When you have a small mess in a hard-to-reach spot or simply can't be bothered to haul out a full-size vacuum for a quick clean-up, reaching for a lightweight handheld vacuum is definitely the move. Among the best vacuums, a good handheld vacuum cleaner can quickly and easily clean crevices, countertops, car interiors, and the various nooks and crannies of your home as well as high-up spots for reaching cobwebs and more — just a few spots where robot vacuums can't go and more portable than cordless sticks vacuums.
We tested 10 portable handheld vacuums to see how they cleaned up Cheerios, flour, coffee grounds, cat litter, and dog and cat hair on hardwood floors, carpeting, and in a car. The best handheld vacuum overall and the most affordable, too, is the Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum. We most recently tested the Shark Cyclone Pet (CH701) and were impressed with its lightweight design and versatile use cases.
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Our top picks of the best handheld vacuums
Best overall: Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model HHVI315JO42) - See at Amazon
Best for pet hair: Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L) - See at Amazon
Best for cars: Shark Cyclone Pet (CH701) - See at Amazon
Most versatile: Black+Decker 20V Max Flex Handheld Vacuum (model BDH2020FL) - See at Amazon
Best overall
The Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model HHVI315JO42) is the most affordable and best handheld vacuum we tested. It performs well on carpet, hardwood, and in the car.
- Cleaned well on all surfaces
- Large dustbin (for a handheld)
- Lightweight and quieter than most models
- No battery charge indicator light
- Short run time
The Black+Decker Dustbuster Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model HHVI315JO42) was among the top performers, whether on carpeting, hardwood, or in the car. It especially stood out on hardwood, where it was the best at picking up Cheerios and flour, a substance all vacuums struggled with on every surface.
This Dustbuster weighs a smidge over 2 pounds and is well-balanced to prevent strain during longer cleaning jobs. Yet, long cleaning jobs won't be an issue with this vac since the battery run time is only about 12 minutes, among the shortest we tested. There is no indicator light to tell you when the battery is charged.
Using the Dustbuster is simple. One button turns it on and off, and the other releases the dustbin. Once released, remove the filter to empty the dustbin. The cloth filter is easy to clean with water, but let it dry before reinstalling it. The Dustbuster is loud, about as loud as a noisy restaurant, but it was quieter than most vacuums we tested.
Lastly, we were impressed with the size of the Dustbuster's dustbin: It was 50% larger than any other handheld vac we tested. The extra space was nice when cleaning up Cheerios spills.
Best for pet hair
The Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L) was the only vacuum we tested that picked up all of the pet hair on every surface, and it did a good job with other materials as well.
- Easy-to-access brush attachment
- Large dustbin for a handheld
- Performed well on all surfaces
- Convenient charging base
- Lightweight
- User friendly
- Picked up all pet hair during testing
- Hard to put back together after emptying
- Takes 4 hours to recharge battery
- Noisy
The Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean Cordless Handheld Vacuum (model CHV1410L) was the only vacuum to pick up all pet hair we laid out on every surface: carpeting, hardwood, and in the car. When picking up other materials, this Dustbuster didn't perform as well as our top pick, but it did better than most models we tested. While it's great for couches, you'll still want a full-size pet hair vacuum for floors.
The Dustbuster AdvancedClean is easy to use. It weighs a little more than 2.5 pounds and has great balance. We didn't experience fatigue while cleaning with it. The brush is attached to the vacuum head, so you can easily flip it in place without worrying about keeping track of an attachment. The charging dock is simple to operate. You just set the vacuum on it, and it takes about four hours to fully charge, and then the indicator light turns off. The vacuum runs for about 14 minutes.
The CHV1410L is noisy and about as loud as a hairdryer, which may not be ideal in an apartment with thin walls. The dustbin is spacious and easy to empty without getting your hands dirty. You have two options: You can remove the entire dustbin and empty it by pulling out the filter, or you can remove the forward section and shake out the debris without touching the filter. Whichever you choose, you need a little finesse to get the vac to snap back together.
Best for cars
The powerful Shark Cyclone Pet (CH701) has a lightweight design that makes it comfortable to hold, especially when getting into nooks and crannies, like a car — and charges through USB.
