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Pets can be mediocre roommates.
Their presence undoubtedly makes your life better — but significantly messier, too. And unlike in a passive-aggressive roommate group chat, you can’t tell a pet to clean up after itself.
The most satisfying option would probably be following their trail with a cordless vacuum and lint roller. But when life gets in the way, sending a robot vacuum to stay on top of your floor’s filth can cut you a major break on one heightened chore of being a pet parent. (Investing in an automatic cat feeder or automatic litter box should be next on the list.)
To help you pick the best robot vacuum for pet hair no matter your budget, we hands-on tested the most popular robot vacuums from brands like iRobot, Roborock, and Shark. All of the vacuums featured in this review have gone through extensive cleaning tests to make sure they really can handle stubborn pet hair. You won’t be able to throw away your lint rollers (they’re robotic vacuum cleaners, not miracle workers), but all of these bots can keep both your hard floors and carpets tidy.
So, let’s get right into our reviews of the top robot vacuums for pet hair in 2023.
UPDATE: Oct. 6, 2023, 5:00 a.m. EDT This guide has been updated to reflect our latest vacuum reviews. We replaced two older models (Roborock S7+ and Neato BotVac D8) with the Roborock S8+ and the iRobot Roomba i3.
Our Pick
Read our full review of the Roomba s9+.
Why we picked this:
Automatic emptying wasn’t the norm when iRobot dropped its fancy new D-shaped vacuum in 2019. The smarts of the s9+ are far more ubiquitous now, but this powerhouse still does one thing better than the newer Roomba j7+: Deep clean thick carpets. Thanks to its corner-cleaning, powerful suction, and ability to lift hair from carpets, we think it’s the best robot vacuum for pet hair in 2023.
The s9+ cleans with 40 times the suction of 600 Series Roombas (the j7+ offers 10 times the suction) to provide some of the most thorough carpet attention on the market. Despite such power, the s9+ can still clean for over an hour before retreating to charge and unload debris. The flat edge is also still quite the rarity, and does a better job of snatching dust bunnies and fur balls hiding in corners.
Who it’s for:
Yes, you can find plenty of newer and cheaper robot vacuums, but for homes and apartments with lots of carpet and pet hair, the s9+ from Roomba is the bot to beat. While it doesn’t offer mopping or some of the newest features of the j7+, you won’t find a better option for suctioning up pet hair from carpets, corners, and hardwood floors.
If the Roomba s9+ is a little outside of your budget, then consider one of iRobot’s budget models or the Yeedi Vac Station instead.
Read our full review of the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+.
Why we picked this:
The newest Roomba uses a new camera that helps it to avoid smaller obstacles that are typically blind spots for robot vacuums. Though it can’t recognize everything (like feathers on the end of wand toys), it’s definitely the botvac to get if you’re nervous about pet waste being smeared or about a toy clogging the machine. The j7+ rarely gets stuck or requires a human’s help, so we felt super confident sending it on a cleaning run when we weren’t home.
A year-ish after the release of the j7 and j7+, iRobot also welcomed a mopping iteration of the j7 series. The Combo j7+ operates identically to the regular j7s when it comes to vacuuming, and looks almost identical as well. The only differences are an interior water tank and a retractable mopping pad that scrubs when appropriate, lifts completely over the vacuum body when carpet is sensed, and lays flat when not in use.
Who it’s for:
There are some horrifying robot vacuum reviews on Reddit that reveal in excruciating detail exactly what happens when a robot vacuum meets pet waste. If that sounds like your worst nightmare come to life, then you’ll want to invest in the j7+. Not only does this robot vacuum do an excellent job cleaning up pet hair on carpets, hardwood, and other floor types, but thanks to an onboard camera, it handily avoids pet waste. (Poop. We’re talking about poop, okay?)
Read our full review of the Roborock S8+.
Why we picked this:
Roborock recently updated its popular S7 line of robot vacuums with the S8, and after testing out the new S8+ hybrid vacuum and mop, we can definitely recommend it to pet parents. An extra-large dust bin can handle pet hair, dust, and debris for 60 days or more, and the vibrating mop pad does much more than drag a damp cloth across your floors (although the spot cleaning mode leaves a lot to be desired). If you want a robot vac that can provide an all-over clean on carpets and hard flooring, then you’ll be happy with the S8+.
You might be less happy with the price tag: $999.99. You can usually find a coupon that knocks the price down to about $800, but it’s still a pricey product. Even so, this vacuum justifies its cost by making it so much easier to clean up after your pets. It’s so satisfying to hear the extra suction kick in as the S8+ rolls onto a carpeted area, and because of that floor detection, you don’t have to worry about accidentally mopping your new area rug.
