Cordless vacuum cleaners make it easier to move around your home without stopping to unplug, find another socket or manoeuvre a cable around furniture. They’re handy for quick clean-ups, but the right cordless vacuum can also take care of your regular whole-home cleaning.
The difficult part is choosing one.
Runtime might be important if you have a larger home, while pet owners may be more interested in hair pick-up and specialist tools. If you have lots of furniture, how easily the vacuum reaches underneath it could matter more than either.
This guide covers the main things to consider when choosing a cordless vacuum cleaner and helps you find the right VAX model for your home.
What should you look for in a cordless vacuum cleaner?
Before comparing models, think about how you actually clean.
Consider:
- The size of your home
- Whether you have carpets, hard floors or a mixture of both
- Whether you have pets
- How much furniture you need to clean underneath and around
- Whether you’ll regularly clean stairs and upholstery
- How much runtime you need
- Where you’ll store your vacuum
- Whether you want additional features that automate parts of your clean
Once you know which of these matter most, comparing cordless vacuums becomes much easier.
Which VAX cordless vacuum is right for you?
The VAX cordless range includes different models for different homes and cleaning routines. You don’t necessarily need the vacuum with the longest feature list – you need the features you’re actually going to use.
| Your cleaning needs | VAX range to consider | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday cordless cleaning | Pace | A good place to start if your priority is convenient everyday cordless cleaning |
| Versatile whole-home cleaning | HomePro | Designed for easy whole-home cleaning, with features that make it easier to reach around and underneath furniture |
| A home with pets | HomePro Pet | Adds pet-specific tools alongside features including HairWrap Resist |
| Busy home with pets | HomePro Detect Pet | Adds DebrisDetect Technology, which automatically increases suction when more debris is detected |
| Pets and upholstery | HomePro Detect Pet-Design | Includes a Motorised Pet Tool for tackling pet hair beyond the floor |
| Larger or particularly busy home | HomePro Detect Pet-Design Dual | Two removable batteries provide up to 90 minutes of combined runtime* |
| An alternative cordless range | Blade 4 | VAX’s established Blade cordless range remains part of the current line-up |
| Small jobs and quick clean-ups | HandVac Pro | A handheld option for targeted cleaning rather than a conventional stick vacuum |
You can explore VAX cordless vacuum cleaners to compare the current range.
Consider the size of your home and runtime
Runtime is one of the first specifications people tend to compare, but more isn’t automatically better.
If you mainly use your cordless vacuum for quick daily cleans, a very long runtime may be less important. If you want to vacuum a larger home in one go, however, battery life becomes much more significant.
It’s also worth looking beyond the headline runtime figure. Runtime can vary depending on the power setting, floor type and tools you’re using, so check how the manufacturer’s stated figure has been tested.
A removable battery gives you additional flexibility because it can be swapped rather than making the vacuum itself permanently unavailable while the battery charges.
VAX HomePro models use removable ONEPWR batteries. The HomePro Pet and HomePro Detect Pet models offer up to 45 minutes of runtime*, while the VAX HomePro Detect Pet-Design Dual includes two 4.0Ah batteries for up to 90 minutes of combined runtime*.
If you have a larger home or tend to vacuum several rooms in one session, a dual-battery model could therefore be worth considering.
Think about where your vacuum needs to reach
There’s more to manoeuvrability than simply being cordless.
Look around your home and think about the areas that are most frustrating to vacuum. Do you have low sofas or beds? Lots of dining furniture? Carpeted stairs? Narrow spaces between furniture?
Features and tools designed for those jobs can make a noticeable difference.
The VAX HomePro range features FlexiClean, a flexible pole designed to help the vacuum reach underneath furniture while remaining easy to manoeuvre and steer.
For stairs, corners and other above-floor areas, check which tools are supplied with the particular model you’re considering. HomePro models can include tools such as a Crevice Tool and Stair Tool, while selected pet models add specialist pet tools.
Choose a cordless vacuum for pet hair
If you share your home with a dog or cat, hair pick-up is likely to be much higher on your priority list.
Look for two things: how the main floorhead deals with hair and which additional tools are included for areas such as sofas, stairs and pet beds.
VAX HomePro Pet models feature HairWrap Resist, designed to help prevent long, short and pet hair from wrapping around the brush roll.
