Want to keep your floors clean without having to raise a finger? Robot vacuums are more competent and inexpensive than ever before, and we’ve compiled a list of the top models we’ve tested to help you find the ideal one for your house.
Vacuum cleaners have come a long way. You no longer have to haul about an enormous plastic hose attached to a cumbersome, wheeled container the size of a Galapagos turtle. You don’t even have to get up from the couch. Robot vacuums may help you clean your home of dust, pet hair, and other debris without you having to lift a finger.
Related: This handheld vacuum is the No. 1 most reviewed on Amazon
Robot vacuums, as opposed to more typical canister or stick types, are autonomous and (for the most part) intelligent. The vacuums we examined are outfitted with lasers, motherboards, sensors, and even Wi-Fi to roam your home autonomously. With a few exceptions, you seldom ever have to engage with them.
Table of Contents
The Best Robot Vacuums for 2022
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Simply place the charging port in a robot-accessible location, and the bot will return on its own before running out of power. When it does, it will rest there until it has enough energy to return to the surface and continue to burst dust from where it left off. Most bots may also be configured to wake up and start cleaning on a schedule, so it can happen while you’re away. That implies you may be able to avoid any physical interaction until the vacuum is empty. Even better: some models actually empty their own stomachs!
Which robot vacuum is best for you, with so many functions to select from? To assist you with your decision, we’ve compiled a list of the top models we’ve tested. Continue reading for our best options, as well as all the variables to consider before purchasing a robot vacuum.
Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI
The expensive Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni is the greatest two-in-one robot vacuum and mop you can purchase, with a self-emptying dustbin, a mop that cleans and dries itself, and a built-in voice assistant.
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PROS
- Self-emptying dustbin
- Self-washing, drying, and refilling mop
- Built-in voice assistant
- Carpet sensor
- AI-powered obstacle avoidance
- Works as a security camera with two-way audio
- Good battery life
CONS
- Expensive
- Large base
- Mop scrubs less than main competitor
- Cannot install/remove mopping pads while robot is docked
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Why We Picked It
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The Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni is the priciest floor-cleaning robot we’ve seen, but it’s also the most advanced. It can vacuum and mop, empty its own trash can, and wash and dry its own mop cloth, which is a significant advancement in robotic floor cleaning. It even functions as a roaming home security camera with two-way audio and includes a built-in voice assistant called Yiko, which provides voice control without the need for a separate smart speaker.
In our tests, it cleaned for up to 145 minutes in Auto mode before running out of battery life, which is a decent result. It had no issue sucking up dust, hair, and other dirt and never got caught on usual impediments like power lines and lengthy drapes.
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Who It’s For
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This top-tier model is ideal for customers with large budgets who are ready to pay a premium for convenience. The X1 Omni is a terrific choice for large houses and people with pets, thanks to its extended battery life, high suction power, and AI-powered obstacle avoidance technology. The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra has comparable features and performance for a little lower price, but the X1 Omni is our Editors’ Choice because to its streamlined design, built-in virtual assistant, bigger water tanks, and hot-air mop-drying capability.
iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum
While it is costly, iRobot’s Roomba j7+ robot vacuum boasts plenty of intelligence, including a promise to avoid pet waste and a self-emptying base that means you seldom have to lift a finger.
PROS
- Pet waste-avoidance guarantee
- Auto-empty base
- Intelligently suggests Keep-Out Zones
- Supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands
- Allows for scheduled area cleanings
- Rarely gets stuck
- User-friendly companion app
CONS
- Expensive
- Unimpressive battery life
Why We Picked It
The iRobot Roomba j7+ may be expensive, but it’s one of the smartest standalone robot vacuums available. It recognizes impediments in its cleaning path in real time and autonomously reroutes itself around them using an integrated camera and machine learning technology. Using hundreds of millions of photos crowdsourced from its users who have opted in to contribute to its database, iRobot has taught its PrecisionVision Navigation machine learning algorithms to recognise phone wires, power cables, headphones, pet waste, shoes, clothes, and towels on the floor.
