Best Cheap Vacuums for 2025: Our Best Lab-Tested Performers for Less Than $300

April 2025: We eliminated our testing that evaluated the ability of a cordless vacuum to pick up black rice from hardwood and carpet because almost every vacuum was scoring near 100%. We removed the Tineco A11 Hero and Lubluelu 009 because they are out of stock from most retailers. We removed the IonVac SmartClean 2000 because it underperformed in testing compared with the Eufy Robovac 25C. We added the Levoit LVAC-200 as our new best overall pick and Editors' Choice, replacing the Tineco A11. We added the Dirt Devil BD5700V as the best cheap vacuum for hardwood and the Tineco Pure One S11 as the best priced at $300.

May 2025: We added the Moosoo XL-618A cordless vacuum as the best lightweight, cheap vacuum. We fleshed out pros and cons for some entries and updated some of the product cards with additional information. We also added two charts showing the test results of cordless vacuums and robot vacuums.

Dyson

Dyson V8 Absolute: The V8 Absolute is one of the more affordable Dyson vacuums you can buy. Normally $520 at full price, it's currently on sale for $350. That still makes it more expensive than most of the vacuums on this list. In testing, it did great on hardwood, removing nearly 98% of sand, but it didn't do as hot on carpet. The Absolute was able to remove 68.3% of sand from low-pile and 52% from midpile, falling short of many competitors, including the Levoit LVAC-200 and Shark Stratos.

Shark

Shark Rocket Pet Pro: Typically retailing for less than $350, the Shark Rocket Pet Pro remains a solid budget option, provided you can find it in stock. It offers excellent cleaning performance with crumbs and other small bits of debris on hardwood floors and satisfactory pickup power on carpets and with dust. It features HEPA filtration and a self-cleaning, anti-tangle brush head (helpful for preventing pet hair clogs) and converts to a convenient handheld cleaner when needed.

Tineco

Tineco A11 Hero (Update: Out of stock): The Tineco A11 Hero is no longer available, but it was a solid and reasonably affordable cordless vacuum when we tested it, earning a spot as best overall on our list. It scores 98.5% removing sand from hardwood, 82.5% from low-pile and 72.5% from midpile. It's traded shots with the Tineco Pure One S11 and S15 Pet in terms of performance and value. When cleaning up pet hair, barely a trace of the material remained after the machine vacuumed mid-pile carpeting and hardwood floors. Some strands were left visible when traveling across our low-pile test carpet. Mid-pile carpeting usually causes more problems for vacuums, but the Tineco A11’s solid battery life delivers up to 35 minutes of uninterrupted run time.The A11 series design looks nice and is functional, with a dustbin that's easy to completely empty. There's also a handy trigger lock lever to keep the vacuum running without constant finger pressure. The Tineco A11 ships with some helpful accessories, including a power brush, a mini power brush, a two-in-one dusting brush and a crevice tool for versatile cleaning.

Other brands

Moosoo XL-618: It wasn't a strong performer in our toughest tests, but the Mooso XL-618 proved perfectly capable of basic cleaning, particularly with crumbs and on hardwood floors. It also converts to a handheld vacuum that you can use to clean your car or furniture. Frequently on sale for under $80, the XL-618 is about as inexpensive as cordless vacuums get. If you're willing to sacrifice some cleaning power to save some cash, it's worth a look.

Bissell IconPet Turbo: Designed for tackling pet hair, the Bissel IconPet Turbo offers solid overall performance for a reasonable $199. It did reasonably well in testing, scoring 89.7% in sand removal from hardwoood, 66% from low-pile carpet and 54% from midpile. However, despite the reasonable price and decent performance, it was outperformed by our value picks, the Levoit LVAC-200 and Dirt Devil BD5700V.

