If you’ve never had a robot vacuum cleaner, you’ll be surprised at how much difference they can make to day-to-day home maintenance. A Roomba or other robot can do everything from taking over your daily clean to regularly targeting especially grimy spots, such as under a kitchen table or around a litter tray.
And, if you opt for a self-emptying robot vacuum, you can set a vacuuming schedule and forget about it for a few weeks, while your robot takes over and you come home to shiny floors. We’ve tested and can recommend a couple of more budget-friendly options, which you’ll see in the round-up below.
There are other features you might want to consider, like voice command control and obstacle avoidance technology. Some robot vacuums can now identify and avoid all kinds of common household objects, from shoes to cables to mugs. Plus, most will let you zone no-go areas that the robot will avoid, if parts of the house aren’t ready for a clean.
Our full reviews accompanying every robot vac in the following chart will give you all the details you need to find the right one for you. Plus, you’ll be able to see the pros and cons of each model at a glance.
If you want more information on the features to look out for, skip past the chart and start off by reading our robot vacuum cleaner buying advice before checking out our best picks.
And if you’re in the market for a traditional cleaner, check out our round-up of the best regular vacuum cleaners.
Best robot vacuum cleaners
1. Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI – Self-emptying & self-cleaning
Pros
- Smart navigation
- Powerful suction
- Voice assistant
- Granular mapping
Cons
- Large dock
- Auto-emptying is noisy
- Expensive
If you’re after the robot vacuum cleaner that does everything, this is the one to get. It’s also a great option if you want to set up a cleaning schedule and forget about it for weeks at a time.
The X1 OMNI not only empties itself, but if you’re using the mopping function, it’ll empty and refill its water tank, clean and dry itself.
It has powerful suction (a whopping 5000PA), a clever mapping system that allows you to target specific rooms, or even pieces of furniture within those rooms, for cleaning. And you can even do it via voice commands, thanks to the integral voice assistant. It has a 4 hour 20 minute running time and there’s an onboard camera that you can access remotely.
But all that tech has to go somewhere and what this means is a huge dock. The dock is also noisy when it comes to emptying and cleaning the robot vac.
2. Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid – Well-priced all-rounder
Pros
- Great across carpet and hard floors
- Well designed app
- High-end functionality
Cons
- Basic mop integration
- No self-emptying bin
Most robot vacs are interchangeable looks-wise but the X8 Hybrid has some stylish bronze flourishes that set it apart from its unadorned competitors.
This mid-range addition to the Eufy stable is worth a look if you want up-to-date features such as LIDAR, mapping and scheduled cleaning but you’re after an option that won’t break the bank.
It’s already available for considerably less than its RRP and if you can find it for a good price, you won’t be disappointed. It’s quiet, powerful, has a 180-minute runtime and is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The mop is a little disappointing but we are not often blown away by the mopping prowess of a hybrid model.
3. Dreamebot D10 Plus – Budget-friendly auto emptying
Pros
- Real-time smart tracking
- Auto-empty
- Voice notifications
- Strong suction
Cons
- Large charging dock
- App download required
- Water-only mopping
If you want an auto-empty robot vacuum but want to stick to a budget, the D10 Plus is a serious contender. The 2.5 litre bag inside the charging station will only need to be changed every month or two. When coupled with its high quality mapping, this is a robot vacuum that you can schedule to clean and forget about.
The D10 Plus has very powerful 4,000PA suction in its turbo mode, but in our test, we found that its quiet, standard mode was more than good enough for hard flooring. If your flooring is mixed, you can switch on the carpet detect function and it’ll automatically increase the power on carpets and rugs. It also has a decent mopping function, although, like many competitors, it’s water-only and won’t clean away stubborn stains.
It can create multiple maps for different floors and is Alexa and Google Assistant-compatible if you’d like to control it with voice commands.
4. iRobot Roomba i7+ with Dirt Disposal – Best mapping
Pros
- Powerful
- Brilliant mapping & targeted cleaning
- Good climbing ability
- Low profile
Cons
- Noisy
- Bangs into furniture
- Expensive at full price
There’s a lot to like about the Roomba i7+. Buy it with the vacuum dock and it’ll empty itself after each clean. And you’ll only need to change the bag in the dock every 1-2 months. And the dock itself is smaller than rival auto-empty robot vacuums.