When the j7+ finds prospective barriers that aren’t in its database, it takes images and asks if such locations should be avoided in the future. It just takes about a minute to go through the obstacle photos, and it may be incredibly beneficial. This strategy allows you to quickly and easily build Keep-Out Zones around regions where cheaper robot vacuums generally stop.
Who It’s For
If you have a messy house or dogs who are prone to accidents and are looking for a standalone robot vacuum, the iRobot Roomba j7+ is the model to get. iRobot is so confident in the Roomba j7ability +’s to avoid solid pet waste that it is issuing a P.O.O.P. (Pet Owner Official Promise) guarantee: if the robot fails to avoid solid pet waste within a year of purchase, the firm will replace it for free.
Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL R101AE
The Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL R101AE vacuum has a base station that can keep up to a month’s worth of dust and debris, as well as a self-cleaning brushroll and a slew of smart functions for a genuinely low-maintenance experience.
PROS
- Features a bagless self-emptying base and self-cleaning brushroll
- Maps your home and supports scheduling, area cleaning, and virtual no-go zones
- Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
- Comes with a physical boundary strip
- Never got stuck in testing
CONS
- Average battery life
- Can get loud
Why We Picked It
Automatic trash emptying is becoming a regular function of robot vacuums. Unlike other self-emptying robot vacuums, the Shark IQ Robot XL does not transfer the contents of its bin into a bag. It features two trash cans: one in the robot and one in the base station, which only has to be emptied roughly once a month. You never have to worry about running out of bags with Shark’s bagless auto-empty technology.
The Shark IQ Robot XL also stands out for its self-cleaning brushroll, which effectively avoided hair from becoming wrapped around it in our tests, which is a typical issue with many robot vacuums. Furthermore, it had excellent suction power and never got stuck, successfully cleaning dust, dirt, and pet hair from hard surfaces and carpet. It has a variety of smart functions, such as house mapping for targeted room cleaning and virtual no-go zones.
Who It’s For
The Shark IQ Robot XL is a good choice if you want to graduate from a basic robot vacuum to one with self-emptying capabilities. It’s one of the least-maintenance robot vacuums we’ve examined, thanks to its bagless self-emptying mechanism and self-cleaning brushroll. However, allergy sufferers may choose the comparable Roomba i3+ EVO, which empties its trash into an AllergenLock bag to protect you from dust.
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra
The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is one of the most self-sufficient two-in-one robot floor cleaners we’ve examined, with the capacity to empty its own trash and wash its own mop.
PROS
- Self-washing and refilling mop
- Self-emptying dustbin
- AI-powered obstacle avoidance
- Carpet sensor and mop-lifting feature
- Best-in-class mopping performance
- Works as a security camera with two-way audio
- Can install/remove mop bracket while robot is docked
CONS
- Expensive
- Large base
- No hot-air mop-drying
- Smaller water tanks and dust bag than top competitor
- Camera doesn’t point outward when robot docks
Why We Picked It
The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra, together with the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni, are the two most sophisticated floor-cleaning robots on the market right now. This high-end hybrid, like Ecovacs’ competition, can do it all: it vacuums and mops your floors, then cleans itself, so it’s always ready for the next run without you having to lift a finger.
The S7 MaxV Ultra has a unique mop-lifting capability, which is also present on the less expensive Roborock S7+, allowing for more efficient cleaning runs than the competitors. Most two-in-one robots with carpet sensors, notably the X1 Omni, avoid carpets when mopping to prevent getting them wet. When the robot finds carpet while mopping, it lifts the mopping plate by around 5mm, allowing it to clean your hard floors and vacuum your low- to medium-pile carpets in a single pass. With a maximum suction power of 5,100 pascals (Pa), the S7 MaxV Ultra has some of the finest suction power we’ve encountered.
