Buy Dyson if you want the most suction per pound and the best-reviewed sticks. Buy Shark if you want the vacuum to empty itself and a longer warranty. Dyson's V15 Detect scores 9.0 against 8.3 for Shark's PowerDetect Clean & Empty, but only Shark puts a self-emptying base on most of its range, and it doubles Dyson's warranty term.
Our picks
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Buy Dyson if you want the most suction per pound and the best-reviewed sticks. Buy Shark if you want the vacuum to empty itself and a longer warranty. Dyson's V15 Detect scores 9.0 against 8.3 for Shark's PowerDetect Clean & Empty, but only Shark puts a self-emptying base on most of its range, and it doubles Dyson's warranty term.
Spec analysis · Published Oct 11, 2026
|
If you are… |
Buy |
Why |
|---|---|---|
|
Cleaning a large, mostly carpeted home |
Dyson (V15 Detect) |
240 AW rated suction, HEPA sealing, 60-minute rating (Dyson claims) |
|
Tired of emptying a dust bin |
Shark (PowerDetect Clean & Empty) |
The base empties the cup for you |
|
Sensitive to weight, or carrying it up stairs |
Dyson (V12 Detect Slim) |
2.37 kg (5.22 lb), the lightest full-feature stick in either lineup |
|
Worried about long-term repairs |
Shark |
5-year warranty against Dyson's 2 years |
|
Allergic to dust |
Dyson (V15 or V16) |
Whole-machine HEPA filtration, published down to 0.3 or 0.1 microns |
|
Cleaning mostly hard floors with pets |
Shark (PowerDetect Speed) |
Dirt and floor sensing at 3.22 kg (7.1 lb), with a light 1.59 kg (3.5 lb) hand vac |
How the lineups line up
Both brands sell a flagship, a lighter mid-range stick and an entry model. We matched them by role, using the current US models on each brand's own store.
|
Tier |
Dyson |
Shark |
|---|---|---|
|
Flagship |
V15 Detect (score 9.0), V16 Piston Animal (8.3) |
PowerDetect (pending), PowerDetect Clean & Empty (8.3) |
|
Mid-range |
V12 Detect Slim (8.7), V11 (9.0) |
PowerDetect Speed (pending), PowerDetect Speed Clean & Empty (pending) |
|
Entry |
V8, V8 Cyclone (pending) |
PowerPro Pet, Pet Cordless (pending) |
Five Dyson sticks have enough published reviews for a Gadget Clash score. Only one Shark does. That gap reflects review coverage, not a verdict on the pending models.
Suction
Winner: Dyson, by default. Dyson publishes suction in air watts (AW) for every stick: 115 AW for the V8, 150 AW for the V12 Detect Slim, 185 AW for the V11, 240 AW for the V15 Detect and 315 AW for the V16 Piston Animal (Dyson claims). Shark's US product pages list motor wattage (380 W on PowerDetect, 350 W on PowerDetect Speed) but no suction figure. Input watts are not suction, so the two can't be compared on paper. Dyson is the only one of the two that gives you a suction number to check.
Runtime and charging
Winner: Shark on rated runtime, Dyson on charge time. Shark rates the PowerDetect at 70 minutes and the PowerDetect Speed at 60, both measured in ECO mode at the hand vac (Shark claims). Dyson rates the V15, V12 and V11 at 60 minutes and the V16 at 70 (Dyson claims). At the entry tier, the V8 manages 40 minutes, and the V8 Cyclone gets 60. Shark's PowerPro Pet gets 50 and the Pet Cordless 40.
Charging flips it. Both PowerDetect lines take 6 hours to charge. Dyson quotes 4 to 4.5 hours for the V11, V12 and V15, 3.5 hours for the V16 and 5 hours for the V8. Shark's Pet Cordless is the quick charger, at 3 hours.
Battery swapping
Winner: a draw. Dyson's V8 Cyclone and V10 Konical pages describe a click-in battery you can swap for more runtime. Shark sells the PowerPro Flex Reveal Plus in a bundle with an extra battery and lists a replacement battery for the Pet Cordless. On both brands, swapping is model by model, so check the page for the one you want. Samsung's AI Jet Ultra ships with two batteries in the box (Icecat data).
Bin size and self-emptying
Winner: Shark. Shark sells a Clean & Empty base for PowerDetect, PowerDetect Reveal, PowerDetect Speed and its entry Clean & Empty stick. You dock the vacuum, and the base empties the cup. Dyson's answer is an Auto-empty Dok kit for the V16 Piston Animal, with a 1.3 L dock bin (Dyson claim). No other current Dyson stick offers one.
