The 10 Best Automatic Litter Boxes of 2024, Tested by Our Cats

Best Overall

PetSafe Smart Covered Self-Cleaning Litter Box

$225 at Amazon $230 at Target View on PETCO

The PetSafe ScoopFree litter box comes in as our best overall pick because of its ease of use, near-silent operation, excellent odor control, and low-profile design. It received one of our highest scores thanks to its incredibly easy setup. The app gives parents access to real-time info on their cat’s bathroom behaviors, making it easy to flag any discrepancies. You can also set reminders for when you need to change out the litter, adjust the wait time between when your cat uses the litter box to when it rakes, and change the number of cats using the litter box. 

Real-world testing brought this litter box into a small apartment where two things stuck out to us after the first use — how near-silent this litter box is and how good it is at odor control. In fact, the only way we knew whether the litter box had been used and was working was to check the app or check the waste reservoir. 

A few pain points we found were that you’ve got to lift up the entire litter box system in order to access and dump the waste tray; it will only work with large crystal litter (and if you want to use a non-PetSafe brand, you’ll have to buy the reusable litter tray separately); and the rake will miss anything that is small enough to fit between its teeth. But, for the price, performance, smart features, and ease of use, this litter box is top dog. 

Dimensions: 27.6 x 19.1 x 16 inches | Weight: 20.2 pounds | Type: Raking | Requires Assembly: Yes

Best Budget

Pet Zone Pet Zone Smart Scoop

$146 at Amazon $201 at Walmart $146 at Chewy

We were impressed with how easy the Pet Zone Smart Scoop Automatic Litter Box is to use while still being very effective at separating waste. During our testing, this litter box was left much cleaner than other similar-style models. The raking mechanism was super quiet and had minimal dust disturbance compared to rotating sifters.

There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles — it’s a straightforward and simple product that gets the job done — and the price is much more approachable than other self-cleaning litter boxes on the market. In addition to being a solid budget pick, it’s also a great entry-level option for pet parents who aren’t looking for a ton of features.

It’s worth noting that the raking cycle begins 30 minutes after your cat leaves the box, which we love when it comes to cat safety but like less as the clock ticks down after a stinky poo. 

Dimensions: 26.4 x 17 x 6.6 inches | Weight: 10.55 pounds | Type: Raking | Requires Assembly: Yes

Easiest Setup

Neakasa M1 Open-top Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box

$600 at Amazon

Robotic litter boxes can be intimidating to get started with. Luckily, the Neakasa M1 is a snap to set up, and it’s ready to use right out of the box. The Neakasa has an optional compatible app that’ll show you a few more metrics, but we didn’t even use it for the first few weeks of testing — the self-cleaning litter box did exactly what we needed it to do without the complications of an extra app. 

The instructions suggest that users fill the machine with bentonite cat litter (a type of clay litter), but we used the corn litter that we had sitting around and had no issues at all. With the press of a button, the litter box sifts itself, dropping any clumps into the trash bag-lined waste tray below. The litter robot will also automatically run a cleaning cycle five minutes after it senses that your cat has left the box (you can change that duration through the app). Plus, the cleaning cycle is so quiet that we could place it right outside our bedroom door without being woken up in the night. 

We found the filling process to be a little bit tricky because by pouring the litter inside, we weren’t able to see whether it met the fill line without leveling the litter first. We also wish the design wasn’t as open as it is, which can lead to more litter tracking and required us to use the included tracking pad, which takes up even more floor space. But, for larger cats or cats who tend to get anxious, this open-air litter box is a great choice and still controls odors shockingly well. 

Dimensions: 23.26 x 20.67 x 20.2 inches | Weight: 22.8 pounds | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: No

Best Odor Elimination

Casa Leo Leo's Loo Too

$600 at Amazon View on Casaleopet.com $650 at Chewy

This tester favorite left us with no bad stinks in the air. Features like a fully sealed-off waste tray, UV light, and multiple carbon filters work together to get rid of foul odors and airborne bacteria from waste. Connecting the app to your Wi-Fi can take patience, but once you’re up and running, you can track health metrics and manually control litter box functions from your phone.

In addition to successfully controlling odors, we appreciated how whisper-quiet this litter box was while operating. It’s also one of the few automatic litter boxes with an aesthetically pleasing modern design, available with eight accent color options to boot. The built-in waste tray makes for easy disposal, but we’d like it even more if there was a dedicated empty cycle for when we’re changing the litter. 

Dimensions: 22 x 24 x 27.5 inches | Weight: 27.5 pounds | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: No

Best Smart

Whisker Litter-Robot 4

$699 at Litter-robot.com $699 at Best Buy

The Whisker Litter-Robot 4 started off easy with a fully assembled product that was easy to unbox and get started. It also comes loaded with thoughtful features, from a built-in nightlight to a Wi-Fi-enabled app that gives real-time updates on litter levels and tracks your cat’s weight and bathroom habits. We particularly appreciate small details, like its flexible and durable litter reservoir, spacious interior, and a QR code that makes it easy to reorder replacement bags and filters. Our tester also said that it was noticeably quieter than its predecessor.

