Best Shark vacuum cleaner 2024: Recommended models we’ve tested

Choosing the right vacuum cleaner can be a tricky task, which is why narrowing your choices down to a particular brand can help. We’ve reviewed over 90 vacuum cleaners, including many Shark models, so are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to help you find the best Shark vacuum.

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. There’s something for everyone in its range: reliable uprights for large homes with lots of carpet, 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 favourites.

If you already know what type of vacuum you’re after, you’ll find an at-a-glance list below highlighting our top picks. Following that are short reviews of the Shark vacuums we recommend and a buying guide providing all the information you need before buying a Shark vacuum.

Best Shark vacuum cleaners: 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 analogue pressure gauge to get an idea of how powerful each vacuum is, while we time how long it takes options with batteries to give up the ghost to report their battery life. Where a device has more than one power setting, we repeat the tests on them all.

A vacuum’s cleaning ability is tested using 50g spills of flour and 26g of Cheerios, on both hard floor and carpet. Each vacuum is given one pass to see how much it can collect and we measure these results 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 Anti Hair Wrap with PowerFins, Flexology & TruePet IZ300UKT: Best cordless Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: £380 | Check price at Shark Shark has a wide range of cordless stick vacuum cleaners and for the most part, I think they’re all fairly good value. If you want the absolute best of the bunch, though, look for one with PowerFins in the name, such as this IZ300UKT. 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, rivalling the best cordless vacuum cleaners around. The IZ300UKT collected every last crumb in our Cheerios test and almost all of the 50g of flour we spilled on both hard floor and carpet. At almost 5kg, it is a tad heavier than most other cordless models. I found this made it more cumbersome to move around on carpet and experienced some lifting while trying to pull it backwards. However, this wasn’t an issue on hard floor, where it handled incredibly smoothly.

As well as the main motorised floor head and the motorised pet tool, this model also comes with a dusting brush and a crevice tool, 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.

Read our full Shark Anti Hair Wrap with PowerFins, Flexology & TruePet IZ300UKT review 

• Pros: Better cleaning performance than some Dysons, effective motorised cleaning head
• Cons: Heavy, cumbersome on carpet when pulling back

Key specs – Size: 260 x 245 x 1,180mm (WDH); Weight: 4.58kg; Bin capacity: 0.7l; Vacuum type: Cordless stick; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 309W

2. Shark DuoClean with Lift-Away NV702UK: Best corded Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: £280 | Check price at SharkLarger houses need a solid, sturdy vacuum cleaner that can tackle everything from rooms with wall-to-wall carpet to hard floors and tricky stairs. I think the Shark DuoClean Upright is the perfect fit, delivering a fine balance between heavy-duty floor coverage and the flexibility to get into tricky corners and high places.

In its upright mode, the vacuum has a huge floorhead to cover large areas with the most efficiency. It uses Shark’s DuoClean technology, which incorporates both a rotating soft roller at the front, for hard floors, and a brush roller behind for lifting dirt out of carpets, all without having to swap attachments. In my tests, it performed superbly on both surfaces, collecting 100% of the Cheerios in a single pass and most of the spilled flour. It is worth noting though, that I found it to be cumbersome to drag around carpet, so be prepared for a workout.

For harder-to-reach areas, the voluminous 1.1l collection bin can be lifted away from the base and the handle detached from the wand. I was also a big fan of the various attachments that come with this vacuum. Add the clever vacuum-powered Pet Power Brush and you can tackle stairs and upholstery, without having to take the entire thing with you.

Read our full Shark DuoClean with Lift-Away NV702UK review 

• Pros: Incredible cleaning power, no battery to charge
• Cons: Tied to a power outlet, carpet cleaning is cumbersome

Key specs – Size: 305 x 260 x 1,180mm (WDH); Weight: 5.25kg; Bin capacity: 1.1l; Vacuum type: Upright; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 750W

3. Shark ICZ300UKT: Best cordless upright Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: £430 | Check price at AmazonShark produces excellent upright vacuum cleaners and superb cordless sticks, but the Shark ICZ300UKT falls between the two. It comes with many of the benefits of an upright vacuum cleaner and unfortunately, some of the bulkiness, but it uses a removable battery to free it from the wall socket.

In my battery tests, the ICZ300UKT gave me an hour of cleaning on the lowest setting – better than most cordless sticks. Its 30kPa suction power is also comparable to that of the likes of the Dyson V15. Its 0.6l collection bin is about average for a cordless cleaner but the cleaning power is second to none. In my tests, it sucked up 44g of a 50g spill of flour on hard floor and 45g on carpet with just one pass.

While I found adding and removing accessories more fiddly on this model, I rate the excellent two-roller DuoClean floor head, which delivers great performance on both carpet and hard floor and its anti-hair wrap technology keeps long hair from tangling the rollers. Add Shark’s Lift-Away function, which allows you to separate the vacuum unit and cleaning hose from the floor head to reach stairs and upholstery, and you have a vacuum that is unsurpassed in both power and flexibility.