Eureka RapidClean Pro: The RapidClean Pro from Eureka is another affordable cordless stick vacuum that you can get for under $200. It offers generally solid performance, removing 94% sand from hardwood, 64.8% from low-pile and 60% from midpile. However, like many vacuums in this price range, it's edged out in performance by other picks that earn a spot on our best list.

Aposen Cordless 4-in-1 H22SL:(Update: Out of Stock) This is another affordable cordless vacuum that's no longer in stock. It's also not one we recommended due to its subpar performance in most categories. It only scored 67% sand removal from hardwood and did even worse on carpet, with 28% from low-pile and 37.6% from midpile. You can do much better for the price.

Lubluelu 009 (Update: Currently Out of Stock): At a very budget-friendly $85, the Lubluelu 009 is an easy recommendation for those looking to save some cash and still get some cleaning done without dragging around a cord. The stick vac did a commendable job by picking up 96% (on average) of our test sand from hardwood. On low-pile carpets, that figure dropped to a very respectable 66.7%. The Lubluelu 009 even fared well cleaning up the thicker mid-pile carpet, earning a higher sand pickup average of 59.2%. For pet owners or those who share a home with a long-haired human, the V-shaped brush design does a good job of avoiding tangles. But the Lubluelu 009 did have some issues getting all the pet dander from the carpets.

Prosenic P11 Lite: The Prosenic P11 Lite was a cordless vacuum that would have earned a spot on our list if its performance for carpeted floors was as good as hardwood. In testing, it successfully removed 92.75% of sand from hardwood, but fell significantly short on carpeting, managing just 46% on low-pile carpet and 48% on mid-pile carpet. For reference, anything below 50% we don't consider very good. Despite being an affordable $160 at full price, we can't recommend the Prosenic when you can get better performance from the Levoit LVAC-200 and Dirt Devil BD5700V.

• Eufy 11S Max: The Eufy 11S Max is a robot vacuum that might have earned our budget pick, if the performance held up. Unfortunately, while this slim robovac does well at sucking up sand from hardwood (71%) it struggled with both low-pile (21%) and midpile (27%) carpet. It's $279 at full price, but currently has a $80 coupon, bringing it down to $200.
• iRobot Roomba i3 Plus: At $350 or less, this is an entry-level option among self-emptying Roombas, so if you just want something from iRobot that empties its own bin for as little cash as possible, give it a look. It was a middle-of-the-pack performer in all of our cleaning tests, never disappointing us but never really wowing us, either.
• IonVac Smart Clean 2000: The IonVac struggled to get sand out of the carpets, with only 25% getting sucked out of the low-pile and almost 33% from the mid-pile. Nothing about it stands out enough for us to recommend it. Ionvac’s SmartClean 2000 uses the same navigation style as the Eufy Robovac 25C by simply driving until it runs into an object and then redirecting itself to the next open area. Along with app control, the SmartClean 2000 also ships with a physical remote to control the device and choose from the different cleaning modes. Walmart is selling the Ionvac SmartClean 2000 for only $99, but we like the Eufy Robovac 25C for its superior performance at just $15 more.

At CNET's vacuum testing lab in Louisville, we've tested over 34 cordless vacuums and 67 robot vacuums and counting with the help of Jared Hannah, senior technical project manager and Schylar Breitenstein, associate lab technician. Below, you can read about the testing procedures our lab engineers use to evaluate the best cheap vacuums for your needs.

Vacuum type: Robot vs. cordless stick

We've tested dozens of stick vacs to find the best cheap models available.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Long gone are the days when there were only big, heavy corded vacuums to choose from when it came time to clean up the floors in your home. Now, there is a wide range of options with just as wide of a price range. Choosing which vacuum cleaner type is best for you can be narrowed down to two key points: How much physical effort do you want to put into cleaning? What kind of flooring does your home have?

If you want to take as much of the manual labor as possible out of the equation, you'd opt for a robot vacuum. However, if your home has stairs or narrow spaces, picking up an excellent cordless vacuum could be better for you. Sure, you'll be required to maneuver it around your home -- but these options are lightweight and provide the flexibility to reach those areas that a robot vacuum can't. Plus, you won't have to worry about it getting stuck or dealing with an app.

