The best robot vacuum for pet owners
We let 17 robot vacuums loose for five weeks in a home with a cat and a dog. The Robomop P7 picked up the most hair and got stuck the least.
Sarah Miller
Ryan Mitchell, editor-in-chief
September 9, 2026
5 weeks · 17 models
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In this guide
Our picks at a glance
Robomop P7
Collected the most hair and got stuck only twice in twenty runs.
Read the full review
Clean Bot Mini
A simple robot that’s good enough for an apartment without thresholds.
Read the full review
Robomop P9 Ultra
Vacuums and mops, then cleans the mop pads itself with hot water.
Read the full reviewPrices checked September 30, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET. Prices may change.
Why you can trust us
Sarah Miller has tested home appliances since 2017 and previously spent five years at a consumer advocacy group. For this guide we tested 17 models over 5 weeks in our test house. We bought most models ourselves; loaned units were returned after testing. Manufacturers don’t see our conclusions before publication.
Who is this for?
A robot vacuum keeps the floor clean every day without you having to think about it. With pets, that’s often the difference between a floor covered in hair and one that still looks tidy after a day.
How we tested
Each robot cleaned the ground floor of our test house twenty times. We counted how often it got stuck, measured how much pet hair it collected and checked how well the app kept track of the home map.
Test setup in our test house in Columbus. Photo: BrasQ
Our full test methodTest results compared
| Model | Rank | Test score | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robomop P7 | Our pick | 8.9 | $499 |
| Clean Bot Mini | Budget pick | 7.8 | $229 |
| Robomop P9 Ultra | Upgrade | 9.3 | $899 |
Test score based on our fixed weighting scheme. Price from: lowest price on September 30, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can a robot vacuum get over thresholds?
Most models handle thresholds up to 2 centimeters. Our pick cleared 2.2-centimeter thresholds in the test.
Do I need a self-empty station?
With pets it’s handy: the robot empties itself and you only need to replace the bag about once a month.
- Test protocol for robot vacuums, BrasQ (2026)
- Manufacturer specifications and manuals
- Prices and availability checked.
- First version published after testing 17 models.
Sarah has tested vacuums, mops, air purifiers and dehumidifiers since 2017. Before joining BrasQ, she spent five years as a test coordinator at a national consumer advocacy group. She studied industrial design at Ohio State and lives in Columbus with her family and a long-haired cat.
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