If you're looking for the best vacuum for hardwood floors, this guide is here to help. At TechRadar, we test dozens of vacuum cleaners each year, and we've rounded up our top recommendations for wooden floors specifically below.
It's worth looking for a model with a dedicated second floorhead for hard floors – these have a roller that's covered with soft, fluffy cloth that can get right up close to the floor to clear dirt and buff the surface without risking scratching it (which can be a danger with the bristle rollers that work so well for carpet). While suction power is a key consideration when hunting for the best vacuum for general use, it's less important here because the dust and debris will sit on top of the hard surface. That means you can get away with prioritizing a lightweight build over outright power. (Our guide to how to clean a hardwood floor is worth checking out if you're not sure how a vacuum fits in in the first place.)
Right now, the best vacuum for hardwood floors is the Dreame R20 (#1). This is an excellent all-rounder, offering ample suction, affordable pricing and a lightweight, maneuverable build alongside that all-important specialized second floorhead. If you can push to a higher price, though, consider the Dyson V15 Detect (#2) which has the benefit of a laser that can illuminate dirt on hardwood floors, so you'll never miss even a speck.
Not sure on either of those? This guide includes more recommendations for a variety of needs and price points. Read on for our pick of the best vacuums for hard floors.
The quick list
Best overall
The R20 is an excellent all-rounder: it's light, effective, and well-priced. However, the extra soft floorhead makes it an especially good choice for those with hardwood floors.
Read more below
Best premium
The V15 also has a second, soft head for hard floors, but this time it's equipped with a laser light to illuminate hidden dirt. Hi-tech features and premium build quality help justify the high price.
Best auto-empty
If you're dealing with lots of dust or hair, this vacuum's auto-empty dock will save you plenty of effort. It lacks a specialized hard floor head, but it's still a very capable cleaner – especially around edges of rooms.
Best for pet hair
The Samsung Jet 85 is comfortable to hold, easy to maneuver, and great at picking up pet hair. While it's not so good on carpet it's brilliant at leaving hard floors spotless.
For small homes
This Dyson stick vac, boasts the same hardwood floor-friendly features as the V15 (#2), but in a more streamlined, lightweight package that's ideal for small homes.
Ultra-premium
If you want to blow the budget, the Gen5 is the highest-specced Dyson, and has an improved laser design that makes it even better at picking up hidden dust on hard floors.
The best vacuum for hardwood floors in 2025 – as chosen by experts
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The best vacuum for hardwood floors overall
The Dreame R20 is our top pick for the best vacuum for hardwood floors. This model is a great all-rounder, but what makes it especially well suited to hardwood floors is that it comes with a dedicated cleaner head especially for use on hard flooring.
The 'Soft Roller Brush' is covered in fluffy cleaning cloth with no firm bristles or ribs,. That means it can get right up close to the surface of your hardwood floor, picking up fine dust without risking scratching it. This type of floorhead is also great for gently buffing your hard floors as it goes.
You'll also get a general-purpose cleaner head that can be used on any type of floor, and is great for quick cleans if you're moving from carpet to non-delicate hard floors. The general floorhead comes fitted with bright blue LEDs that project onto the floor to brighten dingy corners. It's not as effective at illuminating hidden dust as Dyson's vivid green lasers, but it's useful nonetheless.
Elsewhere, this a generally excellent vac – it sits right near the top of our best cordless vacuum ranking. The cleaning performance is superb, and there's automated suction adjustment based on dirt levels, to take any effort out. It's also lightweight, thanks mainly to an innovative carbon fiber wand, which can also bend forward to 90 degrees for cleaning under furniture. Although trigger-operated, there's a switch you can deploy for continuous running, to save your fingers. The battery capacity is also seriously generous.
The Dreame R20 delivers perhaps the best value for money of any model here. At list price, it sits near the bottom of the mid-range bracket, but regularly attracts deals. If you have a bigger budget, consider one of the Dyson flagships (#2 and #6) – as well as those useful laser headlights, there's also a bump in quality and performance. However, for most people, the R20 will be more than good enough.
Read more: Dreame R20 cordless vacuum review
The best premium vacuum for hardwood floors
If you have a bigger budget, the best vacuum for hardwood floors is the Dyson V15 Detect. Like the Dreame R20, it comes with a secondary floorhead especially for use on hard floors – the soft roller gets close to the surface of the floor, buffing and cleaning it without risking damage. Where this Dyson model goes one better than Dreame, though, is that this floorhead has a built-in laser that does an excellent job of showing up hidden dirt, creating big shadows on even the tiniest specks of dust. (The other Dysons at #5 and #6 also have this feature.)
