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Dreame V20 Pro: two-minute review
The Dreame V20 Pro is nimble and competent cordless stick vacuum that blends impressive performance with some genuinely useful everyday features. Its 210AW of suction power deliver reliable cleaning on both hard floors and carpets, while intelligent dirt detection automatically adjusts power to balance cleaning efficiency and battery life. In use, it feels responsive and refined, making it a suitable option for regular whole-home cleaning or quick blasts as required. In all, this has been one of the best cordless stick vacuums I’ve so far reviewed. There are some specific features that help it stand out from the crowd, though.
One of the Dreame V20 Pro’s USPs is its innovative front-edge cleaning design – essentially, a barrier extends forwards that drops down when the vacuum senses it’s approaching the edge of a room, to clear any dust and debris that may be lingering there. In practice, it delivers hands-down the best edge cleaning I’ve ever seen.
Its practicality is also worth praise, namely the wand that can be released to bend forward for far easier cleaning beneath sofas and beds without any awkward bending (a feature popularized by Shark). Likewise, the wide selection of tools covers everything from upholstery to crevices and high surfaces, and you’ll get an extra floorhead especially for hard flooring.
Another thing that makes this model stand out from any other stick vac I’ve reviewed is the weighted stand, which allows the V20 Pro to stand freely with no wall mounting required. While it takes up extra space, this unique system keeps the V20 Pro fully charged, upright and accessible at all times.
However, it’s not quite all roses and sunshine. The on/off and mode buttons are easily confused, some of the accessories are difficult to remove and fit, and the bagless bin is small and a bit fiddly. Other than that, this is a very polished alternative to some more established premium cordless models doing the rounds. Read on for my full Dreame V20 Pro vacuum review.
Dreame V20 Pro review: price & availability
- List price: £379 / €329
- Launched: September 2025
- Available: UK and Europe
Dreame has a policy of occasionally launching different models to different global markets. In this instance the V20 Pro is available in the UK and most of Europe, where it sells for £379 and €329, respectively. It is currently not available in the USA.
At its typical £349 to £379 price point, the Dreame V20 Pro sits in the mid-range of cordless stick vacuums, below premium options like Dyson’s top models and above more budget-oriented sticks. Compared with the Dreame R20 (£189) I reviewed earlier in 2025, the V20 Pro packs more advanced features like edge cleaning, a flexible tube, more suction power and a unique weighted stand, giving it more versatility and everyday practicality.
Given that many stick vacuums below this price don’t offer the same level of suction performance or edge-to-edge cleaning, the V20 Pro represents very decent value for money for buyers seeking strong all-round performance without stepping up to the premium tier. However, if your needs are basic and budget is paramount, cheaper models still deliver very decent cleaning for quite a lot less.
- Value for money score: 4 out of 5
Dreame V20 Pro specs
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Weight (no attachments): |
3.4 lbs / 1.6kg |
|
Weight (with wand and main floorhead): |
7.1 lbs / 3.2kg |
|
Bin size: |
0.5L |
|
Runtimes: |
~34 mins in Auto; ~80 mins in Eco, 5 in Boost |
|
Charge time: |
4 hrs |
|
Size (H x W x L): |
46.1 x 10.1 x 10in / 117.2 x 25.6 x 25.4 cm |
|
Max suction: |
210 AW |
|
Modes: |
Eco, Auto, Boost |
|
Tools: |
Main floorhead, soft floorhead, bendy suction tube, motorized mini brush head, soft dusting brush, crevice nozzle |
Dreame V20 Pro review: design
- Moderately heavy but very easy to steer; comes with floor base
- Innovative edge-cleaning drop-down flap and useful LED screen
- Small bin and fiddly emptying
There are numerous manufacturers of cordless stick vacuums, with market reports identifying at least 20 major global companies in the high-end segment alone. And that’s without including the likes of other big players like Hoover, VAX, Gtech, Roborock and, in this instance, Dreame. When it comes to choosing a specific cordless stick for your needs, I feel your pain.
Whether the new Dreame V20 Pro is the vac for you is uncertain because, while it is a sterling stick vac in its own right with some fantastic on-board innovations, there are also a few minor design anomalies I haven’t been too enamored with, including stiff connections and an awkward bin system.
The main body alone weighs in at 3.4 lbs / 1.6kg, and with suction tube and hard floor head in situ that increases to a moderately hefty 7.1 lbs / 3.2kg. That’s heavier than than the (less fully featured) Dreame R20 I reviewed earlier in 2025, which came in at 6lbs / 2.7kg with wand and main floorhead. Mind, I don’t think the weight of this model should be an issue for the majority of users and that means it can be taken upstairs or carried from room to room without much effort.
