Shark Stratos vs Vertex – which clinches best vacuum cleaner?

If you're looking for a vacuum with strong suction, premium features, and a reasonable price tag, you'll be considering Shark vacuum cleaners. Our experts love them, but it's easy to get confused between models. They make cordless and upright vacuums in the Stratos and Vertex lines, but which is better?

Our experts have tested these alongside the best vacuums on the market. We've put Shark's cordless and upright models head-to-head to help make the decision of which vacuum cleaner you need that extra bit easier.

From capacity to agility, here's everything you need to know to pick between Shark's Stratos and Vertex vacuum lines. I think the Stratos line is better. When it comes to cordless vacuums, I think the Shark Stratos cordless is best; for uprights, choose the Shark Stratos Upright.

Stratos Upright vs Vertex DuoClean

Winner: Shark Stratos

These two cordless models are some of Shark’s most popular vacuums. They’re both excellent investments, but the Stratos is double the price. For some homes, this is a warranted extra investment, but for others, you can opt for the cheaper version and not feel like you’ve missed out.

In terms of sheer power, the Vertex Lightweight Cordless is better. It was close to faultless across our tests, with our only complaint being that the dustbin is small. If that's a deal-breaker for you, you'll be glad to hear that  the Stratos’ dust bin is over twice as large as the Vertex's. When it comes to emptying them, the Vertex opens and with some forceful shakes, will empty. The Stratos has CleanTouch Dirt Ejector technology, which is a wordy way of saying that you can empty it without having to reach inside. For thoroughness, we like the Vertex, for overall experience, we prefer the Stratos.

In terms of suction, the Stratos is good. We haven't managed to test this ourselves, but some reviews suggest that this is better than the Vertex on low-pile carpets. The Vertex, on the other hand, is better on hard wood floors. This could be a deciding factor depending on the most common floor type in your home.

Both models boast DuoClean PowerFins technology on their floorheads, which is really another wordy way of saying that they’re thorough. If you have pets and need that extra something, the Stratos has an extra addition of HairPro technology. Reviews suggest that this isn’t a gimmick: pet owners consistently comment on the fact that they don’t have to cut hair out of the rollers.

When it comes to usability, the Stratos is packed with more luxurious features. The Clean Sense IQ automatically detects floor types, so you can use the LED interface to switch between eco and boost modes too. The crude Vertex controls only allow you to switch between carpet, bare floor, and boost, so if you need to conserve battery, it’s much more difficult with the Vertex.

The feel of the Stratos is generally nice and lightweight. Even though it’s lighter than the Vertex, we still enjoyed the Vertex and found it to be an equally lightweight and easy vacuum to handle

Stratos Cordless vs Vertex DuoClean

Winner: Stratos Upright

Our experts consider the Stratos to be the best upright vacuum of all time. It has powerful suction, an agile design, and the same effective, odor-neutralizing cartridge that we love in their cordless models. Even on pet-hair this was mess free and easy to clean. 

The Vertex comes close to the Stratos in power. It's excellent across a range of debris and floor types. It's also lighter than the Stratos, so easier to move around. However, when we tested the Stratos, we found the dustbin limiting. The Vertex's dustbin is another .5 quarts smaller, making it a little frustrating to do thorough cleans with.

Both the Stratos and the Vertex have LED lights on the nozzle and DuoClean PowerFins, but the Stratos steps ahead of the Vertex for two key reasons: it has the HairPro Power brush and odor neutralizer cartridges. 

Even though this takes longer to assemble, if you have pets and need to clean up their hair and clear up their smell, the Stratos is unmatched. You can even opt for a TruePet Upgrade on this model, which means you get an extra duster crevice tool, dusting brush, multi-angle dust brush, anti-allergen dust brush, MultiFLEX wand, and steam mop. If you go for the basic models, you'll get almost identical accessories, except the Stratos has a DuoClean PowerFins HairPro brushroll and the Vertex has a DuoClean PowerFins brushroll, which just gets more tangled with hair. You'll only notice the difference if you have pets.

The Vertex boasts a 12" cleaning path, which is wider than other vacuums, it's even 1.4 inches wider than the Stratos. If you have a big home, this kind of distance adds up. It makes for an effortless clean, especially considering the vertex is nearly a pound lighter too.

The Stratos is good for pets, deep cleans, and those who suffer from allergies. The vertex is good if you want a lighter weight vacuum and you don't mind often emptying it. It also has the best performance out of the two, but only marginally.

FAQs

How we test vacuums

At Homes & Gardens we like to test every vacuum before we recommend them to you. In our dedicated test center, we'll task our vacuums with cleaning hard wood, carpet, and linoleum floors, which have been scattered with a range of debris types. We'll also make notes on unboxing, emptying, and storing the vacuums, so that you know everything you need to.

In the infrequent event that we can't test a vacuum or are waiting on a review, we will do diligent research into a model. Our experts spend hours reading through user and professional reviews so that they know everything they need to about a vacuum. If you want to find out more, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test vacuums.

Final thoughts

I like Shark vacuums, a lot. These four models are all fantastic and, if you're in the market for an upright or a cordless model, you won't go wrong with any of them. As someone who likes a really thorough clean, I tend towards the Stratos vacuums, because they can pick up pesky hairs and are much easier to empty and maintain. However, if you're on a budget or you don't need to be cleaning upholstery and crevices every week, you won't be disappointed with a Vertex.