The automation features are more advanced, too. Not will this model adjust power based on floor type and dirt levels, it'll even report back the size and volume of particles it's sucking up, in real time, on a colorful screen above the handle. It's arguably not an essential feature, but it is cool to look at and also helps you understand where the dirt hotspots are in your home, so you can pay them more attention.
Like all Dyson vacuums, the V15 is extremely maneuverable, and while it lacks the Dreame's (#1) forward-bending wand, it'll still get into any nook and cranny with ease. Our only real complaint on the usability front is that it's trigger-operated, with no lock for continuous running. That means if you're cleaning for a long time, you're going to end up with a tired trigger finger.
Although it's not the newest model, we rate the V15 Detect the best Dyson vacuum overall because it delivers the best balance of advanced features to price. The newer Gen5detect at #6 has a redesigned motor and slightly improved laser and UI design, but the practical difference for most people will be minimal, and not worth the jump in price. If you want to be able to occasionally mop your hard floors, there's a version of the V15 that comes with a mopping floorhead that can be swapped on – read about it in our Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review.
Read our full Dyson V15 Detect vacuum review
The best auto-empty vacuum for hardwood floors
If you have a larger home and/or are dealing with lots of dust, take a look at the Shark Detect Pro Cordless Auto-Empty System. This nimble cordless vacuum comes with a base that not only charges the vacuum but also auto-empties the dust. So while the onboard dust cup is very small, there's almost no effort involved in emptying it: simply dock the vacuum and everything in the bin will whoosh out, via a closed system, into the base.
That means less effort and less mess, and it's potentially a good solution for allergy sufferers, as there are fewer chances for the dust to escape back into the air. We'd also recommend this setup to pet owners who have large volumes of per hair floating about their hardwood floors.
Effort-saving base aside, this model is a little lacking in accessories. Most notably – unlike our #1 and #2 picks which have separate heads for hardwood floors – there's only one, all-floor cleaner head. However, on test we found that head still did a great job of getting our hard floors clean. The power levels aren't the highest you'll find in the Shark range, but they are plenty strong enough for use of hard floors, and the slightly lower suctions means this vacuum is nice and light, too. In fact, we rate this the best Shark vacuum if you're looking for something lightweight.
Many of the vacuums here offer automatic suction adjustment based on floor type and/or dirt levels, but the Shark Detect Pro goes a step further by including an 'EdgeDetect' feature whereby it'll ramp up power on the relevant side of the floorhead when it approaches the edge of a room, where dust can collect. There are also LED headlights (although not as bright as the lasers found on Dyson models) and some versions of the Detect Pro also come with a wand that can bend forward for cleaning under furniture (check if this is included before you buy, though).
Overall, the Detect Pro is a very solid all-round vacuum that's well-suited for use on hard floors, but it's the auto-empty base that really marks it out from competitor models here.
Read our full Shark Detect Pro Cordless vacuum cleaner review
The best vacuum for hardwood floors and pet hair
If you share your home with a lot of pets, keeping on top of all that loose hair is a constant struggle, and the Samsung Jet 85 is the best vacuum for hardwood floors that copes well with pet hair. We reviewed the Pet version of the this vacuum, which comes with a mini motorized pet tool that's excellent at removing fur from furniture, but what you need to know about if you're cleaning hardwood floors is the Complete version, which features a cleaning head designed for hard floors.
The Samsung Jet 85 delivers a whole lot of suction; in fact our reviewer found that its maximum Jet mode was so powerful that you'd be hard pushed to find any real use for it. In its less powerful modes it did an excellent job of picking up all manner of dirt on hard floors, although it struggled with finer detritus on carpets.
The Jet 85 is nicely maneuverable, and gets under furniture smoothly; it works just as well in handheld mode, too. Although on the scales it's one of the heaviest models in this roundup, the ergonomic design makes it super comfortable to use, even for long periods.
The onboard dustbin is generously sized at 0.8L. However, if you're dealing with loads of hair, you might want to consider the Shark Detect Pro (#3) with it's auto-empty dock instead.
Read our full Samsung Jet 85 Pet vacuum cleaner review
The best vacuum for small homes with hardwood floors
If you have a small home with lots of hardwood floors, definitely check out the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. It's smaller and lighter than the brand's flagship models, but packs almost all the same high-tech features as the newest Dyson stick vacuums. So, like the V15 (#2) and Gen5detect (#6), you're getting a dedicated fluffy floorhead for hard floors, bright laser illumination to make the tiniest specks of dirt visible, and advanced particle detection with real-time cleaning reports. It's cheaper than the flagships, too, although we are still in premium territory.
