“Purchasing a robot vacuum that takes into consideration where, when and how you want it to clean helps ensure that it does its job while you’re out of the house,” says Brent Hild, director of product management at iRobot. “If your home is particularly cluttered—perhaps you have children or pets—you should consider a robot vacuum with object detection and avoidance. The software on these robots is trained to identify common hazards on the floor, such as shoes, socks, clothes, cords and even pet waste.” We put more than 30 different robot vacuums to the test to evaluate which were the best for tackling hardwood floors, carpets, pet hair, dirt, and more. Our team of experts spent two days in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, running the vacuums on multiple floor types to see how well they picked up sand, crumbs, pet hair, and more. Additionally, we challenged each vacuum by creating a small obstacle course of furniture for it to navigate, placing socks and USB cables in its path to see if it avoided the objects or ran them over. Throughout these tests, our experts evaluated the vacuums for their overall quality, noise level, and ease of use before assigning individual ratings for each category. Once lab testing was complete, we sent the robot vacuums home with our testers, where they used the devices in their own homes for an entire month. We selected the iRobot Roomba 694 as the top overall robot vacuum because of its versatility on hardwood floors and carpets alike, even when pet hair, crumbs, and small obstacles stood in its way. Here are the best robot vacuums. Keep in Mind: It doesn’t have any of the high-tech features other robot vacuums offer. Whether your home has hardwood flooring, tile, carpets, or rugs, it’s convenient when you can find a device that’s versatile enough to clean all surface types in one fell swoop. That’s why we rated the iRobot Roomba 694 as the best overall robot vacuum after testing; this easy-to-use machine effortlessly navigated multiple floor types while collecting dirt and debris with ease. On bare flooring, the Roomba 694 was able to pick up small sand particles and larger debris alike in a single pass, including cereal, pet hair, and human hair. This is thanks in part to its edge-sweeping tool, which helps to push nearby dirt particles under the vacuum so they can be sucked away by the powerful brush-roll. The Roomba 694 had no trouble transitioning between the hard floor and the rug, though our testers noted a momentary lapse in dirt-removal as it did so. We were particularly impressed by how well this vacuum removed sand from deep within the fibers of the rug, leaving behind no trace of the initial mess after it passed through. Plus, the built-in sensors allow the robot vacuum to navigate around furniture and large obstacles in its way (though you’ll want to make sure there aren’t any socks, power cords, or other small items in its path). It can even detect and avoid staircases, so you’ll never come home to find a broken Roomba at the bottom of your stairs. The Roomba 694 uses WiFi connectivity and an easy-to-use app on your phone to complete cleaning jobs. You’ll be able to name your vacuum, start a timed cleaning job, locate the vacuum, and tell it to return to the charging station from within the app, allowing you to run the vacuum even when you aren’t at home. If you’re looking for a particularly high-tech robot vacuum with features like object detection, automatic dirt disposal, or smart mapping, you’ll likely find the Roomba 694 to be a little low-tech. It doesn’t offer any of the fancy features a more expensive robot vacuum may possess, but we found this to be an incredibly reliable and effective tool for hands-free cleaning on multiple floor types. “After using the iRobot Roomba 694, I am not in any way tempted to splurge for a $900+ robot vacuum since the features on my Roomba are great,” our long-term tester said after using the device in her home for a month. “It’s so nice to be able to set the vacuum to run while I focus on other cleaning chores. I don’t have to babysit it at all, unless I don’t want it to go into a certain room, but it’s great at navigating through my apartment and docking itself once it’s done cleaning.” Price at time of publish: $274 Battery Life: 90 minutes | Noise Level: 77 decibels | Object Avoidance: No Keep in Mind: This robot vacuum doesn’t offer app integration, so you’ll have to use the remote to control it. When it comes to simplifying your home cleaning routine, you don’t always have to pay top dollar to get the best product. The ILife V3s robot vacuum cleaner is the least-expensive robot vacuum we tested, yet we were surprised to find that it outperformed several other models that cost hundreds more. While it lacks app integration to help you schedule and run your vacuum, the ILife V3s performed excellently during our tests at avoiding obstacles, maneuvering around furniture, and picking up dirt. On rugs and carpeting, we noticed that it made several laps around the surface to pick up every last bit of hair, dirt, and sand in its way, even managing to pick up debris that was deeply embedded in the fibers. This was somewhat surprising to us, as the robot vacuum doesn’t have a brushroll to help it capture gunk and hair. Instead, the ILife V3s has two edge sweeping tools on the front to help guide dirt into its path and a strong suction underneath to pick up everything. This means you won’t have to cut tangled hairs out of the bottom of your