5 Best Cordless Vacuum Cleaners for Carpet

The Dyson V11 Absolute is one of the best cordless stick vacuum cleaners available at the moment – and it’s a great option for cleaning carpets. This vacuum generates outstanding suction for a cordless, which allows it to make quick work of most cleaning jobs.

Along with strong suction power, the V11 comes with Dyson’s Torque Drive cleaner head. This has a powerful motorised brush bar that agitates carpet fibres to pull out more hair, dirt, and dust.

This floorhead also allows you to use the V11’s Dynamic Load Sensor technology, which automatically changes suction depending on the carpet thickness. The result is a cordless vacuum that provides brilliant pick up on all types of carpet.

When you need to switch to hard floors, the Dyson vacuum also comes with the excellent Soft Roller head. Dyson has also included a turbo tool for pet hair, making the V11 one of the most versatile vacuums on the market and great for nearly all floor types.

Moving on from cleaning performance, the Dyson V11 Absolute is packed with advanced features. These include an LCD screen showing the battery life in real-time, hygienic bin emptying design, efficient filtration system to capture allergens, and a battery that provides up to 60-minutes of run-time.

It also has a relatively large 0.76 litre bin capacity, wall mount, and several non-motorised tools (including a crevice tool and dusting brush.) We also love how lightweight and manoeuvrable it is, which is important for a cordless vacuum that’s designed with ease of use in mind.

In summary, we think the Dyson V11 is the best cordless vacuum cleaner for carpet and hard floors. The only real downside is the price, as it’s one of the most expensive vacuums on the market.

Tip: The Dyson V8 and Dyson Cyclone V10 are also great for carpet clean ups. They aren’t quite as effective as the V11, but are still amongst the best cordless models. If you need a bigger capacity, the Dyson V11 Outsize is an option to consider. There’s also the Dyson V15 Detect, although it has an eye-watering price tag.

If you’re looking for a premium cordless vacuum that’s a bit cheaper than the Dyson V11 Absolute, then the Tineco Pure One S12 is one of our favourite alternatives.

It’s a powerful cordless vacuum cleaner that’s capable of cleaning carpets of almost any thickness. The strong brush bar and excellent suction allow it to dig deep into carpet fibres, plus it can automatically adjust its strength based on the amount of dirt detected (when in “Auto” mode.)

Other features of the Tineco include an easy-to-steer design, miniature turbo tool, and an LED screen showing remaining battery life. Like most modern cordless vacuums, it also has a handheld mode for stairs and cars.

While it’s a bit cheaper than the Dyson V11, it has a smaller dirt capacity and doesn’t come with a hard floor floorhead. This isn’t an issue for cleaning carpets, but we recommend getting the Tineco Pure One S12 Plus if you have a mixture of carpets and hard floors, as this includes a soft tool.

For cleaning carpets, however, there aren’t many cordless models that can beat the Tineco Pure One S12.

For those who don’t want to spend more than £300 on a vacuum, the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Pet is a budget alternative to premium cordless vacs. It can’t match the raw power of the top vacuums, but the Vax still provides plenty of suction and is particularly effective at cleaning carpets.

The Vax Blade 4 Pet has a similar appearance to most cordless vacuums, with a stick design and a detachable handheld mode. It also has a motorised brush bar in the cleaning head, which, combined with the strong suction, makes it effective on both short pile and long pile carpets.

As you might have guessed from the name, the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Pet also has a motorised pet tool. This is brilliant for cleaning carpeted stairs, along with upholstery and car interiors. Other features include fade-free suction and LED headlights.

A downside to this vacuum is that it’s less effective at cleaning hard floors. It also doesn’t come with a HEPA filter, which may be a problem for people with dust or pet allergies – although most vacuums in this price range don’t include HEPA filters.

In summary, if you’re looking for a budget cordless vacuum cleaner for carpets, then the Vax ONEPWR Blade 4 Pet is one of the best options. It provides decent suction, strong brush bar power, and great performance on carpets. The LED lights also make seeing dirt much easier.

If you only need a handheld cordless vacuum for carpets, then the Dyson V7 Trigger is our top pick. This vac uses the same motor as the full-size Dyson V7, making it one of the most powerful handheld vacuums on the market.

It also comes with Dyson’s mini motorised tool, which has a powered brush bar for agitating carpet fibres. During our tests, we found this tool made a noticeable difference to the vacuum’s carpet performance compared with most other handheld vacuums.

Another great thing about the Dyson V7 Trigger is that it has a 30-minute maximum run-time. This is considerably longer than many other handhelds, such as the Shark WV200UK (8 minutes) and Hoover H-Handy 700 Express (12 minutes.) We also found the Dyson to be relatively lightweight and very easy to use around the home.

There are a few drawbacks though. The shape of this vacuum isn’t as sleek as other handheld models, which can make it awkward for tight places or car interiors. Switching to “MAX” mode also reduces the run-time to around 6-minutes, so this setting can only be used sparingly.

Even so, we think the Dyson V7 Trigger is the best handheld cordless vacuum for spot cleaning carpets. It’s powerful, has a motorised brush bar, and provides plenty of battery run-time.

Unlike most cordless vacuums, the Halo Capsule is a bagged vacuum cleaner. It doesn’t provide many advanced features, but it’s a simple vacuum with a large dust capacity, simple design, and great performance. We also think it provides excellent value for money.

As a bagged vacuum cleaner, the Halo Capsule can hold much more dirt and dust than bagless models. The 1.6 litre capacity is more than double the Dyson V11 Absolute, making the Capsule an attractive choice if you hate needing to empty the dust canister so frequently.

Most importantly for this article, the Halo Capsule generates excellent suction power (when on the higher settings) and has a strong brush bar. This makes it a great choice for cleaning carpets, although it also does a good job on most types of hard floor too.

One of the main downsides of the Halo Capsule is the lack of a pet turbo tool. The lowest power mode is also too weak to be useful for carpets, so don’t expect to get the full 60 minute run-time when cleaning.

Still, the Halo Capsule provides great carpet cleaning performance for a very reasonable price. If you don’t mind buying additional bags, then it’s definitely an option to consider.