Cleaning is one of life's chores, but the best Shark vacuum cleaner can make it a far more pleasant experience. Whether you are in the market for one of the best handheld vacuums or like the sound of the best robot vacuums, we've tested and reviewed all the bestselling Shark models, so you don't have to.
Shark may still be a relative newcomer to the cleaning world, launching in 2007, but it's incredibly popular thanks to its affordability. Regarding performance, it still gives close rivals Dyson and Miele a run for their money.
Our team has handpicked and tried all the bestselling Shark vacuums to help you find your perfect match. So whether you need a vacuum for pet hair, a fuss-free handheld for the car, or the sound of a robovac doing the hard work, we've got you covered.
We've looked at price, value for money, design, performance, pros and cons, and who each appliance is best suited to. Read on to find out what our testers thought of the best Shark vacuum cleaners, and make sure you check out our guide to the best vacuum cleaners, too. Don't miss out on the Prime Day deals for Shark vacuums, as you might find some great discounts on the bestselling models.
The quick list
Short on time? Use this quick list to skim through the best Shark vacuum cleaners. When you see a machine you like, simply jump down to read a more detailed review of the model, including pros and cons, standout features, and who it is best suited to.
The best Shark vacuum cleaner overall
The Shark Cordless Vacuum is versatile, intelligently designed with CleanSense IQ technology, and has attachments for crevices and allergens.
The best value Shark vacuum cleaner
This lightweight cordless vacuum comes with auto-sensing tech to help you clean floors more efficiently, plus the auto-empty station holds a month’s worth of dirt. Powerful and versatile, the Shark Detect Pro is one of the most low-maintenance machines we’ve tested.
The best Shark vacuum cleaner for pet hair
One of two of Shark’s canister vacuums, the Vertex Corded, is the more feature-rich and expensive. It delivers a deep and thorough clean with dual brush rolls featuring the brand’s PowerFin technology. Its powerful suction and advanced brush roll tech make it one of the best vacuums for pet hair.
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The best Shark vacuum cleaner for overhead cleaning
This Shark Vertex Pro is unique to most of the best cordless vacuums because instead of the usual handheld unit with a wand and floorhead attached, this model concentrates all the weight lower down, so your arms have less stress. This makes it an excellent option for anyone who needs to do a lot of overhead cleaning.
The best robot Shark vacuum cleaner
The Shark Detect Pro Self-Empty Robot Vacuum is a decent-performing machine that helps eliminate one household chore, although it’s not the best robot vacuum we’ve tested. The machine works well, but the companion app lacks features and intelligent mapping.
The best handheld Shark vacuum cleaner
Powerful and lightweight, the Shark Dual Cyclone Pet Pro is easy to use and empty and deserves a place on the shortlist for best handheld vacuums. It’s ideal for spot cleaning situations or cleaning up a couch or car; however, it only lasts for ten minutes on a single charge and is loud.
The best Shark vacuum cleaners we recommend in 2024
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The best Shark vacuum cleaner overall
The Shark Cordless Vacuum is a powerful and versatile cleaning tool that offers a pleasant aroma while you vacuum. Unfortunately, the scent isn't for everyone, and there aren't many alternatives. Using it upright can be challenging for some people due to its heavy floorhead.
The Shark Stratos Cordless came in minimal recyclable packaging, which our reviewer, Jennifer, appreciated. Inside, she found a DuoClean floorhead, a flexible wand, and a bunch of accessories. After setting it up, she tried it on the carpet and found it was easy to maneuver. CleanSense IQ technology adjusts suction power automatically, and a scented odor cartridge makes it even better.
In spite of resembling a standard stick vacuum, Shark has a lot to offer. The floorhead has Clean Sense IQ, which alerts you when it's time to clean. The vacuum also comes with an odor-neutralizer with an adjustable intensity dial. Thanks to its MultiFlex technology, the wand bends so you can clean under furniture and folds so you can store it compactly. An ergonomic handle lets you switch between three power modes: Auto, Eco, and Boost. Duster Crevice Tool and Anti-Allergen Brush are included.
