No one likes to vacuum their home again and again. Robot vacuum cleaners take care of the lion’s share of the work by scooping up dirt, debris, and pet hair from hard floors and carpets.
But before you purchase any max-quality or ultra-capacity robot vacuum, you’ll want to consider its key attributes:
- Is the robot vacuum a self-emptying bin? If so, that provides even more ease of use.
- Does the robot vacuum come with mop pads? Mop pads allow the vacuum to both vacuum up dirt on carpets and mop your hardwood floors at the same time.
- Can it connect to Wi-Fi? Some budget robot vacuums may not have a Wi-Fi connection, while high-end robot mops and vacuums use Wi-Fi to communicate with an app or smart home device.
- When does the robot need to return to the docking station for a recharge? Cordless robot vacuums eventually need to recharge their batteries.
- Is the robot specifically designed to pick up hair? The best self-emptying robot vacuums for pet owners will be able to pick up pet hair without getting stuck.
- Can the robot vacuum be programmed to schedule cleaning cycles, do spot cleaning, or just clean specific rooms? The more limited the features, the more hands-on you’ll have to be with the vacuum.
- How much cleaning power does the robot vacuum offer? This often correlates with the runtime of a cleaning session and how long it can last until it needs to go back to the charging dock. More powerful robot vacuums can usually only clean a few rooms before needing to be recharged.
- Does the robot vacuum have accessories like extra batteries, a self-emptying base, side brushes, and remote controls? All of these can make one robot vac the best vacuum for specific areas or needs
Now, let’s take a closer look at the 10 best robot vacuums you can buy.
Best for Multipurpose Cleaning: iRobot Roomba J7
Key specs: Power-lifting suction, 75-minute battery life
If you’re in the market for a multipurpose cleaning robot, the iRobot Roomba J7 is just what you need because of its flexibility and top-tier features.
Pros
There’s a lot to like about this robot vacuum cleaner, such as its capable dirt detection sensor and advanced custom cleaning settings, like no-go zones and obstacle avoidance. It’s also controllable with Amazon Alexa or Siri, and it’s perfect for use on carpet, whether you need to pick up pet hair or everyday debris.
Cons
On the downside, tThe battery life could be a little better. You’ll notice that the edge sweeping brush can wear down over time, so you may need to replace it more often than you think.
Best for Effective Mopping: roborock S8 Robot Vacuum and Mop Cleaner
Key specs: 6000Pa suction, 180-minute battery life
Roborock’s S8 Robot Vacuum is another stellar choice, particularly if you need a multipurpose vacuum that can mop hard floors as well as suck up hair and dirt from carpets.
Pros
Featuring high-speed scrubbing functions that vibrates up to 3,000 times per minute, this robot vacuum is perfectly capable of cleaning all the floors in your home, including carpets and hardwood floors. The reactive AI 3-D obstacle avoidance feature prevents your robot vacuum from bumping into pet waste, slippers, or toys.
Cons
This is quite an expensive robot vacuum, although the excellent battery life helps to offset this downside. Unfortunately, the vacuum’s water receptacle can leak from time to time, so you might find wet spots throughout your home every once in a while.
Best for Long-Term Vacuuming: Shark AI Ultra
Key specs: 4000pa suction, three-hour battery life
The Shark AI robot vacuum is a stellar choice if you want to set and forget your robot vacuum and guarantee long-term cleanliness.
Pros
With three hours of battery life and reasonably powerful suction, this is a top-tier robot vacuum for several reasons. You’ll also like the 60-day dustbin capacity, meaning you won’t have to change it very often. It’s perfectly suitable for cleaning carpet and hardwood floors alike and features 360-degree LiDAR vision to accurately map your home and avoid obstacles.
Cons
However, tThe vacuum isn’t the best at receiving voice commands, possibly due to issues with the speakers. You’ll also find that the self-cleaning brush roll is only partially self-cleaning, so you may need to manually clean it from time to time to ensure maximum efficiency.
Best for Quiet Cleaning: eufy Boost IQ RoboVac 11S
Key specs: 1300pa suction, 100-minute battery life
Looking for a vacuum that won’t scare all your pets out of the room? Eufy’s Boost IQ RoboVac 11S is a top choice if you’re tired of ultra-loud vacuuming noises.
Pros
This is a highly affordable and effective robot vacuum with quiet cleaning functionality. You’ll barely notice it while it runs in the background. It’s self-charging and is perfect for carpets up to medium height.
Cons
On the downside, tThis Eufy RoboVac doesn’t have the most powerful suction on the market, so it may not pick up heavier or harder debris. While the infrared sensor is reasonably good at evading obstacles, it doesn’t map your home and the furniture as capably or consistently as other robot vacuums on the market.
