The best stick vacuums at every price

We reveal the affordable aces, mid-priced marvels and pricey performers to help you buy the best for your budget.

illustration of three different stick vacuums with ticks and dollar symbols

Alice Richard

Last updated: 15 July 2025

There's a lot to love about stick vacuums. They're great for quick clean-ups, there's no annoying cord to trip over, and their slim design means you can stash them in your kitchen or wherever you're likely to use them most.

With prices ranging from less than $100 to more than $1500, it can be hard to know where the sweet spot between price and performance is. Should you spring for a fancy Dyson, or can you get away with a cheaper brand?

Should you spring for a fancy Dyson, or can you get away with a cheaper brand?

We'll explain what to expect in terms of pricing, plus for CHOICE members only, we'll reveal the highest-ranking stick vacs from the top, middle and bottom of the price spectrum.

If you want to find out which are the best stick vacuums for your budget, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews.

If you're already a member and you just want to see the best products, you can jump straight to the results now.

How much should you spend on a stick vacuum?

We've tested stick vacuums that cost as little as $32 for a budget Big W corded model and as much as $1500+ for high-end LG and Dyson models.

The median price of all the stick vacs in our review is $599. Prices have increased due to improvements in technology: just eight years ago, the median price was only $299.

Unfortunately, you'll be hard pressed to find a high-performing stick vacuum on the cheap. Almost all of the stick vacs that our experts recommend cost upwards of $800.

Some cheaper stick vacs will do a good-enough job, especially if you're only using them on hard floors

If that sounds too far out of your reach, don't give up on your dreams of stick vac ownership just yet. Some cheaper stick vacs perform reasonably well and will do a good-enough job, especially if you're only using them on hard floors.

We've compiled a list of the best stick vacuums under $250 exclusively for CHOICE members.

If you're on a tight budget, your money will go much further if you buy a traditional barrel vacuum: you can pick up a great performer for around $300–500.

Yes, it's more effort than a stick vac, but if you're constantly having to clean up after your cheap stick vac, you're already doing the extra work anyway.

The best budget, mid-range and premium stick vacs

We independently test and review dozens of new vacuums each year in our onsite labs, and our experts know exactly what to look for to help you find the best product.

Our detailed stick vacuum testing data is available exclusively for CHOICE members.

If you're not yet a member, join CHOICE to get instant access to all of our expert, independent reviews, from fridges and freezers, toasters and TVs, kettles and cots, and more.

Or log in to unlock this article and find out which stick vacuums deliver the best bang for your budget.

Unlock this article and more

Information you can trust
See the best brands
Avoid the worst performers

Join CHOICE

or Log in

Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.

Your exclusive access:

Welcome! This section of the article is accessible only to our valued members.

The best stick vacuum on a budget

The Shark Clean & Empty stick vacuum.

Shark Clean & Empty

CHOICE Expert Rating: 81% (Recommended)
Price: $600

This is the cheapest of all the models recommended by our experts, and while $600 isn't exactly spare change, it's a very good price for a very good stick vac.

If your home has mostly hard floors, it'll do an excellent job of cleaning them, and it's also great for pet-friendly households.

Plus, it takes the convenience of a stick vac to the next level: the charging dock has an automatic emptying bin, so it empties itself while it's charging.

You'll need to empty this bin, but it's larger so you won't need to do it as often as you would with stick vacs that only have an on-board dust canister.

It takes the convenience of a stick vac to the next level: it empties itself while it's charging

It's not great at cleaning carpet, but that's a common issue with stick vacs anyway: even some of the highest scoring vacs in our review don't do a brilliant job on carpet. (Though this one does have the lowest score for quick carpet cleaning of all the stick vacs recommended by our experts.)

Read the full Shark Clean & Empty review.

Another affordable stick vac to consider

The Bosch Unlimited 7 BCS711WAU.

Bosch Unlimited 7 BCS711WAU

CHOICE Expert Rating: 80% (Recommended)
Price: $649

The best of the rest

These sticks didn't quite meet the cut to be recommended by our experts, but they still received good scores. They're worth considering if your budget only stretches to around $600.

Miele Duoflex HX1 Cat & Dog

CHOICE Expert Rating: 80%
Price: $599

Midea MP08AUGY Cordless Handstick with Auto Empty Station

CHOICE Expert Rating: 79%
Price: $420

Shark Cordless Pro IR300ANZ

CHOICE Expert Rating: 79%
Price: $500

Shark Cordless Detect Pro

CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
Price: $600

The best mid-range stick vacuums

The Shark Stratos Cordless Pet Pro Vacuum with Clean Sense IQ.

Shark Stratos Cordless Pet Pro Vacuum with Clean Sense IQ

CHOICE Expert Rating: 83% (Recommended)
Price: $800

A step up from the Clean & Empty, the Shark Stratos Cordless Pet Pro Vacuum with Clean Sense IQ actually scores higher than some sticks costing twice as much.

You'll get plenty of bang for your buck: excellent performance on hard floors, a perfect score for removing pet hair from carpet, good cleaning of edges and corners, very good car cleaning capabilities and a respectable score for thoroughly cleaning carpet.

With a purchase price this low, you could afford to buy a second battery to extend cleaning time

The Stratos Cordless Pet Pro's battery only lasts 10 minutes on full power, but that's not dissimilar to some high-end stick vacs that are far more expensive. Plus, with a purchase price this low you could afford to buy a second battery to extend your cleaning time – and still have spent less money than you would with many other stick vacs.

While we don't have recent brand reliability data for LG and Shark stick vacuums, we know that Shark's conventional corded vacuums have historically scored well for performance and satisfaction.

Read the full Shark Stratos Cordless Pet Pro review.

Other mid-range stick vacuums to consider

These mid-priced vacs are recommended by CHOICE experts.

There's not much between them in terms of running time, pet hair removal scores and their overall CHOICE Expert Ratings, but the Wertheim performs better for quick carpet cleans, if that's something that's important to you.

And while the Shark Cordless PowerDetect is the most expensive, it has a self-emptying feature, which means it will empty its dust canister while it's charging.

This Wertheim only just missed out on the top spot for mid-priced sticks.

Wertheim Evolution MAX Stick Vacuum Cleaner

CHOICE Expert Rating: 82% (Recommended)
Price: $899

Shark Cordless Detect Pro Vacuum IW3611ANZ

CHOICE Expert Rating: 80% (Recommended)
Price: $800

Shark Cordless PowerDetect Clean & Empty System

CHOICE Expert Rating: 80% (Recommended)
Price: $1000

The best premium-priced stick vacuum

The Samsung Bespoke Jet AI Stick Vacuum Cleaner.

Samsung Bespoke Jet AI

CHOICE Expert Rating: 88% (Recommended)
Price: $1399

The highest rated vacuum overall in our tests, this Samsung outshone several more expensive Dysons, plus three similarly-priced LGs.

It's far from cheap, but if you don't mind paying top dollar for top quality, this stick vac should be on your list.

It has the longest running time of all the recommended stick vacs, a perfect pet hair removal score, excellent performance on hard floors and the highest score of every stick vac in our tests for thorough carpet cleaning.

It's far from cheap, but if you want top quality for top dollar, this stick vac should be on your list

Plus, its charging tower doubles as a second bin, so when you pop it on charge, it'll empty the dust canister for you – a feature that other high-priced stick vacs, such as those from Dyson, don't always have.

Samsung isn't as well known for its stick vacuums as Dyson, but considering that two of the three Samsungs in our review scored highly enough to be recommended, perhaps it should be.

Read the full Samsung Bespoke Jet AI review.