Shopping

The 5 best upright vacuum cleaners, tested by appliance experts

Upright vacuum cleaners are big, bulky powerhouses that can clear away floor messes like nothing else. From hours of testing, these are the best of the best

one of the best upright vacuums, A Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum vacuuming hardwood floors and an area rug
(Image credit: Shark)

Despite the rising popularity of cordless models, upright vacuums continue to be relied upon as powerhouse appliances. While some people ditch the bulkier designs, others appreciate with its larger size comes extra cleaning power, and can therefore be of more use for serious home cleaning tasks.

As Homes & Gardens' home tech editor, myself and a team of experts have spent 200+ hours testing 47 of the world's best vacuum cleaners, and we recognize that upright vacs can go above and beyond when compared to the brands' cordless counterparts. Over a period of weeks in our homes, and many hours in our test center, we've assess each vacuum on this list for suction power, ease of use, maneuverability, filtration, features, weight, pet hair pickup, price and value for money.

Read on to find out why these five vacuum cleaners made the cut as our best in class. Our current favorite upright vacuum is the Shark POWERDETECT, the latest model from the brand, leading the way in the upright vacuum market. It has floor and dust detection, responsive suction power, odor-neutralization, amazing pet hair performance, and a 'Lift-Away' feature that makes it easier to carry.

The quick list

Here are the top upright vacuums at a glance. Scroll further for the full guide, or click the navigation links to jump to each product.

At the bottom of the page, you'll find more advice on how to choose an upright vacuum, how we test them, a glossary for any vacuum jargon, and a list of FAQs.

The best upright vacuum cleaners

You can trust Homes & Gardens. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing the latest products, helping you choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Explore our guide to the best upright vacuums below, with details on what makes each of these models one of the best available right now.

The best upright vacuum cleaner

1. Shark POWERDETECT

The best upright vacuum cleaner you can buy

Specifications

Cord length: 30 feet
Filter: HEPA
Power: 1416 watts
Dust bin: 0.5 gallons
Weight: 17.57 lbs
Warranty: 5 years

Reasons to buy

+
Powerful cleaning performance on all surfaces
+
Odor neutralizer feature
+
Effective tools for getting into nooks and crannies
+
Incredible on pet hair
+
Automatically adjusts suction power for different floor types and dust volumes
+
Cleans right up to the edges
+
Two brushrolls avoid hair tangle

Reasons to avoid

-
Hose limited for getting into higher places

Shark's latest upright vacuum, the aptly-named POWERDETECT, outperforms all others on test. It boasts Shark's more recent technology that detects floor type, floor edges and dust volume so that it can adjust to the optimal suction power.

Our expert tester James Holland was truly impressed by its cleaning performance: 'It’s able to suck everything up in its path efficiently and proficiently, no matter the debris. And, it’s equally capable regardless of the surface I used it on.'

A key sign of its suction power was on a cat fur-ridden carpet. With one pass, the POWERDETECT was able to pick up every visible strand of hair, 'filling the dust bin with an amount of hair equal to a second cat.'

The POWERDETECT is the only vacuum in this guide with detection tech, bringing a unique level of convenience, power and cleaning efficiency. Being able to automatically detect floor types allows you to seamlessly pass from carpet to hard floors. Plus, the vacuum being able to up the suction power in dirtier areas or by the floor's edges saves you from doing multiple passes to clear it all.

And, like with many of Shark's upright vacs, the POWERDETECT features an odor-neutralizing cartridge to avoid the dusty smells from spreading across your home. It also features a HEPA filter to protect the fine particles that can trigger allergies (like pet dander and pollen), as well as two brushrolls that genuinely avoid hair from wrapping.

Read more at our full Shark POWERDETECT review.

Best value upright vacuum

2. Shark Stratos Upright Vacuum

The best value upright vacuum to tackle all floor types

Specifications

Cord length: 30 feet
Filter: HEPA
Power: 1416 watts
Dust bin: 1.48 quart
Weight: 16.71 lbs (depending on exact model)
Warranty: 5 years

Reasons to buy

+
Powerful suction
+
Easy pet hair pickup
+
Anti hair-wrap
+
Versatile design
+
Easy to maneuver
+
Odor-neutralizing cartridge
+
Self-cleaning brushroll

Reasons to avoid

-
Quite bulky
-
Small dust bin

Since the release of the Shark POWERDETECT our previous number one, the Shark Stratos, has dropped in price, making it a great alternative if you're looking to save money.

