Best vacuum cleaners in 2024 UK - 14 tried and tested top-rated vacuums

Deciding on the best vacuum cleaner for your home can be a big job. That's where this list can come in pretty handy, with our ranking of the top 14 vacuums, after reviewing and rating a huge line-up of options.

Every model that you can browse below has been tested extensively by a member of the Ideal Home team either at our test facility or at home, to replicate the environment that they'll be up against once you purchase them. 

The result? Everything you need to know is contained in this handy guide, with premium and budget-friendly brands sitting side by side – we're talking Shark, Dyson, Miele and Vax just to name a few.

There are quite a few considerations that we've packed into this guide to make your life easier. For homes with a number of floors or a lot of pet hair to pick up, we've got top-rated corded vacuums, and the best cordless vacuum cleaners are also at hand for those in flats or smaller homes.

Keep reading to find out which vacuums we rated as worthy of a place in your home as we looked out for powerful suction, ease of use and value for money. 

Quick list

Best vacuum overall

Buy it if: you have the budget for a do-it-all vacuum.

The Shark Stratos goes further than other vacuums to make debris and dust pick-up as seamless as possible. It showed unbelievable suction power during testing, and left carpets visibly cleaner, with no issues with pet hair or human hair. 

There's no doubt that our testing process proved that this vac is worth the large price tag that it carries. Even if you don't have pets, the ease with which this vacuum does away with hair is astounding, and our Ecommerce Editor Molly found that it was unmatched when it came to suction. 

Features we loved

The capacity of this vacuum to transform into a smaller handheld model is phenomenal, and you'll be reaching for the smaller attachments all the time to quickly resolve smaller messes all over your home. The battery life is also stellar, and 60 minutes was available during testing on non-turbo mode.

You can fork out more for the two-battery Shark Stratos model if you think you need a spare pack on charge while the other is in use, but it's not a necessity if you live in a small or medium-sized home. All in all, this is admittedly a pricier vacuum, but if you can afford to fork out, it will impress you time and time again. 

Our Shark Stratos IZ420UKT cordless vacuum review has the full details.

Best vacuum for pet hair

Buy it if: you need to get rid of pet hair at home. 

The Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog vacuum lives up to its name, with a turbo brush floor head for whipping up pet (and human) hair, as well as a regular carpet floor head and another for hard floors. It is most definitely one of the top pet vacuums on the market, which is how it earned its place in this list. 

The tube is long but telescopic, making this a good cleaner for tall and short people alike. We loved it for its straightforward cleaning power. Its suction is outstanding thanks to a powerful, fast (more than 100km/h) cyclone. The single cyclone design also makes for low noise and controllable power. The cylinder moves smoothly on its castors and perches acceptably on a stair, though it's not the easiest to clean this section of the house with.

Features we loved 

It's the little things that make this vacuum great, alongside the pet-appropriate level of power and suction. The ability to operate the vacuum by using your foot makes manoeuvring easier, and switching between modes is really easy too. It has wonderful consistent power and the hose is extra long, with 8.5 metres of freedom to get around your house. The canister was easy and fairly dust-free to empty too.

Our Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner review has the full details.  

Best affordable vacuum

Buy it if: you need a solid all-rounder cordless vacuum.

We love VAX vacuums at Ideal Home because they consistently deliver excellent value. We've replaced the Blade 4 in this list with the Blade 5 after testing them side by side at our testing facility. Don't get us wrong, we still love the Blade 4 for its affordability and suction power, but we definitely consider the Blade 5 a huge upgrade. The suction power of the Vax Blade 5 on our testing day was only beaten by the Dyson option (there were no Sharks present), and it did a truly remarkable job of picking up pet hair. 

As with the Blade 4, the Blade 5 design makes it easy to clean underneath furniture and around corners, and the floorhead rotation means there's minimal wrist work to pick up dirt and dust. The larger floorhead also makes cleaning much quicker than with the Blade 4, and all of the tests we threw at this vacuum were dealt with quickly and efficiently. 