vacuum every few weeks since everything gets sucked away. On hard floors, this robot vacuum struggled a bit to suck up the cereal pieces we’d strewn across the ground, but it had no trouble collecting smaller particles. Our tester specifically noted how easy and straightforward this vacuum was to use, especially when compared to some of the high-tech robot vacuums he’d already tested. The battery-powered remote control has clearly marked buttons for starting, scheduling, and maneuvering the vacuum, and after just a few minutes, our tester felt like an expert using the device. Its only shortcoming is the lack of app connectivity for even more intuitive use, but for the price and the effectiveness of its settings, we think the ILife V3s Pro is still a great budget pick. “This vacuum is a lifesaver in sucking up dog hair, especially under the bed where it’s hard to reach with a traditional vacuum,” our long-term tester said. “We use it weekly (even more than once a week!), which is so helpful with a dog because he sheds so much. My boyfriend even remarked it looked like our floor looked like we had even mopped it clean (though ours does not have a mopping feature).” Price at time of publish: $160 Battery Life: 100 minutes | Noise Level: 72 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes Keep in Mind: Because of its self-emptying features, the charging base is larger than other robot vacuums we tested. If the convenience of unsupervised vacuuming and a suite of customizable features are worth the splurge for you, we highly recommend the Samsung Jet Bot AI+ Robot Vacuum Cleaner. During testing, we found the high-tech features and effortless usability of this vacuum to be more than worth the price tag. On both hard floors and carpeting, the Samsung Jet Bot was able to pick up hair, dirt, sand, and crumbs without difficulty. To avoid hair getting tangled around the brush roll, this self-cleaning vacuum actually grinds up long hair, meaning you’ll never have to cut hairs out of the bottom of the vacuum again. While the vacuum is running, its built-in HEPA filter traps allergens and fine particles so they don’t escape into your home. Plus, once it’s completed a task, the Samsung Jet Bot automatically dispenses all the debris it picked up into the cleaning station, so you don’t have to remember to empty it after every cleaning run. When it came to maneuverability, our testers gave this robot vacuum a perfect score. It has built-in sensors and a camera at the front to help it detect furniture, stairs, pet bowls, and more in its path, so you won’t come home to a huge mess or a broken vacuum. If you want to closely monitor your Samsung Jet Bot as it’s working, the integrated app allows you to see its path on the digital map or tap into the vacuum’s front camera to see a live view of its location. At 68 decibels when running, this vacuum is much quieter than others we tested, so it won’t be disruptive to your normal routine. We found that the charging station—which also doubles as the machine’s dust bin and cleaning center—is much larger than others we tested, but our experts found it to be more than worth the added space. “This Samsung one beats my other robot vacuum by getting into corners with its fan brush to pull debris under the brush roll,” our long-term tester said. “I have two rugs with tassels—one that is low pile and the other high pile—and the Samsung JetBot vacuum doesn’t get stuck on the tassels.” Price at time of publish: $1,300 Battery Life: 90 minutes | Noise Level: 68 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes Keep in Mind: While it can sense and avoid larger objects, this vacuum still ran over socks and small obstacles during our tests. Hardwood floors in high-traffic areas can be especially tricky to keep clean since it’s easier for crumbs and debris to be pushed around by the vacuum instead of being sucked away. Whether you’re trying to keep an entryway free of dirt and dust or looking for a simple way to sweep up crumbs off the kitchen floor, we recommend enlisting the help of the Eufy RoboVac 30C. This small-but-mighty robot vacuum wowed our testers in the lab by picking up tiny grains of sand, clumps of hair, and pieces of cereal with equal ease. It has three different brushes underneath it to help the vacuum pick up a wide path of dirt on every pass, and a strong suction system helps to remove even large pieces of debris from your hardwood floors. The vacuum connects to an app on your phone, allowing you to schedule a specific time and duration for the Eufy RoboVac to run. You’ll even be able to control its exact movements directly in the app, allowing you to guide it into certain rooms or avoid a space. Though the Eufy RoboVac doesn’t have mapping technology to memorize the layout of your house, it does come with two 6-foot boundary strips to block off certain areas of your home. This allows you to keep it away from rooms with toys, laundry, or cables on the floor that could potentially get sucked up. It also has an object sensor that allows it to avoid ramming into walls and furniture, so you’ll only need to keep small clutter out of this vacuum’s path. We found that it worked equally well on both carpet and hardwood, only faltering once when transitioning from a hard floor to the rug. The 0.6-liter dust bin can hold a larger amount of dirt compared to other robot vacuums we tested, so you won’t necessarily have to clean it out after every completed job. Plus, its battery runs for up to 100 minutes, meaning