Best Vacuums for Pet Hair 2025: Rated and reviewed by our experts

With its optional self-empty station which releases a pleasant fragrance whenever the bin is emptied, built-in clever technologies and some of the best vacuuming performance we’ve ever seen, it’s easy to see why the Shark PowerDetect Clean and Empty (IP3251UKT) has taken the title of best vacuum for pet hair.

At just 3.71kg, the vacuum is reasonably lightweight and easy to manoeuvre. Plus, as it sports a hinge in the wand, the IP3251UKT can reach under low-lying furniture without requiring you to bend down.

The IP3251UKT is fitted with multiple technologies that help make cleaning that bit easier. There’s Shark’s Floor Detection which determines whether the vacuum is on carpet or hard floor and adjusts the roller speeds accordingly and Edge Detection to increase suction when the floor head is close to the edge of a room. There’s also Direction Detection, which enables the IP3251UKT to pick up dirt when it’s pulled back, just as well as it’s pushed forward.

Shark includes a handful of genuinely useful tools, which we think should be enough to see you through most cleaning tasks, including the main DuoClean floorhead which consists of a brush for carpets and a soft roller for hard floors, a mini motorised pet tool for upholstery, a two-in-one crevice and brush and, finally, a stiff bristle brush too.

Overall we found the IP3251UKT boasted the best cleaning we’ve ever seen in a vacuum, collecting between 95-100% of dirt across all our tests, while making light work of collecting pet and human hair without getting tangled too. 

Full review: Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty IP3251UKT
Reviewer: David Ludlow

We concluded that the Shark Stratos NZ860UKT is one of the best overall upright vacuum cleaners that you can buy right now. 

Not only does it boast impressively raw power but its DuoClean floor head with Anti Hair Wrap Plus makes light work of picking up pet hair and preventing tangles in the brush. In fact we found that the Shark NZ860UKT effortlessly vacuumed up all the mess we put it up against during our tests, from sprinkled flour to cat hair which was combed into carpets. 

You’ll also find Shark’s Anti-Odour pod included, which seamlessly slots into the floor head and guards against odours that are commonly caused by pet hair and dust. 

As the NZ860UKT weighs 6.7kg, it isn’t the lightest of vacuums but thanks to Shark’s Lift-Away mode the vacuum can be made easier to manoeuvre. Lift-Away allows the central cylinder to easily lift off the body and be carried around, making it lighter for cleaning under furniture and carrying up and down stairs. 

You’ll also find the same useful tools that most Shark vacuum cleaners come with, including a crevice tool and a dedicated mini pet tool. Another impressive feature that shouldn’t be overlooked is that this vacuum comes with on-board storage, which means tools are always at hand when necessary. 

Using the Shark NZ860UKT is easy too, with controls at the top of the handle that include an on/off button and a slider to select the desired mode. 

Full Review: Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour Upright Vacuum NZ860UKT
Reviewer: David Ludlow

Boasting a powerful motor, impressive battery life and a handy integrated 2-in-1 crevice tool, Dyson’s Gen5detect is a cordless vacuum that we found to be just as powerful as a wire-powered model. 

Courtesy of a large LCD screen, the battery life and time remaining is clearly displayed while you clean. The screen also displays the live particle count, so you can even see how much dust is being collected in real-time. 

Included with the Gen5detect are two floor heads and multiple extra attachments that will easily see you through your entire home. The fluffy optic floor head, which is designed for hard floors, is particularly impressive as it uses a green laser which highlights dirt on the floor and makes it easy to spot any missed patches. 

Also included is a two-in-one dusting and crevice tool (which is integrated inside the main wand), a combination tool for detailing and even a hair screw tool for cleaning upholstery and pet beds. 

Not only is the Gen5detect easy to use, but we concluded that dust and dirt collection was one of the best we had ever seen on a cordless vacuum. There are multiple modes to choose from depending on the floor type or level of mess, however we’d recommend sticking with auto mode as it takes the guesswork out of deciding which mode to use. 

