Regardless of the size of your home or the complexity of your cleaning routine, one thing is a given: You’ll need a reliable vacuum. While upright, stick, cordless vacuums, and robot vacuums have been amongst some of the most popular types in most recent years, there’s a lesser-known model that’s gaining traction: the self-emptying cordless vacuum.
This vacuum usually involves a cordless device that autonomously empties its own dustbin while docked, which helps keep your pricey cleaning appliance in great shape. To find the best self-emptying cordless stick vacuums available today, and to learn more about how they actually work, I spoke with multiple home appliance experts. They shared their guidance on what to look for when shopping, as well as the benefits of having this innovative home device.
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The best self-emptying cordless stick vacuums
Below are top-rated self-emptying stick vacuums from premium brands we’ve covered at NBC Selected, including Dyson, Shark, Levoit and more.
This popular cordless vacuum from Shark, which launched in 2022, weighs only around 11 pounds and it comes with a dock that charges it and is used for self-emptying). After cleaning, you can reattach the vacuum to the dock, where it then empties into the attached, 1.3-liter dustbin, which holds up to 30 days worth of debris, according to the brand. It also works as a handheld vacuum and comes with a crevice tool and a pet hair brush attachment for cleaning hair from upholstery.
You can get it in basic (which includes these two attachments) or a premium version, which comes with a motorized pet hair attachment instead of the regular upholstery tool. Shoppers say they love the self-emptying feature and how well the vacuum cleans pet hair from carpet.
The Levoit Aero has an exceptionally long runtime of 70 minutes, making it easy to vacuum the whole house without needing to recharge, according to one reviewer. It also comes with a charging dock that attaches to a dustbin and allows you to use the vacuum’s auto-emptying feature. The dustbin holds up to 60 days worth of debris, according to the brand, and it works on both hardwood floors and low-pile carpets. It also comes with several attachments, including a crevice tool, a motorized brush tool and an extension hose.
People who bought the vacuum say that it’s effective on both carpet and hard surfaces. Plus, they say that it’s very lightweight, making it easy to move around the house.
The Shark PowerDetect Pet Plus also has an extra-long runtime of 70 minutes. It comes with a crevice tool for cleaning furniture and a pet hair attachment that shoppers say is great for cleaning pet hair that clings to upholstery and different surfaces, including carpet, bedding, pillows and sofas. Plus, it comes with an odor-neutralizing “puck,” which goes inside a cartridge and helps keep debris in the dustbin from getting smelly. It also works while moving both backwards and forwards, which isn’t a feature I see with every vac.
This new Dyson vacuum performs similarly to its super-popular cordless models, like the V8, V10 and V15, but it comes with a dock both for charging and for self emptying. The vacuum charges for up to 4 hours and when you’re done cleaning, you can reattach it to the dock so it can use the auto-emptying feature to transfer what it picked up to the 2.5-liter dustbin, which holds up to 60 days worth of debris, according to Dyson.
Like with other cordless Dysons, this model also works as a handheld vacuum and it comes with a crevice tool and motorized brush attachment. It also has conical-shaped brushbars that make it easy to clean up hair without it tangling, according to the brand. Plus, it has a light at the front to help you see debris as you clean. Shoppers also say they enjoy how lightweight the vacuum is.
The Tineco Go cordless vacuum comes with a crevice tool and two brush attachments, one of which is meant to clean up pet hair without it becoming tangled. It has a runtime of 60 minutes and comes with a 2.5 liter-capacity charging dock, which is also where it transfers debris to the dustbin. The dustbin holds up to 45 days worth of debris, according to the brand. There’s also a headlight at the front of the vacuum to help you see more debris and it has a small display that uses a color system to show how much debris it’s cleaning up. The appliance also works as a handheld vacuum.
How I picked the best self-emptying cordless stick vacuums
Here is what our experts recommend keeping in mind when deciding on which self-emptying vacuum is best for your home and cleaning needs.
Ease of use: The best part of a self-emptying vacuum, as you can imagine, is that it simply makes cleaning your home more effortless. With most other cordless and upright vacuums, you have to manually press a button to open the dustbin and many times, much of the debris doesn’t come out on its own. A self-emptying model avoids this process.