this little machine can power through multiple rooms in the house before needing to recharge. “This vacuum has great suction, picking up big and small debris pretty easily,” our long-term tester said. “It’s best for small areas without any stairs, wires, or delicate objects that might break if bumped … [because] it seems to vacuum haphazardly. However, it does a pretty good job of picking up debris, and the Alexa-compatibility is very convenient for spot cleaning.” Price at time of publish: $260 Battery Life: 100 minutes | Noise Level: 75 decibels | Object Avoidance: No Keep in Mind: It had trouble locating the docking station to recharge during our tests. Remove dirt from even high-pile carpeting with the Coredy R380 Robot Vacuum. During testing, we found it to be one of the best robot vacuums at removing debris from carpets and rugs, including long strands of hair. It has four operating modes: auto, edge cleaning for targeting the outer corners of a room, spot cleaning for particularly messy areas, and a quiet mode for disturbance-free cleaning. We also liked that it has two edge-sweeping tools to help pull dirt and hair into the path of the vacuum, ensuring that no debris is left behind. The object-avoidance features help it to navigate through your space without running into furniture or walls, and we found during our tests that it could even detect and avoid objects, like socks, in its way. The Coredy R380 doesn’t have mapping capabilities, so it won’t remember the layout of your space. But, its sensors allow it to avoid staircases and navigate across uneven flooring without getting stuck. With a battery that lasts up to 140 minutes, this vacuum will run the longest out of any of the vacuums we tested, making it great for homes with a lot of square footage. According to the manufacturer, this device also has mopping capabilities, but you’ll need to purchase the water tank and mop cloth separately. Additionally, we found that the Coredy vacuum had trouble locating the docking station when it had completed a job; our tester had to nudge it in the right direction several times. “I’d recommend this vacuum if you have an open floor plan with seamless flooring transitions throughout,” our tester said. “It’s really great at sucking up pet hair and navigating around toys and cords that are left out, but when it comes to boxy rooms and transitions in flooring, this robot seems to get stuck a good bit.” Battery Life: 140 minutes | Noise Level: 76 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes Keep in Mind: Though the manufacturer claims this vacuum can avoid pet waste on the floor, it failed to do so during testing. Owning a pet and keeping a tidy home can often feel like polar opposites. But while your robot vacuum won’t take your dog for a walk or take care of pet accidents left in the house, it can help keep dirt and pet hair off your floors. Our testers loved the iRobot Roomba J7, which did an astounding job at picking up pet hair and dirt without anything getting tangled in the brush-roll. This is because the Roomba J7 has rubber brushes on the bottom instead of bristles, which scoop up hair and gunk without excess hair getting caught. Our tester, a dog owner, said he especially loved how easy it was to remove the rubber brush from the vacuum and clean off compared to other vacuums he’d used. The powerful suction allows the vacuum to pick up crumbs and sand with just as much ease on both hard flooring and carpets alike. It received perfect scores on both flooring surfaces, and we found that it was also excellent at maneuvering around socks and other small obstacles scattered on the floor. During shedding season, your Roomba may recommend a personalized cleaning schedule; over time, it learns where and when you normally clean, and it may suggest extra cleanings based on what it’s learned. This makes it easier to stay on top of dust, allergens, and excess pet hair in your home. One thing to note is that this robot vacuum is guaranteed by the manufacturer to avoid pet waste; yet, the Roomba J7 ran straight through the fake pet mess we set up during testing. While this could have to do with the conditions of the test, we don’t recommend running this vacuum in an area where it may come in contact with pet waste. Price at time of publish: $600 Battery Life: 75 minutes | Noise Level: 70 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes Keep in Mind: It wasn’t able to avoid power cords during testing, so make sure those are out of the way before running this vacuum. Our testers loved the ease and convenience of this all-in-one robot vacuum, which made cleaning up dirt, spills, and pet hair a stress-free task. This smart vacuum and mop combo performed great on all floor types, even cleaning up coffee messes and syrup spills from hard floors with ease. When mopping, the machine actually scrubs the floor instead of simply running over the mess, allowing it to remove sticky residue and liquid spills alike. It detects and avoids carpet and rugs when in mopping mode, so you won’t have to worry about blocking off any carpeted areas. The vacuum’s mapping technology also learns the layout of your house and remembers it for next time, allowing it to clean more thoroughly and efficiently. Built-in object sensors and a camera at the front of the vacuum help it to avoid obstacles directly in front of it, making it great for avoiding small objects, like toys and laundry on the floor. During testing, the Ecovacs robot vacuum was able to maneuver