Another clever feature is its mapping, which allows you to target not only rooms but specific pieces of furniture within them.
This means that you can set up a cleaning schedule to target the cat litter (which you can opt to mark up) first thing every morning, or get the i7+ to vacuum under the sofa in the living room once everyone has gone to bed.
However, it’s not without its flaws. It’s noisy in operation and in spite of its promises of sophisticated navigation, it repeatedly bumps into furniture. Still, now that the price has come down, we think these compromises are worth it.
5. Dyson 360 Heurist – Best luxury buy
Pros
- Compact footprint
- Excellent cleaning performance
- Useful app
Cons
- Expensive
- Tiny dustbin
- Taller than rivals
The 360 Heurist is a stylish and powerful robot vacuum that’s instantly recognisable as a Dyson. As is its price tag.
Via Dyson’s Link app, you can schedule vacuuming, as well as map and zone your home for different levels of cleaning.
It has a decent 75 minute running time before it needs to trundle back to its dock and recharge, but this is somewhat offset by its very small bin (0.33 litres).
It doesn’t take up much floor space, which is handy when it’s not in use. However, its height means that it won’t fit under as many piece of furniture as most other robot vacuums. Measure up if you’re considering buying.
6. Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8+ – Affordable all-rounder
Pros
- Empty once a month
- Great mapping and cleaning options
- Automatic carpet detection
Cons
- The dock takes up a lot of space
- N8+'s climbing is poor
- Mop is average
This is another well-priced, self-emptying robot vacuum. If you go for the N8+, you’ll get impressive suction, acceptable mopping and a brilliant mapping system that’ll allow you to set up sophisticated cleaning schedules, with no-go areas marked up. Its carpet auto-detection means it’ll automatically ramp up the power when it encounters a rug or carpet, saving power for when it needs it.
On the minus side, the N8+ isn’t the best climber and got itself stuck more often than many of the robot vacs we test.
7. Eufy RoboVac 30C – Best budget buy
Pros
- Home assistant support
- Good suction
- Good value
Cons
- Uses physical boundary strips
As with any robot vacuum cleaner the RoboVac 30C will not eliminate the need for a traditional vacuum every so often, but it has sufficient suction power (1500Pa) to keep your floors and carpets tidy on the days you’d rather put your feet up and chill.
The ability to connect it to your home Wi-Fi network for remote operation is cool, although nothing new, but we love the voice assistant integration for proper lazy boy cleaning.
It’s not the newest robot in town any more but at its current low price, it’s one of the best value.
8. Miele Scout RX3 Home Vision HD – Robust, long-term buy
Pros
- Excellent cleaning performance
- Low profile
- Great design & display
Cons
- Expensive
- Error message issues
- Navigation oddities
There’s a lot to like about the Miele Scout RX3. Its hardware is beautifully designed and it’s intended to last for five years – a long time in robot vacuum terms. It’s also a highly effective cleaner.
However, we didn’t love the fact that it communicates via error message codes you need to decipher, when many rivals at a similar price point have a voice assistant that just lets you know what the problem is. It also lacks the in-depth mapping that rivals iRobot and Ecovacs have, which allows you to target cleaning to specific pieces of furniture in a room.
It has a simple app and is Alexa-compatible as well. We tested the flagship Home Vision HD model, which you can pilot remotely to check in on your home and your pets using its onboard camera.
Altogether, we felt that its feature set was too limited to justify its high price point. Still, there’s a case to be made for the fact that, if you’re happy with a relatively simple robot vacuum, you can invest in this one and it will last you for years to come.
Robot vacuum buying advice
Robot vacuum cleaners aren’t the cheapest appliance around but the tech is improving all the time, which means that as newer models gain fresh functionality, some really great models that are only a year old will have dropped significantly in price.
If you’re planning to buy, it’s a good idea to get an idea of what features are important to you and find the cleaner that best fits your profile.
