The Best Handheld Vacuums
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Handheld vacuums may not be the most necessary household appliance you ever buy, but they sure are convenient. You don’t have to mess with heavy, cumbersome (and expensive) vacuums that require a plug-in and hazardous cords. Sure, there are cordless vacs to mitigate this problem, but those are also large and can be expensive. The handheld vac—compact, lightweight, and inexpensive—has come a long way in recent years. As vac technology keeps getting better, handhelds are becoming more powerful and lightweight.
Kid spilled her Cheerios on the floor? Pet hair on your favorite reading chair? Need to spot-clean your car seats? The handheld vacuum's got you. Nearly every handheld vacuum cleaner comes with attachments for picking up hair or fur on carpets, brush and crevice tools, and smooth upholstery attachments. Plus, nearly every one on this list is under 100 bucks (except our top Dyson pick because, well, it’s Dyson).
We tested some of our favorite hand vacuums for many types of messes, but we’re continually testing more, so check back often. Be sure to check out our related guides, like the Best Cordless Vacuums, Best Carpet Cleaners, Best Dyson Vacuums, and Best Robot Vacuums.
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How I Tested
I factored in charge and actual power time in overall value and ranking, considering some charge for four hours and last less than half an hour of run time—that just won’t be practical for certain people. Since most of these come with attachments for specific needs, I made sure to test each on a myriad of surfaces, like rugs, carpet, hardwood, stairs, counters, crevices, inside my car, on furniture, and even in between vents and blinds. I also tested on various types of messes (no liquids though), especially focusing on my personal major mess gripes—cat litter and pet hair. I also initially tested during the winter, so I sucked up plenty of dried, fallen pine needles from my Christmas tree.
What to Look For
Again, definitely pay attention to specs like charge and usage time, as well as its power (like voltage) and attachments provided. If you’re working construction and need a handheld vac for debris, I’d recommend something like a Ryobi, while if you’re looking for a portable lightweight travel vacuum, the AeroSlim might be better suited for you. It’s also important to factor in charging versus usage time. Some of these last less than 15 minutes and have very small waste capacities, so if you have a bigger project, you’ll need to take that into consideration.
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best for Most People
Dyson HumdingerWe at WIRED often review (and often love) Dyson’s well-made and innovative but pricey products. Dyson’s lightweight (just over 2 pounds) hand vacuum, the Humdinger, is no different. It’s super light while still packing a punch, and it comes with a crevice tool attachment with a movable brush, a worktop attachment, and a hair screw tool.
The combination crevice tool worked excellently in tight, awkward spaces, and I liked using the brush attachment to clean vents. The worktop attachment worked well picking up crumbs and debris on flat surfaces like counters, but the real star of the show is the hair screw tool. The motorized conical brush bar rotates to quickly pick up hair and claims to have anti-tangle abilities, meaning that the hair gets sucked straight back into the bin rather than getting tangled in the wheel (a common problem with rotating brushes). It turns on with a power button and has a Max mode for even more power. When you pull the red lever below, the top cover drops and the dirt and dust is pushed out of the front, which I loved because it meant there was less need to touch the debris inside. It claims to capture 99.99 percent of microscopic particles, like dust mite allergens.
The Dyson vac also uses “Radial Root Cyclone” technology, where eight cyclones generate forces of up to 96,000 g to force debris into the bin without losing suction. The Humdinger takes about 3.5 hours to charge and uses a four-cell energy-dense lithium-ion battery for up to 25 minutes of cleaning. The HEPA filter is removable and washable and promises to last a lifetime. This lightweight, powerful vac is easy to use with many attachments for most vacuuming needs, and it feels well-made and durable.
