The 4 Best Cordless Stick Vacuums of 2025

Of all the models we’ve tested, the nimble, powerful, and reliable Dyson V12 Detect Slim comes the closest to being the ideal cordless stick vacuum. It’s light and easy to store, but it can’t stand on its own, and its dustbin is tiny.

It’s lithe and graceful. Weighing just over 5 pounds (4 pounds in hand), the V12 Detect Slim maneuvers easily in awkward spaces and on stairs. Most of its weight sits on top, yet we found that this model was the most comfortable for our hands and wrists. (One Wirecutter staffer, who has used this model for several months, did note that the V12 Detect Slim gave them a blister after a prolonged cleaning session, however.) Its cleaner head swivels 180 degrees, so it can reach into tight corners, around table legs, and between furniture better than other models we’ve tested. And at 72 dB, it’s fairly quiet.

The V12 Detect Slim has an on/off button, whereas previous Dyson models had an uncomfortable, trigger-style switch that you had to squeeze to get the vacuum to operate.

It sucks (in a good way). The V12 Detect Slim offers powerful suction and airflow, and it excels at picking up dust and debris on both bare floors and rugs. In our controlled rug-cleaning test, it devoured almost 100% of the baking soda we’d spread out on medium-pile rugs—a clear sign that the V12 is capable of targeting deeper-dwelling dust and dander, which other cordless sticks might miss. (One competitor picked up just a little over 40% of it.) It also effectively extracted fur from rugs.

The V12 Detect Slim has three suction modes: eco (lower suction, which conserves battery), boost (stronger suction), and auto. The auto mode is particularly helpful because the dust sensor detects dirt and triggers increased suction power when necessary. For example, in our tests, the V12 Detect Slim regularly went into boost mode near a cat’s litter box.

It has two effective cleaner heads for different types of flooring. Designed to deep-clean rugs and carpets, the V12’s Motorbar cleaner head has tooth-like rubber vanes that, Dyson claims, automatically clear wrapped hair during cleaning. In our testing, the head readily captured 6-inch strands of hair, but the brush was less effective with 18-inch strands. (You can remove the brush, and you can cut off long locks with scissors or a box cutter.) On bare floors, the Motorbar head efficiently cleaned up baking soda and seeds, but it tended to snowplow Cheerios. (A warning about using the Motorbar on valuable rugs: This brush is powerful and aggressive on sensitive fibers. During our tests, it pulled a significant amount of red carpet fibers out of a vintage Persian rug.)

The second cleaner head, the Laser Slim Fluffy, is made of soft microfiber fabric, and it’s specifically designed to snag dust and fur from bare floors. It has a laser light that spookily illuminates dark corners—one moment the dust is spotlighted, the next moment it’s gone. (If you want the laser effect without committing to a Dyson, you can buy this nifty add-on and attach it to any vacuum.)

In our testing, we found that the Laser Slim Fluffy head picked up larger debris, which the Motorbar head tended to snowplow. The Laser Slim Fluffy head swallowed everything we presented it with, aside from a large mound of Cheerios (which it choked on) and a huge cockroach (which got stuck in the brush housing).

It converts into a handheld vacuum with useful attachments. The V12 Detect Slim easily converts into a handheld vacuum, and it comes with helpful attachments for tasks around the home and in the car. Its mini motorized brush tool was one of the best we tested for removing pet hair from couches, cat beds, and car upholstery. Its combination tool allowed us to quickly switch between a wide nozzle and a brush; we found the brush particularly handy for dusting bookshelves and windowsills.

It has a decent warranty, and its battery and many of its parts are replaceable. Dyson’s two-year warranty on this model is decent, though that’s less coverage time than we’ve seen for many other high-performing cordless sticks. The V12 Detect Slim uses swappable, click-in batteries, and you can buy spare packs to extend the run time, though we’ve noticed they are sometimes out of stock on the website. (Sometimes you can get them by calling the company. Or you can find cheaper knockoff batteries, but we don’t recommend them.) On cordless stick vacuums, the battery is one of the most common failure points. So due to Dyson’s swappable design, you won’t have to toss the whole vacuum if the battery fails. Many of its other parts, including its washable filter, are replaceable too.

It has cool features. The V12 Detect Slim’s LCD screen shows animated maintenance reminders, troubleshooting tips, and, most importantly, a battery-life countdown. Its chief gimmick is its particle counter; it estimates the number of differently sized particles collected and displays the tallies in a bar graph—supposedly to help you feel confident that you’ve deep-cleaned your flooring. We don’t know how accurate or useful the particle counter is, but it can be a fun motivator.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• It’s expensive. The V12 Detect Slim is pricey. Our testing has not shown that it’s more durable than other, more-affordable cordless vacs, let alone plug-in vacuums, which typically clean better, last longer, and, in some cases, cost less.
• It has a tiny dustbin. The V12 Detect Slim’s roughly 12-ounce dustbin is minuscule, storing only a third of what the Ryobi 18V One+ HP Advanced Stick Vacuum Kit and the Tineco GO Pet dustbins can store. In our tests, when we were cleaning a 650-square-foot space with pets, we had to empty the V12’s dustbin at least three times. This vacuum ejects debris from the bin like a mini T-shirt cannon, an action that can easily lead to spills. We also found that debris often gets stuck in the dustbin’s upper segment, so you have to reach in and pull it out.
• Switching between cleaner heads can be annoying. Though we appreciate the versatility and effectiveness of the Motorbar head (for carpet) and the Laser Slim Fluffy head (for bare flooring), switching them can be annoying, especially if you just want to give your half-carpeted dining room a quick once-over. And a Wirecutter staffer reports that they struggle to separate the cleaner heads from the body of the vacuum; the click-in mechanism often gets stuck.
• It doesn’t stand on its own, and it struggles on lightweight rugs. The V12 Detect Slim’s inability to stand on its own is a source of irritation. If you have to answer the doorbell while vacuuming, you’ll need to find a secure spot to prop it up.

Like those of many other powerful stick vacuums, the V12’s brush roll tends to seize on lightweight rugs. And unlike the Ryobi’s brush roll, the V12’s can’t be turned off.