How to Choose the Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums can save you time and effort when it comes to regular cleaning. The best models do a great job at removing dust and light debris and allow you to create no-go zones for pet areas or power cords.
The more expensive ones can even sweep your floors, but they can't climb up the stairs. Find models with smart mapping, real time safety features, and large self-emptying bins.
Best Overall
The top robots that we tested are efficient and user-friendly, and able to cope with everyday debris. You'll want a robot with adequate carpet-picking capabilities and the capability to climb stairs. If you're looking to add more features, you might be interested in a robot that uses smart mapping technology, or an application that allows you to control the robot remotely.
Camryn Rabideau is a contributing shopping writer and product reviewer at PEOPLE who has tried many robotic vacuums. She's a fan of the robot vacuums that provide the greatest convenience, including self-emptying dustbins and charging docks that automatically empty and fill the water tanks used by mopping robots. She also likes robots that recognize landmarks, such as furniture legs and power cables so that they won't trip up when climbing stairs.
This Black and Decker robot has a lower navigation score and less object-avoidance tech than the best-rated models. It comes with a huge non-refillable dustbin as well as an extended battery. Additionally, it has a feature that allows you to schedule cleaning sessions and return to the location where it stopped last and makes it much easier to cover larger homes. This model is also a good choice for pet owners because it is able to identify and avoid tangled hair and fallen food particles.
In our tests, the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra combines with a LIDAR sensor that maps rooms and identify obstacles using an organized light sensor to identify objects and detect edges. It is able to avoid liquid droplets, stairs, and furniture legs with this combination. It can also save up to four floor plans for later use. It can also stop the cleaning process at any moment and return to where it stopped and let you do chores while the robot does its work. The included app offers a 3D representation of your home, room labels, and advanced cleaning options.
While this robot can't clean as well as our top-rated models, it excels in picking up fine debris like sand and baking soda and heavier items like orzo pasta and screws made of metal. Its only downsides are that it isn't able to mop, and its navigation system is less impressive.
Best for Carpet
If you have carpeting in your home, search for a robotic vacuum that has good pickup and a high score for maneuverability on carpet and rug. A lot of models are adept at picking up dust in low-pile carpets, and some can be quite effective in cleaning up larger debris, such as orzo pasta and screws made of metal. They don't pick-up fine particles like an upright canister, and may be unable to pick up dirt close to thresholds or baseboards.
The best choice for most carpeted areas is a 2-in-1 robot vacuum/mop. It allows you to swap between an empty bin for cleaning and mopping pad with damp. The Roborock Q Revo is a 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop that can clean and mop simultaneously with circular pads that spin at 200 rotations a minute. It detects and lifts its pads when they come into contact with carpet, preventing the floor from becoming wet. It is not necessary remove them or replace them every time. The Q Revo is also more efficient than other robot vacuum/mops in avoiding obstacles and getting close to rugs and thresholds.
The iRobot Roomba Combo i5 is another good option. It did well in our tests and you can program it to tidy your home when you are away. It can be set to only mop. We liked its navigation on floors that are not bare as well as rug. The Combo i5 has a long runtime and excellent path-planning for the size of the device.
If you're looking for a modern model, you can look at the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop. It has a large dock that can last for weeks without needing to be emptied. It also has amazing capability to auto-empty carpets and floors with no floor. robot vacuum cleaner cheap has a smart-mapping feature and can be programmed to be operational during certain times of the day (a useful feature to keep the sly kids and pets from causing havoc). The Shark has less powerful suction than some other robot vacuum/mop combos but it's good at picking up hair and pet hair and is the best value of our top choices.
Best for Hard Flooring
Robot vacuums are ideal for floors with hardwood floors because they can navigate around obstacles without causing damage to bare surfaces. They are excellent at of removing dust and crumbs, but they aren't able to handle pet hair and other larger particles. They don't have the suction power of a top-of-the-line upright or canister vacuum, so they're not an ideal option for rooms with carpets or upholstery that needs deep cleaning.
The most effective two-in-one robots incorporate a vacuum and a mop and take care of an entire task in one go. If you have floors that are mixed you should look for a model with an onboard sensor which detects any changes in floor texture and adjusts suction accordingly. This feature is available on the ECOVACS Deebot T9+ and allows it to effortlessly switch from hard carpeting to soft carpeting.
If your home is mostly composed of hardwood floors, consider a robotic vacuum and mop combination like the eufy S1 Pro. This model has a powerful robotic vacuum equipped with intelligent navigation that can clean hardwood floors and other surfaces. It can also mop. Its sensors assist it in avoiding the stairs and other hazards, so you don't have to be worried about the bot plummeting down the stairs and breaking your hardwood.
When you need mops the eufy S1 Pro is designed to actually wash hardwood floors with downward pressure rather than wipe them over to get rid of light dirt and dust. The mop pads are reusable, which reduce the amount of waste and make it less likely to spread germs, and can be cleaned in the docking station, saving your time. They are also able to be washed, dried and reused.
Both the robovac and mop can be controlled by your smartphone to make it easier to manage the device. You can, for instance, use the app to create no-go zones where the vacuum cannot enter, or to label rooms, or plan specific cleaning times. The eufy S1 Pro has an auto-emptying port that collects debris through trapdoors and then puts it into a bagless or disposable bin. This means you don't have to empty the bin manually as often as with other models.
Ideal for small Spaces
As the name implies the robots are best suited for small areas. They have smaller bins which can hold less debris. They are also more efficient when it comes to getting around corners better than larger models. They can also fit under furniture, where the bigger robots struggle to reach. They are usually less expensive than the pricier picks, too, although you'll need to manually empty their dirt bins at end of each cleaning session.
A few years ago, robot vacuums underwent a major transformation when manufacturers started adding sensors to help navigate around and avoid household objects that their conventional sensors would become stuck on or over. This has have reduced the number of times our testers needed to clean up after a robotic snag, whether it was a power cord, toy or pet waste.
The new sensors aren't completely eliminating all the issues that these devices have, however. The less expensive models are not able to traverse the same obstacles as the older models, and they need some level of illumination to be able to see where they're moving. If you live in a dark house or have a lot of furniture with low-profiles, consider buying a model that utilizes a top-mounted spinning LIDAR unit to map your area, like our best overall and runner-up choices do. This lets them work in darkness and avoid obstacles like stairs.
These models can be programmed to only use their cliff sensors only when they are near or on the ground, but not when they are above it. You'll still want to shield any mirrors that may interfere with this function, though, as the lasers used by a LIDAR-based model can bounce off reflective surfaces and cause the robot to think it's in another room.
Some of the models we recommend let you set up virtual no-go zones for areas you do not want the robot go, which is beneficial if you have small pets or children. These features aren't available on all models we test. Read our full reviews before deciding.