Capacity: 0.05 gallons Attachments: Hair screw tool, combination crevice tool, worktop tool Battery: 50 watts (14.4 volts) Run time: Up to 25 minutes Filter: HEPA filter Warranty: 2-year parts and labor warranty - Photograph: Molly Higgins
Another Great Option
Ryobi 18V One+ Performance Hand VacuumThe Ryobi 10V One+ is a powerful small vac that attaches to a rechargeable 18-volt Lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with brush and crevice tool attachments. Although the vacuum is powerful on its own, the dust brush worked well for cleaning fabrics and effectively brushed up pet hair, and the crevice tool was small enough to fit between upholstery and hard-to-reach places in my car, like below and in between seats. There’s a small adapter attachment that connects the dust bowl opening to the attachments, although the brush attachment was a little annoying to use sometimes because it would rotate off the carpet and point above.
For emptying, all you have to do is push the button to eject the dust cup. The vac has a dual filter system that, like many on the list, untwist from each other for even more filtration and should be cleaned regularly. I really have no major gripes with this small but super-powerful vac. It’s a steal at less than $100, it’s lightweight and easy to carry around, and I like that the battery pack on its own needs to be charged (helps conserve space) and easily snaps (and unsnaps) to the device with latches. The battery pack also has a charging indication light so you know just how charged it is and it's compatible with other Ryobi tools. This powerful device doesn’t come with the most attachments or bells and whistles, but it’s still lightweight while being super powerful with that attachable battery pack.
Capacity: 2.8 cups Attachments: Crevice tool and dust brush Battery: 18-volt 2-Ah lithium-ion battery Run time: Not specified (when I used, it was around 25 minutes) Filter: HEPA and standard filters Warranty: 3-year manufacturer's warranty
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best for Pet Hair
Bissell Pet Hair EraserThis lightweight, 3-pound hand vacuum is specially designed to target pet hair and does exactly that. It comes with three attachments. A powerful motorized brush lifts pet hair from a myriad of surfaces, including fur embedded in fabric and carpet; a super-skinny crevice tool sucks debris from in between cushions; and a flat, wide attachment works well for surface upholstery vacuuming.
Like most other vacuum assemblies, you press a button on the top to disconnect the bin, and the filter sits on top. You can easily lift out the filter and separate the layers to help maintain cleanliness. The vac is rechargeable and plugs in at the very back by the handle, and it has a light that blinks red when the power gets low. Although this vac works excellently on various surfaces, easily picking up spilled sand and dried needles from my Christmas tree, it really shined with pet hair. The rotating bristles work to suck up and move pet hair quickly and efficiently to the back bin, like a large vac does. When I first used this on our carpet—which has three cats and a dog regularly lying on it—everyone in my house was simultaneously grossed out and impressed with it. We didn’t know we had that much pet (and human) hair embedded in the floor. In the first go, which lasted about 15 minutes before running out of juice, I was able to pick up over three canisters filled with just dust and hair. The only issue I have with this is that the crevice tool would often get stuck in the vacuum attachment connector, and it took a lot of muscle to pull out to change attachments.
Capacity: 0.7 L Attachments: Motorized brush, crevice tool, upholstery tool Battery: 14.4-volt lithium-ion battery Run time: Up to 17 minutes Filter: 3-stage filter: prefilter, H13 HEPA filter, motor filter Warranty: 1-year limited warranty - Photograph: Nena Farrell
Another Great Option for Pets and Kids Alike
Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro PlusThis hand vacuum from Shark is made for pets, but it’s great to use for all kinds of things in a household of a cat and a toddler: spilled Cheerios or kibble, scattered litter, various dirt in the car, drywall dust after installing a new curtain rod, the list goes on. It’s powerful and works well for everything I’ve tried it for. The only downside is how short the battery life is, but I’ve still managed to vacuum small messes several times throughout the week before needing to charge it again. —Nena Farrell
Capacity: 0.45 quarts Attachments: Pet brush, scrubbing brush, and crevice tool Battery: 80 watts Run time: About 15 minutes Filter: Fabric filter Warranty: 2-year limited warranty
- Photograph: Molly Higgins
The Workhorse
Ryobi 18V One+ Powered Brush Hand VacuumThis vacuum means business. It’s very similar to our other Ryobi pick, but has a mini motorized beater bar that’s excellent for hair, a crevice tool, a dust brush, and LEDs for increased visibility while cleaning. (See? Powerhorse.) Like the other Ryobi model, it sits on a rechargeable 18-volt battery with a charging indicator light and easily attaches and detaches to the end for less bulky charging. As an added bonus, the battery is compatible with other Ryobi tools.
