The best vacuums for pet hair we tested
Best robot vacuum for pet hair: iLife V3S Pro
Best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair: Dyson V11 Animal
Best handheld vacuum for pet hair: Bissell Pet Hair Eraser
Best vacuum for pet messes: Bissell Little Green Max Pet
Living with a furry friend means you’ll have to make a few mandatory purchases like bowls for food, beds for sleeping and, yes, a vacuum that can handle pet hair. Those experienced with cats and dogs know all the wonderful things that come with the companionship of a pet, but they also know how inescapable a pet’s hair can be. Even if your pet isn’t a breed especially known for shedding, you will find their hair on clothes, all over couches and in crevices that defy logic. Hair. Is. Everywhere.
Unrelenting pet fur and hair means you’ll often reach for a vacuum cleaner to reduce allergens like dander and dust. Many models come with attachments and accessories that are particularly effective in that ongoing battle. We’ve tested dozens in our own homes to find which do the job best. Four standouts across various categories — a robot vacuum, a stick vacuum, a handheld vacuum and a compact carpet cleaner — impressed us the most.
The budget-priced iLife V3S Pro uses a suction tube like a traditional vacuum cleaner rather than the roller brushes employed by other robot vacuums and does a better job picking up pet hair without clogging.
With impressive power and the ability to tackle cleaning tasks on surfaces ranging from high-pile carpet to hard floors, the Dyson V11 Animal is the most capable cordless stick vacuum we tested, whether you're cleaning up pet hair or not.
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser has a motorized brush that picks up more pet hair than any other option we tested, plus an upholstery brush and long crevice tool that let you take care of additional dust and debris anywhere.
This pet-specific iteration of the viral Little Green carpet cleaner worked wonders on pet accidents that were a little nastier than tufts of hair, meaning urine and vomit on rugs and upholstery is no longer a disaster.
Best robot vacuum for pet hair: iLife V3S Pro
Of the robot vacuums we tested, the iLife V3S Pro was the best at removing pet hair without clogging, thanks to its lack of roller brushes. At around $160, it also costs hundreds less than most robot vacuums.
The iLife V3S Pro does a great job removing pet hair and cat litter from hardwood floor and low carpet. It uses bump-and-run navigation rather than mapping, so while it can’t avoid cords or poop like the Roomba j9+ and j7+ can, it will clean your whole space eventually. It can’t empty itself, unlike more expensive robots, and it doesn’t have a bin fill indicator. But if you make it a habit to empty the dust bin every day, it will drastically cut down on pet hair in your space for little effort on your part.
Best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair: Dyson V11 Animal
The Dyson V11 Animal is the best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair, and the best stick vacuum of the 14 we tested. If you live in an apartment or smaller home, it might even be the only vacuum you need. Its swiveling floor head makes fast work of pet hair and dust even in high-pile carpets, and in handheld mode, the crevice tool and mini motorized brush tool are fantastic for cleaning upholstered furniture, cat towers and pet beds. It’s lightweight, maneuverable and cordless, so getting the vacuum out isn’t a hassle like it can be for upright and canister vacuums.
The V11 Animal’s biggest weakness is its battery life. At its automatic and Boost settings, it gets 30 to 45 minutes of run time, which might not be enough. Unlike other stick vacuums with swappable batteries, the Dyson’s rechargeable battery is built in, so once it’s out of juice, you have to wait for it to recharge. The Dyson also uses a trigger-style power switch, which you have to hold down the entire time you’re vacuuming. It’s fine for smaller tasks, but you might find it taxing if you’re cleaning an entire home.
Best handheld vacuum for pet hair: Bissell Pet Hair Eraser
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is the best handheld vacuum for pet hair. It has a motorized brush that lets it pick up pet hair from upholstery, floors, in the car and everywhere else we found the stuff (which, as you know if you’re a cat or dog parent, is pretty much everywhere). Even though the Pet Hair Eraser is on the larger side (thanks to its sizable canister) at 17 inches long and weighs around 3 pounds, it’s still well balanced and comfortable to use.
The motorized pet hair brush attaches securely and let us get at dog hair embedded deep in carpeting, rugs and couches, and even in our test vehicle’s carpeting. The 23.6-ounce canister — the largest of all the handheld vacuums we tested — sucked up a large amount of hair before needing to be emptied, and along with the 17-minute run time, it let us work until the job was truly complete. The long crevice tool and flat upholstery brush let us get into nooks and crannies where the motorized main brush couldn’t go too.
