5 Best Upright Vacuums of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

The Shark Navigator ADV is Shark’s bestselling vacuum, and it’s easy to see why. In tests, it expertly tackled messes on both hardwood floors and carpets. Most vacuums needed at least two passes to suck up Cheerios from hardwood, but this model lifted everything in a single pass. Comparatively, it struggled with full Cheerios on carpet, needing a back-and-forth pass, but had no issue with crumbs on either surface. In fact, the vacuum is so powerful that we found it actually propels itself forward if you loosen your grip.

Like other upright vacuums, the Shark Navigator ADV has a hard time reaching under furniture — the canister prevents full reach — but this one has a unique feature that separates it from others: The canister lifts out of the vacuum, so you can use the hose to reach under furniture, high into corners, or more easily clean areas like stairs. It’s an extra step, but one that only requires a single toggle. Because the vacuum is only 12.3 pounds — on the lighter side for upright vacuums — it isn’t all that cumbersome, either.

Overall, we found this vacuum to be worth every penny. It’s powerful and lightweight enough to use as a whole-house vacuum. Plus, it comes with the crevice and brush tools you need, as well as a special anti-allergen technology to block 99.99% of dust and allergens, a feature that we didn’t test, but think could be useful for some.

For those who don’t want to spend quite as much on a vacuum, Shark’s more basic Navigator is hard to pass up. It may not have the same anti-allergen technology and it’s a negligible .3 pounds heavier, but it truly wowed us in tests, performing just as well as the advanced model.

The vacuum is incredibly easy to maneuver because it’s lightweight and pivoting ability. Plus, you can lift the canister out to use the hose to reach under furniture, up into corners, and in tight areas like stairs. The machine had no trouble with Cheerios on either hardwood or carpet. Both surfaces required just one pass. The vacuum even performs well around baseboards. In tests, we didn’t need any special attachments — just two quick passes.

At nearly $175, it is more expensive than other more basic models, but for the overall value, you really can’t beat this vacuum. It far outperformed anything less expensive.

In tests, Shark was clearly a high performer. And although their Pet-specific vacuum is slightly more expensive and weighs more, we found it to be a better heavy-duty option for those who regularly vacuum up a lot of hair and other large debris, especially from carpets. It’s equipped with an extra-large capacity canister to hold more debris at a time, a grippy base to attract hair, a self-cleaning brush roll, odor-neutralizing technology, and a HEPA filter. It also has a light to help you spot anything you might otherwise miss.

In tests, the vacuum, which weighs a hefty 15.18 pounds, did a fantastic job of cleaning both full and crushed Cheerios from carpets. On carpets, the machine sucked up every Cheerio in just two passes; it removed all crumbs in a single pass. It struggled a little bit on hardwood — after a few passes, there were still some Cheerios present — though it’s worth noting that the settings aren’t as clear on this model, so this could be attributed to user error.

And although it’s heavy, it does have the same Lift Away canister our top overall and top value picks do. This makes it easier to clean under furniture and other tight spots, but we wouldn’t necessarily recommend this model for large homes with multiple sets of stairs — it’s simply too cumbersome for that kind of cleaning.

Out of the three Bissell vacuums we tested, this one, one of the brand’s pet-specific upright vacuums, performed the best, particularly with crumbs and other small pieces of dust and debris. The machine had no trouble with crushed Cheerios, sucking them up in just two passes. Unfortunately, the vacuum struggled with whole Cheerios, crushing and spreading them rather than sucking them right up. We needed to make upwards of four passes, even in areas that weren’t initially affected by the mess, to be satisfied.

Notably, this vacuum has a special Febreze allergen system that’s very useful for eradicating the smell of any pet dander or other musty smells, like from old furniture. In tests, the smell lingered for the better part of the day. It’s worth noting that this optional fragrance is very powerful, so it’s not suitable for anyone with scent sensitivities or allergies to synthetic fragrances.

This vacuum is also very heavy — a whopping 17.75 pounds — so it’s not the easiest to maneuver, particularly in multi-story homes. It does, however, have the same lift-off canister that our favorite Shark models were equipped with. This makes it a bit easier to reach under furniture and access other tight spots, despite the heft.

Dyson may be a buzzy name in vacuums, but this pick failed to grab our overall spot because it’s hefty and displayed mediocre performance in tests. We do, however, think it’s worth a look, particularly because it’s quieter than any other model we tested. Most models clocked in at 80 decibels (some were even higher), but this unit operates at 78 decibels. It may not sound like much, but it does make a difference, especially for apartment dwellers.

We also liked the aesthetic of this vacuum. It looks like a modern appliance, plus has a fully nesting wand for convenience. The long-reach hose releases from the rest of the machine smoothly, allowing you to effortlessly clean up high and beneath furniture despite the heft of the unit.

Overall, the Dyson was middle-of-the-pack in terms of performance. It tackled whole Cheerios in about one to two passes on both hardwood and carpets and had no trouble at all with crumbs. It also gets right up to baseboards to take care of any messes in tight corners. If noise level is important to you, it may be reason enough to try this vacuum.