Features we loved

The battery life on the Vax Blade 5 gave us absolutely no trouble, and we completed all of the tasks we needed to that day without having to return for a second charge. Even better, with the Vax Blade 5 you get access to two batteries, which means you should get up to 90 minutes of charge, and you'll never be without your sturdy Vax vac when you need it. 

The Blade 5 is admittedly a little heavier than its predecessor, but it is brimming with great accessories and comes with a wall mount too, so that storage is straightforward. This vacuum particularly shone in our pick-up tests, which included tackling large debris such as Cheerios and clumps of hair. Both the Vax Blade 4 and the 5 get the seal of approval from us - stick with the former if you're on a tight budget, and enjoy the features that come with the upgrade if you can stretch to the ££ of the latter. 

Best new vacuum for 2023

Buy it if: you love to have the latest vacuum on the market.

If you're looking for a lightweight cordless vacuum cleaner and can make peace with the fact that the dust bin is only 0.4 litres big, the Shark Detect Pro Cordless vacuum cleaner might be the one for you.

It's new to the market for 2023 and boasts four new detection technologies to make cleaning more straightforward. In dirty areas, the suction will amp up, in order to catch any built-up debris, and the FloorDetect technology makes transitioning into different rooms across your home much easier too. 

Features we loved

The RRP of £349.99 is still high, yes, but the cleaning performance of this vacuum very much impressed us during testing. You gain design points too with this new release, which is available in a swish white colour scheme and has a stripped back LED control panel.

It performed excellently in our at-home tests, and the new detection features go a long way to improve day-to-day vacuuming sessions. I am a huge fan of the stand system too, even though it comes at an additional price, and would be keen to try out the self-emptying bin system too. 

Our Shark Detect Pro Cordless Vacuum Cleaner IW1511UK review has the full details.

Best upright vacuum

Buy it if: you need a cordless vacuum with the power of a corded one.

The Shark ICZ300UKT Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner is one of the best Shark vacuums on the market and our absolute favourite upright vacuum overall. It performed consistently across carpet, parquet, hardwood and tiles, and PowerFins lifted huge amount of deep-rooted pet hair from around the dog's bed in our tester's home, leaving a brand-new carpet look.

It made the vacuuming process straightforward, requiring only one pass on all floor types, although we did find that it ran out of battery on the normal cleaning mode after 31 minutes.

Features we loved 

Powered LiftAway means you can transform this cordless vacuum by lifting it away from the stick to carry the canister up stairs and out to car interiors. This is great for getting up the stairs, although getting the vacuum assembled once more will take getting used to. 

The LCD display allows you to switch between the carpet brush and hard floor brush with the touch of a button thanks to Shark's DuoClean, which is a real time-saver for homes with a mix of floor types.

Our full Shark X300UKT Anti Hair Wrap vacuum review has the full details.

Best vacuum under £100

Buy it if: you've got less than £100 to spend.

On our testing day, our expectations for a vacuum that came in at under £100 were admittedly pretty low, but the Beldray Opti-Air vacuum was in fact a pleasant surprise. It gained points from the offset thanks to its genuinely stylish look (the gold colour was actually nicer than the shade of the Dyson we tested that day), and it was easy to set up and put on charge. 

With an RRP of £96.99, it's wise not to put all of your hopes for vacuuming into this model, but ultimately, it's not that bad at what it needs to do. 30 minutes of vacuuming was definitely possible from one charge, and minor jobs were taken care of pretty capably by this Beldray, including a flour pick up test. 

Features we loved

This vacuum is a lightweight wonder at 3.7kg, and was really easy to store. It has nice touches, like the LED floor head and a 2 in 1 crevice tool for all of the little things you need to get to. The cordlessness makes it very convenient to use, and the suction was fairly impressive on a number of the easier tasks (such as vacuuming oats and flour). It didn't have the suction or mechanisms to really deal with larger debris, but for under £100, we'd recommend using a dust pan and brush on any bigger obstacles, and then letting the Beldray Opti-Air do the rest of the work. Just don't have sky-high expectations!