This self-cleaning litter box scored perfectly in everything except value — it’s one of the most expensive automatic litter boxes on the market. We also want to mention that the modern cave-like design sometimes entices cats to use this litter box as a lounging spot.

Dimensions: 27 x 22 x 29.5 inches | Weight: 24 pounds | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: No

Best Uncovered

PetSafe ScoopFree Clumping Self-Cleaning Litter Box

$280 at Amazon View on Petsafe.com $280 at PETCO

Some cats prefer uncovered litter boxes because they allow for more space, which may particularly benefit large cats who have trouble fitting in hooded boxes or anxious cats who get nervous about enclosed spaces. The PetSafe box is uncovered, and our large 11-year-old cat seemed super comfortable using it. We love how simple it is to use, and we appreciate that it doesn’t require an app. 

The automatic litter box starts a cleaning cycle around 10 minutes after the cat exits the box, but it also has a manual button that can be pushed to start a cycle at any time. The simply designed box is less expensive than most others on our list and does exactly what we needed it to do — it sifted out waste into a waste bin, which we had to empty out just once a week. But, because of the open-air design, it doesn’t do as much to control odors as some of the other boxes we tested. 

Dimensions: 29.5 x 27 x 24.25 inches | Weight: 24 pounds | Type: Raking | Requires Assembly: No

Best for Multiple Cats

Litter-Robot 3 Connect Cat Litter Box

$549 at Litter-robot.com $549 at Chewy

The Litter-Robot 3 is a large automatic litter box loaded with enough tech features to be convenient but not enough to be overwhelming for more analog pet parents. (If you’re looking for app connectivity capabilities, check out the Whisker Litter-Robot 3 Connect.)

We found it easy to set up, fill up, and empty out, and we appreciated that the interior reservoir fabric seemed thick enough to stand up against mild clawing. We were less impressed with the clunky and dated look. This Litter-Robot has a 10.25-by-15.5-inch entry width and a roomy interior litter bed that’s ideal for larger cats or multiple cats. The litter waste drawer is designed to hold about a week’s worth of waste per cat. We like the built-in safety sensors that stop the sifter from rotating when a cat is present, though your cat will need to be at least 5 pounds to trigger the sensor. 

Dimensions: 29.5 x 27 x 24.25 inches | Weight: 24 pounds | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: No

Best Design

PetSnowy SNOW+ Self-Cleaning Litter Box

$700 at Amazon View on Petsnowy.com

Though there are plenty of reasons to love the PetSnowy automatic litter box — easy setup, impressive odor control, and a low entryway — what sets this device apart from the pack is its design. This litter box is actually beautiful to look at (we never thought we’d say this about a litter box). 

The litter box expertly controls odors with three-stage deodorization: a filtration system, fragrance compartment, and the enclosed structure of the box all work to keep bad smells at bay. The only drawback we could find with this box is that we had difficulty connecting it to the Wi-Fi for the first few days, which made it difficult to use the box at all (it really needs the compatible app to work properly). And, though it's a little more expensive than some other robotic litter boxes on our list, we chalk that added value up to its attractive exterior and awesome stink-capturing design.

Dimensions: 29.5 x 20 x 25.6 inches | Weight: Not listed | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: Yes

Best for Small Spaces

Catlink Self-Cleaning Litter Box- Scooper Luxury Pro-X

View on Catlinkus.com

If you’re on the hunt for an automatic litter box that won’t take up much more room than your standard litter box, the Catlink Self-Cleaning robot is a more compact choice than lots of others on the market. It offers all of the standard automatic cleaning features — an automatic timed mode that allows you to customize the time between cleanings, a manual mode that starts a cleaning cycle with a tap, and a few more unique features that give the device some added value. 

The compatible app shows your cat’s weight and bathroom frequency and also displays the temperature and humidity of the litter box’s vicinity. The app’s user interface was a little hard to use, and we felt frustrated by a few buggy lines of text and the app’s slowness in updating our cat’s health data. It’s also a pretty high entrance, which is good for preventing litter tracking but may be difficult for some older or smaller cats to use. Still, the litter box contained odors like a pro and ran smoothly on both auto and manual mode, so it still earned high marks from us. 

Dimensions: 27.95 x 23.62 x 27 inches | Weight: 26.45 pounds | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: No

Best Investment

PETKIT Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box

$599 at Amazon View on Petkit.com

This fully assembled automatic litter box is ready to go straight out of the box, only needing to be filled and plugged in. The Petkit PuraX Self-Cleaning Litter Box is one of the two highest-scoring automatic litter boxes we tested. It’s also one of the most expensive, though we feel it’s worth the price for someone willing to spend a bit more money for a good-looking, feature-laden litter box.

Our testers specifically praised its tech features and quiet operation. Our eyes loved the minimalist, rectangular design; our backs loved that you could load in litter from the top; and our noses thanked the built-in odor-fighting system. However, it’s smaller and would best work for small and medium-sized cats, and it doesn’t always catch all the waste. Connecting the litter box to your phone via an app is possible, but manual controls mean it’s not required. 

Dimensions: 19.8 x 20.9 x 25.4 inches | Weight: 37 pounds | Type: Rotating | Requires Assembly: No