6 Best Budget Cordless Vacuum Cleaners: Great Value for a Cheap Price

Our top pick for a budget cordless vacuum cleaner is the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Pet. It’s a stylish cordless stick vacuum that provides strong all-round performance, for less than half the price of premium vacuums.

The ONEPWR isn’t the cheapest cordless vacuum on the market (there are models on this list that are much cheaper.) But we think it provides the best balance between price and performance.

In terms of cleaning performance, the Vax’s motorised brush bar and strong suction make it a decent model on carpets. It also picks up hair easily, both when using the main floorhead and the smaller pet tool. It’s not as powerful as the top cordless vacuums though, which makes it a bit less effective on hard floors.

Other features include a 45-minute battery life, removable battery, and a three hour recharge time. The Vax also includes LED headlights, which is a welcome bonus. There’s no HEPA filter, however, and the battery life isn’t as long as the top cordless models.

Even so, if you’re looking for a low budget cordless vacuum cleaner that can handle everything from stair cleaning to pet hair, then the Vax is a great choice.

If the Vax is too expensive, then the Gtech AirRam Mk2 cordless vacuum cleaner is one of the best alternatives. It’s a unique cordless vacuum that provides excellent floor cleaning performance for a very reasonable price.

Unlike Dyson, Shark, or Vax cordless vacuums, the Gtech doesn’t use a cyclonic design. Instead, it collects dirt into small bundles in the floorhead, which allows for a relatively large 0.8 litre dust capacity. We found that this design also makes the Mk2 easy to empty without needing to pull out the dirt by hand.

When it comes to cleaning performance, the Gtech is great on hard floors. The low profile floorhead design also makes it easier to steer and clean under furniture. It’s much more capable of cleaning carpets than most other budget cordless vacuums – although it struggles to deep clean thick carpets or to remove clumps or pet hair.

The AirRam offers a 40 minute battery run-time with a lithium-ion battery. This is longer than the original AirRam, but is on the lower side for modern cordless vacuums. It’s still plenty for most cleaning tasks though.

There are some downsides to the Gtech. It doesn’t come with a hose or any attachments, so the AirRam Mk2 is only suitable for cleaning floors. At 3.5kg, it’s also heavier than many other cordless vacuums, although this is less of an issue as it can’t be used for above-floor cleaning anyway.

If you’re looking for a budget cordless vacuum for floor cleaning, however, then the Gtech provides great value for money.

There aren’t many cordless vacuums under £100 on the market, but the Bush V18P01BP25DC is probably the best option in this price range. It’s a versatile vacuum that can be used as both a handheld and stick vac, while also having a boost mode and a motorised floorhead.

This vacuum is designed for small cleaning jobs. Don’t expect it to deep clean your carpets or pick up large bits of cereal in a single pass, but it’s useful for small spills and maintaining your floors between vacuuming with a full-size vac.

It’s also relatively lightweight, easy to use, and can last for up to 45-minutes when in its regular power mode.

Of course, you can’t expect a cordless vacuum in this price range to match the performance of higher priced models. It doesn’t generate enough power to pull out dirt that’s caught deep in carpet fibres, especially without using the boost function, and it struggles with bigger debris. The filtration system also isn’t as effective as higher priced vacuums.

The Bush is fine for quick clean-ups though. And at this price it’s hard to argue that it doesn’t provide value for money.

The Vax ONEPWR Pace might not be the most powerful cordless on the market, but it still provides decent performance for a price that isn’t much more than the Bush cordless above.

Like most modern cordless vacs, the ONEPWR Pace is a cordless stick vacuum that can function as both a handheld and stick vacuum. Vax’s steerable design also makes it more manoeuvrable than many other cordless vacuums in this price range.

Most importantly, it generates decent suction for a budget vacuum. It also has a powered brush bar (known as Twin Helix), which helps it to agitate carpet fibres and pull out more hair and dirt. This combination means that the Vax ONEPWR Pace does a good job when cleaning nearly all floor types.

Another interesting feature is that the Vax has interchangeable batteries. This is becoming more common, but there are still many cordless vacuums (including premium vacs) that don’t have it.

It’s important to have realistic expectations though. This is a low-budget cordless vacuum that’s designed for small cleaning jobs, not to replace a corded vacuum or compete with high-end cordless vacs. It also doesn’t include a motorised pet turbo tool, which is a problem if you have a dog or cat.

Despite these issues, if you’re looking for a solid cordless vacuum cleaner for a price under £200, then the Vax ONEPWR Pace is definitely an option to consider.

Note: The Vax ONEPWR Pace replaces the now discontinued Vax TBT3V1P1 Blade Pro on our list.

If you’re looking for a budget cordless handheld vacuum cleaner, then the Shark WV200UK is a great alternative to the stick vacuums on this list. It’s a sleek vacuum cleaner that our testing showed generates surprisingly strong suction, plus it has a lightweight design and is easy to use.

Weighing just 0.6kg, the Shark is one of the lightest cordless vacuums we’ve reviewed. It can also be stored in its stylish docking station, so the vacuum is always ready to pick up and use for dry spills.

Don’t let the lightweight design fool you though – we found that the Shark WV200UK can still provide plenty of suction power. Our testing discovered that it was particularly effective at cleaning laminate, hardwood, and tile floors. Shark has even included a HEPA filter to capture more allergens.

There are some drawbacks though. The lightweight design means it has a tiny 0.25 litre capacity, so you’ll need to empty if often. We also found that it’s as effective at cleaning carpet as it is on hard floors, due to the lack of a powered brush bar or turbo tool.

So, don’t buy the WV200UK if you want a budget cordless vacuum for cleaning your entire home or large areas of floor. But if you’re looking for a relatively cheap vacuum for spot cleaning, then the Shark W200UK is a convenient and effective option.

The Halo Capsule has a similar price to the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Pet, which puts it at the upper limit of our “budget” criteria. Even so, we think it deserves a place on this list, due to the innovative bagged design, large dust capacity, and excellent cleaning performance.

Unlike nearly all cordless vacuum cleaners, the Halo Capsule uses bags to collect dirt rather than a bagless canister. While this means you need to purchase additional bags, the upside is that the Halo has a large 1.6 litre dust capacity and is more hygienic to empty.

It also has a lightweight 2.7kg design, three suction power modes, and a motorised brush bar in the floorhead. Sadly, there’s no pet turbo brush included with this model.

When it comes to cleaning performance, the Halo Capsule performs well on carpets. You’ll need to use the higher power modes, however, as we found the Halo doesn’t provide great performance on the lowest setting. It’s also decent on hard floors, although it’s not the best we’ve reviewed on these surfaces.

In summary, the Halo Capsule is an excellent budget cordless vacuum if you want a bagged model. It provides strong performance on carpets, a more hygienic emptying system, and a big dust capacity. We don’t recommend it for pet owners, however, due to the lack of a pet turbo tool.