Our Beldray Opti-Air Vacuum Cleaner review has the full details.

Best Dyson vacuum

But it if: you want the unbeatable experience and power of a Dyson (and you aren't on a budget). 

Dyson has done it again with the Gen5detect™ Absolute, creating a vacuum that's as good at cleaning up as it looks. With two floorheads (one for carpet, one for hard floor) you feel like you have more options for deep cleaning with this vacuum. The catch? The price is astronomical, which makes it hard to recommend for everyone.

With this Dyson, you're shelling out for innovation, with the hard floor head boasting lasers that illuminate dirt and dust that you'd never usually see - a cleaning enthusiast's dream. The anti-tangle feature on the Digital MotorbarTM (the head for carpet cleaning) works as well as offerings from Shark and revealed a huge amount of sunken-in dirt during our at-home tests. The three modes are absolutely perfect for toggling between everyday and deep cleaning too.

Features we loved

It really is the fine details that make a vacuum better to use, which is why you can't overlook the magic of a Dyson bin mechanism. Point the dust bin, pull the trigger and everything will actually come out the first time without a fuss - something that pretty much no other vacuum brand has achieved. 

The LCD control panel is very good to use too - with indicators showing exactly how many microscopic dust particles you've eradicated from your home. Is it absolutely necessary to have scientific proof of how clean your house is? No, but it adds to the experience that you're paying almost £900 for.

This is truly a star buy, but we wish that we could have more of the Dyson sparkle on a budget. For now, though, it's one of the best vacuums on the market that feels slightly too expensive to wholeheartedly recommend. 

Best vacuum under £250

But it if: you need a trusty corded vacuum under £250.

A reliable vacuum under £250 shouldn't be impossible to find. Thankfully it's not with the Hoover HL4, which is a dependable plug-in vacuum that hosts many of the properties needed within a family home. That includes a larger capacity than you'd usually find in cordless vacuums, with a 2.5-litre dust tank and an extra-long cord length (of 7.6 metres). 

Features we loved

During testing, we found more features to like about this vacuum too. Wrapping the cord around the bulk of the vacuum for storage or transport is very easy, it's lightweight to get around with and the pull-away feature makes vacuuming stairs or up high. 

Fundamentally, if you've already switched to a cordless vacuum or if you want to get that added convenience, the plug-in element of this Hoover just won't cut it for you. But, if you'd prefer a corded model for reasons of reliability, then this vacuum will serve you well for under £250 (and often for cheaper on sale!). 

Best heavy duty vacuum cleaner

Buy it if: you have a lot of ground to cover and need a hard-working vacuum. 

We get it - if you live in a large home you need something a bit more heavy-duty, which is where an upright vacuum like the SEBO Automatic X7 Excel ePower Upright Vacuum Cleaner absolutely shines. Granted, this vacuum is big (it's got a 31cm cleaning head, and a 10 metre cord), but that makes it the kind of powerhouse you need for a large space. 

This Sebo model wasn't the easiest vacuum to manoeuvre on testing day, but it wasn't too troublesome, and the results were very impressive. It's difficult to see what the pickup is like (as the floorhead is so huge), but our testing team all felt like the Sebo had achieved the cleanest floor afterwards. You can store the vacuum's attachments on the body of the appliance too, including the crevice and upholstery tools. And taking care of your stairs is a breeze with the stair cleaning hose on this one.

Features we loved 

This vacuum was a reliable hard worker in all of our tests. There was no doubt that it could handle hair, cereal, oats, and flour, even in a huge capacity. This is a bagged model, which might not be for everyone, but if you're allergy prone or you hate lengthy maintenance with cleaning out a dust bin, it might just be the thing for you. 

Even though this is a corded vacuum, that doesn't mean it's lacking clever features either. During testing, we saw the evidence of the floorhead adjusting to make sure that it was always at the right height for cleaning, regardless of the floor surface. This vacuum will also shut down if it senses a blockage, giving you time to sort out the hazard before it wreaks havoc on the internal systems. For big jobs, we're sure you'll always be able to depend on the SEBO Automatic X7 Excel ePower Upright Vacuum Cleaner. 

