From kitchen appliances to air purifiers, Shark is a brand known for its cutting-edge products, including a wide range of vacuums. The brand’s stick vacuums, which include corded and cordless models, are some of the most versatile — but choosing between the Shark Stratos and Shark Vertex lines can be tricky.
Shark Stratos stick vacuums stand out for special features like the Cleaning Sense IQ infrared sensor that detects hidden dirt, but both Stratos and Vertex models boast DuoClean PowerFins brushrolls that provide a deeper cleaning on all floor surfaces. Both lines also have models that fold down for easier storage and cordless stick vacuums that can clean for up to an hour.
Ultimately, the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Stick Vacuum is our favorite corded model, perfect for light to moderate cleaning. But the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum was our top cordless pick because it offers plenty of cleaning versatility and features a compact design ideal for apartment cleaning.
The Shark Vertex and Stratos models offer fairly similar cleaning performances, but they differ in key details that can affect how comfortable they are to use.
Product specifications
Runtime: 58 minutes | Suction Power: 281 W | Bin Capacity: 0.34 qt | Weight: 9.04 lb
The Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum weighs just over 9 pounds, but we found it very easy to maneuver through our testing area. Its swivel steering made it especially simple to vacuum at right angles and beneath furniture and get into other tight areas with just the twist of the wrist. It felt a bit unbalanced when using it as a hand vac with the attachments, though, because of its weight. Still, we appreciated how easy it was to attach and change the attachments for above-floor cleaning.
Like the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum, this cordless option features a limited dustbin capacity that holds less than half a quart. It may mean more frequent emptying in a larger home, but we appreciate how easy it was to empty with a one-push emptying design. It has an advertised battery life of up to 60 minutes, and it came very close to that in testing, cleaning for 58 minutes before needing to recharge. Its suction power impressed us, allowing it to pick up different types and sizes of debris like sugar, cereal and faux fur in one pass.
Product specifications
Cord Length: 30’ | Suction Power: 680 W | Bin Capacity: 0.32 qt | Weight: 9.05 lb
While the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum is very similar to the Vertex, it’s no surprise that its suction is more powerful. It aced all our debris tests, picking up sugar, cereal, faux fur and coffee grounds in just one pass. It transitioned between carpeting and hard flooring without issue, too. However, we had to manually switch the settings for the different floor types. It has a small dustbin that holds less than half a quart, so it does require more frequent emptying. But we found the one-touch emptying design made it extremely easy to dispose of debris.
Like its cordless counterpart, the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum weighs just over 9 pounds. It also has swivel steering that allowed it to clean in corners and around furniture easily and change direction quickly during testing. It has a 30-foot cord, which we found was long enough to clean a 200-square-foot area with furniture, corners and other obstacles without changing outlets. When we wanted to clean other rooms, though, we had to switch outlets.
Product specifications
Runtime: 60 minutes | Suction Power: 309 W | Bin Capacity: 0.72 qt | Weight: 8.9 lb
Among Stratos and Vertex models, the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum was our favorite cordless model. It’s more powerful than the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum, removing sugar, cereal, ground coffee and faux fur without any trouble. In fact, its suction was sometimes too powerful because it picked up a few lightweight throw rugs in our testing area rather than simply traveling over them. The Cleaning Sense IQ sensor also worked well to detect unseen dirt and automatically adjust its suction as needed.
The Stratos Cordless Vacuum has an advertised battery life of up to 60 minutes. It cleaned for just over an hour in our testing, covering 420 square feet of carpeting, plus hard flooring and above-floor surfaces like window blinds and sofa upholstery. Its dustbin can hold twice as much as those in the Vertex models, so we didn’t have to empty it as often. The Stratos Cordless weighs under 9 pounds and has a swivel head that made it easy to reach into tight corners and around furniture. We also found the grip on the handle comfortable to hold even during longer cleaning sessions.