For two months, Jennifer used the Shark Stratos Cordless in her home, and it was great with her toddler's daily mess. Its self-cleaning brush roll cleaned cereal, cake crumbs, and long hair. The handheld mode made it easy to handle stairs. Recharging took just three hours and 60 minutes.
Read more: Shark Stratos Cordless review
"The Shark Cordless Vacuum is powerful, versatile, and flexible, and it finishes the clean with a wonderful aroma. This scent may not suit everyone, though, and you don't have the option for another odor, either. The floorhead is also on the heavy side, so some may struggle to vacuum the stairs in upright mode."
| Attributes | Notes | Rating | Header Cell - Column 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | Well designed but some might find the floorhead heavy. | ★★★★★ | Row 0 - Cell 3 |
| Performance | Excellent performance with no debris left on brush bars. | ★★★★ | Row 1 - Cell 3 |
| Value | Great value for all the tech and functionality. | ★★★★★ | Row 2 - Cell 3 |
The best value Shark vacuum cleaner
The Shark Cordless Detect Pro Auto-Empty System with QuadClean Multi-Surface Brushroll Vacuum is an excellent choice if you want a lightweight cordless vacuum that makes cleaning easier. This innovative vacuum features auto-sensing technology that optimizes cleaning performance across various surfaces. The auto-empty station keeps your vacuum charged and ready for 30 days.
Our reviewer, Alex, assembled the vacuum in only five minutes. The instructions were on the box, and she connected the handheld unit and vacuum head easily and then plugged in the dust-bag-less station.
Stylish and compact, the Shark vacuum fits well in modern homes. It's lightweight, so its removable head allows you to reach floors and high ceilings. There are a couple of drawbacks, though: the shaft doesn't bend, so you have to bend down for lower areas, and the headlock can sometimes kick in unexpectedly. Besides having a circular screen that shows power, suction levels, and battery life, the vacuum has a HEPA filter that captures 99.97% of dust and allergens.
The Shark vacuum did great on hardwood, laminate, and thick carpet. It works in three suction modes: eco, auto, and boost. The vacuum optimizes suction with DirtDetect and FloorDetect sensors, and the DirtDetect Sensor alerts you when you need to clean more. The head swivels smoothly, so you can maneuver it easily.
Read more: Shark Cordless Detect Pro
"When you want a lightweight cordless vacuum with auto-sensing technology that helps you clean your floors better, go with the Shark Cordless Detect Pro Auto-Empty System with QuadClean Multi-Surface Brushroll Vacuum. Plus, the auto-empty station holds 30 days’ worth of dirt and debris and always keeps the vacuum charged."
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Sleek, modern and lightweight but would be better if the shaft could bend to reach under furniture. | ★★★★ |
| Performance | Versatile and powerful machine with useful self-emptying tech. | ★★★★ |
| Value | This is on the mid-to-lower price range compared to similar models. | ★★★★★ |
The best Shark vacuum cleaner for pet hair
If you don't mind using a power cord, the Shark Vertex Bagless Corded Canister Vacuum with DuoClean Powerfins is a great option. The unit comes in a big, recyclable box, and assembly is easy—just connect the hose, floorhead, and handle. The instructions are mostly visual, so you can figure out how to use them.
Black with gold accents, this vacuum stands out from Shark's more affordable models in terms of aesthetics. With its dual brushroll, it's great for carpet cleaning while being gentle on hard floors. It's got an intuitive control panel for quick adjustments and a holder for accessories. With its light frame and four wheels, it's easy to maneuver. With its self-cleaning brush roll, it tackles hair tangles, and its HEPA filter captures over 99.9% of allergens, complemented by LED lights for visibility in dim spaces.
Our reviewer, Helen, said the vacuum effectively lifted her carpet, revealing more debris than she expected, even from recently cleaned areas. While it excelled in cleaning hard floors, and the transition between surfaces was seamless, edge cleaning on carpets wasn't as effective, particularly with oats near baseboards. It was easy to use the crevice tool, although overhead vacuuming was a bit heavy. The canister was easy to maneuver, especially on stairs.
This vacuum is lightweight because it has a bagless dust bin that's easy to empty. It also has washable filters and a five-year warranty for non-wearable parts, so maintenance costs are low. It's compact, so it fits in any space.