Who It’s For
If you must choose between the two most expensive robot vacuums available, the S7 MaxV Ultra and the X1 Omni, go with the former if you have a lot of hard flooring and are primarily concerned with mopping performance. Roborock’s bot scrubs your floors 3,000 times per minute with sonic vibration technology, while the X1 Omni’s circular mopping pads spin at 180 revolutions per minute. Both robots cleaned our test floors well, although the S7 MaxV Ultra is somewhat superior at deep cleaning.
Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI
The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI is an expensive 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop with a long battery life, obstacle detection and avoidance, and a unique home monitoring capability.
PROS
- Automatically recognizes and avoids obstacles
- Exceptional battery life
- Allows for remote home monitoring with built-in camera
- Supports virtual boundaries
- Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice support
CONS
- Expensive
- Mops with water, not cleaning solution
- Moderate learning curve
- Auto-Empty Station is sold separately
Why We Picked It
The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI was the most sophisticated floor-cleaning robot we’d seen until the X1 Omni arrived. This feature-rich hybrid vacuums and mops while utilizing AI to recognize and avoid several obstructions that other floor-cleaning robots might become caught on. We deliberately placed dog toys that have tripped up previous robot vacuums in its route to put its obstacle-evasion capabilities to the test. The Ozmo T8 AIVI always identified the toys in its path and altered routes accordingly.
Furthermore, this robot serves as a wandering home security camera. You can move the robot about and observe a live video stream of what’s going on in your house using the accompanying app. It also offers the longest battery life of any robot vacuum we’ve tested, with up to 170 minutes of cleaning time on a single charge. Ecovacs manufactures an Auto-Empty Station (available separately) that allows the Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI to empty its bin into a disposable dust bag without your assistance.
Who It’s For
The Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI was ahead of its time when it was released in 2020, so even though it’s a few years old now, Ecovacs’ previous flagship robot vacuum is still a good pick. Even better, you can now get it at a reduced price. Its long battery life and obstacle avoidance capabilities make it a very appealing alternative for individuals who have large houses and crowded floors. If you have the budget, we recommend installing the Auto-Empty Station, which allows for a month of maintenance-free cleaning between dust bag refills.
Roborock S7+
The Roborock S7+ floor cleaning robot vacuums and scrubs better than the competition, thanks to a revolutionary mop-lifting mechanism that keeps your carpet from becoming wet.
PROS
- Vacuums and mops
- Auto-empty base
- Strong suction power
- Rarely gets stuck
- Multiple mop scrubbing levels
- Supports multi-level maps, schedules, virtual boundaries, and zone cleaning
- Multi-stage HEPA air filtration
CONS
- Expensive
- Only mops with water
- Loud when vacuuming carpets
Why We Picked It
The S7 MaxV Ultra stole the show in 2022, but the year-old Roborock S7+ remains a formidable contender. The S7+, like its more costly sister, features Roborock’s VibraRise technology, which allows it to mop hard floors and vacuum carpeting in the same cleaning cycle. Unlike other hybrid cleaners, the S7+ automatically removes its mop cloth out of the way and continues vacuuming, allowing it to do both duties more effectively.It also has a self-emptying dustbin, a long battery life, good obstacle avoidance, and high suction power.
Who It’s For
The S7+ works well on both hard surface and carpet, although it is best suited for houses with both. With four vacuum power levels—Quiet, Balanced (the default setting), Turbo, and Max, with a maximum suction of 2,500Pa—an it’s ideal choice for households with dogs and carpets.
Eufy RoboVac G30
The Eufy RoboVac G30 robot vacuum is reasonably inexpensive and features a small design, excellent suction power for its size, and better navigation than its predecessors.
PROS
- Compact, low-profile design
- Strong suction power for its size
- Well-designed app
- Easy to set up and use
- Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands
- Features smart navigation for systematic cleaning
CONS
- Doesn’t support strips or virtual boundaries
- Battery life is on the short side
Why We Picked It
Robot vacuums are becoming larger and taller as they get more technologically advanced, incorporating laser navigation sensors and home security cameras. It’s difficult to locate a model that stands less than 3 inches tall these days. The Eufy RoboVac G30, on the other hand, stands out due to its small size. It’s one of the tiniest robot vacuums we’ve tested, measuring 12.8 inches in diameter and 2.85 inches tall, so it can clean places where other robot vacuums can’t, including beneath couches.
