Buy the best vacuum cleaner for pet hair with our reviews of top choices from Dyson, Vax, Shark and Miele. Pets are the furry friends we couldn't live without, but when it comes to staying on top of their mess and shedding, they can make life a lot trickier.
Many of the best vacuum cleaners are great on hard floors and carpets, but being able to pick up deep-rooted pet hair is a challenge that only the best vacuum cleaners for pet hair are up to.
For the purposes of variation, we've even reviewed some of the best cordless vacuum cleaners with attachments designed to remove pet hair from carpets and upholstery.
When it comes to the difference between a regular vacuum and a vacuum cleaner for pet hair, there is more than just power at play. The reason that many people need to stay on top of pet hair in their home is to keep things clean for those with allergies, so when choosing a pet vacuum, look out for one that's hypoallergenic and with an allergy HEPA filter included.
Every one of the best vacuum cleaners for pet hair in our guide have been tried by the Ideal Home team, so not only have we been able to rank based on performance, you can also find our specific thoughts on testing with our vacuum reviews.
Quick list - the best vacuums for pet hair
In a rush and just want the need-to-know about the best vacuum for pet hair? Find our top picks after testing below or keep scrolling for in-depth reviews.
Best overall
+ Will free you from pet hair problems
+ Excellent suction power
+ Good for carpets, rugs and hard floors
- Not as convenient as cordless
- Tricky to use on stairs
Best affordable
+ Great suction
+ Effective on pet hair
+ Good reach (hose & cable)
- Bulky to store
Best cordless
+ Sleek, foldable & compact design
+ Excellent power and features to aid pick-up
+ Suction is second to none
- Would benefit from a wall stand
- Dust tool is useless
Best for power
+ Great on pet hair
+ Aced all of our tests
+ High quality feel
- A costly option
Best for allergies
+ Allergy UK approved
+ Great amount of suction
+ Dust free emptying
- It can be hard to push around
Best for carpets
+ A great amount of power
+ Roller head is great
+ Strong run time
- Doesn't stand upright on its own
- We wish it was cheaper
Best vacuum for pet hair
Buy it if: you need a reliable vacuum for getting rid of pet hair.
As you might have guessed from its name, the Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog vacuum is the go-to purchase for those looking to banish pet hair at home. The turbo brush floor head is equipped to get rid of the excess from moulting dogs and cats, and you've also got a regular carpet floor head and another for hard floors to work with.
We love it for its straightforward cleaning power, which is the number one feature consumers are looking for in order to deal with the mess that pets can make. Its suction is outstanding thanks to a powerful, fast (more than 100km/h) cyclone. The single cyclone design also makes for low noise and controllable power. The cylinder moves smoothly on its castors and perches acceptably on a stair, though it's not the easiest to clean this section of the house with.
Features we loved during testing
It's the little things that make this vacuum great, alongside the pet-appropriate level of power and suction. The ability to operate the vacuum by using your foot makes manoeuvring easier, and switching between modes is really easy too. It has wonderful consistent power and the hose is extra long, with 8.5 metres of freedom to get around your house. The canister was easy and fairly dust-free to empty too.
Read our full Miele Complete C3 Cat & Dog Vacuum Cleaner review for more information.
Best affordable vacuum for pet hair
Buy it if: you need a vacuum for pets on a budget.
The Henry Pet200 is a standout choice for anyone who needs a reliable vacuum on a budget with it available to buy for a little over £150 at the time of writing.
On the whole, it's a solid piece of kit which is easy to maintain. As it's a bagged vacuum, investing in the vacuum bags over time is a financial consideration. However, with a capacity of 9 litres, you will need to do a lot of vacuum cleaning to get through a pack of 10.
A thing to note is that this vacuum cleaner may not be suitable if you want an appliance to vacuum your home and car. It is a bulky vacuum cleaner and, again, it is corded so unless you have a driveway or a guaranteed parking space outside your home, the Henry Pet may not be the vacuum cleaner for you.
