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If you're tired of dragging out a bulky vacuum for small messes, a handheld vacuum could be the game-changer your cleaning routine needs. These compact, cordless devices are designed for quick, convenient cleanups, perfect for tackling crumbs on the couch, pet hair in the car, or dirt on the stairs.
We put 11 top-rated handheld vacuums through real-world, side-by-side comparisons so you don't have to. We cleaned up everything from dirt and real fur to big cereal pieces, moving around the house to see what each vacuum could actually clean and where its limitations lie.
The handheld that performed the best all-around is the Shark Ultracyclone Pet Pro Plus. It works reliably across all surfaces, with helpful attachments that add to its versatility. If you're on a budget, the Black & Decker Dustbuster delivered great cleaning capabilities despite its lower price point.
If you're looking for a rundown of our top picks across a variety of vacuum styles, including upright, cordless, and robot, check out our vacuum cleaner review.
Editor's Note: On December 9, 2025, we revamped this review to include new products and testing procedures.
If you are looking for a portable option with great all-around cleaning, the Shark Ultracyclone Pet Pro Plus won't let you down. The extra tools work effectively, with the slim crevice tool able to clean hard-to-reach areas and a scrub brush for embedded debris. Our tester mentioned, “Its crevice tool was actually small enough to get into the tiny cracks in my car that most vacuums can't reach at all.” The vacuum was lightweight at 2.8 pounds and easy to work with. Designed with pet hair in mind, the motorized attachment features a unique combination of rubber and bristles that effectively grab and lift fur. Plus it doesn't get caught in the bristles like many other vacuums. Emptying the dustbin is hands-free with a simple eject button, so there's no need to reach in and pull out tangled clumps.
If you feel that you are going to need to vacuum across a large surface area, however, this might not be the choice for you. At around 15 minutes of run time, it's definitely not the longest runtime option. The dust bin is also on the smaller side, so it will need to be emptied more frequently. If these options are priorities for you, the Black & Decker Furbuster AdvanceClean+ or Dyson Car + Boat are both options with longer run times and larger dust bins. “I have kids and multiple pets,” mentioned one of our testers, “so it often takes me more than 15 minutes to vacuum every surface, and I wish this vacuum lasted just a bit longer.” The run time/performance is a tricky trade-off, but overall, we found a winner in the product that ultimately performed the best in the car, at home, or anywhere else a quick clean-up was needed.
Despite the Black+Decker HHVI315JO42's low price, we were pleasantly surprised by this vacuum's performance on tough messes. “It removed nearly everything I put in its path with relative ease,” noted our tester. This vacuum is a more traditional design than some other models, so you will find its .61 liter dust bin familiar and straightforward to empty. It also comes with two small attachments that serve their purpose well. The crevice tool is slimmer than other vacuums we tested, and the small scrub brush had thick, short bristles that were helpful in picking up fur and hair that the vacuum might otherwise miss. In addition, the vacuum is lightweight and easy to maneuver. Overall, this vacuum outperformed several of our more expensive options, so if you are looking for a budget vacuum for basic messes, this could be a great option for you.
The JO42 vacuum has a more traditional dust bin, which requires two hands to open. There isn't a handle on the filter, which needs to be pulled out to empty, meaning that you will get a bit dusty doing this job. In addition, pet hair tends to cling to paper filters, so it's necessary to tap the filter in the trash can to remove excess debris. The battery also only lasts about 13.5 minutes, so you will be limited to quicker cleaning jobs, and on the whole, Black & Decker vacuums are some of the loudest we tested. Lastly, although this vacuum did a surprisingly decent job with pet hair, it's not designed specifically for this purpose. The scrub brush does a good job at assisting, but much of the hair will be stuck in the bristles. In general, however, if budget is a concern, we gladly recommend this option as we were pleasantly surprised by how well it performed across several metrics.
