Product test
Battle of the bagless vacuum cleaners – a review
by Simon Balissat
Cordless vacuum cleaner comparison: The cheap models are all "inadequate"
27.1.2025
Translation: machine translated
Stiftung Warentest compared 14 cordless vacuum cleaners. Only three models received the grade "good", six were even "poor". The cheap vacuum cleaners in particular are not convincing.
Two conclusions can be drawn from the major comparative test by Stiftung Warentest, which you can find in the February issue of the magazine.
- When it comes to cleaning carpets, the wheat is separated from the chaff. In other words: Many cordless vacuum cleaners miss out on a better grade because they don't remove enough dust from the carpet fibres.
- All models costing less than 250 francs fail the test and are rated "poor". And not because they have technical defects, but because they simply vacuum insufficiently.
Good cordless vacuum cleaners are available from just 300 francs
This is in line with the test conducted by our colleague Simon, in which the Triflex also came out on top.
In second place is the Bosch Unlimited 7, which only costs around 300 francs. This makes it the price-performance winner in the test. Compared to the Miele, you have to make compromises with coarse debris and animal hair on carpets. It is also louder and filters dust less well from the exhaust air.
The third "good" model comes from Rowenta. Here, the testers downgraded the grade because the vacuuming on hard floors was only "satisfactory".
The mid-range usually has clear weaknesses
Four cordless vacuum cleaners received the grade "satisfactory":
There is also a model with the grade "sufficient":
Not bad, but not really good either: Most of the models deserve this verdict because they are rather one-sided. The two Samsung models and the Dreame Z30, for example, vacuum well on hard floors, but perform significantly worse on carpets. The Miele HX1 fails in crevices and corners. One exception is the Grundig model, which consistently receives the grade "satisfactory" everywhere - and therefore also ends up with this overall grade.
Six vacuum cleaners fail
Six out of fourteen vacuum cleaners only received the grade "unsatisfactory". We carry four of these in our range; the Levoit LVAC-200 and the Medion P250 are not available from us.
These include the four models tested, which cost less than 200 francs. If you save too much on a cordless vacuum cleaner, you won't get a satisfactory product. This is especially true if you have carpets at home: The appliances placed lower in the tested hardly remove any dust from the fibres. The suction power on hard floors is also "satisfactory" at best.
The cordless vacuum cleaner from Black+Decker is an exception: It can easily keep up with the test winner on parquet or tiled floors, but receives deductions due to its poor performance on carpets. In addition, it emits more dust via the exhaust air than any other model tested.
What about Dyson and Xiaomi?
Two manufacturers that are very popular with us are not represented in Stiftung Warentest's large comparison of cordless vacuum cleaners: Dyson and Xiaomi. This could be due to the fact that no new models have been launched on the market in recent months.
There are definitely other good cordless vacuum cleaners out there. You can find them in my comparison of four affordable models, for example.
Header image: Miele
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.
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