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As someone with two cats that shed quite frequently, I know how essential a good vacuum is in battling the hair and dander constantly accumulating all over my living space (not to mention the kitty litter they blithely leave in their wake). Having tested many vacuums for this guide and the guide to the best cordless vacuum cleaners, I’ve found the best vacuum for the job is one that’s relatively quiet and efficient and that has ample suction and bin capacity. For heavy shedders, stronger suction and an even larger bin can make picking up after your pets somewhat less of a Sisyphean undertaking.
In addition to testing several top-of-the-line and best-selling vacuums (with the help of my feline housemates) to find the best options for homes with furry pets, I included recommendations from pet-hair experts and Strategist staff members who are also pet parents. The list below includes models from some of the best-known brands in the space, including Dyson, Shark, Bissell, and Black+Decker. Note that some pets are more bothered by vacuum noise than others; if volume is an issue for yours, you may want to opt for a robot model, which tends to be quieter than cordless or upright vacuums.
Updated July 9, 2024: We replaced several picks after a new round of testing, including the Best Vacuum for Pet Hair Overall with the Dyson Gen5detect; updated prices; and checked stock for all other products.
What we’re looking for
Suction
Suction strength (given in air watts, or AW) is included here whenever it was made available. When you’re shopping for a pet-specific vacuum, Jon Gibbons, a cleaning consultant for the site Smart Vacuums, recommends choosing one that lists at least 200 AW in its specifications.
Cord length or battery life
Most vacuum cord lengths are between 30 and 35 feet. The cord can be annoying to deal with, but the vacuum won’t run out of juice mid-cleaning. Most cordless vacuums can run for around an hour on regular or lower settings, which means you may be able to clean only a few rooms before needing to charge. And when some robot vacuums run low, they can dock themselves for additional charging to ensure they have just enough power to finish the job.
Capacity
If your pet is a heavy shedder, consider a bin size above 0.13 gallons (0.5 liters), which may need to be emptied at least once per vacuuming session.
Weight
A heavier vacuum often means a bigger, more powerful motor, though to get that deeper clean, you may have to accept that you’ll be lugging a weightier machine around your house or apartment. Cordless models generally sit on the lighter side, between six and ten pounds, while corded vacuums are between 15 and 20.
Extras
Vacuums may come with features like LED lights that help illuminate pet hair, high-powered settings for quick cleaning or tackling especially hairy situations, and attachments specially designed for gathering long strands.
Best vacuum for pet hair overall
Suction: 280 AW | Run time: 70 minutes | Capacity: 0.2 gallons | Weight: 7.72 pounds | Extras: Fluffy Optic cleaner head, hair screw tool, combination tool, mountable docking station, LCD data display, HEPA filter
As a proud cat mom to two beautiful heavy shedders, I found the Dyson Gen5detect more effective than all the other vacuums I tested at removing the gray and brown fur they leave all over my apartment. Its powerful motor sucked up more hair and dust in less time than the other models and made the task hassle free with its smooth maneuverability and streamlined design. When dealing with pet cleanups, a HEPA filter is a must to truly tackle pet hair, dander, and other microscopic debris; the Gen5detect has a washable one to ensure it’s never too clogged to be effective. The Motorbar cleaner head is set with 56 detangling vanes to prevent hair from wrapping around the brush roll on thick carpets and rugs, and the Fluffy Optic cleaner-head attachment has an LED light that illuminates hair and other debris on hard surfaces. The hair screw tool was particularly effective at removing pet hair from my chairs, sofa, throw pillows, and bedspread. Weightwise, this vacuum is comparable to the Shark Pet and much lighter than the corded models. The Gen5detect is also Strategist’s pick for best vacuum overall.
Best (less expensive) vacuum for pet hair overall
Suction: Not listed | Cord length: 15 feet | Capacity: 0.18 gallons | Weight: 2.6 pounds | Extras: Crevice tool
The Bissell FeatherWeight lacks the bells and whistles of other vacuums on this list but gives you exactly what you’re paying for: a low-cost vacuum that will pick up pet hair and other detritus. The FeatherWeight has one setting and an automatic power button and can readily transform into a handheld vac if you remove the stick handle. It’s also — as the name suggests — incredibly lightweight, almost one-third the weight of the Dyson Gen5detect. The crevice tool attachment aided in the removal of dust from elevated places such as the tops of bookshelves and countertops, though I found the short cord length (15 feet) an annoyance at times because some spots in my home have outlets only near the baseboards. The short cord length also had me stopping to plug into new outlets twice during my cleaning session. The bagless dustbin was easy enough to empty, though the filter was more of a hassle; I ended up having to remove clumps of hair by hand.
Best upright vacuum for pet hair
Suction: Not listed | Cord length: 27 feet | Capacity: 0.26 gallons | Weight: 15.5 pounds | Extras: TurboBrush Pivot Pet Tool, LED combination tool, SmartSeal Allergen System, HEPA filter
The Bissell Turbo has a HEPA filter and a proprietary system that traps fine dust and allergens to prevent them from being rereleased into the air. At 15 pounds, the vacuum still maneuvered well, though because of its bulkier design, I could not reach as far under my sofa and bookshelves as I could with slimmer cordless models. The self-cleaning brush roll, which can be turned off for delicate rugs and hardwood floors, kept hair and other debris from getting wrapped around the roll: Even a kitchen twisty tie that got caught up in the roll was sucked into the bin after mere moments. The two modes — Plush Carpet and Low Carpet/Bare Floor — work in tandem with the brush roll to customize your vacuuming based on your living space. The Turbo’s attachments are well designed, the brush tool worked great on countertops, and the crevice and dusting tool have an LED light, which was useful for identifying dust in darker nooks and crannies.
