The 7 Best Dyson Vacuums of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
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The Dyson V12 Detect was our favorite cordless model
People / Reese Herrington
Dyson is one of the most recognizable vacuum brands out there today, and its vacuums are known for their powerful suction and durable construction. Dyson currently offers a wide range of vacuum cleaners, including upright, cordless, and canister models, and it can be challenging to figure out which model is best for your home.
“At Dyson, we believe there is no one-size-fits-all approach to vacuuming, which is why we have a vacuum for varying homes and cleaning needs–from small apartments to large houses and everything in-between,” says Ollie Toogood, senior design engineer at Dyson. “All Dyson vacuums have powerful suction, effective pick-up, and unmatched filtration.”
To find the best Dyson vacuum for your home, Toogood recommends thinking about your house size and floor type, as well as the vacuum's power, weight, and battery life. If you want to narrow down your choices further, we tested all of the brand’s top models, evaluating each one on its effectiveness, noise level, value, and more to ensure they’re a worthwhile investment.
Below, find the best Dyson vacuums of 2023.
Best Upright: Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra
Pros
Effective on hard floors and carpeting
Variety of useful attachments
Pet hair doesn’t tangle on brushroll
Large dust bin
Cons
Confusing assembly
Heavy
If sheer suction power is what you’re after, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra is the clear winner. Unlike many of Dyson’s other products, this upright vacuum is a corded model, which results in consistent suction for an unlimited amount of time, and in testing, we found it excels on both hard floors and carpeting thanks to its three brushroll height settings.
The vacuum made quick work of every type of debris we threw at it, easily picking up coffee grounds, cereal, corn kernels, hair, and lint in just a few passes. Plus, the vacuum’s cleaner head has special hair removal vanes that effectively prevented pesky hair from getting wrapped around the brushroll, making it ideal for households with pets.
This upright vacuum is on the heavier side, but it was still easy to maneuver around furniture and into corners. It comes with several attachments, including the “tangle-free turbine” tool for upholstery and a unique pet grooming tool for brushing your dog, and its spacious dust bin had room to spare even after our testing was complete. Our only real complaint about this vacuum is that the instructions leave something to be desired—the manual is very sparse, and most of its instructions solely include pictures, making them hard to follow.
Price at time of publish: $399.99 (orig. $499.99)
Type: Upright | Dimensions: 42.2 x 15.5 x 11.02 inches | Weight: 17.3 lbs. | Runtime: Unlimited | Bin Volume: 1.7 L | Suction Power: 290 AW
Best Cordless Stick: Dyson V12 Detect Slim Vacuum
Pros
Lightweight
Laser dirt detection
Single-button power control
Cons
Can struggle with larger debris
Fairly small dust bin
Dyson has an impressive collection of cordless stick vacuums, and for most households, our top pick is the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. This model is extremely lightweight and easy to maneuver, and it can run for up to 60 minutes on its lowest suction setting. During testing, we found that it does a good job sucking up debris and pet hair (though it occasionally struggles to grab larger debris, like full pieces of dog kibble). Its unique laser dirt detection illuminates dust and hair on hard floors, showing you exactly where to clean. If you've ever used a vacuum with a laser on its brush head, you know how helpful this feature can be.
In addition to the laser cleaner head, this Dyson model comes with a Motorbar cleaner head for carpeting, a “hair screw” tool for pet hair, a crevice tool, and a combination tool. Unlike many other cordless Dysons that are powered by a trigger, the V12 Detect Slim features a single-button power control, and it even offers a LCD screen that keeps track of all the dust particles that you’ve sucked up. Our major complaint with this cordless vacuum is the size of its dustbin — at 0.1 gallons (roughly 0.38 liters), it’s definitely on the smaller side, and you may find yourself emptying it frequently if you’re cleaning a large area.
