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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 747-square-foot townhome at least once a week to keep up, but in the year 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 every expert I’ve spoken with has echoed the fact that a robot vacuum and mop can never replace doing things by hand, 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. For pet parents with skittish animals, a quieter model may keep the peace better than a louder one that may have other features to recommend it. 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 seven robot vacuums (four 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 that they were getting their exercise in). And I spoke with experts from major players in the space, including Dyson and iRobot.
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 dig up 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
Robot vacuums that have to pick up pet hair will have more debris to pick up, so their dustbins usually need to be emptied more frequently. The larger the dustbin’s capacity, the longer it can go without needing to be cleared.
Cheaper robot vacuums will require you to empty the dustbins on your own, while some higher-end robots can self-empty at their docking station. You’ll still have to empty out the station’s bag, but because the base has a much larger capacity than the onboard dustbin, you won’t have to do this as frequently as you would without the self-emptying feature. Do note, though, that the self-emptying function is often loud, as the base sucks up all the dirt and other particles from the robot. It only lasts a minute at most, though, so don’t let this scare you off.
Different vacuums measure their capacities in different metrics (gallons, liters, quarts are all common), but many manufacturers will list the estimated frequency (iRobot, for instance, lists theirs by how many days’ worth of dirt and debris it can hold) you’ll have to empty it. Additionally, robots with docking stations will have their station’s capacity listed separately.
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.
Smart navigation
Some use lasers or cameras to map the layout of your home to avoid obstacles. Those that use lasers won’t be as detailed 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 pets overall
Brushes: Dual-brush system / Capacity: Up to 60 days in docking station / 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 about a year, and aside from robot vacuums that also mop, no robot has done a better job of keeping my floors clear of gunk and dirt. 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 (at least eight months of weekly cleaning sessions), it’s never gotten hair tangled in its brushes. Like the Eufy Robovac 11S, its dustbin is fairly small. Unlike the Eufy, though, the j7+ has a docking station that both charges and empties the robot, and the dock’s dustbin will hold up to 60 days’ worth of debris. Its docking 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.
Its runtime is a bit lower than the Eufy, 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 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 every cleaning job, you can go into the app and review every new object the robot detected, like a sock or pair of shoes, 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 X2 Omni.
Best (less expensive) robot vacuum for pets
Brushes: Single-brush system / Capacity: 0.6 liters/ Mopping: No / Runtime: Up 100 to minutes / Smart navigation: None
Eufy’s robot vacuums have impressed me for 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 nearly the same capacity as 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. It also doesn’t map your home — you’ll have to pay more for a robot that does that — but uses infrared sensors to avoid obstacles and comes with drop-sensing technology to keep the robot from falling down the stairs. Its tempered-glass cover also protects against scratching and damage. Instead of a camera- or laser-based navigation system, the 11S relies on bump sensors and edge detection (using the same sort of sensor that’s at the bottom of a computer mouse), so it will bounce randomly around the room as it cleans, and it won’t be able to identify furniture and stray objects.
Best robot vacuum for pets with mopping
Brushes: Dual-brush system / Capacity: Up to 30 days of dirt (60 in docking station)/ Mopping: No / Runtime: Up to 120 minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based, object detection
No robot mop can fully replace a traditional mop, but iRobot’s Combo j9+ strikes the best balance between vacuuming, mopping, smart navigation, and price. Its dual-brush system works well on hardwood, tile, and carpets and rugs, and the mopping is more than enough to do routine maintenance on floors. I’ve been using one in my house for a few months, and I’ve been able to cut down on my monthly cleaning by about one or two mopping jobs per month.
Since its dustbin can hold up to 30 days’ worth of debris, and its docking station can hold up to 60, 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 if 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. As with other iRobot robot vacuums, you can schedule cleaning sessions through the app.
Although the mopping on the Combo j9+ is sufficient for maintenance, it’s important to know that it requires more upkeep than some other robot vacuum-mop hybrids, like the Ecovacs DeeBot X2 Omni, 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 X2 Omni. 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 X2 Omni’s brushes that are at the bottom of the robot. That said, because you can remove the mopping pad and wash it on your own, this robot vacuum uses way less water than the X2 Omni, which can clean the pads at the dock using clean water.
Best (less-expensive) robot vacuum for pets with mopping
Brushes: Dual-brush system / Capacity: Up to 30 days of dirt (60 in docking station) / 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’ve 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, its mopping 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 one-bedroom townhome — an extra step, but not a big deal.
Those drawbacks aside, it has the same dual-brush system as the Combo j9+, and its mopping works just as well. 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. In that instance, it had to recharge once before finishing, but it was a fairly short break.
Best self-cleaning robot vacuum for pets
Brushes: Single-brush system / Capacity: 3 liters / Mopping: No / Runtime: 210 minutes / Smart navigation: Camera- and laser-based, object detection
iRobot’s robot vacuums work well enough for most homes, but the Deebot X2 Omni takes its mopping up a notch and has a longer run time than the Combo j9+. Like the Combo j9+, the X2 Omni uses both lasers and a camera to navigate your home, and it does so with impressive accuracy. When I moved into my new home, I ran a full vacuuming and mopping job at the highest setting before cleaning my floors by hand, and it left my floors clean enough for me to put off my own mopping by about a week.
You can adjust the power of the vacuum’s suction, as well as the amount of water used and how many times it mops. There’s also a setting to enable deep scrubbing, which does a better job of cleaning than the standard mode but uses more battery. The standard mopping setting is good for maintenance, and I like using the more intense settings when it’s been a while since I’ve run it.
You can create schedules from within the app for when the robot should run a cleaning job (iRobot’s vacuums do this, too). If you’re into visual data, you can also peek at a 3-D map of your home that’ll even display furniture — it’s pretty neat. (This data is all encrypted when it gets sent to Ecovacs) There’s a feature that lets you run the robot vacuum like an RC car right from your phone and use the camera as a sort of video monitor. To avoid any privacy issues, the robot will announce when this mode is on and that the camera is enabled.
Higher price tag aside, the X2 Omni’s biggest drawbacks are its water consumption and its mapping. Because it has a self-cleaning function, it needs to use water to clean both your floors and its mopping pads. Again, you can toggle the settings to make it use less water, but it’s still more than the water used when throwing the Combo j9+ or j7+’s pads into a load of laundry, since you’d be using that water anyways.
Ecovacs also doesn’t have the same object-detection software as iRobot, so you can’t review every new item the robot found during its cleaning job. It still performs the same basic function , so it won’t run into the box laying on your living room floor, but it’s much more hands-off. Its smart mapping isn’t quite as useful as on iRobot’s models, either, as you can’t customize the names of rooms (helpful for setting custom cleaning jobs and integrating with Alexa or Google Assistant). Since I have an open floor plan, the Ecovacs app has my kitchen identified as “Kitchen” and my living room as “Kitchen 2,” which is fine since I never rely on voice commands to start cleaning jobs, but this is not an issue with the Combo j9+ or j7+.
Our experts
- Liza Corsillo, Strategist senior writer
- Minha Khan, art director
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