Carpet is the one floor where the published numbers actually diverge: 180 watts against 1,200, a bristle roller against a self-cleaning one, and five height settings against none.
Everyone in this category says they tested twenty vacuums. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we do instead is read the manuals, compile the published specifications, and work out what each machine costs to run for three years — the method is written out in full.
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or the order we recommend it in. Full disclosure.
The short answer: the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV356E. It publishes 1,200 watts onto a driven brushroll, a 0.87-liter cup, and the most specific filtration claim on this site — 99.9% of dust and allergens, per ASTM F1977-22, tested by IBR Laboratories — and it detaches into a pod for stairs. If a long-haired animal lives on that carpet, pay the difference for the Shark ZD201 and its self-cleaning PowerFins brushroll instead. If the carpeted area is large and the budget is tight, the Hoover WindTunnel Cord Rewind Pro covers a 13.5-inch path at the same 1,200 watts for noticeably less.
Carpet is the one surface where suction is not the answer
On hardwood, dust sits on top of the floor and airflow lifts it. That is why a 180-watt cordless stick genuinely competes with a 1,200-watt upright on a bare floor, and why our hardwood roundup is full of light machines. Carpet does not work like that. Grit falls between fibers and stays there, held by the pile, and no amount of airflow across the surface pulls it out. Something has to physically beat the pile and flick the debris up into the airstream. That something is a driven brushroll, and it is the reason this page and the hardwood page barely share a pick.
This is also why the published figures finally start to separate machines. Across this site, almost every cordless stick publishes the same 40-minute runtime and no suction figure at all. Put the same machines on carpet and the sheet opens up: motor power spans 181 watts to 1,200, brushrolls split into bristle, triple-action, tangle-free and self-cleaning, and height adjustment — a specification that is meaningless on tile — becomes the thing that decides whether the head glides or stalls on plush pile.
What we looked at
A driven brushroll, published. This was the entry requirement. A canister with a bare suction wand does not clean carpet, and we say which machine on this site that rules out below.
What the brushroll does with hair. Bristle rollers wrap. Shark's PowerFins and Bissell's tangle-free roller are published as no-hair-wrap; Eureka's own manual asks you to clear its roller every two weeks. That is not a small difference in a shedding house.
Published motor power. Watts describe electricity drawn rather than dirt lifted, but within one power class the spread here is genuinely fourfold and it tracks what these machines are built to do.
Height adjustment. Plush pile and a low-pile hallway want different head heights. Two machines here publish five settings; most publish nothing, and one publishes that it has none.
Filtration, and whether a standard is named. Carpet is a dust reservoir, so what leaves the exhaust matters more here than anywhere. Two picks name ASTM F1977 behind their percentage. Four publish no filtration class at all — cartridge, disk or foam, with no HEPA claim.
Capacity and path width. A carpeted house fills a bin fast. Published cups run from 0.7 quarts to 1.9 liters, and only one manufacturer here publishes a cleaning path width.
Cordless on carpet: the honest position
One cordless machine made this page: the Shark IY143H, and it is there on the strength of a published self-cleaning anti-hair-wrap brushroll plus HEPA with a Complete Seal, not on power. Its motor is 181 watts. The Shark upright above it is 1,200. Those two numbers are not measured the same way and they do not convert, but they are not close enough for the difference to be marketing either.
The practical position from the published sheets is this: on low-pile carpet and rugs, a good cordless with a driven anti-tangle head does the routine job and does it far more often, because you actually pick it up. On medium and deep pile, and for the periodic deep clean, the corded uprights are doing something the cordless machines are not rated to do. Plenty of houses want both, which is the argument stick versus upright works through in full.
The field, on the figures that matter for carpet
Every cell is the manufacturer's own published figure, or "Not published" where there is none.
Machine
Motor
Brushroll
Height settings
Filtration standard named
Shark Navigator NV356E
1,200 W
Driven, bristle
Not published
ASTM F1977-22, IBR Laboratories
Shark ZD201
800 W
PowerFins, self-cleaning
Not published
ASTM F1977
Hoover WindTunnel UH71300
1,200 W
Driven, bristle
5
None
Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet 2252
800 W
Triple Action
Not published
None
Eureka PowerSpeed NEU182
960 W
Belt-driven, clear it every 2 weeks
5
None
Kenmore Intuition
Not published
Hair Eliminator
Not published
HEPA, standard not named
Shark IY143H cordless
181 W
Self-cleaning Turbo Pro
FloorDetect, automatic
None
Bissell CleanView Max 4072L
Not published
Tangle-free
Not published
None
Compiled from the published specifications of the eight machines on this page. Watts are not comparable to air watts and none of these manufacturers publish air watts.
