Vacuum Cleaners comparison
Compare stick, canister, upright, and handheld vacuums — suction (AW), battery, dustbin, and weight.
Pick two vacuum cleaners probes
We’ll plot them side by side. Only vacuum cleaners are suggested for a fair fight.
Best vacuum cleaners right now
Popular vacuum cleaners comparisons
Build your own →Brands in vacuum cleaners
How to choose a vacuum cleaner in 2026
The Mars Score for vacuum cleaners weights performance (55%) and design (45%). The category splits into cordless stick, canister, corded upright, handheld and wet/dry. Cordless stick is now the dominant home-use format; canisters and uprights survive in deep-clean and pet-hair markets.
Suction in air watts, not pascals
suction_aw (air watts) is the apples-to-apples performance spec for traditional vacuums. The Dyson V15 Detect Absolute and Gen5detect Absolute lead the cordless market on AW; corded uprights still win on absolute number but lose on mobility.
Cordless battery life
battery_min matters more than peak suction for whole-home cleaning. 40 minutes covers a typical apartment; 60+ minutes covers a multi-story house without recharging. Bear in mind that boost mode usually halves rated runtime.
Type and weight
Cordless stick (Shark Stratos Cordless IZ862H, Miele Triflex HX2 Pro) is the daily-driver pick. Wet/dry hybrids like the Tineco Pure One S15 Pro Extreme handle spills as well as dry mess. weight_kg matters for stair work — anything above 4 kg gets tiring fast.
Filter grade
HEPA-class filtration is now table stakes; pet owners and allergy sufferers should still verify the rating. Sealed systems matter as much as the filter — leaky housings exhaust fine dust back into the room.
Dustbin and emptying
A 0.7 L bin needs emptying mid-clean in a typical home; 1 L+ finishes most rooms in one go. Hygienic empty mechanisms (one-touch dump without touching the dust) are the underrated convenience spec.
How vsMars scores vacuum cleaners
Mars Score for vacuums weights suction and battery for cordless, suction and weight for corded. See methodology and our Mars Labs carpet-pickup bench tests.