While upright vacuums excel at cleaning large spaces, they can be versatile tools in any household. They're easy to use, and their distinct, bulky shape generally allows for a bigger dirt compartment, which can be beneficial if you have a big mess to clean. They're also quite good for cleaning carpets as they can clear most pet hair and debris without too much of a problem. However, upright vacuums can be heavier than stick or canister models, making them less portable and maneuverable, particularly on stairs or in narrower areas.
We've tested over 105 vacuum cleaners, and below are our recommendations for the best upright vacuums. These picks were selected based on their performance, design, feature set, and price. For more buying recommendations, look at our lists of the best vacuums for carpets, the best vacuums for high-pile carpet, the best corded vacuums, and the best vacuums.
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Best Upright Vacuum
House8.8Small Apartment8.1Stairs6.7Hard Floor Pickup7.5High-Pile Carpet Pickup6.0Low-Pile Carpet Pickup5.5Pet Hair Pickup9.5See all our test resultsParticle Filtration7.0The best upright vacuum we've tested is the SEBO FELIX. This stylish upright is fitted with a powerful and quiet 1,000W motor. It offers good performance on bare floors, and the ET-1 powerhead is outstanding at picking up pet hair from carpets, making it ideal for pet owners. The overall build quality is excellent, with a rigid chassis that doesn't flex too much while in use. You'll also find the simple design makes it easy to swap in a new bag, which has a very generous 3.25 L capacity, so you won't need to do so often.
Though it has lots of power to remove medium and fine material, it's hard to find an ideal height setting on the floorhead to pull in large debris on carpet while still lifting deeply embedded dirt. This model is also a hassle to maneuver in tight spaces, even when you take into account its unique articulating floorhead mount, which allows it to lie almost flat to clean under tables and chairs. As well, despite the three-stage filtration system, it's not very effective at locking in particles, with a moderately negative impact on air quality.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Upright Vacuum
Stairs6.4Hard Floor Pickup8.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup7.0Low-Pile Carpet Pickup7.0See all our test resultsPet Hair Pickup9.5The best upright vacuum in the upper mid-range class we've tested is the Dyson Ball Animal 3. This bagless upright vacuum has a powerful suction motor and delivers good cleaning performance on various floor types. The highest-end Complete variant comes with a wide assortment of attachments, including a mini turbo brush, a multi-angle brush, and even a dedicated pet grooming tool. Its floorhead has three suction gate settings, so it's easy to adapt to everything from high-pile carpets to flat surfaces like hardwood or laminate. The floorhead also features a set of plastic combs that capture long hair, which helps reduce tangles. There's also a brushroll off switch, so you can clean hard floors without worrying about scattering large debris everywhere.
Unfortunately, unlike the SEBO FELIX, build quality isn't a strong point, as the vacuum's mainly plastic body creaks and flexes slightly while in use. You'll also need to roll back its power cord manually when you're done cleaning, which is a disappointing omission for such an expensive vacuum and can be a bit annoying since the cord is so long. While the Dyson vacuum's ball-shaped wheel makes it fairly maneuverable for an upright, it's still a bulky and heavy machine, and you might find it a bit of a hassle to grab from a closet and use for smaller cleaning jobs.
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Best Mid-Range Upright Vacuum
Stairs7.7Hard Floor Pickup8.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup6.0Low-Pile Carpet Pickup6.0See all our test resultsPet Hair Pickup8.0If you're looking for something less expensive and more portable, the Shark Stratos Upright is a great choice. It shares a common design with other Shark vacuums with its 'Lift-Away' design, which lets you detach its canister body from the floorhead and carry it around in one hand while cleaning tight spots with the hose in the other. This makes it a better option for cleaning tight, out-of-reach areas than the larger, bulkier Dyson Ball Animal 3. However, it doesn't perform as well as the Dyson on carpets, and you can't change its brushroll height, so it tends to get stuck on surfaces like shag carpeting more frequently.