Best vacuum with a stand

Buy it if: you need an easy-to-store option. 

The Beko Powerclean is easy to use and comes with a range of attachments that will adapt to any home. There are two brushrolls that can be switched out for hard floors and carpets, as well as a crevice tool, mini brush head and dusting attachment.

We loved how powerful this vacuum was during testing. It has three speeds, but we found that we never needed to use the maximum strength, even on seriously dusty room and grubby carpets. The battery life is 45 minutes, which held true in testing but does get shorter depending on the strength you choose. The Beko Powerclean is intuitive to use, with a trigger control that sits right under your thumb for easy starts and finishes.

Features we loved

Your vacuum path is illuminated by LED lights, and the vacuum even hinges with an elbow attachment that folds down to reach underneath sofas and beds with less bending work for you. This is like Shark's Flexology function, which we're big fans of. The price is incredibly reasonable for this Dyson-rival, and we also liked the stand that came included, which made storage straightforward thanks to the on-board tool storage. Our one gripe? That 0.8 litre dustbin fills up fast.

Our Beko Powerclearn VRT04020VI review has the full details.

Best cylinder vacuum

Buy it if: you want a cylinder vacuum model on a budget.

This Shark vacuum boasts a large capacity and a self-cleaning brush roll for all floor types. Our Ecommerce Editor Molly tried this vacuum out at home for a number of months and found it was totally unbeatable when it came to achieving a deep clean. The suction power is remarkably impressive, and there are plenty of great features that just make this vacuum better to use. Smooth glide wheels and those ever-handy LED lights are a total winner here. 

During testing, cleaning time was massively extended with this vacuum thanks to the 1.6 litres of space in the dusk tank. Although it is a corded vac, the 9 metre-long cable will give you an adequate radius to work your way around the various floors in the home. Our reviewer Molly lives in a two-bedroom flat, and never found the cord to be an issue, with space to get to all of the rooms she needed to.

Features we loved

To help lift as much as possible as quickly as possible from the flooring is the DuoClean floorhead which has been enhanced with Anti Hair-Wrap technology. This will actively remove hair from both the bristles in the floor head so you don't need to worry about de-tangling any locks at the end of each clean. This is ideal for long hair, short hair and pet hair. After trying it out, Molly found it to be true that she didn't need to take her scissors to this floorhead, which was a big win. 

There's a suite of onboard tools which can be used with this vac too, Molly's favourite being the Anti Hair Wrap Power Tool which is great for upholstery and smaller jobs.

Best reliable vacuum cleaner

Buy it if: you want a reliable Henry to take care of your cleaning troubles.

Henry (which we reviewed in our Henry Classic review) and his siblings have a reputation for being workhorses: the cleaner’s cleaner of choice, designed and made here in the UK. We put the Harry vacuum cleaner (sometimes known as the Henry Pet) through its paces in our at-home tests. Harry boasts a large 9-litre capacity, the same as the Henry HVR200, and it has similar features. It’s a bagged cylinder vacuum cleaner with a 10m cable, giving it an overall reach of 13m from the power socket. Its floor head is straightforward, with a lever that you press to go from hard floor to carpet, or vice versa.

Features we loved

Build is simple, solid and bombproof: the cord winds up manually, the top clips on solidly, the wand is in two pieces but not telescopic. This vacuum cleaner feels semi-industrial. There is very little to go wrong. Harry also has extra features designed for pet owners. The HairoBrush is a small turbo brush designed to whip up pet hair. And the cleaner’s large fabric filter has a built-in MicroFresh activated charcoal layer designed to tackle pet odours.

Air is pulled through the HepaFlo bag, which captures even fine particles of dust, then cleaned with the activated charcoal filter for good measure. Harry comes with three other tools: crevice tool, soft dusting brush and upholstery nozzle with slide-on brush. If you clip them together, you can just about carry them all on board thanks to two slots on the back, next to the wheels.

