Dyson V8 Absolute vs. Animal Differences Comparison Review

It’s 3 years now since the Dyson V8 vacuum cleaner debuted. Dyson has released 2 other vacuum cleaners after it, V10 and V11, which are relatively more powerful. All in all, the Dyson V8 cordless vacuum remains our number one recommendation if you don’t plan to pay a premium for Dyson’s latest vacuums.

The V8 is over 2 timers cheaper than the newer Dyson V10 and V11. Even at its lower price tag, we can solidly affirm that the Dyson V8 offers the best value for the money judging from its performance to price ratio.

This Dyson V8 review is a comparison of 2 models that confuse most homeowners a lot; the Dyson V8 Absolute vs Animal.

Dyson V8 Absolute vs Animal: Specs and Features Comparison Review

	Dyson V8 Absolute	Dyson V8 Animal
	Check Price on Amazon	Check Price on Amazon
Height	9.8’’	9.8’’
Length	49’’	49’’
Width	8.8’’	8.8’’
Weight	5.75 lbs	5.75 lbs
Motor technology	V8 digital motor	V8 digital motor
Cleaner head	Direct Drive Cleaning Head, Fluffy/Soft Cleaning Head	Direct Drive Cleaning Head
Cyclone Technology	15 chambers	15 chambers
Power modes	2	2
Bin capacity	0.14 gallons	0.14 gallons
Filtration	HEPA filter	HEPA filter
Battery size	21.6 volts	21.6 volts
Battery charging time	5.5 hours	5.5 hours
Max runtime	~40 mins.	~40 mins.
Display	No	No
Attachments included	Combination tool, crevice tool, Mini motorized brushroll, soft dusting brush	Crevice tool, combination tool, Mini motorized brushroll, soft dusting brush

Dyson V8 Animal vs Absolute: Overview

The Dyson V8 cordless vacuum cleaner was released in 2016 as an improved variant of the Dyson V6. The V8 brings a slightly larger bin (0.14 gallons against V6’s 0.11 gal capacity), which has an advanced emptying system.

Also, it has a slightly more powerful motor, which translates to better suction. This advanced digital motor is again complemented by a new battery that allows up to 40 minutes of runtime on low power mode. This is the biggest upgrade that the V8 brought, by the way. The V6 allows around 26 minutes of runtime, although the official claim is 20 minutes.

3 Dyson V8 Versions in the US

For the US market, the Dyson V8 comes in 3 variants;

• Animal
• Absolute
• Motorhead

Consumers in the UK have a 4th option; the Dyson V8 Total Clean.

Dyson V8 Absolute vs Animal vs Total Clean vacuum cleaners: Differences

Dyson tends to market these 3 vacuum cleaners as different brands, but they are fundamentally the same product. They use the same digital V8 motor, same cyclone technology, and a similar battery pack. That’s to say that they also offer equal suction performance and runtime.

What sets these vacuum cleaners apart are the number and type of attachments that you get with each model.

In the battle of Dyson v8 Absolute vs Animal, the only difference is that the former comes with the most sought soft roller head cleaning tool. This head is purposely designed for hard floors, including tiles, maple, and hardwood. If your home has a mixture of bare floors and carpet, this soft roller head makes the Absolute your best pick.

If your floors are all carpeted, then the Dyson V8 Animal cordless vacuum will suit you better besides saving you some dollars.

The Dyson V8 Total Clean is currently only available in the UK, and it’s considerably pricier than the Absolute and Animal. That’s because it brings 3 additional accessories that you won’t find with the other 2 vacuum cleaners.

These are;

• Up Top adaptor- it lets you clean high-up areas, such as cabinet tops with ease
• Flexi-crevice tool- this tool will extend and flex to allow you to clean awkward areas, such as behind radiators and between furniture
• Tool Bag- to hold all your cleaning tools

Dyson V8 Absolute vs Animal: Design

The Dyson V8 is designed with the typical design of its predecessors, the V6 and V7. This is a stick vacuum cleaner with a removable wand that practically gives you a 2-in-1 product.

With the wand mounted, you can use this vacuum as a handstick vacuum. This mode is excellent for general household floor cleaning. The rod also extends your reach when dusting the curtains, shelves, and ceilings.

When there’s a quick pick-up to do, you can easily detach the wand and connect the appropriate tool directly onto the vacuum. This is a convenient functionality that literally eliminates the need for purchasing separate vacuums.

Similar to other products in Dyson’s V series, all the variants of the V8 Dyson vacuum have a trigger that you need to hold down whenever you are sucking the debris. There are 2 sides to this design.

