Dad’s short answer: Corded for deep cleaning power, cordless for daily convenience, handheld for cars, stairs and furniture. Most homes end up with two of the three, and the pairing that works for the most people is a corded vacuum plus a handheld.

What each one is genuinely for

A corded upright or canister is the deep-clean machine. Unlimited runtime, the strongest sustained suction, and the biggest bin. If you have a lot of carpet, this is still the machine that gets the embedded stuff out, and nothing cordless has changed that.

A cordless stick is the convenience machine. You grab it, do the kitchen, and put it back — no cord, no outlet hunting, no dragging a heavy machine around. What you pay for that is runtime, bin size, and some sustained power on carpet.

A handheld is the specialist. Car interiors, stairs, furniture, couch cushions, the spot under the highchair. It isn't a small vacuum for your floors; it's a different tool for the jobs a floor vacuum is bad at.

How to pick if you're only buying one

Mostly carpet, and you want it genuinely clean: corded. That isn't nostalgia, it's the physics of a machine that never runs low on power.

Mostly hard floors, small to medium home, and you want to actually use the thing: cordless. The best cordless vacuum is the one that's easy enough to grab that you use it four times a week.

You already have a decent vacuum and your real problem is the car and the stairs: handheld. It's the least money of the three and it solves a problem the other two are bad at.

If you're buying two, corded plus handheld covers the most ground for the least money. Cordless is the luxury of the three, and I say that as someone who uses one daily.

Dad’s Take: Buy for the job you actually hate doing. That's the machine you'll use, and a used vacuum beats a better one sitting in the closet.