Best Robot Vacuums for Pet Hair (2026)

Last updated: 16 October 2026

If you share your home with a dog or cat, the best robot vacuums for pet hair are often the ones that can lift hair out of carpet without tangling, rather than the ones that simply handle crumbs. Suction numbers on the box don’t answer that question on their own. Independent testing gets closer.

This guide combines current UK availability, manufacturer documentation and credible independent testing from specialist testing outlets and recognised consumer publications. Where credible testers disagree, we say so. Where the evidence is too thin, we leave products out rather than padding the list.

Bot ‘n’ Brush is a new site, and no affiliate links are included in this guide yet. We may add them in future. If we do, we’ll say so on this page and in our Affiliate Disclosure, and it won’t change which products we recommend.

Quick picks

• Premium: Roborock Saros 20 — the premium pick you can buy now. Its pet-hair evidence is strong but not unanimous, and it carries a premium price. Also researched: currently unavailable (checked 16 Oct 2026): the Roborock Saros Z70, which has the strongest pet-hair evidence of the models we researched (RTINGS) but has no confirmed authorised UK stock.
• Best for most households: Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni — a well-rounded vacuum-and-mop combo independently tested in homes with real shedding cats and dogs.
• Alternative pick: Shark Matrix Plus (RV2620WAUK) — an option with a different feature set and its own UK-specific independent pet-hair testing from Good Housekeeping UK, plus home mapping, sonic mopping and a self-emptying base. Its price has varied widely, so check the current price (see Price and value).

Comparison table

	Roborock Saros 20	Roborock Saros Z70 — Currently unavailable (checked 16 Oct 2026)	Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni	Shark Matrix Plus RV2620WAUK — Alternative pick
Role	Premium pick you can buy now	Premium pet-hair evidence; not currently purchasable	All-round automated choice	Alternative pick
Researched UK price	Seen at £919 to £1,299 across listings, 14–16 Oct 2026 (snapshot; see Price and value)	No confirmed authorised UK stock or price (16 Oct 2026: Amazon UK “Currently unavailable”; PriceSpy UK no active listings)	£399.00 (white, limited stock) to £499.00 (black) on one Amazon UK listing, 16 Oct 2026 (snapshot; check before buying)	Snapshot 16 Oct 2026: SharkNinja UK £519.99; offers from £325 (idealo UK) and £372 (Pricerunner), most sellers around £500–£520; ranged £325 to £519.99 across sellers. £269.99 was recorded as a promotional price in earlier research. Check the exact model code before buying
Pet-hair evidence	Vacuum Wars: 88% pickup of flattened pet hair (82% category average); RTINGS: “good” carpet pet-hair pickup; Tom’s Guide: about 70% on a rug in its own test. Strong, not unanimous	RTINGS: named best for pet hair of the robots it has tested, “good” carpet pickup	PCMag UK: tested with real shedding cats and dogs, picked up hair without tangling	Good Housekeeping UK: lab-scored 84/100, “good on pet hair”
Anti-tangle approach	DuoDivide main brush (Vacuum Wars: 0% hair wrap in its 7-inch hair test)	FreeFlow main brush with a zero-tangling side brush (manufacturer-described design); RTINGS: long hair tangles the brushroll	ZeroTangle 2.0 V-shaped bristle design	Self-cleaning brush-roll (manufacturer description)
Self-emptying dock	Yes – empties bin, washes and dries mop pads with hot water	Yes – empties bin, washes and dries mop pads with hot water	Yes – empties bin, washes mop with hot water (40–75°C), hot-air dries	Yes – bagless base, holds up to 60 days of debris
Obstacle avoidance	Camera and 3D sensors; Expert Reviews rated it very highly, RTINGS found it inconsistent and not reliable around pet waste	Camera and 3D sensor-based; retracts side brush on carpet, which affects edge cleaning	AI-based (AIVI 3D), occasionally loses its place mid-clean	Detects and avoids stairs and saves mapped layouts with no-go zones (Good Housekeeping UK); we found no independent obstacle-avoidance result
Main drawback	Premium price; testers disagree on pet-hair pickup and obstacle avoidance	No confirmed authorised UK stock; side-brush retraction on carpet	Mapping sometimes needs manual correction	Struggles with dust in tight corners

Prices and stock levels change frequently — treat these as a snapshot from our research rather than today’s price.

