The 7 Best Dyson Vacuums of 2022, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall: Dyson v8 Animal Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

4.5

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Our Ratings

• Effectiveness
  4/5
• Maneuverability
  4.5/5
• Ease of Emptying
  4.5/5
• Portability
  5/5
• Noise Level
  4.5/5

Even though Dyson keeps coming out with new technology to better its appliances, the Dyson v8 Animal is still a popular choice. It's our top pick because it blends powerful suction with a slightly more affordable price tag (when compared to other Dyson models). It's also extremely easy to assemble as well as break apart and store away in a closet or laundry room. Mutlow says that "a good vacuum should do four things properly: pick up the dust from the floor, lock the dust inside, expel clean air. All the while ensuring that it does not lose its suction." This vacuum checks off all of those boxes.

This model's motorized cleaning head and brush bar suck up dirt, dander, hair, and other debris from the fibers of carpet and area rugs to give you a deep clean. Its included direct-drive cleaner head is designed with carpeted floors in mind. It pairs the stiff nylon bristles with up to 115AW suction power to deep clean even high-pile carpets or area rugs. While the Dyson Omni-glide is our pick for hardwood floors, the v8 Animal performs so well on hard surfaces, too, making it an excellent pick for anyone with multiple floor types in their home.

As a cordless stick vacuum, this pick is also convenient to use and ideal for daily maintenance or quick cleaning sessions before company arrives. It has a built-in rechargeable battery that provides 40 minutes of run time in standard mode. Just be forewarned that the max mode delivers more power, but it shortens the battery life to under 10 minutes. (Save it for spot-cleaning especially dirty areas.) Like many Dyson cordless stick models, we didn't love that you have to hold down the trigger the whole time you're vacuuming either. This not-super-intuitive feature makes us believe that it wouldn't be a great pick for a large home.

In typical Dyson fashion, the vacuum's design is stunning, and it comes with a wall mount so you can hang it up when it's not in use. We are confident that you'll enjoy using this Dyson vacuum daily.

Best Budget: Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 Upright Vacuum Cleaner

4.2

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The Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 Upright Vacuum offers reliable performance and powerful suction at a price that won’t break the bank. It doesn’t feature new Dyson innovations like the Dyson v15 Detect+'s laser for counting captured dust particles, and it lacks the ability to convert into a handheld vac, but those are not necessary for basic, everyday cleaning jobs. Instead, it offers a respectable 196AW of suction power. It's well suited for most types of flooring as well. Our product tester found it a chore to use this vacuum on high-pile carpet, noting that it required lots of muscle to keep the vacuum moving. However, all of the effort paid off with a canister full of cat hair, earning the vacuum a 5-star rating for its cleaning effectiveness.

Notably, the upright-style vacuum is quite heavy, but our tester noted that the design keeps the weight from being too problematic. "At 15.6 pounds, the Multi Floor 2 isn’t light, but it’s manageable," said our tester, who used this vacuum in their home. "It helps that it’s bottom-heavy; the majority of the weight is condensed into the ball, so it’s easy to turn with less force, and there’s little risk of it tipping over."

While the vacuum is quite loud, you'll enjoy the whole-machine filtration, as well as the motorized brush bar and self-adjusting cleaner head for effective cleaning on both bare floors and rugs. The washable filter and quick-release dust bin make for easy maintenance, too. Overall, it's a great pick at a great price.

Best Upright: Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright Vacuum

4.5

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Our Ratings

• Effectiveness
  5/5
• Maneuverability
  5/5
• Ease of Emptying
  5/5
• Portability
  4/5
• Noise Level
  3/5

Upright vacuums are often a go-to option for whole-house cleaning, because they offer larger dust bins and don't run out of power. The Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright Vacuum will be your favorite sidekick on any cleaning adventure, as it features nimble steering, a 30-foot power cord for plenty of reach, and a 0.55-gallon dust bin to capture dirt and debris. At 17.5 pounds, it's definitely heavier than some other full-size vacuum cleaners on the market, but it makes up for it with maneuverability. Swivel steering allows the vac to move with you as you tackle messes in every room of your home.

We didn't test this pick in The Lab, but the Dyson Ball Animal 2 has impressive specs, and our home tester found that its effectiveness could not be beat. The vac offers 227AW of suction power in its boost power mode and can be used on any surface. The active base plate will adjust to maintain suction with solid surface floors or a plush carpet. One downside is the handle can be tricky to lock into place. When putting this vac together, our tester noted that it's best to watch an online video and not rely on an unclear set of instructions. However, you'll ultimately find that it gets the cleaning job done, especially when picking up hair. Our tester gave it 5 stars for effectiveness, maneuverability, and emptying.

"The 'ball' base (made of glass-reinforced polypropylene) that contains the motor makes it easy to maneuver with minimal effort, letting you steer around furniture easily," said our tester after using it in their home. "We also liked that there’s a designated spot on the vacuum body to store the various attachments."