Otherwise there’s boost mode, which is a good option for powering through tougher messes, and eco mode which is ideal for when you need slightly less power, for example when vacuuming lightweight rugs. 

Full review: Dyson Gen5detect
Reviewer: David Ludlow

If you’re looking for a vacuum that delivers consistently powerful cleaning performance, is easy to manoeuvre and makes light work of tricky jobs like picking up pet hair or cleaning hard-to-reach spaces, then the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor is a great choice. 

Weighing 7.6kg, the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor is heavier than most of the best cordless vacuum cleaners, however the large ball at its base ensures the vacuum is easy to push around. In fact, we hailed this as the “most manoeuvrable plug-in vacuum cleaner” we’ve tested. 

Its anti-tangle floor head is fitted with cleverly arranged bristles which prevent hair from wrapping around and becoming tangled, making this a great choice for pet owners and those with long hair. Also included is a two-in-one crevice tool, dusting brush, stair tool and an anti-tangle turbine tool that’s specifically designed for tackling embedded pet hair. The latter was particularly impressive and even picked up longer hair without becoming tangled.

All tools work via the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor’s extendable wand which we found makes it easy to vacuum higher up, particularly where the wall meets the ceiling.

Overall we found the Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor to be a powerful vacuum, able to collect between 92-94.35% of dirt across our carpet tests and 100% of mess on our hard floor tests. Most impressively, it showed no difficulty in picking up pet hair either.

Full Review: Dyson Ball Animal Multifloor
Reviewer: Joshkun Salih

The Hoover HL4 Pet takes the key features of the larger HL5 and fits them into a smaller, lighter and cheaper package. 

Featuring an anti-twist floor head and a lift-out cylinder for easy manoeuvrability, the HL4 Pet promises to make light work of removing all the hidden dust and pet hair lurking on your floors. 

In addition to the anti-twist floor head, which uses its bristles arranged in a V-shape to prevent hair from wrapping and becoming tangled, also included are two additional attachments: a pet tool for pet beds and upholstery, and a crevice tool for harder to reach areas. 

At just 5kg the HL4 Pet is fairly lightweight and is easy to move around the house. In addition, the cylinder can be lifted out and removed via the foot switch at the bottom, making it perfect for cleaning tricky areas such as the stairs or in the car. 

For spot cleaning and detailing, the hose and wand can also be removed for up to two metres of cleaning range. You can even fit the hose and wand with either the pet or crevice tool to further enhance your clean.

We found that despite its budget-friendly price tag, the HL4 Pet offers powerful suction and makes light work of anything from cleaning up dropped flour and rice to tackling combed in pet hair with minimal hassle. 

We also tested the anti-twist capability of the floor head by dropping strands of long hair onto the floor. This impressed us greatly, as we found that the vacuum was able to pick all the hairs up without causing any dreaded tangles.

The HL4 Pet boasts the prowess of the larger and more expensive HL5 but in a smaller, more lightweight and cheaper package. Although you are limited with the extra tools included, the HL4 Pet offers you everything you realistically need for a whole house clean.

Full review: Hoover HL4 Pet
Reviewer: David Ludlow

A robot vacuum may not be your first choice for dealing with pet hair, however the five-star Dream X50 Ultra Complete is a fantastic choice. Not only does it clean brilliantly, but the X50 Ultra Complete boasts the highest suction of any robot we’ve reviewed and, with ProLeap technology, can climb over 6cm high thresholds with ease.

The robot comes equipped with a self-clean, self-empty base station which also sports a built-in scale inhibitor to prevent limescale build up and a cleaning deck for scrubbing the mopping pads. 

Controlling the robot is simple and done via the Dreamehome iOS or Android smartphone app. Here you can create maps of your home, set no-go zones and boundaries for your robot to avoid and start or stop a clean. You can either manually operate the robot or take advantage of CleanGenius mode. 

