This cordless vacuum cleaner showed me just how dusty my home is — and it isn’t a Dyson

If you live in a small apartment and need a vacuum that’s easy to store and effective at cleaning, you won’t go wrong with the Dreame R10 Pro. I cleaned my entire apartment — hardwood floors and carpet — in minutes and, honestly, it looks cleaner than the day I moved in. With strong suction and bright LED lights to aid visibility, the R10 Pro quickly cleans hard-to-reach areas and sucks up most dirt and unwanted items. Its four attachments work in most scenarios, and the 65-minute runtime means you don’t have to worry about running out of charge too quickly.

It’s not perfect, though, as the R10 Pro has a small dust bin and doesn’t come with a screen that displays useful information (like battery life or cleaning power), and it has a top-heavy design.

Is it still one of the best vacuum cleaners around? Read my full Dreame R10 Pro review to find out.

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A mid-range cordless vacuum cleaner
• Who is it for? People with small living spaces
• How much does it cost? $349 / £189 at Amazon; £229 at Dreame
• What do we like? The premium build, easy switch to handheld, battery life (in Eco and Med modes) comparable to expensive Dysons, LED lights for visibility, and the fact that it vacuums very well
• What don’t we like? The top-heavy design, small bin, and absence of a screen

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Specs

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Price & availability

The Dreame R10 Pro is available for $349 at Amazon U.S. / £189 at Amazon U.K. If you’re in the rainy British Isles and are planning on buying the R10 Pro directly from Dreame, it’ll cost you £229 instead.

As cordless vacuums go, the R10 Pro is a mid-range option, sitting between the Ultenic U12 Vesla ($179), and the very expensive Dyson Gen5detect ($949). It’s also similarly priced to the Tineco Pure One A50S Plus ($329) and the Shark Clean & Empty’s ($349).

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Design & setup

Weighing just 3.63lbs, the first thing I noticed about the Dreame R10 Pro was its lightness. Even with all four attachments in the box, the whole package didn’t feel very heavy — which meant that I could take it home on the bus with ease. It looks stylish too, adorned in an all-black matte coating with golden accents. I love its look and to me, it doesn’t look tacky and fits right into my living space.

Fitted with a pair of bright white LEDs, the R10 Pro lights up the entirety of the cleaning area, helping you not only vacuum in the dark, but also under the couch or hard-to-see places.

Like I said, four attachments are included in the box: a multi-surface brush, a motorized mini brush, a wide combination tool, and a crevice nozzle. Attaching them to the R10 Pro is easy as pie as all you need to do is press the button, remove the one already attached, and click the new one into place. The attachments are well-made too, feel sturdy, and are lightweight.

It’s important to note that the R10 Pro doesn’t use a HEPA filter (High-Efficiency Particulate Air), which can trap a large amount of very small particles. Non-HEPA filters simply recirculate back into the air of your home, so they aren’t as effective. HEPA filters can be found in cheaper models like the Ultenic U12 Vesla, so it’s a shame that the R10 Pro doesn’t use them. However, the included filter is washable and easy to clean.

You’ll need to charge the R10 Pro before first use, and it takes up to four hours to go from zero to 100%. There wasn’t much else to do in terms of setting up the R10 Pro, so I could get to cleaning straight away.

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Cleaning capabilities

The Dreame R10 Pro is a fantastic cordless vacuum that can suck up anything and everything. It’s important to note that unlike the Ultenic U12 Vesla or the Dyson Gen5detct, there’s no LCD screen that shows useful information like cleaning modes or speed. But you get three different speeds that can be toggled via the switch on the handheld module: Eco, Med, and Turbo. Turbo, the most powerful mode, uses 150AW suction power, so it can pick up large debris and it doesn’t clog up the vacuum either, and it’s the average for this price range. The similarly priced Tineco Pure One A50S Plus uses 185AW and the Dyson V8 ($329) uses just 130AW, while the pricier Dyson Gen5detect uses 280AW suction power. For the money, the R10 Pro does a good job with its suction power.

I tested the vacuum on a carpet (low-pile and thick-pile both) and hardwood floor, taking turns to clean three items: kitty litter (20g), a combination of crushed and solid Cheerios (20g), and chopped-up hair extensions to simulate pet hair. I set the R10 Pro to the Med setting and began sucking everything up. I first weighed the empty bin (438g), vacuumed an item up, and then weighed the filled bin.

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First up, kitty litter. On the carpeted floor, the R10 Pro barely struggled and vacuumed up 18.9g. And on the hardwood floor? It sucked up 20g.

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Next up, Cheerios. Now this the R10 Pro struggled with. On the carpeted floor, it could gather only 16.1g and missed most of the cereal dust that had gotten tangled with the carpet’s tassels. It was a winner when it came to the hardwood floor though, sucking up 19g. I was very happy with these results — although I did have to get a dustpan to get rid of the remaining Cheerios on the carpet. Chances are you’ll use a dustpan for cleaning up the bulk of something like cereal anyway.