#
Product
Best for
Score
Price
01
Shark Navigator Lift-Away (NV356E)1,200 W with a genuinely sealed HEPA system and a detachable pod, at a price the cordless machines cannot match on either count.
Shark Lift-Away Upright with PowerFins (ZD201)The only upright on this site that publishes both a self-cleaning brushroll and a filtration figure with the test standard attached.
Hoover WindTunnel Cord Rewind Pro Upright (UH71300)1,200 watts across a 13.5-inch path with five height settings — the most carpet-specific hardware on this page, sold without a filtration claim to match.
Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet Upright (2252)An 800 W corded upright with a triple-action brushroll: the deep-carpet answer for people whose cordless keeps running out mid-room.
Eureka PowerSpeed Upright (NEU182)A 1.9-liter bin and 960 W for around the price of a decent handheld — and it is loud, which the spec sheet does not hide.
Kenmore Intuition Bagged UprightA two-motor bagged upright with HEPA and a hair-eliminator brushroll: the argument for bags, if you are going to make one.
Shark Cordless Pet (IY143H)Doubles the dust cup over the IX141 and adds the self-cleaning brushroll, which is the single feature that matters if a dog lives here.
Bissell CleanView Max Tangle-Free Upright (4072L)A tangle-free brush roll and five power levels at the price of a basic upright, from a manufacturer that publishes no power figure for it at all.
Washable HEPA plus foam, Anti-Allergen Complete Seal; rated to trap 99.9% of dust and allergens per ASTM F1977-22, tested by IBR Laboratories
Rated noise
80 dB
Lift-Away
Detachable pod for above-floor cleaning
Runtime
Unlimited — corded
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Names its filtration test standard AND the lab that ran it — the most specific filtration claim on this site
+1,200 W on a driven brushroll deep-cleans carpet properly
+Lift-Away pod covers stairs, which is where most uprights fail
Where it stops
−13.7 lb is the heaviest machine we recommend anywhere
−Washable filters need genuine drying time, and people skip it
−Corded, with everything that implies
Who it is for
Allergy households on carpet who want measured filtration rather than a bare percentage.
Skip it if
You have a lot of stairs and no storage. It is heavy, it is bulky, and the Lift-Away pod only partly solves that.
Our score: 8.4 out of 10
Published power9.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration9.5
Weight and handling4.5
Running cost9.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
02 · Best anti-hair-wrap upright
Shark Lift-Away Upright with PowerFins (ZD201)
The only upright on this site that publishes both a self-cleaning brushroll and a filtration figure with the test standard attached.
PowerFins, self-cleaning, published as no hair wrap versus Shark's own bristle brushrolls
Filtration
Anti-Allergen Complete Seal with HEPA, rated to trap 99.99% of dust and allergens at 0.3 microns or larger, based on ASTM F1977
Lift-Away
Detachable pod for stairs and above-floor work
Runtime
Unlimited — corded
Rated noise
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Publishes 99.99% at 0.3 microns AND names ASTM F1977 behind it, which almost nothing in this price band does
+Self-cleaning PowerFins brushroll is the specification that stops you cutting hair off a roller every two weeks
+Lift-Away pod covers stairs, the job uprights are worst at
Where it stops
−0.8 quarts is the smallest bin of any upright on this page
−800 watts, against 1,200 on both the Shark Navigator and the Hoover WindTunnel
−No published noise rating, so it cannot be compared on the one figure most uprights do publish
Who it is for
Carpeted homes with long-haired pets and someone in the house who reacts to dust, where the two published claims here are both load-bearing.
Skip it if
Nothing sheds in your house. The self-cleaning brushroll is most of what you are paying for over the cheaper Navigator, and on a pet-free carpet it earns nothing.
Our score: 8.3 out of 10
Published power8.5
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration8.5
Weight and handling5.5
Running cost9.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
03 · Widest published cleaning path
Hoover WindTunnel Cord Rewind Pro Upright (UH71300)
1,200 watts across a 13.5-inch path with five height settings — the most carpet-specific hardware on this page, sold without a filtration claim to match.
