2021 test7 productsPower Tools
Which Cordless (battery Powered) Wet/dry Shop Vacs Brand Wins?
We compared 7 cordless (battery powered) wet/dry shop vacs options head to head. Ridgid came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Ridgid
Price shown in test: $105 (tool only, not battery and charger)
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Runner-up
Milwaukee
Price shown in test: $119
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Capacity | Warranty | Hose | Made in | Weight | Noise | Blower function | Storage | Gasket quality | Suction (water lift) | Air speed | Filter/dust test (1 min, small/large particles) | Sand pickup off a mat (qualitative side-by-side) | Timed sand container emptying test | Sand extraction from carpet (grams of sand remaining after 1 min press-in / 1 min vacuum) | Liquid pickup test (1 gallon of dyed water) | Specs | Filter/dust test | Sand pickup off a mat (qualitative) | Sand extraction from carpet | Liquid pickup test | Special feature | Runtime under load (carpet held against nozzle) | Motor | Runtime under load | Battery included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ridgid$105 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 3 gallon | full lifetime warranty | 7ft, 1 and 7/8in diameter (larger diameter than Hart/Ryobi's 1 1/4in) | Mexico | 10.2 lb / 4.6 kg, heaviest of the brands stated up to that point in the video | 94 dB, loudest of all 7 brands | yes | unlike other brands, does not include a storage location for the hose or attachments | definitely higher quality than the Ryobi and Hart | 38in, tied for first place with the Milwaukee | 9.4 mph, by far the best of all 7 brands ('totally dominated this category') | started at 151 small / 10 large, dropped to 48 small particles after 1 minute, described as doing very well (though not the single best result) | won every side-by-side comparison shown: beat the Ryobi, Milwaukee, Bosch, DeWalt, and Makita, credited to its nozzle having far less surface area to cover for faster airflow | 15 seconds, fastest of all 7 brands, came out on top | 23g remaining, best (lowest) of all 7 brands | 2.73 seconds, fastest of all 7 brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Milwaukee$119 | 2 gallon | 5 year | 1 1/4in | vacuum made in Vietnam, filter made in Cambodia, accessories made in China | 12 lb / 5.4 kg, heaviest of all 7 brands overall | 88 dB, tied with the Ryobi | yes | not tested | very high quality | 38in, tied for first place with the Ridgid | 5.9 mph, moved into second position behind the Ridgid at the time it was tested (later tied by the Makita) | not tested | not tested | 18 seconds, fast but not enough to beat the Ridgid | not tested | not tested | airflow 45 CFM, suction rated at 32in of water column | started at 70 small / 17 large, dropped to 41 small / 7 large, the best result of all 7 brands at that point in the sequence | nozzle described as having at least six times the surface area of the Ridgid's to cover; lost to the Ridgid ('definitely a win for Ridgid') | 28g remaining, second best of all 7 brands | 4 seconds, better than the Ryobi and Hart but still well behind the Ridgid | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Bosch$139 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 1.6 gallon | 3 year | 1 1/4in, fixed (not retractable) with three tube extensions included | China | 11.4 lb / 5.2 kg, slightly less than the Milwaukee | 91 dB, second loudest of all 7 brands | no | not tested | described as very good | 33in | 7.4 mph, second best of all 7 brands | not tested | not tested | the hose design caused sand to clog inside it (the only brand with this issue); retested three times, best time just over 41 seconds, worst (slowest) of all 7 brands | not tested | not tested | maximum suction 36in of static water lift claimed, 51 CFM maximum flow rate claimed | started at 55 small / 7 large, dropped to 17 small / 8 large particles, by far the best dust removal of all 7 brands at that point in the sequence | struggled badly despite having the second best air flow and pretty good suction, attributed to a poor nozzle design | 34g remaining; narrator notes great air speed but not as much suction as some other brands | 4.2 seconds | transparent canister to see remaining capacity | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4DeWalt$155 (vacuum only, not charger or battery) | 2 gallon | 3 year | 5ft, 1 1/4in | China (tool and accessories) | 10.4 lb / 4.7 kg (also stated once as 9.1 lb before accessories/battery, later restated as 10.4 lb/4.7kg with battery and accessories) | 86 dB, tied with the Hart for quietest of all 7 brands | yes | not tested | described as very good | 26in, worst (lowest) of all 7 brands, described as really struggling | 4.9 mph, worst of all 7 brands, described as really struggling | not tested | not tested | almost 39 seconds (38.6), second worst of all 7 brands, described as lacking the air speed or suction needed | not tested | not tested | not tested | started at 149 small / 22 large, dropped to 20 small / 8 large particles, a great result, similar to the Bosch and Makita | nozzle looks nearly the same as the Hart and Ryobi; could not keep up with the Ridgid | 44g remaining, tied with the Hart for worst (highest) of all 7 brands | 4.5 seconds, described as really struggling | can be used as a corded