What are the features that make the best lightweight vacuum? First and foremost, these models should increase convenience for cleaning in small spaces or on the go. They’re the best vacuum cleaners for cleaning in tight spaces, thanks to their slim design and overall flexibility. Lightweight vacuums, like the Shark Rocket corded ultra light, also feature strong suction, plenty of accessories, and a good amount of dust cup capacity, making them perfect for cleaning pet hair and other dry messes in your home.
If you want to save on space and effort without sacrificing power or convenience, a lightweight vacuum is the right choice for you. Many of these vacuums also offer cordless functionality for even greater portability.
Read on below to learn more about the best lightweight vacuums, how they work, and the features that are most important to consider when you start shopping for a new model.
Top Lightweight Vacuums
#1 Eureka NES100 Vacuum Cleaner
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: This low-weight vacuum has a self-standing design that is easy to pick up after a pause. It has a stylish appearance that will add a touch of sophistication to any home.
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- Outstanding design
- Self-standing construction
- Detachable hand-held option
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- The tube is too short for big individuals
- Not very effective on carpets
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The Eureka NES100 vacuum cleaner brings stylish looks and powerful suction to the home. This vacuum weighs just 2.75 pounds, so it’s easy to carry around the home. We love its upright, self-standing design that enables resuming cleaning easily after a pause. This device comes with a number of attachments for wide-ranging use. An included crevice tool allows cleaning ceiling fans and in small spaces easily. However, this device is not very effective on carpets.
But, for a small device in a small space, you’ll want to check out our roundup of the top-rated small vacuums.
This Eureka NES100 vacuum cleaner has a 16.5-foot power cord that offers flexibility. A cord wrap function offers neat storage. It’s detachable for single-handed cleaning. This device is bagless and has an integrated 0.65-liter dust cup and washable filter for hassle-free maintenance. The floor nozzle supports swivel steering, cleaning under furniture with ease. This device has a wide 9.6-inch cleaning path for fast performance. Its powerful 240W motor offers formidable dirt pickup power.
#2 Iwoly V600 Vacuum Cleaner
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: This detachable vacuum has an advanced filter, which is effective with small particles, pollen, and other allergens. It has a powerful 17,000 Pa motor that picks up large particles easily.
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- Incredible power
- Wall-mounting bracket
- HEPA filter
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- Not great on carpets and area rugs
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The Iwoly V600 vacuum cleaner has a long 23-foot power cord that allows covering large rooms with ease. This vacuum cleaner has a powerful 500W motor, which produces 17kPa, picking up large particles easily. Equipped with a HEPA filter and cyclone filtration system, this device is ideal for people with allergies. Although this device is primarily made for hard floors, it has a multifunction brush that’s effective on low-pile carpets, which could make it a great RV vacuum for your travel trailer. However, the vacuum doesn’t perform very well on thick carpets and area rugs.
Similar to the Dirt Devil SD20000Red, this Iwoly V600 vacuum cleaner is lightweight, weighing just 3.3 lbs, and can easily be carried with one hand. It’s also detachable to enable cleaning in vehicles and tight spaces. The vacuum cleaner comes with a telescoping tube that supports adjusting the length between 17 and 28 inches for flexibility. It comes with a mounting bracket for easy storage on the wall. A 0.5-liter washable dirt cup enables hassle-free maintenance. This vacuum has a moderate noise rating, offering a relatively quiet operation.
#3 Tineco Floor One S3 Vacuum Cleaner
Award: BEST FOR PET MESSES
WHY WE LIKE IT: This vacuum has an innovative system that detects floors with watery messes and cleans them accordingly. The vacuum uses suction, water, and a cleaning solution, leaving hard floors dry and clean.
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- Intelligent sensor and built-in Wi-Fi
- Self-cleaning design
- Wet and dry cleaning abilities
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- Low battery life
- 0.5-liter tank fills up fast
- Not recommended for carpets
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The Tineco Floor One S3 vacuum cleaner is an upright model that incorporates smart features. This device uses iLoop sensor technology to detect wet and dry messes, changing the performance accordingly. It has a smart LED display that showcases maintenance alerts and estimated battery life easily. It works on a wide variety of hard floor types, including hardwood, marble, and laminate. However, this vacuum is not recommended for use on any kind of carpet or area rug. With that said, this vacuum might be best as a kitchen vacuum.
