A stick vacuum in an apartment gets used at the edges of the day: a quick pass before work, crumbs after dinner, the hallway once the baby is asleep. At those hours the figure that matters is the one at the low setting you would actually run. Most makers do not print it.
We re-read the product pages, spec sheets and manuals for stick vacuums from thirteen brands and sorted every published figure by the mode it describes. Only three makers name a mode at all, and only one gives a figure for more than one mode. For the wider category, including canisters and uprights, see the quietest vacuums; this guide stays with cordless sticks and with what changes when you live close to neighbors.
Our picks are listed above, with full specifications for each.
Which makers name the mode
Here is every stick vacuum figure we could find, grouped by what it describes. Read across a row, never down the whole list.
- Every mode, one basis: Roborock. The H60 family: "ECO mode (Sound power level by hemispherical measurement): ≤ 75 dB (A)", MED "≤ 77 dB (A)", and MAX "≤ 81 dB (A)" for the H60 and H60 Hub, "≤ 83 dB (A)" for the Ultra models and "≤ 82 dB (A)" for the Pro models.
- Lowest setting only: SEBO. The BALANCE A1 "operates quietly at only 69 dB on Power Level 1". The same page later says 70 dB. SEBO does not say whether it is sound power or sound pressure.
- Loudest mode only: Dyson. V15 Detect: "Sound power level: In Boost mode 82dBA on carpet, 87dBA on hardwood floor". V11: "Handheld Boost mode 88 dBA". Cyclone V10: "Handheld max mode 87 dBA".
- No mode, sound power: Bosch. The Unlimited 8 Gen2 UK sheet lists "Noise level: 78 dB(A) re 1pW". The "re 1pW" tells you it is sound power; nothing tells you the mode.
- No mode, no basis: Miele, Samsung, Tineco. Miele's data sheets say "Volume in dB 74.0" for the Triflex HX3. Samsung Australia lists "Noise Level 86 dBA" for the Bespoke Jet Complete Extra. Tineco says the PURE ONE S12 "reduces noise to as low as 71 dB(A)" and the PURE ONE AIR "Operates at less than 75dB(A)".
- Nothing we could find. No figure on the Shark PowerDetect, Dreame Z30, LG CordZero or Hoover HF9 pages we read. Bissell blocked our requests and Electrolux's site would not load, so we cannot say either way.
What the one full table tells you
Roborock's H60 figures are the only place you can see Eco against Boost from one maker, on one basis. From ECO to MAX the upper limit rises by 6 dB on the H60 and H60 Hub, and by 8 dB on the Ultra. Roughly every 10 dB sounds about twice as loud, so a 6 to 8 dB step is one you would notice.
Two cautions. These are upper limits, marked "≤", so a machine may come in under them, and Roborock does not say by how much. And they are sound power: the total noise the machine puts out, not what reaches your ear at any distance. Our explainer on sound power vs sound pressure covers why the two cannot be swapped.
That is also why we do not rank across this list. SEBO's 69 dB at Power Level 1 is not 6 dB quieter than Roborock's 75 in ECO in any meaningful sense, because we do not know what SEBO measured. Dyson's 82 dBA in Boost and Roborock's 81 or less in MAX are both top-mode sound power figures, but one is a declared value and the other an upper limit, and the modes are each maker's own. Put them side by side, not in a ranking.
Auto modes that ramp up
An Auto mode sounds like the sensible choice until you remember it chooses the power for you. At 7am that is the wrong person deciding.
- Dyson says of the V15 Detect: "Attach your cleaner head or Hair screw tool to activate Auto mode. Suction power automatically adapts to dust levels." A sensor counts particles and the machine will "automatically increase suction power when needed". You can turn the particle counting off, and you can adjust "reactive suction power sensitivity". But "automatic adjustment between hard floors and carpets will continue, when using the High Torque cleaner head".
- Bosch says its Auto mode "adjusts the performance depending on floor type: carpet or hard floor".
- Miele describes the Duoflex HX1's "Intelligent electrobrush with automatic power adjustment".
- Tineco says the PURE ONE AIR's sensor can "automatically adjust the suction according to the mess detected".
None of these makers publishes a figure for Auto. If you clean early or late, pick the fixed low mode and stay in it. Roborock's H60 range has no Auto mode, only ECO, MED and MAX, which makes it predictable.
The mode it starts in
Roborock's manuals for the H60 and H60 Hub say "The MED mode is used by default every time the vacuum cleaner is turned on." So the quiet mode is one button press away, every time. Make it a habit before you pull the trigger, not after.
Docks, beeps and the burst
A plain stick charges quietly on a wall bracket. An auto-empty dock adds a second, louder moment when it pulls the bin into a bag. Roborock publishes no figure for that on the H60 Hub models. For the robot vacuum docks where makers do publish it, see the quietest robot vacuum for an apartment.
What Roborock does document is control. Both the H60 Hub and H60 Hub Ultra manuals say: "Press and hold the Dust Evacuation button for 3 seconds to switch between automatic dust evacuation mode and manual dust evacuation mode." In manual mode the dock empties only when you press the button, so you can leave it for a sociable hour.
On beeps, we found nothing. The Roborock manuals describe status through lights and, on the Ultra models, a screen that turns off after 2 minutes, and none of the manuals we read mentions a chime when charging starts or finishes. If a tone matters to you, ask the retailer before you buy.
How your flat changes the numbers
As our apartment explainer sets out, what reaches the neighbors is mostly vibration through floors and shared walls, while airborne noise from a vacuum motor mostly stays in your rooms. See how to keep an apartment quiet for the difference and for picking considerate hours.
Two maker facts matter here. Dyson's own figures put hard floor 5 dB above carpet in Boost, so a flat with bare boards is the louder case. And LG's support page for the CordZero A9 says that when "the nozzle, pipe, or filter is not attached properly, gaps may form and cause an air-leaking sound", and that dust or a blockage makes "the motor to overwork and become louder". A clean filter and a clear head are the cheapest quiet you can buy.
The trade-offs
Run time. Low mode lasts. Roborock gives the H60 45 minutes in ECO with the multi-surface brush against 8 minutes in MAX, and the Hub Ultra 60 against 8.
Suction. The makers sell ECO as the long-run mode, not the deep-clean mode. Bosch calls its Eco mode "extensive runtime for longer cleaning" and saves "ultimate performance" for Turbo.
Floor space and running costs. The Hub Ultra's dock is 290 x 290 x 850 mm and the pair weighs 21.61 lbs. Roborock sells a 12 pack of dust bags for $49.99. The plain H60 needs neither.
Price. The fully documented Roborock H60 was the cheapest pick here, at $169.99. SEBO publishes no price at all.
How we chose
We started from the stick vacuums in our main vacuum guide and added the other big names in cordless sticks: Shark, Samsung, LG, Tineco, Dreame, Roborock, Bosch, Electrolux, Hoover and Bissell, alongside Dyson, Miele and SEBO. We read US product pages, EU and UK specification sheets, support articles and user manuals, and recorded each figure in the maker's words with its mode, its unit and whether it was sound power, a single value or an upper limit.
We ranked for apartment use: a figure at a named low mode counted most, then how the machine behaves around neighbors (no dock, or a dock you can hold), then size and price. We compared figures only within the same maker, the same basis and the same mode.
We did not measure any of these vacuums ourselves. Every figure here is the maker's own, none of them states a listening distance, and how a stick vacuum sounds in your flat will depend on your floors, your walls and the mode you choose.
