The Best Robot Vacuums for Pet Hair

The Best Robot Vacuums for Pet Hair

If you have a cat or dog that leaves fur all over the house, consider investing in a robot vacuum that can take some cleaning duties off of your plate. We’ve been reviewing robot vacuums for more than a decade and have tested every model on this list in our homes, with shedding cats and dogs, to help you find the best automated floor cleaner for you and your fur babies. Our top pick, the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, thoroughly vacuumed pet hair without tangles and had no problem mopping up cat food remnants from two messy eaters. Whether you’re looking for an advanced model with self-maintenance features for a truly hands-off experience or a basic, affordable sweeper that works well, our list of the best robot vacuums for pet hair removal has a range of excellent options for all needs and budgets.

Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni

  • Vacuums and mops effectively
  • Roller mop limits cross-contamination
  • Side brush and mop extend into corners
  • Dispenses detergent automatically
  • Lifts itself over hurdles
  • Battery lasts longer than two hours
  • Expensive
  • Occasionally gets lost
  • Auto-generated maps may require manual edits

The feature-rich Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni can vacuum, mop, empty its dustbin, wash and dry its mop, and refill its water tank. With an impressive 18,000Pa of suction, it’s one of the most powerful robot vacuums we’ve tested and a top option for homes with shedding pets. Its brush roll is specifically designed to eliminate tangles as it works. It also functions as a roving security camera with two-way audio, so you can even use it to see and speak to your pets from afar. In addition, it features a built-in voice assistant and AI-powered obstacle avoidance.

This top-of-the-line model is suitable for people who are willing to pay a premium for convenience. With solid battery life, strong suction power, and AI-powered obstacle avoidance technology, the X8 Pro Omni is an excellent, hands-off choice for large homes with pets and a mix of hard flooring and carpet.

Dimensions

13.9 by 13.8 by 3.9 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

134 minutes

Learn More

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni Review

Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry Robotic Vacuum

  • Mops and vacuums
  • Works with cleaning solution
  • Automatically avoids carpet when mopping
  • Quiet
  • No mapping features or voice control
  • Robot got stuck on some furniture in testing

The Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry is a budget-friendly 2-in-1 that excels as a mop, so it can help keep your home clean of paw smudges and dirt. And unlike some other robot mops, it can disinfect on mopping runs, too. This model offers only 1,500Pa of suction, so it’s not the most powerful vacuum, but it’s perfectly fine for hard floors and low-pile carpet. Just keep in mind that it lacks auto-emptying, mapping, and voice control support. 

The Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry is a good choice for homes with hard flooring and first-time robot vacuum owners who don’t need or want extra features like automatic dustbin emptying or mop washing. You should look for a robot with more suction power if you do have medium- to high-pile carpeting, however.

Dimensions

12.25 by 12.25 by 3.25 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

100 minutes

Learn More

Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry Robotic Vacuum Review

Roomba j9+ Robot Vacuum

  • Expertly avoids obstacles big and small
  • More suction power and battery life than predecessor
  • Learns your home for automated cleaning customization
  • Feature-rich app

With its counter-rotating brush rolls, the Roomba j9+ does an excellent job of agitating carpet and capturing pet hair. In testing, it cleaned up after two heavily shedding cats without getting clogged or leaving behind noticeable hairballs. Beyond its cleaning capabilities, the j9+ features advanced obstacle avoidance technology. It’s the best robot vacuum we’ve tested at navigating around toys, bowls, and knick-knacks of all shapes and sizes. If you have a pet prone to accidents, this should provide some extra peace of mind. Like others on this list, it also empties its own dustbin to reduce your exposure to the pet hair it picks up.

If you have accident-prone pets and a cluttered home, the iRobot Roomba j9+ is a top option. iRobot is so confident in the robot’s poop-evading abilities that it offers a POOP (Pet Owner Official Promise) guarantee: If the Roomba j9+ fails to avoid solid pet waste within a year of your purchase, the company will give you a new one for free. 

Dimensions

13.7 by 13.7 by 3.4 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

113 minutes

Learn More

iRobot Roomba j9+ Review

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Max Plus

  • Vacuums and mops effectively
  • Systematic and thorough navigation
  • Empties its own dustbin
  • Supports virtual walls, scheduling, and voice control
  • Excellent large-particle pickup performance
  • Struggles with stubborn debris
  • Unintuitive Alexa controls

If you suffer from allergies, you should seek out a robot vacuum with a self-emptying dustbin. Fortunately, that feature is making its way to increasingly affordable models, as represented by the budget-friendly TP-Link Tapo RV30 Max Plus. The RV30 even has advanced LiDAR navigation, another welcome feature for the price. It backs up its impressive list of features with capable performance as a vacuum that minimizes tangles and as a mop that can wipe away stains.

For a capable vacuum and mop hybrid on a budget, the Tap RV30 Max Plus goes well above and beyond what you normally get for the price. The RV30 lacks some of the cleaning power and self-maintenance capabilities of high-end models, but it gets all the basics right.