But the only way to store the HairoBrush when you’re on the move is in the slot where you’d naturally dock the floorhead and wand. A second slot would have been good, so you could stow them at the same time. Also, the Harry vacuum cleaner is too big to sit on a stair. Cleaning power is impressive, however. The floor head was simple but very effective, and Harry the vacuum moved fairly well behind us.

Our Henry Pet200 review has the full details.

Best for hard floors

Buy it if: you're looking for a (slightly) more affordable Dyson choice.

The Dyson V11 Outsize wowed us in testing, becoming one of our tester Jen's favourite vacuums. It's fair to say that one of the only drawbacks of this vacuum is the steep price point, which is common in most Dyson vacuums.

The run time is up to 60 minutes, which is pretty impressive for a cordless vacuum and the 1.7-litre capacity is absolutely excellent if you want a cordless vacuum for a family home. During testing the large vacuum head was noticeably excellent for covering a larger surface area in less time.

Features we loved

There were three modes to choose from: Eco, Auto, and Boost, and each one resulted in a different noise level and suction. All three settings held up very well in testing, and will be great for catering to different types of homes.

The soft roller head did a wonderful job on hardwood floors, and it comes included in the Dyson V11 Outsize. The vacuum also comes with a charging dock, and will take 4.5 hours from empty to fully charge. We've moved this vacuum down this list slightly as it's now a more outdated Dyson model, but if you can afford to spend the cash or find the perfect Dyson discount code then it's still a total winner.

Our Dyson V11 Outsize review has the full details.

Best 2in1 vacuum

Buy it if: you like the sound of a neat docking station for your vacuum.

During testing we were pleasantly surprised by this 2-in-1 AEG vacuum, especially the clever space-saving design. At first glance, it just seems like a handheld vacuum situated within a frame, but the floorhead performs pretty solidly for the price (you can often find this vacuum on sale for around £100) and it's great in portable mode too.

Features we loved

One of our favourite things about this vacuum was the clever charging stand, which has a progress bar for battery life. It's a lifesaver if you can't drill a holder into your walls, and makes the whole appearance of this vacuum look more sleek.

The LED headlights were a big help during testing too. Highlights performance-wise with this vacuum were definitely on hardwood floors and tile, while it struggled slightly more to deep clean carpets. For the on-sale price however, this is a perfectly fine budget option. 

How we test vacuum cleaners

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At Ideal Home, we believe that in order to give our verdict on the best vacuums and in order to rank them, we need to have tested them ourselves, which we delve into in our how we test vacuum cleaners guide. That's why you'll find star ratings on the vacuums in this list, which we've decided on after extensively testing them in our own space. Every vacuum in this list has been reviewed by a member of our team, so you know that you can trust us to give you a detailed look at each model.

As well as paying close attention to how they performed at the job of vacuuming, we also make sure to evaluate practical features like how lightweight each vacuum is, the standout features of each and which appliances are good value for money. Where we can, we've also sought to keep hold of these vacuums for long-term testing, so that we can feedback on just how they deliver after years of use. Below you can find out more about exactly who has tested the vacuums in this round-up.

Molly Cleary

Our Ecommerce Editor Molly oversees cleaning content at Ideal Home and is a certified Customer Advisor for vacuums after passing a five-stage process. She reviews vacuums at Future's dedicated testing facility, using a range of flooring types kindly provided by Flooring Superstore in order to evaluate performance on wood floor, lino and carpet.

She has also tested out a number of vacuums in her two-bedroom London flat including the Dyson Gen5, Shark Stratos, Numatic Henry Quick and the Hoover HF9.

Testing several of the vacuums included in this round-up has allowed her to see which model excels at which task, and to judge them on all of the crucial factors of suction, as well as ease of use and storage, which is important in her very compact space. She's also constantly looking out for the newest vacuum releases and technology so that she can keep you better informed on which appliance to buy. 

Is there any appliance that you'd like to see tested here? Get in touch at Molly's email address (molly.cleary@futurenet.com) to request for the Ideal Home team to review it. 

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