The Black+Decker Furbuster AdvanceClean+ was the clear winner when it came to pet hair. It was able to quickly and easily handle pet hair on a variety of surfaces. “I found that I was using it to clean up the pet hair that other options left behind,” mentioned our tester, Katie. The motorized attachment includes rubber and stiff, plastic bristles that easily catch fur. The wide, flat design of the attachment also made clean-up quick and efficient, often requiring only one pass. We also appreciated the two power levels, which gave us the option to increase suction for embedded fur. The run time of this vacuum was also one of the longest we tested, at almost 30 minutes, so if you need to clean a large area, this is a great option. And although the vacuum was more bulky than other options, it stores in an upright position, making it easier to find a spot for it when not in use. Essentially, if pet hair is your primary concern, this vacuum can't be beat.
Although it outshone all others for pet hair, there were a few things that kept us from giving this vacuum the best all-around award. The main drawback to this vacuum is its integrated crevice tool. Although it extends quite long, it is wide and bulky and not really useful for much of anything. If you are hoping to also use this vacuum for your car or other hard-to-reach areas, it's just not going to fit the bill. One tester commented, “The crevice tool just didn't do much of anything when it came to getting dirt out of tight spaces in my car.” Also, although the dust bin was large and easy to open to empty, we did find that pet hair accumulated around the filter and didn't come out automatically. Having to pull hair out manually wasn't our favorite. If you don't have any pets and $100 seems steep for a handheld vacuum, the Black+Decker HHVI315JO42 is an alternate option that performed well in our other cleaning tests but only costs half the price. Conversely, if you do have pets but prefer a vacuum that is better for tight spaces, the Shark Ultracyclone Pet Pro Plus is a similar price point that will work better for small spaces, such as your car.
We could immediately feel the vacuum's powerful suction, as it created smooth, clean lines when we were done testing. Credit: Katie Brown
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No mess is too big or small for our selection of vacuums.
How We Tested
When testing the 11 handheld models in this review, we focused on finding the ones that make cleaning as easy and effective as possible for you. We broke down our testing to highlight the factors that matter most to different users.
Cleaning Performance(50% of overall score weighting): Our tests included a variety of materials: glitter, fine sand, Cheerios, rocks, and pet hair. We tested how each vacuum performed on upholstery, carpet, rubber car mats, and in tight spaces such as underneath furniture or the many cracks and crevices in a car. We went through each attachment, noting areas that worked best, so we set you up for success when it comes time to do your own cleaning.
Ease of Use(30% weighting): We worked with each of these vacuums for months to find out what they're good at and where they fall short. We measured key specs like weight, run time, and capacity to give you concrete numbers for comparison. We also conducted a full rundown on convenience, covering everything from how easy they are to use until they die to the reality of storage and maintenance, because those little things can add up.
Pet Hair(20% weighting): For pet hair, we looked at things like specialized attachments, the brush roll's ability to resist tangles, and the pure suction power needed to pull stubborn hair out of upholstery and carpet.
Why Trust GearLab
At GearLab, we never accept free samples from manufacturers; we purchase every product we test and review. Our testing process is designed to be rigorous, standardized, and true-to-life. This review was led by at-home tester, Katie Brown. Katie is a mom, a pet owner, and an outdoor enthusiast, which means her home is a constant, real-world testing ground for any cleaning tool.
From muddy paw prints and ground-in dirt to daily snacks and stray pet hair, Jessica Riconscente is no stranger to a big mess. Having tested house appliances for GearLab for several years now, she's a veteran who meticulously notes which designs work and which don't. She considers how important each detail is in the overall user experience and what products would be best for different people, recognizing that no two homes are the same.
Analysis and Test Results
We selected our handheld vacuum cadre after extensively studying what makes a good handheld vacuum. Our three multi-faceted testing metrics cover all the most important aspects of a handheld's performance, and we weighted each metric according to users' real-life priorities.
Worse Value
Better Value
What's the Best Value?
