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There are many reasons to love pets. Unfortunately, shedding isn't one of them. Pet fur has a bad habit of getting everywhere, so having a vacuum that you can take to cover every square inch of your home, not to mention the inside of your car, is an invaluable asset to your cleaning arsenal. Thankfully, there's no shortage of cordless vacuum cleaners on the market that do an outstanding job of sucking up hair on different surfaces.
We've tested over 140 vacuum cleaners, and below are our recommendations for the best cordless vacuums for dealing with pet hair. These recommendations are based not only on their pet-hair cleaning performance on different surface types but also on their feature set and price. For more buying recommendations, look at our list of the best cordless vacuums, the best vacuums for pet hair, and the best robot vacuums for pet hair.
The best cordless vacuum for pet hair we've tested is the Dyson V15 Detect. This high-end stick vacuum does a fantastic job of handling pet hair on bare floors and low- and high-pile carpets. It comes with two floorheads, one with a bristled multi-surface roller with built-in vanes to trap pet hair and the other with a soft nylon roller, as well as a laser light to help you see fine strands of hair or small debris on hard floors. There are a few other handy attachments, like a miniature turbo brush and a combo upholstery tool/soft bristle brush, which are effective for tackling pet hair on cloth couches or chairs. It also features a built-in particle sensor that you can use to keep an eye on allergen quantities inside your home.
Consider the Samsung Bespoke Jet if you're looking for a premium option that feels a little sturdier and is better suited to those with allergies. It's a little less maneuverable than the Dyson due to its bulkier twin-roller floorhead. However, the Samsung comes with a rack station that sucks debris from the vacuum into an internally mounted dirtbag when it's docked. This means you won't have to worry about creating a plume of dust when emptying it.
If you're shopping at a mid-range price point, the best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair is the A913BM variant of the LG CordZero A9. It isn't as feature-packed as the Dyson V15 Detect, as it has no automatic suction power adjustment or built-in particle sensor. However, it's still remarkably well-equipped, cheaper, and perhaps most importantly, as effective in handling pet hair across different surface types. It also comes with a multi-surface floorhead, which does a good job of dealing with pet hair on carpets and bare floors.
The vacuum is fully compatible with LG's Power Drive Mop attachment, a purpose-designed floorhead with a pair of rotating mop pads and a water dispersal nozzle to wet and scrub away dried-on stains, like dirt or mud, that your pet might track inside. Emptying the vacuum cleaner's dustbin can release a cloud of dust and debris, but the vacuum cleaner's HEPA filter helps trap common allergens as you clean. This model also comes with LG's unique Power Punch Nozzle, which uses a vibrating component that rapidly taps the surface you're cleaning to shake out any fine particles embedded within the fabric.
The best stick vacuum for pet hair at a mid-range price point that we've tested is the Samsung Jet 60. This cordless vacuum feels a little less sturdily built than the LG CordZero A9, and its max battery life is a little shorter, topping out just south of 50 minutes. Thankfully, it still does a pretty good job of clearing away pet hair, though, unlike the LG, you might still need to make an extra pass or two to collect shorter strands. This Pet variant of the Jet 60 also comes with a miniature turbo brush that's very effective in dealing with pet hair on fabric, though it's a little bulky and unwieldy.
The Samsung vacuum also features a five-stage filtration system that's at least partially effective in keeping fine allergens sealed inside the dustbin. However, like any bagless vacuum, you'll need to be careful when emptying it out because it can release a cloud of fine dust and debris.
The best cordless stick vacuum for pet hair at a budget-friendly price that we've tested is the Wyze Cordless Vacuum. This cordless stick vacuum does a decent job of handling pet hair on hard-to-clean surfaces like low-pile carpet, though a second pass might be needed to get everything. Long hair can get tangled around its bristled brushroll, but thankfully, the roller is fully removable, so you can clean it without too much effort. Unfortunately, its straight-suction upholstery tool isn't all that effective for dealing with pet hair on fabric surfaces, and its crevice tool is too small to be practical for cleaning things like couch cushions. If you have a long-haired cat or dog who likes to lounge around on your couch, purchasing the mini motorized tool from Wyze's website is best.
The Wyze's build quality is less sturdy than the pricier Samsung Jet 60. That said, its max runtime of about an hour is comparable to that of the higher-end Samsung.
May 30, 2024: Made slight text changes to reflect updated performance data from version 1.3 of our vacuum test bench. Replaced the Dyson V12 Detect Slim with the LG CordZero A9 A927KGMS as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range Cordless Vacuum For Pet Hair' pick. Replaced the LG CordZero A9 A913BM with the Samsung Jet 60 Pet as the 'Best Mid-Range Cordless Vacuum For Pet Hair' pick. Replaced the Miele Triflex HX1 with the Miele Triflex HX2 in the Notable Mentions.
Mar 01, 2024: Replaced the Shark Cordless Pro with the LG CordZero A9 A913BM as the 'Best Mid-Range Cordless Vacuum For Pet Hair' pick due to current pricing. Replaced the LG CordZero A9 Ultimate with the Dyson V12 Detect Slim as the 'Best Upper Mid-Range Cordless Vacuum For Pet Hair' pick.
Feb 01, 2024: Verified that all main picks are still available and represent the best choice for user needs.
Jan 05, 2024: Slight adjustments to text to provide further detail on product recommendations. Removed less relevant Notable Mentions picks.
Dec 01, 2023: Ensured all main picks are still available and represent the best option for user needs.
Our recommendations are based on what we think are currently the best stick vacuums for pet hair to buy. We factor in a fairly wide range of factors, including availability, price, and reader feedback.
If you would like to do the work of choosing yourself, here is the list of all our vacuum reviews. Be careful not to get too caught up in the details. While no vacuum is perfect for every use, most are good enough to please almost everyone, and the differences are often not noticeable unless you really look for them.