Our expert tester Camryn Rabideau was 'honestly shocked' at the strength of this vacuum. She tested it at home to clean up the fur from her two dogs, and running this vacuum over a 9' x 6' area rug picked up enough fur and dirt to fill up the vacuum in a single pass.

Like many Shark vacuums, it stops hair wrapping around the floor brush and saves you the gross job of detangling your vacuum. We also love the Odor Neutralizer. It's a handy scent cartridge that will stop your vacuum from smelling as you clean up hair and dander.

However, perhaps the best feature, and the one which takes this vacuum beyond the competition, is the fact that you can remove the body from the base of the vacuum. This means you can hold the dustbin and hose as you go up the stairs as you would with a cordless or handheld vacuum. It's infinitely easier than any other upright. If you've ever struggled to lug an upright vacuum up a flight of stairs, this is the vacuum for you.

But while it's positively nimble on stairs, this vacuum typically weighs in around 17 lbs. In fairness, that's average for upright vacuums, and most users shouldn't find it a problem. But if you have mobility issues, or simply don't like heavy lifting, you may find this pretty tricky to steer. It also has a relatively small dustbin. The fact that Camryn filled the canister from a single rug might be testament to its suction, but it's also a result of the small 0.37 gal capacity.

This isn't a criticism as such, but my top tip when shopping for one of these is to watch out for the two different versions. The AZ3000 model is just a vacuum, whereas the AZ3002, available at Amazon, comes with an effective motorized HairPro Pet Power Brush, a duster-crevice combination tool, a multi-angle dust brush, an anti-allergen dust brush, an accessory bag, and two extra odor cartridges.

Camryn's Shark Stratos upright vacuum review has more details.

Best upright vacuum for carpet

3. Dyson Ball Animal 3

Best upright vacuum cleaner for carpet flooring and area rugs

Specifications

Cord length: 35 feet
Filter: HEPA
Power: 290 air watts
Dust bin: 1.7 liters
Weight: 17.3 lbs
Warranty: 5 years

Reasons to buy

+
Powerful suction
+
Easy to maneuver
+
Performs extremely well on carpets
+
Three suction settings
+
Tangle-resistant brushroll
+
Anti-allergen filtration
+
Other models available with different tools

Reasons to avoid

-
Heavy
-
Awkward control placement
-
Hard-to-use hose/wand

This vacuum is unbelievably powerful, and that power makes it fantastic for taking on carpets. On test, we found that the powerful suction combines with an effective motorized brush to reach deep into carpet fibers and pull out hair and fur. Where other vacuums did a good job at cleaning the surface of a carpet, this one deep-cleaned them.

Better than that, it has very effective 'vanes' which stop hair from wrapping around the brush roll. If you hate pulling hair out a vacuum, this is a good choice, because it's rare that hair is caught in this machine.

Though at its best on carpet, this vacuum is also great on hardwood floors, because the powerful suction easily removes debris from in between floorboards. If you have a lot of furniture, you'll find it easy to maneuver this vacuum around chair legs and into corners.

But true to type, this upright vacuum is very heavy, so it's hard to move between floors. It's also so powerful that it takes a little effort to push over carpets. In fact, our tester Camryn said that 'If you have the suction on too high, the vacuum will essentially suction itself right to the floor, making it almost impossible to push across your carpet'.

Perhaps the most frustrating feature is that the switch to adjust power modes between different floor types is on the floor head rather than the handle. That means you have to bend down to change settings, which is at best tedious if you have a lot of different floor types and at worst, painful if you have a bad back.

Unlike its predecessor the Dyson Ball Animal 2, the hose on the Ball Animal 3 is just 15 feet, and because it's so powerful, it can never stretch to its fullest extent, so you probably won't be able to vacuum a flight of stairs in one go.