Like the Dreame R20, the V20 Pro is encased in a smooth, rounded, bash-proof, gunmetal-colored plastic housing with gold trim for added aesthetics. It’s not a bad looker by any means, though I find it a bit too bling for my liking.
With a capacity of 0.5 liters, the V20 Pro’s bin is on the small side – you will have to make several trips to the kitchen bin to empty it. That’s especially true if you have shedding pets (a large dust cup is one of the key priorities when looking for the best vacuum for pet hair).
The emptying process is as far from the semi-automated Dyson system as it’s possible to get. In fact I had to resort to the instruction manual to locate the release catch, which is an imperceptibly small grey button on the bottom of the bin housing. This lifts the entire bin canister off the main unit so there’s no need to take the whole vac with you when emptying. To release the lower bin door for emptying, locate the rear latch and give the bin a shake. Thankfully it’s an almost completely dust-free process.
The bin and filter system comprises the main transparent canister, a corrugated HEPA-style filter insert and a metal cyclone unit with extra filter attached. The good news is that all of these parts can be washed under a tap, though you’re advised to let everything dry for at least 24 hours before refitting.
Head to the rear of the hand unit you’ll see a 3.5-inch / 9cm circular color display and two buttons, one for turning it on and off and the other for changing the vacuum modes. I do wish Dreame had differentiated these buttons a little more, because I’ve continually activated the wrong one, whether it’s been to turn it on or off or change modes. In fact I’ve found myself turning the whole unit off when all I wanted to do was change the mode. It’s not a deal-breaker but it sure is annoying.
The V20 Pro comes with three vacuum modes: Auto, Eco and Max. Auto is unquestionably the best mode to choose for most scenarios, because it’s the only mode that automatically switches between different suction strengths. You can not only hear this occurring on a regular basis, but if you look at the rear-mounted graphical interface you’ll see it switch from green (clean) through orange (dusty) to red (filthy), depending on the amount of debris that’s been detected by the automatic dust sensor.
Eco mode basically drops the power and is a good choice for deep-pile carpets or mild dust sweeping on hard floor, while Max (or Turbo, Boost, Mega – whatever you want to call it) ramps the power up to the model’s maximum 210 Air Watts.
The V20 Pro’s 210AW is less than the Dyson V15 Detect‘s 240AW and quite a lot lower than the Gen5detect, which packs a whopping 280AW. Nevertheless in my testing I never felt the V20 Pro lacked power.
Before I get to the brush heads and accessories it comes with (including the unique charging plinth it stands upon), a quick shoutout to the split, bendy wand which mimics the Shark system for easy reach deep under sofas and beds without the need to crawl around on the floor.
The Dreame V20 Pro ships with two main motorized brush heads: a velvet roller for hard floors with side-mounted LED lamp to emulate Dyson’s famed laser beam dust detector, a hard-ribbed multi-floor brush roller for carpets and rugs with front-mounted LED headlights, a motorized mini brush head for pet beds, car seats, sofas and carpeted stairs, a soft dusting brush and a crevice nozzle with discretionary brush for reaching down the side of car seats and sofas. Praise to the maneuverability of both main brush heads, which are wonderfully easy to steer around furniture legs and awkward angles.
Let’s concentrate on the hard floor roller because it’s quite frankly ingenious. Every other hard floorhead I’ve used, including those from Dyson, has refused to collect any detritus along the edge of a skirting board, whether I approach it head-on or along the direction of the wall. I’m talking the little bits of dust and debris that lurk right in the 90-degree recesses of an edge.
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Well Dreame’s hard floorhead has a thin, flexible rubber strip attached to the full width of the front end and – get this – it drops to the floor mechanically whenever its infrared sensor detects a wall. It’s called GapFree and I had to get down on my knees to watch it work because it drops down to floor level – flush with both the floor and the wall – at the precise moment the sensor detects the wall. In essence it seals off the wall area so the suction behind the strip can collect everything that’s been trapped as you pull it back. It’s difficult to describe and tricky to illustrate but it works like a dream and should be mandatory on every stick vac in the land.
Oh, and just one more thing. This model comes with a heavily weighted charging stand which negates the need for any wall mounting. Simply locate the unit’s rear contacts with the ones on the base – tricky in dark areas – and the whole shebang stands upright ready to grab at a moment’s notice. The downside is that the plinth is quite large, and with all the accessories attached to its base, it also looks a bit ungainly. But, hey, it addresses a common issue with cordless stick vacs – the inability to stand up on their own – it’s sturdy and it makes storage and access a lot easier.