Rather than the trigger operation featured on the V15, the V12 Detect Slim turns on and off-with a one-press button. That's good news for avoiding finger fatigue when cleaning for long periods, although it does mean you'll need two hands free for that part of the cleaning process (one to hold the vacuum, one to press the button).
The dust cup is teeny tiny: we round to one decimal place, but it's actually 0.35L. That will be a pain if you're cleaning a larger space or dealing with larger volumes of dirt or hair, not least because the compact proportions mean debris can easily get stuck when it comes to emptying. However, for small homes, it shouldn't cause too many issues.
On the plus side, it's impressively lightweight (the lightest vacuum featured here) and extremely easy to maneuver; perfect for getting into awkward nooks and crannies. The suction isn't up there with the bigger and heavier V15 and Gen5detect, but it's plenty sucky enough for most people's needs, and definitely ample for use on hard floors.
Read our full Dyson V12 Detect Slim review
The best ultra-premium vacuum for hardwood floors
If you want the best of the best, the Gen5detect is it. This is Dyson's most technologically advanced vacuum cleaner, and the model that succeeded the V15 Detect at #2.
Compared to that model, the main upgrade is that the Gen5 has a new and improved motor, offering more powerful suction. There have also been some usability tweaks – most notably for hardwood floor owners, the laser on the Fluffy floorhead has been made brighter and wider. Our tester found the upgraded version was signficantly better at illuminating dust.
Whether it's worth the price jump over the V15 will depend on your needs. If you've got almost all hard floors, you won't need the extra power, but if there's carpet – or pet hair-strewn furniture – alongside the hardwood floor, it might come in handy. Similarly, the extra 10 minutes of runtime with the Gen5 might be a game-changer if you have an especially large house, but the V15's 60 minutes will suffice for most people. Note too that the Gen5's better motor and battery mean extra weight – it's noticeably heavy for a cordless stick vacuum. (For a full run-down of the differences between these two models, head to our Dyson Gen5detect vs V15 Detect comparison.)
Read our full Dyson Gen5detect review
The best vacuum for hardwood floors: specs compared
Model | Type | Vac weight | Bin size | Max runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Dreame R20 | Cordless stick | 6 lbs / 2.7 kg | 0.6L | 90 mins |
2. Dyson V15 Detect | Cordless stick | 6.8 lbs / 3.1 kg | 0.8L | 60 mins |
3. Shark Detect Pro Cordless | Cordless stick | 6 lbs / 2.76 kg | 0.4L (vac) + 1.3L / 2L in base | 40 mins (US), 60 mins (UK) |
4. Samsung Jet 85 | Cordless stick | 9lbs / 4.1kg | 0.8L | 44 mins |
5. Dyson V12 Detect Slim | Cordless stick | 5.2 lbs / 2.4 kg | 0.4L | 60mins |
6. Dyson Gen5detect | Cordless stick | 7.7 lbs / 3.5kg | 0.8L | 70 mins |
How to choose the best vacuum for hardwood floors
To choose a vacuum that'll give you the best results, you'll need to think about a few things. Firstly, consider just what type of hardwood floor you have. If you have solid wood flooring that isn't coated or sealed, you'll need to treat it gently, and that means choosing a lightweight stick vacuum with a soft brushroll. If you have wood-look flooring or coated/sealed wood, you can afford to use a larger upright model, which also means you'll benefit from extra suction and a larger bin capacity.
Secondly, think about how much of your flooring is hardwood and how much is carpet or rugs. It's likely you'll have at least some carpet in your home, in which case you'll need a vacuum that can clean well on all surfaces; most vacs have adjustable floor settings and some will automatically change power settings depending on floor type.
Finally, look at how well each vacuum cleans around edges. While on carpet, dirt, hair and dust tends to stay where it is, when you have hard floors it tends to gather along edges, so you need a vacuum with strong edge performance. Another place all the dirt tends to accumulate is under furniture, so make sure you pick a vac that's flexible enough to clean beneath your sofa.
Is vacuuming good for hardwood floors?
Keeping your hardwood floor clean is definitely a great way to ensure that it looks good and lasts a long time, but is vacuuming the best way to do that? As our guide to how to clean a hardwood floor explains, the ideal way to keep a hardwood floor clean is to sweep it daily with a soft broom or a dry microfiber mop to see off dust, and to vacuum it more thoroughly on a weekly basis.
Picking the right vacuum means that you're highly unlikely to scratch or damage your hardwood floor while cleaning it, and all of our picks will keep things spotless without ruining your hard floor's surface. So go ahead and vacuum (but also think about occasionally mopping and, less often, polishing your hardwood floor so that it looks even better).