Price at time of publish: $649.99
Type: Cordless stick | Dimensions: 49.1 x 9.9 x 9.8 inches | Weight: 5.2 lbs. | Runtime: 60 minutes | Bin Volume: 0.1 gal. | Suction Power: 150 AW
Best Investment: Dyson V15 Detect Cordless Vacuum Cleaner
Pros
Powerful suction for a cordless model
Laser dirt detection
Variety of attachments
Cons
Trigger-style power button
Expensive
If you don’t mind spending a little extra on a top-tier vacuum, the Dyson V15 Detect is a worthwhile splurge. This cordless stick vacuum excelled in our lab testing, sucking up all sorts of debris and pet hair with ease, and it has an impressively long runtime of up to 60 minutes on its eco setting. It maneuvers easily around obstacles and between different floor types, and it has a larger dustbin than the V12 model, allowing you to clean for longer before needing to stop and empty.
The Dyson V15 Detect comes with a variety of attachments to clean practically every surface in your home, including the brand’s Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head, which uses a green laser to show dirt and dust on hard surfaces. You’ll also get a carpeting cleaner head, pet hair tool, crevice tool, combination tool, dusting brush, and “stubborn dirt brush.” However, keep in mind that this model does have a trigger-style power button that needs to be held down for the duration of your cleaning session, which some people find tiring for their hands.
PEOPLE writer Cai Cramer says that after using the V15 Detect, there's no going back to ordinary vacuums. "I didn't know how dirty my floors were until I got my hands on the Dyson V15 Detect. The vacuum head has a built-in laser that illuminates fine dust and dirt that my eyes would have otherwise missed, " she says. "It's lightweight and easy to maneuver, which means I can finally reach those crevices under my couch that are way dirtier than they seem."
Price at time of publish: $689.99
Type: Cordless stick | Dimensions: 49.6 x 10.5 x 9.8 inches | Weight: 6.8 lbs. | Runtime: 60 minutes | Bin Volume: 0.2 gal. | Suction Power: 230 AW
Related: The 8 Best Dyson Hair and Home Products
Best for Pet Owners: Dyson Cyclone V10 Animal Cordless Stick Vacuum
Pros
Good value
Tangle-resistant cleaner head
Easy to maneuver
Cons
No hard floor attachment
Pet owners often fight an uphill battle against pet hair, and the Dyson Cyclone V10 Animal is a great tool to have in your corner. This lightweight cordless vacuum is ideal for daily hair cleanup around your home — in our testing, it effectively picked up pet hair and kibble from carpeting, and its “Boost” mode came in handy for those extra-dirty areas. Plus, it’s so easy to maneuver that our tester said a child could do it! The vacuum has a maximum runtime of 60 minutes on its lowest setting, and the brand estimates it will run for around 35 minutes with the Torque drive cleaner head attached.
Speaking of the cleaner head, it’s equipped with special hair removal vanes that automatically clear long pet hair off the brush bar as you clean. (That means no more cutting tangles off the attachment.) The vacuum also comes with a “hair screw tool” for upholstery, as well as crevice, combination, and dusting brushes. Plus, one of the best parts about the V10 Animal is that it’s more affordable than other Dyson stick vacuums, making it a great supplementary cleaning tool for anyone with pets.
Price at time of publish: $449.99
Type: Cordless stick | Dimensions: 48.74 x 9.53 x 9.84 inches | Weight: 5.71 lbs. | Runtime: 60 minutes | Bin Volume: 0.2 gal. | Suction Power: 150 AW
Best for Large Areas: Dyson First-generation Outsize
Pros
Powerful suction
Long runtime
Extra-large dust bin
Cordless model
Cons
Very expensive
Top-heavy design
For large homes, the Dyson Outsize is a top pick. While it is quite pricey, this cordless model offers the longest runtime — up to 120 minutes between its two included batteries — and largest dustbin of all the brand’s stick vacuums. We love that the vacuum automatically optimizes suction on Auto mode depending on what type of flooring you’re cleaning. In our testing, the vacuum also performed exceptionally well with pet hair, thanks to its extra-large cleaner head with hair-removal vanes.
You’ll be able to vacuum for significantly longer with the Outsize thanks to its 1.9-liter dust bin, but the downside of this feature is that the vacuum is very top-heavy and can be a bit bulky to move around. The vacuum comes with two floor heads, including one with laser dirt detection, as well as a variety of attachments, and its digital display provides an accurate countdown to let you know just how much battery power you have left.