Depending on the type of flooring you have in your home, a device that can adapt to both hard flooring and carpets, like a robot vacuum, may offer a more complete cleaning experience. Regarding the type of carpet, there are times when using my cordless vacuum on one of my rugs that it will sort of skip across the carpet and not really suck up much of the debris due to the lightweight cleaning head.

Cost and value

Robot vacs have become far more affordable in 2024.

Shark

Considering you're looking at a list of the best cheap vacuum cleaners, this factor is likely very important to you. (And it's something that is or should be considered, regardless of what you're purchasing.) Nobody likes to waste their money, and getting the best bang for your buck is essential when you're on a tight budget. What a good vacuum cleaner can do is save you time. By picking the correct tool for the job and getting one great at its purpose, you'll spend less time cleaning and more time doing what you enjoy.

Generally speaking, a robot vacuum will typically cost you more money than a stick vac. This is largely due to the additional sensors and technologies within the robot in order for it to operate properly. However, if your home is set up to handle a great robot vacuum just as well as a stick vac and the price is similar, then the question turns to: Which will save you more time?

Here is where value comes into play. Something might cost you more, but providing the intangible things offsets the additional cost. So, at the same (or similar) prices, a robot vacuum can relieve you of the duty of physically sweeping your floors.

Floor type

Some vacs do better on hardwood while others clean rugs and carpets with more proficiency.

Shark

You probably read many mentions of different floor types when you are considering either a robot or stick vacuum. Not all flooring is the same, and neither is the cleaning ability for each vacuum. If you have primarily hard surfaces throughout your home, you'll likely be good to go with a stick or robot vacuum. The question you need to answer then is whether you want an automated cleaner or if you want to be hands-on with it.

Should your home have more carpets and rugs than hard floors, you'll want to consider which kind of dirt your home may encounter more — finer debris or larger. Then also consider whether the soft surfaces are low-pile, mid-pile, or high-pile, as these come into play when it comes to vacuum style effectiveness. We include in our testing results all of these considerations when recommending vacuums.

We test all vacuums on both hardwood flooring and carpet.

Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET

How we test robot vacuums

Our method for evaluating robot vacuums is straightforward, yet grueling. There are two types of tests we run. The first trial is to figure out how well a robot covers the floor while it's cleaning. We built an industry-standard testing room as specified by the International Electrotechnical Commission just for this purpose. The IEC is an international standards body responsible for managing robot vacuum testing procedures, among other things, for vacuum manufacturers.

Navigation testing

Say hello to our robot vacuum test room. Inside it are objects that might look a little odd. They're design to simulate furniture and obstacles a robot will encounter in the real world.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Inside this room are objects designed to simulate typical obstacles a robot vac encounters for navigation as it cleans. These obstacles include wall edges, table and chair legs, couches and other furniture, and so on, plus bare tile and hardwood floors, as well as carpet. We mount LED lights to the top of each vacuum cleaner. The dimensions of the lights correspond to the measured nozzle width of each particular robot vacuum we test.

As robots move through the room while cleaning, an overhead camera captures a long-exposure image of the entire room in low light. That photo will then have a light trail, created by the LEDs, that shows the exact areas where the robot traveled (and its nozzle position) during its runtime. We can also see areas of the floor where the vacuum may have missed or gotten stuck. You can see the navigation results of all the robot vacuums in our test group in the gallery below.

Cleaning performance testing

The second type of test reveals exactly how much physical debris a vacuum is able to pick up off of the floor. To mimic dirt of small particle size, we use a mixture of play sand and landscaping sand. Robots then run in straight line mode across three types of flooring (low-pile carpet, medium-pile carpet and hardwood bare floors).

