Best Upright Vacuums of 2024
These upright vacuums tackle pet hair, carpet, and dirty floors with impressive results
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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 are easy to store and great at cleaning both carpets and hardwoods. Some even get high marks for cleaning pet hair. That said, some upright vacuums are bulky, and many are noisy (outside of a few that made our cut for the quietest vacuums).
To help you cut through the noise, we’ve tested over 80 upright vacuums from the leading brands—and listed the best 10 for you to consider.
As you scroll through the models—which are listed in alphabetical order—we recommend considering the model’s size and weight, noise level, and reliability, as well as its pet-friendliness.
Read on for the details on how we test upright vacuums and how we decide which models perform the best. For more options, see our complete upright vacuum ratings, which feature models from over 18 brands.
CR’s take: This inexpensive upright vacuum excels at cleaning both bare floors and pet hair, earning an excellent rating on both of those tests. It does almost as well on carpet, so if you have mixed floors, it could be a good choice for your cleaning collection. Airflow gets above-average marks, and its emissions are fairly clean. The brand earned a middle-of-the-road rating for predicted reliability but a less-than-favorable score for owner satisfaction.
CR’s take: While upright vacuums excel at cleaning carpet, this one actually does a bit better on bare floors, which makes it a good option for handling hardwood floors, among other types of flooring. And if you have a pet, it’s a great pick. This wallet-friendly vacuum also has nice extras like a HEPA filter and a full-bag indicator, and it weighs 21 pounds, which makes it easy to move about.
CR’s take: Although “pet” is part of this model’s name, the Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly 31150 is better at cleaning bare floors than pet hair, earning an excellent rating in our bare floor test. It still earns a very good rating for removing pet hair, though. It reliably cleans carpet and has clean emissions, meaning everything it sucks up stays in the vacuum. And while budget-friendly, it’s a bit on the noisy side compared with some of the other models on this list. It’s also heavier than most, weighing 21 pounds. It has a fairly long cord—35 feet—and an indicator that lets you know when the bag should be replaced. Kenmore earned average scores for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
CR’s take: If you have a pet that sheds and your floors are hardwood or tile, the cost-effective Kenmore Pet Friendly 31140 will serve you well. It earns excellent ratings on the bare floor test. It also does a solid job cleaning carpet. Suction through the hose is impressive, so if you use your attachments to clean curtains or upholstery, you won’t be disappointed. Emissions are clean, meaning this bagged vacuum will retain what it sucks up. It comes with a HEPA filter, which is designed to capture more dirt particles, and a light that indicates when the bag is full so that you know when it’s time to change it, two pluses if you’re sensitive to dust.
CR’s take: The Kirby Avalir 2 is one of the most expensive uprights in CR’s ratings. But you do get impressive carpet cleaning capabilities; this model earns an excellent rating in that test. It also aces our bare floor and pet hair cleaning tests, and does it all without spewing debris back into the air. But it has two shortcomings: It weighs a hefty 23 pounds, contributing to its mediocre rating for handling, and it’s one of the noisiest uprights we’ve tested. Based on our survey data, Kirby uprights earned a very good rating for predicted reliability and an unimpressive rating for owner satisfaction. Note that Kirby vacuums are sold only by independent Kirby distributors via in-home demonstrations.
CR’s take: The bagless Kenmore Pet Friendly CrossOver 31220 is top-notch at cleaning bare floors and, true to its name, earns an excellent rating at picking up piles of pet fur. It falls short of our top marks for carpet cleaning but still earns an impressive very good rating. And unlike some bagless models, it retains the debris it vacuums up, so emissions are clean. Suction through the hose is strong, but this Kenmore is noisy.
CR’s take: The Kenmore Pet Friendly Cross-Over DU3017 is another strong contender. It earns excellent ratings for cleaning bare floors and removing pet hair, living up to its model name. It earns a decent score for cleaning carpet, and tool airflow is impressive, making this a good choice if you use your attachments a lot to clean upholstery or curtains. Emissions are clean. But like some of its brandmates, this Kenmore is a bit noisy, and our testers report that it’s not the easiest vacuum to maneuver around and under furniture.
CR’s take: This bagless Shark is one of the cheapest models we’ve tested, but it’s also one of the best. It has a 25-foot cord and weighs about 14 pounds. It receives an equally excellent rating in our carpet and bare floor tests, and a very good score for removing pet hair. In our member survey, Shark earned very good marks for predicted reliability and excellent ratings for owner satisfaction.
CR’s take: The budget-friendly Shark Rotator Professional Lift-Away NV501 vacuum is one of the quieter vacuums in our tests. It excels at cleaning bare floors, which makes it ideal for cleaning kitchens and bathrooms. Our testers also found it does a solid job at removing embedded dirt from carpets. The vacuum also features a brush on/off switch, which safeguards bare floors and prevents the scattering of dust and debris.
CR’s take: The lightweight (16.6 pounds) Shark Stratos AZ3002 is good for any home with a mixture of surfaces, and especially good if you have a pet (it got a top score in picking up fur). It does a very good job cleaning carpet and an excellent job on bare floors. The power lift-away feature that allows it to be used like a canister is another plus. This model comes with several attachments, and suction through the hose is top-notch, so you won’t have a problem vacuuming your upholstery.
CR’s take: The 17-pound bagless Shark Vertex DuoClean has plenty of bells and whistles. Testers like the Duo brush roll, which is great for both carpet and bare floors. The wallet-friendly vacuum also picks up pet hair especially well, earning an excellent rating on that test. It has exceptional suction power and does a solid job containing small dust particles in the dustbin. The lift-away canister makes it easy to clean out-of-the-way places.
How Consumer Reports Tests Upright Vacuums
To rate upright vacuums, we lab-tested dozens of models on how well they remove debris from carpet and bare floors, how easy they are to maneuver around (and under) furniture, how clean their emissions are, and the strength of their suction. To do this, we rigged each upright vacuum in our testing with a pressure gauge and measured airflow in three stages—with the vacuum bag or bin empty, with it filled with 100 grams of wood flour, and then with it filled with 200 grams of wood flour. To learn more about how we rate and test upright vacuums, consult our vacuum buying guide.
On top of these calculations, we factor in the reliability and owner satisfaction scores from surveys based on members’ experiences with 105,337 nonrobotic vacuums bought between 2013 and 2023. As with all products that CR tests, the ratings they earn across our battery of tests and our surveys inform our Overall Score for each upright vacuum.
To determine the best upright vacuums listed, we filtered upright vacuum models based on their Overall Score.
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