“Consumers just want cleaning to be easier,” says Andy Sundberg*, vice president of global marketing at SharkNinja. Being able to remove one more cleaning task from your routine “makes a real difference over months and years of ownership.” Shark released its first self-emptying cordless vacuum (the Shark Clean & Empty Cordless Stick Vacuum & Auto-Empty System BU3521) in 2022, and the brand has since released other models with similar technology.
Self-emptying dock: Many cordless vacuums available today charge via a dock that holds the vacuum upright. Brands like Shark, Dyson, Tineco and Levoit have also made docks that, in addition to charging the battery, have a motor that transfers the debris from the vacuum’s dustbin to the dock’s dustbin, according to Sundberg.
“When you return the vacuum to its dock, a separate motor in the dock pulls debris out of the vacuum and into a larger collection bin, so you’re not emptying the dust cup after every clean,” he says. This technology allows the vacuum to clean up and transfer, not just tiny particles, but large pieces of debris like pet hair, according to Sundberg. “Some systems rely on disposable bags that need to be replaced over time, while others use a bagless design that lets you empty the dock only occasionally.”
*Any inclusion of Shark vacuums in this story was made independently of Sundberg, who we only consulted for shopping tips and guidance. We did not ask Sundberg for product recommendations.
How to shop for self-emptying cordless stick vacuums
These are a few factors you should consider when shopping for a self-emptying cordless vacuum.
Decide on a budgetSimilar to robot vacuums that come with a self-emptying feature, cordless-vacuums with self-emptying dustbins can be expensive, with prices often around $200 at the lowest end and up to around $700 at the higher end. The main differences between vacuums, including self-emptying cordless models, that determine their price are things like runtime and dustbin capacity.
If you have a large home and don’t want to have to charge the vacuum too often, it may be worth buying a higher-end model like the Dyson V10 Konical cordless vacuum, but if you simply enjoy the self-emptying feature, a more affordable one like the option like Shark Clean & Empty cordless vacuum works, too.
Consider the size of your homeAdditionally, you should consider how much time it might take to clean your home, particularly if you prefer to clean the entire thing all at once. A short runtime, of around 40 minutes for example, might be enough to clean a few bedrooms at a time, but it definitely won’t last cleaning the living and dining rooms at the same time unless you have a small place. Sixty minutes is often a great middle ground when it comes to runtime for self-emptying cordless vacuums.
Frequently asked questions
The main benefits of a self-emptying cordless vacuum are that it helps make cleaning faster and easier, because “you don’t have to spend time on emptying the vacuum or keep track of when it’s time to empty it again because it will be automatically emptied after each use,” says Kadi Dulude, owner of home cleaning company Wizard of Homes. Also, because you don’t have to actually remove the debris from the dustbin by hand, you reduce the amount of mess you just spent time cleaning up, since dust and small particles easily fly all over the place, says Dulude.
In addition to considering the price points of a self-emptying vacuum, you should also remember that some models may have parts that need to be replaced from time to time, such as a brushroll, which can also be expensive, according to Dulude. Plus, Dulude recommends comparing reviews for different brands of vacuums and prioritizing ones that have been around for a while, since they’re less likely to have issues and it’s easier to get in contact with support from the brand.
Meet our vacuum experts
At NBC Selected, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Andy Sundberg is the vice president of global marketing at SharkNinja*.
- Kadi Dulude is the owner of New York City-based home cleaning company Wizard of Homes.
*Any inclusion of Shark vacuums in this story was made independently of Sundberg, who we only consulted for shopping tips and guidance. We did not ask Sundberg for product recommendations.
Why trust NBC Selected?
I’m a commerce editor at NBC Selected, where I write about home and kitchen appliances. I’ve written about the best steam cleaners, how to clean hardwood floors, how often to clean sheets and towels and how to get rid of mold. I’ve also written about vacuum sales during shopping events, including Amazon Prime Day. I talked to home appliance and cleaning experts for their guidance for this story.
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