The best corded vacuum cleaners in 2025 that’ll leave floors spotless

Vacuum cleaners that are lightweight and easy to manoeuvre often come at a higher price point than bulky uprights, so we were pleasantly surprised to find we could snap up this lightweight, compact stick vacuum for less than £2500. The vacuum cleaner’s flexology technology was impressive – the hose bends and folds down on itself at a 90-degree angle so the bottom part can operate parallel to the floor, making it easy to clean under sofas and tables. Another helpful feature is that the LED lights illuminated where dirt was hiding, ensuring we didn’t miss a spot.

It was also a bonus to find that this affordable vacuum cleaner came with an anti-odour cartridge to insert into the floorhead to protect the dust bin from emitting odours and make the home smell fresher. Added freshness came from its anti-allergen complete seal with HEPA filtration, which was able to trap dust and allergens efficiently to improve air quality. A 10m power cord gave us excellent freedom of movement, too, enabling us to do two rooms at a time without changing power sockets.

It’s important to point out that the Amazon basics corded vacuum cleaner is tiny. When it arrived, we thought the warehouse had made an error and sent us a toy. However, if you look past the size, you’ll find a great-value vacuum cleaner that provides a decent amount of power for the price.

Offering a motor output of 300W, it might not be the vacuum cleaner you use for the whole house, but its compact size means you can store it in a kitchen cupboard and use it for those fiddly and annoying messes that happen daily when you have children or pets. It’s a great option for those in flats and small terraces, but it probably won’t work for larger homes.

The slim design also makes it easy to get stuck into small spaces, and it has a swivel brush head, so you can clean in any direction. It’s so reactive, if you move your hand slightly, it will follow. You won’t sweat, bend or lift using this, making it a sensible choice for anyone with mobility issues or feeling fragile as they age. Additionally, the top of the vacuum detaches into a small handheld for use on sofas and car upholstery, providing even more bang for your buck.

Beyond the classic design, we were also impressed by this machine’s power. Often used by professional cleaners, Henry has a reputation for reliability and durability, but the turbo version is something else. It now has an ‘airobrush’ turbo head, featuring a rotating bristle bar that does a superb job of lifting dirt, dust, and pet hair embedded deep within carpet fibres. We found it brilliant at lifting dirt, crumbs, and dust from deep within our carpets, tackling the daily messes left behind by little feet.

Henry’s strong airflow drives the turbo bar, helping the appliance to pick up stubborn hair and debris with which standard vacuums often struggle. After snack time, crushed cereal and biscuit crumbs were removed effortlessly from a thick carpet. All dirt and dust was kept securely in a massive 6l dust bag that’s so large it rarely needs emptying and can be disposed of as a whole when done. We also appreciated how easy Henry was to manoeuvre, especially when cleaning under furniture and around toys.

But while the Henry is easy to wheel across the floor, it’s hard to carry up stairs. Henry weighs in at 8 kilos, more than twice that of the Shark stratos corded stick pet pro. Elderly or disabled users might find Henry a little tricky to lug around the house.

The Vax airlift 2 is a powerful vacuum with two brush bars to efficiently tackle carpets and hard floors. The first brush bar, with firm bristles, agitated carpet fibres to lift dirt, pet hair and debris, while the second brush bar cleaned hard floors by preventing scattering and picking up large and small messes. From spilt cereal in the kitchen to muddy footprints in the hallway, the vacuum agitated and lifted debris, big and small, without issue.

It takes just seconds to convert this solid Vax model into a handheld vacuum cleaner. Having only used battery-operated handhelds in the car before, it was a real eye-opener to witness the power of this corded Vax on our mucky car seats. With around triple the suction power of most cordless vacuum cleaners, it sucked up leftover croissants, biscuits and general child-related snack leftovers in no time.

However, this vacuum is tricky to manoeuvre. It’s not the heaviest vacuum we’ve tested, but it’s hard to steer, so it may not work for smaller homes or people with mobility issues.

Dyson has been making variations on the ball animal vacuum for years, and though it’s an old design, we still think it’s one of the best vacuums you can buy. It has incredibly strong suction thanks to a 750W motor, and the powerful motorbar cleaning head disrupts the top of carpets to pick up dust and dirt. It’s especially ruthless on pet hair. On top of that, finally, hair-removal vanes automatically clear hair as you push, so you shouldn’t have to try and detangle hair from a brush head ever again.

If you can cope with the weight, you’ll find it performs brilliantly on stairs, thanks to the 10m cord, which has 4m of additional stretch, meaning there’s no pull on the top step when you plug it in at the bottom.

Although bagless vacuum cleaners are typically not as good for allergy sufferers as their bagged counterparts, this one hygienically ejects dirt at the touch of a button – so there’s no need to get your hands dirty.

Unlike other uprights we tested, we found this corded cleaner exceptionally easy to manoeuvre, thanks to the responsive roller ball that enables it to change direction with the flick of the wrist. At 1m tall, it’s comfortable for people of all heights. However, be warned – the 7.4kg weight is noticeably heavy, so it may not suit petite people or those who find lifting difficult. It’s also pretty expensive for a corded vacuum.

This strong, durable vacuum cleaner will change the way you tidy your house. It makes doing housework faster and more efficient, which will then leave you with more leisure time to sit back and enjoy your clean surroundings.

The compact design suits quick tidy-ups, while the 8m cord length is perfect for when you want to tackle the whole house without getting tied up in knots. Even better is that it’s just as easy to use on stairs as it is on floors, as the canister detaches from the main unit at the push of a button to transform into a light handheld that reaches all the corners and edges.

