Summary
Dyson V10 Cyclone Absolute is newer and has the potential for more suction, but the V8makes sense for more people. The V8’s lower price and better battery life (in regular suction mode) make the V8 a better value.
Carpet
The V8 and the V10 both win this section. What does that mean? If you’re looking for the best pure suction, the V10’s high suction mode is unparalleled. But if you’re looking for the best suction power to battery life ratio, the V8 wins.
Let me explain.
With the V10, you’ll use the Torque Drive cleaning head on carpets. Dyson claims this is an upgrade over the V8’s Direct Drive head (also used for carpets), but they seem similar to me.
There are three suction strengths on the V10 and you can easily switch between them. The low setting at 16 Airwatts isn’t good enough for carpets. You’ll need the regular setting (34 Airwatts), which technically goes deeper than the V8’s regular mode, but it’s not enough to be noticeable. Why is this bad news? You get 7 minutes less of runtime.
If you need stronger suction, for high traffic areas, the V10’s high mode is 151 Airwatts and is stronger than the V8’s high suction mode. You only get 7 minutes of battery life, but in exchange, you get power that rivals many corded vacuums.
With the V8, you’ll use the Direct Drive cleaning head for carpets and regular suction at 22 Airwatts, which is respectable. This gives you 34 minutes of battery life (which is better than the V10 at regular suction). Unlike the V10 that comes with low, regular, and high settings, you don’t get a low suction setting on the V8. The high setting is 115 Airwatts, which doesn’t go as deep as the V10.
The V8 should be fine for most carpets (especially more shallow carpets) and typical vacuuming. I suggest the V10 if you want to go extra deep in high traffic areas.
Carpet winner: V8
Check Price: Dyson V10 Absolute ->
Check Price: Dyson V8 Absolute ->
Hard Floors
They are neck and neck when it comes to hard floors. Suction power hardly matters with wood and other hard materials, so it’s a toss-up between the V8 and V10.
The V10 Absolute is equipped with two rollers: Soft Roller and Torque Drive. The Torque Drive is good for all floor types and works on hard floors, but it isn’t ideal and you’ll need to use regular suction to pick stuff up. It’ll work in a pinch, but it’s not perfect. However, the Soft Roller is far more efficient and you can utilize the low suction mode.
The Soft Roller was made for hard floors (I mean that literally, it won’t work on carpets). It does a better job picking up large debris, like cereal spills, but it’s better for super fine dust too. Static electricity often prevents vacuums from effectively cleaning hard floors, but this roller is crafted from carbon fiber filaments that prevent static electricity.
You can get by with the Torque Drive if you don’t want to be bothered with switching rollers and don’t mind a decrease in performance. If you want to go this route, I suggest the V10 Animal because it’s more affordable and only comes with the Torque Drive head. If you primarily have hard floors, I suggest the V10 Absolute since the Soft Roller is a big step up on these surfaces.
The V8 is almost the same, but there are some small differences. The V8 Absolute comes with the Soft Roller and Direct Drive. The Direct Drive (much like the Torque Drive) works on both carpets and hard floors but isn’t as good as the Soft Roller.
You’ll be using the regular suction mode with the Soft Roller. Despite the V10 having more power in the comparable mode, you won’t notice a difference when using the Soft Roller. It uses the same carbon fiber filament technology and will pick up the same amount of dry particles.
Hard floors winner: V10
Check Price: Dyson V10 Absolute ->
Check Price: Dyson V8 Absolute ->
Battery
Despite the V10 being the newer model, the V8 has a larger battery and it provides a longer runtime (in regular mode).
The Dyson V10 has a 2,300mAh battery and they claim the battery lasts 60 minutes. This is true, but you’ll only get this if the vacuum is in low power with no motorized tools. You’ll need the motorized tools for most cleaning tasks and the low suction is only good on hard surfaces.
With tools attached, you’ll get 45 minutes on low, 27 minutes on regular, and 7 minutes on high. You’ll need regular mode for carpets and it’s stronger than the V8. The battery takes 3.5 hours to fully recharge.
The V8 surprisingly has a stronger battery at 2,800 mAh. We can’t compare low modes since the V8 lacks one, but the regular mode (comparable suction to the V10’s) works for 34 minutes and max mode is 8 minutes with the motorized tools attached. The battery takes 3.5 hours to recharge, the same as the V10.
Battery winner: V8
Check Price: Dyson V10 Absolute ->
Check Price: Dyson V8 Absolute ->
Design
Dyson V10 gets the win, but the differences are relatively minor and V8 pulls ahead in some aspects.
The V10 has a stunning, futuristic look that is fantastic. It weighs 3.7 pounds as a handheld, which is light on the wrist. The dustbin holds 757ml of dry particles, making it 43% larger than the V8’s dustbin. The V10 also improved on the dustbin by giving you a button to push instead of one to pull up like with the V8, but both dustbin designs are effective and keep your hands clean.
The V10 is similar to the V8 in terms of sound, but the V10’s high setting is significantly louder than the V8’s high setting. Low suction is about 77Db, regular is 81Db, and max is 91Db. The V10’s docking station is much nicer than the V8. It allows you to easily slide the vacuum in and out.
The V8 is lighter at 3.5 pounds, which makes it a little easier on the wrist, but the dustbin only holds 530ml of dry particles. This is a good amount, but it’s smaller than the V10. Pull the red tab and all the dust, hair, and other particles will slide into your garbage can. It’s almost as easy as with the V10.
The V8 is quieter than the V10. You’ll often be using the regular mode, which is 77Db while Max is 85Db. You’ll get a charging dock for the V8, but it isn’t thoughtful as the V10 because it’s a little harder to remove the vacuum. Instead of just pulling out, you need to angle the vacuum first and then pull it out.
Carpet winner: V10
Check Price: Dyson V10 Absolute ->
Check Price: Dyson V8 Absolute ->
Conclusion
As you can see, the V10 wins most of the categories. It goes the deepest on carpets, equal with hard floors, and has a better design. The V8 is better with battery life (with regular suction), but that’s not the reason the V8 is the real winner. It comes down to price.
The V10 is the stronger, more modern version, but the V8 is comparable in many areas but has a more affordable price. If you need the strongest suction and are willing to sacrifice runtime, then the V10 is right for you. But if you want the best price-to-power-to-battery ratio, then I’d go with the V8.
