-Surface Vacuum for $229: This is a good stick vacuum at a reasonable price. It cleaned up a litter mat especially well, and there are specific carpet and hardwood settings. However, to suck up larger pieces like Cheerios, I had to lift the vacuum up and place it directly on top of them.
Shark Wandvac Self-Empty Cordless Vacuum for $330: I love that this turns into a little hand vac with its own small attachments. It worked well for cleaning my desk. It has a base that automatically collects the dirt from the dust bin, meaning there are fewer dust clouds you have to breathe in. I liked cleaning with it, but it’s probably best used with a powerful upright vacuum, as its suction power isn’t as strong as I’d like. It also feels like it needs to be just an inch or two taller, and the dustbin is small at just 0.13 quarts.
Hoover OnePwr Emerge Pet for $200: Our tester said that this wasn’t a bad vacuum in regular mode, but the attachments felt flimsy with weak suction power. Otherwise it got the job done.
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