Premium section: Roborock Saros 20 and Saros Z70

Availability note: We originally researched the Roborock Saros Z70 as our premium pick. At the time of writing (checked 16 October 2026) we could not confirm authorised UK stock. Amazon UK showed it as “Currently unavailable”, saying it doesn’t know when or if the item will be back in stock, and PriceSpy UK showed no active listings. We have therefore added the Roborock Saros 20 as the premium pick you can buy now. We will review and update this guide if the Z70 returns to authorised UK stock.

Roborock Saros 20: Premium pick you can buy now

Bot ‘n’ Brush verdict

The Saros 20 is the premium robot vacuum in this guide that you can buy now. Its pet-hair evidence is strong but not unanimous: Vacuum Wars measured above-average hair pickup and RTINGS rates carpet pet-hair pickup as good, while Tom’s Guide measured about 70% pickup in its own rug test. It is expensive, and independent testers disagree about its obstacle avoidance. It is not the model with the strongest pet-hair evidence in this guide; on RTINGS’ testing that is the Saros Z70, which is currently unavailable.

Why we picked it

Three independent sources support it. Vacuum Wars, which says it buys the products it tests, measured 88% pickup of flattened pet hair on carpet against an 82% category average, and a perfect result (0% hair wrap, against a 26% category average) for the DuoDivide brush in its 7-inch hair tangle test. It also removed 89% of sand embedded in medium-pile carpet, against a 78% average. RTINGS rates carpet pet-hair pickup as good, saying it clears most hair in a single pass, and describes the Saros 20 as a good alternative if debris pickup on carpet is a priority. Expert Reviews, a UK publication, gave it a strong overall review, praising its vacuuming, mopping, object avoidance and obstacle climbing, while describing it as expensive.

What it does well

Beyond pet hair, Vacuum Wars reported above-average stain removal and a record single-step threshold crossing of 57mm in its tests, and RTINGS found hard-floor pickup outstanding. Expert Reviews described its object avoidance as the best of any robot vacuum it had tested, which is that reviewer’s judgement rather than a measured ranking. The dock empties the dustbin and washes and dries the mop pads with hot water. Roborock describes an adaptive chassis that lifts the robot over thresholds and thick carpet; that is a manufacturer-described feature, although Vacuum Wars’ threshold result is consistent with it.

What to know before buying

Testers disagree on pet hair. In its own test, Tom’s Guide spread 20g of pet hair on a section of rug and reported about 70% pickup, noting that the Saros 20 left hair behind that it had to re-vacuum. That figure came from a single test on a pre-release unit, by a reviewer writing for Tom’s Guide’s US site. Its hard-floor pet-hair result was 90%, and its overall verdict was positive on pet-hair removal. These tests use different methods and small samples, so we can’t say which result better predicts your home. RTINGS also ranks the Saros Z70 ahead of the Saros 20 for pet hair, saying the Saros 20’s split brushroll doesn’t handle pet hair as well. Treat the Saros 20 as strongly but not unanimously evidenced.

Obstacle and pet-waste avoidance are contested. RTINGS found obstacle avoidance inconsistent, particularly on carpet, and says it does not reliably avoid pet waste, so you may want to supervise runs if your pet has accidents. Expert Reviews reported that it avoided a fake pet-waste item in its test. We can’t reconcile these results, so we wouldn’t rely on the Saros 20 for unsupervised runs around accident-prone pets.

Mopping results differ too. Tom’s Guide said it left several areas unmopped on a full clean, with streaky results, while Vacuum Wars and Expert Reviews reported strong mopping.

Smaller points. Vacuum Wars measured a 260 mL dustbin against a 377 mL average and noted it may fill quickly in pet-heavy homes; RTINGS also calls the dirt compartment very small. RTINGS reports no HEPA filter and says the robot is not particularly well sealed, so fine particles can escape. RTINGS also notes the brush roller can accumulate hair if you don’t clear it regularly, even though Vacuum Wars recorded no hair wrap in its test.

Best for

Premium buyers who want a robot vacuum they can buy now, with strong though not unanimous pet-hair evidence, a fully automated dock and good threshold climbing, and who are comfortable with a high price.

Skip it if

You want to run the robot unsupervised around accident-prone pets, you want the model with the strongest pet-hair evidence regardless of availability (the Saros Z70, currently unavailable), or you don’t need flagship features. Expert Reviews itself said that some cheaper models offer around 90% of the Saros 20’s capability for around half the price; we have not researched those models for pet hair, so we can’t compare them here. The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni below is our pick with real-home pet testing at a lower snapshot price.