More of our robot vacuum testing setup.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

We control for the specific nozzle width of each vacuum, too. We constructed an adjustable tool to soil our test floors. It lets us lay down a strip of a precise area of soil to match the nozzle dimensions for every robot. The mass of soil isn't chosen at random either. We measure a proportional amount that's related to the flooring material, type of debris, plus each vacuum's nozzle width.

We conduct three cleaning runs (at minimum) on each floor type. We also perform cleaning tests with sand on different floor types including hardwood flooring, low-pile carpet and midpile carpet. That comes to at least 18 tests per robot vac. We weigh the robot's dust bin both before and after each run. From there we can calculate the percentage of debris pickup for every cleaning run and the average amount of soil a machine manages to remove. Additionally, we run anecdotal (visual) pet hair tests for each robot, on all three floor types. We judged anecdotally for fur removal for pet owners, visually inspecting the amount of pet hair left on the three flooring types after a single pass.

How we test cordless vacuums

We run tests in a straight line across all three floor types.

Brian Bennett/CNET

Putting cordless vacuums through their paces isn't as complicated as testing a robot vacuum cleaner, but it still takes lots of time and careful effort to find the best cordless vacuum. We run each vacuum in a straight line across three different surfaces (hardwood, low-pile carpet, midpile carpet). On all three test beds, the test area is the same length (30.25 inches).

We tested a vacuum's ability to clean up sand and rice.

Just like in robot tests, the width of the test bed is proportional to the vacuum's nozzle width. We measure this width ourselves. We also use nozzle width, plus the flooring type, to calculate the soil density for each test, per IEC guidelines. We use the same soil types here as well; sand and pet hair. We perform three runs (at minimum) on each floor type. We also test suction power with sand and pet hair separately, which each getting tested at least three types on each of the three surfaces. We weigh the vacuum's dust bin both before and after each run.

From there we can calculate the percentage of dirt and debris pickup for every run and the average amount of soil a vacuum manages to remove. Additionally, we run anecdotal (visual) pet hair tests for each vacuum, on all three floor types to help us select the best cordless vacuum.

If you're looking for a high-performance vacuum that will maintain its battery life and last for several years, you'll have to pay around $400 for a robot vacuum and $300 for a cordless vacuum. That said, if you're on a tighter budget there are serviceable options for much less. Many of the vacuums on this list performed well in one-off testing, but how long they'll stay nice is another question. Cheaper vacuums may have a shorter overall life than a pricier model from the likes of Shark, which comes with a five-year warranty for its lineup. That said, going with a reputable brand like Levoit, Eufy or Dirt Devil is likely to get you better customer support.

Each vacuum style can offer long-term cleaning ability should you properly maintain your machine. This includes removing clogs and periodically giving the vacuum a deep clean. Generally (especially for cheap stick vacs) fewer things can go wrong and cause the unit to become less reliable. Robot vacuums rely on sensors and more moving parts to properly clean your floors, and if one of these malfunctions this can create issues. Then there's apps and other aspects of the software that can sometimes cause problems. This isn't common, but it is something to be aware of.

When using a vacuum cleaner, you should avoid water, wet foods, ash and fine dust as it can impede the suction mechanism.

Yes, it is recommended to empty your vacuum after every use to help maintain optimal suction power, and to prevent dust from building up inside. Higher end vacuums come with self-emptying docks to do this for you automatically, but you won't find that feature for less than $300.

If you have a lot of carpeting, you'll want to look at cordless and upright vacuums for the best cleaning power. We've tested many cordless vacuums that returned excellent results in our testing, including our best overall pick, the Shark Stratos. However, if you're on a budget, the Levoit LVAC-200 proved more than capable of tackling hardwood and carpet alike. For hardwood specifically, the Dirt Devil BD5700V is also no slouch. Finally, many robot vacuums are also quite capable of handling carpet, including the Eufy 25C on the budget end and the versatile Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo if price is no object.