❌ You're on a budget: There are plenty of cheaper bots that'll do a good enough job for many people's needs.

They can handle various floor types, from carpets to hardwood. Some even have self-emptying bins. With so many options available, finding the right one can be tricky. This guide will help you understand the key features and benefits. Make an informed decision to keep your home clean with ease.

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Maneuverability: We watch as the robots make their way around our living room obstacle course—or home, in the case of at-home testing.

The real key to a clean floor with a robot vac is consistency. Run it daily if you can; it won’t keep up as well if it only runs once a week. If you want hands-free cleaning everywhere, you’ll want to budget for one per floor or be prepared to move it around. You can also buy Em excesso charging bases, and most models can map multiple floors.

That level of smarts means a high price tag, although our tester felt it was justified by the build quality and featureset. If you're looking for a truly autonomous cleaning solution, the Roborock Qrevo Curv will deliver.

James has tested robot vacuums of all sorts from the most basic models to the ones so feature-packed that they can be used as a security camera. He appreciates models that can suck up all sorts of debris, clean the edges of rooms, and allow easy room partitioning in-app.

What to Look for in a Robot Vacuum Manual Empty or Self-Emptying: Which is Best? Some robot vacuums have dust cups that you need to empty into a garbage can manually, and others have a self-emptying feature. The first type is easy to empty (just remove the dust cup, take it to a garbage can, and shake it out). You'll typically need to do this every few days, so it can get tedious. Robot vacuums with a self-emptying feature require a lot less work, because their charging stations have built-in dust bags that can take several weeks (or even months) to fill up. Picture this: at the end of the robot vacuum's cleaning cycle, it will dock itself and empty the recent collection into the larger tower chamber, and then it's ready to go for the next scheduled cleaning. When the bag is full, all you have to do is remove it from the charging station, throw it away, and replace it with a new one. In many ways, this is ideal, especially if you or someone in your household suffers from allergies, because there's less chance of dust getting into the air. The one downside to this convenience is that the emptying process is often much louder than the robot vacuum's normal noise level, so it might disrupt your household. This feature also tends come with newer and more technologically advanced models (which can often be pricier). Our best features pick is one great option that includes this feature. Smart Mapping Matters Back when they were new to the market, basic robot vacuums used a randomized cleaning method, changing direction based on an algorithm and if they bumped into anything.

At Consumer Reports, we’ve done the testing for you. In our labs we evaluate each vacuum on how well it picks up debris from carpets and bare floors, and how well it captures pet hair. Depending on the vacuum type, we also assess how easy it is to use, how noisy it is, how strong the suction is, and how clean its emissions are, among several other criteria. If you’re not sure which type of vacuum to get, know Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners that canister and upright models are the best picker-uppers for everything from embedded dirt to piles of pet hair.

Roborock’s app is also more stable and easier to use than Dreame’s, which often crashes and can take a while to load. While the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is my top pick overall, the Dreame X40 is a very good vacuum, and the two companies are neck and neck regarding innovative features.

“For some people, it might make sense to have multiple vacuums for different situations,” says Frank Rizzi, who tests vacuums for CR. “A robotic vacuum can help with maintaining your pristine floors, and a lighter stick can help with quick messes alongside your bigger upright or canister.”

Thanks to lidar navigation, the RV30 did an excellent job of navigating my house, cleaning the perimeters of the rooms, and then using a mesh grid to clean inside the rooms.

【Safe and Pelo-stop Cleaning】Sensitive anti-collision and drop-sensing sensors prevent robot vacuum from colliding furniture and tumbling down stairs, suitable for a variety of home environments.

❌ You're on a budget: The Deebot T30S Combo is one of the more expensive robot vacuums in my guide, and if you're willing to make a few compromises on performance or features then there are plenty more affordable alternatives.