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The final test involved chopping up some hair — not mine! Store-bought hair extensions, to be precise, which simulate both human and pet hair. I scattered them on both the hardwood floor and the carpet, and the R10 Pro barely took any time to vacuum them up. Upon close inspection, I couldn’t see any remnants — hooray! This vacuum should be suitable for those with pets. My apartment has wooden floors and two rooms have carpeted floors, and the R10 Pro easily went over all of them (forwards, backwards and sideways motions) without getting stuck.

The bendable crevice also makes it very easy to clean under furniture, in tight spaces, and hard-to-reach places. You’d be surprised by how many broken chips I found under my couch, but the R10 Pro sucked them all up and my floor was squeaky clean once again. It’s also fitted with bright white LED lights for better visibility.

I also swapped to handheld mode — which is extremely easy to do with the click of a button — and attached the motorized mini brush to give my couch a thorough clean. I was very impressed with how quickly the R10 Pro cleaned the cushions and under them too.

One of my gripes with the R10 Pro is the size of its waste basket. It’s only 20.28 ounces which makes it noticeably smaller than the cheaper Ultenic U12 Vesla’s 30oz bin, and the Tineco Pure One A50S Plus’ 35.19oz bin. If you have a big house, you may find yourself emptying the R10 Pro’s bin often, which can be annoying.

The R10 Pro’s noise level is rated at 84dB when in Med mode. I used my coworker’s Decibel X app to measure the noise level in Turbo, and it went past 95dB, so I’d advise against using it this mode the morning or late at night — I know my partner would not be very happy with me waking her up because I decided to stress-clean. The Gen5Detect is rated at 85dB in its highest setting so it’s a little quieter, while the Tineco Pure One A50S Plus gets loud at 90dB too.

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Storage & maintenance

As the Dreame R10 Pro is top-heavy, it can’t stand up on its own, so I recommend installing the included wall mount for easy storage and stress-free charging. I live in a rental which means I cannot install the wall mount, so I can’t comment on its ease of use. As I couldn’t balance it on its own, I ended up stashing the R10 Pro upright, against a countertop situated next to my kitchen door. I could easily open the door in its entirety too, without hitting the vacuum or knocking it over.

Cleaning the bin is easy too. Pressing a button at the bottom of the handheld device releases the bin, allowing you to clean it or replace the filter. In my testing, the attachments didn’t catch stuff which meant that the vacuum emptied everything into the bin with nothing stuck in the attachments, therefore negating the need to clean them.

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Battery life

The Dreame R10 Pro is fitted with a 7 x 3,000mAh battery pack which, according to Dreame, has a maximum runtime of 1 hour 5 minutes but the manufacturer doesn’t specify the method used to determine this. I put this to the test, running the vacuum on Eco, and a single charge lasted me 59 minutes, nearly as long as Dreame claims. On Med, this dropped to 54 minutes which is very respectable too. However, the battery life drastically dropped to just 18 minutes when I used the vacuum on Turbo. We’ve also seen this happen with the Ultenic U12 Vesla whose battery drops to just 15 minutes on the highest setting, so it’s nothing unusual.

The 59-minute battery is still good as the vacuum is primarily designed for smaller houses, so in such a place, this should be enough for a whole house or apartment clean. The pricier Dyson Gen5detect has a maximum runtime of 1 hour 10 minutes, as does the similarly-priced Tineco Pure One A50S Plus.

It takes up to four hours to fully charge the R10 Pro. This is less than the Ultenic U12 Vesla which requires 5-6 hours of charging time as well as the pricier Dyson Gen5detect’s 4.5-hour charge time, but more than the Dyson V12’s 3.5-hour and the Shark Clean & Empty’s 3.5-hour charging times.

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: How does it compare?

The Dreame R10 Pro shares the same price as the Shark Clean & Empty. In comparison, the R10 Pro has a bigger capacity bin (20.28oz) than the Clean & Empty (14.78oz). The R10 Pro’s battery life is also better as it has a maximum runtime of 1 hour 5 minutes as opposed to the Clean & Empty’s 40-minute runtime.

While the R10 Pro’s white LEDs are sufficient for cleaning, if you want a vacuum cleaner with GreenEye technology (bright green LED lights that provide even better visibility to track down hard-to-see dust and dander), it’s worth considering the Ultenic U12 Vesla, or a premium model like the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute ($749).

Cordless stick vacuums don’t have the mega suction power that corded vacuums do, like the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352 ($199), and pet owners may want to consider more powerful options, like the GTech AirRAM 2 K9 ($179). For $349, though, the R10 Pro does the job well enough, effectively cleaning carpets, hardwood floors, fabric and leather couches.

Dreame R10 Pro cordless vacuum review: Verdict

The Dreame R10 Pro has completely transformed my cleaning routine. It’s so easy to set up and use, and it’s extremely effective. Its bright LEDs make it easy to see under the couch, while the bendable crevice gets in hard-to-reach places. As someone who lives in a small rental, storing the R10 Pro is a breeze and, if you can, it’s worth installing the wall mount for stress-free charging. Speaking of, the R10 Pro can run for over an hour on a single charge, which is fantastic.

It isn’t without its shortcomings though, as its bin is slightly small in its capacity and it doesn’t have a screen to indicate how much battery is left. Oh, and it’s top-heavy too.

So, should you still buy the R10 Pro? Yes, I know I would.