In this article
I adore my dogs — they’re my best friends — but I loathe the dirt and hair they scatter all over my house. I used to mop and vacuum my home at least once a week to keep up, but in the year-and-a-half that I’ve been testing robot vacuums, I’ve been able to cut that down by about one or two cleaning days per month. Because I can program it to run while I’m out of the house or asleep, or while I’m working, I don’t have to worry about making extra time to keep up with the mess my dogs are always dragging in.
Depending on the type of floors you have, you may want a robot that just vacuums or one that’ll both vacuum and mop. And while I’ve found — and every expert I’ve spoken with has echoed this — a robot vacuum and mop can never replace an upright or cordless stick vacuum and actual mop you push around yourself, the best ones can get close. Models with smart navigation will more efficiently clean a room and also allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and optimize in other ways. And for those with accident-prone pets, robot vacuums with poop detection will ensure nothing gross gets smeared across the floor in the middle of a cleaning job.
To help you find the right robot vacuum for homes with pets, I tested nine robot vacuums, (five of which had mopping capabilities) by running them on completely cleared floors, as well as with objects like toys and cables scattered about to see how effectively they avoided each. I tried out smart-navigation features (like scheduled vacuuming and single-room cleaning jobs) when available. I also made sure to take my pups on plenty of walks to ensure the floors were sufficiently dirty. And I spoke with experts from major players in the space, including Dyson and iRobot.
Update on November 1, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
What we’re looking for
Brushes
Robot vacuums will never be able to match traditional vacuums in suction power, but what matters more for picking up hair and dirt are powerful brushes. Some robot vacs use single brushes, while others have a dual-brush system that digs deep into rug fibers to yank out tough-to-clean gunk. If you have a pet that sheds, it’s important that your robot vacuum’s brushes don’t get caught in tangled hair (and this is even more important if you have a long-haired pet or household member).
Quality brushes don’t just make for a more thorough cleaning; the better the brushes are at sweeping up debris that rests below the surface of a rug or carpet or in crevices, the less suction power it’ll have to use. That trade-off saves a lot of battery life, as a vacuum that’s always running at max suction will have to return to the docking station to recharge more frequently, resulting in longer overall times for cleaning.
Capacity
Because almost all the robot vacuums we recommend come with docking stations, the capacity of each robot’s on-unit dustbin isn’t quite as important as it would be without the docking station. Instead of forcing you to empty the bin every time it’s full, these robots will automatically return to their stations to have all the dirt and debris sucked into the station’s dustbag. That said, the size of the on-device dustbin still determines how often your robot has to (noisily) do that. Most companies don’t list the capacities of their docking stations’ dust compartment, but they can all hold about 60 days’ worth of dirt and debris.
Those without these docking stations — usually more budget-friendly models — will notify you when it’s time to empty the bin, either from within the company’s app or via an announcement. For these robots, I focused on models with a dustbin capacity of at least 0.6 liters (about double the capacity of most models with docking stations).
Mopping
Pets — especially dogs — track a lot of dirt into the house. If you don’t wipe their paws after every walk, trip to the park, or quick run around the yard, your floors probably need more frequent wiping than the average home. I’ve found (and multiple experts have echoed) that no robot mop, especially one that’s also a vacuum cleaner, can ever match a manual mopping job. That said, one that does more than sweep dirty water around the floor can reduce the number of times per month you have to spend mopping yourself. Since adding a robot vacuum to my home, I’ve reduced my personal mopping runs from four per month to three.
For a robot to effectively and dependably mop your floors, it has to be compatible with some sort of cleaning fluid — otherwise it’s just brushing the same dirt and water around without actually cleaning.
Run time
Run time on a robot vacuum isn’t quite as important as it is with other kinds of vacuums, since a robot has more time to get its cleaning done than you do. That said, if you have to be around while the robot is doing its thing, and the noise bothers you, you may want a longer run time to make the whole session more efficient.