The battery life is adequate, but the RoboVac G30 intelligently navigates your home, cleaning in organized lines rather than wildly ping-ponging from wall to wall as some other low-cost versions do. The RoboVac G30 has a lot of power for its size, and it raises suction automatically when it goes over carpets and extremely filthy areas.
Who It’s For
The RoboVac G30 is an excellent pick for anybody on a tight budget, thanks to smartphone and voice control capabilities, clever navigation, and great suction power. Its compact form makes it ideal for tiny houses and flats, especially when combined with low-profile furniture. If your existing robot vacuum can’t go under the sofa or gets trapped between chair legs, the G30 is worth considering.
iLife A9 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
The iLife A9 robot vacuum cleans hard surfaces and low-pile carpet effectively, offers smartphone and voice control, and is reasonably priced.
PROS
- Cleans efficiently
- Quiet
- Good battery life
- Low-profile design
- Supports app and voice control
CONS
- Not the best on medium-pile carpet
- Max mode drains battery quickly
- Missed some dog hair in testing
Why We Picked It
The iLife A9 robot vacuum is the most affordable model on our list, but it provides a lot of versatility and outstanding performance for the money. During testing, we were pleasantly impressed by how quickly the A9 moved and how easily it switched between different types of flooring. The dustbin in our roughly 1,000-square-foot test home was totally full with dust, dirt, and dog hair after only one cleaning run. It left some remains on medium-pile carpeting but worked effectively on hard floors and low-pile carpets
Who It’s For
If you’re new to the world of robot vacuums and want to give one a try without spending a fortune, the iLife A9 is an excellent pick. Because it has a real remote control, which is becoming increasingly rare these days, the iLife A9 is also a good alternative for individuals who value simplicity and don’t want to deal with the headache of setting up app or voice control (though it does support those features as well). It is not the ideal solution if you have medium-pile carpeting in your house, but if you have hard floors and low-pile carpeting, it is.
iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO
The iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuum is the company’s most economical model, with the ability to empty its own dustbin for totally hands-free cleaning.
PROS
- Self-emptying dustbin
- Works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT
- Supports scheduling and area cleaning
- Detects and focuses on heavily soiled areas
CONS
- Average battery life
- Can be loud
Why We Picked It
iRobot is a well-known brand in the robot vacuum business, and the Roomba i3+ EVO is the company’s most economical model with a self-emptying dustbin. It’s difficult to emphasize the benefits of this feature. Aside from being more convenient than their manual counterparts, self-emptying robot vacuums dramatically reduce your exposure to dust, which is especially important if you suffer from allergies.
The suction power of the i3+ EVO is ten times that of the entry-level Roomba 600 series, and it did a decent job of eliminating dirt from hard surfaces and carpet in tests. When it detects a particularly unclean region, it enters Dirt Detect mode and repeatedly travels over the offending area until it is sufficiently clean. This model was recently upgraded by iRobot with smart mapping features, allowing you to dispatch it directly to particular rooms by phone or voice for targeted area cleanings.
Who It’s For
The Roomba i3+ EVO is an excellent alternative for anybody wishing to upgrade from a normal robot vacuum to one that can self-empty. If you’re weary of manually emptying your existing bot’s bulging dustbin on a regular basis, the Roomba i3+ EVO will do the job for you. It’s a very appealing alternative if you have allergies, because it also employs a high-efficiency filter to trap particles while cleaning.
One limitation is that the mapping capabilities of the i3+ EVO are restricted to a single floor. However, its more costly siblings can recall numerous levels, which is beneficial if you live in a multi-level home.
Proscenic M7 Pro
The Proscenic M7 Pro is a smart, powerful robot vacuum that can also mop small spaces.
