Best Shark Vacuum Cleaner 2024: Recommended Models We’ve Tested

Choosing the right vacuum cleaner can be a tricky task, which is the reason that narrowing down your choices to a particular brand can help. Shark’s vacuums cover all the cleaning bases and are popular with those looking for an alternative to more expensive brands such as Dyson and Miele.

We’ve reviewed more than 90 vacuum cleaners, including Shark models, so are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to help you find the best Shark vacuum – from uprights for large homes with lots of carpet, to convenient cordless sticks capable of carrying out smaller jobs in tight spaces, and even handheld vacuums for smaller spillages.

We’ve compared specifications and put Shark’s products through our rigorous performance tests to come up with a definitive list of our favorite models. Below, you’ll find an at-a-glance list highlighting our top picks, followed by short reviews of the best Shark vacuums and a buying guide providing all the information you need before you make your final choice.

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Best Shark vacuum cleaner: At a glance

How we test Shark vacuum cleaners

We put all of the vacuum cleaners we review through a barrage of challenging tests to ensure we can properly compare performance across competing models.

Suction is measured using an analog pressure gauge to determine how powerful each vacuum is, while we note how long it takes battery-operated models to give up the ghost on a single charge. Where a device has more than one power setting, we repeat the tests on them all.

A vacuum’s cleaning ability is tested using 1.8oz spills of flour and 0.9oz of Cheerios, on both hard floor and carpet. Each vacuum is passed once over the spill to see how much it can collect, and the amount is measured by weighing how much is collected. We also compare this to every other vacuum we’ve previously tested.

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The best Shark vacuums you can buy in 2024

1. Shark Vertex Pro IZ662H: Best cordless Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: $450 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… a cleaning performance better than some Dysons; its effective motorized cleaning head
• Not so great for… its weight, making it cumbersome on carpets when pulling back

Shark has a wide range of cordless stick vacuum cleaners in its range and, for the most part, all offer fairly good value. If you want the absolute best of the bunch, though, look for one with PowerFins in the name, such as this IZ662H. The PowerFins are attached to the brush roller in the Shark’s DuoClean floor head and are made from stiff fabric that agitates deep into the carpet, flicking debris into the path of the suction tube.

Nestled alongside lines of brushes on the same roller, these fins performed brilliantly in my tests, rivaling the best cordless vacuum cleaners around. The IZ662H collected every last crumb in our Cheerios test and almost all of the 1.8oz of flour we spilled on both hard floor and carpet. Weighing almost 9lb, this vacuum is a little heavier than most other cordless models, which made it more cumbersome to move around on carpet; I experienced some lifting while trying to pull it backwards. However, this wasn’t an issue on hard floors, where it handled incredibly smoothly.

As well as the main motorized floorhead and the motorized pet tool, this model also comes with a dusting brush and a crevice tool that’s perfect for tricky spaces. The battery lasted 37mins 18secs on eco mode and 10mins 21secs seconds on Boost mode. Overall, it’s a great cordless vacuum with some top-notch features for the price.

Key specs – Size: 10.2 x 14.7 x 46.5in (WDH); Weight: 8.8lb; Bin capacity: 1qt; Vacuum type: Cordless stick; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 309W

2. Shark WandVac Cordless Handheld Vacuum: Best handheld Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: $130 | Check price at Shark

• Great for… decent cleaning power; good accessories
• Not so great for… its short battery life; small capacity

When you’re next called upon to do an impromptu tidy-up, wouldn’t it be nice to simply reach out and grab a fully charged cordless handheld? That’s the idea behind the Shark WandVac Cordless Handheld Vacuum. It lives on your work surface, cradled in a charging dock that can also be used to charge an optional second battery and to hold an attachment.

While I couldn’t put this handheld model through quite the same rigorous tests as our favorite full-sized vacuums, it did perform well in some general day-to-day cleaning tasks, sucking up everything from flour to uncooked pasta with its wide, angular head. I also found it more than capable of getting into those annoying sofa nooks, leaving them crumb-free.

While it might be a powerful little cleaner, it’s worth mentioning that the battery life is limited. I was only able to squeeze eight minutes from it during testing, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but isn’t far off the standard for a handheld vacuum. It also takes 2hrs 30mins to charge, which is much quicker than similar handheld vacuums. The bin is rather small at just 0.08qt, but that’s mostly because it’s only designed for small clean-up jobs.