Apps and other control options
Robot vacs will be controlled by a free to download and use app, possibly a remote control and many also via your home assistant – letting you ue simple voice commands. Usually these will be limited to asking it to start, pause, stop and return to the dock. However, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 OMNI has an inbuilt voice assistant that will respond to around 35 commands.
But you should also bear in mind that the robot vac will also need to communicate with you. Some will have a display that brings up error messages, while others will speak to let you know that they’re starting to clean, returning to the dock, or have had to pause because they’ve ingested a sock.
Via the app, you’ll also get messages and alerts, so if you’re away from home, you’ll know if your cleaner got tangled up with a cable or if it made it back to the dock to charge.
As well as giving you updates, letting you check in on progress in real time and allowing you to schedule cleaning, a good app will give you information on how long parts, including brushes and filters, will last before they need to be replaced.
The app is also where you’ll find the map of your home.
Mapping options and navigation
One of the most important features of a robot vacuum cleaner is the ability to map boundaries. Less expensive or older cleaners may come with magnetic strips or battery-operated towers you can use to keep your robot vac away from the top of the stairs or block off a room you don’t want cleaned (for example, if you don’t have time to pick up your clothes from the bedroom floor but you’d still like to give the sitting room a once-over).
But most robots will create a very detailed and accurate map of your home which you can access in the app. Many will have space for more than one map, so you can save maps of each floor. You’ll be able to go into your app and add exclusion zones which they’ll then avoid.
Very advanced cleaners with mop capabilities will also let you zone areas for mopping as well. Finally, newer robot vacuums from iRobot (the Roomba i7+) and Ecovacs (X1 OMNI) will allow you to add pieces of furniture to maps, which you can then target for cleaning. This gives you the option to request a clean where there’s been a spill or, for example, schedule a regular clean around the kitchen table after dinner.
The best robot cleaners will also use cameras to help them identify and avoid obstacles such as shoes, cables and even pet waste.
Some cleaners with cameras will also let you use them remotely, via your app. This means you can use your robot vac as an additional home security device. And if you use it in conjunction with your app’s remote control, you can drive your vac around to check up on your pets while you’re out.
Cleaning power
Suction power (measured in Pascals – Pa) is getting better all the time. If you have hard flooring, a less expensive cleaner will do the job but if you have thicker carpets, it’s worth your while investing in something with very good cleaning power. The most powerful robot vacuums at this time can go up to 5,000Pa of suction – but this will likely be in boost or turbo mode and you won’t need anything like this much power to clean hard flooring.
Profile
Before you invest in a robot vac, it’s a good idea to measure the distance from the floor to the underside of your sofa and other key pieces of furniture.
Robot vacuums can vary in height between 7cm (very low profile), 10cm (medium profile) and 12cm (high – the Dyson machines tend to be the tallest). If your robot vac can’t get under your sofa and bed, it can make a big difference to its overall usefulness in your life. And it’ll be even worse if it can just make it under – but then gets stuck.
Other things to look out for
The cheapest robot cleaners may not have a rotating brush, which means they won’t be brilliant at cleaning carpets but they’ll do a decent job on a hard floor. A really good one will have a full-length rotating brush, making it ideal for picking up hair and fluff on carpets and from the edges of the room.
You’ll also want to look out for the size of the bin. Most have a similar (small) dustbin capacity, which means you’ll need to remember to empty them regularly. If you want to schedule cleaning and forget about it, go for a self-emptying or auto-empty robot vacuum.
These come with a much larger charging station. When the robot vacuum return to recharge, its onboard bin is emptied by suction. Typically, the bag inside the dock will be 2.5-3 litres and will need to be changed every 1-2 months. It’s a good option for people with hay fever, as it means you won’t need to come into contact with dust and dirt emptying the bin.
The most expensive cleaners will have cylindrical (or cyclonic) drums that offer very good suction no matter how full the dustbin is.
Author: Emma Rowley, Home Tech Editor
Emma is Home Tech Editor at Tech Advisor. She covers everything from kitchen appliances to smart home devices, from floor care to personal care to air care technology. She’s particularly interested in environmentally conscious brands and products that save people time and money.