Key specifications

• Suction: 36,000Pa (manufacturer figure — treat as a specification, not a performance guarantee)
• Anti-tangle design: DuoDivide main brush (manufacturer-named design; Vacuum Wars recorded 0% hair wrap in its 7-inch hair test)
• Mopping: dual spinning mop pads, hot-water washing and hot-air drying in the dock
• Navigation: camera and 3D sensor-based obstacle avoidance, with no LiDAR turret
• Dustbin: 260 mL (Vacuum Wars measurement)
• Independent pet-hair results: Vacuum Wars 88% flattened pet hair pickup; RTINGS “good”; Tom’s Guide about 70% on a rug

Price and value

Prices change often; the figures below are a snapshot, not live prices. Prices seen between 14 and 16 October 2026 ranged from £919 to £1,299 across listings; Roborock UK’s own page showed £919 on 16 October. Expert Reviews recorded £1,129 in April 2026. Prices vary by seller, so check the current price, and that the seller is an authorised UK retailer, before you buy.

At these prices it is a premium purchase. Expert Reviews’ own value caveat is that cheaper models offer most of the capability for far less money, which is worth weighing against the Ecovacs pick below.

Roborock Saros Z70: Also researched, currently unavailable (checked 16 Oct 2026)

Currently unavailable. We could not confirm authorised UK stock for the Saros Z70 as of 16 October 2026: Amazon UK showed “Currently unavailable” and PriceSpy UK showed no active listings. This section is kept for its independent evidence. It is not a current purchase recommendation, and this guide contains no purchase links.

Bot ‘n’ Brush verdict

If pet-hair pickup is genuinely your top priority and budget isn’t the deciding factor, the Saros Z70 has the strongest independent pet-hair evidence of the models we researched, based on RTINGS’ testing. It is unlikely to be the right choice for most households, and because we could not confirm authorised UK stock you can’t act on this evidence today. We will review and update this guide if it returns to authorised UK stock.

Why it’s in this guide

RTINGS, which buys and independently tests the robot vacuums it reviews, named the Saros Z70 its top pick specifically for pet hair, describing hard-floor pickup as “outstanding” and carpet pet-hair pickup as “good”. RTINGS’ own comparison also ranks it ahead of the Saros 20 for pet hair. RTINGS describes the Saros 20 as superseding the Z70 as Roborock’s flagship. That is why this model was our originally researched premium pick — not its headline robotic arm, which some independent reviewers found inconsistent in practice and isn’t the focus of this evidence.

A second independent source. Good Housekeeping UK reviewed the Z70 in lab testing (score 85/100, published April 2026). Its review contains no pet-hair test, so it does not confirm or contradict RTINGS’ pet-hair finding. On carpet pickup, it reported full marks for lifting dust from carpet and hard floors, but the robot failed to pick up all of the biscuit crumbs laid down, flicking larger pieces and leaving some stuck in room corners. It found the mechanical arm could move light items such as a tissue or slipper but struggled with heavier ones, and that the robot faulted at points and needed resetting. Its listed drawbacks were a large, heavy docking station and that the robot sometimes tried to climb obstacles rather than avoid them.

What it does well

Beyond the carpet result, RTINGS’ broader testing found the Z70 performs very well on hard floors and handles mopping duties effectively, with a dock that washes and dries its own mop pads using hot water. The chassis is designed to lift and adjust itself over thresholds, which matters in UK homes with raised door strips between rooms. Roborock describes the main brush as a “FreeFlow” design paired with a zero-tangling side brush, intended to reduce hair wrap during use — this is a manufacturer-described feature rather than something independently verified for pet hair specifically in our research. RTINGS also says the Z70 consistently avoids pet waste. That is one source, and no obstacle-avoidance system should be treated as infallible. RTINGS also reports that long pet hair tangles around the Z70’s brushroll, which sits against Roborock’s zero-tangling description.

What to know before buying

RTINGS’ own review notes a genuine compromise: the Z70 retracts its side brush when cleaning carpet, which leaves edges and corners less thoroughly cleaned on carpeted rooms specifically. Multiple independent reviewers, including Vacuum Wars and a UK-focused reviewer, found the much-publicised robotic arm — which is meant to tidy small objects like socks before cleaning — works inconsistently, succeeding between roughly half and 70% of the time in testing. We’d treat the arm as a novelty rather than a reason to buy.

UK availability: we could not confirm authorised UK stock as of 16 October 2026. Earlier in our research, figures ranged from under £1,000 through third-party resellers to over £1,500 according to one UK reviewer; those are historical figures and not a guide to a current price.