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is versatile enough that you could use it as your only handheld vacuum, whether you’re looking for something to use around the house or to keep your car clean, though it’s extra power and capacity makes it a bit bulkier and more cumbersome to handle than some of its competitors. You might look elsewhere if you are looking to pick up after kids, as the nozzle was too narrow to suck up Cheerios. It also doesn’t have a charging base, but it comes with a wall-wart power supply cable, which is a less convenient setup than our other favorite handheld vacuums.
Best vacuum for pet messes: Bissell Little Green Max Pet
Accidents happen, and sometimes pets leave behind messes that are a bit more offensive than hair. In our testing, the Bissell Little Green Max Pet removed urine and vomit stains so well that it was like those mishaps never occurred.
The compact carpet cleaner has two tanks aboard, one for a solution of water and cleaning formula and the other for the debris and dirty liquid sucked up by running the machine. The “Tough Stain Tool” attachment does the rest. Just spray the solution at the press of a button, scrub it into the stained surface, and then lift the stain via a narrow suction channel at the mouth of the attachment.
Underscored associate testing writer Joe Bloss has a Chihuahua mix who has left behind urine and vomit stains on multiple area rugs. The Little Green Max Pet took on both messes and made the rugs look cleaner than before they’d been soiled.
View this interactive content on CNN.comThe 5-foot hose and 15-foot power cord make the Little Green Max Pet portable enough to be deployed anywhere throughout your home, and they wrap up neatly for storage in a closet or on a shelf.
The Little Green Max Pet’s specialty is also why it’s not a do-it-all device. While it excels at removing stains, that’s its only purpose. It can handle small debris, but the included directions advise you to vacuum a soiled surface with another machine before spraying the solution — which, of course, you’ll need to buy more of once you run through the included sample. Refills aren’t too pricey, but they’re a cost to consider nonetheless.
How we tested
If the range of our top picks hadn’t yet made it clear, we’ve extensively tested all sorts of vacuums. There were common qualifications across the board — obviously, a vacuum needs to do its job of sucking up messes, first and foremost — and niche features that made certain models stand out among similar competition. Let’s break them down.
Performance
- Suction: This was one of the most important considerations of our search. We tested each vacuum’s suction capabilities on various messes, including pet hair and cat litter.
- Effectiveness on various surfaces: We deployed each vacuum on a variety of surfaces, from hard floors to carpets and rugs of different pile heights. If applicable, we also tested each vacuum on furniture upholstery.
- Battery and charging: For cordless vacuums, we measured how long their battery life lasted on a single charge and how long it took to charge from dead to full battery.
Design
- Controls and carrying: We noted how convenient and easy each vacuum was to use by, well, using them. This included buttons, switches and attachments. For handheld models, we accounted for how heavy each model was and if its weight affected use.
- Canister capacity and emptying: How often did the canister need to be emptied, and how easy was it when that time arrived? While cleaning with each vacuum, we observed how quickly it filled up with pet hair and if debris clogged the filter.
- Pet hair attachment: Many vacuums designed for pet hair include an attachment specifically designed for cleaning up the fuzz left behind by Fido. We graded each on how effective they were in their dedicated task and if heavy use resulted in any clogs or frustrating maintenance.
Category-specific features
- Robot vacuums: Robot vacuums are especially clutch in homes with pets because their constant work keeps pet hair at bay before accumulation gets out of hand. While testing robot vacuums, we weighed the importance of features like room mapping, automatic emptying and obstacle detection.
- Handheld vacuums: Handheld vacuums reach places and surfaces that would be awkward or impossible to clean with other kinds of vacuums. We emphasized how the handheld vacs we tested cleaned couches and cars.
How to choose the right vacuum for pet hair
The bristles on a vacuum’s brush head are designed to agitate the carpet and to lift dust, debris and hair from the floor. As anyone who has used a hairbrush knows, hairs get caught in the bristles over time. If you have pets that shed a lot, the hair can accumulate so fast on the brush that it clogs the vacuum, lowering suction or preventing the brush from turning. That’s why many companies sell vacuums optimized for pet hair, with brushes designed not to clog on hair, along with powered mini brush head attachments to get pet hair off upholstery and stairs.
