Stick vacuums are the perfect tool for quickly cleaning bare floors and low pile carpets when you don’t have the time (or the energy) to lug out your heavier, full size canister or upright model. As this category grows, you may also hear them described as pole vacuums. That's because many are now designed with a motor on top near the handle, which connects to a narrow wand or pole that then connects to the cleaning brush below. This upgraded format is more effective since it makes the vacuum super maneuverable and better able to reach under low furniture and around tables and chairs. The motored top often also does double duty as a hand vacuum that can be removed and used with or without attachments.
In the Good Housekeeping Cleaning Lab, our expert team is constantly testing and recommending all kinds of vacuums, like canisters, robots, handheld vacuums, vacuums that zap pet hair, vacuums for hardwood floors and even cheap, budget-friendly vacuums under $100. Since no one vacuum is perfect for every cleaning need, we recommend keeping several styles in your cleaning arsenal and a stick vac should certainly be part of the mix. "As a mechanical engineer and a working mom of two, I rely on a stick vac as my everyday go-to because it's much lighter than my upright vacuum, very effective at sucking up dust and dirt, and easy to take out and store away," explains Rachel Rothman, the GH Institute's chief technologist and head engineer.
She's right. Lightweight stick vacs are great for cleaning up crumbs on the kitchen floor after dinner, gathering stray hairs in the bathroom, or quickly refreshing carpets and floors before guests arrive. Most are cordless, so they can easily be used even in spaces with nary an outlet in sight. Newer models have longer run times, even as long as 51 minutes, before needing recharging. And they are pretty easy to store, often coming with their own wall-mount caddies or bases and with attachments like a crevice tool and dusting/upholstery brush.
How We Test Stick Vacuums
The GH Cleaning Lab is constantly testing vacuums, and we recently tested 15 of the newest stick vacuum cleaners. And because there are new models coming to market all the time, we continually update our reviews. Add this to the hundreds of hours we've spent testing uprights, canisters, robots, and more, and it's safe to say we know our vacuums.
When we evaluate a stick vacuum, we test it for how well it removes pet hair spread over the surface of a carpet, how well it picks up large and fine particles of debris, like rice, dry oatmeal, and gritty sand from hard flooring like vinyl, how closely it cleans along edges, and how easy it is to use. We weigh how heavy it is and measure the run time. Our tests are based on the ASTM standard test methods the industry uses. Ease-of-use testing includes evaluating maneuverability on different surfaces and around corners and typical household items, like furniture. We assess how easy or difficult the controls are to access and use and how easy the dust cup is to clean and empty. Then we recruit consumer testers to rate the vacuums’ maneuverability on bare floor and carpet, around corners and under furniture, the ease of removing the dust cup or bag, and the ease of operating the vacuums’ controls. We note and test any features, such as, whether or not is has a battery charge indicator, a brush roll control button, or other tools and attachments.
Scroll to the bottom of this article to read more about what you should consider before buying a stick vacuum. But first, here are our picks for the top stick vacuums to buy in 2019. These recommendations are a combination of models we've tested in the Lab, ones similar to those we’ve tested, and a consumer favorite from online reviews of a brand that has done well in previous tests:
Best Stick Vacuum for Deep Cleaning: Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute Lightweight Vacuum
Best Stick Vacuum for Large Areas: Bissell Air Ram Cordless Vacuum
Best Stick Vacuum for Going Under Furniture: Shark ION F80 Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum with MultiFLEX
Best Stick Vacuum Suction: Dyson V11 Torque Drive Cord-Free Vacuum
Best Lightweight Stick Vacuum: Karcher VC4i Stick Cordless Vacuum
Best 2-in-1 Stick Vacuum: Black + Decker Powerseries Pro 2-in-1 Cordless Vacuum
Best-Selling Stick Vacuum on Amazon: Eureka Blaze 3-in-1 Swivel Lightweight Stick Vacuum Cleaner
You'll notice we included Quiet Mark ratings for four of the seven top-tested picks (the rest were not part of a sound test). Quiet Mark is an organization that aims to reduce noise pollution and measured the noise output of each model for us. Three stars means it’s quiet and rates “good” for sound compared to others in its category, two stars is “average,” and one star is loud or “poor” for sound relative to others.
What are you cleaning?
