Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums can be great to keep your floors clean but they are not a substitute for a regular vacuum. Even the best robot vacuum for the money robots can struggle to get deep into carpets or rugs and often get caught in cords and socks.

Your robot will last longer if you perform regular maintenance. This includes replacing filters, removing hairs that are tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are capable of handling just a few cleaning sessions before requiring a charge. The runner-up of our top picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo comes with a battery that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. This amount of runtime will be more than enough for the majority of small homes with the combination of hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are similar in size.

A longer battery life means that the robot will spend less time charging and spend more time cleaning. It's worth opting for an auto-emptying dust bin, since those models are more efficient in cleaning up debris and returning to the dock to recharge. It's important to clean or replace the filters and clean the sensors and cameras regularly so that they can see clearly.

Smart mapping technology can be a valuable feature, since you can program your robot to ensure that it only cleans specific rooms or stays clear of areas where it's likely to bump into furniture and other obstacles. It's also helpful for ensuring your robot is able to go under and around sofas, beds and other tall furniture. A few robovacs are cheap and have boundaries that you can put on the floor to block off areas while others make use of sensors and cameras to accomplish this.

Even the best robot vacuum under 200 robot vacuums aren't able to replace a traditional automatic vacuum cleaner when it comes to heavy-duty, large-pile dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a traditional power vac on standby for these tasks and to schedule robot vacuums regularly for light cleanups throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot must be able to moving around your home without getting caught or crashing into things like metal screws, pet hair or sand. In our tests we used a tracking device used to follow the robot around an entire lab. It then maps its surroundings. We also check how well it avoids obstacles like power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.

The most advanced robots are able to map out multiple floors, and recognize landmarks like doors and Windows. The most advanced robots such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system, that uses the LIDAR to draw a room's layout and a structured-light camera on the front to identify objects in real-time. The S8 can avoid obstacles such as power cords as well as furniture legs. It can also store up to four floor maps.

The most affordable models rely on bump sensors which are not as accurate. In my tests, they plowed right through dog poop, cords, and even the shoes that were placed in the middle of the room. The Dreametech D10+ is the best robot vacuum black friday value choice. It has excellent carpet as well as a hard floor, tangle, and hair pickup. It also has a near-perfect auto empty score.

Another important feature is a huge onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be manually emptied, and for models that mop, a tank of water which can store weeks of mopping. The Karcher RCV 5 comes with this and a big enough footprint to be placed under furniture, but not so large that it won't fit in the nook between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are like their upright counterparts, and it takes an enormous amount of technology to get them up to speed. There are many options in a market that is maturing. However, even the most advanced models require interaction with their users - especially when it comes to scheduling cleanings, establishing a home floor plan and establishing virtual barriers.

You might consider a model with its own app that can identify the layout of your home and save these settings for future use. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it left off when it runs again, instead of having the mapping process restarted each time.

It is also recommended to look for models that provide zone or spot cleaning. They let you tell the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific spot for example, like under the dining table following the family's big meal. It is possible to do this using the app or via voice commands.

Many models also provide objects avoidance. It allows the robot to detect objects in its path, for instance shoes, a crate of dog toys or a crate filled with dog toys, and then guide itself around it. This will keep it from crashing into objects that could damage its sensors or cause a jam.

Some of the more expensive models we tested come with this feature. They rely on the technology of bump sensors for this, but they didn't always stay clear of things I tested at home.

Pet Hair

Look for an upright vacuum cleaner designed to pick up pet hair. The most effective models will have the highest suction, a brush which keeps hair from tangling and an automated emptying mechanism. Some models are able to detect dirt levels and alter the level of cleaning. They can even spot objects that aren't a part of your home's flooring like furniture and toys, food bowls, cords, and more.

Certain robot vacuums come with pet-friendly features, such as a water dispenser that can be used for mopping floors, and a HEPA filter that helps reduce allergens, such as pet dust. They may also offer the option of a quieter operation, which will reduce the amount of sound that's produced during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums that include mapping capabilities are an excellent option for pet owners, since they're engineered to assess your home and create plans of attack based on the layout and the obstacles in each room. Shark Matrix Plus is a 2-in-1 robot vacuum that can map a room, and navigate around furniture, and other obstacles with the help of accelerometers and Gyroscope smart sensors.

Apps let you establish zones that are not allowed. These are areas that the robot is not allowed, such as delicate items or pet feeding areas. This feature is especially beneficial for busy households, as it allows you to schedule cleaning sessions without having to be present in the room where the vacuum is. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning which gives you the option to direct the vacuum to clean a specific area that is particularly filthy or full of pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't need something tiny, choose a robot with a large bin, or even a self-emptying bin. We recommend going for a model that has an enormous bin or self-emptying garbage bin. The former will allow you to keep track of cleaning the bin regularly enough to stay on top of its performance, while the latter will save you time and hassle by automatically dumping the contents into an internal container every few cleans.

Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that enable them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They can also sense and avoid objects that may hinder their travel (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Make sure you choose models with smart mapping capabilities. This lets them "learn the layout of your house and plan more efficient routes.

Some models provide spot cleaning. This lets you select an area of your home for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models can remove small particles like baking soda, sand orzo, metal screws and pet hair, in addition to heavier debris like oatmeal, orzo, and metal screws.

According to the company, robots can last years and perform well as long as they're maintained. For example cleaning hair tangled of brushes and emptying dust bins after each use as well as wiping cameras and sensors down as needed. The best robot vacuum for the money-performing robots also tend to be more modular and therefore easier and less expensive to repair or replace parts like batteries and wheels as they wear out.