They also include pet-specific tools. For example, the VAX HomePro Pet Cordless Vacuum Cleaner includes a Pet Hair Remover alongside its Stair and Crevice Tools.
For homes where pet hair regularly accumulates on upholstery, the HomePro Detect Pet-Design models add a Motorised Pet Tool, giving you a dedicated tool for tackling pet hair away from the floor.
Decide whether smart cleaning features would be useful
Some cordless vacuum features are designed to reduce the amount of decision-making required while you clean.
VAX HomePro Detect models feature DebrisDetect Technology. Smart sensors detect debris and automatically increase suction power by three times when it’s needed, before reducing the power again once the area has been cleaned.
That makes a Detect model particularly relevant if dirt levels vary considerably around your home – for example, between a busy hallway and a less frequently used bedroom.
If you don’t need that functionality, you may be better suited to a standard HomePro or HomePro Pet instead.
Don’t overlook filtration
A vacuum doesn’t just need to pick up dirt – it needs to contain it effectively too.
Filtration is therefore another specification worth comparing, particularly if fine dust is a concern in your home.
Current VAX HomePro Pet and Detect models offer 99.9% filtration down to 0.3 microns.**
Also consider what happens when you’ve finished cleaning. A well-designed bin that’s easy to empty can make day-to-day use more convenient and help reduce your contact with the dirt you’ve just collected.
Check which tools are actually included
Two cordless vacuums can look very similar but be designed for quite different jobs once you compare what’s in the box.
A crevice tool is useful for narrow gaps, corners and edges. A stair tool makes above-floor cleaning easier, while specialist pet tools can be useful for upholstery, stairs and other places where hair accumulates.
Rather than choosing the model with the greatest number of attachments, think about which tools you’ll genuinely use.
If you don’t have pets, for example, you may not need to pay for a pet-focused model. If your dog spends every evening on the sofa, a motorised pet tool could be much more useful.
Think about storage too
Your vacuum spends considerably more time stored than it does cleaning, so check where it’s going to live before buying it.
If storage space is limited, look at the vacuum’s dimensions and the storage options supplied with it. Selected HomePro models include a wall mount, allowing the vacuum and tools to be stored together.
Easy storage can also make quick cleans genuinely quick: if your cordless vacuum is accessible and ready to use, you’re more likely to grab it when crumbs, pet hair or dirt appear rather than leaving the job until later.
Cordless vacuum features: which should you prioritise?
If you’re still unsure, start with the cleaning problem you most want your new vacuum to solve.
| If your priority is… | Look for… |
|---|---|
| Cleaning a larger home | Longer runtime or removable/dual batteries |
| Cleaning under furniture | A flexible pole such as FlexiClean |
| Pet hair on floors | HairWrap Resist and pet-focused cleaning features |
| Pet hair on sofas and stairs | Dedicated pet tools, including a motorised tool where available |
| Cleaning stairs and corners | Detachable handheld cleaning and suitable attachments |
| Variable amounts of dirt | Debris-detection technology |
| Fine dust | Effective filtration |
| Quick everyday cleans | Convenient storage and easy access |
| Cleaning several floor types | A floorhead suitable for the surfaces in your home |
Is a cordless vacuum right for you?
A cordless vacuum is a particularly good choice if freedom of movement and convenience are priorities. There’s no cable to manage as you move between rooms, and a cordless stick vacuum can make stairs, furniture and quick clean-ups easier to tackle.
But the best cordless vacuum isn’t necessarily the model with the most technology or longest runtime.
For a smaller home or straightforward cleaning routine, a simpler cordless vacuum may give you everything you need. Pet owners should pay closer attention to hair-management technology and tools, while larger households may get more value from a removable or dual-battery system.
Start with your home and your cleaning habits, then choose the features that solve those problems.
Compare VAX cordless vacuum cleaners to find the right model for your cleaning routine.
*Runtime varies by model and how the vacuum is used. HomePro Pet and HomePro Detect Pet: up to 45 minutes, tested in standard power mode using a non-motorised cleaning tool. HomePro Detect Pet-Design Dual: two 4.0Ah batteries, each providing up to 45 minutes when tested in standard power mode on hard floor with the floor brush switched off.
**Tested according to EN60312-1:2017 Clause 5.11.
Vax Staff