Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

While robot vacuums are fantastic in keeping your floors clean but they aren't able to replace a large-sized vacuum. Even the best vacuums struggle to penetrate carpets or rugs and often get tangled in socks and cords.

Being on top of routine maintenance (replacing filters, cutting tangled hair from brushes, and emptying the dust bin) can help your robot last longer.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums can handle one or two cleaning sessions before needing a charge. The second-placed model in our overall picks, the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery capable of lasting up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on a single charge. This is enough to clean most smaller homes with a mix of hard floors and carpets with low pile, or a larger home where the rooms are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life means that the robot is able to spend more time cleaning, and less time charging on its dock. It is recommended to choose a model that has an auto-emptying bin. These models are more efficient at collecting debris and then returning back to the dock to recharge. It is important to clean or replace filters and clean the sensors and cameras regularly so they can see clearly.

Smart mapping technology is a beneficial feature, as it allows you to program your robot so that it only cleans certain rooms or areas it is likely to bump into furniture and other obstacles. It's also helpful for ensuring your robot is able to get under and around sofas, beds and other tall furniture. A few robovacs are cheap and have boundaries that you can place on the floor to block off certain areas, while others make use of sensors and cameras for this purpose.

Even the best robot vacs cannot replace a traditional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty, large-pile dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a standard power vac on standby for these tasks, and to schedule robot vacs regularly for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should 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 avoids obstacles like power cords, furniture leg and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can map out several floors and can recognize landmarks such as windows and doors. The most advanced ones such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system that uses the LIDAR sensor to map the room and a structured light camera at the front of the bot to detect objects in real time. This lets the S8 to avoid common obstacles like power cords and furniture legs and can store up to four different floor maps within its internal memory.

The more affordable models don't have this type of object detection and rely on bump sensors, which aren't as precise. In my tests, they were able to detect dog poop through cords as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The most affordable choice, the Dreametech D10+, is an exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard floor, tangle and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is close to perfect.

A large onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be empty manually is another aspect that's crucial. For models that sweep the floor, this tank is able to hold enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 has this and a big enough footprint to be placed under furniture however, it's not so huge that it can't fit into the space between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are a lot similar to upright models, and it takes a lot of tech to get them up and running at speed. The result is a mature market with plenty of options. Even the best models require interaction from their customers, especially when it comes time to schedule cleanings, create the floor plan of your home, and set up virtual barriers.

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

You should also consider models that offer zone or spot cleaning. They allow you to instruct the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific area like under the dining table after the family's big meal. You can do this using the app or voice commands.

Avoidance of objects is a different option that is available on many models. It allows the robot to see something in its path, like a box of shoes or a crate full of dog toys, and then guide itself around it. This prevents it from hitting objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.

Some of the most expensive models we've tested include this feature. However, they usually rely on bump sensors to accomplish this and didn't always manage to avoid obstacles in my test homes.

Pet Hair

When you're looking to remove pet hair, look for a model that's designed specifically to handle this kind of debris. The best models will have an extremely high suction, a brush that stops tangling, and an automatic Cleaning robot emptying mechanism. Some models can also determine dirt levels and adjust cleaning intensity accordingly. They can also detect items that aren't a part of your flooring in your home, such as furniture, toys and food bowls.

Certain robot vacuums have additional pet-friendly features. These include the water dispenser that can be used to mop floors, and an HEPA filtration system that reduces allergens such as pet dander. They may also offer an operation that is quieter, which can minimize the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums that include maps are a great option for pet owners, since they're engineered to assess your home and create plans of attack according to the layout and the obstacles in each room. For example the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Vacuum is a smart vacuum with an impressive ability to map rooms and navigate around furniture and other obstructions using accelerometer and gyroscope smart sensors which work in tandem to understand the layout of your space.

Apps allow you to create no-go zones. These are areas where the robot shouldn't be permitted, such as areas that contain fragile objects or pet feeding areas. This feature is particularly useful for busy households, as you can schedule cleaning sessions without needing to be in the room where the vacuum is. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning, which lets you control the vacuum to clean a specific area that may be particularly dirty or brimming with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you're not looking for something small You should pick one that can carry at least a full bag of garbage from one cleaning session. We recommend choosing a model that has a large bin or a trash bin that automatically emptys. The former will help you keep track of cleaning the bin regularly enough to keep track of its performance, while the latter will help you save time and effort by automatically dumping its contents into an internal container every few cleanings.

Whatever the size of your house Most robots are able to get up to and around furniture, and they are able to detect and navigate around household obstacles such as shoes, loose cords, and dog puke. Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that permit them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes, and ones that can sense and avoid objects that could block their paths (like shoelaces or the tangled charging cables).

Some models provide spot cleaning. This allows you to select an area of your house for intensive cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top performers in our tests can pick up fine particles like baking soda and sand as well as heavier debris such as oatmeal orzo pasta, metal screws and pet hair.

The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots will last for years and will continue to perform well as long as you maintain them with regular maintenance tasks, such as cleaning tangled hair from brushes and emptying the dust bin after each use and wiping down cameras and sensors when required. The top robots are more flexible. This allows you to replace or repair parts such as wheels and batteries as they wear out.