The best Dyson vacuums: A guide to the latest versions of stick, ball, and handheld cleaners

The famous cyclonic power takes vacuuming from tedious to exhilarating.
By Leah Stodart  on 
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Overview

Most affordable Dyson with laser

Dyson V12 Detect Slim

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Best for smaller homes

Dyson V8 Absolute

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Most powerful Dyson

Dyson V15 Detect

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Best for large homes

Dyson Outsize Absolute

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Cheapest Dyson stick vacuum

Dyson V8 Fluffy

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Best mid-range Dyson stick vacuum

Dyson Cyclone V10

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Table of Contents

Dyson has carved out a major position in the home tech arena. Though the name appears in categories from air purification to beauty, its expertise is the most prominent in vacuums.

The brand's genesis stems from the same frustrations we've all had with one vacuum cleaner or another. In the early '90s, a British engineer — who was fed up with his current clunky, clogged vacuum — set out to create a vacuum that's not a chore in itself to use.

Enter an ergonomic design, funky colors, intense cyclonic suction, meticulous filtration, and an ingenious bagless dirt collection system … and so the Dyson vacuum was born. It's the kind of suction power that's so satisfying to wield, it seems unfair to let a robot vacuum take all the credit.

Originally, Dyson's claim to fame was its upright vacuum, eventually expanding into canister vacs as well. Both were built around The Ball: a rolling sphere that allows the vacuum to curve around furniture and tricky obstacles with a flick of the wrist. They had such impressive suction and were so tough on pet hair that people put up with the fact that they were also heavy and hard to store.

Dyson officially cut that cord in 2018, when James Dyson announced that the company would halt production of corded vacuums to focus on the less cumbersome It Girl, the cordless stick vacuum.

The cordless stick vacuum family, however, is updated so often that it's hard to keep up with which models do what. The deciding factors will narrow down to weight, suction power (the higher the suction, the better performance on pet hair and carpet), the number of attachments, battery life, and new tech like lasers — and, of course, how much you can justify spending on a vacuum.

We'll point out which Dyson stick vacuums between V7 and V15 are best for each budget, plus dive into differences compared to models that ditch V-number titles, like the Outsize series. While the guide below does include two non-stick models because they are still sold at some retailers, those product lines won't be expanded on.

Here are our picks for the best Dyson vacuums:

Dyson V12 Detect Slim with green laser on orange and purple polka dot graphic

Dyson V12 Detect Slim

Most affordable Dyson with laser

Read our full review of the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

The lite (like diet but also like lightweight) version of Dyson's laser-equipped vacuums isn't Dyson's cheapest or highest-end offering. Rather, the V12 Detect Slim incorporates Dyson's best features — the game-changing laser that highlights dust and hair that your eyes would never pick up on, digital display and automatic boost, and powerful, precise attachments — for over $100 less than the V15 Detect (even more if you find it on sale).

The V12 Detect Slim offers all of this while shaving over a pound off the V15 Detect, making it the most lightweight and compact Dyson available. The result is a smaller dust bin and battery, which are better suited for apartments and one-floor homes. But the dust bin on this Dyson vacuum is still the point-and-shoot kind that makes emptying into the trash easy.

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There have actually been several variations of this entry-level Dyson vacuum over the years, like the V8 Motorhead, Animal, and Fluffy. The V8 Absolute is the cheapest official option on Dyson's website as of May 2022. It shares much of the muscle that makes its more expensive siblings so great. Tradeoffs like a little less oomph and a smaller dust bin also make this vacuum cleaner lighter — and easier to lift to the ceiling.

15 cyclones in the V8 create strong-enough centrifugal force to conquer debris in smaller, one-pet (or no-pet) homes. The Direct Drive cleaner head shoves bristles deeper into the carpet for better extraction on things like pet hair. Though it might require charging after every use, 40 minutes of battery should still be enough to get a full job done using this Dyson vacuum.

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A transparent dustbin showcases just how dirty your floors used to be. The V15 Detect wowed us when it dropped in 2021 as the first Dyson vacuum cleaner to sport a laser. It's no longer the only Dyson stick vacuum with laser tech, but the laser in tandem with its beastly motor still make this one of Dyson's best values.

On hard floors like wood, tile, or laminate, the green light illuminates specks laying ahead to offer some direction past the visible debris that your naked eye can see. On carpet, the V15 unleashes 230 Air Watts of cyclonic suction (more than even Dyson's Outsize) to dig into fibers and pull out stubborn pet hair and debris. Note that the bin will fill quickly in large homes with lots of pets.

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The familiar design of the Dyson Outsize Absolute actually features a half-gallon dustbin that holds more than double the grime of the other 0.2 gallon bins. The illuminating laser first introduced on the V15 Detect is also present. Its Digital Motorbar XL is 25% wider than the V15 Detect's and uses polycarbonate de-tangling hair removal vanes to clear long hair from the brush.

Dyson's heaviest stick vacuum also provides a heavy-duty clean. The Outsize vacuum cleaner is armed with an intuitive Hyperdymium motor that hits up to 220 Air Watts in Boost Mode, giving Dyson's upright and canister vacuums a run for their money. Despite expending so much oomph, the battery's good for 120 minutes.

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Red Dyson V8 Fluffy vacuum on purple and orange design

Dyson V8 Fluffy

Cheapest Dyson stick vacuum

The tea is that the cheapest stick vacuum on Dyson's website isn't the cheapest one out there. Walmart has consistently had the Dyson V8 Fluffy in stock and on sale for as low as $299.99 since Black Friday 2021 (compared to the $499.99 V8 Motorhead). Given its suction power and ability to go handheld, there's little reason to opt for the handheld Humdinger.

The namesake refers to a Fluffy cleaner head composed of nylon fibers and anti-static bristles for a scratch-free glide. Holding less than a quarter of a pound of debris, the Fluffy is best-suited for small homes or apartments with limited messes. The puny bin does keep it lightweight, making for comfy one-hand maneuvering.

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Purple Dyson V10 vacuum on purple and orange design

Dyson Cyclone V10

Best mid-range Dyson stick vacuum

Yup, Dyson omitted a vacuum titled the V9 from its lineup. The mid-priced V10 tops the V8 in a few ways: Its hour-long battery life offers an extra 20 minutes of cleaning and enhanced motor creates 20% more suction. According to Dyson, the new Torque Drive cleaner head shoves bristles deeper into carpet to pull out embedded dirt.

You may notice that the dust bin is situated parallel to the stick attachment rather than perpendicular like the older models. This design change shifts the vacuum cleaner's center of gravity and apparently provides better air flow for better suction — and makes for a more hygienic dirt ejection process.

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The strongest upright vacuum on the market (according to Dyson) is the heavy hitter to take on your heavy shedders. It's not cordless or compact, but is easy to whip around.

The latest rendition of Dyson's iconic Ball technology was engineered specifically with pet owners in mind. The cleaning head self-adjusts its height to seal in suction depending on floor type, efficiently drilling into your carpet's stubborn layer of pet hair. All of the gunk that you didn't know existed is stored in a spacious half-gallon dust bin.

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Topics Vacuums

Leah Stodart
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter

Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.

Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].

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