If budget is your primary concern, we recommend the Black+Decker dustbuster. It stands out in its price tier for great cleaning capabilities on common messes you'll encounter. Its weakest point is when it comes to embedded dirt or fur, where you'll need to put in the time and effort yourself by using the scrub brush, pushing it back and forth to agitate, while other products with a motorized attachment do the legwork for you.
Compared to other vacuum categories we've tested, the price ranges are tighter with handheld vacuums, making it enticing to invest in the best performers since they're not much more expensive. The Shark UltraCyclone is our top performer with a price tag just below $100. The jump in performance is substantial enough that we think it's a smart purchase, especially if you have dogs and cats relentlessly shedding around the house.
We made a lot of messes to find the limitations in these cleaning tools.
Cleaning Performance
When purchasing any vacuum, how well it's going to clean is always of utmost importance. This, however, can be multi-faceted and relative to your real-life cleaning needs, and so we designed this metric to reflect that. From glitter spilled on a couch, to very fine dust stuck in the crevices of your car, to a large Cheerios spill, to sand and gravel in your garage, we tested each vacuum to its fullest extent.
Our top performers in this metric were the Shark Ultracyclone Pet Pro Plus, Black & Decker Furbuster AdvanceClean+, and Black & Decker HHVI315JO42.
The Ultracyclone worked well on a variety of debris using just the motorized brush attachment, which kept clean-ups efficient. Its suction was powerful enough to reach between slats in a rubber car mat and into the fibers of carpet. It also had a very slim crevice tool, making it ideal for smaller areas, such as in your car or on shelving, where you want to vacuum around small, decorative items.
Getting into hard-to-reach areas is easy with the Shark Ultracyclone. Credit: Katie Brown
The wide motorized attachment on the Furbuster is perfect for quickly covering large areas. Its built-in crevice tool is also a great feature; you can pull it out to get into a tight spot and push it back in with a fluid motion. The motorized attachment almost works too fast, with its stiff plastic bristles sometimes flinging and crunching up larger crumbs. For instance, it crushed up Cheerios and spat them back out. Luckily, all you need to do is push forward to collect the broken crumbs. It's a small trade-off for a powerful handheld vacuum.
Consider Attachments
Attachments play a big role in how useful a handheld vacuum can be. The right tools make it easier to clean different types of messes, whether they're on furniture, stairs, or in the car. We found that models with a motorized brush generally performed better, almost like having a mini upright in your hand, since the spinning brush digs out crumbs and dirt trapped in carpet fibers.
Attachments can have a huge impact on how well the handheld vacuum cleans. We liked the motorized attachments the best for cleaning on carpet and upholstery. The plastic bristles from the Furbuster (far right) and Ultra Cyclone (far left) don't let fibers and hair cling to them as a bonus for convenience.
The Black & Decker HHVI315JO42, on the other hand, handled larger items with ease. Its powerful motor performed especially well on hard surfaces. On upholstery, it also handles like a champ, and on carpet-like surfaces, it leaves only the finest grains of sand or bits of glitter behind. It also comes with two attachments that are simple yet effective. The crevice tool isn't the longest we tested, but it is quite slim and good at getting into small spaces, and the scrub brush has thick, short bristles that are effective on embedded dirt and grime.
The short, stiff bristles of this attachment are helpful, but hair does get caught in them. Credit: Katie Brown
Both Bissell Aeroslim, Bissell Pet Hair Eraser, and Black & Decker Pivot have flaps in the entryway to the canister that act like a heavy door, making it nearly impossible for large items like bark chunks or cereal to pass through. Although the Pet Hair Eraser performed decently well, it was more prone to pushing long hair around. The Aeroslim, on the other hand, just wasn't powerful enough to pick up much of anything.