A lot of self-emptying robot vacuums and models with mapping capabilities can calculate how much of a charge is needed to complete a cleaning job. When the robot is running low, it’ll charge just enough to complete the job before heading back to the station for a full recharge. Other models may fully recharge before getting back to it.
Smart navigation
Some use lasers or cameras to map the layout of your home to avoid obstacles. Those that use lasers won’t pick up as many details as those with cameras, as they can’t use object/obstacle detection to avoid things like dog toys, bowls, and in some cases, even poop. That last one is crucial, because vacuums that have mopping capabilities without poop detection, or at least obstacle detection, run the risk of smearing everything across your floors, leaving you with an even worse mess to clean up.
On the other hand, laser-based robots without cameras have fewer privacy risks. They may still save some data about your home, like a blueprint of its layout, but they won’t take any pictures that could contain sensitive information. That doesn’t mean companies don’t work to ensure that their camera-based robots protect your data and your privacy — they do — but if you’re the type to keep a smart speaker out of your home so nobody’s listening, you’re better off with a laser-only robot or one without mapping capabilities.
Best robot vacuum for pet hair overall
Brushes: Dual-brush system / Capacity: 0.3 liters on-device / Mopping: No / Runtime: Up 85 to minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based, object detection
I’ve had a Roomba j7+ in my home for over a year, and aside from robot vacuums that also mop, no other robot has been as convenient to use and effective as this one. Its dual-brush setup — which uses a durable rubber material — allows it to dig up even tough-to-grab things like pet fur. In all the time I’ve used it (about eight months of weekly cleaning sessions), it never got hair tangled in its brushes. At 0.3 liters, iRobot’s robots have the smallest on-device dustbins, but that’s never been an issue for me, as all the iRobot robot vacuums we recommend have self-emptying docking stations that can hold up to 60 days’ worth of debris. The station opens from the top, rather than the side like on iRobot’s j9+, which makes it a little more annoying to remove the dust bag and slightly less functional since you can’t rest anything on top of the dock.
Its runtime is a tad shorter than the Eufy’s, but it has a feature that allows it to recharge without taking several hours. If it needs more than 85 minutes to complete a job and the battery is running low, it can estimate how long the rest of the cleaning will take and charge itself enough to get through the job. After that, it’ll return to the station again for a complete charge, but that feature cuts down on overall cleaning time by a fair amount. As with many other iRobot vacuums, you can schedule cleanings through the app to also optimize cleaning sessions.
It uses both a camera and lasers to navigate and create a map of your home, but its handiest feature for pet owners is its object detection. After each cleaning job, you can go into the app and review every new object the robot detected, like a chew toy or pair of socks, that won’t be there during the next run, so it knows not to avoid that area in the future. 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.
Because it doesn’t have mopping built in, you’ll need to mop your floors by hand. That’ll take more time, but it’s also more effective than the mopping any robot can do (and if you have a lot of rugs or carpeting in your home, this is probably a better option for you anyway). If you need something to do routine mopping to assist with your manual cleaning, get the Combo j9+ or Qrevo Pro.
Best (less expensive) robot vacuum for pet hair
Brushes: Single-brush system / Capacity: 0.6 liters on-device/ Mopping: No / Runtime: Up 100 to minutes / Smart navigation: None
Eufy’s robot vacuums have impressed me with their ability to pack efficient cleaning into a budget-friendly package. Despite being significantly cheaper than every other model we recommend, the 11S’s dustbin is double that of the j7+, the vacuum works well on hardwood and carpet, and it automatically returns to its station when it needs to recharge.
Art director and longhair-cat mom Minha Khan loves this affordable robot vacuum because, at 2.85 inches tall, it’s slim enough to slide under the couch. “My cat tracks litter and sheds everywhere, so I love that the vacuum reaches areas my stick vacuum can’t,” she explains. Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo also loves this model and goes so far as to call it the “robot vacuum that helped me avoid couples therapy.