Features we loved during testing
It has a range of attachments to help combat pet hair and dirt, and in our review, we found it was really easy to switch between tools, especially as they are all stored on board.
Read our Henry Pet 200 vacuum review for more information.
Best cordless vacuum for pet hair
Buy it if: you want a cordless vacuum to deal with pet hair.
While lots of people prefer to rely on corded vacuums to deal with pet hair, the Shark Stratos goes pretty far to prove that cordless vacuums are up to the job too. It showed unbelievable suction power during testing, and left carpets visibly cleaner, with no issues with pet hair or human hair.
There's no doubt that our testing process proved that this vac is worth the large price tag that it carries. Even if you don't have pets, the ease with which this vacuum does away with hair is astounding, and our Ecommerce Editor Molly found that it was unmatched when it came to suction.
Features we loved during testing
The capacity of this vacuum to transform into a smaller handheld model is phenomenal, and you'll be reaching for the smaller attachments all the time to quickly resolve smaller messes made by pets all over your home. The battery life is also stellar, and 60 minutes was available during testing on non-turbo mode.
You can fork out more for the two-battery Shark Stratos model if you think you need a spare pack on charge while the other is in use, but it's not a necessity if you live in a small or medium-sized home. All in all, this is admittedly a pricier vacuum, but if you can afford to fork out and you want a cordless vacuum to deal with pet hair, it will impress you time and time again.
Read our full Shark Stratos IZ420UKT cordless vacuum review for more information.
Best powerful vacuum for pet hair
Buy it if: you want a top-range pet-friendly vac.
The Miele Triflex HX2 Vacuum Cleaner is one of the most pet-friendly cordless vacuum cleaners we've tried, with a powerful motor to help you to banish hair and dirt from your favourite four-legged friends. While the Shark Stratos is a little more of an all-rounder (and a little more affordable), the Miele Triflex is supremely powerful.
Our verdict
There are two standout features here to love: the unbelievably powerful motor and the very capable floorhead, which whizzed around our testing space picking up a huge amount of hair without getting tangled.
One drawback with this vacuum is that it's pretty top-heavy, making it harder to manoeuvre than it might need to be. Cleverly, you can move the position of the dustbin around to give it more balance, but it's not great at standing up on its own. It's also trickier than it should be to empty out the dustbin, which will become annoying pretty quickly if you're cleaning a large space.
Features we loved during testing
It's a really flexible model, with a great reach to get to every corner of your home and 60 minutes of runtime, so that you can adequately cover all the ground that you need to. It's also got an auto-adjustment feature, which means that it'll sense the kind of ground it's covering, and amp up the power accordingly.
It does feel quite pricey at near the £400 mark, but the quality of the materials is excellent, and it feels like this is a vacuum that'll help you clean up after your pets for a good few years at the very least.
Best for allergies
Buy it if: you need to reduce pet-related allergens.
If you have a pet, but need to be able to try to eradicate allergens for when a family member visits or something similar, then the Henry Allergy is the perfect vacuum to help you achieve that. The top line with this vacuum is that it is approved by Allergy UK, which means that you can trust this Henry to help you get rid of allergens at home. Made in the UK, this vacuum is great suction-wise, and has the tools to help with corner and edge cleaning.
Features we loved during testing
It's not exactly a feature but this vacuum is a bargain, with an RRP of £199.99. You can really feel the deep cleaning power with this vac, and pick up smaller debris as well as larger items.
Our reviewer did find this vacuum a little more difficult to push around than the other Henry vacuums she tested, something she put down to the intensity of the suction power.
After two weeks of testing, the large collecting bag was no way full, which means that if you're worried about the environmental impact of bags, you may at least be soothed by the fact that you'll be reaching to replace them infrequently. And of course, the fact that you don’t have plumes of dust on emptying is essential for keeping allergies at bay.
Read our full Henry Allergy vacuum review for more information.
Best vacuum for pet hair on carpets
