6 Best Carpet Cleaners of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed

The six top-performing carpet cleaners, listed below, all feature a large tank, moving brushes, and a long hose. Many are also marketed specifically to pet owners. CR members can also see our full carpet cleaner ratings for even more options.

We put each carpet cleaner through a battery of cleaning tests in our lab, extending over three days. Our engineers soil large swatches of off-white nylon carpet with red Georgia clay. We then run a cleaner over the carpet for three wet cycles and three dry cycles, simulating how you’d clean a particularly dirty spot on a well-trafficked carpet. Then we repeat the test on two more swatches. A reliable carpet cleaner will remove the embedded dirt and grime without leaving behind a trail of water and a soggy carpet.

We also rate carpet cleaners on ease of use and noise level—some are so loud that we recommend wearing hearing protection. In our full carpet cleaner ratings, members can access the results of all our tests and additional information about each model, including hose length, the amount of carpet it cleans with each tank, and its weight when filled and when empty.

Will a carpet cleaner be worth it for you? The carpet cleaners we recommend range in price from about $100 to a little over $500. Although the initial cost of buying a carpet cleaner can be higher than a one-time rental or service, after a few uses, owning a carpet cleaner is generally more economical. If you do decide to buy one, here are some tips that’ll help you choose:

Take stock of your home’s layout. If you live in a one-story house, for instance, you might not need a model with a particularly long hose. “On the other hand, if you have carpeted stairs, you want a carpet cleaner with a long hose, so you can reach up the steps,” says Dan Kahl, who oversees Consumer Reports’ carpet cleaner tests. “You don’t want to put the cleaner on the top step and tug on the hose. The machine could barrel down on top of you.” Another option, Kahl says, is to get a portable carpet cleaner for the stairway.

Think about the areas you’ll be cleaning. Carpet cleaners can clean more than just carpets. Many models can clean upholstery and things like pet beds and rugs. Several models also include multiple types of brushes or attachments, each designed to handle different types of messes, from embedded dirt to liquid stains and spills.

Consider a carpet cleaner’s tank setup. Some have two tanks, one for cleaning solution and water, and the other for the dirty water that the carpet cleaner collects after cleaning. Our testers have found that carpet cleaners with three separate tanks—one for water, one for cleaning solution, and one for dirty water—are more convenient to use. These three-tank carpet cleaners automatically dispense the solution and clean water in the right ratio, so you don’t have to measure them yourself.

Pay attention to the weight of a carpet cleaner. The carpet cleaners in our ratings weigh between 12 and 43 pounds on empty tanks; filling the tanks can bring the total weight to 17 to 65 pounds. Make sure you can comfortably move and manage a carpet cleaner when its tanks are full.

Remember, too, that a carpet cleaner can’t go it alone. You’ll need a good upright or canister vacuum cleaner to suck up loose debris before using a carpet cleaner. This ensures that you don’t wet the carpet with excess dust or dirt, creating a bigger mess.

Don’t select a carpet cleaner based on brand name alone. There are big performance differences among models from the same brand. While several Hoover models score well in our rankings, for example, three of its models are also in the lowest spots in our ratings. For example, the Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC and the Hoover Carpet Basics Power Scrub Deluxe FH50150 have some convenience features, but bells and whistles don’t make up for poor performance in our tests. They’re both subpar in cleaning performance and quite loud.