The pet parent contract comes with certain terms and conditions, and that includes a tolerance for omnipresent pet hair. You're also signing off on a lot of stains, paranoia about your pet's activities when you're not home, and the slim (but never zero) chance that you'll come home to an accident on the floor. The best vacuum for pets can help mitigate these problems. How do I know? Because I've spent years testing vacuums, much to my cats' annoyance.
While every pet parent needs a vacuum to quell the pet hair situation, some vacuums can take on even more pet-related responsibilities. There are robot vacuums that can avoid pet waste, robot vacuums with livestream pet cameras, and a robot vacuum that comes with its own portable carpet cleaner — now we just need Roborock to expand the Saros Z70's robotic arm capabilities to pet toy cleanup.
So, which vacuum would be the most helpful in your household? I'm continuously testing the top robot vacuums and cordless stick vacuums in my two-cat apartment, and I'm ready to name the best vacuums for pet owners.
How to choose a robot vacuum for pet hair
For a full breakdown of these features, check out my guide to everything you need to know before buying a robot vacuum.
Suction power and brush rolls
I recommend vacuums with at least 6,000 Pa suction power for effective pet hair pickup, though homes with heavy carpeting and more than two pets should consider suction power of at least 12,000 Pa. But the brush roll system is nearly just as important when choosing a vacuum for pet fur. In my testing, vacuums with dual brush rolls are far more effective.
I also recommend keeping a good cordless stick vacuum on hand — stick vacuums are just more powerful than robot vacuums in general. Shark, Dyson, and Dreame all make powerful stick vacuums with enough power to make pet hair disappear.
Automatic emptying
Pet parents should definitely opt for a self-emptying robot vacuum — so much fur being sucked up will lead to a full dustbin faster, and you won't feel like emptying it yourself every day. Even with daily usage, an auto-empty robot vacuum can last between one and three months before you need to empty the dustbin.
Mopping
If hardwood or tile is prevalent in your home, the best robot vacuum and mop combo for pet hair will be able to sanitize the floor while mopping and then wash its own mops to rinse off any lingering hair. Mopping is also much more likely to effectively wipe up other minuscule pet-related debris, like pet dander and kitty litter dust, that are too small to be inhaled by a vacuum's suction power.
Smart mapping
Some rooms or spots on the floor within those rooms get furrier than others. A smart mapping robot vacuum learns the layout of your home and can head to specific zones on command, which you can queue up right from the app. In my opinion, smart mapping is the most worthwhile robot vacuum feature, and should be a baseline even when searching for a cheap model — cleaning performance is a moot point if the vacuum can't get where it needs to go in the first place.
Small obstacle avoidance
Some advanced robot vacuums use cameras and 3D sensors to pinpoint any small roadblocks in the cleaning path in front of them. When successful, these vacuums save themselves from eating most pet toys, cords, laundry, or socks or shoes, avoid ramming into pet bowls, and even dodge pet waste.
Other robot vacuums I've tested recently
I tested several other top robot vacuums in the past that didn't make the most recent cut for this list. Some, like the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, Roborock Qrevo Master, Narwal Freo X Ultra, and various versions of the Roomba j7, were my top recommendations at one point, but have since been overshadowed by newer, more powerful models that are a better bang for your buck. I recently tested and was impressed by the Roomba Plus 505 Combo and Plus 405 Combo, which ultimately just weren't the most thorough vacuum cleaners in their price range. The Dreame X50 Ultra grabbed attention during its CES 2025 debut for its ability to "climb," though the fine print is that it can't scale thresholds taller than 6 millimeters (about 2.36 inches). That's not super helpful for any situations past maybe scaling sliding door tracks, and its cleaning wasn't anything I haven't seen in other flagship robot vacuums.
Vacuums I'm testing soon
The next vacuums slated for at-home testing are the Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller (followed by the other new Dreame robot vacuums), Roomba 705 Max Combo, Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai, and Bissell FurFinder. I'll be getting my hands on these as soon as possible and updating my top picks for pet owners accordingly.
