Best Vacuum Cleaner for Carpet and Rugs

To vacuum a carpet, there must be very good suction power. But not only that: the suction brush must also be suitable for soft floor types. These are two important factors to label a vacuum cleaner as the best vacuum cleaner for carpet.

In my reviews, I research the suction performance on carpets for every vacuum cleaner: both high-pile and low-pile carpet. On this page – which I regularly update after new research results – I share my findings.

Table of contents

Best vacuum cleaners for carpet right now

At Vacuumtester.com I test different types of vacuum cleaners: from cordless stick vacuums to powerful canister vacuums. Later in this research I will tell you more about the major differences between these models. Let's list the best choices first.

Best Bagless Carpet Vacuum Cleaner

In my studies, the Philips FC9745/09 PowerPro Expert scores best on soft floor types. The vacuum cleaner has no problem at all with sucking up small and large dirt on carpet. This is mainly due to the included TriActive multi-surface brush.

Philips FC9745/09 PowerPro Expert

The TriActive floor brush is suitable for any floor type, making it a versatile vacuum cleaner.

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🇺🇸 Available in the United States at Ebay and Amazon.com

The Philips FC9745/09 PowerPro Expert – see this vacuum cleaner at Ebay – is a bagless vacuum cleaner, so you don't have to buy vacuum cleaner bags. In addition to this plus, you also enjoy the following benefits:

• The vacuum cleaner also scores very well on other floor types
• Supplied with a turbo brush for pet hair
• The dust container is incredibly easy to empty

Although it is a super versatile vacuum cleaner, you have to take the following into account. The vacuum cleaner makes quite a lot of noise with 70.9 decibels.

Best stick vacuum for carpet

It can be interesting to choose a stick vacuum: with this you don't have to pull the vacuum cleaner over the carpet behind you. The best stick vacuum for carpet at the moment is the Miele Triflex HX1. The supplied floor brush has no problem on long-pile and low-pile carpet.

Miele Triflex HX1

The included floor brush performs very well on soft floor types, including high-pile and low-pile carpet.

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🇺🇸 Available in the United States at Amazon.com and Walmart

With the Miele Triflex HX1, you can move the dust container and motor to the top or bottom of the vacuum cleaner yourself. The vacuum cleaner comes with a number of extras, including a soft furniture brush. You enjoy the following benefits with this vacuum cleaner:

• An excellent battery life of 60 minutes
• Dynamic vacuum cleaner
• Good suction performance on various floor types (including carpet!)

What you have to take into account with this vacuum cleaner is that it is very heavy for a stick vacuum cleaner (3.64 kilograms). In addition, compared to other vacuum cleaners, it makes a lot of noise (73.9 decibels).

Best handheld vacuum cleaner for carpet

The Black+Decker Dustbuster Flexi is best on soft floor types. This powerful handheld vacuum cleaner comes with a special brush to remove pet hair from carpet and fabric furniture.

Back+Decker Dustbuster Flexi

Thanks to the included mini brush, you can easily remove pet hair from carpets and rugs.

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🇺🇸 Available in the United States at Amazon.com and Ebay

The Black+Decker Dustbuster Flexi is a special hand vacuum cleaner: it is equipped with a long flexible hose. This actually makes it a mini vacuum cleaner. Some benefits that I discovered in my review:

• Huge suction power
• Thanks to animal hair brush, very suitable for carpet
• Incredibly compact

This vacuum cleaner is a bit noisy. In addition, you cannot hang this vacuum cleaner on the wall, which can be difficult if there is a lack of space.

Best robot vacuum cleaner for carpet

The new iRobot Roomba J7+ comes out as the best robot vacuum cleaner for carpet in my research. Thanks to the double rubber floor brushes, a lot of dirt is absorbed from the carpet. Both small and large dirt.

iRobot Roomba J7+

Thanks to the included mini brush, you can easily remove pet hair from carpets and rugs.

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🇺🇸 Available in the United States at Amazon.com and Walmart

The Roomba J7+ is a powerful robot vacuum cleaner that delivers good suction performance on both low-pile and high-pile carpet. The robot vacuum cleaner cleans systematically, is easy to operate and has very good object recognition. A number of advantages of this robot vacuum cleaner:

• Suitable for low and long pile carpet
• Recognizes objects well
• Suction power is automatically increased on carpet

Do you also have wooden floors in your home? Then I have less good news for you: unfortunately this robot vacuum cleaner does not have a mopping function. It is also not the cheapest robot vacuum on the market.

How do I research the best vacuum cleaner for carpet?

To be able to label a vacuum cleaner as the best choice for carpet, I do thorough vacuum cleaner reviews. We have set up a vacuum cleaner test center at Vacuumtester.com, where we test vacuum cleaners on various floor types with our own floor trays. Two of these floor types have soft floors: long-pile carpet and low-pile carpet.

However, I am not there yet with only the suction performance on carpet: I also test the suction power with the help of a vacuum tester and the Airflow with an air speed meter. I also test the floor brush on soft floor types: can it move easily? Is the dirt pushed forward instead of sucked in?

However, I am not there yet with only the suction performance on carpet: I also test the suction power with the help of a vacuum tester and the Airflow with an air speed meter.

To make the research reliable and valuable, I always adhere to the following rules:

• The vacuum cleaner must be completely emptied
• I use the multi-surface brush, unless a special parquet brush is included
• The power of the vacuum cleaner is – where possible – set to the carpet position
• I test the vacuum cleaner on low-pile and high-pile carpet
• The vacuum cleaner is tested with small and large dirt

By using these rules in all my vacuum cleaner reviews, I can compare the performance of vacuum cleaners.

Learn more about my research methodology for testing vacuum cleaners on carpet in the video below.

All carpet suction performance from tested vacuum cleaners

Every vacuum cleaner I research I also test on carpet. See below for an up-to-date overview of the carpet performance of all vacuum cleaners I've tested.

Why a study on vacuum cleaners for carpets?

Research into the suction performance of vacuum cleaners on carpets is very important in my opinion. Almost everyone has a carpet or rug in their home. A carpet can turn into a source of allergens if not maintained properly.

Buying a vacuum cleaner with low suction or without a brush that is suitable for carpets will make cleaning the carpet impossible. I also emphasized this in my guide to vacuuming a carpet.

By researching the performance on carpets, I can help you make the best choice.

Different vacuum cleaners for carpets

I just mentioned that at Vacuumtester.com we test different types of vacuum cleaners. From small handheld vacuums to large vacuum cleaners on wheels. Each type of vacuum cleaner has its own advantages and disadvantages.

If we look at vacuuming carpets, then you have to take into account with a canister vacuum that it has to be dragged over the carpet. Larger rubber wheels are very important, as small wheels can quickly get stuck.

A cordless stick vacuum often has a lower suction power, unless it is equipped with a turbo mode. With such a turbo mode, it is easy to vacuum carpets, but keep in mind that such a vacuum cleaner only lasts a few minutes.

Robbert Tigchelaar

Robbert Tigchelaar is the founder of Vacuumtester.com and is a true vacuum cleaner guru. With more than 10 years of experience in the world of electronic devices, he knows better than anyone what is important in a vacuum cleaner. When a new vacuum cleaner appears, he is eager to test it extensively.