By Mike Szostech Last updated
Looking for the best cordless vacuum in Canada? As companies improve their technology, and battery life increases, there is lots to consider. On top of that, 2022 was a year of record inflation so going into 2023 many of the cordless stick vacuums have gone up in price.
Our picks for the best cordless vacuums in 2023 come from reading cordless vacuum reviews and sifting through listings of the different handheld vacuums that can be purchased in Canada. While doing that, as if on queue, we quickly realized that some of the top recommended vacuums aren’t available in Canada (whether that’s because of supply chain issues or some other reason we don’t know).
Dyson cordless vacuums are always at the top of every list, and so some of you might wonder why we don’t just tell you what the best Dyson vacuum in Canada is – we do. In fact, we compare every available Dyson Stick Vacuum Canada in a nice comparison table. However, if you aren’t yet convinced that a Dyson is the best cordless vacuum option, or if you’re looking for a little cheaper, then continue reading!
There are stick vacuums that are lighter and quieter than Dyson cordless stick vacuums, and much cheaper. They do, however, lack some of the refinements like a docking station and a longer warranty.
If you need more suction power, and don’t mind the less-portable nature of a plugin, check out our recommendation for the best canister vacuum in Canada.
Comparing the Best Cordless Vacuums
Hey Canada! This section helps you compare the features of these products to help you choose the best option for you! Click on the product name to jump down to that specific review.
Battery Life
Battery life might not be important to you if you have a smaller house, or if you're the type that keeps a regular cleaning schedule and does one area of the house at a time. If you're like us (aka normal!) when your house is finally dirty enough you can't stand it any more, it's time for a deep clean where every inch of the house needs your cordless vacuum. We've found that the 30 minute battery life on our Dyson V7 motorhead lasts long enough for our 3 bedroom house as long as you aren't doing a deep clean behind every dresser and under every bed sort of vacuum.
Weight
A heavy vacuum is harder to use for long periods of time - the real conflict with these battery powered vacuums is that the longer the battery life, the heavier the vacuum. That's because most of the weight is from the battery pack itself, and a bigger pack means a longer vacuum time. Keep that in mind when searching for the best cordless vacuum cleaner for your needs. The Miele takes a different approach and allows you to move the motor and dustbin near the floor to help ease the stress on your arm. If you have a chance to visit a store in person and feel a particular vacuum cleaner in your hand, it could help make your decision easier.
Extra Tools
Extra tools are only useful if you plan on using them. If you are the type to just use what's in your hand rather than go and get the right tool for the job, then there's no point in paying extra for the best cordless vacuum accessories. If a HEPA filter is important or necessary, then you'll have to look at NEQUARE's model for best cordless vacuum.
Noise Level
Powerful cordless vacuums make noise as they suck lots of air through, and most of these are really very close to each other in sound volume. If you have a pet or child that's particularly sensitive to noise, then you may need to pay special attention to these ratings.
Cost
Click on a specific model to view a list of places in Canada you can buy that specific cordless vacuum at the best price.
Warranty
Suction Power
It's chronically difficult to compare suction models because Dyson doesn't give their vacuums a rating, and then other manufacturers use different values. Through some crafty search engine use, I was able to find the AirWatt (AW) suction rating of all the best cordless vacuums - except the Dibea and NEQUARE models. I found a Pa rating, which is a way of measuring atmospheric pressure, with the lower the number being worse suction power. Suction power isn't the only thing to compare to determine the best cordless vacuum, as a cheaper vacuum with more suction will still plug up faster if their 'cyclone' dustbin doesn't function very well, or the battery may not last as long.
Things to consider when looking for a cordless vacuum
If you are thinking about buying the best cordless stick vacuum, please remember that they are not as reliable or long-lasting as a plug-in, more conventional vacuum. Ultimately, a portable vacuum will not be a replacement for your upright or canister vacuum. Those will still likely be pulled out for full-house cleanings, seasonal carpet beatings, and the like. However, the convenience of a cordless vacuum can not be overstated!
The cordless vacuum we have uses a charging dock that’s easy enough for our kids to dock for charging, and pull out to clean up a quick mess. Plus, it has a super-easy to empty dust bin which means that the whole process can be hands off for parents!
You have to consider what the purpose of your portable vacuum cleaner will be. If it’s for spot messes when kids track dirt onto your carpet, your needs will be different than someone who wants to vacuum up pet hair on their furniture.