First, it’s quite tiring. Actually, this is one of the complaints that we came across in Dyson v8 Animal review. Most users report that they got used to it after a few uses, though.

On the other hand, our review team sees this as a superb way of reducing power wastage. This makes sense, considering that the Dyson V8 is a non-corded vacuum cleaner.

One way to tell the difference between the Dyson v8 Absolute vs Animal is on the aesthetics;

• Dyson V8 Absolute– has a golden wand and a grey motor, cyclone, and bin assembly with purple accents.
• Dyson v8 Animal– has a grey wand and a grey vacuum assembly with purple accents.

While we still at design, we like that the Dyson V8 brings you all the conveniences that come with cordless vacuum cleaners. It is incredibly agile, it’s convenient for quick cleanups, and it’s also much safer, especially in high traffic spaces.

Dyson V8 Animal vs Absolute: Size and Weight Considerations

If you are switching from a canister vacuum cleaner, you’ll find the profile of the Dyson V8 very slim for most of your portability needs. While the vacuum assembly (motor, bin, cyclone, and filters) are seemingly heavy, most current users are amazed at how nicely balanced the entire unit feels.

How big is the Dyson V8 Absolute vacuum cleaner?

The Absolute and the Animal have equal measurements. With the elongation wand attached, the V8 measures 49’’ in length, 8.8’’ in width, and a height of 9.8’’. Honestly, this is as slim as a cordless vacuum cleaner can get. Again, this size will shrink even further once you remove the wand to allow you to clean your vehicle and other localized areas.

We also like the lightweight feel of this vacuum cleaner. When used as a handstick with the cleaner head, the vacuum weighs around 5.75 pounds. Once you remove the wand and attach the tools directly, you’ll be looking at anywhere between 3.3 and 3.5 lbs.

This combination of compact size and lightweight design means a lot in terms of portability and maneuverability.

Dyson V8 Animal and Absolute: Cleaner Heads Comparison

The V8 Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner uses 2 types of cleaner heads; Direct Drive and the Fluffy/Soft Cleaning Head. 

Direct Drive Cleaner Head (available for both Absolute and Animal) – this cleaner head is among the most superior components of Dyson vacuum cleaners. What makes it so popular is its combination of both soft and hard bristles. This is a convenience feature that means that you won’t need to switch the heads when moving from carpet to hardwood floors and vice versa.

It derives its name from the fact that its motor is fitted right within the cleaning roller- a thoughtful design that leads to edge-to-edge cleaning.

Again, this edge-to-edge performance, coupled with this cleaner head’s low-profile design means that it can slide under furniture and suck debris with much ease.  

Soft/Fluffy roller– you’ll find this head with the Absolute only. This is another very popular cleaner head that Dyson engineers purposely for use on hard floors. The fluffy roller is fitted with a soft rolling pad instead of bristles.

The essence of this construction design is to capture debris and dust on your maple, marble, tile, and hardwood floors without marring them.

Again, the visor of this cleaner head has a higher clearance compared to other tools. Thanks to this design, the fluffy roller is able to capture large debris without pushing them around.

Dyson V8 Animal vs Absolute: Suction Power, Cleaning Modes, and Noise Level

The Dyson V8 has 2 cleaning modes; normal/low power setting and turbo. The low power setting offers 28 air watts of suction power. Engaging the turbo mode shoots the suction to a whopping 115 air watts. For comparison, the Dyson V6 offers 100 air watts in its highest suction setting.

Although the latest Dyson releases have taken the suction performance much higher, the Dyson v8 remains one of the most powerful vacuums in its price range.

Even in its low power setting, this model packs enough oomph for most household cleaning needs both on carpets and hardwood floors. This setting is what you’ll be using mostly, and it offers around 40 minutes of battery runtime with non-powered tools. When you attach a mechanized device, such as the fluffy head, the runtime diminishes to approximately 25 minutes.

The turbo mode comes in handy when you run into stubborn patches. If you intend to run the vacuum cleaner purely in this setting, you’ll be looking at around 7 minutes of runtime. As such, you’ll want to use this setting sparingly.

Dyson V8 Battery Specs

This vacuum cleaner uses a 2800mAh li-ion battery pack. One thing that we like about this battery is its non-fade technology. This means that the suction power remains constant from start to the end of the cleaning session even when the battery charge is diminishing.

This battery takes 5 to 5.5 hours to charge from 0 to 100%. Interestingly, you don’t have to unplug the charger once the battery pack is fully charged.

The charging system has a set of 3 colors to alert you on the status;

Solid blue light- shows that the battery is charged and in normal operating mode.