- Cleans well on carpeting, hardwood, and in cars
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Operates quieter than most handhelds
- You need to touch the filter to empty the dustbin
- Could be better at picking up flour on carpeting
The Shark Cyclone Pet (CH701) is easy to use. It weighs only a pound and a half and has just two buttons: the on/off and dustbin release buttons. It comes with two attachments: a PetExtract Hair Tool and an 8-inch Crevice Tool. I particularly liked using it in the car because the crevice tool made it easy to get into hard-to-reach spots, and the light weight made it comfortable to hold in awkward positions.
On carpeting, hardwood, and in the car, the Shark Cyclone Pet came close to picking up all the debris I laid out, including Cheerios, flour, coffee, cat litter, and pet hair, offering some of the best cleaning performance. The only area where it struggled was picking up flour on carpeting, where it only sucked up about half. My arm never got tired of holding it during testing.
Though Shark doesn't list its battery life, the battery runtime is about average (12 minutes on a charge) and recharges faster than most (2 hours.) It uses a USB to charge, making it convenient to take in the car. It doesn't list the dustbin size but is advertised as XL. By my measure it was about 450ml, and enough to carry through my cleaning tests. My biggest gripe is that you must remove — and thus, touch — the filter to empty the dustbin.
Most versatile
The powerful Black+Decker 20V Max Flex Handheld Vacuum (model BDH2020FL) has a narrow, flexible, 4-foot hose that can clean in hard-to-reach areas of your home or car.
- Cleaned well on all surfaces
- Attachments store on charging base
- 4-foot hose
- Powerful suction
- Relatively quiet
- Good battery life
- One of the heaviest vacs we tested
- Disposal can get messy
- The exhaust may blow around debris
- Slow charging
While our top overall hand vac picked up more debris, we think the Black+Decker 20V Max Flex Handheld Vacuum (model BDH2020FL) is the best option for those who like versatility — it also has the most powerful suction of the vacuums we tested.
The Max Flex vacuum was the second-best overall performer in our cleaning tests. It did especially well on carpeting, picking up at least 79% of each material. However, it struggled with flour, which is difficult for all vacuums. Despite its impressive performance and power, it was one of the quietest vacuums.
We like that the Max Flex has a charging base that stores the attachments you aren't using. The vac runs for 16 minutes on a charge — the best among our picks — but takes four hours to recharge fully, two to three hours longer than the other picks.
The Black+Decker BDH2020FL was one of the heavier vacs we tested. However, the narrow, flexible hose lets you clean a relatively large area without picking up the entire unit, making cleaning under seats in a car and other inaccessible areas easier. We didn't like how messy it got when emptying it. You need to rotate the unit so the door is on top, open the dustbin door, and tip the bin to empty the contents.
The vacuum's exhaust comes out of the side, causing debris we hadn't had a chance to clean to fly across the room. This was less of a problem when cleaning in a car because we used the hose more, and the exhaust was further away.
What to look for in a handheld vacuum
Battery: The longer the battery runtime, the longer you can clean. It's also important to consider how quickly the battery recharges and if you can buy extra batteries to prolong your cleaning time. After fully charging the vacuums, we ran them until the battery died, timing how long it took. Then we timed how long it took to recharge them.
Noise: Besides being annoying, a loud vacuum can lead to noise complaints if you live in a multi-unit dwelling. Using a sound meter, we measured how loud in decibels each vacuum was from 2 feet away. They were all louder than 70 decibels, similar to city traffic.
Ease of use: Since handheld vacuums are best for quickly cleaning up small messes, you want a unit that's easy to use. We rated each vacuum's hardness or ease of use. For example, the Worx vacuum was a pain because the hose wasn't long enough to clean the 5-square-foot patch of carpet without moving the whole unit. Thus, it required two hands.
Weight: The vacuum's weight contributes to its ease of use. Heavier units put a strain on your arm during longer cleaning sessions. In general, you'll want a model under three pounds.
Disposal: You don't want debris flying all over when you empty your vacuum. We emptied the dustbins of the vacuums at least 12 times each. We paid attention to how messy this task was and if we came in contact with the debris. A vacuum earned extra points if it was easy to direct the debris into the trash.