Dimensions

13.0 by 13.0 by 3.9 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

98 minutes

Learn More

TP-Link Tapo RV30 Max Plus Review

The base station of the X30 Ultra

  • Removes, installs, washes, and dries its mop pads
  • Cleans its washboard
  • Automatically dispenses cleaning detergent
  • Stellar large particle pickup
  • Maps and cleans efficiently
  • Falls short of competition on deep cleaning

The Dreame X30 Ultra navigates efficiently, picks up pet hair well, and its brushes never get tangled. When it returns to the base station, it’s an ace at self-maintenance. It can remove its own mop pads when it needs to traverse high-pile carpets, then reattach them to mop hard floors. The base station washes and dries the robot’s mop pads, empties the dustbin, and cleans its own washboard.

Consider the Dreame X30 Ultra if you’re looking for a self-sufficient robot floor cleaner that requires very little maintenance. It’s the only model we’ve tested that can remove and reattach its mop pads based on the flooring type to minimize cross-contamination, making it the best premium 2-in-1 if you have carpets that cannot get wet.

Dimensions

13.8 by 13.8 by 3.8 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

135 minutes

Learn More

Dreame X30 Ultra Review

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro+

  • Vacuums and mops
  • Includes self-emptying dustbin
  • Strong suction power
  • Automatically detects carpet
  • Supports virtual boundaries, schedules, and zone cleaning
  • Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
  • Expensive
  • Minor mapping issues in testing
  • Average battery life

This midrange 2-in-1 is equally adept at vacuuming and mopping your floors, and it can empty its dustbin when the job is done. High-end robot vacuums are tipping 22,000Pa of suction power these days, but the Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro+’s 2,600Pa is still sufficient for cleaning pet hair (even though it might need a few more passes to get it all). It works efficiently, quietly, and intelligently, increasing its suction power on carpets on vacuuming runs and avoiding them on mopping passes.

The Ozmo N8 Pro+ is a top choice if you’re in the market for a 2-in-1 robot floor cleaner with self-emptying abilities on a budget. Because it’s a few years old, you can regularly find it for about half its launch price.

Dimensions

13.9 by 13.9 by 3.7 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

96 minutes

Learn More

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8 Pro+ Review

iRobot Roomba Combo j7+

  • Vacuums and mops
  • Retractable mop prevents carpet wetting
  • Excellent obstacle avoidance
  • Pet waste-avoidance guarantee
  • Auto-empty base
  • Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands
  • Supports virtual Keep Out, No Mop, and Clean zones
  • User-friendly companion app
  • One unit malfunctioned in testing
  • Mop tank requires manual refilling each time
  • Scrubs less than some competitors

The iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ is the first floor-cleaning robot with a fully retractable mop, a feature that allows this pricey 2-in-1 to suction debris and remove grime in a single run without wetting carpets. Most competitor mop-lifting systems only successfully avoid low-pile carpets because they don’t lift high enough to clear medium- and high-pile rugs. We also like that the Combo j7+’s mopping system works with the widely available Bona floor cleaning solution, which leaves your floors free of paw prints and smelling fresh.

Because it offers all the features of the standard Roomba j7+ (self-emptying, AI-powered obstacle avoidance, and a poop-evasion guarantee) plus mopping abilities, the Combo j7+ is an excellent option for homes with a mix of floor types. It’s especially compelling for homes with light-colored carpets because of its retractable mop, which minimizes carpet wetting.

Dimensions

13.3 by 13.3 by 3.4 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

111 minutes

Learn More

iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ Review

Shark AI Self-Empty XL RV2502AE

  • Excellent cleaning performance
  • Large base only needs to be emptied about every two months
  • New UltraClean mode for pet hair and carpeting
  • Two-hour battery life
  • Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
  • Supports scheduling, no-go zones, and area cleaning
  • Occasionally gets stuck
  • Loud

The Shark AI Self-Empty XL features a convenient bagless auto-empty system with a 60-day capacity, plus a power-boosting UltraClean Mode that is helpful for removing pet hair. In testing, the vacuum delivered strong suction power and effectively collected dust, debris, and pet hair from both hard flooring and carpet. With Evacuate and Resume enabled, the robot will return to its base to empty the dustbin after 30 minutes so it doesn’t get overly clogged with pet hair, then resume cleaning where it left off. The brush roll features a combination of fins and bristles to prevent hair tangles, a common problem with other robot vacuums.

Shark makes some of the best-performing robot vacuums we’ve tested, but for homes with shedding pets, we suggest the high-end Shark AI Self-Empty XL because of its animal-specific features. We also appreciate the convenience of Shark’s bagless auto-empty system, but you might want to opt for a model that uses bags if you have a dust allergy.