Cordless vacuum battery life is also important. How often do you plan to vacuum – do you picture pulling out the vacuum multiple times a day for a couple minutes, or do you think you’ll use it nightly for a full-house clean-up? Some of the best cordless vacuum cleaners have charging docks and fast charge times. More expensive, top-of-the-line stick vacuums have long battery life without affecting suction power.
Another important consideration will be if you want the ability vacuum up liquid with your handheld vacuum. This requirement will really limit your options, but it’s important to keep in mind when searching for the best stick vacuum.
Take a moment to read some of the cordless vacuum reviews from Canadian purchasers – it’ll give you a real-life example of how the particular model of best cordless vacuum will perform in real life.
In our experience, cleaning even the best cordless vacuum after each use is necessary to maintain optimum performance. If you don’t, then super-fine dust particles build up in the dust bin and on the cyclone-generators which means that next time you use the vacuum the suction will be affected.
If dumping the dustbin regularly, and cleaning the dust cyclone semi-regularly is not what you’re looking for, then consider a vacuum with a filter bag.
Consider the price of the best cordless vacuums
Lastly, obviously important, is cost. How does the cost of a particular cordless vacuum in Canada compare to another? What about warranty and reliability, and how that relates to price differences? Often a cordless stick vacuum with a longer warranty will cost more, even if the vacuum doesn’t function as well.
Top Pick: Tineco S11 Cordless Vacuum
The Tineco S11 has some great features, at a great price - almost half the price of name brand cordless vacuums with similar features. In addition, it comes with a click on/off trigger which means you don't need to keep the trigger squeezed during your vacuum session!
With an ultra-quiet digital motor, it delivers quiet and powerful cordless vacuum power for your whole house.
The Tineco S11 Pure One cordless vacuum cleaner senses dust and debris and adjusts suction in real time. This means that it uses less power when high-level suction isn't needed, resulting in up to 2x longer runtime.
The S11 cordless stick vacuum is also available in a 'Tango' model that includes an additional power brush with a soft roller. The soft roller makes it even more effective at picking up chunks on hard flooring.
Get the best price Tineco S11 Cordless Vacuum in Canada from:
Top Pick: Tineco S11 Cordless Vacuum review details:
Tineco S11 Cordless Vacuum Reviews
Wirecutter ranked it as the #1 on their list claiming it was the 'Our Pick' in their product review. [December 2021]
One of the lightest, most comfortable to use that has enough cleaning power
ConsumerReports [January 2022]
This cordless stick vacuum cleans impressively and has many features to boot
Another Great Choice: Shark Rocket Pro with Multiflex
This cost so much less than the Tineco, but it does have less suction power, so that's why we don't rank it as the best cordless stick vacuum in Canada.
We still think it has great ability to pick up anything you need it to, and it has the flex feature which is great if you have lots of furniture to reach under while vacuuming.
Plus, the Shark Rocket has the best warranty of all the cordless stick vacuums in our list.
Dirt Engage technology delivers unbeatable cleaning performance on carpets and bare floors compared to all Shark cordless vacuums by removing deeply embedded debris on carpets and by directly engaging bare floors.
The MultiFLEX technology allows you to bend the wand to easily reach under furniture and appliances, or to fold up for compact storage in the closet.
Get the best price Shark Rocket Pro with Multiflex in Canada from:
Another Great Choice: Shark Rocket Pro with Multiflex review details:
Shark Rocket Pro with Multiflex Reviews
CNet - Used to be top ranked [December 2021]
Picks up rice better than the Dyson V15, but lost the top spot to the Tineco A11 as it has slightly lower pick-up performance on carpet.
RTings ranked it as the #1 on their list claiming it was the 'Best cordless stick vacuum for bare floors' in their product review. [December 2021]
easy to maneuver, does a fantastic job cleaning up a wide range of debris on bare floors. No big drop in suction as the dirt compartment fills up.
Upgrade Pick: Dyson V15 Motorhead
This is the most expensive vacuum on the list, but it's also the best at most tasks. It has the most suction, it has the most advanced features, and it's dust bin is huge. It's rated as the best cordless vacuum by all the USA review sites too (for over 18 months!)
A precisely-angled laser makes invisible dust visible on hard floors – so you don’t miss anything. The Dyson V15 automatically adapts suction and power to deep clean different floor types, while 56 polycarbonate teeth prevent tangling around the bristles.
The big LCD screen shows what’s been picked up, displaying real-time numbers of how gross your house is! And the proprietary Dyson Hyperdymium motor spins at up to 125,000rpm to generate the most powerful suction of any other cordless vacuum
Get the best price Dyson V15 Detect Total Clean in Canada from:
Upgrade Pick: Dyson V15 Motorhead review details:
Dyson V15 Detect Total Clean Reviews
RTings ranked it as the #1 on their list claiming it was the 'Best Cordless Stick Vacuum' in their product review. [January 2023]
Delivers superb performance on bare floors, low and high-pile carpets. Suction is so good it makes it hard to push around on some rugs.