Stick vacuums make great secondary vacuums, because they usually aren't as powerful or as effective at deep cleaning as a full-size canister or upright vacuum is. We generally don’t recommend them as the only or primary vacuum to adequately clean a whole house with multiple rooms, deep carpets, and a mix of hard and soft surfaces. For that, you need a full-size upright or canister vacuum. Choose a stick vacuum if you want the flexibility to quickly clean small areas without dragging out a the big guy. Stick vacuums can be stashed in a utility or small closet for easy access and work best cleaning bare floors, low pile rugs and carpets, and, for those that convert to a hand vac or have hand vacuums on board, upholstery, stairs and even the car.
Do you want corded or cordless?
Corded vacuums work, of course, non-stop so there’s no downtime and no need to recharge the battery. The downside is that you are tethered to an outlet and can only roam as far as the length of a cord. But they do provide more long-lasting cleaning power. Cordless vacuums run on batteries. Today’s lithium-ion batteries have more power and last longer than the nickel cadmium batteries of older models, but run time is usually about 3 minutes unless the model comes with a second battery to swap in when the first one runs out. We think that’s a nice extra to have. Another design feature we applaud is when the battery pack itself can be removed for charging. This allows you to simply plug in only the battery for charging and store the rest of the vacuum in a closet and out of sight.
Do you need a brush roll?
More fully-featured stick vacuums often come with rotating brush rolls to clean more like full-size vacuums. A rotating brush roll is important to have if you have medium pile carpets to help remove dirt that’s settled down into the tufts. Brush rolls can also help collect debris on bare floors, but can sometimes cause scattering and should be soft enough not to scratch them. If you are vacuuming only bare floors and very flat rugs, a stick vacuum without a rotating brush roll will likely fit your needs.
Do you also want a hand vacuum?
Having one vacuum that does double duty is always a bonus. For that reason, virtually all stick vacs can either be converted to a handheld vacuum by popping off the motored top or removing the handle, or they come with a separate handheld unit that snaps directly onto the body of the stick vacuum. Both the handheld and stick vacuums operate off the same motor, so they charge (and run down) at the same time. The handheld vacuums are great for cleaning upholstery, stairs, the car and for quickly picking up dry spills, like rice or cereal, off a bare floor.
How much storage space do you have?
Because they are slim, stick vacuums take up less storage space than full-size vacuums, but most don’t stand up on their own, especially those with heavy motors on top. For this reason, most come and snap into charging brackets that you can mount to a wall. Others may have bases that you set the stick vac onto to keep it upright for storage and charging. Whichever type you choose, we recommend looking for a stand that also holds any attachments so everything’s neatly stored in one place. Some come with retractable or foldable handles to take up even less precious closet space.
If you have a big house to clean and only want to buy one vacuum cleaner to do it all, we in the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab typically recommend spending at least $250 or more to get a durable model that does a great job deep cleaning carpets and bare floors and is durable enough to withstand years of continuous use. That said, it is possible to get a great vacuum at $100 or less!
Are there any drawbacks when it comes to cheaper vacuum cleaners? They often contain more plastic parts, may be minus some of the upscale features (like adjustable suction, cord rewind, telescoping wands or extra attachments), or may not last as long. But, if you don’t need (or want!) your vacuum to last forever, cheaper vacuums can certainly get the job done sans bells and whistles.
The GH Cleaning Lab selected the best inexpensive vacuums from testing we’ve done or because they were from brands that have tested well for us in the past. To find the best picks, we looked at the brand’s performance history, consumer feedback, and any extra features a model offers at a price of $100 or below.
The picks below stood out in our assessment as models offering good value for just a little money. Here are the best budget vacuum cleaners under $100 of 2019:
Best Upright Vacuum Cleaner: Bissell Cleanview with One Pass Technology
Best Canister Vacuum Cleaner: Eureka Mighty Mite Bagged Canister Vacuum
Best Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner: Bestek Corded Stick Vacuum Cleaner 2-in-1
Best Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner: Bissell Lift-Off Floors and More Lightweight Stick Vacuum
Best Corded Handheld Vacuum Cleaner: Bissell CleanView Deluxe Corded Hand Vacuum
Best Cordless Handheld Vacuum Cleaner: Dirt Devil Gator Lithium 16V Hand Vacuum
Best Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner: Karcher Indoor Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner
Best Car Vacuum Cleaner: Hotor Corded Car Vacuum Cleaner
Best Vacuum Cleaner for Pets: Black + Decker 20V Max Lithium Cordless Flex Vacuum with Pet Hair Brush
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