Best robot vacuum for pet hair
Suction: Not listed | Run time: Up to 85 minutes | Capacity: Up to 60 days’ worth in docking station | Weight: N/A | Extras: Camera- and laser-based navigation, object detection, dual-brush system
For a hands-off option, the Roomba j7+ is our pick both for best robot vacuum overall and for pet hair. Strategist writer Jordan McMahon has used the j7+ in his home weekly for about a year and found that no other robots (excluding those with a mop function) have done a better job of keeping his floors clean. The dual brushes, made of durable rubber, pick up even hard-to-grab pet fur with ease.
According to McMahon, the Roomba j7+ needs minimal maintenance — the docking station both charges and empties the robot, and the dock’s dustbin will hold up to 60 days’ worth of detritus. The docking station opens from the top, however, making it more challenging to remove the full dust bag. As with other iRobot vacuums, the app lets the user schedule cleanings. Also, if the j7+ senses it needs more time to complete a particularly dirty sweep, it not only estimates how long the task will take but charges itself enough to get through it.
McMahon particularly liked how the robot uses both a camera and lasers to map the space, along with its ability to detect objects in its path. With the app, a user can go in and review every new object the Roomba j7+ detected — a sock, for example — that won’t be there next time and let the robot know not to avoid that area in future runs. And if you’re worried about privacy, you needn’t be, explains McMahon: “That all happens on iRobot’s end after any photos with personally identifiable information have been deleted on your vacuum. The pictures that do get sent to iRobot are totally encrypted and not tied to your account.”
Best (less expensive) robot vacuum for pet hair
Suction: Not listed | Run time: Up to 100 minutes | Capacity: 0.16 gallons | Weight: N/A | Extras: None
The Eufy 11S has fewer bells and whistles (and a price to match) than the j7+, but it does a reliably good job of cleaning. Unlike the Roomba, it has no accompanying app, no room mapping, and a single brush system. But its dustbin capacity is similar to that of the j7+, and it has a remote control for added maneuverability as well as drop-sensing technology to prevent it from taking a tumble down the stairs. According to McMahon, this model has earned numerous Strategist admirers — himself included.
Best vacuum for allergy sufferers
Suction: 280 AW | Run time: 70 minutes | Capacity: 0.2 gallons | Weight: 7.72 pounds | Extras: Fluffy Optic cleaner head, hair screw tool, combination tool, mountable docking station, LCD data display, HEPA filter
Thanks to its combination of features and effectiveness, our pick for best vacuum for pet hair overall is also our pick for allergy sufferers. I’m an asthmatic married to an allergy sufferer, so I need to eradicate as much dust, dirt, allergens, and other aggravating microscopic particles while cleaning as possible. The Gen5detect’s washable HEPA filter, powerful suction, and specialized attachments have left our apartment feeling cleaner and both of us breathing easier. Clifford Bassett, M.D., medical director of Allergy & Asthma Care of New York, told Jennifer Conrad, the writer of a previous version of this guide, that he has seen significant improvements in symptoms when patients use HEPA air purifiers and a HEPA-filter-equipped vacuum at home.
Best vacuum for heavy shedders
Suction: Not listed | Run time: 40 minutes | Capacity: 0.2 gallons | Weight: 7.63 pounds | Extras: Crevice tool, HEPA filter, anti-allergen seal
The Shark Pet picked up an astonishing amount of dust and hair. Its combined HEPA filtration and anti-allergen seal felt on par with the Bissell Turbo for trapping dust, allergens, pet hair, and dander, though the Gen5detect’s suction-power–and–HEPA-filter combo still beat out both. The bristle brush roll worked well to capture shorter pet fur as well as my own long hair strands without letting them get tangled around the roll. And I found it easier to reach under chairs and dressers with this Shark model than with the larger Bissell Turbo. The hand vac and crevice tool were handy for picking up crumbs around my cats’ food bowls and sucking up hair between sofa cushions. I also liked how the eject button on the dust cup (which is the same size as the Gen5detect’s) allowed me to swiftly dispose of all that grime.
Best (less expensive) vacuum for heavy shedders
Suction: Not listed | Run time: 55 minutes | Capacity: 0.2 gallons | Weight: 10.8 pounds | Extras: Anti-tangle brush head, LED lights
Another option with a purpose-built brush head for long hair is the Black+Decker Powerseries Extreme. Shelby Semel, a canine-behavior expert and trainer, has a Samoyed at home that sheds “basically pounds of hair a month.” To get all that fur out of her carpet, Semel uses this stick vacuum along with a robot vacuum. For her, the selling points were the low price and the fact that it’s cord free. It boasts a longer run time of up to 55 minutes and an average-size dustbin for a cordless model, plus it converts to a hand vacuum.
Best handheld vacuum for pet hair
Suction: Not listed | Run time: 15 minutes | Capacity: 0.18 gallons | Weight: 3 pounds | Extras: Motorized brush, upholstery tool
This handheld model is strong enough to get at deep-rooted dog hairs between couch cushions and the litter that sometimes gets stuck into corners. When Strategist writer and cat owner Lauren Ro tested this Bissell, she was happy to find that it picked up everything from “tumbleweeds of cat hair” and dust bunnies to strands of her own long hair.
Some more vacuums for pet hair we’ve written about
Our experts
• Clifford Bassett, M.D., medical director of Allergy & Asthma Care of New York
• Jon Gibbons, cleaning consultant for the site Smart Vacuums
• Jordan McMahon, Strategist writer
• Lauren Ro, Strategist writer
• Shelby Semel, canine-behavior expert and trainer
Additional reporting by Jennifer Conrad.
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