Need to know
- Our expert stick vacuum review covers 50+ stick vacuums models to help you decide which is best for you and your budget
- We test each vacuum's performance on hard floors, on carpet and in a car
- Consider becoming a CHOICE member to access independent reviews for products and services across 200+ categories
The whole point of a stick vacuum is convenience: you can bust it out for quick cleans then pop it away as soon as you're done.
Unlike a traditional vacuum, there's no heavy unit, no juggling multiple parts, no annoying cord retraction getting stuck.
But a stick vac that doesn't work well is the polar opposite of convenient.
A stick vac that doesn't work well is the polar opposite of convenient
If you're cleaning up the bits your stick vac didn't pick up or going over areas multiple times to get everything, you might as well have hauled out your heavy traditional vac. (And saved yourself the purchase price.)
Some sticks cost well over $1000, so choosing the right one is something you really don't want to mess up – otherwise what's the point in paying all that money for convenience?
The stick vacs that rated lowest in our tests
Our lab experts reviewed 53 current popular models, evaluating key factors like their ability to clean hard floors and carpet, pick up pet hair, and get corners and edges clean.
They've found some impressive performers in their lab tests, but they also spotted some mediocre sticks that deserve the flick.
Our experts found impressive performers, but also some mediocre sticks that deserve the flick
We don't want you to end up with a dud buy, so here are the products that scored lowest in our lab tests. Consider becoming a CHOICE member to see the best performers.
The Acerpure Clean Lite: it's lite on cleaning.
Acerpure Clean Lite HV312-10W
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 41%
- Hard floor score: 10%
- RRP: $199
Made by tech company Acer, this stick vac is the lowest scoring model in our review – by a fair way.
Based on its performance, maybe Acer should've just stuck to computers.
CHOICE appliance expert Adrian Lini has tested hundreds of products over the years and he's seen some shockers, but this one stands out.
"This is one of the worst performing stick vacuums we've ever tested," he says.
This is one of the worst performing stick vacuums we've ever tested
Adrian Lini, CHOICE vacuum expert
So what's so bad about it? It'd be faster to list what's good about it, but here goes.
For a start, it can't even manage basic vacuum tasks like, erm, vacuuming things off the floor.
Hard floor fail
Most vacuums ace our hard floor test, easily picking up corn flakes, potting mix and flour from a lino floor. The best stick vacs score 90% on this test; the worst, around 50%.
The Acerpure scored 10%. TEN PERCENT.
It struggled to pick up any of the debris, got either jammed or clogged (depending on what it was picking up) almost straight away, and when it was switched off, some of the debris fell back out onto the floor. Adrian had to resort to using another vacuum to clean up after it.
What do you call a vacuum cleaner that you need to clean up after? An Acerpure Clean Lite, apparently.
What do you call a vacuum that you need to clean up after? An Acerpure Clean Lite, apparently
It was similarly ineffective at picking up pet hair, though it did manage to push it into clumps on the carpet, so that's something.
And it wasn't great for cleaning sand and small pebbles out of a car – it took a long time to pick up a tiny amount, and then dropped most of the pebbles again when switched off.
After it performed so poorly on hard floor, the Acerpure surprised us by not being the absolute worst vacuum we tested for cleaning carpet. But it was still barely passable, scoring 58% for a quick carpet tidy-up and 62% for a more 'thorough' clean.
These scores are all quite embarrassing, but the most embarrassing is yet to come.
Crummy corners
Read the signs: this way to better vacuums.
The Acerpure is marketed as a 'corner clean expert', with its unique arrow-shaped head supposedly giving it the edge (ha) over traditional stick vac designs.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like this 90-degree head will revolutionise the stick vac world: the Acerpure was one of the worst models we tested for cleaning corners and edges.
Adrian couldn't even give it a pass mark, describing its abilities on corners and edges as 'Poor'.
The vac's distinctive arrow-shaped head is a subtle hint to follow the sign *away* from the Acerpure.
Read the full Acerpure Clean Lite review.
The devil is in the detail that gets left behind on your floors after using the Dirt Devil stick vac.
Dirt Devil Cordless Vacuum
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 50%
- Hard floor score: 50%
- Price: $99
The Dirt Devil might be dirt cheap, but unfortunately won't do much for the dirt on your floors.