• Flushing blue light– indicates that the battery needs to be charged.
• Amber light– means that the vacuum is plugged in but not charging. This happens if the machine is either too hot or too cold.
• Flashing red light– this will light up if there’s an issue with the battery pack. You might want to call customer support if this happens.

How loud is the Dyson V8 Absolute vs Animal?

With vacuum cleaners, a higher suction power comes with higher noise levels (although this is not always the case).

As you can expect, the Dyson V8 is loudest at its turbo setting. It has been measured to 99.88 dB. You’ll likely be using the turbo mode for a few minutes before switching to the normal setting, which is much quieter at about 67 dB. Mind you, at the lowest setting, the V8 is around 7 dB quieter than the V6 that reaches up to 73 dB.

How does the Dyson V8 cordless vacuum work?

Cordless vacuum cleaners are generally easy to use, but Dyson has moved the goalposts with its V series. We like how the weight has been balanced from the vacuum to the cleaner head.

Also, the ergonomic handle and swiveling mechanism on the cleaner head make maneuvering objects and obstacles a breeze. 

As mentioned earlier, you can use the Dyson V8 as a stick vacuum when cleaning your floors, and then switch to a handheld whenever necessary. The latter style comes in handy, especially when doing the stairs and for quick cleanups.

All the attachments fit either on the wand or directly on the vacuum without the need for any special adaptor. We find this so convenient when you have to use several tools or change from stick to handheld mode.

The only minor complaint that we have regarding the Dyson V8 is its 0.14-gal bin capacity. While it’s slightly larger than that of the V6, you might still need to empty it several times, especially if you are dealing with large messes of pet hair.

Good news, the Dyson V8 Absolute vacuum has fixed the issue that the Dyson 6 had when emptying the bin.

The V8 has an improved emptying system where you pull a lever to activate a silicon bar that pushes the debris out. Although the lever feels a tad fiddly at first, the silicon bar works like a charm in removing pet hair, fluff, dirt, and dust. It’s much more hygienic in that you never need to pull the dirt by hand.

Dyson V8 Animal vs V8 Absolute Filters

The Dyson V8 has a sophisticated filtration system that makes it hands down, one of the best vacuum cleaners for allergies. The first stage is the pre-motor filter that sits at the middle of the cyclonic assembly.

For air contaminants that make it through the pre-screen, they are captured by the HEPA filter that is located behind the motor. HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter is the best choice when there’s a need to remove large and small particulate matter, including pet hair, dust mites, pollen, and mold spores.

Besides these filters, Dyson’s whole-machine filtration design is also worthy of mention. This design concept employs an airtight gasket around the cyclone assembly plus a pressurized rubber seal around the HEPA filter. Sealing the whole system ensures that bacteria, pollen, and dust that are sucked into the vacuum cleaner don’t leak back into the air again.

What we find even more impressive is that the 2 filters are very easy to remove, and they are washable. They are also very durable and can last the lifetime of the vacuum cleaner itself. However, you can also replace the HEPA filter for optimum air filtration, especially if you or a family member has allergies. Amazon has a lot of options here.

Dyson V8 Docking Station and Charger

Both the Dyson V8 Absolute and Animal will come with a docking station. This is a plastic bracket that you can mount on the walls to keep the vacuum cleaner off the floor when charging. Needless to mention, remember to mount the bracket near a charging port, so you don’t have to keep moving the cleaner.

If you don’t plan to install the docking station, you can easily lean the vacuum cleaner against a wall in a closet. It has a very small footprint for this.

Dyson V8 Attachments & Accessories- Here’s what you get

As you can tell from the list above, the difference between Dyson V8 Absolute and Animal is that the latter does not have the soft/fluffy cleaning head.

Dyson V8 Animal vs Dyson V8 Absolute: Maintenance and Warranty

The only maintenance that the V8 Dyson requires is cleaning the filters in cold water monthly. We expect the lithium-ion battery of the Dyson V8 to last the warranty period, which is 2 years. Otherwise, it is covered by the warranty.

The battery could last even longer with proper care, though. When you decide to replace it, there are several 3rd party variants worth going for on Amazon.

Spotless Mag Review Verdict

The Dyson V8 was and continues to be a powerful and highly recommendable vacuum cleaner to date. There are no significant differences between the Dyson V8 Absolute and Dyson V8 Animal. As such, what matters most is what is included in the packages.

If you’ll be dealing with bare, hard floors, the additional soft roller cleaner head on the Dyson V8 Absolute makes it your best choice.

On the other hand, if most of your surfaces are carpeted, the Direct Driver head that is included in both the V8 Animal and V8 Absolute will be enough. So, feel free to buy the Dyson V8 Animal. If anything, you can purchase the fluffy head separately.

Frequently Asked Questions