Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums can be great for keeping your floors tidy but they are not a substitute for a regular vacuum. Even the most powerful robots have difficulty getting deep into rugs and carpets, and they may get caught up in cords and socks.

Your robot will last longer if it is maintained with regular maintenance. This includes replacing filters, removing the tangled hairs from brushes, and emptying the dustbin.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are able to handle a couple of cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The second-placed model in our top picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. This will be more than enough for the majority of small homes with carpets, hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life also means the robot can spend more time cleaning, and less time charging on its dock. It's recommended to select models that have a self-emptying dust bin, as these models are more efficient when it comes to picking up debris and returning to the dock for charging. It is also essential to empty or change the filter and wipe down sensors and cameras regularly so that they can clearly see your home.

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

Even the best home vacuum cleaner robot vacuums aren't able to substitute a traditional vac when it comes to heavy-duty dirt and debris. It's recommended to have an electric vacuum in your home to tackle these tasks, and also schedule robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be capable of traveling around your home and not getting caught or crashing into objects like metal screws, pet hair or sand. In our tests, a tracking device is used to track the robot's movements through the multi-room lab. It then tracks its surroundings. We also check how well the robot avoids obstacles such as power cords, furniture leg, and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can map out multiple floors and can recognize landmarks like doors and Windows. The most advanced robots, such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system, which uses a LIDAR to draw a room's layout and a structured-light camera on the front to detect objects in real-time. This allows the S8 to avoid common obstacles, such as power cords and furniture legs, and it can store up to four different floor maps within its internal memory.

Most affordable models rely on bump sensors which are not as accurate. In my testing they were able to rip through dog poop, cords, and even a pair of shoes placed in the middle of the room. The Dreametech D10+ is the most value-for-money option. It is a great carpet, hard floor, tangle and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is near-perfect.

A large onboard dustbin, that doesn't need to be empty manually is another aspect that's crucial. If you have models that mop the floor, this water tank can hold enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is a great example of this. It has a large enough footprint to fit under furniture, but not too big that it can't fit into the nook between your toilet and tub.

Apps

Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require an array of technologies to keep them up-to-date. There are many choices available in a market that is a mature. Even the most advanced models require input from their users, especially when it comes time to schedule cleanings, create a floor plan for your home, and set up virtual barriers.

Think about a model that has its own app that can recognize 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 every time.

Also, look for models that offer spot or zone cleaning. They allow you to instruct the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific spot, such as under the dining room table after an enormous family meal. You can use the app or by voice commands.

Many models also provide object avoidance. It allows the robot, when it spots something that is in its path such as a box of shoes or a crate filled with dog toys, to coach itself around. This will keep it from crashing into objects that might damage its sensors or cause a jam.

This feature is available on a few of the more expensive models we tested. They depend on bump sensor technology for this however they weren't always able to stay clear of things I tested at home.

Pet Hair

When it comes to removing pet hair, look for the right model designed to handle this kind of debris. The most effective models will have a high suction, a brush which stops tangling, and an automatic floor cleaner emptying mechanism. Some are also able to detect dirt levels and adjust cleaning intensity in line with the level of dirt. They can also detect objects that aren't part of your home's flooring like furniture, toys, food bowls, cords, and more.

Some robot vacuums have extra pet-friendly features, like a water dispenser that can be used to mop floors and a HEPA filter that can help reduce allergens, such as pet dust. They might also have an operation that is quieter to cut down on the amount of noise produced during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums that have mapping capabilities are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based upon the layout of each room and obstacles. For example the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum is a smart vacuum that has the impressive ability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions using accelerometer and gyroscope sensors that work in conjunction to learn the layout of your home.

Other models that are more advanced let you create no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is expected to avoid--like fragile items or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings via an app. This feature can be especially beneficial for families with a lot of activity because it allows you to schedule cleaning time and make adjustments without having be in the same room as the vacuum. Spot cleaning is a great feature. You can instruct the vacuum cleaner to clean a spot that is particularly filthy or is brimming with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't need something tiny, choose a robot with a big bin or even a self-emptying dustbin. We recommend choosing a model that has a large bin or a bin that self-empties. The former will help you keep track of cleaning the bin regularly enough to ensure you are on top of its performance while the latter will save you time and effort by automatically dumping the contents into an internal bin every few cleanings.

Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities, which allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and devise more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Find models with smart mapping capabilities that allow them to "learn" the structure of your home and plan more efficient routes, and ones that are able to detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).

Some models also offer spot cleaning, which allows you to choose an area of your home for thorough cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top performers in our tests are able to take in fine particles such as sand and baking soda, as well as heavier debris like oatmeal, orzo pasta, metal screws and pet hair.

The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots will last for a long time and continue to perform well so long as you keep up with maintenance, such as cleaning hair that has become tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin after every use, and cleaning cameras and sensors when needed. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and less expensive to repair or replace parts like batteries and wheels when they wear out.