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.
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Wall-to-wall carpet: buy an upright. Mostly hard floors with rugs: buy a stick. Stairs, upholstery, cars and hard floors: buy a canister. The published weights are the giveaway — an upright is 7.7 to 13.7 lb, a stick is 2.8 to 8.6 lb, and a canister keeps its weight on the floor rather than in your hand.
The upright: agitation, capacity, weight
An upright puts a big motor and a driven brushroll directly over the floor, which is exactly what deep pile carpet needs — the brushroll agitates the pile so the airflow can lift what is embedded in it. The published figures reflect the job: the Shark NV356E draws 1,200 W, the Eureka PowerSpeed 960 W with a 1.9-liter bin, the Bissell CleanView Swivel Pet 800 W.
The cost is weight and reach. The NV356E is 13.7 lb, which is the heaviest machine we recommend anywhere, and an upright is awkward above the floor unless it has a detachable pod — which the Lift-Away models publish and most cheap uprights do not. The lightest full-size upright here is the Eureka AirSpeed at 7.7 lb, and it publishes a 90 dB noise rating, which is the loudest figure on this site.
The stick: reach, storage, compromise
A stick puts the motor in your hand and the head on a wand. It is light, it stores anywhere, it converts to a handheld, and on hard floors and low-pile rugs it is genuinely enough. The published power figures are an order of magnitude lower — 181 W for the Shark cordless line, 500 W for the corded HV322 — and on deep carpet that shows.
Sticks split into cordless and corded, and the corded ones are systematically overlooked. The Shark HV322 publishes 500 W with no battery to fade, at 8.6 lb; the Eureka Blaze publishes 240 W at 2.8 lb. Neither has a runtime limit, and neither has a cell to replace. The full cordless-versus-corded arithmetic is here.
The canister: the one people forget
A canister keeps the motor and the bin on the floor and puts only a wand in your hand. That makes it the best shape for stairs, upholstery, car interiors and bare floors — you carry almost nothing, and the wand goes places an upright cannot. The Eureka Whirlwind publishes 960 W, a 2.5-liter bin, washable HEPA and automatic cord rewind, which is more machine than its price suggests.
The catch is agitation. A canister without a powered floor head relies on suction alone, and suction alone does not lift embedded grit out of pile. If your floors are carpet, this is the wrong shape whatever the wattage says.
The published figures, side by side
Manufacturer-published figures for one representative machine of each shape.
Shape
Example
Weight
Bin
Power
Best at
Upright
Shark NV356E
13.7 lb
0.87 L
1,200 W
Deep carpet
Upright, light
Eureka AirSpeed NEU10AE4
7.7 lb
1.7 L
720 W
Carpet, carried upstairs
Corded stick
Shark Rocket HV322
8.6 lb
0.68 qt
500 W
Hard floors, no charging
Cordless stick
Shark IY143H
7.1 lb
0.7 qt
181 W
Grab-and-go, mixed floors
Canister
Eureka Whirlwind NEN110A
8.2 lb
2.5 L
960 W
Stairs, bare floors, upholstery
#
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.
Eureka Whirlwind Bagless Canister (NEN110A)960 W, a 2.5-liter bin, automatic cord rewind and washable filters — the canister case, made cheaply and made honestly.
Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick (HV322)Under 10 lb, 500 W, corded, with a low-profile head that actually fits under furniture — the hardwood answer that never needs charging.
Eureka AirSpeed Ultra-Lightweight (NEU10AE4)7.7 lb with a 10.5-inch path and a washable filter — the upright to buy if lifting is the problem you are solving.
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.
Scores are ours, from the published rubric on the How We Pick page. They are editorial judgments about published specifications — not test results. We have not handled these machines.
01 · Best sealed HEPA under $200
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.
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 canister under $120
Eureka Whirlwind Bagless Canister (NEN110A)
960 W, a 2.5-liter bin, automatic cord rewind and washable filters — the canister case, made cheaply and made honestly.
Telescoping metal wand with integrated crevice tool
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
+2.5-liter bin and washable HEPA — no bags, no filter bills
+The body stays on the floor, so stairs and above-floor work are far easier than with an upright
+Automatic cord rewind, which is a small luxury that is missing at this price everywhere else
Where it stops
−No powered brushroll, so deep pile carpet is not its job
−Dragging a canister around furniture annoys some people permanently
−82 dB
Who it is for
Hard floors, stairs, cars and upholstery — the classic canister case.