CNET ranked it as the #1 on their list claiming it was the 'Best cordless vacuum overall' in their product review. [January 2023]
TechRadar ranked it as the #1 on their list claiming it was the 'Best Premium Cordless Vacuum' in their product review. [January 2023]
It's noisy on full power, but it has powerful suction, informative LCD screen, and a dust-highlighting laser
GoodHousekeeping ranked it as the #3 on their list claiming it was the 'Best Cordless Vacuum for Pet Hair' in their product review. [January 2023]
Only complaint is this cordless vacuum doesn't come with a second battery!
Best Build Quality: Miele Triflex HX1 Pro
The only cordless stick vacuum in Canada with a cool feature that allows you to reconfigure the motor and dustbin down to the bottom of the vacuum.
Changing this makes the center of weight closer to the ground, and lighter up by your hand. That means it is less strenuous on your arm and hand for vacuuming large areas.
Miele has released the HX2 newer version, but it doesn't seem to be available in Canada yet.
The innovative 3-in-1 configuration concept of the Miele Triflex HX1 Pro adapts to suit your needs perfectly so you can enjoy ultimate flexibility during vacuuming. Made in Germany.
5 year warranty, 7 year on the motor, and 2 year on the battery. Includes an extra battery for 2 x 60minutes of vacuum time.
Accessories include Wand, Power Head, Docking Station, Upholstery Tool, Crevice Tool and Dusting Brush
Get the best price Miele Triflex HX1 Pro in Canada from:
Best Build Quality: Miele Triflex HX1 Pro review details:
Miele Triflex HX1 Pro Reviews
RTings ranked it as the #2 on their list claiming it was the 'Best upper mid-range cordless stick vacuum' in their product review. [January 2023]
Sturdy build quality and good performance, but smaller dust bin and shorter battery life than some others
Good Housekeeping ranked it as the #4 on their list claiming it was the 'Most Innovative Stick Vacuum' in their product review. [January 2023]
Though heavier than other vacuums, it was easy to use and had strong suction and great cleaning performance across all floor surfaces.
Budget Pick: 'Noname' Cordless Stick Vacuum
If you're looking for a cheap vacuum that gets the job done, then these would be the best cordless vacuum for you.
These budget cordless vacuums all come with the same features - they're likely all built at the same overseas factory and then sold under different names on Amazon.
At this price point, it seemed too good to be true, so Canada Reviewed bought one from NeQuare and tested the cordless vacuum out. As it turns out, it was true - this is a great budget cordless vacuum with a great price!
Don't let the price fool you, though, these are great for quick little cleanups and they're nice and light for getting little hands helping vacuum around the house.
Get the best price Budget Cordless Stick Vacuum in Canada from:
Budget Pick: 'Noname' Cordless Stick Vacuum review details:
Read our full review of the Budget Pick: 'Noname' Cordless Stick VacuumOther Cordless Vacuum Choices
It’s not like back in 2017 when there were only a couple of options. There is now a cordless vacuum option from almost every technology and/or legacy vacuum company.
LG makes a cordless stick vacuum called the CordZero, that comes in A9 and Kompressor models. They have good suction power, but they’re fairly expensive for their features, and there just aren’t many sold so it’s hard to get a real grasp on their build quality and longevity.
Samsung makes a Jet 90 model cordless vacuum that is hard to find in stock.
Eureka also makes a cordless vacuum that has decent performance, it just isn’t as good as some of the other stick vacuums available.
No-name, or ‘New’ brand, cordless stick vacuums
As the market for the best cordless vacuums in Canada expands, and as battery technology becomes cheaper, there are more and more copycat vacuums coming from overseas. These are cheaper than a Dyson or other legacy vacuum companies, just be aware they may not have the longevity.
Many of these overseas cordless vacuums have amazing reviews and are very popular, but only time will tell how durable they are over the long-haul. Plus, these companies may be shorter lived and might put you in a lurch if you run into troubles in 6 months. This could be a reasonable trade-off, of course, if you want to save a few hundred dollars!
As quickly as we can keep up, there is now options from Onson, Dibea, Laresar and more that Amazon lists as ‘popular’ best cordless vacuum section. Plus, since these no-name companies can popup and disappear overnight, aftermarket support could be difficult or non-existent.