Read more: Shark Vertex Bagless Corded Vacuum review
"The Shark Vertex Bagless Corded Canister Vacuum with DuoClean Powerfins is an excellent bagless canister vacuum if you don’t mind being tethered to a power cable."
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Sturdy and well made, it's a robust cleaner designed to deep clean without damaging floors. | ★★★★ |
| Performance | Gives a deep and thorough clean although edge cleaning on the carpet is a bit lacklustre. | ★★★★★ |
| Value | It's on the more expensive side but comes with great features and functionality. | ★★★★ |
The best Shark vacuum cleaner for overhead cleaning
Shark's Vertex Pro Cordless Vacuum is easy to clean and user-friendly. Our reviewer, Helen, liked that Shark vacuums come in recyclable cardboard and paper packaging. Getting started is easy, and the instructions are easy to follow. The battery takes about 3.5 hours to charge, and it's removable for convenient charging. Overall, it's easy to understand how the vacuum works.
While the design is bulkier than many other cordless models, its functionality compensates for this drawback. Its handle has a display panel and easy-to-use controls, but users with smaller hands might find it uncomfortable. With two brush rolls and the DuoClean PowerFins floorhead, this vacuum effectively gets rid of dirt and dust. It's got LED lights and self-cleaning so hair doesn't tangle. This vacuum cleaner has two main modes and adjustable suction levels for versatility, including a "powered lift-away mode" for overhead cleaning.
Its bottom-heavy design makes it light and easy to maneuver around corners, but its bulkiness makes it hard to get under low furniture. Lift the pod off the wand to reach tight spaces. While it produces 78dB on boost mode, similar to a busy restaurant, it transitions smoothly between surfaces, efficiently picking up fine dust, larger debris, and pet hair. In lift-away mode, disassembly is easy, but Helen would have prefered onboard tool storage.
Read more: Shark Vertex Pro Cordless review
"The Shark Vertex Pro Cordless Vacuum is a user-friendly mid-priced cordless vacuum for easy cleaning."
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Slightly bulky and not as sexy as other Shark vacuums, it is a sturdy and intuitive machine. | ★★★ |
| Performance | Deep cleaning with ease, this vacuum delivers on power and performance. | ★★★★★ |
| Value | It comes in as a mid range vacuum and offers value for money, without the bells and whistles of more stylish models. | ★★★★ |
The best Shark robot vacuum cleaner
Shark's Detect Pro vacuums well, but its features and app performance aren't the best.
Shark Detect Pro arrived in a compact package, so the setup was easy. After connecting the self-emptying base and downloading the app, our reviewer, Danielle, named the robot “Tony Shark.” The mapping feature worked fine, so it could navigate different surfaces. In spite of the vacuum's impressive performance, the app doesn't differentiate rooms, which makes it hard to use.
Despite being 14 x 13 x 8 inches, the self-emptying base fits well in smaller spaces. The sleek design combines shiny and matte black finishes, so it blends in anywhere, but the black color tends to attract dust. Danielle didn't experience any unpleasant smells from the bagless dust bin, which claims to hold dirt for 60 days. While it comes with an odor-neutralizer, she didn't find it necessary.
In tests on both hard and carpeted floors, Tony Shark initially handled a mess of sprinkles on laminate well in "DirtDetect" mode, but its erratic cleaning pattern left some crumbs behind, raising questions about its "EdgeDetect" technology. Danielle wasn't happy with the side brush's slow movement.
When she spread flour and oats, the vacuum struggled more, failing to pick up all debris even after activating "DirtDetect." Some junk fell out during the return to base, producing 75 dB of noise.
It was disappointing that the Shark app didn't support multiple maps, so Danille had to delete previous ones. It worked better on carpets but missed finer hairs.
Read more: Shark Detect Pro Self Empty Robot Vacuum review
"The Shark Detect Pro succeeds at its main purpose, vacuuming up messes, but the features and app don’t work as well as you'd expect."