Powerful LED lights were very useful when it came to cleaning under furniture, and we also loved that this vacuum not only has a HEPA filter but also Shark’s anti-allergen complete seal technology, which captures and traps 99.9 per cent of dust and allergens.

This is a well-designed vacuum, makes cleaning comfortable and speedy. We were impressed by how it offers four different height levels and variable power, so you can choose the optimum settings for any cleaning task.

It has an L-shaped head that lets you clean right to the skirting board and even reach under most radiators. The brush itself has a double helix design that guides dust into the airstream before trapping it securely inside.

When flat, the Felix measures just 15cm for superior cleaning power under furniture without any need to stop and switch attachments. The 3.5l dust bag means you can do a whole house without having to interrupt the cleaning to empty it in a bin.

We were really impressed by the design of the filtration system, too. The first stage of filtration is the SEBO ultrabag. Made from the same material as medical masks, it safely retains virtually all dust that is picked up. A pre-motor filter is fitted after the bag and filters the air before it enters the motor. Aside from filtration, its main task is to prevent debris that could have entered into the vacuum body from entering and damaging the motor. Finally, an exhaust microfilter cleans the air before it leaves the vacuum. You can also buy SEBO air fresheners (£11.29, Amazon.co.uk) that stop the dreaded hot pet hair smell.

However, like most uprights, this is pretty unwieldy on stairs, and it's also one of the most expensive vacuums we’ve tested.

Sturdy, durable and satisfyingly powerful, the Bosch series 4 didn’t leave a speck of dirt or dust in its wake. Its 850W power was among the strongest we tested and it made short work of picking up dust and crumbs. Some bagged vacuum cleaners lose power as the bag fills up, but this one has Bosch’s unique power protect technology, which delivers the same amount of power, no matter how much dust is inside.

Each bag can hold an impressive 4l, cutting down the cost of replacement bags. Bosch offers the longest guarantee of all the models we tested, providing 10 years of confidence in your purchase.

We loved how the four wheels swivel in all directions, making it easy to push and pull around the room. It’s also surprisingly compact, making it easy to carry upstairs and to tuck away in a cupboard for storage.

It’s hard to fault this vacuum - the only issue is that the cable lacks an automatic rewind, but this is a small drawback.

This nifty corded stick vacuum made cleaning a pleasure (well, almost) due to its slim, lightweight design. Shark’s flexology technology - a rather grand term for saying that the pole can bend in the middle - means you can reach underneath low-lying beds, sofas and coffee tables with no need to lift them or bend down. It was also the easiest vacuum cleaner to store. The wand folds down so you can squeeze it into the smallest of cupboards.

It’s designed specifically for homes with pets, so you can expect anti-hair-wrap technology to stop hair from tangling around the brush roll, plus a special pet tool to remove embedded hair. The unique brush roll is great for homes with different floor surfaces, as it consists of two different types of brush in one. A bristle brush-roll cleans deep into carpet pile, while a soft front brush-roll draws in large debris and small particles and lifts fine, stuck-on dust from hard floors.

Further useful features are LED headlights in the floorhead to help illuminate hidden dust and pet hair and a 10m cord (the longest among all the vacuum cleaners we tested). We’d give it five stars if it wasn’t for the small 0.3l dust capacity, which needs emptying frequently.

If you live in a messy household and often need a cleaner for a quick whip-around, the Tower VL20 is a joy to use. In stick mode, it’s easy to steer and quickly covers a lot of ground. There’s also a useful handheld mode for stairs, sofas, and car upholstery, and you can extend the pole in handheld mode to reach ceilings and corners.

This may have been one of the cheapest corded vacuums we tested, and its 600W power was slightly lower than other models, but cleaning ability on both carpet and hard floor was superb, thanks to its motorised floor head.

It’s also brilliant for allergy sufferers, with Tower making a point of stating it uses a HEPA 13 system, which is the newest model. Tower claims this removes 99.95 per cent of fine particles from 0.3 microns, making it ideal for allergy sufferers. But it was the 1.3kg weight that impressed us the most, as you can push it with just one finger. However, the 5m cord means you have to switch plugs fairly often.

There are very few scenarios the Miele complete C3 can’t handle. From tackling pet hair to helping allergy sufferers breathe better, this top-of-the-range corded cleaner is a solid all-rounder.

It may be the most expensive vacuum cleaner we tested, but it has several unique features that make it a premium investment. For example, an active air-clean filter contains active charcoal that neutralises pet odours, leaving the air in rooms noticeably fresher after vacuuming. Its suction power of 890W beat all the competition, resulting in floors that became almost shiny because they were so spotless.

Allergy sufferers will appreciate that you never have to see dust and dirt, let alone touch it or breathe it in. When the vacuum cleaner is opened, the collar of the Miele HyClean dustbag closes automatically and locks in the vacuumed dust for good. Plus, the protective netting prevents the bag from tearing.

All of the features do come at the expense of weight, as it tops the scales at a hefty 7.3kg. But if you don’t mind a bit of heavy lifting in the quest to have an immaculate house, this is a beast of a machine that’s unlikely to ever let you down.

For just £100, this is a lightweight upright vacuum brings a lot of power. At 800W, it offers superb suction power, combined with multi-cyclonic technology for sustained performance. The cyclone separates dust particles to keep it from blocking up the filter, which would lead to a loss in suction power.

The big selling point is how easy it is to push. Thanks to its 80-degree steering angle, the swivelling floor nozzle glides around your home with ease. This helped us nip around furniture without having to stop, bend and reach.

Switch on the brush bar for carpets, to pull out hidden dirt on soft surfaces, and turn off for faster cleaning on hard floors. You can also slide the vent cover to vary suction, if you want to be gentle on older carpets or rugs.