Vorta S9 vs Northwind X2: which stick vacuum should you buy?
Our top pick and our upgrade pick, tested side by side for six weeks. The Northwind wins on deep carpet and long hair; the Vorta does nearly as well for $210 less.
Sarah Miller
Ryan Mitchell, editor-in-chief
October 3, 2026
6 weeks · 2 models
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The two vacuums
Prices checked October 3, 2026
Best suction under $400, light in the hand and a battery that can handle a whole house.
$339 at Amazon Read the full review
Gets almost everything out of shag carpet too and has a swappable battery.
$549 at Amazon Read the full reviewThe short answer
- Most homes should buy the Vorta S9. On hard floors and low-pile rugs it cleans as well as the Northwind for $210 less.
- The Northwind X2 is worth it for deep carpet (97% pickup against 92%) or long hair: its brush stayed clean all week.
- The Northwind runs 12 minutes longer and its battery clicks out, so a spare is easy.
- The Vorta is almost a pound lighter, which you notice on the stairs.
How we compared them
Each vacuum picked up three standardized dirt mixes on hardwood, low-pile and high-pile carpet in our test house, and we weighed what it collected after every run.
We measured runtime from a full charge on the standard setting, weighed each vacuum ready to use and recorded noise at one meter. For the hair test we vacuumed a rug with long human hair every day for a week without clearing the brush, then counted the wrapped strands.
Head to head
The better result in each row is marked. All figures are our own measurements unless noted.
| Test | Vorta S9 | Northwind X2 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricelowest at time of writing | $339 ✓ Best | $549 |
| Test scoreout of 10 | 9.1 | 9.4 ✓ Best |
| Pickup, hardwood% of test dirt | 98% | 99% ✓ Best |
| Pickup, high-pile carpet% of test dirt | 92% | 97% ✓ Best |
| Hair on the brushstrands after a week | 14 | 0 ✓ Best |
| Runtimestandard setting | 48 min | 1 h ✓ Best |
| Weightready to use | 5.7 lb ✓ Best | 6.6 lb |
| NoisedB at 1 meter | 69 dB ✓ Best | 70 dB |
| Battery | Screw-in | Click-in, $89 spare |
| Rows won | 3 | 5 |
Which one should you buy?
- You want one vacuum for a whole house
- You have mostly hard floors and low-pile rugs
- You have a lot of shag carpet
- You don’t want to drill for the wall mount
- You have deep carpet or shag rugs
- Someone in the house has long hair
- Your floors are mostly hard
- You want to keep the price under $400
Buy the Vorta S9 unless you have deep carpet or long hair in the house. If you do, the Northwind X2 is the best stick vacuum we have tested.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Northwind worth $210 more?
Only for deep carpet or long hair. On hard floors and low-pile rugs we measured almost no difference.
Can I buy a spare battery?
For the Northwind, yes: it clicks out. The Vorta’s battery is screwed in, so a spare is less practical.
- BrasQ stick vacuum test protocol (2026)
- IEC 62885-4: Cordless dry vacuum cleaners, methods for measuring performance
- Manufacturer manuals and spec sheets
- Prices checked and results updated.
- First published.
Sarah has tested vacuums, mops, air purifiers and dehumidifiers since 2017. Before joining BrasQ, she spent five years as a test coordinator at a national consumer advocacy group. She studied industrial design at Ohio State and lives in Columbus with her family and a long-haired cat.
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