Certain models are pretty good at avoiding certain obstacles, but none of them reliably avoid every kind of common floor-clutter, and some models just don’t deliver on their promises at all. We wouldn’t recommend the Coral One robot-handheld hybrid at any price. It sort of converts into a handheld vacuum, but it’s very heavy, and you’ll need to remember where you put the awkwardly shaped nozzle. The LG CordZero R9 is a very expensive vacuum with powerful cleaning specs, but user reviews from Australia, where it’s been available for a while, are not favorable. You might even prefer the simplicity of leaving everything to the bot, and never having to think about an app.
Nicely, the Deebot N79S is rather quiet, making night vacuuming possible. During testing, we found it was best suited to quick daily cleans, but struggled to remove the level of larger debris and ground-in dirt the S9 could. That said, for most people this robot vacuum strikes the right balance between price and cleaning power. Dual brushes and automatic cleaning brushes are a fantastic added bonus for carpeting, too. If you have a dog that sheds like it’s their job, hair is likely to get deeply embedded into your carpet. Normal vacuums tend to get the hair tangled up in the brushroll, but robot vacuums with dual brushes or self-cleaning brushes will help you avoid the weekly step of yanking a spool of hair out of the bottom of your vacuum.
The dream scenario is that you set your robot to automatically run on a schedule and then empty itself out, so you don’t have to touch your bot or even think about cleaning your floors for weeks on end. But the dream is possible—and even if it isn’t fully realized in your home, it’s still super-convenient to not deal with a messy dustbin every time you use your robot vacuum. Setting up cleaning schedules and selecting zones to be cleaned is done through the app – and you can also change the volume and voice of the robot.
Newer high-end models also have a camera, which works in conjunction with onboard mapping and navigation software to systematically cover all floor area, move from room to room, and find recharging bases and beacons. You might not expect sufficient cleaning power from a budget robot vacuum, but that’s precisely what the Anker Eufy RoboVac 25C delivers. Its suction power ability to scour sand from hardwood floors (78.9%) wasn’t too far below that of the Roborock S7. The Eufy RoboVac 25C’s sand performance across low-pile (53.5%) and medium-pile (52.2%) carpets was decent as well. The Roborock S4 Max has the most clever, controllable navigation you’ll find in any robot vacuum. Its smart-map feature is as robust as any that we’ve used, letting you tell the bot which specific rooms to clean, places to avoid, and when to do it all through a smartphone app and Wi-Fi connection.
IRobot representatives have also told us that they’ve been fixing navigation problems via software update since the robot launched, but recent user reviews suggest the s9’s performance is still inconsistent. Like many robot vacuums at this price, the Roomba i3 can thoroughly clean big spaces, by following a logical, orderly path throughout your home. It won’t miss many spots or waste much time recleaning the same areas, like our budget picks or other low-end models that navigate semi-randomly. And it doesn’t get stuck on obstacles like thresholds or power cables very often. While the Roomba i3’s nav system doesn’t come with all the convenient controls that other bots at this price often do , it generally gets the job done without any fuss.
While any vacuum can clean bare floors, some models make the task a little easier. The most versatile option of these is the Shark Navigator Lift-Away NV352. We tested the claim out with a fake turd made from Nutella and oatmeal, and it worked great. The j7 spotted the faux feces from a few feet away , and then methodically worked around it, never getting closer than about a foot. It also did a good job staying away from a power strip, power cord, and USB cable.
If you have both carpet and hard flooring throughout your home, you might want to consider a hybrid that can do double duty as a vacuum and a mop, such as the Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI or Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry. Standalone robot mops, such as the iRobot Braava Jet, aren’t eligible for this list because they don’t suck up dirt and debris, but they will get your hard floors nice and shiny. Neato’s Botvac dyson robot vacuum D7 Connected offers interactive cleaning maps, long battery life, and better third-party smart home integration than any other robot vacuum. The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is a pricey 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop with excellent battery life, the ability to identify and avoid obstacles, and a unique home monitoring feature. This system looks dumb, and some people simply can’t stand to watch it.