Compare All Models of Shark Rotator Lift-Away Vacuums

I own a Shark rechargeable floor & carpet sweeper – model v1950, which was bought from Costco more than 5 years ago. After these many years, it still works for couple of weeks without recharging.

I like Shark vacuums, but really “hate” their marketing strategy. They made their product names and models really unclear. I saw Costco currently carries two models of Shark® Rotator™ Lift-Away Vacuums, both are on sale,

There is another similar Shark Rotator at Costco online, Shark® Rotator™ PowerLight Professional Upright Vacuum. Its canister can not be Lift-Away. But it’s an Ultra-Light version which weights less 13 lbs.

I was planning to pick one of the Rotator Lift-Away to replace my 15 years old Kenmore Progressive canister model 116. While researching which one to buy and where to buy, I was stuck on the product models. I found all kinds of Shark Rotator Lift-Away with slight different other words in titles, such as Professional, Powered, Deluxe, …, carried by Walmart, Sears, Best Buy, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, … What are the differences among all those models hiding behind the price? After hours research, I finally sorted them out and would like to share the information with people who would like to compare all these models.

There’re total 19 models currently on the market which are named as Shark® Rotator® Lift-Away™, excluding model NR96 Canister Vacuum which is significantly different from others, all other 18 models are quite confusion.

First, let’s lay out the marketing terms Shark put on this vacuum series,

  • Lift-Away means you can take the POD off and extend the rotator powered cleaning head to get all the way under every tough to reach area in your home, such as under sofa or wardrobe. The Access Depth Under Furniture was measured based on the ASTM F420.
  • Anti-Allergen Complete Seal Technology® + HEPA that traps 99.99% was measured based on ASTM F1977 of particles between 0.3 and 0.5 microns.
  • TruePet™ refers a mini motorized brush which picks up pet hair, loose debris.

We all hate to move the furniture while vacuuming, dislike the dust smell from the canister. No doubt the TruePet motorized brush would catch many pets owner. For the same reasons, I got “bit” by Shark.

Based on the cleaning modes, all 18 Rotator Lift-Away upright models (they’re actually all transformers) can be classified into 2 groups,

  • 2 Cleaning Modes, aka. 2 vacuums in 1: Upright and Powered Lift-Away™
  • 3 Cleaning Modes, aka. 3 vacuums in 1: Upright, Powered Lift-Away™ and Canister

Based on the power and weight, they can be classified into 3 groups,

  • Light weight Lift-Away with 800 watts power
  • Professional Lift-Away with 1,200 watts power
  • Powered Lift-Away with 1,150 watts power


1  measured with the upright vacuum mode
2  research conclusion which was not disclosed on the website

Checking the packaged parts and accessories described for each product, now I know the two models sold in Costco are,

  • UV560, Shark® Rotator™ Professional Lift-Away® Upright Vacuum, Costco Item #952553, which is similar to the NV552 sold in other retail stores. It removes the Canister Caddy and becomes 2-in-1 vacuum. The package also lacks the Appliance Wand and Upholstery Tool in NV552.
  • UV795 XL Capacity, Shark® Rotator™ Powered Lift-Away Vacuum with Canister Caddy, Costco Item #999090, which is similar to the NV755 carried by Best Buy. Again it removes the Dusting Brush and adds the Under Appliance Wand and Pet Multi-Tool.

The following two models sold in Target has no model numbers declared on Target’s website. Based on my research, I can conclude they are,

You can play with the above comparison table by typing any feature, model, accessory into the search box. It will filter the models for easy comparison.

I actually could not find the NV650W TruePet & NV651 Deluxe on Target.com which was suggested by sharkclean.com as “Where to buy”. Also the NV650 TruePet, NV651 Deluxe and NV652 TruePet seem to be discontinued models.

I hope you know where to buy your Shark Rotator Lift-Away vacuum by now.