The crevice tool worked great for hard-to-reach places and the brush was gentle enough to brush and vac debris (it worked excellently on my air vents). The mini motorized beater bar packs a lot of power, helping to push up debris like hair from surfaces to deep clean. The bar rotates super quickly and is especially great at lifting pet hair on carpet and fabric, and the head pivots to keep extra close to various surfaces and angles. The cover of the beater bar can be opened with a small slotted tool (I used a coin), and the brush slips out for even easier cleaning. It has a button on the bottom which releases the top of the container to let the contents spill out. The small gray button on the side of the arm lets the entire canister easily fall out to empty and access the filter to clean. The filters twist apart and need to be cleaned and wiped down regularly to keep the vac working its best.
I used the vacuum on concrete to suck up cat litter, fabrics with pet hair, and carpet with pine needles, and even tough items like wood chips were sucked up without issue. It’s probably the most powerful on the list, but I don’t think it’s the one best for most people, simply because it’s such a workhorse. It’s a bit heavier and bulkier than others on the list, and is pretty loud—and bright with an LED light that ensures you can clean in any condition.
Capacity: 2.7 cups Attachments: Mini motorized beater bar, crevice tool, dust brush Battery: 18-volt 2-Ah Lithium-ion battery Run time: Over 40 minutes Filter: Dual HEPA filter Warranty: 3-year manufacturer's warranty - Photograph: Molly Higgins
Best to Take on the Go
Bissell AeroSlim Handheld VacuumThis sleek, super-light (1.37-pound) handheld vac may not be the most powerful on this list, but it’s definitely the easiest to maneuver. It sits in its changing port and takes 2.5 to 3.5 hours to fully charge for up to 12 minutes of use time. It comes with a multi-accessory tool that combines a long, slim crevice tool with a moveable brush (the brush moves up and down on the tool depending on need), but you can also just use the vac without the slim attachment for more general surface cleaning. The tiny 0.1 L front of the vac twists off to empty, and a small dual filter can also be removed for cleaning/replacement.
There's only one button for power and it has lights to indicate how much charge is left on the device. The filter has a mesh covering and a twist lock to protect the HEPA filter on the inside (it’s washable, but make sure it’s completely dry before use). I wasn’t able to successfully pick up bigger items like wood shards or litter, and only picked up a fraction of pet hair as some of the more powerful models with a roll brush, but I wasn’t expecting it to—that’s not this cutie’s job. It’s portable, light, simple, and easy to use. I started keeping it in my car for small messes here and there, like crumbs or debris from my shoes. It’s a great portable option for specific needs, but if you’re looking for a more powerful model I’d check out Ryobi or a good everyday vac like Dyson.
Capacity: 0.1 L Attachments: Crevice tool with moveable brush Battery: 7.4-volt Run time: Up to 12 minutes Filter: Double mesh and HEPA filters Warranty: 1-year limited warranty
Others We Tested
Tineco Go Mini Cordless Hand Vacuum for $90: This lightweight vacuum is fairly straightforward, and charges through the end of the handle that plugs straight into the wall. Before first use, you have to charge it for five to six hours, which gets you 10 to 20 minutes of use time. The main things I wanted to focus on cleaning in my everyday life were cat litter and pet hair. This vacuum spit out roughly 80 percent of the litter I tried sucking up, and the pet hair just sort of rolled around on the carpet rather than being sucked back into the vac. (I’m not sure if it was the angle or shape of the mouth that aided in both of those problems.) The suction wasn’t as powerful as others tested, and it tended to work best on hard surfaces. This vac wasn’t bad, per se, but others on this list at similar price points worked a lot more effectively on a lot more various surfaces (with multiple head attachments) than this was seemingly capable of.
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