Best for

Households with significant, persistent pet-hair problems on carpet, where the independently evidenced cleaning performance would justify paying a flagship price, if authorised UK stock returns. Until then, the Saros 20 above is the premium option you can buy.

Skip it if

You want to buy a premium robot vacuum today, because this one is currently unavailable, or you’re not willing to pay a significant premium for stronger pet-hair evidence. The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni offers independently tested real-pet performance at a lower UK price (see the price snapshot).

Key specifications

• Suction: 22,000Pa (manufacturer figure — treat as a specification, not a performance guarantee)
• Anti-tangle design: FreeFlow main brush with a zero-tangling side brush (manufacturer-described design, not independently verified for pet hair specifically)
• RTINGS: long hair tangles the brushroll
• Mopping: dual spinning mop pads, hot-water self-washing dock
• Navigation: camera and 3D structured-light obstacle avoidance
• Independent pet-hair result: RTINGS’ top-rated model for pet hair specifically
• Second independent result: Good Housekeeping UK, 85/100; full marks for dust on carpet and hard floors, but left some biscuit crumbs behind (not a pet-hair test)

Price and value

There is no confirmed authorised UK price because we could not confirm authorised UK stock (checked 16 October 2026). Earlier research figures ranged from under £1,000 through third-party resellers to over £1,500 according to one UK reviewer, and should be treated as historical. We will review and update this guide if authorised UK stock returns.

Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni: Strong all-round choice for pet-owning households

Bot ‘n’ Brush verdict

This is a well-evidenced “real-world” recommendation. PCMag UK reported using the X8 Pro Omni in homes with actual shedding cats and dogs. That gives the Ecovacs recommendation useful real-home evidence alongside its technical specifications.

Why we picked it

PCMag UK’s testing found the Deebot X8 Pro Omni “thoroughly vacuumed pet hair without tangles” and had no trouble mopping up cat food mess left by “two messy eaters”. That combination — tangle resistance plus genuine multi-pet household testing — is more informative than a suction figure on a spec sheet.

What it does well

The dock automates the full maintenance cycle: it empties the dustbin, washes the mop with water heated to between 40°C and 75°C depending on soil level, and dries it with hot air, which can reduce manual upkeep in pet households. Ecovacs’ own documentation describes the anti-tangle brush using an angled bristle design intended to stop hair accumulating in the roller, a claim that aligns with PCMag’s independent tangle-free finding.

What to know before buying

PCMag’s review wasn’t uncritical: it noted the robot “occasionally gets lost” and that auto-generated floor maps sometimes need manual correction. That appears to be a navigation issue rather than a cleaning-performance one, but it’s worth knowing before you buy.

Best for

Pet owners who want strong, well-evidenced pet-hair performance and full dock automation, without paying flagship pricing.

Skip it if

You specifically want the single best-evidenced pet-hair pickup regardless of price (the Saros Z70 on RTINGS’ evidence, which is currently unavailable, or the Saros 20) or you want a different feature set, with sonic mopping and a self-emptying base (the Shark Matrix Plus, below).

Key specifications

• Suction: 18,000Pa (manufacturer figure)
• Anti-tangle system: ZeroTangle 2.0, V-shaped bristle design (manufacturer design, supported by PCMag’s independent tangle-free finding)
• Mopping: self-washing roller mop, hot-water wash cycle
• Warranty: 2 years (Ecovacs UK)
• Independent pet-hair result: PCMag UK, tested in homes with real cats and dogs

Price and value

In our earlier research the X8 Pro Omni was priced around £499 through Ecovacs’ UK store and Amazon UK. On 16 October 2026 an Amazon UK listing showed the white model at £399.00 (limited stock) and the black model at £499.00, so the price depends on colour. Treat these as a snapshot from one listing, not live prices, and check before buying, since promotional pricing moves often. At those levels it sits well below flagship pricing while still having real-pet independent testing and full dock automation behind it.

Shark Matrix Plus (RV2620WAUK): Alternative pick

Bot ‘n’ Brush verdict

The Shark Matrix Plus is our alternative pick for readers who want a different feature set from the other recommendations. It has its own UK-specific lab result behind it — which is a point in its favour. We are not ranking it above or below the Ecovacs on price: its price has varied widely (see Price and value).

Why we picked it

Good Housekeeping UK’s in-house testing scored the Matrix Plus 84 out of 100 and specifically rated it “good on pet hair”, alongside praise for its mopping performance. That’s a genuine UK lab result from a recognised consumer-testing team, not a manufacturer claim or a customer star rating.

