Updated Sep. 05, 2024
Our Product Testing Team put Shark's budget-friendly cordless vacuum to the test. Here's how the Shark Cordless Pro performed and whether it's worth the lower price tag.
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When on the quest for the best cordless vacuum, you want something that is equally as powerful as it is easy to use. While some of the larger, robust models on the market today come equipped with all the bells and whistles, they are often heavy, lack maneuverability and don’t always warrant lugging out of the closet for quick or frequent cleans.
That’s why our Product Testing Team fell in love with the Shark Cordless Pro (and its budget-friendly price tag). After thorough testing alongside other Shark and Dyson cordless models, we can assure you this high-powered, lightweight and portable machine won’t ever collect dust—it’s too busy sucking it up.
Our Product Testing Team recently put the best Shark cordless vacuums to the test. While the Shark Cordless Pro was our pick for “best-budget” vacuum, the Cordless Pro has many more notable features beyond its low price tag.
This intelligent machine features similarly show-stopping features as our top pick, the Shark Stratos—but at a fraction of the cost. Equipped with powerful suction, this cordless vacuum deep cleans floors and carpets, then converts to a handheld vac for furniture, vehicle interiors and everything in between.
Its Clean Sense IQ detects dirt and automatically boosts power for up to 50 percent better pick-up, and its PowerFins Plus brush roll effortlessly tackles hair along its path. Thanks to its rechargeable battery, you can enjoy up to 40 minutes of uninterrupted run time without the worry of cords getting in your way.
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Our Product Testing Team put the Shark Cordless Pro through 15 tests, sucking up handfuls of various types of debris in our lab. We observed the machine’s performance vacuuming up cornflakes and glitter after three passes on tile, high-pile and low-pile carpet, as well as its efficiency at pulling hair out of the carpet. We also collected data points on battery runtime, maneuverability and clearance around and under furniture.
While performance was a top priority, we also considered packaging and setup, specs and features, accessories, cleaning and emptying, as well as the value of the product.
The Shark Cordless Pro comes equipped with the following: A quick start guide, an odor dial filter, a crevice tool, a brush combo and a pet brush tool with two textures. Assembling the vacuum was very quick and intuitive—assembly instructions are printed on the top flap of the box, and the machine also features yellow stickers to guide you along as well.
On tile, the Shark Cordless Pro offered solid performance—it didn’t push around larger debris like cornflakes, as did other brands we tested, but instead sucked them right up. It’s also passable on carpet, and we loved that it self-propelled, making it easier to move over thick carpet. That being said, we recommend springing for the Shark Stratos or Shark Pet Plus (also tested by our team) if you have more carpet than tile or hardwood in your house.
The Clean Sense IQ automatically kicked in to adjust its suction to tackle larger messes, and a lit control panel indicated power level and simplified switching between hard surface and carpet modes.
The vacuum was exceptional at picking up all the hair in its path, but we noticed that it did tend to wrap up around the brush, with minimal hair actually making it to the canister.
Just like with the pricier Shark Stratos, the Cordless Pro easily converts to a handheld vac, which is super handy for tackling shelving and eliminating debris from couches and crevices. A manual boost function bolsters its performance when faced with especially high carpet or larger pieces of debris.
Overall, it’s a bit of a bust on extremely hairy floors (hair tends to collect and wrap in the brush roll), but for households without pets, it’s a solid pick.
We appreciated the inclusion of the multi-purpose pet tool, which impressed us with its wide-head brush and flat-head options. Both sucked so much dust from our dirty dining chair that it actually changed the color of the upholstery to a whiter white. Overall, this was our favorite of all the Shark attachments.
For more delicate fabrics, we’d recommend using the included crevice tool, as it features a softer bristled brush than the pet tool. This tool performed exceptionally well without experiencing any shutoffs, even in boost mode (a problem we encountered with other brands and models). For cleaning in deep crevices, we recommend removing the adjustable brush head so as to not damage the brush bristles.
The Cordless Pro features an impressively large, 0.72-quart dust bin (the same size bin as that of the pricier Shark Stratos). And equally impressive is how easy it is to empty; simply position the bin over a trash receptacle and slide the CleanTouch Dirt Ejector slider forward and voila!
Our Product Tester, Dylan Fischer, has been using the vacuum weekly for the past five months. “The vacuum is holding up well! We really love how lightweight it is and the convenience of being cordless—you can clean up a mess so quickly and easily,” says Dylan. “Since we’re only using this for short intervals, we’ve only had to charge the battery a couple of times total so far. We get dozens of uses before the battery drains.”
Dylan noted that the vacuum did experience some difficulty sucking up Styrofoam that was left over after unboxing some grills. “But we’re still loving the handle attachment that slips off and lets you vac—that definitely worked on the Styrofoam!”
When it comes to cleaning products, our Product Testing Team aren’t just testers—they’re users, too! We all have homes to keep tidy, and when a product impresses us, we bring it home and make it a part of our regular cleaning routine.
Our Product Testing Team has three years of combined experience testing and evaluating everything from the best toasters to the best grill brushes for backyard barbequing. For each test, our product testing experts spend over 40 hours conducting firsthand research in our Testing Lab, including researching and sourcing products. We strive to recommend the very best products using honest and fair testing practices.
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The Shark Cordless Pro is available at many retailers, including Amazon and Walmart. You can also buy it directly from Shark. It’s our top pick for those on a budget who still want intelligent features and high-performing suction in a conveniently lightweight and compact frame (and who doesn’t?).
Originally Published: July 23, 2024
