Top 7 Best Roomba Vacuums for Pet Hair 2026
Buying a Roomba is easy but choosing the right one for your home needs a bit more consideration if your purchase is to have the maximum impact. Some homes may fare better with a more expensive, all-inclusive unit where others are fine with a less expensive and more basic model.
Your pet hair cleanup needs depend on a variety of factors. For example, how many pets do you have? How much does each one shed? The volume of hair the robot vacuum needs to suck up affects how efficiently it can do its job.
Since robots are more pricey than most manual pet hair vacuums, your budget and the battery life matter as well. If you have just one cat that is home only half the time, you can pick a less powerful and cheaper model than someone with three dogs and two cats.
The following products are excellent options for a variety of households and pet hair cleanup needs.
Our Top 7 – Quick Overview
1. iRobot Roomba 980
With a thick black outer shell and an edge sweeping brush, this Roomba is built for homes with pets. This unit works on both carpeted floors and hard floors, eliminating the need to buy separate devices for different flooring types. As a high tech option, this vacuum is an investment that is well worth the price. this Roomba is wi-fi enabled, which primarily comes into play when you also have an Alexa or plan to buy one with the Roomba. In addition to the technological appeal of the unit, it traps 99% of pet allergens for a full clean that does not require additional maintenance after.
Voice commands can be used to direct the Roomba to various rooms or even to clean up specific messes; for example, pet hair and dander can concentrate in corners, under beds, or even around furniture. A voice-activated robot vacuum is the perfect adversary to these messes and iRobot’s Roomba 980 boasts a 120-minute runtime. When the charge runs out, the 980 automatically recharges itself and goes right back to work. If being home to give voice commands and monitor the robot vacuum is not something feasible for you, the iRobot Roomba 980 can be programmed with a schedule ahead of time to avoid any last-minute fumbling.
Pros
- Powerful suction
- Easy to clear out and clean
- Predictable and simple cleaning pattern
- HEPA filtration
Cons
- Higher price range
- Can be confused by dark flooring
- Controls and data only viewable through apps
2. Roomba S7+
With smart home mapping and a self-emptying feature that enables you to ignore it for weeks at a time, this vacuum is an ideal choice for someone who wants to let the machine do its job without interference. With a sleek black body and charging station that can be smoothly pushed out of the way when needed, this robot vacuum boasts rubber brushes that can smoothly sweep up dust and grime on a variety of surfaces without becoming clogged with hair. Not only will this vacuum suck up the dirt and hair you can see, it cleans away invisible pollen, dander, and hairs too small to be seen by the naked eye.
Roomba’s S7 is compatible with both Alexa and Google Voice assistant. Commands can be given just as easily as commands to play music or look something up on the internet. Commands can be customized and programmed with the downloaded apps. Maps of an area, such as a room or an entire home, can also be programmed into the unit; this allows it to obey commands such as “clean the kitchen” with ease and a straightforward, full coverage cleaning pattern.
Just as important as cleaning efficiency is the allergen management of a vacuum. This model comes with a bag that locks in allergens including pet dander for up to 60 days. Even dust mites cannot escape until the bag is emptied; with nowhere to go, they will not be alive to breed by the time the bag is emptied on this robot vacuum.
Pros
- 75 Minute battery life
- Virtual “keep out” zones can be programmed in
- Cleaning sessions can be fully scheduled and mapped
- Can be used for full vacuuming or efficient spot maintenance
Cons
- Bumper can get stuck on low furniture
- “Auto empty” feature is delicate
- Wheels on some units get stuck with no warning
3. Roomba s9+
With an appearance that brings to mind the bodies of classic record players, this vacuum is so smart that it empties itself and can distinguish corners from straight lines. The longer bristled brush near one of the corners sweeps dirt, hair, and debris into the primary suction and up into the bag. Made of an anti-allergen material that traps almost all dust, dander, and hair, the bag empties itself when the unit is docked in the charging station.
A 3 stage cleaning system and smart mapping make this vacuum a formidable opponent for dirt and dander. The wide rubber brushes not only trap dirt and dander, they are thick and powerful enough to trap pollen and other small particles as well. Dust, for example, or spilled flour can be difficult to vacuum up as they are dense but light. The Roomba s9+ sweeps up these particles and more.
Pros
- Corner brush for more thorough clean
- Easy to clean; empties itself when connected to the home base
- Strong mapping ability
Cons
- Very expensive
- Makes quite a bit of noise
- Can have trouble finding the home base
4. iRobot Roomba 960
A classic gunmetal shell and easy-to-read screen make this vacuum an ideal choice for the consumer who wants something a little more basic. This Roomba can map and clean an entire level of a dwelling and syncs with Alexa voice commands for hands-free cleaning that sucks up the pet dander and allergens that you can’t even see. The multi-surface rubber brushes bend and flex with a wide variety of flooring materials to sweep up every last little bit of mess, including the mess in hard-to-reach areas such as under furniture.
Instead of different settings needing to be found and adjusted for different flooring types, the Roomba 960 automatically adjusts height, speed, and any other settings for the right clean on either hard flooring or carpet. This vacuum can hold nearly a liter of debris before it needs emptied, and for fine materials like dander and pet hair a liter takes a while to get to.