Skip it if
Wall-to-wall carpet is your main floor. Suction alone does not agitate pile; you want a driven brushroll.
Our score: 8.4 out of 10
Published power8.5
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration8.5
Weight and handling7.0
Running cost9.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
03 · Best for hardwood
Shark Rocket Pet Plus Corded Stick (HV322)
Under 10 lb, 500 W, corded, with a low-profile head that actually fits under furniture — the hardwood answer that never needs charging.
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
+500 W of constant power on hard floors, with none of the fade a battery gives you at minute 30
+Converts to a handheld and clips into freestanding storage
+Low-profile head reaches under couches that a full upright cannot
Where it stops
−Foam filter, not HEPA
−0.68-quart cup
−The cord is the whole compromise and there is no getting around it
Who it is for
Hardwood, tile and LVP homes with rugs, where constant suction matters more than cordless freedom.
Skip it if
Deep pile carpet is your main surface. A 500 W stick is not a substitute for a proper upright on thick pile.
Our score: 8.1 out of 10
Published power8.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration5.5
Weight and handling7.5
Running cost9.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
04 · Lightest corded upright
Eureka AirSpeed Ultra-Lightweight (NEU10AE4)
7.7 lb with a 10.5-inch path and a washable filter — the upright to buy if lifting is the problem you are solving.
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
+7.7 lb for a corded upright is genuinely unusual
+Washable filter means a running cost of zero
+1.7-liter bin despite the weight
Where it stops
−90 dB is the loudest figure published on this site
−720 W is modest for deep pile
−Foam filtration only
Who it is for
Multi-story homes, older buyers, and anyone who has to carry the vacuum up stairs regularly.
Skip it if
Noise matters to you at all. At 90 dB this is a machine you clean around other people's schedules.
Our score: 8.0 out of 10
Published power7.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and filtration6.5
Weight and handling8.5
Running cost9.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
05 · 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.
The mistake people make
Buying an upright for a flat with hard floors, or a stick for a carpeted house. The first ends up in a cupboard because it is too much machine for the job; the second gets blamed for poor performance when it was never designed for pile in the first place. Match the shape to the floor before you compare any two machines.
The second mistake is ignoring stairs. If your home has a staircase, weight is not a secondary specification — it is the one that determines whether the machine gets used. A 13.7 lb upright and a flight of stairs is a decision you make once and then avoid.
What we cannot tell you
How any of these feel to push. Maneuverability, handle balance and whether a swivel head fights you around furniture are exactly the things a spec sheet cannot capture, and we have not pushed any of them. What we can do is match the published figures to the job, which eliminates most of the wrong answers before you get to the showroom.
Common questions
Is a stick vacuum enough for a whole house?+−
On hard floors and low-pile rugs, yes. On wall-to-wall carpet, the published power gap — 181 W for a cordless stick against 800 to 1,200 W for an upright — is large enough that the honest answer is no.
Are canister vacuums better than uprights?+−
For stairs, upholstery and bare floors, yes: the body stays on the floor and only a wand goes in your hand. For deep pile carpet, no — a canister without a powered floor head relies on suction alone, and suction alone does not lift embedded grit out of pile.
What is the lightest upright vacuum?+−
Of the machines on this site, the Eureka AirSpeed NEU10AE4 at a published 7.7 lb — with the caveat that it also publishes a 90 dB noise rating, the loudest figure here.
Which vacuum shape is best for stairs?+−
A canister, or an upright with a detachable pod like Shark's Lift-Away. In both cases you carry a light component rather than the whole machine, which is the entire problem with a conventional upright on a staircase.
Does a bigger dust bin matter?+−
More than most people expect, because emptying is the interruption that actually irritates. The spread across shapes is wide: 0.68 quarts on a corded stick, 2.5 liters on the Eureka canister. In a pet household it is one of the two or three figures worth deciding on.
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.
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.