Product specifications
Cord Length: 30’ | Suction Power: 600 W | Bin Capacity: 0.79 qt | Weight: 8.68 lb
Like the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum, the Shark Stratos Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum weighs under 9 pounds. It felt most like a traditional upright vacuum during our testing, and we found that it didn’t navigate furniture and other obstacles quite as well as the Vertex Corded and Cordless models did. Its dustbin is twice the size of the one in those vacuums, though, so we didn’t need to empty it as often, especially in larger areas.
Despite its stronger suction than the Stratos Cordless Vacuum, its cleaning performance left a little to be desired. It picked up some debris, including sugar and faux fur, in a single pass but had trouble with larger cereal pieces, dropping some from the nozzle after we turned the vacuum off. We were pleased with the length of its cord, though. We cleaned all the corners of our 800-square-foot testing area without needing to unplug it.
To see how well the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum, Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum, Stratos Cordless Vacuum and Stratos Corded Ultra Lightweight Vacuum handled fine debris, we used sugar and ground coffee.
We placed half a teaspoon of sugar on low-pile carpeting and half a teaspoon of ground coffee on vinyl tile carpeting for the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum; half a teaspoon of sugar on low-pile carpeting and half a teaspoon of ground coffee on vinyl tile for the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum; half a teaspoon of sugar on low-pile carpeting and half a teaspoon of sugar on vinyl plank flooring for the Stratos Cordless Vacuum; and half a teaspoon of sugar on low-pile carpeting and half a teaspoon of sugar on vinyl plank flooring for the Stratos Corded Ultra Lightweight Vacuum. We then recorded how many passes the vacuums needed to pick up the debris on each surface.
We assessed how well the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum, Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum, Stratos Cordless Vacuum and Stratos Corded Ultra Lightweight Vacuum handled large debris using cereal.
We placed 2 tablespoons of cereal on low-pile carpeting and 2 tablespoons of cereal on vinyl tile for the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum; 2 tablespoons of cereal on low-pile carpeting and 2 tablespoons of cereal on vinyl tile for the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum; 1 tablespoon of cereal on low-pile carpeting and 1 tablespoon of cereal on vinyl plank flooring for the Stratos Cordless Vacuum; and 1 tablespoon of cereal on low-pile carpeting and 1 tablespoon of cereal on vinyl plank flooring for the Stratos Corded Ultra Lightweight Vacuum. We then noted how many passes the vacuums required to pick up the debris on each surface.
We used faux fur for a pet hair test with the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum, Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum, Stratos Cordless Vacuum and Stratos Corded Ultra Lightweight Vacuum.
We placed a 2-inch length of faux fur on low-pile carpeting and a 2-inch length of faux fur on vinyl tile for the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum; a 2-inch length of faux fur on low-pile carpeting and a 2-inch length of faux fur on vinyl tile for the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum; a 2-inch length of faux fur on low-pile carpeting and a 2-inch length of faux fur on vinyl plank flooring for the Stratos Cordless Vacuum; and a 2-inch length of faux fur on low-pile carpeting and a 2-inch length of faux fur on vinyl plank flooring for the Stratos Corded Ultra Lightweight Vacuum. We then recorded how many passes the vacuums needed to pick up the faux fur on each surface.
The setup for the Shark Vertex and Stratos models we tested was very similar — and straightforward for all the vacuums. Once we unpacked the vacuum components from their boxes, we had to click the wand into place at the bottom of the main vacuum body and then attach the cleaning head at the bottom of the wand.
For the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum and the Stratos Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum, we only had to plug in their power cords, and we were ready to clean. With the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum and the Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum, we connected the charge to the vacuums’ batteries, plugged them in and waited until they were fully charged for cleaning.
It took less than five minutes to set up each vacuum.
The Shark Vertex and Stratos vacuums impressed us with their ability to clean both hard floors and carpeting quickly and efficiently.
The Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Vacuum removed all types of debris, including sugar, faux fur and coffee grounds, from both low-pile carpeting and vinyl tile in just one pass. It also picked up cereal from carpeting in a single pass and all the pieces it could reach on the tile, though a few were knocked out of its path and required another go-around.
The Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum performed similarly, removing sugar and faux fur from low-pile carpeting in a single pass. It picked up nearly all the cereal we set down in one pass, but a few stray pieces were scattered by the backward pull of the cleaner head, requiring a second pass. It removed faux fur from vinyl tile in just one pass, as well as most of the coffee grounds and cereal we set out — though a few pieces of each were scattered by the head and required a second pass.
The Stratos Cordless Vacuum’s suction power also impressed us during our testing. It was excellent on low-pile carpeting, needing a single pass for sugar and cereal. It also picked up most of the faux fur we set out, but it required several additional passes to pull out some stubborn fibers from the carpeting. It had no trouble on hard flooring, though, removing the faux fur, sugar and cereal from vinyl plank flooring all in a single pass.
The Stratos Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum’s suction power and cleaning performance were a bit behind the other Shark models we tested. It removed sugar from low-pile carpeting and vinyl plank flooring in just one pass but needed at least two passes for faux fur and cereal on both carpeting and hard flooring. In particular, it struggled with cereal on the vinyl plank flooring, where it had difficulty holding onto the larger debris after we turned off the vacuum.
The Vertex and Stratos stick vacuums we tested all have a fairly similar design. All four models weigh just below or over 9 pounds and measure between 45 and 51 inches tall. They also feature the DuoClean PowerFins, a two-brushroll system designed to capture dirt on carpeting and hard floors more effectively. Both the Vertex and Stratos models also feature a self-cleaning brushroll that moves hair away from the brush to prevent tangles. During testing, we found no faux fur or hair tangled around the brushes after cleaning, so all four models would work well in a home with pets.
Both the Vertex and Stratos stick vacuums we tested have the DuoClean brushroll to increase the amount of dirt and debris they pick up. It consists of a two brushroll system that allows the vacuums to dig more deeply on carpeting and engage directly with hard floors to remove more dirt.
We definitely noticed that the PowerFins produced a more thorough pickup on both carpeting and hard flooring than traditional brush rolls, so they allowed the vacuums to clean more efficiently. However, some models, like the Stratos Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum, sometimes struggled to hold onto larger debris like cereal.
The Stratos models we tested also feature Clean Sense IQ technology. They are equipped with an infrared sensor that detects dirt not visible to the naked eye and automatically increases the vacuum’s suction for more effective debris removal. We were particularly impressed with how well it worked with the Stratos Cordless Vacuum and used the Auto mode almost exclusively when cleaning with it.
All four of the Vertex and Stratos models we tested feature LED lights that illuminate the spot directly in front of their cleaning heads. These lights make it much easier to see beneath furniture and in other dark areas to ensure your floors are as clean as possible.
The Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Cordless Stick Vacuum regularly retails for $429.99 and is available at Amazon. The Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum usually costs $299.99 and can be found at Amazon.
The Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum typically retails for $499.99 and is available at Amazon and Best Buy. The Shark Stratos Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum regularly costs $299.99 and can be found at Amazon.
Jennifer Blair has covered vacuums and other home care products for Best Reviews since 2017, writing more than 100 articles on the topics. At home, she relies on a cordless stick vacuum, a robot vacuum and a traditional upright to keep her floors clean, but she has personally tested over 15 vacuums for BestReviews, including both Shark and Dyson models.
The Shark Stratos and Shark Vertex stick vacuums we tested are solid models that can thoroughly clean both hard surfaces and carpeting.
However, if you’re looking for a top-notch cordless model, we recommend the Shark Stratos Cordless Vacuum, which is powerful enough to serve as a main vacuum in an apartment or smaller home. We especially love that its wand folds for easier storage in tight spaces.
When it comes to a corded model, though, the Shark Vertex Ultra Lightweight Corded Vacuum is our favorite. It’s powerful and easy to maneuver, making it perfect for nearly all light to moderate household cleaning.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.