Read our full Shark ICZ300UKT review 

• Pros: Good battery life, powerful cordless cleaning, impressive DuoClean head
• Cons: Adding/removing accessories fiddly, bulky

Key specs – Size: 260 x 250 x 1,080mm (WDH); Weight: 6.2kg; Bin capacity: 0.6l; Vacuum type: Cordless upright; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 450W

4. Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology and TruePet HZ500UKT: Best Shark vacuum for small homes

Price when reviewed: £169 | Check price at John Lewis Shark’s Anti Hair Wrap Corded Stick takes the lightness of a traditional cordless vacuum and pairs it with the battery convenience of a corded one. Although you’re tethered to a power socket with this vacuum, its generous 10m cord is long enough to cover plenty of floor without needing to regularly switch sockets.

I was impressed with how well it performed in our Cheerio test, picking up all 26g on hard floor and 24g on carpet. However, the vacuum’s tiny 0.3l capacity bin meant I found myself emptying it more than I would like. I also found it harder to move around than most cordless models, which was surprising given its size.

Despite these grumbles, there’s still a lot to like. I rate the combined motorised floor head, which can tackle both hard floor and carpet. The head also has Shark’s classic anti-hair wrap technology to keep tangle maintenance to a minimum. Its extension pole has an articulated elbow, which made it easy for me to clean under low furniture, and I could also fold the vacuum into a more compact package for storage.

Read our full Shark Anti Hair Wrap with Flexology and TruePet HZ500UKT review 

• Pros: Impressive cleaning results, long 10m cord, versatile
• Cons: Small capacity bin, heavy for a stick

Key specs – Size: 260 x 410 x 1,180mm (WDH); Weight: 5.25kg; Bin capacity: 0.3l; Vacuum type: Corded stick; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: 450W

5. Shark Cordless Handheld Vacuum: Best handheld Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: £130 | Check price at Shark The next time you need 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 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 hold an attachment.

While I couldn’t put this handheld model through quite the same rigorous testing as our favourite 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 capable enough of getting in 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 30 mins to charge, which is much quicker than similar handheld vacuums. The bin is also rather small at just 0.1l but that’s mostly because it’s only designed for small clean-up jobs. For a quick, ever-ready cleaner though, it’s perfectly sufficient and comes with some additional accessories for pet hair and deep crevices.

Read our full Shark Cordless Handheld Vacuum review 

• Pros: Decent cleaning power, good accessories
• Cons: Short battery life, small capacity

Key specs – Size: 95 x 220 x 385mm (WDH); Weight: 0.6kg; Bin capacity: 0.1l; Vacuum type: Handheld; Bagless: Yes; Vacuum power: N/S

6. ​​Shark Cordless HandVac Pet Model: Best budget handheld Shark vacuum

Price when reviewed: £80 | Check price at Shark There are times when all you need is a simple tool to perform a spot clean or tidy up a single spillage and the budget-friendly Shark Cordless HandVac Pet Model is perfect for this. It comes with a handy motorised 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, however lacks a stand for housing them.

As this is a budget model, there are a few other things you’ll have to sacrifice. The first is suction power, with pricier handhelds like the Shark Cordless 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 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 from a handheld such as this.

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

Read our full Shark Cordless HandVac Pet Model review 

• Pros: Budget-friendly, comes with accessories
• Cons: Not as powerful as pricier models, no stand

Key specs – Size: 520 x 95 x 109mm (WDH); Weight: 1.39kg; Bin capacity: 0.45l; Vacuum type: Handheld; Bagless: Yes; Suction power: N/S

How to choose the best Shark vacuum cleaner for you

What kind of vacuum do you need?

The big question to ask yourself before splashing out is the type of vacuum cleaner you’re looking for. 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 around and use.

Stick vacuums, either corded or cordless, are smaller, lighter and easier to use. They convert easily into handheld vacuums you can use to clean more delicate items and allow you to clean in awkward places. Whether you should go corded or cordless is a personal choice. Cable-free cordless vacuums are significantly easier to move around the house and aren’t tethered to a wall socket, 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 is a very useful device to have around as a secondary option. These smaller units are easier to get out and use, particularly if you only need to gather up a small spill. They’re ideal for cleaning in places that are problematic for bigger vacuums, such as your car boot, and are useful to have close to hand in the kitchen, garage or utility room.

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Other Shark features to look out for:

• DuoClean: Shark’s DuoClean motorised floor heads have two rollers. The first is a soft roller designed to capture dirt from a hard floor. The second is a brush roller, which agitates carpet pile for deeper cleaning.
• Anti Hair Wrap: Long hair, pet or human, can wreak havoc with the rollers on a vacuum, preventing them operating at maximum efficiency. Shark’s anti hair wrap combs the hairs out of its rollers as it gathers them, to stop them getting stuck.
• Lift Away: Some of Shark’s upright vacuums can be lifted off the motorised floor head and carried around, which is good for cleaning stairs and high places. The handle is removed from the extension pole and attachments can be added, adding greater flexibility to what are otherwise large and heavy vacuums.
• 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 and makes them easier to store.
• TruePet: You will notice 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 motorised tool without the need to recharge a battery.

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