or cordless vacuum; includes a HEPA filter | 33 minutes 30 seconds, best (longest) of all 7 brands, more than twice as long as the Ridgid | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Makita$156 (tool only, not battery and charger; most expensive brand tested) | not tested | 3 year | 6ft, 1 1/4in | China | 10.2 lb / 4.6 kg | 90 dB | yes | not tested | very high quality | 27in, second worst of all 7 brands, described as struggling quite a bit | 5.9 mph, tied with the Milwaukee | not tested | not tested | 24 seconds, better than the DeWalt but still struggled, third worst | not tested | not tested | brushless motor rated 57 CFM and 27in of water lift suction claimed, using an 18V lithium ion battery (different voltage class than the 20V batteries used by most other brands in this test) | started at 56 small / 17 large, dropped to 21 small / 9 large particles, nearly as good as the DeWalt and Bosch | nozzle looks nearly the same as the DeWalt's; the Ridgid was 'way too much' for it | 40g remaining, barely edged out the DeWalt (44g), second worst | 4.55 seconds, slowest of all 7 brands; note that filters were removed for the liquid test on every brand except the Makita, which is designed to have its filter in place when vacuuming liquids | HEPA filter; battery level indicator; includes a foam and a cloth cover | not tested | brushless | 30 minutes 40 seconds, second best (longest) of all 7 brands | not tested |
| 6Hart$79 (least expensive brand tested) | 2 gallon | 3 year | 6ft, 1 1/4in | China | 9 lb without full accessories, 9 lb (right at) with battery and all accessories per one statement, restated elsewhere as 9 lb / 4.1 kg with battery and accessories installed | 86 dB, tied with the DeWalt for quietest of all 7 brands | no | not tested | described as pretty high quality for a budget tool; narrator says the Hart 'actually seems to be fairly well made' for a budget-priced unit | 36in, third place, described as doing very well | 5.2 mph, tied for worst alongside the Makita, described as struggling despite great suction | not tested | not tested | 20 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | started at 155 small / 12 large, particle count actually increased to 315 small particles after a minute (large particles dropped from 12 to 7); the only brand whose small-particle count got worse rather than better | used as the baseline comparison against the Ryobi (nearly identical nozzles, described as an apples-to-apples comparison); the Ryobi did a better job | 44g remaining, tied with the DeWalt for worst of all 7 brands | 4.35 seconds (recap value; narrator describes the Hart vs Ryobi race as 'very close' with the Ryobi winning at 4.3 seconds) | not tested | not tested | not tested | 22 minutes 6 seconds (stated as 'just over 22 minutes', recap gives 22.1 minutes) | 20V lithium 4 amp hour battery, charger |
| 7Ryobi One+ 3 gallon wet/dry project vacuum$79 (tool only, tied with Hart as least expensive) | 3 gallon | 3 year | 6ft, 1 1/4in | Indonesia | 9 lb, restated elsewhere as 9.8 lb / 4.4 kg | 88 dB, tied with the Milwaukee | not tested | not tested | very high quality rubber gasket | 35in | 5.7 mph, slightly better than the Hart | not tested | not tested | 18.5 seconds | not tested | not tested | up to 45 CFM claimed | started at 74 small / 8 large, small particle count rose to 266 after a minute, a worsening result though not as severe as the Hart's | did better than the Hart in their apples-to-apples nozzle comparison, but lost decisively to the Ridgid | 30g remaining | 4.3 seconds, won a close race against the Hart, but lost decisively to the Ridgid (2.73 seconds) | not tested | not tested | not tested | 23 minutes 20 seconds (recap: 23.3 minutes) | not tested |
How it was tested
- noise level (dB, 24in from the vacuum, exhaust side facing the sound meter)
- maximum suction (inches of water lift)
- air speed (mph) through a sealed nozzle tester
- total run time under load (carpet held against the nozzle) on a 4 amp hour battery
- filter/air quality performance (dust particle counter measuring small 1-5 micron and large 5+ micron particles in the exhaust over 1 minute)
- sand pickup from a floor mat (qualitative side-by-side comparisons)
- timed test emptying a container of sand
- sand extraction from carpet (grams of sand remaining after 1 minute pressed in, 1 minute vacuumed)
- liquid pickup speed (time to remove 1 gallon of dyed water)
“The Ridgid definitely outperformed the more expensive competition and the Milwaukee also did very well. In my opinion, these are the best two brands that we tested.”
Data notes and caveats
Very clean transcript with no brand-name mangling; all 7 brands (Hart, Ryobi, Ridgid, Milwaukee, Bosch, DeWalt, Makita) matched the description's Products Tested list and chapter titles exactly. Title itself ('One Clear Winner!') and the closing verdict both support a clean single-winner declaration (Ridgid), with Milwaukee explicitly named as a close second/runner-up. Notably, the winner (Ridgid, $105) was not the cheapest tool tested (Hart and Ryobi were both $79), which the narrator calls out directly: 'often times you pay for what you get, but not in this case.' The Hart brand was the only one whose dust-filter test result got worse (more small particles after a minute) rather than better, an outlier worth flagging for build purposes.