What it does well

Shark describes the self-cleaning brush roll as being designed to reduce hair wrapping during use, although it will still require periodic checking and cleaning. The self-emptying base holds up to 60 days of debris before needing attention, and Good Housekeeping UK reports that it maps the home and stores layouts in its app, with no-go zones.

What to know before buying

Good Housekeeping’s same review noted it “struggled to collect all the dust laid” in tight corners, sweeping some debris out of its path rather than lifting it. Good Housekeeping UK reports that it detects and avoids stairs, but we found no independent result on how it handles cables, toys or other low obstacles, so if your floor is often cluttered, check this before buying.

Best for

Pet owners who want a credible, independently-evidenced pet-hair performer with a different feature set — home mapping, sonic mopping and a self-emptying base — and who are happy to do a little more corner-cleaning themselves.

Skip it if

You want proven obstacle avoidance around a cluttered floor (we found no independent result for this model), or you specifically want a dock that washes and dries the mop pads. The Saros 20, Saros Z70 and Ecovacs docks do this; SharkNinja UK’s page doesn’t describe it for the Shark, so check before buying.

Key specifications

• Self-emptying base: up to 60 days’ capacity (manufacturer figure)
• Mopping: sonic mopping with two washable microfibre mopping pads (manufacturer description, SharkNinja UK)
• Anti-tangle design: self-cleaning brush-roll (manufacturer description)
• Mapping: home mapping with saved layouts and no-go zones in the app (Good Housekeeping UK)
• Warranty: 2 years
• Independent pet-hair result: Good Housekeeping UK, 84/100, rated “good on pet hair”

Price and value

Prices below are a dated snapshot, not live prices. When we checked on 16 October 2026, SharkNinja UK listed £519.99, and comparison sites showed offers from £325 (idealo UK) and £372 (Pricerunner), with most sellers around £500 to £520. John Lewis was listed at £500 on one comparison listing. Across sellers the price has ranged from £325 to £519.99. During our earlier research, Shark UK and John Lewis both listed the exact RV2620WAUK model at £269.99, which we recorded as a promotional price; we could not find £269.99 for this model on 16 October 2026. The Ecovacs and Shark prices overlap and vary by seller and colour, so compare current prices for both. Check the exact model code (RV2620WAUK) before buying, because variants and sellers differ, and check the current price before you buy.

What actually matters when choosing a robot vacuum for pet hair

Brush design can be as important as suction figures. A conventional bristle brush combs debris but can let hair wrap around the roller shaft over time, which is why many pet-focused models use some form of anti-tangle design — rubber fins, split rollers, or brushes designed to shed hair rather than collect it. This can be a bigger factor separating genuinely pet-friendly vacuums from ones that simply mention “pet hair” on the box.

Carpet and hard floor are different problems. Carpet is often the harder test because embedded hair needs effective brush agitation as well as airflow. This can be an area where less capable models struggle, even when their hard-floor performance looks respectable.

Pa suction figures alone don’t tell you how well a vacuum will handle pet hair. Manufacturer suction claims have risen considerably across recent models, but some independent testers measure actual pickup percentages and tangle rates directly — which is why we’ve prioritised those results over spec-sheet numbers throughout this guide.

Self-emptying docks can matter more in pet households than in pet-free ones, simply because bins can fill faster during shedding seasons. The Saros 20, Ecovacs and Shark picks each include one.

Obstacle avoidance isn’t the same as pet-waste avoidance. General mapping and LiDAR help a robot navigate around furniture, but detecting low-profile hazards like toys, cables, or pet mess specifically generally requires camera-based or AI object recognition. Even then, this kind of system may help identify low-profile objects but isn’t infallible — it’s worth checking the evidence for a specific model rather than assuming it will catch everything.

Maintenance and consumables add up. Replacement filters, mop pads, side brushes and cleaning solution are ongoing costs across the brands in this guide. A self-emptying dock reduces daily effort but doesn’t eliminate these costs.

Filtration is only part of allergen control. How well a robot vacuum contains dander and fine particles depends on both the quality of its filter and how well-sealed the robot, bin and dock system is as a whole — a strong filter can still leak allergens back into the room if the rest of the system isn’t properly sealed. We haven’t independently verified HEPA-grade filtration for our recommendations, and RTINGS reports that the Saros 20 has no HEPA filter and isn’t particularly well sealed, so fine particles can escape. If allergy control is a priority for your household, check the specific filtration claims for the model you’re considering rather than assuming it matches the others.