For this lower price, you won’t find a connected app to go along with the vacuum, but it can be maneuvered with a remote control. Because it lacks a camera, it doesn’t map your home but uses infrared sensors to avoid obstacles and comes with drop-sensing technology to keep the robot from falling down the stairs or other edges (robots with cameras have this feature, too, but the added inputs make other robots less likely to run into trouble). Its tempered-glass cover also protects against scratching and damage.
Best robot vacuum and mop for pet hair
Brushes: Dual-brush system / Capacity: 0.3 liters on-device / Mopping: No / Runtime: Up to 120 minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based, object detection
iRobot’s Combo j9+ strikes the best balance between vacuuming, mopping, smart navigation, and price of the models I’ve tested. Its dual-brush system (the same as on the regular j7+ and j9+) works well on hardwood, tile, and carpets and rugs, and the mopping is more than enough to do routine maintenance on floors. I used one in my house for a few months, and it cut down on my monthly cleaning by about one or two mopping jobs per month.
Its dustbin can hold up to 30 days’ worth of debris, and its docking station can hold up to 60, so you won’t have to clear it as often as you would a stick vacuum. I’ve found that I have to clear it a little more often than iRobot’s estimates, but I also have a dog that tends to shed a fair amount. It’s worth noting that when the docking station is picking up everything the robot has sucked up during its cleaning job, it gets quite loud. Since it has smart programming, you can just set it to do its cleaning jobs when you’re not home, or while you’re awake and can put your noise-canceling headphones on.
The Combo j9+’s run time is about 120 minutes, depending on what power level you have the suction set to, and whether you use the more thorough mopping mode. Like the j7+, if it’s running low on power and still has more floor to clean, it’ll run back to the station, charge up enough to finish the job, and go straight back to cleaning.
Although the mopping on the Combo j9+ is sufficient for most cleaning situations, it’s important to know that it requires more upkeep than some other robot vacuum-mop hybrids, like the Qrevo Pro, which has a cleaning function for the mopping pads built into the dock. You have to wash the Combo j9+’s mopping pad either by hand or in the washer. It’s not a huge inconvenience, as you can just toss it in with the rest of your laundry, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re forgetful or rely on the robot as your main method of cleaning.
The robot’s one shortcoming is that its mopping mechanism isn’t quite as effective as the one on the Qrevo Pro, but the difference is only noticeable if you’re really picky about your floors being spotless. It uses a mechanical arm to bring the mopping mechanism down when on hard surfaces, and brings it back to the top of the robot when it’s on carpet or only tasked with vacuuming. That keeps the pads from getting too dirty, but because the mechanism can’t apply a ton of pressure, even at its maximum setting, it doesn’t work as well as the Qrevo Pro’s brushes that are at the bottom of the robot and that spin as they clean. That said, because you can remove the mopping pad and wash it on your own, this robot vacuum uses way less water than the Qrevo Pro, which can clean the pads at the dock using clean water.
Best (less-expensive) robot vacuum and mop for pet hair
Brushes: Dual-brush system / Capacity: 0.3 liters on-device / Mopping: No / Runtime: Up 85 minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based, object detection
If you’d rather save a couple hundred bucks, iRobot’s Combo j7+ — which I tested for nearly a year — is nearly as good at vacuuming and mopping as the j9+, with a few caveats. Its runtime is a bit shorter; its docking station opens from the top rather than the side like on the j9+, which is less convenient; and its station doesnt look as nice. Most importantly, though, the on-device clean water compartment will have to be refilled manually, while the Combo j9+ has an automatic-refill function. In my testing, I usually had to refill it after every time it mopped my old one-bedroom townhome — an extra step, but not a big deal as the app will let you know when it’s empty.
Those drawbacks aside, it has the same dual-brush system as the Combo j9+, and its mopping works almost as well (it can’t apply quite as much pressure as the j9+). iRobot also does a good job of bringing new features to older robots, as long as they’re still capable of running the new software. Like the j9+, this robot uses lasers and a camera to map your home, and effectively has all the same functionality. You can also schedule cleaning sessions for this model using the app.
