Comparing Cordless Vacuums: Dyson vs. Shark

We’ve always had the Dyson V8 animal at our main home, and loved it! But in searching for a vacuum for our cabin, we didn’t want to spend the money fora Dyson and decided to try the Shark Rocket Pet Pro – about $150 less – to see how they compare.

Power

• They both have two settings (regular and max), and the Shark has bare floor and carpet – the carpet setting seems to have more power.
• If you have the Shark on carpet + max, it is just as powerful as Dyson’ lowest setting, making Dyson much more powerful. For instance, the Dyson doesn’t make the carpet vacuum strokes on its regular carpet setting.
• I do like the Shark’s easy “max” trigger. It is easier to flip on and off than Dyson’s switch.

Buttons, functions, and storage

Shark:

• Has a carpet vs bare floor functionality that the Dyson doesn’t. The Dyson is always on “carpet/brush roll”. I don’t care that the Dyson is 100% all brush roll all the time because our house is all tile, but if you have a delicate floor it might be too aggressive.
• The “on” button is a switch, so you don’t have to continuously hold down the button on the Dyson (reaaaally not arthritis friendly).
• Multi-flex wand – allows the stick to bend in half to reach more flexible spaces. No Dyson has this.

Dyson:

• Has a hanging/charging station with areas to put the attachments. This is very convenient for many reasons: to put in a hall closet and keep it off the floor, easy charing, and to keep all the attachments together. The Shark doesn’t have this.

Weight + Noise

The Shark is MUCH heavier than the Dyson. I would say about twice as heavy.

The Shark however is much, much quieter than the Dyson (about half as much noise) which I really like!

Ease of use

• Shark is a bit bulkier and heavier and has two wheels, making it harder to maneuver and less flexible. It however gets more “flat” than the Dyson – fitting it under smaller spaces and getting further than the Dyson.
• Dyson’s smaller base and the fact that it only has one “joint” (rather than Shark’s two wheels) make it easier to get into smaller spaces.

Cleaning

• Shark’s dust bin is a little big more cumbersome to empty, but the difference is marginal
• Dyson does not have a filter you need to replace

Conclusion:

I returned the Shark and bought the Dyson V11 Animal for our main home, and bringing the V8 to the cabin. The Dyson V11 is INSANE and has almost all of the Shark features that the Dyson V8 didn’t have, except they did it better.