The Best Robot Vacuums You Can Buy Right Now
Tired of having to whip out the old, dusty upright vac that stinks up the house whenever you need to vacuum? It sounds like you owe yourself a robot vacuum. No longer a luxury item, there are plenty of options out there for every budget and need.
Do you need a robot that specializes in picking up pet hair or one with a massive battery to get as much cleaning done as possible in one session? We’ve tested dozens of robot vacuums, and our pick for the best is the iRobot Roomba s9 Plus. The s9 Plus is the Ferrari of robot vacuums, offering advanced navigation and even emptying its own dust bin. We’ve also included our picks for the best value robot vacuum, as well as the best robot vacuums in other categories.
At a glance
Best overall: iRobot Roomba s9 Plus
Sure, a robot vacuum makes cleaning your floors a heck of a lot easier. But, you still have to empty the dustbin just about every time you run it. With its Clean Base and compatibility with Alexa and Google Assistant, the s9 Plus is the latest model from the esteemed company that’s capable of literally vacuuming without having you lift a finger. Just say “Alexa” or “OK, Google, ask Roomba to start cleaning,” and your s9 Plus will start cleaning. The best part about the s9 is when it completes the cleaning, since the clean base will suck the dirt and debris into an anti-allergen base that holds up to 30 deposits (60 days of dirt).
In addition to being one of the most user-friendly robots you can buy, the s9 Plus adopts a new D-shaped design to allow for better edge and corner cleaning. Naturally, it’s outfitted with the latest tech under the hood — consisting of a new 3D sensor in the front bumper that enhances Roomba’s wall detection, a more powerful cleaning head, and intelligent mapping. It can tell where it has already been and where it still needs to clean. The robot can clean your entire home, or you can instruct it to clean specific places. Its sensors can locate the higher traffic areas in your home, and the robot will be extra attentive to those dirtier areas of your floors.
While the s9 Plus is expensive, its performance and features are top-notch. If you want the best of the best in terms of robot vacuums, the s9 Plus is the way to go. You can check out our full review of the Roomba s9 Plus here.
Best for edges and corners: Neato Botvac D6
You can easily set the Botvac D6 to clean your entire home or spot clean a specific section of a room. Once set up, you can check in on the bot to schedule tasks and similarly receive notifications as rooms are cleaned via the Neato app. You can store up to three different floor plans, making the D6 the ideal robot for a three-story home. The D6 comes with magnetic strips to set up boundaries around the home or apartment. This is a great way to prevent the unit from bumping into your pet’s food dishes and also partitioning play areas to keep the bot from chewing up toys. You can also create virtual “No-Go Lines” in the Neato App that tell the robot which areas to avoid.
The Botvac D6 has a laser-based navigation system, which allows it to scan and map your home and even clean in the dark. It has a large main brush that picks up pet hair and small debris, and an ultra-performance filter to trap allergens. The battery life on the D6 is pretty good too, at 120 minutes, and it has a quick-boost charging feature to let it charge as much as it needs to finish the job. Plus, with Neato’s D-shape build, this robotic vacuum is a boss when it comes to cornering and edging. We conducted a full review of the Botvac D6 if you’d like to learn more.
Best multi-surface: Eufy RoboVac G30
Whether you need a quick sweep or a full home detail, the Eufy RoboVac G30 is your best bet for getting the house spotless. With Eufy’s Smart Dynamic Navigation 2.0, your RoboVac takes a detailed scan of your home that the vac will reference during each cleaning. Where other robot vacs set off on randomized paths when enabled, the RoboVac will build its cleaning course based on what floor it’s located on, what room, and what surface type it will be cleaning.
Featuring 2000Pa of suction power, the RoboVac will have zero issues with whatever carpeting, tile, hardwoods, or other surface your home has to throw at it. Plus, with the included BoostIQ technology, the RoboVac will automatically increase suction power when it moves from a hard surface to a carpeted area, so you won’t have to worry about adjusting suction strength in the companion app.
Speaking of which, the Eufy app (for iOS and Android devices) is your one-stop command center for your Eufy RoboVac G30, allowing you to assign spot cleaning duties, create vacuum schedules, view the bot’s cleaning history, and more.