Even with its shorter runtime of 85 minutes, compared to the j9+’s estimated 120 minutes, this robot was usually able to clean my entire home in one go, unless I had it set to the more thorough mopping mode, which scrubs the floors twice. In that instance, it had to recharge once before finishing, but it was a fairly short break, and worth it for the extra clean floors.
Best self-cleaning robot vacuum for pet hair
Brushes: Single-brush system / Capacity: 0.33 liters on-device; 2.7 liters in docking station / Mopping: Yes / Runtime: 210 minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based, object detection
iRobot’s robot vacuum and mop combos work well enough for most homes with hard floors, but the Roborock Qrevo Pro is even more convenient. Instead of using a mopping pad that you have to wash by hand or with a load of laundry, the Qrevo Pro has a hot-water washing mechanism built into its docking station, which will clean the robot’s two mopping pads periodically throughout a cleaning job, as well as after it’s done. This method uses a lot more water than iRobot’s method, and you’ll have to listen to the dock cleaning the pads, but it ensures your mopping pads are clean for every cycle.
In just under two hours, the Qrevo Pro is able to vacuum and mop my three-bedroom home without ever getting tangled with dog hair or any cables on the floor. Obstacles like dog toys, food and water bowls, and the occasional toilet-paper roll my dogs drag out of the trash never caused any issues for the robot. That said, the object detection isn’t quite as smart as what’s on iRobot’s machines; you can’t go in and review every obstacle after a cleaning job with the Qrevo Pro, so it may not learn to avoid unusual items like the remnants of a torn-up tennis ball your dog insists on playing with.
I do wish that the Qrevo Pro looked as nice as iRobot’s machines since it takes up so much space on the floor. While the docking stations of the Combo j7+ and Combo j9+ both have sleek designs with flat tops, the Qrevo Pro’s docking station lacks a top altogether. This makes it easier to grab the water tanks to empty the dirty one and refill the clean, but because the top is always exposed, it won’t look as good in your living room or hallway.
Best extra-powerful robot vacuum for pet hair
Brushes: Single-brush system / Capacity: 0.57 liters / Mopping: No / Runtime: 65 minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based
While iRobot’s j7+ is the best robot vacuum overall for pet owners thanks to its price and effective vacuuming, Dyson’s 360 Vis Nav is better at picking up smaller particles like dust. At least a few times, I had to run over my floors with my Dyson after the iRobot did its thing if my dogs brought in a particularly large amount of dirt. That hasn’t been the case with the Dyson. Its brush is similar to the ones on a Dyson stick vacuum, which are supereffective at grabbing large and small pieces of dirt and debris.
One of the strengths of using this vacuum is that it can track how much dust is in different areas of your home, and after each cleaning job it’ll produce a heat map indicating where the dirtiest areas are. I’ve used this to alter how I clean my house and keep a closer eye on particularly dusty areas; it helped me find a spot in the house where both dust and some nasty bugs were sneaking in. It would be nice if Dyson’s software could use this to alter how it cleans the house on its own, but it’s still helpful to see the amount of dust reduced on each subsequent cleaning job. This also allows the Viz Nav to pair nicely with Dyson’s other home cleaning products, such as its air purifiers.
The Vis Nav’s biggest drawback is that despite its high price, its dock doesn’t have a self-emptying station, so you’ll have to clear it on your own. Its capacity is also slightly smaller than that of the other dockless robot we recommend, the Robovac 11S, but this one is much easier to empty. It’s a simple operation and allows you to completely empty it without having to scoop stuff out using your fingers, which I had to do a few times with iRobot’s and Eufy’s vacuums. But other robot vacuums at this price have the self-emptying feature, and if it’s a convenience you care about, you should consider getting the Combo j9+ or Qrevo Pro instead.
Our experts
- Liza Corsillo, Strategist senior writer
- Minha Khan, art director
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