Our full Dyson Ball Animal 3 review has more details.

Best bagged upright vacuum

4. SEBO Automatic X4 Boost Upright

Best bagged upright for pet hair

Specifications

Cord length: 40 feet
Filter: HEPA bags available
Power: 800 watts
Bag capacity: 1.4 gallons
Weight: 22 lbs
Warranty: 7 years motor / 5 years parts and labor

Reasons to buy

+
Good hinge flexibility
+
Long cord
+
Powerful on a range of surfaces
+
Automatically adjusts floor settings
+
Stands on its own
+
Onboard storage

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive
-
Clunky
-
Heavy
-
Hose not very secure
-
Feels dated
-
Difficult to lift
-
Noisy

Our tester Laura Honey found this vacuum 'faultless' on our hair test. It easily picked up all the hair in the test on carpet, hardwood floors, and linoleum, and absolutely none of it was caught in the rollers.

That's because this vacuum detects the floor type it's on and automatically adjusts its power and brush settings. This means it's a good option if you have lots of different floor types throughout your home. You can vacuum a hardwood floor and a rug in one room before moving to tile or linoleum in the next without having to change any settings.

As a bagged vacuum, it's fantastic for allergies, because the dust and dander that can cause your symptoms to flare up are in a sealed bag that won't irritate your sinuses. Also, just like the Shark vacuums in this guide, SEBO also sell scent cartridges for their vacuums, so there's no gross wet dog smell as you vacuum.

However, the single biggest issue with this vacuum is its size. At 22 lbs, it's pretty heavy to push around. Even though it steers fairly smoothly, you need a bit of oomph just to get it to turn, and the floor head is pretty bulky, so it will struggle to get around thin chair legs.

This vacuum is let down by some small details, too. While the cleaning performance is excellent, the carry handle is also on the body of the vacuum, so it either tilts backwards as you pick it up, or you have to stoop awkwardly to keep it upright. That makes it very unwieldy for carrying up and down stairs.

While the 40 feet cord is fantastic, it often falls off the back of the machine, which is irritating to grapple with as you clean under sofas. There's also no automatic reel for the cord, so you have to wind it up by hand. On top of all of this, it's among the most expensive vacuums we've ever tested and depending on the sale period, this vacuum will be at least $800.

There's more detail in our full SEBO Automatic X4 Boost Upright review.

Best lightweight upright vacuum

5. Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFin

Lightweight and flexible, the best upright vacuum for easy cleaning

Specifications

Cord length: 30 feet
Filter: HEPA
Power: 1344 watts
Dust bin: 1 quart
Weight: 16.38 lbs
Warranty: 5 years

Reasons to buy

+
Powerful suction power on hard floors and carpets
+
Powered Lift-Away motor and accessories offer flexible cleaning options for cleaning stairs, under furniture, and tight corners
+
Ample dust-bin capacity
+
Hair doesn't get caught in self-cleaning brushroll

Reasons to avoid

-
Quite bulky
-
Motor emits a lot of airflow

The Vertex Upright is where Shark's Lift-Away feature really shines. Lift-Away is a distinct advantage of Shark's upright vacuums, allowing you to lift the dustbin and hose away from the vacuum's main compartment, giving you more freedom and flexibility (and a lighter weight to carry) when cleaning.

The vacuum comes in at a slightly lighter weight than the others in this list. Most sit around 17 lbs whilst the Vertex weighs just over 16. But pair that with the added mobility awarded by the Lift-Away feature and this is the easiest upright vacuum to use in this guide.

This flexibility doesn't come with a worrying sacrifice to power, however. Our expert tester and former eCommerce editor, Jaclyn Turner, found it to perform highly on all floor types and with all types of dust, dirt and hair. It particularly shines on carpet, and she found that it glides across carpet flooring without much resistance at all.

She noted, 'I'm continuously impressed with the amount of hair it seems to capture, with nary a tangled brush roll in sight.' This is great news for any home with pets, as the Vertex makes light work of cleaning up after animals (it helps that you can get deep into carpet fibers, too).

Read more at our full Shark Vertex DuoClean PowerFin Upright Vacuum review.