5 levels, published for plush carpet through bare floor
Dirt cup
1.29 liters
Filtration
Multi-cyclonic with a cartridge filter. No HEPA claim and no named test standard
Rated noise
79 dB
Cord
25 feet, automatic rewind
Above-floor reach
8-foot hose plus a telescoping extension wand, published as 10 feet of reach
Weight
Not published — the listing's weight field reads 0.27 g, which is plainly a data error
Runtime
Unlimited — corded
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+13.5 inches is the widest published cleaning path on this site, and on a big carpeted room width is passes saved
+Five published height settings, which is what lets one machine work on plush pile and a bare hallway
+79 dB is the quietest rated upright here, 9 dB below the Eureka PowerSpeed
Where it stops
−Cartridge filtration with no HEPA claim and no named standard — the weakest filtration disclosure of the uprights here
−No anti-tangle claim of any kind, so long hair is a manual job
−Hoover publishes no usable weight for it, and a 35-inch upright is not something to buy weight-blind
Who it is for
Large carpeted floors on a budget, where path width, height settings and a 25-foot rewind cord decide how long the job takes.
Skip it if
Somebody in the house has allergies. Two machines on this page name ASTM F1977 behind their filtration figures; this one names nothing.
Our score: 8.1 out of 10
Published power9.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration7.0
Weight and handling6.5
Running cost8.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
04 · Best corded for pet hair
Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet Upright (2252)
An 800 W corded upright with a triple-action brushroll: the deep-carpet answer for people whose cordless keeps running out mid-room.
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+800 W with a driven brushroll is a different class of carpet cleaning from any 180 W cordless
+Swivel steering, which most cheap uprights still do not have
+Nothing in it degrades with charge cycles
Where it stops
−12.5 lb, and you will feel every pound on a staircase
−80 dB
−Bagless with a disk filter rather than sealed HEPA
Who it is for
Carpeted houses with shedding pets, where a cordless keeps dying before the living room is finished.
Skip it if
Your home is mostly hard floor. A heavy carpet upright on tile is the wrong tool and a stick vacuum will be faster every time.
Our score: 7.9 out of 10
Published power8.5
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration6.5
Weight and handling5.0
Running cost9.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
05 · Biggest tank under $100
Eureka PowerSpeed Upright (NEU182)
A 1.9-liter bin and 960 W for around the price of a decent handheld — and it is loud, which the spec sheet does not hide.
Foam filter; rated to trap 99.9% of dust, dander and allergens
Rated noise
88 dB
Height settings
5
Brushroll maintenance
Manufacturer recommends clearing hair from the roller and belt every 2 weeks
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+1.9-liter bin, the largest on the site
+Five height settings, so it works on shag as well as hard floor
+Crevice, dusting and pet tools included
Where it stops
−88 dB is genuinely loud — 8 dB above the Shark uprights
−Manufacturer itself says to clear the brushroll every two weeks, which tells you what it does with hair
−Belt-driven brushroll is a wear part
Who it is for
Big carpeted spaces on the tightest budget, where capacity beats refinement.
Skip it if
You have long-haired pets. The manufacturer's own two-week brushroll maintenance note is the warning; buy an anti-tangle machine instead.
Our score: 7.9 out of 10
Published power8.5
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration7.0
Weight and handling5.5
Running cost8.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
06 · Best bagged option
Kenmore Intuition Bagged Upright
A two-motor bagged upright with HEPA and a hair-eliminator brushroll: the argument for bags, if you are going to make one.
Pet Handi-Mate powered tool, 3-in-1 combination tool
Runtime
Unlimited — corded
Bag cost
Ongoing consumable — see the running-cost table on the bagged-vs-bagless page
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Bagged emptying does not put a dust cloud back into the room, which matters for allergies
+Two motors means brushroll speed does not fall away as suction loads up
+HEPA plus a powered pet tool
Where it stops
−Bags are a permanent running cost the bagless machines do not have
−Heavier and bulkier than the bagless uprights here
−Bag availability is the long-term risk with any bagged machine
Who it is for
Allergy households who empty a bagless cup and immediately regret it.
Skip it if
You want the lowest possible cost of ownership. Bags never stop costing money, and over five years that is the whole argument against.
Our score: 7.7 out of 10
Published power8.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration9.0
Weight and handling5.5
Running cost6.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
07 · Best for long pet hair
Shark Cordless Pet (IY143H)
Doubles the dust cup over the IX141 and adds the self-cleaning brushroll, which is the single feature that matters if a dog lives here.
HEPA with Complete Seal, rated to capture over 99.97% of dust and allergens
Brushroll
Self-cleaning Turbo Pro, published as anti-hair-wrap
Floor detection
FloorDetect, adjusts brushroll speed by floor type
Suction in air watts or Pa
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+0.7-quart cup is double the IX141's, which is the difference between one empty and three
+Self-cleaning brushroll is published as anti-hair-wrap, and that claim is specific rather than decorative
+FloorDetect removes the nozzle-swapping step between rug and hardwood
Where it stops
−Still no published suction figure
−Heavier than the IX141 by 0.2 lb, which you notice on stairs and nowhere else
−Battery is not published as user-removable on this model
Who it is for
Pet households with a mix of rug and hard floor, where hair wrap is the actual daily annoyance.