Pros
- Durable
- One of the lesser priced models
- Smooth integration with Alexa
- Attracts hair like a magnet
Cons
- Often dies some distance from the charging dock
- Dust sensors are so sensitive it can cause error messages
- Misses some dirt and grime around the edges of rooms
5. iRobot Roomba E5
A diameter of over 13 inches and a sleek black shell present the iRobot E5 as a luxury vacuum, and on a basic level, it is. What is not luxurious, however, is the price to value ratio. This machine cleans on the same level as Roombas two or even three times its price; evidence of this capability is a three-stage cleaning system featuring a removable bin that can be taken out, emptied, washed and dried, and put back in for further use. Instead of buying filter after filter, a reusable receiving bin presents a more eco-friendly option.
A series of sensors around the circumference of the vacuum prevents most collisions and allow the Roombas to accurately map out your home or the room it is designated for. Allergens, dirt, dust, hair, and small pieces of household debris are no match for the flexible rubber brushes and powerful suction.
Pros
- 90 minute runtime
- Sensors at multiple angles help the unit navigate
- Traps allergens
Cons
- Some customers reported the battery not keeping a full charge very long
- Larger areas require multiple charging sessions
- Noisy
6. iRobot Roomba 890
A .62 liter capacity and flexible rubber brushes make this Roomba an excellent choice for smaller homes and apartments with a fair amount of dirt and pet hair. The spinning corner brush, with its flexible but firm bristles, sweeps any border grime into the primary suction, which then sucks the mess up into the machine. When the battery is low, the Roomba returns itself to the charging station to reach full power and start cleaning once again.
Some vacuums only utilize suction to keep floors clean. This works for loose messes, such as a pile of dust, but for messes that have been compacted on any level something more is needed. The three-stage cleaning system boasted by this Roomba loosens, lifts, then suctions dirt and pet hair to ensure every tiny piece is picked up and the floors are left sparkling.
Pros
- Strong suction
- Navigates complex floor plans with ease
- Finds mess invisible to the naked eye
Cons
- Has to be brought or guided to charging station
- Narrow dustpan opening
- Some units spit hair back out
7. iRobot Roomba 690
The Dirt Detect sensors featured on this Roomba enable the suction and cleaning mechanisms to work harder or to ease up depending on the level of the mess the unit encounters. With the iRobot HOME App, you can schedule and direct cleanings anywhere you have service or internet access; set the Roomba to clean while out grocery shopping and come home to a vacuumed house and vacuum nestled into its charging station gaining power for the next job.
The sleek silver and black design is also high-tech, as all are Roombas. This model boasts the capability of being programmed to ignore “no-go” zones, or places in your home you don’t want the Roomba to clean. Some models can be noisy, so an example of this “no-go” zone would be the room of an infant or child who would be awoken by the sound. Another example is if there is a special type of flooring in one area of the house, such as a delicate tile or shag carpeting.
Pros
- Easy to clean
- Finds and consumes dust bunnies and hairballs
- Safe for everyday use
- Long battery life
Cons
- Scratches hardwood floors
- Sensors can break
- Snags on corners of rugs
Summary
Except for a few defective units, Roomba makes quality products that are versatile enough to clean a variety of flooring types. However, among this list of Roombas for pet hair, the i7+ stands out due to its sturdy but movable charging stand and efficient and speedy cleaning. The smart mapping technology means that the i7+ will not only map your home and clean accordingly, but it will also remember where it left off if it needs to empty itself or recharge in the middle of a session.
This Roomba is the recommended choice out of these seven options because of its reliability and capability of not only remembering where the charging/emptying station is but because it can memorize an entire house or apartment and work accordingly. When buying a Roomba, making a significant investment is not a bad idea.
Buying Guide for Robot Vacuums and Roombas
It might be easy to think that price and budget are the only factors needing consideration when looking to buy a robot vacuum.
The truth, however, is that you should consider several things when buying a Roomba or other robot vacuum for a home with pet hair; how many pets, what breeds and species they are, how big your home is, and other lifestyle factors all affect how useful and effective your robot vacuum is.
How many pets you have is important because two pets obviously shed more than one. some robot vacuums are better for lighter levels of dirt and hair, making them more effective when used in homes that have two or fewer pets. For homes with more than two pets or pets that shed more than the average, a more powerful and potentially high-priced unit would be a wiser purchase.
Naturally, the more powerful the vacuum is the more expensive it might be. The high-performance parts and machinery cost more than parts installed in casual use vacuums. Heavy-duty units for heavy-duty messes are simply going to be more expensive, but in the end, it is a much better value than buying multiple cheap versions that break one after the other.
Something else to consider when buying a robot vacuum for pet hair is what kind of pets you have. Some rabbits shed more than certain dog breeds, and different fur types have different consistencies, moisture levels, and weight. One cat and two dogs will produce far different levels of hair and dander than will an entire litter of puppies and a collection of foster cats.
If you have a large number of pets it is not a stretch to assume you have more room in your home than someone with one cat in a studio apartment. Both larger homes and larger numbers of pets require more power and capability in a robot vacuum, so choosing a Roomba with the stamina to reach and cover large areas is an essential part of shopping for a robot vacuum.
While it is true that robot vacuums have not yet mastered stairs, many are easy enough to program and can be re-programmed for different floors. Some people may choose to buy a unit for each floor of their home, and some may choose to move the charge port between floors on a daily or weekly basis.
When choosing a robot vacuum, budget and financing are impossible to ignore. Robot vacuums and Roombas are available for a wide variety of price ranges. Many retailers offer layaway and payment plans, and as for any major appliance, any reputable seller will also offer a warranty or protection plan of some kind. Over time, when used correctly, the Roomba does tend to pay for itself but it is important to make the right choice so as to maximize cleaning efficiency.