Price at time of publish: $699.99 (orig. $949.99)
Type: Cordless stick | Dimensions: 50.39 x 11.02 x 9.06 inches | Weight: 7.98 lbs. | Runtime: 120 minutes | Bin Volume: 1.9 L | Suction Power: 220 AW
Best for Hardwood Floors: Dyson Omni-Glide+ Cordless Vacuum
Pros
Very lightweight
Extremely easy to maneuver
Push-button operation
Cons
Small dust bin requires frequent emptying
Not ideal for large-scale cleaning
For quick clean-ups on hardwood floors, we recommend the Dyson OmniGlide — the lightest cordless model available from the brand. It weighs just over 4 pounds, making it a breeze to carry up stairs and around your home, and it has a unique articulating neck with four 360-degree castors that deliver unbeatable maneuverability. It can even lie flat, allowing you to vacuum under low-profile furniture.
During testing, we found that the OmniGlide performs well on hardwoods, tile, and stairs, and despite having lower suction power than other models, it was able to pick up debris, pet hair, and cotton balls without any issues. (It did struggle a bit to suck up popcorn kernels without shooting them across the room, however.) The vacuum offers push-button operation, but we did find that its small dust bin filled up extremely quickly, resulting in frequent trips to the trash. It also has a shorter runtime than other Dyson cordless vacuums, offering around 20 minutes of cleaning time per charge. However, one of our PEOPLE editors (who lives in a small apartment with wood floors) has this model and won't stop raving about it.
"This is the easiest vacuum I've ever used. It glides over my hardwood floors, and the swivel head twists in all directions to pick up pet hair and dirt. This is a very powerful vacuum for such a tiny model," says PEOPLE senior editor Erin Johnson.
Price at time of publish: $399
Type: Cordless stick | Dimensions: 42.4 x 3.6 x 8.1 inches | Weight: 4.18 lbs. | Runtime: 20 minutes | Bin Volume: 0.05 gal. | Suction Power: 50 AW
Related: The 13 Best Vacuum Cleaners of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
Best Basic: Dyson V8 Absolute vacuum
Pros
Great value
Wide range of attachments
Tangle-resistant cleaner head
Cons
Short runtime on Max mode
The Dyson V8 Absolute is a tried-and-true model for anyone who just wants a basic cordless Dyson vacuum. It’s one of the most affordable options in Dyson’s lineup and ideal for everyday cleaning around your house. The V8 Absolute comes with two cleaner heads—a fluffy option for hard floors and the Motorbar cleaner head for carpeting—and the latter has been recently updated to feature the same hair-removal vanes as other high-end models.
This cordless vacuum can run for around 40 minutes on its standard setting, but its battery life does drop dramatically if you switch it to Max mode, so use that extra suction sparingly. The V8 Absolute comes with a variety of useful attachments, including a fabric and mattress tool and stubborn dirt brush, and its no-touch bin emptying mechanism can be deployed without detaching the vacuum’s stick.
Price at time of publish: $349.99 (orig. $499.99)
Type: Cordless stick | Dimensions: 49.45 x 8.7 x 9.84 inches | Weight: 5.51 lbs. | Runtime: 40 minutes | Bin Volume: 0.54 L | Suction Power: Not listed
Things to Consider Before Buying a Dyson Vacuum
Style
Dyson offers three main styles of vacuums: upright, cordless stick, and canister. Its upright vacuum, the Dyson Ball Animal, is a corded model that offers unlimited runtime and the most powerful suction of all its vacuums, making it ideal for large households.
The brand also has its line of uber-popular cordless stick vacuums, and today, the brand sells six different models. These vacuums have a battery-powered design, which makes them convenient to use for quick cleaning tasks around the house, and many of them are extremely lightweight and maneuverable.
Finally, the brand sells the Dyson Big Ball canister vacuum. This corded model offers strong suction and a convenient bagless design, and it even self-rights if it ever tips over.