Skip it if
Your floors are entirely hard surface and nothing sheds. You are paying for the anti-tangle brushroll, and on bare floor it does nothing for you.
Our score: 7.5 out of 10
Published power6.0
Runtime7.0
Bin and filtration8.5
Weight and handling7.5
Running cost8.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
08 · Cheapest tangle-free brushroll
Bissell CleanView Max Tangle-Free Upright (4072L)
A tangle-free brush roll and five power levels at the price of a basic upright, from a manufacturer that publishes no power figure for it at all.
Washable foam filter. No HEPA claim and no named test standard
Steering
Swivel
Tools
Quick-release extension wand and crevice tool; LED headlights on the head
Runtime
Unlimited — corded
Motor
Not published in watts or amps
Rated noise
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+A published tangle-free brush roll at roughly half what the anti-hair-wrap Shark costs
+Five power levels, where most uprights in this band have one
+Swivel steering and a washable foam filter, so there is no consumable and no wrestling around chair legs
Where it stops
−Bissell publishes no wattage, no amperage and no noise rating for this model — three figures every rival here does publish
−Foam filtration with no HEPA claim, on a machine aimed squarely at pet households
−13.1 lb is the heaviest of the sub-$150 uprights here
Who it is for
A shedding household on a tight budget that has decided hair wrap is the daily annoyance worth solving first.
Skip it if
You want to compare it numerically with anything. It ranks last on this page because there is almost nothing published to rank, not because the tangle-free roller is a bad idea.
Our score: 7.4 out of 10
Published power5.5
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration6.5
Weight and handling6.0
Running cost9.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
The ones to skip
Skip the Eureka Whirlwind canister for carpet, and it is the machine's own spec sheet that says so. It is one of the best-value vacuums on this site — 960 watts, a 2.5-liter bin, washable HEPA, automatic cord rewind — and we recommend it warmly on hardwood. It has no powered brushroll. Suction alone does not agitate pile, and buying a canister for a wall-to-wall carpeted house is the single most common way people end up disappointed by a genuinely good machine.
Skip the Amazon Basics upright if carpet is your main floor. It is the cheapest full-size upright on this site and it is honest about what it is, but its listing publishes no suction figure, no anti-tangle claim and no height adjustment. On a bare floor and a low rug none of that matters much. On plush pile, a head with no height adjustment either scrubs and stalls or floats and does nothing, and there is no setting to fix it.
And a caution rather than a skip: the Eureka PowerSpeed is on this page and it is excellent value, but read its own maintenance note before you buy it into a shedding house. Eureka publishes a recommendation to clear hair from the roller and belt every two weeks. That is unusually honest of them, and it is also a description of what a bristle roller does with long hair. If that sounds like a chore you will skip, the tangle-free Bissell costs about the same.
What you give up against the flagship
The comparison is Dyson's Ball Animal 3, the current corded upright flagship, against the two picks that come closest on paper.
Published figure
Dyson Ball Animal 3
Shark NV356E
Hoover UH71300
What the difference means
Suction, comparable unit
290 air watts
Not published
Not published
This is the real gap. Air watts describe work at the head; nobody else here publishes them.
Motor
1,350 W
1,200 W
1,200 W
Close, and the least interesting row in the table.
Brushroll
Motorbar, de-tangling
Driven, bristle
Driven, bristle
The Dyson's roller clears itself. The Shark ZD201 on this page does too, for less.
Suction modes
3, published for deep pile, low pile and hard floor
Not published
5 height levels instead
Two ways to solve the same problem, and Hoover's is mechanical.
Bin
0.55 gal
0.87 L
1.29 L
The budget machines hold MORE, as they usually do.
Weight
17.3 lb
13.7 lb
Not published
The flagship is the heaviest machine in this comparison.
Warranty
5 years
Not published on the listing
Not published on the listing
This is a real gap, and it is where a lot of the money goes.
Read that honestly and the carpet answer is narrower than the cordless one. On bin size and weight the budget uprights win outright, as they do everywhere on this site. But 290 air watts is a genuine, comparable figure and nothing else here publishes one — this is the one category where we cannot show you that the flagship's advantage is imaginary, because Dyson has published a number and its rivals have declined to. What we can say is what the five-year warranty and the de-tangling head cost, and that a self-cleaning brushroll is available on this page for a fraction of it. The full arithmetic on Dyson is here.
