Worst Vacuums We Tested—and What to Buy Instead
We weren't so impressed by these vacuums from Atrix, Bissell, Dirt Devil, Oreck, Ryobi, and other brands
In our tests, there are vacuums that impress us with how well they clean and how quiet they are while doing so. But we also have plenty of experience dealing with mediocrity—those vacuums that scatter debris rather than picking it up, and those with such weak suction power that they’re horrible at cleaning carpets.
- Worst Vacuums From Our Tests: Uprights Canisters Stick Vacs Robotic Vacs Handheld Vac
Worst Upright Vacuums From CR’s Tests
Worst bagless upright: Mainstays (Walmart) Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 38
Yes, it costs less than $50, but you shouldn’t be swayed by this vacuum’s low price. If you have many carpets and rugs in your home, avoid this vacuum at all costs. It performs abysmally in our carpet-cleaning tests and has poor suction power.
What we will say about this vacuum is that it’s lightweight. At eight pounds, it’s one of the lightest uprights we’ve tested. It also does well at picking up pet hair and debris from bare floors. However, one of the vacuum’s biggest cons is that it tends to re-emit small particles back into the air after they’re vacuumed up, which can be a big problem for those with allergies and other respiratory conditions.
What to buy instead: Shark Navigator Swivel Pro Complete NV150 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 70
If you want a high-performing bagless upright that’s not going to break the bank, it’s hard to do better than the Shark Navigator Swivel Pro Complete NV150 Vacuum Cleaner. It’s fairly lightweight at 13 pounds and is excellent at cleaning up pet hair and bare floors, though its performance on carpets is only adequate.
The vacuum, priced around $150, passed our clean emissions tests with flying colors, meaning it’s less likely to release particles back into the air after suctioning them up. It comes with a manual suction control, which is helpful for vacuuming delicate items, and a hose that extends up to 11 feet, allowing you to clean hard-to-reach areas.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst bagged upright: Oreck Elevate Control Vacuum Cleaner
Overall Score: 54
A mixed bag may be the best way to describe the Oreck Elevate Control. It’s good at certain things. For one, it’s excellent at vacuuming up pet hair and debris from bare floors. It’s also lightweight at 10 pounds and easy to push, pull, and carry.
But if your home has carpet, this probably isn’t the best choice. It earned only an okay score in our carpet cleaning tests, the lowest among all the bagged uprights in our ratings. Its suction power is less than satisfactory, and it’s also very noisy. And at around $300, it’s actually more expensive than several of the top-scoring vacuums in our ratings.
What to buy instead: Kenmore Intuition BU4050
Overall Score: 74
For less than $200, the Kenmore Intuition BU4050 is a steal. It’s impressive at cleaning carpets, an important asset if you have a lot of carpeted areas in your home. It also aces our tests in bare floor cleaning and pet hair pickup. It’s less noisy than the Oreck Elevate Control, though it still scores only a middle-of-the-road rating in our noise tests. And while the Oreck gets a top score for handling, this Kenmore’s is nearly as good.
We like this vacuum’s lift-away feature, which makes it portable and easier to clean stairs and other hard-to-reach areas. The vacuum also has a hair-eliminator feature on its brush roll, designed to prevent hair entanglements.
Worst Canister Vacuums From CR’s Tests
Worst bagless canister: Atrix Vortex VR25BCV (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 39
Compared with the other bagless canisters we tested, the Atrix Vortex VR25BCV just doesn’t measure up. It’s lousy at extracting dirt from carpets, and when we tried using it to vacuum up pet hair, the hair got caught up inside the nozzle brush, resulting in a low pet hair removal score.
Our testers also noted that, even though the Atrix model is claimed to have a HEPA filter, particles seem to escape easily from the vacuum, raising questions about its effectiveness at containing the dust and debris it collects.