House Size
One of the biggest factors to consider when shopping for a Dyson vacuum is the size of your home. Those who have smaller living spaces are often able to use a cordless stick vacuum as their primary vacuum, especially since many Dyson models come with a range of useful accessories. Models like the Dyson V12 Detect Slim offer up to an hour of runtime per charge, and they come with a convenient wall-mounted docking system that makes them easy to access.
If you have a larger house, you may want to upgrade to a model like the corded Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra, which offers unlimited runtime. Alternatively, the brand’s Dyson Outsize comes with a second battery that doubles its runtime, as well as a larger dustbin.
Flooring Type
Another factor to take into account is the type of flooring in your home. If your home is mostly hard floors, you'll want a vacuum for hardwood floors. A model like the Dyson OmniGlide is specially designed just for hardwoods and tile. For those with a lot of carpeting, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra has a powerful cleaner head that gets deep into rugs, as well as special hair-removal vanes to prevent pet hair from tangling around the brushroll. Or, if you have a little of both, you may want an upright vacuum or stick vacuum. Many of the Dyson cordless stick vacuums come with separate attachments for hard floors and carpeting.
When to Buy
Dyson vacuums are generally on the more expensive side, and if you’re looking for a deal, your best bet is to wait for a major sale holiday, such as Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday. You can often save $100 or more on your purchase during large sales, but keep in mind that older models are more likely to be marked down than the brand’s newer vacuums.
PEOPLE / Rachel Marek
How We Tested Dyson Vacuums
Over the course of several testing sessions, we put the majority of Dyson’s current vacuum models to the test, both in our lab and in the homes of our testers. After assembling each vacuum, we tested their ability to pick up a variety of both large and small debris, as well as pet hair. We tested each vacuum on both hard floors and carpeting, and we also evaluated them on factors like maneuverability, ease of emptying, noise level, and value.
Based on each vacuum’s scores, we sorted them into categories where we thought they would perform best. Our overall top pick for an upright model ended up being the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra, while our pick for the best cordless stick vacuum is the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Dyson vacuum is the most powerful?
In terms of sheer suction power, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 Extra is the most powerful option in Dyson’s current lineup, offering 290 AW, or air watts, of suction power. Among the brand’s cordless stick vacuums, the Dyson V15 Detect is the most powerful, with a rating of 230 AW.
Which is better: Dyson Animal or Absolute?
Many of Dyson’s vacuums come in several different models, and the main distinctions between different versions generally include the vacuum’s color, as well as the attachments that come with it. For example, the Dyson Ball Animal 3 currently comes in a base model, as well as Extra or Complete versions. The Extra comes with four attachments and a copper color scheme, while the Complete includes 10 tools and accessories and a gold color scheme.
In terms of the Animal vs. Absolute debate, which generally refers to the V8 model, the Absolute includes more accessories, including a fluffy cleaner head that’s ideal for hard floors. The Animal has fewer tools, most of which are focused on cleaning up pet hair. However, the vacuums themselves are virtually identical.
What is Dyson's return policy?
If you order a Dyson vacuum online, you can return it for a full refund within 30 days of delivery. For purchases made at a Dyson Demo Store or Dyson Service Center, a return must be made within 30 days from the purchase date.
Why Trust PEOPLE?
Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product reviewer who specializes in home, kitchen, and pet products. To compile this roundup, she spoke with our testers about a range of Dyson vacuums and considered flooring type, house size, and style. While researching Dyson vacuums, we spoke with Ollie Toogood, senior design engineer at Dyson.
What Is People Tested?
We created the PEOPLE Tested seal of approval to help you find the very best products for your life. We use our unique methodology to test products in three labs across the country and with our network of home testers to determine their effectiveness, durability, ease of use, and so much more. Based on the results, we rate and recommend products so you can find the right one for your needs.
But we don’t stop there: We also regularly re-review the categories in which we’ve awarded the PEOPLE Tested seal of approval — because the best product of today might not be the best of tomorrow. And by the way, companies can never buy our recommendation: Their products must earn it, fair and square.
In short, PEOPLE Tested provides recommendations you can trust — every day, every purchase.
Up Next: The 8 Best Cordless Stick Vacuums of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
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