Made It Here Awards 2026: Best Vacuums

A vacuum is not the sexiest product you purchase for your apartment, but it might be the most useful.We all know that a tiny NYC apartment can get dirty easily, especially without the right vacuum.Crumbs from the slice of pizza you picked up on your walk home somehow migrate from the kitchen to the living room.

Hair collects in corners overnight, and if you have a pet, fur can become a permanent design feature.Did you forget to kick your shoes off when coming inside?Then there’s the problem of space.

A vacuum can clean incredibly well, but if its dock takes up half your hallway or you need three separate machines to vacuum, mop and clean your couch, it’s probably not the smartest option for a 500-square-foot apartment.That’s why we wanted to find the best vacuums — the ones that could suck up subway smootz, dirt and the glass of red wine you accidentally spilled while doomscrolling.We needed to find the vacuums that met New Yorkers’ standards.

I’ve tested home appliances for nearly a decade, so it was a natural fit for me to spearhead New York Post’s Made It Here awards vacuum category.After designing an extensive criteria list of what makes a vacuum the best, I, along with select members of our shopping team, tested the machines in our own apartments, scattered around the city.   Instead of comparing nine nearly identical machines, we divided our best vacuum contenders into three categories: cordless stick vacuums, wet/dry floor cleaners and robot vacuum-and-mop combos.

We wanted to know not only which cleaned best, but which made the most sense for city living.The most versatile vacuum we tested, with excellent hard-floor pickup, multiple attachments and a wall-mountable design that saves space where it’s most precious.See all cordless vacuums tested A compact floor cleaner that simultaneously vacuums and mops, includes a stain-boosting mode and is surprisingly quiet.See all wet/vacs tested Our tester called its perf...