Equipped with Wi-Fi, this device works with a mobile app for remote monitoring and customization. This Tineco Floor One S3 vacuum cleaner uses a cleaning solution to eliminate stubborn stains and odors from the floor. It has dual tanks for clean and dirty water, offering an effective cleaning system. This device has a one-touch self-cleaning cycle, which removes cleaning debris, leaving the vacuum clean and dry. The device is cordless and has a built-in 4000 mAh battery with a runtime of about 35 minutes for hassle-free operation.
#4 Nequare S181 Vacuum Cleaner
Award: BEST FOR HOMES WITH FURNITURE
WHY WE LIKE IT: This vacuum has LED headlights that simplify working in low-light conditions. It has a motorized brush that excels on carpets and the 20,000Pa sucking power is adequate for picking up large particles
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- Outstanding suction power
- LED headlights
- Self-standing design
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- Accessing the filters is challenging
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The Nequare S181 vacuum cleaner is a stick vacuum with a whopping 20kPa of suction. It runs on a 600W motor, producing enough power to pick up small and large particles. This vacuum cleaner has headlights, which make it easy to see and clean under furniture and in low-light conditions. The vacuum cleaner has a self-standing design, so it’s easy to grab after taking a rest. However, opening this device to access the filters is a bit challenging.
This Nequare S181 vacuum cleaner features a four-stage filtration system that removes small and large particles. The dual HEPA filters traps pollen, dust, and other small particles. This vacuum cleaner has a motorized floor head with stiff nylon bristles for cleaning up carpets. The device is also good for hard floors. It comes with a dusting brush and crevice tool for dealing with furniture and small openings. This device is lightweight and has a detachable head for easy carrying.
#5 Orfeld V20 Vacuum Cleaner
We’re sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock
Award: BEST FOR CARPETS
WHY WE LIKE IT: This device has a swiveling head and headlights that are especially suited to cleaning rooms with furniture. It has a brush head that performs fairly well on bare floors as well as carpeted areas.
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- Impressive suction power
- Swivel steering
- LED headlights
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- Relatively low battery life
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The Orfeld V20 vacuum cleaner has a stylish design with a vibrant blue and white color scheme. This device weighs just 4.5 pounds, so it’s easy to carry. The vacuum cleaner has an LED headlight that enhances visibility and comes in handy, especially when cleaning under tables and other pieces of furniture. With a wall-mountable docking station, this device is easy to store. The brush head swivels making it easy to maneuver. However, the battery life is a bit low.
This Orfeld V20 vacuum cleaner has a telescoping tube that simplifies cleaning at ceiling height. It produces 20kPA of suction, picking up small and large particles easily. This device features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for cordless operation. We like its five-stage air filtration system with a HEPA filter that removes particles as small as 0.1 microns. The device has a two-in-one brush head with hard roller brush for carpets and soft brush for hard floors.
#6 Inse S600 Vacuum Cleaner
We’re sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock
Award: BEST CORD-FREE
WHY WE LIKE IT: This cord-free model has a built-in battery that provides a decent run time. The device features a swiveling brush and LED headlights, which simplify working under furniture.
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- Brilliant LED headlights
- Swiveling head
- Cordless, rechargeable design
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- Struggles on thick carpets
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The Inse S600 vacuum cleaner uses a 250W motor to produce adequate suction to clean up on hard floors. This device has a six-stage filtration system featuring stainless steel, sponge, and high efficiency filters. The device performs relatively quietly. With a rechargeable 2500 mAh, this vacuum cleaner runs for up to 45 minutes without requiring recharging. It has a telescoping tube that adjusts from 12.6 inches to 21.3 inches long. However, this model struggles on thick carpets.
This Inse S600 vacuum cleaner has a large 1.2L dust cup with a one-button emptying system for easy maintenance. Although made primarily for hard floors, this device is also recommended for low-pile carpets and area rugs. Weighing just 3.3 pounds, this device is easy to tote around and has a detachable head for portability. An included crevice tool allows cleaning ceiling fans and inside vehicles easily. It has LED headlights to enhance visibility.
Beginner’s Guide to Lightweight Vacuums
What Are Lightweight Vacuums?