What to buy instead: Eureka WhirlWind XL NEN186BL (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 68
The Eureka WhirlWind XL NEN186BL is not that much more expensive than the Atrix vacuum, but its cleaning performance is markedly better. It’s decent at cleaning carpets and even better at picking up pet hair and debris from bare floors, making it ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and hardwood floors. It’s also excellent at capturing all the dust it picks up, earning it a first-rate score in our clean emissions test.
You can dial up the suction power of the Eureka vacuum with an adjustable knob. The vacuum has a hanging connector that makes storing the brush easier.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst bagged canister: Bissell Zing 2154A
Overall Score: 46
At under $100, the Bissell Zing 2154A is inexpensive; we’ll give it that. But its biggest pitfall is its carpet-cleaning performance, which ranks last among all the bagged canisters we test. And while it does well at vacuuming pet hair and debris from bare floors, it falls short in many other aspects. It has weak suction power and is on the noisier side. Its hose and cord are shorter than those of other vacuums, which makes it slightly less convenient to use.
What to buy instead: Kenmore 200 Series 81214 Vacuum Cleaner
Overall Score: 72
While other, more expensive canisters scored higher, the Kenmore 200 Series 81214 Vacuum Cleaner offers solid cleaning performance at a reasonable price. It only costs around $200, which is a bargain considering that the median cost of a canister is a little under $400, according to our survey members.
Of the canisters we tested, the Kenmore 200 Series 81214 is the best at cleaning carpets, and it’s no slouch at vacuuming pet hair and bare floors, either. It has strong hose suction power and, unlike the Eureka Mighty Mite 3670G, comes with a retractable cord.
Worst Stick Vacuums From CR's Tests
Worst corded stick vacuum: Dirt Devil Vibe SD20020 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 31
With the Dirt Devil Vibe SD20020, which costs less than $50, you’re getting what you pay for, unfortunately. The vacuum is terrible at cleaning carpets and only marginally better at cleaning bare floors. It struggles to pick up debris from the edges of a room, and it’s unexceptional at vacuuming up pet hair.
One of its most convenient features is that it can be turned into a hand vacuum, but for a corded vacuum, its 16.5-foot cord literally falls short of its competitors’. As a brand, Dirt Devil corded stick vacs earn a middling rating in predicted reliability, and their owner satisfaction rating is well below par.
What to buy instead: Shark Rocket HV301 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 73
For a vacuum that offers great value for a reasonable price, go with the Shark Rocket HV301. It’s superb at picking up debris from bare floors and sucking up pet hair. And its edge-cleaning ability is respectable, though, like most stick vacs, it’s only so-so at removing dirt from carpets.
As a brand, Shark corded stick vacuums have a stellar rating for predicted reliability and a near-top rating for owner satisfaction, giving them an edge in our scoring. This model comes with a long cord (30 feet) and can be converted into a hand vacuum.
Photos: Consumer Reports, Shark Photos: Consumer Reports, Shark
Worst cordless stick vacuum: Ryobi One+ HP 18V PBLSV716K
Overall Score: 41
The Ryobi One+ HP 18V PBLSV716K isn’t the vacuum to get if you have a lot of rugs at home. In our tests, the vacuum struggled to pick up dirt embedded in carpet. It also wasn’t that much better at picking up debris from bare floors or cleaning the edges where walls and floor meet.
The one thing the Ryobi model has going for it is that its battery is compatible with other Ryobi tools, a plus for anyone who already has Ryobi products at home. And even though it faltered in our other cleaning tests, the vacuum did well at suctioning up pet hair.
What to buy instead: LG CordZero Q3 C5323GW
Overall Score: 76
At around $300, the LG CordZero Q3 C5323GW is one of the least expensive cordless stick vacuums we recommend. It’s very good at picking up debris from carpets, an area other stick vacs might struggle with. It’s even more impressive at sucking up pet hair and clearing debris from the edges of the room where the walls and the floor meet.
The vacuum can be converted into a hand vac and comes with a dustbin that’s pretty easy to empty. Another convenient feature we like about this model is its removable battery.