The most expensive model isn’t automatically the right one. Flagship pricing can buy stronger independently measured pet-hair results, but it also comes with meaningful trade-offs — price, and in the Saros Z70’s case, current UK unavailability. A well-evidenced mid-range or budget pick can be a better choice for some households.

How Bot ‘n’ Brush chose these robot vacuums

Bot ‘n’ Brush has not personally tested any of the products in this guide. Our recommendations are built from analysing current UK availability, manufacturer documentation for specifications and features, and credible independent testing — including dedicated vacuum-testing labs and recognised UK consumer publications — with particular weight given to evidence specific to pet hair, carpet and hard-floor performance, hair tangling, and obstacle avoidance.

We also considered practical ownership factors like dock automation, maintenance, and current UK pricing. Several widely-marketed models were researched and deliberately left out of this guide because the available independent evidence for pet-hair performance was thin, contradictory, or simply didn’t exist for the current UK-sold version of the product. We’d rather give you three recommendation slots, with one currently unavailable model we also researched, than a longer list padded with uncertain ones.

The Saros Z70 and Saros 20. We originally researched the Roborock Saros Z70 as our premium pick because RTINGS named it the best robot vacuum for pet hair of those it had tested. When we checked UK availability on 16 October 2026, we could not confirm authorised stock, and Amazon UK showed it as “Currently unavailable”. Rather than hold the guide back or recommend something readers can’t buy, we added the Roborock Saros 20 as the premium pick you can buy now, and kept the Z70 in the guide, clearly labelled, for the evidence behind it. The Saros 20’s pet-hair evidence is strong but less consistent than the Z70’s, and we have set out where testers disagree. We will review and update the guide if the Z70 returns to authorised UK stock.

FAQ

Are robot vacuums actually good at picking up pet hair?

Independent testing shows that results vary considerably between models and floor types. Brush design and resistance to tangling deserve attention alongside headline suction claims, which is why we’ve prioritised models with measured independent results over spec-sheet promises.

What matters most for pet hair embedded in carpet specifically?

Brush agitation and anti-tangle design are two of the main factors. Loose hair on hard floors is generally easier for a robot vacuum to collect than hair embedded in carpet fibres, which needs a brush that can agitate the pile effectively without quickly clogging.

Do anti-tangle brushes still need cleaning?

Yes. Anti-tangle designs reduce how often you need to manually cut hair free from the roller, but the models in this guide still need maintenance — filters, side brushes and mop pads all need periodic attention.

Does a higher Pa suction figure mean better pet-hair pickup?

Not necessarily. Pa is a manufacturer specification, but it does not account for brush agitation, floor contact, navigation or hair wrapping. Use independently measured pickup results alongside the suction specification rather than treating Pa as a standalone score.

Is a self-emptying dock worth it for pet owners specifically?

Often, yes. Bins can fill faster in shedding households, and a self-emptying dock reduces how often you need to deal with a bin full of hair directly.

Can robot vacuums reliably avoid pet accidents?

Some camera- and AI-based obstacle systems are designed to recognise specific low-profile objects, but their effectiveness varies and no system should be treated as infallible. The evidence we reviewed wasn’t consistent enough for us to promise dependable pet-waste avoidance for any of our recommendations: RTINGS reports that the Saros 20 doesn’t reliably avoid pet waste, while Expert Reviews reported that it avoided a fake pet-waste item in its test. Clear the floor before an unsupervised run where an accident is possible.

Final verdict

If you want a premium robot vacuum for pet hair that you can buy today, the Roborock Saros 20 is our premium pick. Its pet-hair evidence from Vacuum Wars, RTINGS and Expert Reviews is strong, though not unanimous — Tom’s Guide measured lower pet-hair pickup on a rug — and it carries a premium price. The Roborock Saros Z70 has the best-evidenced pet-hair performance of the models we researched, according to RTINGS, but it is currently unavailable, as far as we could confirm, so we can’t recommend it as a purchase today. For most pet-owning households, though, the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni is the more sensible recommendation — tested in homes with real shedding pets, fully automated, and priced well below flagship territory. The Shark Matrix Plus is our alternative pick for readers who want a different feature set: it has UK lab testing from Good Housekeeping (84/100, “good on pet hair”), home mapping, sonic mopping and a self-emptying base. Its price has ranged from £325 to £519.99 across sellers in our 16 October 2026 snapshot, so check the current price and the exact model code (RV2620WAUK) before buying.