For a quick, ever-ready cleaner, though, the WandVac Cordless is perfectly sufficient and comes with some additional accessories for pet hair and deep crevices, too.

Key specs – Size: 2.5 x 2.4 x 16.5in (WDH); Weight: 1.4lb; Bin capacity: 0.08qt; Vacuum type: Handheld; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 115W

3. ​​Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+: Best budget handheld Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: $90 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… limited budgets; comes with accessories
• Not so great for… not as powerful as pricier models; no stand

There are times when all you need is a simple tool to perform a spot-clean, and for these instances the budget-friendly ​​Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro+ is perfect. It comes with a handy motorized head that I found worked effectively for collecting any stubborn mess – not just pet hair. It also comes with a crevice tool and brush attachment; but, unfortunately, there’s no stand to house them.

Since this is a budget model, there are a few other things you’ll have to sacrifice. The first is suction power, with pricier handhelds such as the Shark WandVac reviewed above and the Dyson V7 outperforming this model. However, Shark’s clever design does its best to trap collected dirt in a secondary chamber away from the vacuum’s workings – which helps ensure the vacuum doesn’t clog up or lose suction while you’re still cleaning. The battery isn’t great either at just 10 minutes, but that’s fairly average for a handheld such as this.

All in all, this is a good little vacuum for everyday spills – just don’t expect it to do any deep-cleaning for you.

Key specs – Size: 3.8 x 4.4 x 20.8in (WDH); Weight: 2.8lb; Bin capacity: 0.45qt; Vacuum type: Handheld; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 80W

How to choose the best Shark vacuum cleaner for you

What kind of vacuum do you need?

The main question to ask yourself before splashing out on a vacuum cleaner is which type will be most suitable for your needs.

Most people will be familiar with the concept of an upright, corded model and, predictably, Shark has plenty to choose from. These are great for covering large areas of carpet and hard floor, but will need unplugging and plugging back in as you move around the house. They have high-capacity dust collection bins, but tend to be the most unwieldy type of vacuum to carry and use.

Stick vacuums, either corded or cordless, are smaller, lighter, and easier to use. They convert easily into handheld vacuums that you can use to clean more delicate items, and make it simpler to tackle awkward places. Whether you opt for a corded or cordless model is likely to come down to personal preference. Cable-free cordless vacuums are significantly easier to use, since they won’t be tethered to an outlet, giving you the flexibility to move around on a whim. The downside is that they’re battery-powered and have a limited runtime before needing to be recharged.

A handheld vacuum won’t replace either of the other types; but it’s a very useful device to have around as a secondary option. These smaller units are easier to access and use, particularly for tackling smaller spills. They’re ideal for cleaning in places that are problematic for bigger vacuums – your car boot, for example – and are useful to have close to hand in the kitchen, garage or utility room.

What other specific Shark features should I look out for?

• DuoClean – Shark’s DuoClean motorized floorheads feature two rollers. The first is a soft roller designed to capture dirt from a hard floor. The second is a brush roller that agitates carpet pile for deeper cleaning

• Anti Hair Wrap – Long hair, pet, or human, can wreak havoc with a vacuum’s rollers, preventing them from operating at maximum efficiency. Shark’s Anti Hair Wrap technology combs the hairs out of its rollers as it gathers them, to stop them becoming tangled and stuck

• Lift-Away – Some of Shark’s upright vacuums can be lifted off the motorized floorhead and carried around, which is useful for cleaning the stairs and into the corners of a room, for example. The handle is removed from the extension pole and attachments can be affixed, adding greater flexibility to what would otherwise be large and heavy vacuum cleaners

• Flexology – The name that Shark has given to the bending extension pole on its stick vacuums. This lets you push the vacuum under low objects without having to bend yourself, while also making the vacuum easier to store

• TruePet – You’ll notice that some Shark models come with a TruePet option. This is a handheld attachment that uses the power of the air being sucked up the vacuum to spin a turbine. This is connected to a rotating brush, giving the efficiency of a motorized tool without the need to recharge a battery

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