Best Upright Vacuums of 2025
These appliances from Kenmore and Shark outshine others in our tests
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If you’re looking for a new full-sized vacuum, there’s no shortage of reasons to consider an upright. They’re workhorses that excel at deep cleaning, and they’re easy to store. A majority of the models we’ve tested are stellar at cleaning hardwood floors, and uprights also tend to perform better than canisters at getting the debris that can hide deep down in carpets. Many get high marks for picking up pet hair as well.
That said, some upright vacuums are bulky, and many are noisy (except for the few that made it onto our list of the quietest vacuums). To help you cut through the crowd, we rated more than 40 upright vacuums from the leading brands and selected the best for you to consider.
As you scroll through the models—which are grouped as bagged and bagless and listed in alphabetical order—we recommend considering each vacuum’s size and weight, noise level, reliability, and cleaning performance. Two manufacturers, Kenmore and Shark, came out on top in CR’s recent analysis of the best brands of upright vacuums based on reliability and performance data of models we’ve tested. Their upright vacuums typically outperform their competitors in our cleaning tests, excelling in picking up pet hair and debris from carpets and bare floors. They also have strong suction and are good at capturing the dust they pick up, earning them top marks in our clean emissions tests.
Read on for details on how we test upright vacuums and decide which models perform best. You can also consult our vacuum buying guide, where we tackle the most common questions people have about vacuum cleaners. And for more options, see our complete upright vacuum ratings, which feature models from nine brands. You’ll find a larger number in our bagless upright ratings than in our bagged upright ratings because there are more bagless options on the market. Bagless models also tend to be less expensive and popular with consumers, says Allie Chilicki, Consumer Reports’ market analyst for vacuums.
Best Bagged Upright Vacuums
Bagged upright vacuums have a disposable bag to contain the dust and debris they collect. Once the bag is full, you dispose of it without having to touch the collected dust, hair, or other debris, which might be preferable for people who suffer from allergies or asthma. But because of the built-in bag, bagged vacuum cleaners tend to be bulkier and heavier than bagless models.
The Kenmore BU1018 is stellar at sucking up pet hair, making it a great pick for pet owners. It’s very good at cleaning carpets and does an even better job on bare floors. This vacuum has nice features, like an LED dirt sensor and headlight that alert you to spots you might have missed cleaning. But it’s on the heavier side at 21 pounds, which might make it unwieldy for some, and it’s noisier than the other bagged models we tested. As a brand, Kenmore uprights garner middling scores for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in CR’s latest member surveys.
True to its name, the Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly 31150 is very good at vacuuming up pet hair. It nailed our bare-floor cleaning tests and is impressive at cleaning carpets as well. If you’re looking for a vacuum with strong suction, this model has the most powerful hose suction among the uprights we’ve tested. But it’s not exactly lightweight—it weighs 21 pounds—and some of our members have complained about the hose being too short. It’s worth noting, however, that we found this model’s hose length to be roughly average for its category.
For a less expensive alternative, the Kenmore Intuition BU4050 is worth considering. It performs well when cleaning bare floors, which makes it ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and other uncarpeted areas. This upright also does a solid job of removing embedded dirt from carpets. It’s lighter than the other bagged upright models we recommend—only 15 pounds—and has a lift-away feature for portability and suction control. Another draw is the hair eliminator feature on the brush roll, which is designed to prevent entanglements.
Best Bagless Upright Vacuums
Bagless upright vacuums collect dust in a built-in bin that needs to be removed and its loose contents emptied into the trash. They tend to be lighter and easier to move around, and with no bags to add to the trash, they’re somewhat more environmentally friendly than bagged upright vacuums.
The Kenmore Pet-Friendly Cross-Over DU3017 is a solid performer all-around. It’s stellar at cleaning up pet hair and bare floors and does a fine job of suctioning debris from carpets. The vacuum did well in our clean emissions tests, meaning it captures the dust it picks up, which is important if you have allergies or other respiratory problems. One drawback is that its shorter-than-normal cord might have you mapping your electrical outlets when you’re vacuuming.
The Shark Detect Lift-Away LA 492 is a feature-rich model that excels in both performance and innovation. It includes multiple smart detection features, such as direction detect, which senses whether you’re pushing or pulling and adjusts suction accordingly. It also detects floor type and automatically modifies the brush roll speed for optimal cleaning. It’s excellent at suctioning up pet hair and debris from bare floors and very good at cleaning carpet, though its hose suction isn’t top-notch. Like other Lift-Away models, this vacuum has a detachable pod that’s easy to release and can be used when you’re vacuuming your stairs or furniture.
The Shark Navigator Lift-Away LA300 is one of the highest-rated lower-priced bagless uprights in our ratings. And at 12 pounds, it’s also one of the lightest. Convenient features include a detachable pod and manual suction control on the handle. It’s excellent at cleaning bare floors and pet hair, and very good at cleaning carpets. Its suction power isn’t bad either, earning a very good rating in that test. In our member surveys, Shark uprights receive very good marks for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
If you have a lot of carpets at home, the inexpensive Shark Navigator Professional NV360 is the one to get. It’s the only bagless upright model to earn a top score in our carpet cleaning tests. It’s equally amazing at picking up stray pet hair and clearing bare floors of debris. The vacuum weighs about 14 pounds and has a detachable pod for more flexible cleaning.
The Shark PowerDetect AZ4002 excels in our pet-hair and bare-floor cleaning tests. It’s less noisy than many other models and comes packed with handy features, among them a dirt sensor that automatically boosts power to pull up more debris. It also detects floor types and can adjust the speed of its brush rolls accordingly. For those who hate having to extricate hair from a vacuum’s brush rolls, the PowerDetect’s rolls are designed with a self-cleaning feature to guard against entanglements. It all adds up to a vacuum that’s currently the highest-scoring bagless upright in our ratings.
The Shark Stratos AZ3002 is good for any home with a mixture of surfaces and is especially handy if you have a pet. This 17-pound upright does a very good job cleaning carpets and an excellent job on bare floors and picking up pet hair. The power lift-away feature that allows it to be used like a canister is another plus. This model comes with several attachments, and the suction through the hose is top-notch, so you won’t have a problem vacuuming upholstery. There’s also an odor neutralizer that the manufacturer says you can dial in to help freshen the air.
How CR Tests Upright Vacuums
To rate upright vacuums, we conduct extensive tests on how well they remove debris from carpet and bare floors, how capable they are at picking up pet hair, how easy they are to maneuver around (and under) furniture, and how clean their emissions are. We also gauge the strength of their suction by rigging each one with a pressure gauge that measures airflow in three stages: with the vacuum bag or bin empty, with it filled with 100 grams of wood flour, and with it filled with 200 grams of wood flour.
In addition to these lab tests, we factor in the reliability and owner satisfaction scores from surveys based on members’ experiences with 123,103 nonrobotic vacuums bought between 2015 and 2025. The scores from these surveys, along with test results from our lab tests, inform our Overall Score for each upright vacuum.
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