It struggled on both hard floors and carpets, and did very little to pick up pet hair from carpet or sand and pebbles from a car's floor.
It does, however, have a fairly lengthy run time of 19 minutes. But, considering its poor performance, you'll need every second of that time to go over your floor multiple times if you're to have any chance of getting it clean.
It also has a very small dirt bin capacity of just 0.2L, so you'll need to empty it frequently.
If you only have $99 to spend, don't spend it on this
If you only have $99 to spend, don't spend it on this. You may even be better off buying a corded barrel vacuum that will do a far better job for the same price, even though it won't fulfil your dreams of owning a stick vac.
Read the full Dirt Devil Cordless Vacuum review.
CHOICE tip: If your stick vacuum budget is less than $250, we've compiled a list of the best budget stick vacuums to help you spend your money wisely.
Dyson's Omni-Glide is designed for hard floors only, but doesn't actually perform well on hard floors or carpet.
Dyson Omni-Glide
(Designed for hard floors only)
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 55%
- Hard floor score: 63%
- Price: $749
To be fair, this stick vac is designed to be used solely on hard floors, so it was never going to perform well on carpets – hence its low overall score.
But (and it's a big but) it actually didn't perform especially well on hard floors either, scoring just 63% for this test.
It's designed to be used solely on hard floors, but it scored just 63% for our hard floor test
Our expert testers noted that its soft roller head does do a good job of picking up potting mix from a hard floor, but its narrow neck and tubing becomes blocked, causing the vacuum to overheat and switch off. It had to be opened and unclogged multiple times during our test.
And that wasn't the only bad point our testers noted.
It only has a running time of 10 minutes on its maximum setting, which won't get you very far, and its bin volume is just 0.1L, which fills up very quickly and could lead to the vacuum jamming while in use.
Our experts did rate the Omni-Glide highly for its ease of use, though, noting that it has excellent reach under low furniture, excellent controls, and excellent head movement over carpet and hard floors – it really feels like it's "gliding", they say.
It's more of a shiny toy than a practical household item, especially for the price
Adrian Lini, CHOICE vacuum expert
"The Dyson is impractical as the sole vacuum for your home, but if you like the idea of it and it's within your budget, it could be useful as an 'extra vacuum' for things like a quick clean of the kitchen floor after cooking," says CHOICE vacuum expert Adrian Lini.
"But it only performs well in such specific settings that only a small percentage of people would be likely to spend $750 on it. It seems like it's more of a shiny toy to show off than a practical household item, especially for the price."
Read the full Dyson Omni-Glide review.
Makita should perhaps stick to home tools, if their stick vac is anything to go by.
Makita 18V Mobile Vacuum Cleaner Kit DCL180
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 57%
- Hard floor score: 60%
- Price: $229
Makita is a brand that's found more often in the garage than the home, and the performance of this stick vac suggests it should stay there.
If you're looking for something to clean up pet hair, this isn't the product for you: our experts gave it a score of just 40% for this test (which they rate as a 'Poor' score).
And it was only 'OK' for cleaning carpets and hard floors indoors.
The only cleaning job it excelled at was picking up sand and pebbles from a car floor.
Makita products are found more often in garages than homes, and the performance of this stick vac suggests it should stay there
On the plus side, its battery can be used with other tools within the Makita brand range, so while it isn't a great vacuum for your house, it could be an option for your garage.
Read the full Makita 18V Mobile Vacuum Cleaner Kit review.
Kmart delivers some of the lowest scoring stick vacs in our tests, including this $149 model.
Kmart Anko Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 59%
- Hard floor score: 70%
- Price: $149
Kmart sometimes delivers cracking products for low prices – some fans, kitchen appliances and cookware from the bargain retailer score well in our testing.
(Here's the full list of Kmart Anko best buys and what to avoid.)
Unfortunately its vacuums don't fall into that category. They tend to perform poorly in our tests, often ranking among the lowest scoring products.
Four of the 10 worst performing stick vacuums in our tests come from Kmart.
Four of the 10 worst performing stick vacuums in our tests come from Kmart
And even spending a bit more on a Kmart vacuum doesn't guarantee better performance – the most expensive Kmart stick vac received the lowest score of all its products that we tested.
Remember, if your budget is tight, you can still find a vac that performs better than this one – read our round up of the best stick vacs on a budget.
Read the full Kmart Anko Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner review.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
