Top 5 Best Robot Vacuums
Updated December 2019
Vacuuming is one of the most tedious and unrewarding jobs one can encounter. After all, unless the floors started out very dirty, there is little to no visible sign that anything has been accomplished. Because of this, people (especially busy people) tend to immediately see the robot vacuum as a godsend that can take this task off their hands. In addition, people who have any sort of mobility issues, such as a back condition or being confined to a mobility chair, can have a difficult time vacuuming in a traditional manner. Having a robot vacuum that can handle these arduous cleaning chores can mean a massive quality of life boost for such people.
After investing 36 hours into researching and comparing 40 different robot vacuums, we narrowed the field down to just the five best units. In addition to this list, be sure to also check out our general buying guide and comparison chart.
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Best Overall: iRobot Roomba i7+ Robot Vacuum Cleaner
The iRobot Roomba i7+ is widely considered to be the best robot vacuum in the world, and with good reason. This ultra hi-tech gadget is the ultimate "set it and forget it" cleaning machine. In fact, you can go for weeks without having to do any maintenence on it, as just about everything is automated. It will learn and map your home, clean it according to the assigned cleaning schedule, return to base when finished to recharge, and it will even empty itself out, all on its own. The only thing the owner really needs to do is empty out the dirt bin every few weeks or so.
One of the key indicators of the quality of the Roomba i7+’s programming is the fact that it remembers obstacles.
The Braava Jet M6 Robot Mop is the perfect companion to the Roomba i7+You’ll watch with fascination as it encounters obstacles, thinks for a while then goes on with the job. The next time it approaches the obstacle it simply avoids it instead of bumping into it again and performing its obstacle navigation routine from scratch again. While every robot vacuum has some system for getting around objects in its path, the fact that this robot vacuum actually adds these objects to its electronic map of the home is the sort of detail that goes into top notch navigation programming.
If you do choose to buy the Roomba i7+, we highly recommend that you also get the Braava Jet M6 Robot Mop along with it, as it has mopping capbilities which the Roomba i7+ lacks. These two robot vacuums were designed to work in tandem with each other: the Roomba vacuuming/sweeping first then the Braava mopping up.
Roborock S6 Robotic Vacuum and Mop
The Roborock S6 is a robot vacuum and mop in one. It's not only great for cleaning your carpets and rugs, but it can also wet clean or "mop" your hardwood and tile floors to give them a glistening shine.
We feel the Roborock S6 has the potential to dethrone the Roomba i7+ from its lofty spot as the top robot vacuum in the US. With cleaning capabilities, battery life and hi-tech features – like its room mapping technology – that are comparable to the Roomba i7+, except with a much smaller price tag, Roborock seems intent on grabbing a big piece of the robot vacuum pie.
The unit has a very long 180 minutes of runtime on a full charge, as well as a power boost feature for carpets, dynamic brushes and smart navigation.
Best Value: Shark IQ R1001AE Robot Vacuum Cleaner
The Shark IQ R1001AE delivers the best “bang for your buck” of any robotic vacuum cleaner on the market, and is a great choice for those who aren’t quite ready to make the financial commitment required to get a super high-end model like the Roomba i7+.
As a trusted manufacturer of traditional vacuum cleaners, Shark has developed a reputation as a company that makes cleaners that can actually get floors clean. This is where the Shark IQ R1001AE shines. Its long run time will allow it to clean several rooms before a charge is necessary, and even if it runs out of juice, it's no big deal as it will automatically recharge itself and continue cleaning until the job is finished.
Generally speaking, the best way to think of the Shark IQ R1001AE’s place in the lineup of robot vacuums is that it has nearly the cleaning ability of the high end machines and with a self-empty base that can hold up to 30 days worth of debris, but with the price tag of a value unit.
4iRobot Roomba 960 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
The iRobot Roomba 960 can be thought of as the base model Roomba. It doesn’t clean as well as or have as many features as its bigger brothers, the Roomba i7+ or Roomba 980, but it can still deliver a solid cleaning job to any hard surface or carpeted floor (although it is less effective at cleaning the latter than the former).
The Roomba 960 is probably the machine most people think of when they hear the term "Robot Vacuum". The area that Roomba has the biggest advantage over most of its similarly priced competitors is in its navigation of living space, and this robot vacuum is certainly no exception to this. It has an array of sensors that give it the ability to make its way around obstacles quite well. One key sensor that this unit has that most lesser machines lack is a cliff sensor, which will prevent it from falling down stairs or ledges like some of the really cheap robot vacuum models have a tendency of doing.