No matter how many times we went over the car mat, the Pivot couldn't muster enough suction power to lift any dirt settled between the grooves. This should have been an easy job, as the second vacuum, the Black+Decker 16V MAX dustbuster, handled it without a problem. Credit: Katie Brown
The Black & Decker Pivot lacks the power to lift denser debris, and its nozzle has a limited reach. You'll need to make sure the nozzle is flush with the surface to give it the best chance of picking up debris. This isn't always possible in tight areas, like in between the small grooves of a car mat or on a windowsill, where we saw this vacuum struggle the most.
Storage mounts give you a secure place to store your handheld easily. Credit: Katie Brown
Ease of Use
A vacuum should be designed to make your life easier, not harder. And as such, it's important to find one that is going to do just that. To test how easy these vacuums were to use, we made sure to look into their weight, run time, charge time, maneuverability, ease of the dust bin, and noise level. We tested attachments and how easy and effective they were to use, and looked at how each vacuum was designed to be stored
Our top scorers were, again, the Shark Ultracyclone Pet Pro Plus, Black & Decker Dustbuster, and Black & Decker Furbuster AdvanceClean+.
Although the Ultracyclone didn't have the longest run time, it was a quick charger. Most vacuums took 3-4 hours to recharge, but the Ultracyclone was able to charge in two. It's also lightweight, at just over two pounds, and its long, slim design makes it easy to maneuver and get to hard-to-reach or overhead spots.
The Ultracyclone also has one of the simplest emptying systems. With the push of a button, the debris drops straight out, and unlike many handhelds, it never requires us to reach in and pull out hair stuck to the filter. The only major drawback is the short runtime of about 14 minutes. It charges faster than most, powering up in around two hours compared with three to four for other vacuums, but you'll still feel the wait if you need to clean multiple areas at once.
The Shark's design makes vacuuming overhead easy.
The Black & Decker HHVI315JO42 is a traditional handheld vacuum that is user-friendly and performs well. It has a handy docking station, which is a nice accessory that many of the more expensive vacuums don't include. The JO42's attachments were small and simple but served their purpose well. The crevice tool was slim, and although we wished it were longer, it did a better-than-average job at accessing tight areas in a car. And the scrub brush's bristle design helped boost performance on debris such as dust or pet hair. The battery life isn't the best, but the vacuum itself is lightweight and easy to maneuver, which helps save time and energy.
The Crevice tool of the HHVI315JO42 performed well in the car. Credit: Katie Brown
The Worx 20v Cordless Cube vacuum deserves a mention here. This is a handy mini shop vac-style vacuum with a hose nozzle. We found that it performed decently well, especially when on high, and has a design unique to itself. The hose helps access hard-to-reach areas, and its attachments are kept in its box for easy storage and access. It also has a shop-style external battery and a fairly long run time. Its main downfall is that most of the time you'll be holding the vacuum with one hand while vacuuming with the other, but aside from this, it's a handy vacuum for quick clean-ups or getting in corners that a standing vacuum won't be able to access.
It's odd using two hands a first with the Worx, but we found we can clean more easily in tight spaces. Credit: Katie Brown
The Pivot had the shortest runtime of 11.5 minutes among the competition, making it difficult to clean much beyond spot-cleaning a spill. Its dustbin is awkward and unintuitive, and it's easy to accidentally pull off both the bin and the filter at the same time, spilling debris everywhere. Meanwhile, the Bissell Aeroslim, despite its longer runtime, dropped power after about 5 minutes, reducing suction quite a bit, and also took several hours to recharge.
The Pivot's dust bin system makes it somewhat easy for both sides to come open, resulting in quiite the mess.
Although the Dyson Car + Boat has powerful suction, it can sometimes be too strong, often pulling in fabric and long shag carpet to the point of shutting off. This makes it frustrating to clean loose upholstery surfaces like car covers or pet beds, which can trigger the same shut-off issues. It's sensitive to what surfaces you can use it on, and for a handheld, we want something reliable that can help us everywhere. The Dyson also produces such strong airflow that it feels like you're in a wind tunnel while vacuuming. On surfaces like stairs, the exhaust can blow debris around faster than you can collect it.
