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This Dyson V15 Detect is the company’s latest cordless vacuum cleaner and the single best model that we have tested. There are two new innovations here. First, there’s a dust sensor that shows you how much dirt is being collected on the LCD at the pack, and is also used to adjust power automatically to the motorised tools.

Secondly, there’s a laser on the hard floor head, which highlights dirt, so you can make sure that you pick up everything. This only works on hard floors but it’s brilliant (if not a bit icky, seeing all the dirt that has accumulated).

With a smart LCD that shows you real battery life remaining, a replaceable battery, host of accessories and excellent controls, the Dyson V15 Detect can easily replace a powered cleaner. It’s also the most powerful cordless vacuum cleaner that we’ve tested.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Dyson V15 Detect

While previous Dyson vacuum cleaners have been built for multi-purpose use, the Dyson Omni-glide is the company’s first specialist cleaner. With its fluffy, flexible head and new layout, it’s a vacuum cleaner designed for modern living.

Thanks to that flexible head, you can dash around furniture, slide under sofas (the cleaner goes flat to the floor) and quickly suck up dirt anywhere. Cleaning performance on hard floors is outstanding. It’s not built for carpets, but I ran my usual carpet tests and the cleaner did better than a lot of competitor models built for carpet.

You get all of the other accessories you need for detail and upholstery cleaning, too.

This model ditches Dyson’s usual trigger switch for a brand-new on/off button, which makes it easier to use. Battery life is a little short, but for those in a small apartment or that want a grab-and-go cleaner for smaller jobs, this is exceptional.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Dyson Omni-glide

If you want the power of a cordless stick vacuum cleaner, combined with the ease of use of an upright cleaner, the Shark ICZ160UKT is for you. In its default mode, you just turn it on, tilt the handle back and you can push it around like a regular upright. As this model is freestanding, it puts little weight in your hand.

The bulky vacuum unit and bin can get in the way when trying to get under furniture, but there’s a clever workaround using Shark’s lift-away mode. This lets you take out the main cylinder and release the hose and stick. You can then use the floor head free from the bulky bin. You can also use the provided accessories to give you extra reach. As you can place the cylinder on the floor out of the way, you get detail cleaning without the fatigue of having to carry the entire vacuum.

Shark’s clever DuoClean head is built to work on hard floors and carpet alike, and it uses anti hairwrap tech, so you never have to unclog the rollers. With a replaceable battery to extend runtime, the ICZ160UKT can either work as an add-on to a plug-in cleaner or, with the addition of a second battery, give you the time to clean an entire house.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner with Powered Lift-Away and TruePet ICZ160UKT Review

The Halo Capsule is built in Britain and made of carbon fibre, which makes it one of the lightest vacuum cleaners that I have ever tested. It’s also unusual in that it takes bags, rather than using a reusable bin.

Don’t let that put you off. You get a pack of 26 1.6-litre bags in the box, and replacements are a reasonable £25.99. Certainly, I can’t knock the value of them and Halo isn’t trying to make a load of money by overcharging for these replacements.

Using bags can be good, particularly if you have people with allergies in the house, as you pull out a used bag and throw everything away with no mess.

Performance from this vacuum cleaner is fantastic, too, with the middle setting (Performance) able to deal with most mess, with only a little bit of Boost mode required. Battery life is rated at 25 minutes in Performance mode, which is a little short: cleaning quality means you can clean a surprising amount of space but you’ll likely need at least one charge in the middle of cleaning a house.

Successfully taking on the big brands, the Halo Capsule is a great lightweight cleaner, which takes large and cheap bags.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Halo Capsule Review

Power, flexibility and long battery life are the main things you could want from a cordless vacuum cleaner, and they’re what the Shark IZ320UKT delivers. This model has Flexology, which is Shark’s name for its hinged wand: use this and you can clean under furniture without having to bend over, and you can fold the vacuum up for neat storage.

This new model is packed with the latest tech, including the new PowerFins DuoClean head, which is built to agitate and collect dirt on carpets and hard floors.

At the back of the cleaner is an LCD screen that shows the current battery life as a percentage, plus the power mode selected. With two batteries in this set, there’s enough battery life to last for up to two hours of cleaning, so you can replace your regular plug-in cleaner with this model.

Cleaning performance is fantastic on all surfaces, with the Shark IZ320UKT getting right up to the edge. Given the features and power, this vacuum is exceptionally well priced and a great all-round cleaner for every type of job.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Shark IZ320UKT Review

Sometimes you just need a quick grab-and-go cleaner for smaller jobs, which is where a handheld model comes in. But what about those bigger jobs? That’s where you need the Shark Wandvac System WS620.

This model is a proper, powerful handheld cleaner that you can use for kitchen spills or quickly tidying up a sofa. But it also has a wand and floor head, so you can use it to tackle larger spills.

Performance in both modes is good, although slightly lagging behind a more powerful stick cordless vacuum cleaner; certainly, the power is good enough for those everyday spills.

With lots of accessories and a clever stand, this lightweight vacuum cleaner is easy to store and, most importantly, easy to grab when you need it. Battery life is short, but think of this as a handy utility cleaner for when you quickly need to tidy up some mess and it’s a great addition to a house that already has a good vacuum cleaner for weekly and deep cleaning.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Shark WandVac System WS620 Review

If you already have a good plug-in cleaner, then what you may want from a cordless model is one that’s light and easy to use. Step forward the Hoover H-Free 300, which is exceptionally lightweight and has one clever trick: you can stand this cordless cleaner up by itself. This is the only cordless cleaner that we’ve seen that can do this job. You can only really stand the cleaner up for quick tasks, such as answering the door or moving some furniture out of the way, but it makes the H-Free 300 a lot more convenient and easy to use.

In the box you get a good array of accessories, although it’s a shame that there’s no onboard storage for any of the tools. Performance is generally good, too, although you may need to up the power to pick up tougher spills, which reduces battery life. As a result, this is a useful add-on cleaner that you can grab and go, rather than a full-on replacement for a plug-in model. Still, if you need something light and easy to use, this cleaner is exceptionally well priced.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Hoover H-Free 300 Review

Thanks to improvements in battery technology and motors, it’s possible to have a tiny handheld vacuum cleaner, such as the Hoover H-Handy 700, that’s as powerful as a big cleaner. This simple grab-and-go cleaner is your friend for smaller spills, such as cleaning up after cooking or quickly tackling a sofa.

As well as being neat and small, the charging stand contains everything and has space for the three-in-one accessory: a crevice tool, dusting brush and upholstery tool all in one. Each nozzle is rather small, so large areas can take a bit of time to cover; this really is a tool designed for quick clear-ups.

Performance is excellent, though, with the vacuum able to cope well with carpets and hard floors, while doing a decent job with pet hair; if you’ve got pets that shed a lot the Pet version of this cleaner comes with an extra motorised brush. Battery life is just 12-minutes, but this is enough to deal with pretty much every small spill, so you shouldn’t need more.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full Review: Hoover H-Handy 700 Review