How we tested handheld vacuums
We use many objective tests to assess the vacuums in this guide. When shopping for a handheld vacuum, the most important features are how well it cleans various surfaces and how light and easy to use it is.
In addition to the factors outlined in the section above, here are the main attributes we look for and how we test them:
Carpet cleaning: One at a time, we poured 100 grams of all-purpose flour, coffee grounds, and kitty litter; 50 grams of Cheerios; and 1 gram of a mixture of cat and dog hair on a 5-square-foot patch of carpeting. Next, we vacuumed up as much as possible in 30 seconds. We determined how much the vacuums picked up by weighing the dustbins before and after they tackled each substance.
Hardwood cleaning: We conducted the same testing on a 5-square-foot piece of hardwood flooring as we did in the carpet cleaning portion.
Car cleaning: We poured 50 grams of Cheerios and flour plus the 1-gram pet hair mix on the cloth passenger seat and floor of a Prius. Next, we vacuumed as much of each material as possible in 30 seconds. Then we compared the weight of the dustbin before and after cleaning each substance.
Here's a breakdown of how much of each material (in grams) the top picks cleaned up on each surface in our tests (the top performance is denoted in bold):
| Surface — Material | Black+Decker Dustbuster (HHVI315JO42) | Black+Decker Dustbuster AdvancedClean (CHV1410L) | Shark Cyclone Pet
| Black+Decker 20V Max Flex (BDH2020FL) |
| Carpet — Cheerios | 48g | 44g | 46g | 45g |
| Carpet — Flour | 76g | 45g | 55g | 79g |
| Carpet — Coffee | 73g | 90g | 88g | 84g |
| Carpet — Litter | 83g | 85g | 86g | 82g |
| Carpet — Hair | 1g | 1g | 1g | 0.89g |
| Hardwood — Cheerios | 49g | 47g | 41g | 44g |
| Hardwood — Flour | 85g | 53g | 83g | 60g |
| Hardwood — Coffee | 96g | 100g | 95g | 95g |
| Hardwood — Litter | 89g | 90g | 88g | 74g |
| Hardwood — Hair | 0.84g | 1g | 1g | 1g |
| Car — Cheerios | 50g | 35g | 36g | 40g |
| Car — Flour | 36g | 17g | 36g | 20g |
| Car — Hair | 1g | 1g | 1g | 1g |
Handheld vacuum FAQs
Are handheld vacuums worth it?
Handheld vacuum cleaners are small and light enough to hold in your hand. They're typically cordless, have smaller dustbins, and have less power than uprights. Many people benefit from them, including car owners, pet owners, parents of small children, people living in small spaces, and individuals with mobility issues. Handheld vacuums provide a quick and convenient way to clean up small messes.
Cordless stick vacuums can be used as handheld vacuums, but they tend to be heavier. Since handhelds are inexpensive, they're nice to have around even if you already have a cordless stick vacuum. You can find stick vacuums in our other vacuum guides.
How long does a handheld vacuum last?
John Schrumpf, owner of John's Rug Scrub, noted that vacuums last an average of seven years. "You'll break the vacuum before it sputters to a stop," he said. Most have warranties for one to two years.
Is a handheld vacuum as good as an upright vacuum?
"A handheld vacuum is better for portability and convenience," said Leslie Tam, cofounder of Urban Mop, a professional house cleaning service. But if you want to clean the entire house, he said an upright vacuum is far superior. The so-so upright vacuums we tested were far superior to the best handheld models.
What is considered strong suction?
Suction power alone didn't determine our top pick. The Black+Decker Dustbuster has 16 air watts of suction power, but it still performed better than the Black+Decker Max Flex, which has 24.
What about mini-handheld vacuums?
I haven't tested a mini-handheld vacuum I've liked. In addition to the limitations of other handhelds, the mini vacs have tiny dustbins. Plus, they tend to cost more than your typical handheld. Still, if you have regular little messes or light dusting in hard-to-reach spots, including your computer keyboard, it might be nice to have a mini-handheld vacuum handy.
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