Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

While robot vacuums are excellent at keeping your floors clean however, they're not able to replace a full-size vacuum. Even the best vacuums struggle to get into carpets or rugs and often get caught in cords and socks.

Maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin) will make your robot last longer.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without having to be charged. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is a close second in our top selections. It has a battery that can last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) on a single charge. This amount of runtime will suffice for most small homes with a mixture of hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life means the robot can spend more time cleaning and less charging its dock. You should choose one with a self-emptying bin. These models are more efficient in picking up debris and returning back to the dock to recharge. It is important to clean or replace filters and clean the sensors and camera on a regular schedule so they can see clearly.

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

Even the best robot vacuums cannot replace a traditional vacuum for heavy-duty large-pile dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a power vacuum on hand for these chores and plan robot vacs for light cleanings throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot must be able to navigate you home without getting stuck or crashing into objects like screws made of metal or loose pet hair or sand. In our tests, a tracking device is used to follow the robot around the multi-room lab. It then analyzes its surroundings. We also check how well the robot can avoid obstacles such as power cords, furniture leg and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can map out multiple floors and can recognize landmarks such as windows and doors. The most advanced ones, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, feature a dual-sensor navigation system which uses an LIDAR sensor to map the room and a structured lighting camera in front of the robot to detect objects in real-time. The S8 is able to avoid obstacles such as power cords and legs of furniture. It also has the ability to store up to four robotic floor vacuums maps.

The majority of the models that are affordable rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my tests they were able to rip through cords, dog poop, and even a pair of shoes placed in the middle of the room. The most affordable choice the Dreametech D10+, is an exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard floor pickup, excellent hair and tangle pickup and an almost perfect auto empty score.

A large onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be manually empty is another feature that is essential. For models that sweep the floor, this water tank is able to hold enough water for several weeks of cleaning. The Karcher RCV 5 has this, and a large enough footprint to be placed under furniture but not so big that it won't fit in the nook between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to keep them current. There are plenty of alternatives available in a marketplace that is maturing. Even the best models require interaction from their users especially when it comes to schedule cleanings, create an outline of your home, and set up 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 started on subsequent runs rather than having the mapping process restarted every time.

It's also worth keeping an eye out for a model that has zones or spot cleaning modes. You can instruct the robot vacuum cleaner to focus on a specific area, for example, under the table after a large family meal. You can do this by using the app or by voice commands.

Avoidance of objects is a different option that is available on several models. It allows the robot, when it spots something in its way, like a box of shoes or a crate filled with dog toys, to guide itself around. This will prevent it from running into objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.

This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we test. However, they typically rely on bump sensors to accomplish this and weren't always able to stay clear of things in my test homes.

Pet Hair

Find a vacuum cleaner that is specifically designed to remove hair from pets. The best models have powerful suction, a brush that avoids getting caught in a knot, and an emptying mechanism that will automatically dump hair into the trash bin when it is needed. Some models are able to detect dirt levels to alter the level of cleaning. They also can detect objects that aren't part of your flooring at home, such as furniture, toys and food bowls.

Some robot vacuums have extra features that are pet-friendly, such as a small water dispenser that can be used to mop floors, and an HEPA filter that helps reduce allergens like pet dander. 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 have maps are an excellent option for pet owners. They are designed to analyze your home and devise an attack plan based upon the layout of each room as well as obstacles. Shark Matrix Plus is a 2-in-1 robot vacuum that can map a room, navigate around furniture, and other obstacles by using accelerometers and gyroscope smart sensors.

Apps allow you to create zones that are not allowed. These are areas that the robot should not be permitted, such as areas that contain fragile items or pet feeding areas. This feature can be especially useful for households with busy schedules because it allows you to schedule cleaning sessions and make adjustments without having to be in the same space as the vacuum. Another excellent feature is spot cleaning that lets you control the vacuum to clean an area that is particularly dirty or brimming with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you're not searching for a small size, you'll want to choose one that can hold at least a full bag of garbage from a single cleaning session. We recommend going for a model that has a large bin, or perhaps a self-emptying dustbin. The former will allow you to keep track of emptying the bin frequently enough to ensure you are on top of its performance and the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically emptying its contents into an internal container every few cleanings.

Find models that have smart mapping capabilities, which enable them to "learn" the layout of your house and plan more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that may block their paths (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models with smart mapping capabilities, which permit them to "learn" the structure of your home and design more efficient routes, as well as models that detect and avoid objects that could hinder their path (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).

Some models also offer spot cleaning, which allows users to select an area of your home for intense cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models can take out small particles like baking soda, sand orzo, metal screws and pet hair, as well as heavier debris like oatmeal, orzo, and screws made of metal.

Based on the manufacturer, most robots can last for a long time and remain in good working order in the event that you are on top of maintenance, such as cleaning hair that is tangled from brushes, emptying the dust bin after each use and wiping down sensors and cameras when required. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and cheaper to repair or replace components such as wheels and batteries when they wear out.