What we cannot tell you
How much grit any of these actually pulls out of a specific carpet. There is no shared test standard for carpet pickup, no two of these brands measure the same way, and we have not run any of these machines. We also cannot tell you how a belt-driven brushroll holds up in year four, how a 13.5-inch head handles a room full of furniture legs, or how loud 88 dB is in your particular living room. Our method page sets out exactly where the evidence stops and judgment starts.
How to choose in one paragraph
If you want the best-documented machine here, buy the Shark NV356E — 1,200 watts, a named filtration standard, and a pod that comes off for the stairs. If a long-haired animal lives on the carpet, buy the Shark ZD201 and stop cutting hair off a roller. If the carpeted area is big and the budget is not, buy the Hoover UH71300 for its 13.5-inch path, five height settings and 25-foot rewind cord. If you empty a bagless cup and immediately regret it, buy the bagged Kenmore Intuition and accept the bag bill — that trade is priced out here. And if the real problem is a stain rather than dry soil, no vacuum on this page is the answer; you want an extractor.
Common questions
What is the best vacuum for carpet?+−
On published specifications, the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV356E: 1,200 watts onto a driven brushroll, a 0.87-liter cup, and filtration rated at 99.9% of dust and allergens per ASTM F1977-22 as tested by IBR Laboratories — the most specific filtration claim on this site. For a household with long-haired pets, the Shark ZD201 and its self-cleaning PowerFins brushroll is the better buy.
Do you need an upright vacuum for carpet?+−
You need a driven brushroll, which is not quite the same thing. Uprights are the common way to get one, but a cordless stick with a powered anti-tangle head — the Shark IY143H here — also qualifies. What does not qualify is a canister with a bare suction wand: the Eureka Whirlwind on this site publishes no powered brushroll, and its own listing points you away from deep pile because of it.
Are cordless vacuums powerful enough for carpet?+−
For low pile and rugs, the published sheets support it, provided the head is a driven anti-tangle one. For medium and deep pile, the honest reading is that a 181-watt cordless motor and an 800 to 1,200-watt corded upright are not doing the same job. We have not tested either, and we are not going to imply the numbers say something they do not.
Does a vacuum with more watts clean carpet better?+−
Only loosely, and only within one power class. Watts measure electricity drawn, not dirt lifted. The one genuinely comparable unit is the air watt, and exactly one machine in this comparison publishes it: the Dyson Ball Animal 3, at 290 AW. Every budget rival on this page publishes motor watts or nothing.
What is an anti-hair-wrap brushroll and does it matter on carpet?+−
It is a roller shaped so hair slides off rather than winding around it. On this page, Shark publishes PowerFins as self-cleaning with no hair wrap, Bissell publishes a tangle-free brush roll on the 4072L, and Kenmore publishes a Hair Eliminator roller. It matters most in a shedding household on carpet, which is where hair collects fastest — Eureka's own manual asks you to clear its bristle roller every two weeks.
Do vacuum height settings actually matter?+−
On carpet, yes. Head height sets how hard the brushroll engages the pile: too low and the machine stalls or scuffs, too high and the roller never touches the fibers. The Hoover UH71300 and the Eureka PowerSpeed both publish five levels. Most machines here publish nothing, and the Amazon Basics upright publishes that it has no height adjustment at all.
Should I buy a bagged or bagless vacuum for carpet?+−
Bagged emptying does not put a dust cloud back into the room, which is the argument for the Kenmore Intuition in an allergy household. Bagless with a washable filter has no consumable at all, which is the lower cost of ownership over five years. Carpet does not change that trade much; it just means you empty more often either way.
Will a vacuum remove stains from carpet?+−
No. A vacuum lifts dry soil; a stain is bonded to the fiber and needs water, solution and extraction to come out. That is a carpet cleaner, a different machine entirely, and every one of those manuals tells you to vacuum first — running an extractor over dry grit makes mud.
Sources
Manufacturer-published specifications — Every runtime, wattage, capacity, weight, filtration and warranty figure quoted on this page is the manufacturer's own published number for that model, retrieved September 1, 2026. Where a manufacturer publishes no figure, the page says 'Not published' rather than estimating one.
ASTM F1977 — standard test method for vacuum cleaner filtration efficiency — Named by Shark (tested by IBR Laboratories, per ASTM F1977-22) and by Levoit (ASTM F1977-22) in their own published filtration claims. Where a brand names this standard we treat the claim as checkable; where a brand states a bare percentage we do not.
Sweep & Suction — How We Pick — Our published method, including the scoring rubric, the three-year running-cost formula and an explicit statement of what published specifications cannot tell you.
