LG - CordZero™ All in One Cordless Stick Vacuum with Auto Empty, Power Mop Pro & Dual Floor Max Nozzles (A949KTMS)

First a not on self empty systems. They are sort of a gimmick. Firstly, they usually can do a basic empty of the container but they are not effective at cleaning the internal filters of the stick vac, that still has to be done really regularly yourself. And many self empty systems are themselves bagless, which means you have an additional 2 or 3 filters to clean. Bringing the total maintainence burden up to 2 dust containers, 2 mesh screens, and up to 5 or 6 filters you have to clean every couple weeks yourself! In other words, they're often more trouble than they are worth. Secondly, no cordless vac is going to match the suction and durability of a corded vac. With that in mind, and if you're good with it lasting about 5ish years, here's what I'd look at. Models from LG, including their own self empty model which at least uses bags, so there's nothing to clean on the station. Dyson have a pretty poor reputation for reliability now, but if you can tolerate very poor customer support, models like the v11 are still decent. V8 is a good more budget end choice. Miele duoflex or triflex models are great choices too, better quality than the others I think with good performance, but pricy and with fairly small bin capacity. Avoid no-name or bizzarely named models on Amazon, avoid bissell, hoover, dirt devil, shark, tineco, etc.

I have an LG cordless vacuum. It comes with the dust auto-emptying base which is my favorite. I have very bad allergies so this function allows no exposure to the dust is really good!

I have a cat and she sheds a lot! 😹 I used to have a Dyson but I hate to hold pressing the power button all the time. I love my LG.

I have had LG CordZero A9 Kompressor Stick Vacuum for 3 years now. No complaints at all. You can swap the batteries, which is the main reason why we get it.

LG CordZero, has swappable batteries, some models have a dedicated dustbin on the charger, and it has a variety of tools for hard and carpeted floors. I've been using mine for 4 years now. The trigger is a bit better designed than the Dyson V7 I had before.

I have the LG CordZero - HORRIBLE!!! Always gets clogged, never can use it for more than 10 minutes without dicking around with it. I'm buying a new vac which is how I found this thread. DO NOT BUY LG!!!!

Love my CordZero too. It's so easy to maintain because the cyclone is fully washable and so are the filters. Build quality is leaps and bounds above Dyson.

I've got the LG CordZero and it works great for all kinds of stuff.

The LG Cord Zero are really good and come with a second battery that can be charged simulaneously with the one installed in the vacuum.

Got three dogs at home and as you can appreciate they leave a lot of dog hair on the carpets. The LG can get most of that up. Also can rinse the filters out under a tap and leave to dry, rather buying new ones when they clog.

This sub will mostly try to lean you away from what it considers a disposable vacuum and into a buy it for life vacuum. The difference generally being complexity in design, gimmicky features, no parts availability and no way to repair once broken. But based on your situation I think a “disposable” vacuum would be just fine. You can use it/beat it up for a few years, move it with you, and not spend a ton. Then down the line maybe consider a buy it for life brand. In that case I would recommend looking at Costco (either in store or online) and getting either the Hoover Onepwr or LG CordZero if you want a cordless vacuum, or a Shark Navigator or Shark Duoclean if you’re ok with a cord. Id personally stay away from Dyson as they tend to be the same disposable quality but with a buy it for life price tag. The exception is the Dyson Ball Animal 3 on sale at Costco right now for $280, but it’s very large which you stated not wanting.

I think the closest BIFL in the cordless market would probably be the LG CordZero. Aside from that you’re probably looking at a 5 years or less lifespan and maybe a battery replacement or two within that timeframe. If you really want a BIFL vacuum, you’d want to look into a bagged unit, and most of this sub will recommend either Miele or Sebo in that market. I personally own a Sebo E3 but also a Shark Apex. I expect the Sebo to last forever and have parts easily available when needed, but I’ve also owned the Shark for around 5 years now with no issues that I keep as a backup/beater vacuum for things I don’t want to use the Sebo for. But for $189 you honestly can’t beat a Shark Navigator from Costco. You can beat the hell out of it and not worry about tearing it up. And the Costco return policy/warranty will help bridge the gap of Sharks truly awful customer service.

IMO it's better to have a "meh" vacuum that you're using all the time than it is an amazing one that is too cumbersome to ever pull out. We got an LG CordZero for our 500 sq ft apartment (no pets) and it was excellent for that. We are in a larger house with a baby now and were given a Roomba, and that feels like the same "jump" all over again - being able to do an ok-ish job vacuuming without any effort has made our house so much cleaner than it was. With that said, if you *really* care about cleaning performance than a nice bagged canister vac (like a Miele) will probably be your best bet. But it's gonna be the same situation as you're in now. Oh, and personally I'd avoid Dyson. They are popular and can work well but build quality is atrocious and they intentionally design the batteries to fail early so you have to keep up buying expensive replacements.