PROS
- Strong suction power
- Vacuums and mops
- Supports app control and Alexa voice commands
CONS
- Small water tank
- Doesn’t automatically avoid carpet when mopping
- Automatic dust collector is sold separately
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Why We Picked It
Affordable robot vacuums frequently fail to collect pet hair and other particles from carpeting. The intermediate Proscenic M7 Pro succeeds at this duty, with an excellent 2,600Pa suction power. When it finds carpet, it automatically boosts its suction power to maximum, a function generally reserved for more expensive models.
The M7 Pro has the added benefit of being a hybrid floor cleaner that also functions as a mop. Although it has a tiny water tank, it left the tile in our test kitchen clean and smudge-free. The M7 Pro comes with a real remote and a slew of smart functions, including scheduling, area cleaning, virtual limits, and Alexa voice control. It may also be used with or without a dirt disposal foundation (sold separately).
Who It’s For
If you want to graduate from a low-cost robot vacuum to a more feature-rich hybrid, the M7 Pro is a good alternative that’s still reasonably priced. Because of its powerful suction force, it is the ideal intermediate model for pet hair and medium-pile carpet, which lesser robot vacuums frequently struggle to clean. At the time of writing, the M7 Pro with an autonomous dirt disposal base is less expensive than the self-emptying Roomba i3+ EVO, which does not serve as a mop. The M7 Pro is ideal for cleaning small spaces such as kitchens and bathrooms, but if you have a large home with a lot of hard flooring, you’ll need a model with a larger water tank.
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Wyze Robot Vacuum
Thanks to superior laser mapping and fast route planning, the Wyze Robot Vacuum meticulously zips about your home sucking up dust and pet hair from hard floors and carpet.
PROS
- Strong suction power
- Features laser mapping technology
- Supports app control, area cleaning, scheduling, and virtual walls
- HEPA filter
CONS
- No voice command support
- Relatively short battery life
- Occasionally gets stuck
Why We Picked It
Wyze is known for producing feature-rich yet reasonably priced smart home gadgets, and its first robot vacuum is no exception. The Wyze Robot Vacuum has a raised Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor that casts hundreds of invisible laser dots to survey the environment and build an editable map of your home’s floor plan. LiDAR technology is used in self-driving vehicles and more expensive vacuums, but it is uncommon in a low-cost robot. Once the Wyze vacuum has created a map of your home, you can mark each room, choose which ones you want cleaned, and direct the robot to them. You may even use virtual walls to keep the robot away from particular locations, such as a tangle of wires under your desk or TV stand.
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Who It’s For
Because of its inexpensive price and competitive feature set, the Wyze Robot Vacuum is a good choice for first-time robot vacuum consumers. It easily traversed hard floors and carpet in tests, and fully gathered dog hair from both, making it an excellent value for pet owners.
If you have a small house or apartment of 1,000 square feet or less, the Wyze Robot Vacuum should be able to clean the whole room in a single pass. If the robot runs out of battery power before completing the task, it will return to its base station, charge up, and resume where it left off.
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Are Robot Vacuums Really Worth It?
A robot vacuum is typically more expensive than a regular vacuum (though not always).
Unless you enjoy vacuuming, the chore is very routine. Depending on the size of your home, a robot vacuum may save you minutes to hours of your time each week by doing a tedious work. That alone is enough to sway some people’s opinions.
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Furthermore, robot vacuums have advanced to the point where they are as strong and effective as traditional vacuums. The robots in this roundup combine rotating brush rolls and side brushes to clean your home just as effectively as upright counterparts. They’re also rather small, so they won’t take up much room. They can also go beneath most sofas and tables, eliminating the need to adjust furniture.
Wi-Fi-enabled robot vacuums are now considerably more cheap than they were previously. What are the advantages of being connected? Your smartphone may be used to program and operate smart robot vacuums. Many of them may also be operated using voice commands from Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.
Connected bots usually generate data and maps of the regions they clean. Many even develop customised floor plans, allowing for targeted room cleanings and removing the need for real “virtual walls” to separate portions of your house.
Some of the most modern robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+, have a camera and artificial intelligence technology to detect and avoid obstructions such as shoes, toys, and even pet feces. Premium versions may also serve as roaming home security cameras, allowing you to monitor live footage of your house from anywhere.