CleanGenius enables your X50 Ultra Complete to use its sensors and cameras to determine the best way your home should be cleaned. We found this mode to be nothing short of fantastic, with dirtier areas carefully targeted and cleaned efficiently by the X50 Ultra Complete. However, it’s worth noting that when mopping, we did find that manually changing the settings worked better for tougher stains. 

We also found that the X50 Ultra Complete was able to pick up long hair without the strands getting tangled in the brush, thanks to its dual brushes that contra-rotate.

Finally, ProLeap technology is undoubtedly a standout feature, which enables the robot to lift its front up and climb either a single threshold of up to 4.2cm or a multi-step threshold of up to 6cm.

Full review: Dreame X50 Ultra Complete
Reviewer: David Ludlow

If you need a vacuum cleaner that’s both powerful enough to make light work of cleaning up pet hair across all household surfaces but is considerably cheaper than a premium option then the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal is a great choice.

We found the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal has enough suction power for everyday household tasks, which is made even easier with the included tools and accessories, although we did conclude that it doesn’t have quite the same reach as more powerful models. As it’s a mid-range option, this perhaps isn’t too surprising but still worth keeping in mind. 

Even so, the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal is able to clean up notoriously difficult pet hair combed into carpet, and even long strands of human hair, without issue.

Bosch includes a selection of tools and accessories to assist in a whole house clean. The main tool, and probably the one you’ll use the most, is the ProAnimal floor head which is fitted with Bosch’s anti-tangle technology, designed to pick up hair without it getting caught in the brush, resulting in fewer troublesome blockages. 

Also provided is a mini motorised tool for stairs and upholstery (which is especially useful for removing hair from pet beds), a long and flexible crevice tool to help you reach tricky areas, and even a keyboard and drawer nozzle which is made up of multiple tubes for removing dust from tricky areas.

With an impressive battery life of over 30-minutes on its lowest power mode and nearly 17-minutes on automatic mode, the Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal should last long enough to comfortably clean your entire home. The vacuum is also compatible with the Power For All 18V battery range which means you can swap out batteries with other compatible devices for uninterrupted use. 

Full reviewer: Bosch Unlimited 7 ProAnimal
Reviewer: David Ludlow

For households with allergy sufferers, the Henry Quick Pet cordless vacuum uses a clever pod system that keeps dust and pollutants secure and makes emptying the vacuum that much easier. 

Included with the Henry Quick Pet are six pods which are essentially dust bags. Simply slot a pod into the front of the vacuum and, when full, push the eject button to have the pod deposit itself cleanly and efficiently into the bin, ensuring no dust or debris is spilled. 

The Henry Quick Pet boasts the majority of features found in its sibling, the Henry Quick, including a long battery life that can last over an hour on low power mode and the same range of accessories: a crevice tool, a two-in-one brush and a motorised main floor head.

The difference is that the Henry Quick Pet comes equipped with a motorised mini tool for pet beds and upholstery. 

Overall we found the Henry Quick Pet has a slightly lower than average air watt rate in standard mode, at just 23AW, although this increases significantly to a more powerful 192AW when Boost mode is enabled. 

This means for everyday vacuuming the Henry Quick Pet should suffice in standard power mode, however for more difficult cleaning such as against edges, Boost mode will need to be enabled. 

We also found that while the main floor head picked up shorter pet hair with ease, any longer human hair tended to get wrapped around the brush and needed to be cut out, which is a particularly unpleasant job. An anti-tangle floor head would have been better suited. 

There’s also a scent stick that can be inserted into the back of the vacuum which freshens the exhaust air, much like the Shark Stratos IZ420UKT. Although this doesn’t actually help in cleaning the floor, it does ensure the room smells fresh.

If you or members of your household suffer from allergies then the Henry Quick Pet is a great way to collect pesky dust and debris and eventually dispose of it without risking any spillage.

Full review: Henry Quick Pet
Reviewer: David Ludlow