When you click on a retailer link on our site, we may earn affiliate commission to help fund our not-for-profit mission. Find out more.
Steer clear of rubbish cordless vacuums this Black Friday
More than a third of cordless vacuums aren’t worth buying, however cheap they may be in the sales, so find out which ones are the best deal

Cordless vacuums are a popular Black Friday purchase, as the flurry of deals can tempt you to finally splash out and ditch your corded model.
But beware, our independent tests have found that more than a third of cordless vacuums are so poor at cleaning they just aren’t worth buying.
Of the 118 cordless vacuums we’ve tested, 44 score less than 45% in our tests. This means they’ve done so badly in key floor cleaning tests – or across the board – that we can’t recommend them.
Plenty more are merely mediocre, despite some costing hundreds of pounds.
So, as well as checking the deal you’ve seen will actually save you money compared with other times in the year, use our cordless vacuum cleaner reviews to make sure you’re buying a vacuum that will clean your home effectively.
- Best cordless vacuum cleaners – get straight to our top picks
- Cordless vacuum cleaners to avoid – see the hit list of models that don’t cut the mustard
How much does a good cordless vacuum cost?
A Best Buy needn’t break the bank – we’ve found some brilliant options for less than £200. However, there’s no denying it’s harder to find a good model at the cheaper price points.
Paying more is no guarantee, either. As the graph below shows, we’ve found some clangers costing more than £400.
You might be able to get away with paying less if you just have hard floors such as laminates, as some cheaper models may do well on some floor types, but struggle on others.
Check our cordless vacuum reviews to find the best option for your budget.
Why are some cordless vacuums so bad?
While cordless vacuums are lighter and can boast some impressive features, plenty struggle with the basics of cleaning.
A Don’t Buy is likely to be poor at cleaning several key floor surfaces (most often it’s carpet that is the biggest challenge) and leak dust back into the room via poor allergy filters.
This means they suck up less dust and then blow some of the dust they do suck up straight back into the room, which is hardly ideal. We’ve found some of the worst models make a right racket, too.
Don’t think a big brand name means you’re guaranteed a decent product either, we’ve found both Best Buys and Don’t Buys from some big vacuum brands.
Check the full list of Don’t Buy cordless vacuum cleaners.
Why trust our cordless vacuum cleaner tests?
At Which? we put cordless vacuum cleaners through more than 70 individual tests so we can tell you which models clean well and are easy to use.
Our tests are done in a lab so that scores between different models can be easily and accurately compared, but set up to reflect performance in real-life cleaning scenarios:
- We see how well each vac sucks up fine dust and larger crumbs from carpets, hard floors and floorboards
- We check how effective they are at cleaning up fur and fluff from floors and upholstery, so pet owners know which vacs to trust
- A panel of people try out the vacuum and assess how easy it is to use, empty, carry up stairs, clean up high and more besides
- We also test the battery, checking if it runs for as long as it claims to and if suction is affected when it starts to run dry
- We’ll warn you if a model is particularly noisy or if it’s prone to leaking dust back into the room
No other organisation tests as many vacuum cleaners as thoroughly as we do.

We can also compare corded and cordless models. Our tests show that the best cordless vacuum cleaners can clean just as well as even the best corded equivalents.
So with a Best Buy cordless vacuum, you can be confident that there’s no need to compromise on cleaning in order to get the ease of use benefits that a cordless vacuum brings.
Just want the best cheap vacuum cleaner? We’ve found some brilliant corded cleaners for less than £100. See our corded vacuum cleaner reviews
Finding the best cordless vacuum Black Friday deals
Prices for popular vacuums can vary dramatically depending on where or when you buy.
We’ve seen prices on models from the main brands jump around by several hundred pounds or regularly cycle between an offer price and full price.
Below, we’ve rounded up the best deals on big-brand models spotted by our market experts.
Best Black Friday 2019 cordless vacuum deals we’ve found so far
Dyson Black Friday deals
- Dyson V7 Motorhead Extra – now £199 at Currys PC World, AO and Dyson.
- Dyson V8 Absolute or Dyson V8 Animal variants – currently £299 at Amazon, AO, Currys PC World, Dyson and John Lewis.
- Dyson V6 Animal (refurbished model) – £129 on the official Dyson eBay outlet.
Find out more in our full guide to the best Dyson cordless vacuum deals for Black Friday 2019
Best Shark Black Friday Deals
- Shark NZ801UKT Anti Hair Wrap Lift-Away Pet Plus – £199 at Argos, AO, Shark.co.uk and Very
- Shark AZ910UKT Lift-Away Anti Hair Wrap Plus – £199 at Currys PC World and Shark.co.uk
- Shark AZ950UKT XL Lift-Away Anti Hair Wrap Pet – £249 at AO, Currys PC World and Shark.co.uk
- Shark NV700UKT DuoClean Lift-Away Pet – £179 at Currys and Shark.co.uk
- Shark IF260UKTH DuoClean Anti Allergen Pet Flexology (twin battery) cordless – £299 at Amazon, AO, Argos, Currys PC World, and Very (technically £298 at Amazon, AO and Very)
- Shark Lift-Away Cordless IC160UK – £279 at Currys PC World, and Very.
Find out more in our full guide to the best Shark cordless vacuum deals for Black Friday 2019
Best Vax Black Friday Deals
- Vax Blade 2 Max VBT3ASV1 cordless – £199 at Argos, Currys PC World, John Lewis and Vax. This dropped from £250 in the run up to Black Friday, but it’s the best price we’ve seen on this model since it launched in 2018.
See all our Black Friday deals advice
About this story
Black Friday deals section first published 25 November 2019, but updated daily to include new deals.
Which? vacuum cleaner experts scour the market for the best deals and only include deals which represent genuine savings, or one of the best prices you’ll get for the products featured.
We ignore the savings quoted by retailers, which are sometimes based on an inflated ‘before’ price, and instead compare savings to the typical selling price of a product, based on pricing research and our market knowledge.
Read more about our Black Friday pricing investigations.