Pet-specific vacuums often include HEPA filters, aimed at controlling dust, dander and pet-related allergens in general. If you’re concerned about such issues, you may want to seek out a bagged vacuum rather than a bagless model; the bag provides an extra filtration stage and lets you avoid dust spillage when emptying.
If you have a houseful of cats and dogs, a canister vacuum or upright vacuum will give you the power and tools to deal with animal hair, dander and dust on any surface. These corded units have more powerful motors and stronger suction, and pet-friendly models offer powered brushes designed to make short work of hair without clogging. While they may be more ungainly than cordless stick vacuums, they won’t run out of power midway through your weekly cleaning.
An apartment or small house can likely get by with a cordless stick vacuum, especially if you have mostly bare floors. An upright or canister vacuum is a better option if you have a large house or lots of carpet. Upright or canister vacuums can provide more suction than cordless stick vacuums and won’t run out of batteries in the middle of a job. Many of these also double as handheld vacuums, which are great for keeping upholstery hair-free or tackling small pet-associated messes.
A robot vacuum probably shouldn’t be your only vacuum if you’re trying to clean up after pets, but it’s a great complement to a cordless stick, upright or canister vacuum. Running a robot vacuum daily can keep the day-to-day buildup of fuzz to a manageable minimum so your weekly chores are, well, less of a chore. The small roller brushes on most robot vacuums can clog quickly with pet hair, so you’ll want to pay attention to regular maintenance. Our current favorite in the category, the iLife V3S Pro, avoids this nagging issue by not using a brush roll.
Other pet hair vacuums we tested
The Kenmore BC4026 canister vacuum is great for large homes, deep-pile carpets and folks with allergies. It's bulky and inelegant, but its powered floor head outperforms vacuums twice its price, the motorized pet hair mini brush keeps upholstery looking fresh and its dust bags and exhaust filter are HEPA-compliant.
For folks with pets, carpets and dust or dander sensitivities, a canister vacuum can offer even more powerful suction, deeper carpet cleaning and better air filtration than an upright. The Kenmore BC4026 Pet-Friendly Pop-N-Go isn’t particularly maneuverable, even by canister vacuum standards, but its electric floor sweeper brush pulls an unbelievable amount of dust and pet hair from the thickest of carpets. Like the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser upright, it has a mini turbo brush (here called a Pet Powermate) that makes quick work of cat hair on cat trees, microfiber upholstery and pet beds. Unlike the Bissell, Kenmore’s version is motorized, so you can change the suction level without changing the brush speed, which helps get pet hair off upholstery without inhaling the fabric.
Both the dust bag and exhaust filter of the BC4026 are HEPA-compliant, and offer much better air filtration and dust containment than a bagless vacuum, as well as three times the dust capacity of the Dyson V11 Animal stick vacuum or Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright. But that’s at the cost of portability and maneuverability. At 22 pounds, the Kenmore is 4 pounds heavier than the Bissell upright, and neither its floor head nor its canister are as nimble. But for sheer power, you can’t beat a canister vac, and the Kenmore is far more affordable than the much more maneuverable Miele Complete C3 Kona.
The iRobot j9+ has all the bells and whistles you'd want in a robot vac: effective dual rubber brushes, precise mapping and AI avoidance to keep cleaning even when surprise poop blocks its path.
Our testing found the iRobot Roomba j9+ to be a terrific robot vacuum loaded with features. To name a few, Dirt Detective prioritizes cleaning the rooms in your home that need it most, Carpet Boost increases its suction when it moves from hard flooring and carpet, and dual rubber brushes make quick work of pet hair and kitty litter, along with plenty of other non-pet cleanups. Perhaps most impressively, though, a forward-facing camera leads to accurate mapping and detection of unexpected obstacles. That’ll come in handy if your puppy can’t make it outside before going number two.
If you think nothing’s missing from the Roomba j9+, you’re right. It’s a beast — albeit with a beastly price tag to boot. Our favorite robot vacuum for pet hair, the iLife V3S Pro, does just as well suctioning pet hair and you could buy seven of them for the price of the j9+. But if self-emptying and obstacle avoidance are important to you, then perhaps that added cost is worth it.
You may find the iRobot j7+, our previous pick for the best robot vacuum, on sale now that the newer j9+ has hit shelves.