The Dyson produces a very strong wind which can blow away not only the debris you're hoping to vacuum, but you as well. Credit: Katie Brown
Pet Hair
Our last metric is specific to pet hair, since this is a primary concern for many users. Pet hair has a way of getting into any and all spaces and can be particularly challenging to remove, so many vacuums are designed specifically for fur and hair.
While other vacuums often required multiple passes to pick up pet hair, the Black+Decker Furbuster usually got the job done in a single sweep. Its wide, flat attachment added to the efficiency, and during testing, we often found ourselves using it to clean up the hair left behind by other vacuums. The plastic bristles on the rotating brush did a great job of grabbing every strand of fur without letting it cling to the roller like other models, which means no extra step of removing fur from the brush after cleaning.
Here's a comparison of the top performers with pet hair. First, the Shark UltraCyclone, followed by the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser, and finally the Furbuster. Credit: Katie Brown
The Shark UltraCyclone's motorized head has plastic fins that help lift hair from surfaces, but they don't grab as effectively as the Furbuster's plastic bristles. You'll usually need a few extra passes, and because the head is narrower, it takes even more time to cover larger surfaces. It gets the job done, but not as quickly or efficiently as the Furbuster.
The bristles on the Aeroslim are long and flexible, better suited for dusting than for agitating and lifting hair strands. Credit: Katie Brown
The long, floppy bristles on the attachments for the Black & Decker 16V MAX, Black & Decker Pivot, and Bissell Aeroslim did very little to lift embedded pet hair. There wasn't enough agitation to pull the strands out of carpets, and most of the time they just pushed the hair around. No matter how many passes we made or how hard we tried, the attachments didn't make much of a difference. These designs clearly weren't built with pet owners in mind.
The bristles on the brushes tend to cling to hair, meaning you have to pull the strands out by hand once you're done cleaning. Credit: Katie Brown
How to Choose the Best Handheld Vacuum
No vacuum is perfect for every situation, and handhelds are no exception. You can go a long way toward choosing the right model by evaluating how and where you'll be using it.
Small handheld vacuums don't have the raw power of full-sized models, so having a good head design and attachments is even more important with this type of vacuum. Look for a motorized attachment as part of the package deal, as these rollers are what's going to give you a fitting chance against difficult embedded dirt and hair.
Handheld vacuums require a special balance between weight and power. Heavier models usually pack more suction, but they can be tiring to use. Lighter models are easier to handle, but may struggle with anything beyond superficial messes. Beyond weight and power, features like simple emptying systems, long battery life, and effective attachments make a big difference in how easy it is to get the job done.
Different areas come with different challenges. Tight corners, under furniture, car interiors, stairs, and even shelves or countertops all demand maneuverability and the right attachments. A vacuum that works well on a couch might struggle on a car mat, while one built for stairs might not reach far under the bed. Considering where you will use it most helps you pick a model that performs reliably across all your spaces.
Handheld vacuums with easy-to-clean components last longer and keep performing at their best. Removable dustbins, washable filters, and brush heads that come apart without tools make it simple to prevent clogs and buildup. Regular upkeep preserves suction and extends the life of your vacuum, so it keeps working efficiently for years.
Knowing the spaces where you will be needing to vacuum will help you pick the right tool for the job.
Conclusion
Handheld vacuums have a lot to live up to, as they need to blend performance with often hard-to-reach places, and fit all of that into a small, easy-to-maneuver package. As such, it's hard to 'have it all' and is sometimes a better option to pick the best fit for your particular cleaning needs. In our testing, we aim to provide you just that — the best selection for your individual needs.
However, there are other options that may better suit your needs. Convenient robot vacuums can clean your floors for you, while shop vacs fare better on heavy duty messes. If you want to see the cream of all the crops, take a look at our list of the all vacuum cleaner categories and how they compare to each other.
