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The 4 Best Robot Vacuums For Pet Hair - Winter 2024 Reviews

Updated
Best Robot Vacuums For Pet Hair

It can be a pain to constantly clean up after a shedding pet. While you love your furry friends, their hair and dandruff can quickly pile up and get caught in fibers or under furniture. Luckily, a robot vacuum can help take some weight off your shoulders by automating the cleaning process. It can independently travel around your home and pick up pet hair so you can spend more time with your cats or dogs. A robot vacuum can be helpful if you're in the middle of seasonal shedding, as you can program it to clean a room several times a day if needed.

We've tested more than 50 robot vacuum cleaners, and below are our recommendations for the best robot vacuums for pets. These recommendations are based on their pet-hair cleaning performance on different surfaces, their design, and price. For more, look at our lists of the best vacuums for pet hair, the best robot vacuums, and the best robotic vacuums for hardwood floors. If you're only interested in brand-specific options, consider our recommendations for the best iRobot vacuums.


  1. Best Robot Vacuum For Pet Hair

    The best robot vacuum for pet hair we've tested is the Roborock S8+. This robot vacuum sits near the upper end of Roborock's lineup of robot vacuums and is packed with features. These include its Reactive 3D hazard detection feature, allowing it to spot and avoid obstacles in real-time with a front-facing optical sensor, so you don't have to ensure your home is completely free of things like slippers or socks on the ground before letting it run. The S8+ model comes bundled with a self-emptying docking station; it transfers the debris from the vacuum's internal dustbin into an external dirtbag inside its charging dock, so you won't have to worry about emptying it every time it runs.

    The vacuum itself does a fantastic job of handling pet hair on a wide variety of surface types, and its twin rubber brushrolls significantly improve pet hair pickup on most surface types compared to the single roller setup found in the older Roborock S7 MaxV. You can remove both rollers easily, making it easy to clear away any tangled hair or dirt and debris that has gotten stuck. This vacuum is also fitted with Roborock's ultrasonic mopping system, which is effective for scrubbing away any dirt or mud your pet might track in from the outdoors.

    Unfortunately, despite a high-efficiency E11 filter, this vacuum does a poor job of sealing in fine allergens like pet dander. If that's a problem, the iRobot Roomba S9 is worth a look, though it lacks the Roborock vacuum's mopping feature, LIDAR mapping capability, and real-time hazard-avoidance feature.

    See our review

  2. Best Upper Mid-Range Vacuum For Pet Hair

    If you're looking for a robot vacuum with a lower purchase price, the Roborock Q5+ is a great choice. The '+' variant of the Q5 comes bundled with a self-emptying base station at a substantially more affordable price than the Roborock S8+. However, it lacks the higher-end model's ultrasonic mopping system and real-time hazard avoidance features. Still, it does manage to pack in many of its pricier stablemate's automation features, like multi-floor mapping capability and a 'Smart Recognition' feature that automatically determines which of its stored maps it's working in. You can also view and customize the 3D representation of your home after it's mapped everything out, label specific rooms, and send the vacuum wherever you'd like using the 'Pin n Go' function.

    That said, like the S8, it does a poor job of sealing fine allergens like pet dander, which can escape from gaps in its top cover. While it does a fantastic job of handling pet hair on bare floors, it struggles a little more than its more expensive stablemate with cleaning pet hair on carpeted surfaces. Its bristled roller is also far more tangle-prone than the S8's easy-to-clean rubber rollers, so routine maintenance is more of a hassle.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range Robot Vacuum For Pet Hair

    The Wyze Robot Vacuum is a great option if you're looking for the best robot vacuum for pet hair at a mid-range price point. Unlike the pricier Roborock Q5/Q5+, it isn't compatible with a self-emptying dock station, so you must empty its dustbin manually at the end of almost every cleaning session, as the internal dirt compartment is quite small. Thankfully, it's just as effective as the more expensive Roborock for dealing with pet hair on bare floors and carpets. Its companion app also offers functionality similar to Roborock's, with support for multi-floor mapping, room labeling, and no-go zones. It does a pretty good job of sealing in fine allergens like pet dander, and it runs very quietly, which is good if your pet is sensitive to loud noises.

    You can also consider the iRobot Roomba j7, an alternative compatible with a self-emptying base station, though it's worth noting that this accessory is rather pricey. This vacuum also features real-time hazard-avoidance capability, which can spot, identify, and, if necessary, maneuver around new un-mapped obstacles like pet waste. However, the iRobot has more difficulty dealing with pet hair on bare floors than the Wyze.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Robot Vacuum For Pet Hair

    If you want to spend as little as possible on a robot vacuum for dealing with pet hair, consider the Eureka Groove. Unlike the Wyze Robot Vacuum, it has a super-basic random-pathing navigation system with no room mapping capability, so you can't do things like send it to specific areas or set up no-go zones. It isn't especially time-efficient either, with a lot of time wasted with the vacuum covering the same areas more than once. That said, it's still almost as effective as pricier models when it comes to dealing with pet hair on a variety of surface types, from hardwood floors to high-pile carpets. While its bristled roller is more challenging to clean than the rubber rollers on pricier models like the Roborock S8+/S8, you can still easily remove it to clear away anything that gets a little more easily stuck.

    There is a smartphone app that you can use to change various vacuum settings, like the suction power setting or scheduling cleaning sessions in advance, though you can also use the included remote control to make adjustments to all of these parameters, which is handy if the internet at home is unreliable.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Roborock S7 MaxV: The Roborock S7 MaxV is a high-end robot vacuum with a wide range of automation features similar to the Roborock S8+/S8. However, it does have the unique advantage of having a more advanced obstacle avoidance system that incorporates a color camera, which also allows it to be used as a roving security camera. That said, its single-roller cleaning head is less effective for dealing with pet hair on carpets when compared to the newer model's twin-roller head. See our review
  • Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI: The Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI is a high-end robot vacuum with a dual-sensor navigation system similar to the Roborock S8+/S8. However, it has a less advanced mopping system and isn't as effective in dealing with pet hair on bare floors. See our review
  • Shark IQ 2-in-1 [RV2410WD, UR2410WD]: The Shark IQ 2-in-1 is a mid-range robot vacuum with a mopping feature for any dirt or mud your pet might track in. It has a harder time dealing with pet hair on carpeted surfaces than the Wyze Robot Vacuum. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Feb 13, 2024: Replaced ILIFE A4s with Eureka Groove as 'Best Budget Robot Vacuum For Pet Hair' pick due to current availability.

  2. Dec 11, 2023: Removed eufy RoboVac X8 from Notable Mentions due to current availability, added Shark IQ 2-in-1 to Notable Mentions.

  3. Nov 09, 2023: Minor in-text adjustments to further clarify product information.

  4. Oct 11, 2023: Verified that all main picks remain the best option for user needs. Removed the yeedi K650 from Notable Mentions due to current availability.

  5. Sep 08, 2023: Replaced yeedi vac station with Wyze Robot Vacuum as 'Best Mid-Range Robot Vacuum For Pet Hair' due to current availability.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best robot vacuums for pet hair for most people. We factor in the price, feedback from our visitors, and availability.

If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here's the list of all our robot vacuum reviews, ranked by pet hair performance. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no vacuum is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.