Best for Premium Cleaning: iRobot Roomba s9+ (9550) Robot Vacuum & Braava Jet m6 (6112) Robot Mop Bundle
Key specs: 40x suction power, 120-minute battery life
The Roomba S9+ robot vacuum is quite expensive, but it’s well worth it if you want a one-size-fits-all, premium cleaning machine that can do everything you need.
Pros
This robot vacuum can clean every type of surface, including wood, tile, and carpet floors. It’s controllable with voice commands, and the lithium-ion battery is quite nice. More importantly, it can clean carpets, corners, and hardwood floors with integrated mopping functionality. Plus, vSLAM navigation and machine learning technology ensure that the vacuum remembers the layout of your living room, kitchen, and other rooms for years.
Cons
The biggest downside is price. Still, if you can afford it, it’s arguably the best robot vacuum on the market in terms of sheer features, functionality, and quality. Don’t forget that it has 40x higher suction power compared to other robot vacuums on the market.
Best for Laser Navigation: Ecovacs Deebot
Key specs: 2600pa suction, 110-minute battery life
The Ecovacs Deebot robot vacuum has one of the best laser navigation systems, as it is capable of mapping your home with 360-degree accuracy.
Pros
That accuracy is excellent if you want a robot vacuum that won’t bump into furniture or obstacles often. It can run for 30 days before the dustbin needs to be emptied, and it can perform vacuuming and mopping in a single session. Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and other app controls are all available.
Cons
The dustbin can leak from time to time, so you might find piles of dirt here and there. Aside from that, the disposable dust bag isn’t overly filtering, so using this robot vacuum could cause the area around the recharge station to be dirtier than average.
Best for Big debris pickup: Neato Robot Vacuum
Key specs: 3000pa suction, 120 min battery life
The Neato Robot Vacuum is another popular choice due to its ability to pick up big debris, such as candy pieces and small sticks.
Pros
If you have kids or pets who constantly track dirt into your home, you’ll love this robot vacuum. It doesn’t weigh much, and it’s capable of vacuuming up debris on carpets, hardwood floors, and wood floors with 3000pa of suction. It’s a particularly good choice for pet hair cleanup thanks to this power and performance.
Cons
However, tThis robot vacuum also has a notable downside. The corner design of the robot can actually prevent it from cleaning all the corners of your home (since half of its frame is corner-friendly, and the other half is not). The big brush, on the other hand, can also become tangled with dog hair if you aren’t careful or if you don’t maintain it regularly.
Best for Smart Mapping Tech: Roomba i3
Key specs: 10x suction, 75-minute battery life
This Roomba vacuum cleaner has smart mapping technology, which makes it a solid overall choice for those tired of having to personally direct their robot cleaning assistants.
Pros
The smart mapping technology is particularly notable as it remembers the layout of your home flawlessly. It can be controlled with smart home apps, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant smart voice control devices. Its three-stage cleaning system has excellent powerlifting suction to capture 99% of particles that are as small as 0.7 microns.
Cons
However, tThis robot vacuum’s battery life isn’t very impressive. This vacuum is also so packed with features that it may be overwhelming to use.
Best Splurge: Samsung Jet Bot+
Key specs: 30W suction, 90-minute battery life
The Samsung Jet Bot+ is a bit pricey, but it offers plenty of value, particularly thanks to its top-tier filtration system.
Pros
It traps up to 99.99% of dust, thanks to five-layer HEPA filtration. On top of that, you can check the status of your robot in real-time using the proprietary SmartThings app, watching the robot clean hardwood floors and carpet floors effortlessly and effectively. The auto-empty dustbin, with 0.3 liters of capacity, means you won’t have to touch any dirt. You’ll find that the Clean Station prevents dust from flying into the air with automatic dustbin emptying and Air Pulse technology.
Cons
However, tThe dustbin could be a little larger, and you need to wash it regularly to ensure that the filtration system works perfectly. The voice recognition system, while nice, could also be a little better, though it is compatible with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Bixby for added versatility.
Best for Dual Vacuuming and Mopping: HONITURE Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo
Key specs: 3500pa suction, 120-minute battery life
Horniture’s Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo does it all, capably vacuuming carpets and mopping hardwood floors at the same time.
Pros
This robot vacuum has excellent battery life and plenty of versatility right out of the box. The 250-milliliter electronically controlled water tank is perfect for mopping your hardwood floors, and it can include nonfoaming detergent. The vacuum benefits from three adjustable suction levels and a brushless motor. It only produces about 50 decibels of noise.
Cons
The proprietary cleaning app, while functional, isn’t very intuitive, so it may take some getting used to.
The Bottom Line
There are plenty of excellent robot vacuums you can choose from once you consider your unique needs. For example, the Samsung Jet Bot+ is ideal if you have allergies to dust and pet hair, while the Roomba S9+ is even better if price is no object and you want the best of the best. Whatever your top pick, any of these robot vacuums will help keep your home clean and safe.
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