The S8+ also creates a very accurate map thanks to onboard LiDAR and smart mapping, although it can struggle when it comes across a stray charging cable.
Who it’s for:
Unless your home was last renovated in the early ’90s, then we’re guessing it doesn’t have wall-to-wall carpets. Most homes and apartments have a mix of hardwood (or, more likely, laminate), tile, carpets, and area rugs. No matter what combination of flooring you have, the new S8+ from Roborock can detect, clean, and mop as needed.
If you want the best robot vacuum and mop for pet hair, then this new hybrid is up to the task.
Why we picked this:
When it was first released, the Roomba i3 was a fairly typical budget robovac. It would clean your home in a back-and-forth pattern that left a lot to be desired. There’s nothing unusual about that in the budget category, as more advanced features such as LiDAR or camera mapping drastically increase the overall price point. But after a recent software update, the i3 can now create a map of your home, which has made it a much more impressive cleaning machine for the price.
For an affordable robot vacuum, the i3 does an admirable job of cleaning up pet hair and other types of dust and debris from your floors. This vacuum has sensors that automatically adjust the height and roll brushes to carpets, resulting in a deeper clean. In our tests, it did leave some debris along the edges, but that’s to be expected at this price.
Previously, we selected the Roomba 694 as our top budget pick for pet owners who are tired of sweeping up pet hair. However, thanks to the new mapping capabilities, we’re promoting the Roomba i3 to this spot.
Who it’s for:
For pet owners who don’t want to spend more than $300 to $400 on a robot vacuum, the Roomba i3 is a great starter vacuum. You’ll have to live without self-emptying, but if you don’t mind emptying the dustbin every so often, then that’s a fair tradeoff for affordability. (And if you do have your heart set on self-emptying, you can get the Roomba i3+ with auto-emptying for $448.)
Why we picked this:
With an impressive 3,000 Pa of suction and a price point that’s extremely reasonable, skepticism is valid when it comes to the Yeedi Vac Station. But after testing it out for ourselves, we can verify that the suction power on this budget vac is impressive — especially with the automatic carpet boost. Plus, mopping and automatic emptying makes it almost impossible to deny that this Yeedi will lighten pet owners’ chore load.
The presence of room mapping is also impressive at such a practical price point, despite undercooked quirks like only having the capacity to hold a map of one story at a time. Shaky furniture avoidance isn’t so annoying when you can still enjoy the convenience of virtual boundaries in the app.
Who it’s for:
The best robot vacuums tend to be expensive — very expensive. As a result, animal lovers looking for the best robot vacuum for pet hair under $500 don’t have a ton of options. However, the Yeedi Vac Station is an excellent choice for pet parents. This robot vac is often on sale for under $400, and it offers the two key features you need to stay on top of pet hair: effective carpet cleaning and self-emptying. Throw in mopping capabilities and it’s easy to see why this hybrid vacuum impressed us so much.
Read our full review of the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1.
Why we picked this:
Shark wasn’t a competitive player in the hybrid game until a release in the winter of 2022. While the introduction of a mopping pad to Shark’s smartest robot vacuum is huge in its own right, the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 also welcomes a new feature that’s ideal for carpeted homes with pets.
The Matrix Clean system shines during both wet and dry cleaning. During regular vacuuming, it delivers 30% better carpet cleaning (compared to the older RV Shark models) by digging deeper into carpet and taking multiple passes in a crosshatch pattern to loosen and grab debris from multiple angles. “Matrix” also applies to the AI Ultra’s mopping, which vibrates 100 times per minute to scrub stains.
This Shark robot vacuum also has one more stand-out feature: spot cleaning mode. If your pets have made an area of your home extra sticky, then send this hybrid vac to scrub the floors. Spot cleaning isn’t unique in the robot vacuum world, but few vacuums do it better than Shark.
Who it’s for:
The Shark AI Ultra-2-in-1 is a surprisingly effective vacuum and mop for the price, so if you want a hybrid vacuum that’s great at cleaning pet hair but don’t want to pay $1,000 or more, this is the bot for you. If you want to save a little bit of money, you can skip the self-emptying and pay a little less, but the auto-emptying feature is particularly useful for pet hair and allergy sufferers.
All the robot vacuum cleaners featured in this review have been tested over a period of weeks by a member of our team. (Previously, we tested the Roborock S7+ and the Neato BotVac D8 but decided not to include them in our most recent update.) After conducting extensive hands-on cleaning tests, we’ve found that the best robot vacuums for pet hair offer two key features: self-emptying and superior carpet cleaning.