While this unit has few frills, as a pioneer of the robot vacuum industry, iRobot has had the opportunity to refine their designs to engineer automatic vacuum cleaners that simply get the job done, and the iRobot Roomba 960 certainly reflects this experience in its reliability and ability to clean.
5Best Budget Model: Ecovacs Deebot N79S Robot Vacuum
The Ecovacs Deebot N79S is one of the least expensive robot vacuum cleaners you can buy, but don’t let its price fool you, as its overwhelmingly positive reviews attest to, this is not a gimmick but the real deal. Equipped with three brushes and 110 minutes of run time per charge, this unit can deliver a solid cleaning to any home. Now obviously it won’t clean anywhere near as well as a standard upright vacuum, but it’s effective enough that you’ll see visible results, and certainly beats not having it at all.
One of the best features of the Ecovacs Deebot N79S is how quiet the machine is during operation. It’s so quiet, in fact, that you can watch a TV show or talk on the phone with it running and not even really hear it. And while it does not have fancy mapping features, the Deebot N79S does have 3 cleaning modes: Auto, Spot and Edge mode. Spot is used for things like cleaning up cat litter spills, while Edge mode can be used to cleans areas along baseboards. Auto mode will set the unit loose to wander about and clean everything it can get to. And like the iRobot Roomba 690 above, the Ecovacs also has drop sensors that will keep it from tumbling down stairs.
The Ecovacs Deebot N79S, obviously, won’t clean anywhere near as well as a standard upright vacuum, but it’s effective enough that you’ll see visible results, and certainly beats not having it at all.
Buying Guide: How to Choose the Best Robot Vacuum
Before getting into specific features that should be considered when choosing the right robot vacuum, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when choosing ANY robot vacuum:
It is not a person. This seems like the most elementary thing in the world, but we often forget how many potential disasters we avoid by exercising the least amount of judgement. Well, robot vacuums have no judgement at all. This can lead to situations that are comical, horrific and everything in between. At the comical end of things, a person using the slightest judgement would understand that if he or she went into a bathroom, got behind the door and pushed it shut with no way to open it, the person would be trapped. Many people simply close bathroom doors as a part of the cleaning routine after being forced to rescue a trapped robot vacuum a few times. On the horrific end, a person with even a tiny bit of common sense would realize that walking through pet feces then tracking it all through the home is a bad thing. Many pet owners have discovered that robot vacuums do not know this when they came home to a truly apocalyptic mess. The point is that all common sense will need to come from the owner of the robot vacuum and workarounds regarding the areas the machine can clean or the schedule on which it does so may need to be altered.
The second thing to keep in mind is that unless a home is a model, with every stick of furniture installed by professionals, the chance that a new owner will need to find and rescue the robot vacuum is nearly 100%. Robot vacuums will cover every inch of the space they are allowed to clean and will discover every obstacle in that space that can trap them. This could mean some “childproofing” may need to be done to keep the robot vacuum from continually getting stuck on the raised edge of the rug in the hallway or the dangling cables behind the entertainment center.
With the understanding that robot vacuums are a limited, if incredibly helpful, solution to automatic floor cleaning, it is time to look at specific features to consider when purchasing such a machine. It is not necessarily an easy task, though, because these features are all but impossible to compare directly, so some estimation is going to take place because apples to apples comparisons are not available.
The factors to consider are: Tier, Run Time, Cleaning Ability and Navigation.
Tier
There is no governing body assigning robot vacuums to different tiers, but doing so informally can help narrow the field to only models that are capable of handling the tasks they will be assigned.
The lowest tier is the entry level robot vacuum. Such machines have short run times, mediocre cleaning ability and no programming ability. They operate on the same principle as many toys: they move in a direction until they hit an obstacle, back up slightly and try again at a different angle until they either get stuck or make it around the obstacle. Entry level models are probably adequate for easy tasks under supervision. Using such a robot vacuum to clean the kitchen floor while cooking dinner each day, for example, can be a timesaving measure. None of the models that make our list are lowest teir robot vacuums.
Mid tier robot vacuums generally have much better cleaning power, longer run times and some rudimentary programmability. Instead of the “Bump. Turn. Try again.” method of navigation entry level robot vacuums employ, mid tier models will have sensors that allow them to actually navigate around obstacles. The sensors drastically reduce the chance that a robot vacuum will leave scuff marks on walls or furniture. Additionally, the rudimentary programmability also allows the owner of mid tier robot vacuums to perform specialized tasks more effectively. The additional sensors and improved performance comes with a higher price tag.
Top tier models are the closest we have come to a true robot maid. They have good run time and cleaning ability. These top of the line robot vacuums also have improved sensors that can identify traffic areas that require a more thorough cleaning. Additionally, they have extensive programmability. While there is always the chance the robot vacuum will get stuck somewhere or cause a problem with their lack of human judgement, these are the only robot vacuums that one can confidently trust to clean without some supervision.