Best for Large Spaces: Dyson Outsize Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

4.4

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Our Ratings

• Ease of Setup
  4/5
• Effectiveness
  4.5/5
• Maneuverability
  4.5/5
• Ease of Emptying
  4.5/5
• Noise Level
  4/5

Cordless stick vacuum cleaners have become popular for their convenience, but they often have been limited by their battery lives and small dust bins. The Dyson Outsize Cordless Vacuum Cleaner solves all these problems and is a high-power cleaning machine worthy of the hype. This model impressed our tester with its ability to adjust suction power and motor performance depending on floor type. It’s like it does most of the work for you, requiring very little “elbow grease,” according to our insights from The Lab. This can be credited to Dyson’s DSL technology that increases cleaning effectiveness while conserving battery life.

Digging into the technical specs, you’ll find that the maximum suction power (220AW) of this cordless model nearly matches Dyson’s powerful upright vacuum, the Ball Animal 2, which is no small feat, considering that it weighs less than half. If you’re comparing cordless vacuum cleaners, you’ll also note that, true to its name, the Outsize upsizes its cleaner head. It measures 12.5 inches wide for faster coverage of floors.

It also features interchangeable battery packs, so you can clean more at once. An LED display helps you keep tabs on the life of the battery you're currently using. Notably, it took our product tester under three minutes to assemble, despite the instructions being entirely in text, and the vac performed really well on high-pile carpet, as well. While it's fairly top-heavy and doesn't stand up on its own, we gave it 4.5 stars for its maneuverability.

Best for Hardwood: Dyson Omni-glide Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

4.4

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Our Ratings

• Effectiveness
  3.8/5
• Maneuverability
  5/5
• Ease of Emptying
  4.5/5
• Portability
  5/5
• Noise Level
  4.5/5

Equipped with dual soft roller cleaner heads, four 360-degree casters, and an articulating neck, the Dyson Omni-glide Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner was engineered to do one thing exceptionally well: clean hard surface floors. Whether you push or pull the vacuum cleaner, the Omni-glide will just slide along, capturing debris and dust in its path.

Our tester was impressed with how easily this vacuum maneuvered under couches, along baseboards, and around kitchen table legs. The flexible neck and in-line design of the vacuum mean that this model can lie flat for cleaning areas with low clearance. You don’t want to underestimate this feature, since dust and hair tend to accumulate under furniture, and most upright vacuums have a bulky design that makes it hard to reach any tight spaces underneath. The only downside to this vac is that it doesn't perform well on carpet. Our tester reported that on max mode it managed to suck up debris from small area rugs, but you wouldn't want to use it on wall-to-wall carpet.

While this Dyson vacuum for cleaning hardwood floors is an expensive option for a single purpose, it’s an excellent choice for homes with many square feet of tile, wood, or laminate flooring. The dust bin on this stick vacuum is rather small, and it’ll require regular emptying, but the push-button operation is a standout feature. Instead of holding a trigger down to activate suction, like you would with Dyson's v8 Animal, simply select the button you'd like to control the operation and mode of this cordless vacuum. 

All in all, using it is a true pleasure: "I love reaching for this vacuum daily. It actually glides across the floor as you clean, making the chore feel a little bit more manageable," said our product tester, who used it at home in real-world situations. "It's so fun to dance with it across my kitchen's tile floor, as it sucks up crumbs or along the baseboards in my living room as it clears out pet hair that constantly accumulates."

Best for Carpet: Dyson v12 Detect Slim

4.2

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Our Ratings

• Effectiveness
  3/5
• Maneuverability
  3/5
• Ease of Emptying
  4/5
• Portability
  4/5
• Noise Level
  1/5

Finding a vacuum that can thoroughly handle carpet, without having hair tangle in the brush bar, is a feat that most people compromise on. However, the Dyson v12 Detect Slim not only prevents hair wrap on all of its motorized attachments, but also sucks up every trace of hair within seconds. Although our tester was less than impressed by this vacuum's suction ability on hard flooring—cue popcorn kernels being spit in every direction—this vacuum had no trouble sucking up Cheerios, popcorn kernels, and hair from carpet. It did take several passes to suck up the larger debris, but that's a common occurrence with most vacuums that generally perform well on carpet.

Aside from its suction power, our tester noted this vacuum's lightweight and compact design, which is 24 percent lighter than the Dyson v15 Detect. It also is powered by a button, so there's no need to consistently pull a trigger to operate it, unlike other Dyson models. The Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head shines a laser onto tiny particles that you might not normally see while cleaning, and is composed of soft nylon and anti-static carbon fibers that help remove dust from small gaps and hard flooring. Our tester also appreciated the point-and-shoot dust bin emptying mechanism, but noted that some hair did need to be manually pulled out.

As may be expected, this vacuum's suction power does make it one of the loudest vacuums we tested. Even on auto suction, our tester noted it was incredibly loud and said they would not want to use this vacuum on boost mode for any extended period of time. The LCD screen offers insights into the run time, power countdown, and maintenance needs, but our tester said the instruction manual provided little insight into properly understanding all the features included on the display. Despite these few design concerns, we're overall impressed by this vacuum's suction power for cleaning carpets, especially given the fact that our tester found zero hair wrap on any of the attachments after testing.