While the Shark's attachment set isn't as varied as the Dyson's, it still comes with a miniature turbo brush, an upholstery nozzle, and a crevice tool, which will cover many of your needs. The vacuum's primary brushroll has a set of integrated fins that effectively prevent hair from getting wrapped around the roller, similar to the Dyson vacuum's anti-tangle combs. However, unlike the Dyson, the roller isn't removable, so cleaning it is a bit of a hassle.
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Best Budget Upright Vacuum
House8.6Small Apartment8.6Stairs7.1Hard Floor Pickup8.0High-Pile Carpet Pickup8.5Low-Pile Carpet Pickup7.5Pet Hair Pickup7.5See all our test resultsParticle Filtration9.9The Kenmore Intuition Bagged is the best upright vacuum cleaner we've tested if you're on a budget. While its debris pickup isn't as impressive as our more expensive picks above, it still delivers solid overall performance on carpets and bare floors. It also has a brushroll-off switch that prevents it from scattering larger debris on hard flooring. Its HEPA filter delivers superb filtration, making it ideal for allergy sufferers. Additionally, you can disconnect its canister unit from the floorhead and carry it around, making it easier to clean hard-to-reach areas with the hose.
Unfortunately, there's no way to adjust the floorhead height, so it can easily get stuck while cleaning thick, high-pile carpeting. Its bulky dirtbag compartment also makes cleaning under tables and chairs difficult. It incurs higher ownership costs than bagless alternatives like the Shark Stratos Upright AZ3002 since you'll need to occasionally replace its disposable filters and dirtbag.
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Best Cheap Upright Vacuum
Stairs5.4Hard Floor Pickup6.5High-Pile Carpet Pickup6.0Low-Pile Carpet Pickup5.5See all our test resultsPet Hair Pickup6.5Consider the BISSELL PowerForce Helix if you're looking for a cheap upright vacuum. Right off the bat, it's crucial to note that this vacuum feels cheap and toy-like, even when compared to our previous pick, the Kenmore Intuition Bagged, though this isn't much of a surprise given its low price. It also does a terrible job of sealing fine allergens, which is typical for cheap vacuums. Still, if all you're after is performance at the lowest possible cost, it's worth a look. It's powerful enough to lift away debris embedded deep within low- and high-pile carpeting with ease. Its floorhead offers five levels of height adjustment, enabling you to adapt rapidly to various carpet-pile heights, which is a rare feature at this price point.
While that all-plastic construction is a downside as far as build quality is concerned, it does make the vacuum relatively lightweight, especially for an upright model. Unfortunately, there's no brushroll off switch, so be careful when cleaning around obstructions like rug tassels, which can get wrapped around its brushroll and trapped in its floorhead quite easily. Taking out its brushroll for regular cleaning is also a bit of a hassle since you'll need to remove a few screws to pull it out.
Recent Updates
Feb 05, 2026:
We shortened all sections for better readability. We promoted the SEBO FELIX to the 'Best Upright' and moved the other recommendations down a category. We removed all Notable Mentions and the FAQ.
Nov 05, 2025:
Removed the Shark Performance Plus Lift-Away UV900 from recommendations due to current availability. Recategorized the Shark Stratos Upright AZ3002 as the 'Best Mid-Range Upright Vacuum' due to current product pricing. Added SEBO FELIX as the new 'Best Bagged Upright Vacuum' category pick.
Apr 15, 2025:
We've made minor updates to the text and checked that the products are in stock, but our recommendations haven't changed.
Jan 08, 2025:
We've removed the 'Best Cordless Upright Vacuum' category due to product availability and added links for our recommendations that are only available from select retailers. We've also made edits throughout for clarity and concision.
Sep 19, 2024: We've reviewed the article to ensure our picks represent the best products available, and we made minor edits for clarity.
All Reviews
Our recommendations are based on what we think are currently the best upright vacuum cleaners. In addition to the test results, we consider availability, price, and reader feedback.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our upright vacuum reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no vacuum is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.