Sometimes it’s better to get a job done than done perfectly. When it comes to vacuuming, most people get that an upright or canister will do a more thorough job than a portable or robotic vacuum, but if you need to clean quickly and not powerfully, you’re going to reach for the cordless or handheld if you have one. And frankly, we don’t blame you, because we’re the same way.

Dyson gets this. They get it so well they’ve made billions selling people what they want. Sometimes that’s a full-sized upright like the Ball Animal 2. At others, it’s a lightweight handheld like the V7 Car+Boat. And for people who want a bit of both, they’ll sell you a stick like the V8 Absolute, which, we’re happy to say, does live up to the hype as a fully-featured ultralight. Today we’ll look at a previous-generation cordless model, the Dyson V6 Cord-Free Vacuum, and compare it to the more fully-equipped V6 Animal we recently reviewed. Our ten second summary is to choose the Animal to get a full set of cleaning tools and stick with the Cord-Free if the only tool you’re really going to use is the motorized head. Our full review is below, and you can buy the Cord-Free here.

Pros, Cons, and Key Features of the Dyson V6 Cord-Free Cordless Vacuum

The Dyson V6 Cord-Free is one of the most affordable members of Dyson’s high-end line of portable vacuums. As a primer, “cord-free” and “cordless” are Dyson-speak for their luxury portables, while “handheld” is what they call their downgraded line. The main differences are that you get better battery life in the cordless line and an extension hose to turn them into stick vacuums. The V8 Absolute is the top cordless while the V7 Car+Boat is the top handheld. Aside from the aforementioned cordless options, you can also choose between the V8 Animal, V7 Motorhead, V6 Absolute, and V6 Motorhead.

The Cord-Free’s key features include 20 minutes of battery runtime (12 minutes using the direct driver cleaning head, 6 minutes on max power mode), two cleaning tools, a wall-mounted charging dock, and a 2 year Dyson parts and labor warranty (6 months on certified refurbished models). It tips the scales at 5 pounds and generates up to 100 airwatts of suction. The dust bin holds .11 gallons and you’ll need 3.5 hours to fully charge the fade-free Lithium-ion battery.

Inside the Cord-Free’s box, you’ll find the vacuum and a pair of cleaning tools–the direct drive cleaning head, which you’ll probably use the most, and a combination tool, which is the only option when in handheld mode. You’ll also find the charging dock mentioned above.

What’s the difference between the Dyson V6 Cord-Free and the V6 Animal?

As the V6 Cord-Free and Animal share the same generation, they share all of the same core features, as the vacuums themselves are essentially identical, whether in battery life, suction, weight, or ergonomics. The only significant difference between the two are the accessories they include. Let’s take a closer look.

While both include a motorized cleaning head and combination tool, the Animal’s motorized head is a “direct-drive” head, which, per Dyson, includes 75% more power in the brush bar than the Cord-Free’s head. Theoretically, the motor is supposed to drive the brush bar more deeply into carpeting for a deeper level of cleaning. Practically, though, we didn’t notice a significant difference between the two; stained and soiled carpets were either cleaned by both heads or not. To put it bluntly, we wouldn’t choose the Animal over the Cord-Free based on the motorized head, although we’ll admit that we did like the slightly wider cleaning path of the Animal’s head.

Aside from the motorized head difference, you also get a mini motorized tool, which we found very handy in handheld mode, a mini soft dusting brush, and a crevice tool in the Animal–none of which come with the Cord-Free. Frankly, the mini motorized tool was the tool we missed the most, as it made a significant difference in our ability to clean upholstery and grind out tough stains while using the V6 in handheld mode.

How well will the Dyson V6 Cord-Free clean a home full of kids, pets, and spouses (or at least one spouse)?

When you buy a cordless or stick vacuum, you need realistic expectations to avoid disappointment. You’re not buying a full-sized upright, so you’re not going to get a machine that cleans like one (e.g., a Ball Animal 2). It’s not a canister with an electric brush head, so it’s not going to clean high-pile carpets like a Miele C1 Cat & Dog or Electro+. It’s a Dyson, but it’s built for convenience first and power second, no matter what the marketing suggests.

That said, a good cordless vacuum should be able to clean dirt, dust, pet hair, and a seemingly endless amount of food left on counter tops, in car seats, between couches, on carpets, beneath bedsheets, and everywhere else dirty things are left by a busy family with kids and pets. With our expectations in line with reality, we were happy with how effective the Cord-Free turned out to be. It couldn’t do everything, but we weren’t expecting it to. While we’d have liked more battery life, if we weren’t willing to upgrade to the V8 Absolute or Animal for 40 minutes of battery life, we were willing to make do with the 20 minutes in the Cord-Free and plan our cleaning accordingly. Our main complaints had to do with the 3.5 hour charging time; we’d have liked a shorter figure, especially since budget robotic vacuums like the Shark 750 or 720  charge themselves in less time. Perhaps we’ll see this in the V9.

Why buy the Dyson V6 Cord-Free?

If you’re anything like us, the degree to which you’re happy with the Cord-Free will depend entirely on how you see yourself using it. If you plan on using it primarily as a stick vacuum and specifically with the motorized head, then there’s no reason to buy anything else unless you want more battery life (in which case, we’d recommend upgrading straight to the V8 Absolute or Animal for 40 minutes of battery life). However, if you’d like more options for cleaning in handheld mode than the combination tool, we’d highly recommend spending a bit more to get the V6 Animal, which includes a much less spartan (and much more generous) helping of accessories.

You can buy the V6 Animal here on Amazon. If you don’t want the accessory upgrades, you can buy the V6 Cord-Free here instead.

Canadians can buy the V6 Animal here on Amazon or save some money and buy the V6 Cord-Free here instead.

If you find our research on PMC helpful, you can follow our efforts to keep maniacally reviewing home cleaning tools by shopping through our links above. We promise to keep fighting the good fight against every horror children, animals, and grown, yet messy humans can inflict upon a clean home.