The Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums can make the chore of vacuuming a little less painful. Today's models also mop and climb (small) steps.
Some have a smaller bin that they empty by themselves. Others can be controlled by a smartphone app rather than the physical remote. Some models have mapping capabilities to aid in navigating your home more effectively.
- Power
With 8,000Pa of suction power Our top choice for robot vacuums is strong enough to take care of the most difficult hairs and dirt. Its ultra-thin square design allows it to slide under furniture like sofas and beds and its Dual-Laser LIDAR technology allows for intelligent navigation and accurate obstacle avoidance. It is also great at cleaning baking powder, pet hair and other messes around baseboards and corners.
In addition to the DEEBOT X2 OMNI, other high-powered bots on this list include the iRobot Roomba J7+ as well as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra. It comes with a robust docking station that automates maintenance and includes mopping capabilities as well. Its powerful suction, combined with its efficient mopping, kept my floors clean of pet hair, muddy prints, and other debris on every floor we tested.
In the lower cost range, a model with around 2,500Pa of suction is sufficient for most homes. They are also quieter, making them an ideal choice for people with hearing issues. They're not silent but they're not the same volume as conversations at home.
Think about your budget and cleaning needs to determine the best combination of power and convenience. For regular light-duty cleaning it is recommended to have a longer runtime and less suction is needed. Cleaning that is heavy-duty every week requires maximum power. Take a look at your flooring, home layouts and cleaning schedules to choose the right model to meet your requirements. We recommend checking out our entire list of robot vacuum reviews and ratings to get more details about the latest models available. Many customers report that their carpets and floors appear cleaner after using a robot vacuum.
- Navigation
A robot vacuum won't be able to do its job properly without knowing how to get around your home. Because of this, the best robots use sophisticated navigation technology that reliably scans rooms and creates maps to ensure thorough cleaning without getting lost or hitting obstacles. There are three main types of robot navigation: LiDAR-based sensor-based, and camera-based.
The most expensive models utilize LiDAR to create a virtual map of the room, delivering the highest levels of precision and efficiency. Bump sensors are employed in less expensive models, but they aren't always accurate and miss a lot debris when working in dark environments. Most robots come with cliff sensors to prevent them from falling down stairs or other drops.
Several robots in my tests employed object recognition to skillfully navigate things like fake dog turds and cords, but the most effective was the Eufy X10. It was a fantastic mapping device and powerful oscillating mops that could be used as a user-friendly app and the ability to clean a specific area, room or the entire home.
Other features worth a look include floor type sensors that recognize carpets with soft and hard floors, automatically boosting suction power when needed. Certain robots, like the Roborock mops, use mopping pad lifts to get into corners and clean up dried spills. Many hybrids can even apply cleaning solution to stubborn staining.
A smaller dustbin will require less frequent emptying while bigger ones will cost less to replace. The majority of robotic cleaners that are low-cost use an inexpensive, disposable dust bag. However, the majority of middle-priced models have larger 3L dustbins which last a long time. Certain high-end robots, such as the ECOVACS DEEBOT OMNI station, will self-empty their trash bins and refill their water tanks, allowing convenience without hands.
- App control
The top robot vacuums have an app that allows you to monitor cleaning progress and schedule sessions and can connect to your smart home devices for hands-free control. A lot of robot vacuums can be controlled via voice using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Some models have a remote control that allows you to begin, pause, and return to dock. Select a model with a larger trash bin and can self-empty, rather than one that needs manual emptying.
Some robovacs come with mapping technology that can help them remember obstacles, like staircases, and prevents them from running into furniture. Others allow you to designate no-go zones and targeted rooms, so they only clean areas that require it the most. They also have a cliff detector to prevent them from falling, which is useful in multi-level homes.
If you are planning to make use of your robot vacuum to clean your rugs choose a model that can do both dry and wet mopping. You'll have better results cleaning if your robot vacuum can remove its mop pad. Clean it and reconnect it when you want to conduct a clean-up cycle. Also, look for a machine that has a rubber roll that is less susceptible to tangles from pet hair and other debris than a bristle roll, as found on some less expensive models. Check the robot's side brush and brushroll for any debris that might have become stuck on. Do this once or every week. If you notice that they're starting to clog, it may be time to buy replacement parts.
- Debris collection
Like the name suggests, robot vacuums are designed to collect dust and other debris from your floors. The best ones pick fine particles such as baking soda and sand as in larger pieces of orzo pasta, screws made of metal and pet hair. They also provide better results on carpets with a low pile than manual vacuums.
The top-performing robots across all flooring types had pickup scores greater than 95 percent. The ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 OMNI and the Roborock Q Revo were two of our best-performing bots in this category. Both are highly automated, with docking stations that can perform maintenance by themselves and apps that make them extremely user-friendly.
They both have self-emptying bins that eliminate the contents of the wastebasket. They can also clean the washboard while they mow. They also come with an 8,000Pa vacuum, intelligent mapping technology, and advanced obstacle avoidance that helps them navigate even the most difficult of spaces. The ECOVACS robot is among the few that can clean carpet and remove the mop pads. This makes it an ideal choice for users who have to switch between mopping and vacuuming regularly.
If you're looking for a cheaper option, look into the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus, our budget pick. It features LIDAR navigation and decent performance in the field of debris pickup for the price. It can be a bit slow when it comes to mapping rooms and is susceptible to hitting obstacles, but the cost is less than our other picks.
- Battery life
The best robot vacuum mops vacuums are designed to let you get to work while they keep your floors looking spick and span. You'll still have to manually vacuum your home from time to time but robovacs can assist you in maintaining a minimum standard of cleanliness, and even clean when you are away.
Choose a robovac that has long-lasting batteries to get the most out of it. If you select the highest power setting, a model should last about two cleaning sessions. This is not as long as a large vacuum cleaner, but it should be enough to be sufficient for most homes. If you don't want to be waiting around while your robovac recharges you could select an automatic model that makes its way back to its base station to recharge.
If you're looking for a robovac with a variety of features in it, then consider a robot that can also mop. Eufy's X10 is the top model of this category has self-emptying and self-refilling for the dust bin, the water tank, and the mop pad. It can also be programmed to automatically re-fill and wash its own mop pads when they're running low.
Its respectable carpet and hard floor pick-up excellent hair pickup, tangle-free, and a close to perfect auto empty scores makes it the clear winner of our test scores. It's not cheap and unless you have a small house with no pets, it might be too expensive for some. The second choice one, the Dreametech D10+, has very similar performance but costs about 25% less.