- Design score: 4.5 out of 5
Dreame V20 Pro review: performance
- The best edge cleaning I’ve seen
- Excellent pick-up performance
- Nimble, with great manoeuvrability
I’ve been exceedingly impressed with this vac’s cleaning power during day-to-day use. It’s been an excellent performer on my hard engineered wood flooring and there’s no denying the efficiency of the hard floorhead’s GapFree innovation. It has genuinely collected everything trapped along the edges of my skirting boards without me having to reach for the nozzle. A big high five to Dreame’s tech bods for coming up with this.
Image 1 of 3
The V20 Pro has also performed amazingly well on my carpets and rugs, including a very thick pile carpet in the upstairs bedroom. And the great thing is that I’ve been able to use it in this room in Auto mode (with the air intake slider on the front of the floorhead slightly open) without the roller brush grinding to a halt. With my Dyson Gen5Detect I have to switch to low-power Eco mode with the front air vent all the way open or the brush head simply stops revolving.
Image 1 of 3
For my over-the-top hard floor test I used a selection of ingredients – oats, crushed cereal, muesli and flour – and, using the velvet roller head, it gathered every single piece of debris and all the flour leaving a pristine strip in its wake. I then tried an edge test using some oats and was blown away by how well the GapFree tech worked. I’ve never seen a function like this on any other vac, and frankly I’m astounded that no-one has thought of this before.
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I then used the same set of ingredients on a large, short-pile carpeted rug and mistakenly used the velvet hard floorhead. Not that it mattered because it collected everything bar a few remnants of flour. So I tried again, this time using the proper carpet head, and everything, including the flour, went straight up the suction tube and into the bin. This is five-star performance in my book.
So what didn’t I like? Well, the bin system isn’t my favorite I’ll admit, but I’ve got used to it now that I know where all the hidden buttons and latches are. Also, while the accessory fittings have loosened up a little through use, I still have trouble removing and refitting the hard floor brush head. It’s basically a struggle to get off and I’ve had to push it firmly onto the shaft so I can hear it click into position or it may fall off when the unit is carried around. (Other testers have had the same issue with other Dreame vacuums, and it’s something the brand really should address.)
Very minor anomalies aside, I’ve been immensely impressed by this cleaner’s performance in all disciplines, its excellent maneuverability, its handy stand and, above all, its novel GapFree edge-dusting function which really does work wonders.
- Performance score: 5 out of 5
Dreame V20 Pro review: battery life
- ~34 mins in Auto; ~80 mins in Eco, 5 in Boost
- 4 hours to recharge
- Battery removable and swappable
In terms of battery usage, the V20 Pro lasted about 80 minutes in Eco mode and just 5 minutes (one minute less that officially stated) in Turbo mode. Runtimes in Auto mode will vary depending on the floor type and dirt levels you’re tackling, but I managed to eke 34 minutes out of the battery in Auto mode on thin-pile carpet.
The Eco runtime is good – anything over an hour is impressive for a cordless stick vacuum. And while the Max runtime is short, do factor in that not all Max modes are as powerful as each other, and Dreame may have prioritized oomph over a long runtime here. The battery is fade-free, removable and swappable.
- Battery life score: 4 out of 5
Should you buy the Dreame V20 Pro?
|
Attribute |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
Mid-range price point and decent value, balancing strong performance and useful features versus pricier premium competitors. |
4 / 5 |
|
Design |
Extremely maneuverable despite being slightly heavy, with innovative edge-clean tech. Bin is small and fiddly. |
4.5 / 5 |
|
Performance |
Strong, consistent suction on both hard floors and carpet, and it really does clean right to the edge. |
5 / 5 |
|
Battery life |
Long runtime in Eco and strong Auto performance too. Boost mode is rather short, though. |
4 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
How I tested the Dreame V20 Pro
I’ve lived with the V20 Pro for the past few weeks, using it daily between my army robot vacs and sweeping the areas they often miss. I tested this model using a variety of dry ingredients on both hard floor and carpets of various pile. I also tried it on deep-pile carpet and was impressed that the brush head didn’t bog down and stop. Likewise, my hard floor test went without a hitch, while the edge-cleaning tech made my jaw drop to the floor. In all, I’d say this has been one of the best cordless stick vacs I’ve so far reviewed. Highly recommended.
Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners
- First reviewed December 2025
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