Onboard, Dyson has the bigger bins at the top: 1.32 L (0.35 gal) on the V16 and 0.76 L (0.2 gal) on the V15 and V11. Shark's PowerDetect cup holds 0.66 L (0.7 qt) and the PowerDetect Speed 0.47 L (0.5 qt). The V12 Detect Slim's 0.35 L bin is the smallest full-size bin in either lineup.
Hair tangling
Winner: a draw. Every current Dyson stick advertises de-tangling, through conical brush bars or an anti-tangle comb on the Motorbar head. Shark uses self-cleaning brushrolls and PowerFins, and the PowerDetect's DuoClean Detect head adds a second roller. Both brands design for long and pet hair. Neither publishes a standard measurement you can compare.
Filtration
Winner: Dyson. The V15 Detect and V16 Piston Animal advertise whole-machine HEPA filtration, sealed from cleaner head to exhaust, capturing particles down to 0.3 and 0.1 microns respectively (Dyson claims). Shark fits a HEPA post-motor filter on PowerDetect, PowerDetect Speed, PowerPro and Pet Cordless. Several of those models also carry Shark's Anti-Allergen Complete Seal. That's a strong setup, but Dyson's sealing claim covers the entire machine and is published with a particle size.
Dust detection
Winner: a draw. Dyson's Detect models shine a light across hard floors to show fine dust, and the V12 Detect Slim adds a piezo sensor that counts particles and shows the result on its LCD. Shark's PowerDetect senses dirt, edges, carpet and cleaning direction, and boosts power on its own. Shark's Reveal versions add a dust-revealing light too. Dyson shows you the dirt, and Shark adjusts power automatically when it finds dirt.
Weight
Winner: Dyson. The V12 Detect Slim weighs 2.37 kg (5.22 lb), and the V8 weighs 2.53 kg (5.58 lb). Even the flagship V15 weighs 3.1 kg (6.83 lb). On Shark, the lightest PowerDetect stick is the Speed at 3.22 kg (7.1 lb), and the flagship PowerDetect weighs 3.68 kg (8.11 lb), all Shark figures. Shark does have the lighter hand vac: 1.59 kg (3.5 lb) on the PowerDetect Speed. Check this if you mostly clean stairs and cars.
Attachments
Winner: Dyson. The V15 Detect kit comes with two floor heads (the Digital Motorbar and the Fluffy Optic), a mini motorized tool, a crevice tool, a hose, a dusting brush, a stubborn-dirt brush and a wall dock (Dyson's in-box list). The PowerDetect comes with a duster crevice tool and a pet multi-tool, plus Shark's MultiFLEX wand, which bends to reach under furniture. Shark puts its effort into the wand and the dock. Dyson puts it into the tool kit.
Warranty and repairability
Winner: Shark. Shark's US pages list a 5-year warranty (with 2 years on parts) on every current stick we checked. Dyson's US pages list a 2-year limited warranty. Both brands sell replacement batteries and filters on their own stores. Neither publishes a repairability score.
Who should buy Dyson
Buy Dyson for carpet-heavy homes, allergy households and anyone who wants a published suction figure. Start with the V15 Detect. Choose the V12 Detect Slim if you want lighter, or the V11 if you want 185 AW without the Detect features.
Cons:
- Only a 2-year warranty.
- No self-emptying option except the V16 Dok kit.
- The flagships are heavier than the V12.
Who should buy Shark
Buy Shark if you want the vacuum to empty itself, a longer warranty and a bendable wand for under furniture. Start with the PowerDetect Clean & Empty. Choose the PowerDetect Speed if you want a lighter stick.
Cons:
- No published suction figure.
- 6-hour charge on the PowerDetect lines.
- Smaller cups than Dyson's flagships.
Consider instead
If you want the biggest AW figures on paper, Samsung's Bespoke AI Jet Ultra lists 400 AW, two batteries and a 5-year warranty (Samsung data). Dreame's Z30 lists 310 AW at 2.2 kg (4.9 lb), with a Gadget Clash score of 8.4.
Final verdict
Dyson for cleaning power, Shark for convenience. Dyson wins on published suction, filtration, weight, tools and review scores. Shark wins on self-emptying, rated runtime at the top end and warranty. For a single pick, the V15 Detect is the stronger vacuum. Choose the PowerDetect Clean & Empty if you'd rather never empty a bin by hand.
How we evaluated this: This is a spec analysis. Gadget Clash hasn't tested these vacuums hands-on. We compared specs published on dyson.com and sharkninja.com (labeled as claims) with Gadget Clash scores, checked Oct 11, 2026. A Gadget Clash score is the average of at least three published reviews of the exact model; "pending" means fewer than three. AI assisted with research and drafting. How we score