Self-emptying is helpful because of the amount of debris created by shedding pets. And because pet hair often sticks on top of and inside carpet fibers, the top robot vacuums for carpets also excel at cleaning pet hair. We also found that suction power is a major factor in pet hair cleaning, which is why vacuums such as the Roomba j7+, Roomba s9+, and Roborock S8+ performed so well in this category.
Over the years, the Mashable team has tested dozens of robot vacuums, including flagship models from iRobot, Roborock, Ecovacs, and Shark. Unfortunately, not all of these robovacs were up to the challenge of cleaning up pet hair.
When testing robot vacuums, we consider a number of factors:
Overall suction power
Bang for your buck value
Special features such as mopping or self-cleaning
Carpet detection and cleaning
Battery life
Room mapping and obstacle avoidance
Brush roll performance
Pet hair cleaning capabilities
For obvious reasons, when searching for the best robotic vacuum for pet hair in particular, the latter feature is the most crucial. When selecting the products to include in this review, we gave special consideration to how efficiently the vacuum cleaned up human, cat, and dog hair on hardwood, carpets, and along edges and corners. We looked for vacuum cleaners that could easily remove hairballs hiding in corners as well as stuck-on hair hiding in area rugs and floor mats.
With all of this in mind, we selected six vacuums to recommend to pet parents. Because we are always testing new robot vacuums, we will continue to update this guide as we find new models worth including.
Frequently Asked Questions
No one *wants* their robot vacuum to be loud, but noise level should be a heavier consideration in households with skittish pets. Some robot vacuums for pet hair are louder than others, depending on the strength of the motor or, on more high-tech models, a noise-dampening design. If your pet reacts well to the dishwasher, a hairdryer, or a blender, the low roar of most robot vacuums should be tolerable.
A robot vac that reliably follows boundaries might be helpful to avoid knocking into a water bowl or slurping up corners of a dog bed (the Roomba j7+ can even detect and avoid pet messes if you’re house training a pup). Most low-end vacs come with adhesive magnetic strips that create a physical border around danger zones, but premium vacs that utilize laser mapping are far more reliable.
The noise level on automatic emptying stations is a different story. They sound like a plane taking off. However, the deafening whoosh only lasts for about 15 seconds, and the ability of a dock to hold months’ worth of dog hair is crucial for homes where a robot vacuum could fill its onboard dust bin after cleaning only a few rooms.
Virtually all robots can master hardwood floors (as well as laminate, tile, and vinyl). Smooth surfaces don’t take a spiderweb-like grasp on pet hair like carpets do. The hair may collect in furballs, but these should be relatively easy for any robot vacuum to scoop up with a rotating brush. If your home’s corners are particularly popular hangout spots for furballs, a D-shaped robot vacuum like the Roomba s9+ can detail those walls and 90-degree angles better than a circular vac.
A living space that contains a combination of hard floors and carpet or rugs will prove to be a little more challenging. The robot vacuum you choose should be able to detect different floor types and hoist itself over these borders without getting tripped up. Most vacs on the market today are smart enough to enact some sort of boost mode to work a little harder on carpets, though suction power itself plays a bigger role when it comes to extracting pet hair from carpeting. Veer toward a model harnessing at least 2,000 Pa of suction.
Stronger vacuums collect more debris in every trip, and households dealing with shedding probably require more trips to tackle the extra debris. Naturally, these dust bins will fill up faster than a vacuum cleaning a petless household once a week. A self-emptying vacuum alleviates the need for you to empty the dust bin on the daily, letting you off the hook for one to three months at a time.
Pet owners with allergies will appreciate the streamlined emptying process for another reason. The automatic emptying process involves sucking the contents of the dust bin directly from the vacuum into the canister on the loading dock, containing the blast of dust that typically clouds the trash can during manual dumping. Allergy sufferers can also look for vac models that house HEPA filters.
The X1 Omni from Ecovacs is one of the most advanced robot vacuums in the world, but we ultimately decided not to include it in this review, and for two reasons. First, the price tag. With a $1,549 retail price, we know that it’s simply not practical for most households. Second, Mashable reviewer Leah Stodart reported multiple problems when reviewing this hybrid vacuum cleaner and mop.
Mashable is in the process of testing the recently announced X2 Omni from Ecovacs, and we’ll update this review if it proves itself worthy of inclusion.
Leah Stodart is a Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable. She covers shopping trends, gift ideas, and products that make life easier, specializing in vacuums, TVs, and sustainable swaps. She graduated from Penn State University in 2016 and is watching horror movies or “The Office” when she’s not shopping online herself. You can follow her on Twitter at @notleah.
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