A lightweight vacuum is a convenient powered cleaning tool that cleans up dry debris around your home, including dirt, dust, dry food spills, human hair, and pet hair. This specific type of vacuum offers a more compact and lightweight design, making it much easier to carry around the house or clean in tight spaces like staircases and tight corners.
Lightweight Vacuums vs Traditional Vacuum Cleaners
When comparing the best lightweight vacuum cleaners to traditional vacuum cleaners, you won’t notice many obvious differences. They both offer the same general design features and form factors. They also use the same general internal and external components like power cords, intake ports and hoses, electric motors, dust cups, and ergonomic handles.
The differences between these two types of vacuums are subtle and hard to miss unless you know what to look for. As their name implies, lightweight vacuums generally weigh less than standard alternatives, for starters. They also tend to offer a slimmer design, which is why so many stick vacuums are found in this category.
Lightweight vacuums typically have smaller motors to decrease overall weight, meaning they can be less powerful than large vacuums. You may also find more cordless vacuums in this category, like cordless stick vacuums and cordless handheld vacuums.
How Lightweight Vacuums Work
If you’re familiar with how standard vacuum cleaners work, then you know precisely how a lightweight vacuum works since it uses the same technology and mechanics. The internal components of a lightweight vacuum consist of an electric motor, a rotating fan, an intake port or hose, an exhaust port, and a dirt canister. All of these components work together to make the vacuum operate.
After you power on your vacuum, the electric motor starts to spin the fan and generate air movement. This airflow creates a drop in pressure near the intake port, creating suction power. As you pass the vacuum over debris, the powerful suction catches debris and carries it into the vacuum. Once the debris passes by the dust cup, it’s heavy enough to drop out of the airflow and remain stored within the canister.
Do You Really Need a Lightweight Vacuum?
Are you tired of lugging your large, heavy vacuum cleaner all over your home? If so, the best lightweight vacuum cleaner is an excellent option for you. Whether you want an easier way to clean large spaces or you simply want a vacuum that’s easier to store, a lightweight option can help you out. Since many of these models are cordless vacuums, they also make the perfect choice for anyone who owns a cleaning business.
Is a Lightweight Vacuum Worth Buying?
- You Need to Clean Large Spaces: Lightweight vacuums are perfect for cleaning large spaces. Since they don’t weigh as much as standard vacuum cleaners, they’re easier to carry throughout your home or office space. Plus, they are still capable of cleaning just as well as larger options, making them perfect for cleaning most types of messes.
- You Own a Cleaning Business: If you own a cleaning business, you understand the importance of keeping your tools portable and easy to store. A lightweight vacuum is much more convenient to use and store on the go when compared to other types of vacuums.
- You Have Different Types of Floors to Clean: Lightweight vacuums offer comprehensive cleaning abilities, regardless of the type of floors you have in your home. These models can easily clean hardwood floors, low-pile carpet, high-pile carpet, tile, and rugs, making them some of the best multi-surface vacuums.
Why a Lightweight Vacuum May Not Be For You
- You Need More Dust Cup Capacity: Lightweight vacuums typically feature smaller dust cups to save space and weight. If you’re cleaning large messes often, you may want to consider a different type of vacuum with a larger storage capacity for debris. This way, you can clean for longer periods without constantly emptying the canister.
- You Want a More Powerful Vacuum: Lightweight vacuums also save on weight by using smaller motors. This can result in less suction power overall, especially when compared to large vacuums. If you need to clean up heavy-duty messes with your vacuum, you may need to consider a different option.
- You Need to Clean Outdoors Messes: Lightweight vacuums are not suited for outdoor use. If you need to clean up leaves or other outdoor messes, we recommend considering something like the best leaf vacuum mulcher or the best pond vacuum.
How Long Will a Lightweight Vacuum Last?
Lightweight vacuums utilize a lot of moving parts to create suction power. Plus, you’re constantly moving the vacuum around your home while you clean. When you consider how much you use your vacuum, you may worry about its expected lifespan. Fortunately, most vacuums are explicitly built with heavy use in mind and can last a lot longer than you might think.
Like those at Classic Cleaners, professional cleaners state that you should get an average of five to seven years out of your vacuum cleaner before you start to see disrepair or decreased performance. Of course, the way you use your vacuum can significantly impact its expected lifespan.
To increase that lifespan, make sure you always use your vacuum according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. It’s also a good idea to maintain your vacuum regularly, performing tasks such as washing the filter, rinsing the dust cusp, and cleaning hair out of hoses and intake ports. If you do these things, you’ll get as much life out of your lightweight vacuum as possible.