Dimensions

13.7 by 13.7 by 4.1 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

120 minutes

Learn More

Shark AI Self-Empty XL RV2502AE Review

SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+

  • Excellent particle pickup
  • Compact design
  • Systematic, thorough navigation
  • Self-emptying dustbin
  • Lots of features for the price
  • Poor mopping performance
  • Occasionally gets stuck
  • Brush roll gets tangled

The Switchbot Mini K10+ is a few inches smaller in diameter than most other robot vacuums, but it aced our pickup tests on both carpet and hardwood, easily keeping up with bigger and more expensive models. This compact model deftly navigates through tight spaces and cleans open floor plans in orderly rows. It can vacuum and mop, though it’s better at the former.

Because of its petite size, the Switchbot Mini K10+ is a good fit for small homes and ones with pets that like to nap in corners, as it can squeeze in after them to keep the spot clean. It empties its own dustbin to minimize exposure for people who suffer from allergies.

Dimensions

9.76 by 9.76 by 3.62 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

110 minutes

Learn More

SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+ Review

TP-Link Tapo RV20 Max

  • Thorough large particle pickup
  • Good mopping performance
  • Efficient navigation
  • Short stature to fit under furniture
  • Supports scheduling, virtual walls, and voice control
  • Struggles with stubborn debris
  • No self-emptying base station
  • Occasionally gets stuck

The TP-Link Tapo RV20 Max has an impressive 5,300Pa of suction for an affordable price and thoroughly cleaned up after two house cats with minimal tangles in testing. It navigates with an embedded LiDAR sensor, so it’s only 3.2 inches tall and can squeeze under lots of low-profile furniture. It connects to Wi-Fi, supports targeted cleaning and scheduling via app, and works with both Alexa and Google Assistant.

The Tapo RV20 Max is the ideal choice if you’re on a strict budget and want a robot vacuum that can capably collect the dust from under furniture.

Dimensions

13 by 13 by 3.27 inches

Battery Life (Tested)

90 minutes

Learn More

TP-Link Tapo RV20 Max Review

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The Best Robot Vacuums for Pet Hair
Compare Specs

Buying Guide: The Best Robot Vacuums for Pet Hair


Which Robot Vacuum Works Best for Pet Hair?

Although all the models on this list can handle pet hair with aplomb, suction power is the most important factor to consider. Most companies in this space advertise power in pascals (Pa), the metric unit of pressure, though iRobot doesn’t always make this information easy to find. In general, the higher the Pa value, the better, especially if you have carpet.

The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni offers 18,000Pa of suction power, the highest of any vacuum on this list. Needless to say, it excels at removing pet hair from carpeting. Otherwise, what makes a robot vacuum good in general makes it good for pet hair: Battery life, obstacle avoidance capabilities, and smart features.

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni bottom

The Deebot X8 Pro Omni keeps its brush roll clear of pet hair. (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

Most robot vacuums can run for at least 60 to 70 minutes, which should be enough to tackle smaller homes and apartments. If you have a bigger living area, look for a robot vacuum with at least 90 minutes of battery life so it can hit every room before requiring a recharge.

Budget-friendly vacuums typically clean in a random pattern, while midrange and premium models often feature laser- or camera-guided navigation so they work methodically and efficiently. Some can also map your home and support area cleaning and virtual boundaries for targeted runs.

As for smart connectivity, most robot vacuums offer companion apps with remote scheduling options, though some cheap models work only with an included remote. Many also have Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support, so you can start cleaning with a voice command.


Which Robot Vacuum Is Best for Cluttered Homes?

If you have cats or dogs, you also probably have some of their toys on the floor, which can stop a robot vacuum in its tracks. Some pricey models, like the Roomba j9+ and the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni, offer advanced obstacle avoidance technology that can help the robot steer clear of toys, slippers, and, in some cases, pet waste.

iRobot app screenshots

iRobot app (Credit: iRobot/PCMag)


Which Robot Vacuum Is Best for Allergies? 

If you’re allergic to your cat or dog, a good robot vacuum can help you stay on top of shedding to keep your symptoms under control. At the bare minimum, look for a model with a HEPA filter, which can help remove allergens as it cleans.

Recommended by Our Editors

iRobot Roomba j9+

iRobot Roomba j9+ (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)

You might also want to consider a model that can empty its dustbin. Models with this feature ensure you never have to come into close contact with collected pet hair and dust. They also significantly cut down on maintenance. With most other robot vacuums, you must empty the dustbin after every cleaning.


When Is the Best Time to Buy a Robot Vacuum?

It might be tempting to buy a robot vacuum during the spring shedding season, but if you can, wait until the fall. Over the past several years, robot vacuums have been one of the hottest Black Friday product categories (meaning big discounts), and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon. The same is true for Amazon Prime Day (often in July). Retailers also periodically offer discounts throughout the year, so if you can’t wait for Black Friday, shop around, and you can probably find a decent sale. We also have a list of the best cheap robot vacuums for shopping any time of the year.

For an even deeper clean, take a look at the best robot mops we’ve tested. Loyal to iRobot? We also have a roundup of the best Roombas. Once you find the model that’s right for you, head over to our list of simple robot vacuum tips.

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