Best Vacuums of 2025
Our tests reveal the best in every category, whether it's a stick, robotic, upright, canister, or handheld model
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Deciding which vacuum to buy can be a complicated process. You want a powerful cleaner that’s effective and convenient to use, but without firsthand experience, how can you tell which models will perform well?
At Consumer Reports, we do the testing for you. In our labs, we evaluate each vacuum on how well it picks up debris from carpets and bare floors, and how well it captures pet hair. Depending on the vacuum type, we also assess how easy it is to use, how noisy it is, how strong the suction is, and how well it filters out dust, debris, and allergens without releasing them back into the air, among several other criteria.
If you’re not sure which type of vacuum to get, canister and upright models are the best at picking up everything from embedded dirt to piles of pet hair. But they’re also some of the largest and bulkiest vacuum types, especially compared with the lighter and more maneuverable stick and handheld vacuums (not to mention hands-free robot vacuums). Our tests show that stick vacs have improved in performance in recent years, but they’re generally better suited for smaller cleanups.
“For some people, it might make sense to have multiple vacuums for different situations. For instance, a lighter stick can help with quick messes alongside your bigger upright or canister,” says Mathew Schimmenti, who leads the testing of our uprights, canisters, sticks, and handheld vacuums.
“And if you want a vacuum that you can set and forget to help you maintain your pristine floors, a robot vacuum is a good option,” says Paolo Fu, who oversees CR’s testing of robot vacuums.
Below are the top vacuums of each type, based on our test results. For more information and choices, see our vacuum buying guide and complete vacuum ratings. And if you’re curious about which vacuums to avoid, check out our roundup of the worst-performing vacuums from our tests.
Best Upright Vacuums
If you’re looking for an inexpensive upright 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. 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 due to 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 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 earns 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.
Best Canister Vacuums
Priced at over $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. But it gets dinged a bit in our handling test, which evaluates how easily a vacuum can be pushed, pulled, and carried, largely due to its weight (about 22 pounds). And its carpet cleaning is very good, but not the best. Still, this model comes from the only canister vacuum brand we’ve tested that gets top scores from our members for reliability and owner satisfaction.
See our full ratings of bagged canister vacuums for other high-performing options.
The Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog canister, which is also on the pricey side, is one of the best bagless canisters you can buy. For one thing, as mentioned above, 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. Allergy sufferers may appreciate that this vacuum also performs well in our filtration testing, releasing very little debris back into the environment after sucking it up. Its handling score is only middling because of its weight. At 14.6 pounds, it falls in the middle of the pack among the bagless canisters we’ve tested.
See our full bagless canister vacuum ratings for other high-performing options.
Best Stick Vacuums
The corded Shark PowerDetect HZ4002 offers top-notch cleaning for bare floors and pet hair, and 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 handheld vacuum, making it easier to clean stairs and tight spots 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’ve tested, which means you’re less likely to have this vacuum die on you in the middle of 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 that defect, 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.
Best Robotic Vacuum
One of the best features of the iRobot Roomba Max 705 is its ability to clean carpets effectively. It also impressed us with its navigation skills, covering a large square footage of our testing rooms while avoiding obstacles that could have trapped it. The vacuum comes with a self-emptying docking station, and its brush rolls are designed to prevent hair from becoming 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.
Best Handheld Vacuum
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. 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.
How We Pick the Best Vacuums
To determine the best vacuums, we pick models with the highest Overall Score in each category.
The Overall Score incorporates results from our rigorous lab tests as well as ratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, which are based on survey data from our CR members. We don’t collect reliability data for handheld vacuums because, given their relatively modest price, consumers tend to replace rather than repair them.
How CR Tests Vacuums
In our lab, CR’s engineers put vacuum cleaners through a set of tough tests to evaluate how well a model picks up dirt, how much debris it retains, how easy it is to maneuver, and how noisy it is. We embed sand and pet hair into carpet to see how effective the appliance is at picking them up. We use the same type of litter on bare floors to observe whether the vacuum picks it up or scatters it about. And we maneuver the vacuum around a floor, just like you would, to judge how easy it is to operate. For battery-powered vacuums, such as cordless stick vacs, handheld vacs, and robotic vacs, we test the run time of each model.
For more details on how we test, take a sneak peek into our vacuum lab.
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