How to Choose a Lightweight Vacuum
When you start to shop around for a new lightweight vacuum cleaner, you’ll want to consider a few key points as you go through the process. First and foremost, you’ll need to decide what kind of vacuum best fits your needs. Then, you’ll need to consider factors like suction power, dust cup capacity, and vacuum accessories.
We always recommend evaluating your specific cleaning needs first and then finding a lightweight vacuum with the features and functionalities that help you with those needs.
Best Lightweight Vacuum Key Factors to Consider
1. Which type of lightweight vacuum will best fit your needs?
There are various vacuum types to consider as you start researching individual models. The following list details each of these types and how they are best utilized:
- Upright: An upright vacuum is what most people commonly consider a standard vacuum cleaner. As the name suggests, upright vacuums balance on top of the vacuum head, where the intake port is located. For lightweight vacuums, most upright options are either corded stick vacuums or cordless stick vacuums.
- Canister: A canister vacuum features a canister body on wheels instead of standing upright on the vacuum head. The intake port is found on the canister’s extendable hose. Many canister vacuums are too large to be considered lightweight vacuums, but there are some smaller models. A canister vacuum is perfect for cleaning tight spaces and large areas.
- Handheld: These models are the ultimate option for lightweight designs and added portability. As their name suggests, handheld vacuums, like the best handheld vacuums for pet hair, can easily be held and operated with a single hand. They are typically cordless vacuum cleaners that run on battery life. However, they aren’t as powerful as other vacuums and don’t offer nearly as much debris storage.
- Robot: These vacuums are completely autonomous, meaning you don’t have to operate them yourself. Instead, you program the robotic vacuum using a smartphone app, and it will clean for you. Despite their small size, robotic vacuums still offer powerful suction across hardwood floors and carpets.
2. How much power do you need your lightweight vacuum to offer?
It’s true that lightweight vacuums don’t offer as much power as larger alternatives. However, this doesn’t mean you need to settle for something that can only handle a few dust bunnies. The amount of power you need from your vacuum ultimately depends on the types of messes you need to clean up.
If you are constantly cleaning up pet hair and dander, purchase a vacuum with more powerful suction capabilities. However, if you’re cleaning up everyday household messes, then you can get away with a little less power overall.
It’s also important to note that cordless vacuum cleaners won’t offer as much power as corded vacuum cleaners. If you’re planning on purchasing a cordless model, you’ll want to plan for less overall power.
3. How much storage capacity do you need from your vacuum’s dust cup?
The last thing you want is to constantly need to empty your vacuum’s dust cup while you clean. This can make cleaning sessions longer and more frustrating. As such, you’ll want to consider an option with a dust cup capacity that fits your cleaning needs.
If you’re planning to use your new lightweight vacuum for quick cleanups as messes happen, you won’t need as much storage. On the flip side, if you’re planning on vacuuming your whole home in one go, you’ll need to consider something with more capacity.
Along with capacity, you’ll want to figure out whether you need a bagless vacuum or a bagged vacuum. Bagless models feature a plastic canister, while bagged options feature replaceable vacuum bags. Bagless vacuums are easier to empty, but bagged vacuums keep the internal components cleaner over the long term.
4. What floor types do you have in your home?
The floor types in your home have a large impact on what features you should look for in your new lightweight vacuum. For example, if you have a lot of carpet in your home, you’ll want to consider a vacuum with a beater bar, which can more efficiently agitate dust and debris from the carpet fibers.
On the other hand, if you have a lot of hardwood floors in your home, you’ll want to purchase a vacuum without a beater bar since it can damage the flooring or fling debris around without sucking it up.
If you have multiple different floor types, consider a model that allows you to adjust power levels and turn the brush roll on or off at will.
5. What vacuum attachments are best for lightweight vacuums?
Most lightweight vacuums give you the option of using additional accessories for different scenarios. These accessories can attach or detach at will, usually to the extension hose. The exact accessories you purchase ultimately depend on your individual cleaning needs.
Here are some of the most common extra tools you can purchase for use with your new lightweight vacuum:
- Crevice tool
- Pet hair tool
- Upholstery tool
- Dusting brush
- Spare batteries for cordless vacuums
