Cordless Stick Vacuums With the Best Battery Life
With longer run times, these vacuums won't die on you in the middle of your cleaning
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If there’s one pesky drawback about cordless stick vacuums, it’s that they might run out of power while you’re vacuuming. As convenient and storage-friendly as they are, they represent a trade-off: What you gain in convenience, you’re likely to compromise in run time (how long a vacuum operates on one charge). And once the battery of a cordless stick vacuum is fully discharged, it can take hours to completely recharge.
To see how long a vacuum will last on one charge, CR’s testers run it until the battery dies. We test this twice on all of the vacuum’s speed settings and average out the times. The results can vary widely. For instance, the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra VS90F40DMK/AA, reviewed below, gave us an average of 52 minutes of vacuuming time on a full battery, while the Tineco A10-D Plus has a low average run time of merely 17 minutes.
In the past, CR didn’t recommend any cordless stick vacuums because of their reliability issues. Last year, for the first time, the data from our members’ surveys produced a median reliability rating for cordless stick brands that meets the threshold for CR to recommend some models. This is due largely to the introduction of several cordless brands, such as Miele and Samsung, that mostly rate better than the cordless stick brands in our ratings from previous years.
It’s worth noting that battery problems remain an issue for some cordless stick vacuums. In our latest ratings data, our members reported on their experiences with new vacuums they purchased between 2015 and 2025. Twenty-eight percent of the cordless stick vacs that were purchased had battery issues, whether it was batteries whose life got progressively worse over time, batteries whose life was never good, or batteries that had died completely. In our vacuum ratings, you can look for brands with a higher score in predicted brand reliability, which indicates they’re less likely to experience problems over the course of ownership.
But for people who are specifically looking for a cordless stick vac that’s unlikely to run out of power in the middle of a cleaning task, here are the models with the longest run times that also perform well in other aspects of our vacuum tests. They’re listed in order from the longest to the shortest run time.
Run time: 52 minutes
Charge time: 5 hours
Pricey though it may be, we found the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra VS90F40DMK/AA unbeatable in cleaning prowess. It earns an excellent rating in our tests for cleaning bare floors and pet hair, all the while being extremely quiet. Unlike most of the cordless stick vacuums we’ve tested, it’s also very good at picking up debris from carpets. The vacuum has the longest run time of all the stick vacs in our ratings, and we like the fact that its digital display shows how much run time is left while you’re using the vacuum. The battery is easy to remove. In our member survey ratings, Samsung, as a cordless stick vacuum brand, garnered respectable scores for reliability and owner satisfaction.
Run time: 40 minutes
Charge time: 4 hours
The budget-friendly Shark Stratos IZ862H does well at vacuuming bare floors and picking up debris from the edges where the floor meets walls, though it might not be the ideal choice if your home has a lot of carpeting—this vacuum receives only a midrange rating in our carpet-cleaning tests. The vacuum has a sensor that increases suction when it detects dirt. It also has a self-cleaning mechanism that helps prevent hair from tangling around the brush roll—noteworthy because tangled hair in rollers is one of the most common issues our members encounter with their vacuums. As a brand, Shark cordless stick vacuums earn a favorable rating for owner satisfaction and a middling rating in predicted reliability, based on our surveys.
Run time: 38 minutes
Charge time: 6 hours
For an inexpensive price, you’re getting a stick vacuum that’s solid at cleaning carpets and even better at suctioning up debris from bare floors. The Shark PowerDetect IP1251 comes with plenty of nifty features, such as a bendable wand that allows you to clean underneath furniture more easily and fold the vacuum for storage. The vacuum can pick up debris when you move it forward and backward, unlike other vacuums, which can typically pick up debris only when you move forward.
Run time: 31 minutes
Charge time: 4 hours
If you’re looking to buy a Samsung cordless stick vac but find the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra VS90F40DMK/AA to be beyond your budget, the Samsung Jet 85 VS20C8522TW is worth considering as an alternative. It’s more lightweight and less expensive, and is stellar at cleaning up bare floors, pet hair, and the edges of your home, though it’s not as great at cleaning carpets. The vacuum can be converted into a hand vac and comes with an electric accessory brush that adapts easily to the cleaning of vertical surfaces.
Run time: 31 minutes
Charge time: 4 hours
The Shark Vertex Pro IZ662H Vacuum Cleaner is exemplary at cleaning bare floors, edges, and pet hair. It also earned top scores in our clean emissions test. While it’s middling at sucking up debris from carpets, it’s packed with features. Our testers especially like the vacuum’s DuoClean powerhead that comes with both bristles and soft rollers, and its flexible wand, which makes it easier to vacuum under furniture. The whole vacuum can be folded for compact storage.
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