The Best Cordless Vacuums of 2021

The LG CordZero A927KGMS Kompressor is a cordless vacuum with few equals. During our cleaning tests, it picked up 90% of the sand, pet hair, and crumbs we laid out for it. We found that we could clean carpets for over 80 minutes or big messes for 16 minutes between the two included batteries.

While Dyson cordless vacuums give the LG CordZero A9 Kompressor a run for its money, the A9 Kompressor has two distinct advantages: its charging stand, which lets you store it and its accessories anywhere you want without having to drill holes in the wall, and the Kompressor, which helps increase the dirt capacity and ensure the bin empties fully.

When we first heard about the Dyson V10 Absolute, the details made us skeptical. Dyson announced that it would stop developing new corded vacuums because of how confident the R&D team was in the V10.

However, after spending time with the V10, we found the Absolute moniker to be apt, since the V10 comes with absolutely everything: a powered brush head that's designed for hardwood floors, a motorized mini brush for cleaning upholstery, a soft brush for hardwood, a combination upholstery/bare floor tool, a crevice tool, a drive cleaner head, and a soft dusting brush for computers and delicate items. They all attach to a 5.6-pound wall-mountable package, making it one of the lightest cordless vacuums on the market.

The V10 puts all these tools to good use. In our testing lab, it picked up 89 percent of the dirt we left out for it. Even more surprising, the V10 also dominated the battery tests. On the low setting, it can run for 60 minutes, perfect for day-to-day maintenance. For intense cleaning jobs, you can run the Absolute for 9 minutes on the highest setting.

The one major downside of the Absolute is that it's absurdly expensive. In fact, you could buy six of our best value pick for what you'd spend on this Dyson. Still, if you want no compromise in power or battery life, this is the cordless vacuum to buy.

LG Cordzero A9 Ultimate epitomizes an easy-to-use cordless vacuum. Its dock can be set up to be free-standing, allowing you to charge anywhere without having to drill holes in the wall. This standing dock also has space for the alternate cleaning head and several attachments. When in use, the A9 comes with two removable batteries, giving you 16 minutes of cleaning time on the highest setting.

We cleaned carpets and bare floors with the A9. This cordless impressed us with its powerful suction, picking up 72.5% of the testing dirt we laid out for it and all of the food debris. Also during cleaning, we enjoyed using the telescopic wand, adjusting the reach up to 45 inches from handle to tip.

Overall, we think the A9 is a strong competitor to Dyson's top performers. The A9 is easier to store and has more battery life, but lacks the raw power of the V11 or V10.

The Dyson V8 Absolute is near the pinnacle of cordless vacuum technology. It's one heck of a vacuum.

The V8 almost overwhelms with the number of attachments: a powered brush head that's designed for hardwood floors, a motorized upholstery brush, a soft brush for hardwood, a combination upholstery/bare floor tool, a crevice tool, and a soft dusting brush. As a hallmark of Dyson design, the handheld unit only weighs 5.6 pounds.

The brush head is made from carbon fiber and nylon. It's softer than a puppy—and infinitely more gentle on floors and better at picking up dirt. In our labs, the V8 picked up 88 percent of the dirt we put down for our tests.

On the low setting, the battery lasted an amazing 40 minutes. (The max suction setting will drain the battery in 7 minutes, though.) When you're done, its dustbin empties out dirt with the pull of a single lever on top of the machine.

If want the V10's sleek design for less, the V8 is a viable option. However, the V8 still costs twice as much as most of the vacuums on our list. For everyone else, our Best Value pick works almost as well, but costs a quarter as much.

The Tineco Pure One S12 is one of the most unique cordless vacuums we've ever tested. It has a user interface that lets you know how much battery life you have left, the amount of suction, and how clean your floor is.

While testing, we found that the S12 was pretty good at estimating how much dirt was on our carpet. It declared a clean surface when 80% of the testing dirt was suctioned up. Overall, the cleaning performance lagged behind other cordless vacuums in the Pure One's price range, but not so much so that it's a deal breaker.

If you want the coolest tech in your home, the Tineco Pure One S12 is a solid choice.

The Tineco A11 Master stands as the best of what the company has to offer. It’s like an affordable Dyson V8—like the V8, it has two different brush heads, one for carpet and one for hardwood. So if you ever find dust sticking to the floor, its specialized brush head may be just the ticket. Beyond the floor, the A11 has tools for cleaning under and around furniture, which we appreciated.

Aside from having more tools, the A11 also comes with two batteries. During testing, the two batteries gave us about 14 minutes of cleaning power on the highest setting.

The downside is that while the A11 apes many of Dyson’s features, it can’t match its power. It required four passes to get our testing area clean while the Dyson V10, for example, needed only two.

When it comes to vacuums, Kenmore makes some of our favorite models. This time around, the storied company wowed us with its new cordless duo: the Kenmore Elite 10441 Complete and the 10440 Quick Clean. The Complete comes with an additional brush head that specializes in carpets, while the Quick Clean should only be used on bare floors. We also found that the Complete has a telescopic arm to give you that extra reach, should you need it.

We liked its 13-minute battery life and the fact that it picked up around 45 percent of the dirt we laid out for it. The Quick Clean was in strong contention for best value model, but it has a relatively high price and it’s heavier than most of the models in this roundup. However, if you like the vibe of Kenmore's canister vacuums, you'll love these two Elite vacuums.