Neakasa M1 Plus Review

Verdict

The M1 Plus solves the single biggest failure mode of automatic litter boxes: cats that refuse to enter an enclosed globe. The open top means most cats accept it quickly, it is rated for cats from 3.3 lb all the way to 33 lb — the widest ceiling of any box we track — and the 11.2 L waste bin is among the largest. Neakasa has also engineered out the carbon filter entirely, sealing odour at the litter bed with a brush strip and sealing ring instead. The catch is the waste bags: they are Neakasa refill rolls, not kitchen bags.

Scores

Six categories, weighted toward the two that people actually buy these for. See the method.

• Cleaning 8.5

  How completely and reliably it clears waste on every cycle.

• Odor control 7.6

  Seal quality, filtration, and how the room smells after a week.

• Safety 9.0

  Sensor coverage, pinch protection, and behaviour when a cat re-enters.

• App 7.9

  Setup, connection reliability, and whether the data is actually useful.

• Maintenance 9.1

  How long a full clean takes and how well the unit comes apart.

• Value 8.4

  Purchase price plus consumables against what it delivers.

Cleaning

The 11.2 L waste bin and 7.2 L litter capacity are among the largest here, and Neakasa states 7-14 days between empties for one cat. Disposal is a pull-and-wrap action that seals the bag without touching it.

Odor control

Neakasa dropped the carbon filter entirely on the M1 Plus and replaced it with mechanics: a brush strip at the base of the litter bed seals against the waste bin, and a composite sealing ring resists urine seepage. That removes a recurring cost and a common failure mode. It is still an open-top box, though, so nothing contains smell from the litter bed itself between cycles.

Safety

Six sets of sweeping infrared sensors track the cat’s movement, size and position, backed by a gear structure that mechanically limits how far the bed can rotate. Kitten Mode covers cats under 3.3 lb. The open top also means a cat is never enclosed.

Noise

Neakasa publishes no decibel figure and we have not measured one, so we are not printing a number.

Setup

The easiest setup here at around ten minutes, because there is no bonnet to align and no drum to seat. Wi-Fi pairing is straightforward. It needs more floor width than a globe box, so measure first.

App

Plain but reliable. Cycle scheduling, a fill indicator and basic weight logging. No health trends, no per-cat identification. It does what it says and nothing more.

Consumables

Neakasa refill bag rolls, and nothing else — there is no filter to replace. We have not yet sourced current roll pricing from Neakasa, so we are not publishing an annual figure.

Long-term cost

At $449 list it sits in the middle of this index, and removing carbon filters takes out one of the two recurring costs every rival still carries. The bag rolls are the offsetting factor.

Specifications

What it costs to own

We have not yet sourced current consumable prices for this model from the manufacturer, so we are not publishing a running-cost figure. Purchase price is $449.

Alternatives

Or line them up field by field: Neakasa M1 Plus vs CATLINK Pro-X · Neakasa M1 Plus vs CATLINK Ultra · Neakasa M1 Plus vs PuraMax 2