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Smart and compact design although the black does tend to attract dust. | ★★★★ |
| Performance | While a decent vacuum, the self-emptying base doesn't always remove the dustbin contents, navigation and the app are lacking. | ★★★ |
| Value | This vacuum is more expensive than similar models with the same functionality. | ★★★★ |
The best handheld Shark vacuum cleaner
Shark Dual Cyclone Pet Pro is a powerful, stylish vacuum for pet owners. It weighs just 2.8 pounds, so it's easy to handle. It's good at removing pet hair and other debris, but the battery only lasts about ten minutes, and it's pretty loud at 70 dB, just like a washing machine.
Despite the noise, its suction power efficiently lifted pet hair off couch cushions. The vacuum's assembly is super easy—just take it out of the box, attach the accessory, charge it if needed, and you're ready to go.
This sleek black design has a removable, transparent dustbin 20.82 x 3.82 x 4.35 inches. The dual airstreams enhance suction, but the 0.45 QT dustbin needs to be emptied regularly, especially with the short battery life. You can easily access the washable filter, too, and the vacuum has a "CleanTouch dirt ejector" for easy emptying.
Despite having only one power mode, Shark Dual Cyclone Pet Pro comes with three attachments: a self-cleaning pet brush, a crevice tool, and a scrubbing brush, so it's versatile. The crevice tool allows you to reach tight spots where dust tends to accumulate. It's good at picking up fine dust and larger debris, like Cheerios.
Read more: Shark Dual Cyclone Pet Pro review
"The Shark Dual Cyclone Pet Pro is an attractive handheld vacuum that brings quite a bit of power to this category. It’s also lightweight and easy to use and clean out. Its battery life is unfortunately lacklustre and it runs pretty loud. But, when it’s running, it will take care of any messes you could need a handheld for."
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Design | It's lightweight, compact and easy to use. | ★★★★½ |
| Performance | It's powerful but has a 10 minute run time and is loud | ★★★★ |
| Value | It's more expensive than the competition but it's competent. | ★★★★ |
Shark vacuum cleaner FAQs
Are Shark vacuums better than Dyson?
If budget is an issue, Shark ($100-$500) is significantly cheaper than Dyson ($300-$1,050) while still providing excellent cleaning power and performance.
Both machines are well-made, efficient, and flexible, although Dyson has a higher price tag due to its technological innovation and advanced features.
Can you wash the Shark vacuum canister?
Yes, you can wash the Shark vacuum canister. When you’ve removed it, all you need to do is rinse it in warm water and then place it on its side with the lid open to air dry (ideally for 24 hours before use).
Do Shark vacuums have HEPA filters?
Some HEPA vacuums don’t effectively seal their filter, so dust, allergens, and irritants can be blown into your home. That’s why Shark invented the anti-Allergen Complete Seal version of the HEPA filter.
The high-efficiency particle air filter is contained within a completely sealed vacuum cleaner, so the only route out for the air is through the filter. This means almost all the dust and allergens (Shark claims 99.9%) are captured and trapped inside the machine.
When is the best time to buy a Shark vacuum?
Timing can impact your decision and savings when getting a Shark vacuum deal. The best time to buy a Shark vacuum usually aligns with significant sales events throughout the year. Many Shark vacuums are on sale on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which happen in late November. You can buy a high-quality vacuum cleaner at a great price when retailers offer deep price cuts.
As consumers prepare to freshen up their homes, many retailers promote sales of home cleaning products around spring cleaning season, typically in March and April. You might find great deals on Shark vacuums during this time, along with bundles with cleaning accessories.
In addition, check out holiday sales like Labor Day or Memorial Day, which feature discounts on home appliances, like Shark vacuums, as retailers try to clear out stock.
How we test the best Shark vacuum cleaners
We at Top Ten Reviews take testing Shark vacuum cleaners very seriously. The vacuums are tested in our reviewers' homes for two weeks to two months. During this time, they are intensely used, cleaning various floors and different types of dirt and dust.
We'll try the various programs and record the noise level to see if they suit those living in shared accommodation or for households of different sizes.
Cleaning and maintaining the Shark vacuum cleaners is an important consideration, too. Once done cleaning, we'll determine how easy it is to maintain and keep clean.
Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners and other appliances.
