Best Vacuums of 2025

If you’re looking for an inexpensive vacuum with strong suction, the Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly 31150 is the one. Its suction power surpasses other bagged uprights we’ve tested, and its cleaning performance is impressive. It earns top marks for cleaning bare floors and is no slouch at removing embedded dirt from carpets or tackling pet hair, either. The vacuum captures almost every particle on bare floors, keeping debris contained in its disposable bag. But it’s a little louder and tougher to handle than some others because of its 21-pound weight. Based on our member surveys, Kenmore uprights as a brand receive middling scores for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.

See our full ratings for bagged upright vacuums for other models.

The Shark PowerDetect AZ4002 offers both strong cleaning performance and convenient features. It’s stellar at cleaning bare floors, making it the ideal vacuum for kitchens, bathrooms, and hardwood floors. It also earned near-top-level scores in our carpet cleaning tests, and automatically adjusts the speed of the brush rolls depending on the floor type. This vacuum is able to sense dirt and boost its power to pick up more debris. And unlike some vacuums that can clean only when you move them forward, this one picks up debris moving both forward and backward. Another plus: Shark uprights earn very good ratings in predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, based on our member surveys.

Find other great options in our full ratings for bagless upright vacuums.

Priced at more than $1,000, the Miele Complete C3 Marin is the most expensive canister vacuum in our ratings, but its high price can be justified by its exemplary cleaning performance. It’s a champ at handling bare floors and embedded pet hair, and it excels at capturing dust particles. Strong airflow makes its attachments especially effective. It’s also noticeably quieter than many models. It gets dinged a bit in our handling test, which evaluates how easy it is to push, pull, and carry the vacuum, but that’s on a par with other canister vacs we’ve tested. And its carpet cleaning is very good, but not the highest. Still, this model comes from the only canister vacuum brand we test that gets top scores from our members for both reliability and owner satisfaction.

See our full ratings for bagged canister vacuums for other high-performing options.

The Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog canister is on the pricey side for a vacuum, but it’s one of the best bagless canisters you can buy. For one thing, on a brand level, Miele canisters have superb ratings in predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, meaning the members we’ve surveyed are very satisfied with their Miele canister vacuums and have experienced few problems with them. This vacuum does an outstanding job at cleaning bare floors, though it’s only okay at clearing debris from carpets. Compared with many other canisters, it’s on the lighter side. Allergy sufferers may appreciate that this vacuum also performs well in our emissions testing, releasing very little debris back into the environment after sucking it up. 

See our full bagless canister vacuum ratings for other high-performing options.

The corded Shark PowerDetect HZ4002 offers top-notch cleaning for bare floors and pet hair, and also performs above par on carpets. It features an auto-detect mode that adjusts the brush roll speed to the surface, transitioning efficiently between carpets and hard floors. It also has two brush rolls: one with rubber fins for optimal contact with surfaces and a soft roller to capture small particles. It can be converted into a hand vac, which makes it easier to clean stairs and reach higher areas in your home. It also pulls apart for compact storage, allowing it to stand on its own and take up minimal space. In our member surveys, Shark corded vacuums earn a top-level mark for predicted reliability and a decent mark for owner satisfaction.

For more options, see our complete corded stick vacuum ratings.

Yes, the Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Ultra VS90F40DMK/AA is expensive, but with the higher price comes strong cleaning performance. It’s very good at sucking dust and debris from carpets, which isn’t always the case for stick vacuums. It’s also stellar at picking up pet hair, making it ideal for pet owners.

The model has one of the longest run times among all the cordless stick vacs we tested, which means you’re less likely to have this vacuum die on you mid-cleaning. And while it’s common for cordless stick vacuums to develop battery problems over time, Samsung stick vacs are less likely to be plagued by battery defects, according to our member surveys. The vacuum comes with a docking station that automatically empties the vacuum’s dustbin.

For more options, see our complete cordless stick vacuum ratings.

One of the best features of the iRobot Roomba Max 705 is its proficiency at cleaning carpets. It also impressed us with its navigation skills, covering a large square footage of our testing rooms while avoiding being trapped by obstacles. The vacuum comes with a self-emptying docking station, and its brush rolls are designed to prevent hair from being tangled in them. According to our member surveys, iRobot robot vacuums earn a middling rating for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.

See our full robotic vacuum ratings for more choices.

Not all handheld vacuums can tackle pet hair well, but the Shark Ion W1 WV201 nails that task, earning an excellent rating. It’s also a champ at cleaning bare floors and getting into hard-to-reach places, and it’s not too shabby at cleaning carpets, either. The vacuum and all of its attachments can be stored on the charging base, making it a real space-saver. And at just 1.4 pounds, it’s one of the lightest handheld vacs in our tests. The only downside to its small size is the small dustbin, which may have to be emptied more than once if you have a sizable mess. 

For more choices, see our full handheld vacuum ratings.