Best Vacuum Cleaner for Hardwood Floors in 2024

Vacuum Cleaner Type: Robot vs. Cordless Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Floor care is a broad category these days, with a tool seemingly dedicated to almost every way you want to make your floors sparkle. While there’s still a place for a plug-in vacuum, advances in battery technology have made cordless devices much more convenient.

When considering a cordless upright vacuum, you’ll get the best results when using it on hard surfaces. This is mainly because the cleaning head is much lighter than a corded vacuum and has a harder time getting to grips. But it’s that lightness that makes these devices so great. The ability to move easily from room to room, literally cleaning from top to bottom, allows you to get a lot more done. A great cordless vacuum can be the perfect tool for picking up dirt from around your home, and it won’t tire you out in the process.

For some, even the effort required to use a cordless vacuum cleaner can be too much or require time that they don’t have. In such cases, getting one of the best robot vacuum cleaners can really be the solution. These devices are the best time-saving and multi-tasking products, allowing you to free up time for other things. However, there are certain areas that a robot vacuum cleaner can’t reach, such as the couch. So there are also limitations to these types of vacuum cleaners.

Cost and value

Whether something is expensive or not depends largely on your perspective. While we have included options that are considered cost-effective on this list, you still need to spend at least a few hundred dollars to get a great floor cleaner. That is your out-of-pocket expense, and then you need to factor in the cost of your time.

Using an upright vacuum requires physical involvement in the cleaning process by walking and pushing the vacuum to pick up any dirt. While a robot vacuum will cost more than most cordless vacuums, you won’t have to get as involved in the cleaning process. This is what’s considered the value proposition. If saving $100 or more up front is most important to you, then look at the cheaper products on this list or save even more money with a product from our list of the best cheap vacuums.

But if time is more important to you, then opt for a robot vacuum, which is usually more expensive than cordless options. You will have to accept the trade-offs with this type of vacuum compared to an upright vacuum, but the time you save can be spent on other things.

Floor type

Most homes today have a variety of flooring options, from wood and tile to carpet and rugs. Each of these surfaces can pose different challenges for floor cleaners. However, hard surfaces are typically the easiest for both cordless and robot vacuums to clean.

Carpets and pet hair go great together, but they are harder to clean. While you can usually remove all the dirt and other loose debris with relative ease, pet hair gets woven into the fabric of your carpet and requires more power to remove. Cordless vacuums are versatile when it comes to where you can use them, but the design of the brush head can sometimes be less effective at cleaning hair from carpets because it is so lightweight. However, upright vacuums are great for cleaning hard surfaces.

Robot vacuums typically offer similar or better cleaning results on carpets, but in order to keep the devices as small as possible, they are usually less powerful than upright vacuums. Regardless, robot vacuums work great on hard surfaces and can be a solid choice all around if they fit the flooring configuration in your home.