Most versatile: Roborock S5 Robot Vacuum and Mop
The Roborock S5 is an all-in-one vacuum, mop, and whole-home detailer. On the vacuum end of things, the S5 is equipped with Roborock’s 3D cleaning system, which allows the vac to act like a mini-tornado, sucking in all nearby dirt and debris. The S5 can seamlessly traverse multiple floor types and can clean for up to 2.5 hours on a single charge. We’re also big fans of the self-adjusting brushes that kick up the spin speed to 330 RPMs when approaching tight corners. When the S5 moves away from a tight spot, the brushes go back to a steadier 130 RPMs.
For mopping capabilities, the S5 uses a sensor-driven water tank that only shoots out water when cleaning, so no need to worry about watermarks on your carpet. The mop head itself is wrapped tightly to the vac, so you can expect mostly streak-free mopping across multiple terrain types.
With the Mi app (for iOS and Android), you can create customized cleaning zones for the vac, save and load specialized cleaning maps of your home, and access real-time video of your vacuum mid-clean by tapping into the S5’s onboard camera. There’s also Alexa compatibility, so you can fire up the vac or tell it to stop cleaning with easy voice commands. The app can be a little glitchy, and oddly, the Roborock S5 doesn’t send out a notification when its dust bin is full — two little drawbacks that would be easily ignorable if the vacuum cost a bit less.
Best robot vacuum for pet owners: Amarey A980 Robot Vacuum
Not only is this vac a great value, but it’s also an excellent option for pet owners. If there’s a cat or dog in your life, chances are that every crevice of your home is filled with some part of them, whether that be hair, litter, or food. The Amarey A980 is tailor-made for this kind of cleanup. It’s all thanks to the vac’s advanced cleaning tools, featuring four side brushes and a main spinning brush, allowing it to dig into those hard-to-reach cat-hair nooks. Using the companion app, you can also choose between three different cleaning modes, including automatic, spot, and max vacuuming, the latter two being excellent choices for unearthing pet dander.
The A980 uses a series of advanced sensors to map your home, ensuring no corner goes untouched. Not only does this vacuum clean quietly at less than 58 decibels, but it cleans a variety of surfaces, such as wood, carpet, and tile. The A980’s 360-degree anti-drop and anti-collision sensors are also instrumental in making sure it doesn’t fall over stairs or drop-offs.
Best of all, you can use Alexa voice commands to tell the Amarey 980 to start/stop cleaning. For pet owners with plenty of dander to keep up with, we can’t think of a better bot.
Best budget robot vacuum: Eufy RoboVac 12
There are more budget-flexible models and devices on the market, like the Eufy product. This vacuum doesn’t have the Wi-Fi or tech capabilities that some of the more expensive models may have. However, you’ll still benefit from a long-lasting battery charge, a drop-sensing system, and multiple cleaning settings that boast stellar suction.
This vacuum runs for an hour and forty minutes before needing a recharge, and its suction ranks at 1500pa. It can tackle your dirt powerfully through three different forms of filtration. You can trust the Eufy RoboVac 12 to suck up any dirt, hair, and debris while also appearing fabulous. The anti-scratch glass will keep it looking new and the streamlined design will ensure it runs efficiently in any space.
Best robot vacuum for home security: Roborock S6 MaxV
When it comes to home security, the Roborock S6 MaxV is a roving set of eyes that you can access on the go. Using the Roborock companion app (for iOS and Android devices), you’ll be able to pull a live HD feed from the onboard S6 camera, allowing you to check in on a cleaning in real time. Better yet, you can even record a message for your vacuum to play back to those in proximity to the bot.
That’s not all the camera is used for, though. The Roborock uses two cams and obstacle-recognition sensors to keep away from your furniture and walls during cleaning, along with LiDAR mapping to create the most detailed scans of your home.
Add in mopping capabilities, a robust app, and voice assistant compatibility with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri, and it’s clear to see how the Roborock S6 MaxV made it into this roundup.
Editors’ Recommendations
