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The 6 best robot vacuums for pet hair, tested and reviewed

When shedding season is year-round, automated floor cleaning is a must.
By Leah Stodart and Andrea Kornstein  on 
All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

Overview

The most powerful Roomba

Roomba Combo j9+

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Best for homes with combination flooring

Roborock S8+

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Best budget hybrid

Yeedi Vac Station

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Best spot cleaning

Shark Matrix 2-in-1

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Budget pick

Roomba i3

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Cheaper Roomba option for deep carpet cleaning

Roomba s9+

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UPDATE: Jan. 12, 2024, 3:00 p.m. EST This article has been updated to reflect Mashable's latest vacuum reviews, pricing, and availability.

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. Let's get into our picks.

Roomba cleaning rug with dog and person's legs in background

Roomba Combo j9+

The most powerful Roomba

Why we picked this:

As the number and letter mashup in the title suggests, the Combo j9+ finally combines the best features of the older high-end Roombas: the small obstacle detection of the j7+ (which we tested and really liked), the retractable mop of the Roomba Combo j7+, and suction power of the Roomba s9+.

What's more groundbreaking than iRobot bringing those features together, however, is the fact that the Combo j9+ beats both of its predecessors at their own game. Suction power wise, the Combo j9+ is stronger — therefore tougher on thick carpet and pet hair — than the s9+. Mopping wise, the Combo j9+ attacks dried stains more persistently by scrubbing back and forth with force rather than staying stationary.

The new auto-empty dock is bigger than previous docks from iRobot, but that's because it's holding a separate water tank that automatically refills the smaller tank on the vac itself for 30 days at a time. Any maintenance can be done without opening the chic wood lid on top of the dock, so you've basically got a free new full-time side table.

Who it's for:

Not everyone in the market for a robot vacuum is willing to pay $1,000 or more just to take a chore or two off of their plate. Those who would be down for that investment want a deep clean that goes past casual daily upkeep, and they want it to happen without babysitting required on their end. The Combo j9+ would be particularly worthwhile in large homes with several pets that have an even mix of hard floors and carpeting or rugs.

For homes with lots of pet floor and little hard flooring, the Roomba j9+ is the same vacuum minus the mop, and goes for $899.99 when not on sale.

Buying Options

The Good

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Details

roborock s8+ robot vacuum cleaning kitchen floor

Roborock S8+

Best for homes with combination flooring

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.

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Details

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.

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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:

Pet hair is stubborn and often requires the "and one for good measure" approach when it comes to cleaning. If you expect true thorough cleaning (past the super visible surface-level shedding) from a potential robot vacuum, you'll appreciate the extra effort that the newest Shark vacuums puts in on dirty spots, even if it has already gone over them once.

While the Shark Matrix 2-in-1 would be fine in fully carpeted rooms, it's probably best for homes without a heavy rug situation, as the bot requires you to manually point out rugs or carpets in the app and can't vacuum while the water tank is attached. If you want to save a little bit of money, you can skip the self-emptying and pay less than $300 if the vac is on sale, but the auto-emptying feature is particularly useful for pet hair and allergy sufferers.

Read our full review of the Shark Matrix 2-in-1.

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The Good

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Details

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.)

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Our Pick
Roomba cleaning hardwood floor in corner

Roomba s9+

Cheaper Roomba option for deep carpet cleaning

Read our full review of the Roomba s9+.

Why we picked this:

Hear us out: The Roomba s9+ actually isn't the best Roomba at anything anymore, but its combination of suction power and price point leave it a solid contender. Now that it's two years old, the s9+ has received a permanent price drop from $999.99 to $649.99, and is often seen on sale for $599 (or $499 during Prime Day).

The only Roomba with more intense deep carpet cleaning than the Roomba s9+ is the $1,399.99 Roomba Combo j9+ that just came out in Sept. 2023 (and probably won't be on sale any time soon). Though the slightly older Roomba j7+ is smarter than the s9+ in terms of avoiding small obstacles like cords, the s9+ still beats it in terms of sheer suction power. (If you want numbers, the s9+ cleans with 40 times the suction of 600 Series Roombas while the j7+ offers 10 times the suction.)

Who it's for:

The Roomba s9+ could still be the way to go if you definitely want a Roomba but definitely don't want to spend much more than $500. Despite being succeeded by several newer releases from iRobot, the s9+ still has the second-best suction power of any Roomba and dual roller brushes necessary to dig into carpet fibers to pull out embedded crumbs or fur.

If you have combination flooring, keep in mind that the Roomba s9+ doesn't mop. While it's significantly more affordable than the mopping Roomba Combo j9+, there are several self-emptying hybrid options in line with the new price point of the s9+.

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Topics Robot Vacuums

How we tested

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.

An automatic emptiyng dock is key in keeping up with pet hair because of the heightened amount of debris that shedding pets create, which could otherwise require the human to have to empty the smaller dust bin on vacuum itself after every single cleaning run (or in the middle of one, depending on the amount of hair). Of course, sheer suction power is also a major factor in pet hair cleaning — especially on carpet, where fur sticks to the fibers like velcro — which is why vacuums such as the Roomba j9+, 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

  • Carpet detection and automatic suction boosting

  • Special features such as mopping or automatic emptying

  • Battery life

  • Room mapping and obstacle avoidance

  • Brush roll performance

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.

Leah Stodart
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter

Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.

Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].


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