There are rumors that all of the cheap best cordless vacuums use the same parts and are assembled in factories in Mainland China. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that you aren’t paying for any specific or unique advanced vacuum technology like you would with a Dyson or Samsung high quality vacuum (Samsung can’t seem to keep their Jet 90 in stock).
There’s also a whole range of “dust buster” style handheld vacuums – like the very popular Shark Wandvac. These handheld options are a great choice if you just want a cordless vacuum for cleaning furniture, vehicles, or other hard to reach areas like inside cupboards. These handheld cordless vacuums can be a great additional tool for a house that has a built-in vacuum.
Cordless stick vacuums that use the same batteries as power tools
If you’re looking for the best cordless vacuum for your dollars, you’ll save huge if you already have batteries from your cordless power tools.
Do you already own some of the best cordless tools? You might want to check if your brand of power tools has a handheld vacuum. Companies like DeWalt and Milwaukee have a battery powered dust-buster style cordless vacuum and shop vac, and Ryobi has 2 different cordless stick vacuums that works with their One+ Ryobi cordless tools.
Black & Decker recently released their Powerseries Extreme cordless vacuum, which Wirecutter lists as a budget pick. They say that it cleans carpet well and has the added plus of using the Black & Decker Max batteries which are interchangeable with other Black & Decker cordless tools.
Old Recommendation for “Budget best cordless vacuum”
We used to have the Shark ION F80 listed as a great not-a-Dyson pick, but after years, Shark has discontinued the item in favor of the newer Shark Rocket cordless stick vacuum.
Difficulties with Cordless Vacuum Reviews
Part of the problem with trying to rank and choose the best cordless vacuum, is that one or two experiences singled out do a bad job of giving the overall picture of a particular cordless vacuum brand or model.
For example. some people who have bought a Dyson stick vacuum have been disappointed with the reliability and have had to return it or deal with warranty claims. Consumer Reports even knocks Dyson for their reliability (read more about that on our comparison chart for Dyson Stick Vacuum Canada). On the other end of the spectrum are the Dyson evangelists, that, even if they had a cordless vacuum that stopped working, I think they would still shout from the rooftops that Dyson is the king!
Others purchase the cheaper Shark ION or other budget handheld vacuums, and then realize there are other aspects of the vacuum that they never considered. Things like ergonomics, and balance of the vacuum. Things like whether or not the cordless vacuum has a whole house filter, and how often and how easy it is to clean the filter.
Pro Tips for Choosing the Best Cordless Vacuum in Canada
Here are some final thoughts to help guide you in your choice, in no particular order:
- Overall, the cordless vacuum market is fairly new, and statistics for long-term reliability don’t really exist. However, anecdotally, cordless vacuums really only last 2-3 years (that’s likely why 2 years is the standard warranty period). Keep that in mind as you consider how much you are willing to spend. If you buy a $1000 top of the line cordless vacuum cleaner and it lasts only 2-3 years, that’s a cost of $1 to $1.30 a day.
- Consider who will be using the handheld vacuum. If your children, or someone elderly, or with arthritis, then overall weight and balance of the machine will matter more to you. These groups of people are the ones that are usually unhappy with the press-and-hold trigger on the Dyson vacuums as opposed to the ‘turn on’ style switches that some competing vacuums have.
- Don’t look at even the best cordless vacuum and think it will replace a plug-in corded vacuum – it won’t. Suction power, simplicity of design, and longevity are all better in a classic vacuum. However, if you’re looking for a cordless handheld vacuum to assist inbetween deep cleanings, that’s what they were designed for. The convenience of pulling the stick vacuum off of the charging dock, zipping around and picking up big crumbs, and plugging it back in all within a minute or two really does make quick pick-up jobs easier.
- Some cordless drill companies, like Ryobi, are starting to come out with cordless stick vacuums that use the same batteries as their cordless powertool lineups. If you already have some power tools and batteries, you could end up saving money by getting one of their cordless vacuums
Think we’ve missed something? Do you have a cordless vacuum? If so, how is it? Let us know in the comments below.
I read with interest your stick vac comparisons. I have a Tineco A10 and my biggest complaint is the filter cleaning operation. The tubular filter fits inside the suction chamber and it is really hard to pull out to clean. Please compare cleaning the filters on the other models. Also, the Max power button on the Tineco doesn’t always work. Thank you!
Hi Johanna, that’s why we like the Dyson vacuums with the easy dump dust-bins. However, sometimes the Dyson still gets gunked up and neeeds to be pulled apart further. I think that’s the problem with any vacuum that isn’t using a filter bag!