Worst Robotic Vacuums From CR's Tests
Worst robotic vacuum: Lefant M210 (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 50
When it comes to cleaning performance, the Lefant M210 is, at best, uneven. It does well at cleaning debris from bare floors, but our testers noticed that the vacuum’s lack of a brush roll affects its cleaning ability in several other areas. For instance, the vacuum tends to push pet hair around rather than picking it up. And it’s only passable at cleaning the edges of a room and substandard at suctioning up dirt embedded in carpets.
It’s a quiet model that doesn’t make much noise, but it’s not the most straightforward to use. Our testers gave it a near-bottom-level score for ease of cleaning the filter and emptying its bin.
What to buy instead: Eufy C10 T2292 (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 68
For about $250, you’re getting a robovac that cleans well. The Eufy C10 T2292 is superb at navigating around furniture and cleaning debris from bare floors. It’s also excellent at picking up pet hair and very good at sweeping debris from the edges of a room.
Some of the drawbacks of this robotic vacuum are that its dustbin is on the smaller side and it’s only so-so at cleaning carpets. But we like that its brush roll is easily removable and that it’s one of the quieter robovacs we’ve tested.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
Worst robotic vacuum and mop combo: Roborock Q10 X5+
Overall Score: 38
A mixed bag is the best way to describe the Roborock Q10 X5+. We take no issue with its vacuuming ability: It does a pretty good job of suctioning up debris from carpets and bare floors, and is even better at cleaning up pet hair. But where it fails hard is the mopping part. In our tests, it fails miserably at cleaning up dried stains.
It also lacks some useful functions that other robot vacuum and mop combos have. The docking station doesn’t automatically refill the machine with cleaning solution or clean and dry its mopping pads. Our testers also noticed that the device can scatter debris during cleaning, and its dustbin isn’t the easiest to empty.
What to buy instead: iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max
Overall Score: 64
If you want a better robot mop without spending an exorbitant amount of money, the iRobot Roomba Combo 10 Max is worth considering. It’s decent at mopping up dried stains and is adequate at vacuuming carpets. It’s also very good at picking up pet hair and getting to debris that collects in the corners and edges of a room.
With the iRobot model, you’re getting a docking station that automatically empties the dustbin, refills the mopping reservoir, and washes and dries the mopping pads. A plus with this device is that it’s very easy to remove pet hair from its brush rolls, a nice feature for pet owners who rely on robot vacuums to clean up after their pets. The manufacturer declared bankruptcy in late 2025, but maintains that its restructuring will not affect the functioning of its devices.
Worst Handheld Vacuum From CR’s Tests
Worst handheld vacuum: Black+Decker Dustbuster HLVC315B10 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, left)
Overall Score: 48
Let’s be clear: The Black+Decker Dustbuster HLVC315B10 Vacuum Cleaner isn’t a horrible vacuum. It’s pretty quiet, and its wide nozzle can be adjusted to different sizes depending on your cleaning needs.
The vacuum, however, has an excessively strong exhaust that can blow debris on your floors around instead of picking it up. Its exhaust led to a terrible score in our bare-floor cleaning test, though the handheld vac fared better at cleaning edges and pet hair, earning favorable scores in both.
What to buy instead: Black+Decker DustBuster ION HHVI315JO42 Vacuum Cleaner (shown below, right)
Overall Score: 75
For an equally inexpensive alternative—from the same brand, no less—consider the Black+Decker DustBuster ION HHVI315JO42 Vacuum Cleaner. It’s also really quiet, and although our testers noted that the model also has a strong exhaust, this seems to have less impact on the vacuum’s cleaning ability.
In our tests, the DustBuster ION HHVI315JO42 was top-notch at suctioning up pet hair and debris from bare floors. It also does a very good job picking up debris from carpets, though it’s less effective at cleaning edges.
Photos: Consumer Reports Photos: Consumer Reports
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