Many of the same features that make the Roomba j9+ a premium robot vacuum exist in its predecessor, the j7+. It used to be our favorite robot vacuum before the Roborock Q5 Max+ Robot Vacuum upstaged it in our latest round of testing.
But that doesn’t mean the j7+ isn’t worth buying anymore. It’s wise to check sale prices now that iRobot sells an updated model, as you might get all the features you need at a discounted rate. The j7+ will clean your filthiest rooms first, avoid unexpected obstacles, operate with terrific suction and empty itself on its own.
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright Vacuum's standout feature is the Pet TurboEraser tool, which has a spinning brush head with bristles that easily pull dog and cat hair off upholstery and stairs, making it the best upright vacuum for pet owners.
If you have a home too large to vacuum in a single charge of a stick vacuum, especially one with lots of carpets, you should consider a corded upright vacuum. While larger, heavier and less maneuverable than cordless stick vacuums, they have higher suction and won’t run out of charge.
The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Lift-Off Upright is the best upright vacuum for pet hair, thanks to its Pet TurboEraser mini brush tool, which does a better job removing pet hair from stairs and upholstery than the five other uprights we tested (though it’s powered by suction, rather than motorized, so it won’t be as effective as a motorized pet hair tool like the one on the Kenmore BC4026 canister vacuum below).
The Pet Hair Eraser’s lift-off feature means the canister, hose, wand and motor detach from the floor head so you can easily use it to vacuum upholstery, drapes, fixtures and other things above floor level. At 18 pounds, the vacuum isn’t the lightest of the upright vacuums we tested, and it’s not the best on hard floors, but it’s the best upright option for people with pets. However, people with dust or dander sensitivities should consider a bagged canister vacuum rather than a bagless upright like the Bissell.
No Black+Decker stick vacuum has stronger suction than the SummitSeries Select, which is tempting at a below-Dyson price point. It also comes with below-Dyson performance.
Black+Decker’s SummitSeries cordless stick vacuum is a versatile, powerful option that can handle pet hair on carpet and hard flooring. Switching between the two surfaces requires only the click of a button, turning on increased suction for the carpet, as opposed to swapping out another attachment. We could vacuum an entire apartment in one session without worrying about changing components or a dead battery.
We appreciated two particular features on the main head of the vacuum: a pair of LED lights to illuminate dust and dirt on the ground and the extra bristles on each side that dislodged pet hair built up underneath doors and along walls. Unfortunately, a set of small wheels on the main head also made navigation along walls a bit tricky and limited.
The SummitSeries Select can stand up on its own, which is helpful for apartment dwellers who can’t drill in permanent wall mounts. But it’s a bulky device that was tiresome to use for extended periods, far heavier than any other handheld vacuum we tested against pet hair. If you’re searching for a do-it-all stick vacuum for your home and don’t have the budget for a Dyson, there’s still a lot of value packed into this Black+Decker, which offers more suction than any other model from the brand.
While it didn't claim our top spot for handheld vacuums, we did love how easy it was to empty this model's canister and the cyclical movement of trapped debris that meant it never lost suction power even as it filled up.
The UltraCyclone Pet Pro Plus is a solid handheld vacuum, regardless of whether it’s used in a home with pets or not. We tested this as a car vacuum and were impressed with its suction and canister, which spins debris around (hence the “UltraCyclone” moniker) and prevents the filter from clogging. It also doesn’t take as long to charge as other handheld vacuums we tested, going from a dead battery to 100% in under three hours.
In terms of picking up pet hair, though, we were disappointed by the motorized pet attachment on the UltraCyclone. Its rigid brushes did well in loosening dirt but didn’t draw in pet hair with the same consistency. The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser did a much better job of living up to its name.
Two levels of power give you the option of extreme suction or almost 30 minutes of run time. Still, the Furbuster didn't have the pet hair-busting chops to dethrone our top model from Bissell.
Battery length was a strong suit of the Furbuster, which lasted 26 minutes on its lower power setting. However, comparable cleaning power to our top pick from Bissell was only possible with the Furbuster turned up to high.
Our main gripe with this Black+Decker portable vacuum was the pet hair attachment and its tendency to get wrapped up in wads of human hair. That’s a frequent problem with vacuum heads of all kinds, but it’s especially troubling here because the supposedly “anti-tangle” brush isn’t removable. That’s not the case in our top pick, the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser, which allows for easy removal of the pet hair brush’s main component for easy cleaning.