What Is the Best Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum?
The introduction of models that can empty their own dustbins has been one of the finest advances in the robot vacuum area in recent years. Aside from being more convenient than traditional versions, they greatly reduce your exposure to dust, which is especially beneficial if you suffer from allergies.
Most self-emptying models empty their bins into a bag, which can hold up to 60 days’ worth of debris, depending on how frequently you vacuum and how dirty your home is. The advantage of this is that you never have to deal with dust or debris. The disadvantage is that you’ll have to buy more bags when you run out.
The Shark IQ Robot Self-Empty XL is an anomaly, since it contains two dustbins: one in the robot and a bigger one in the base station that can hold up to a month’s worth of waste. When the dustbin is full, just remove it, place it over a garbage can, and push the Empty button on the side. The dustbin’s bottom will open, and the contents will tumble out into the garbage. While allergy sufferers may prefer versions that empty their contents into a bag, the IQ Robot XL is more practical and cost-effective because there is no need to purchase additional bags.
Whether self-emptying or not, most robot vacuums have miniature HEPA filters that collect allergens while the robot vacuums your floors.
Which Robot Vacuum Is Best for Pet Hair? Hardwood?
In general, all of the vacuums on this list can easily handle hardwood floors and pet hair.
If you have both carpet and hard flooring in your house, consider a hybrid that can function as both a vacuum and a mop, such as the Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI or the Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry. Standalone robot mops do not qualify for our list since they do not collect dirt and debris, but they will make your hard floors shine.
You’ll need a robot vacuum with considerable suction power to take up pet fur. Most firms in this market advertise power in pascals (Pa), the metric measure of pressure; however, iRobot does not always make this information readily available. In general, the more power, especially if you have carpet, the better, although battery life and obstacle avoidance skills are also important.
More information may be found on our listings of the best robot vacuums for pet hair and the best robot mops.
The Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner for Your Home
We put robot vacuums through their paces in our own homes, focusing on battery life, navigation, obstacle avoidance, setup time, and suction power. We analyze its app experience and other smart features whether it supports Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
You probably don’t want to look after your vacuum. That implies you’re searching for a robot that can navigate different types of floors or maneuver around furniture without assistance. This is especially important if your flooring is dark, since infrared sensors may misinterpret a black carpet for a ledge and refuse to pass over it. We put vacuums through their paces on hardwood, tile, and carpets to evaluate how well they handle transitions between surfaces.
Battery life is also a significant consideration depending on the size of your house. Most robot vacuums can operate for at least 60 to 70 minutes, which should be plenty for smaller homes and flats. If you have a larger living space, search for a robot vacuum with at least 90 minutes of battery life so it can clean every room before needing to be recharged. To put this to the test, we charge the battery completely, start a cleaning cycle, and time how long the robot can run before needing to be docked. A robot’s battery may run out after multiple complete cleaning cycles in some instances.
Another note about battery life: the figure in the chart below represents our tested result in normal mode. High-power modes frequently reduce that number.
Most robot vacuums are dependable when it comes to removing common household debris, so you don’t have to worry about them sucking up lint, grime, or hair. We assess how full the dustbins grow and if the robot picks up evident trash like pet hair and dust bunnies because we test all of the robot vacuums in the same household setting.
We also observe if the robot cleans in a random or systematic manner. Many of the most recent versions have a LiDAR laser (the same technology used in self-driving vehicles) to map your home and calculate an effective cleaning route. However, some low-cost robot vacuums continue to ping-pong from wall to wall, inefficiently passing the same space several times while they clean.
Finally, we assess how simple it is to configure, program, and control the robot. Some merely require a battery charge at first, while others require you to attach side brushes and batteries. App design and dependable Bluetooth or Wi-Fi are important variables that influence your experience with linked bots.
In our evaluations, we go through each of these vacuums in depth, and you can find the most recent models in our vacuum product guide. When you’ve found the appropriate one for you, don’t forget to check out our basic robot vacuum advice.