Run Time
A robot vacuum’s run time is a crucial factor. The longer it will run on a charge, the less time it will take to clean the entire area. Unfortunately, there is really no way to compare run times stated by different manufacturers. Think of it like the MPG (Miles Per Gallon) rating on cars. Sure, it is an indication of that vehicle’s overall fuel efficiency, but there is no way to know what the true MPG of the vehicle will be in the real world but experience. A car that travels in stop and go traffic up a mountain road will consume much more fuel than an identical vehicle whose daily commute is a flat highway. Similarly, a vehicle that takes a 100 pound person to work every day will burn far less fuel than an identical car used to transport several 300 pound football linemen the same distance to practice each day. All of this variability exists in an estimate where there is a government body that regulates testing of cars to ensure that MPG is measured under similar conditions to keep it consistent if not actually accurate. Now consider that no such government body exists to oversee testing of robot vacuum battery runtime.
How much power does the robot vacuum consume when operating? This varies by manufacturer, whether the vacuum is operating in a mode meant to conserve energy or maximumize cleaning ability and the type of flooring being cleaned. While one can generally assume that a significantly longer run time stated by the manufacturer will translate to a longer run time in the real world, the only way to really be sure is trying that particular model out yourself. If there is any doubt about whether the run time will be enough to clean a large area, it might be a good idea to take a more serious look at top teir models that remember where they left off and will return to the task after a charge. Lowest teir and most mid teir models will simply start over from scratch after charging.
Cleaning Ability
Cleaning ability is another area where comparing apples to apples is all but impossible. Different manufacturers and models use designs that provide different amounts of suction. Some use rubber agitators while others rely on brushes. Orientation of agitators and brushes vary. All of these variables make different designs more or less effective on different surfaces. Fortunately, the robot vacuum is not a deep cleaninig device. Its purpose is maintenance. It gathers up the dust and debris from daily traffic, so any mid or top tier will be adequate for most homes.
Navigation
Navigation is the final piece of the puzzle. For an open area with no obstacles at all, even the bottom tier of cleaner should suffice. Sensors found in mid tier robot vacuums should suffice for the average room with average obstacles. For homes with conditions that are especially challenging, a top tier robot vacuum is the best choice. Not only are they equipped with the best sensors to begin with, they also tend to have some system to create areas the robot will avoid altogether. If the robot vacuum is continually getting stuck on the same chair or in the same corner, these models allow the owner to simply tell the robot to stay away from that spot altogether. Not being forced to rescue the robot vacuum from the same place every time it tries to clean can eliminate a tremendous amount of frustration.
A robot vacuum is not a deep cleaning device. It is a quality of life improvement that keeps the daily debris of life from accumulating. Most people who have never owned a robot vacuum cannot imagine spending the money for one. Most people who have owned one cannot imagine why they waited so long to buy it.
Comparison Chart
Our Top Pick
Price Level
$$$$$
Self-Docking (Auto Recharge)
Yes
App Enabled
Yes
Mapping
Yes
Self-Empty Base (Auto Dirt Disposal)
Yes
Virtual Walls / Room Select
Yes
Auto Resume Cleaning after Recharge
Yes
Mopping
No
1 Year Limited Warranty
Best Value
Price Level
$$$
Self-Docking (Auto Recharge)
Yes
App Enabled
Yes
Mapping
Yes
Self-Empty Base (Auto Dirt Disposal)
Yes
Virtual Walls / Room Select
Yes
Auto Resume Cleaning after Recharge
Yes
Mopping
No
1 Year Limited Warranty
Best Budget Model
Price Level
$
Self-Docking (Auto Recharge)
Yes
App Enabled
Yes
Mapping
No
Self-Empty Base (Auto Dirt Disposal)
No
Virtual Walls / Room Select
No
Auto Resume Cleaning after Recharge
No
Mopping
No
1 Year Limited Warranty
Best Robot Mop
Price Level
$$$$
Self-Docking (Auto Recharge)
Yes
App Enabled
Yes
Mapping
Yes
Self-Empty Base (Auto Dirt Disposal)
No
Virtual Walls / Room Select
Yes
Auto Resume Cleaning after Recharge
Yes
Mopping
Yes
1 Year Limited Warranty
Top Rated
Price Level
$$$
Self-Docking (Auto Recharge)
Yes
App Enabled
Yes
Mapping
Yes
Self-Empty Base (Auto Dirt Disposal)
No
Virtual Walls / Room Select
Yes
Auto Resume Cleaning after Recharge
Yes
Mopping
No
1 Year Limited Warranty