around the socks and faux pet messes we laid out in our obstacle course, but it did suck up a USB cord in its path. We recommend double checking that any power cords are out of the way before using the vacuum. When trying to move over bumps in the flooring, such as from hard floor to a rug, the Ecovacs vacuum will maneuver itself at different angles in order to successfully navigate throughout the room. This means you won’t have to help it onto high-pile rugs or lift it over the threshold between different rooms. Best of all, this vacuum empties itself out at the end of every cleaning task, so you never have to come in contact with the gunk it picks up. “I really like that it’s so quiet and seemingly vacuums in an intelligent and efficient manner—it doesn’t go in extremely random trajectories like I’ve seen other robot vacuums do,” our long-term tester said. “I also love that it is self-emptying! The sound of it sucking out the contents of the dust bin is sort of loud, but after you’ve heard it once, you’re prepared for it. And of course, the mopping feature is nice to have.” Price at time of publish: $950 Battery Life: 180 minutes | Noise Level: 68 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes Keep in Mind: It struggled to pick up all of the hair on hard flooring during our tests. Handle debris, sticky messes, and liquid spills alike with a multi-purpose vacuum and mop. We found that the Yeedi Vac Station robot vacuum and mop was quite versatile, cleaning up dirt, cereal, and even sticky spills with ease. While the Yeedi Vac Station robot vacuum performed well on carpets and hard floors—it picked up all of the dirt and sand but left some hairs behind—we particularly loved its mopping feature. It was able to successfully wipe away liquid messes, like spilled coffee, without a trace, and though it took a few passes, the vacuum-mop combo also cleaned sticky syrup off the floor. When in mopping mode, this vacuum automatically avoids carpet, so you won’t have to worry about it accidentally sudsing up other areas of the house. This is partially thanks to the mapping technology, which learns the layout of your home and helps it to clean more efficiently. The map is even editable, so you can block off rooms from being cleaned or tell it which areas of the house to focus on. It also has built-in sensors to help it avoid small objects in its path, so you can feel more comfortable running it without supervision. During testing, we found that it avoided all the objects we placed in front of it—including socks, power cords, and pet messes. After completing a cleaning job, this robot vacuum will automatically empty everything it picked up into the dispenser, so you’ll never have to come in contact with the grime from your floors. And with up to 200 minutes of battery life, it can tackle your whole house without a recharge. “Even though I own a Dyson Animal V8, I hardly ever use it now because the Yeedi has become my primary vacuum cleaner,” our long-term tester said. “I run the robot vacuum twice each day during the week, and on the weekends, I run it once per day. Now, the only time I use my Dyson is to clean the furniture my dog rests on or any nooks and crannies that the Yeedi vacuum can’t get to.” Price at time of publish: $500 Battery Life: 200 minutes | Noise Level: 65 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes Keep in Mind: The mop attachment on this robot vacuum gets dirty easily, so plan to wash it frequently. If you have a large home, a complex layout, or you only want your robot vacuum to clean certain rooms at a time, you’ll likely find that vacuums with mapping technology are the best to use. We found that the Ecovacs DeeBot N8+ was the best robot vacuum with mapping, as it easily navigated through our testing lab’s complicated course. This vacuum starts its first job by cleaning around the perimeter of the room, memorizing and storing information about the layout of your home for future tasks. Once it’s made a complete map, it’ll start methodically working its way through the room, seamlessly avoiding furniture and picking up debris in its path. This allows you to run the vacuum more confidently even when you aren’t around, knowing that it’s not going to get lost in a room or stuck behind furniture while you’re gone. Our testers found that this vacuum worked extremely well on all surface types, barely even pausing to climb up onto the rug as it moved through the obstacle course. It picked up dirt, sand, hair, and crumbs alike without issue, receiving perfect scores for its effectiveness. We also loved that this vacuum empties itself out afterwards, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning out the dust bin after every task. The Ecovacs Deebot N8+ also has a mop attachment to handle liquid messes on your floors. During tests, we were equally impressed with this feature, which scrubbed off syrup spills and soaked up a puddle of coffee on the floor. However, a lot of the residue remained on the mop head after cleaning, so we’d recommend removing and washing it after every mopping session. “Before incorporating this device into my home, it felt as if my floors were always dirty no matter how much I vacuumed,” our tester said. “The time I used to spend vacuuming my floors is now free for other activities. The sensor on the front of the device allows it to detect objects in its way, so that it doesn’t get stuck. It also returns back to its docking station once cleaning is complete and empties any dust/dirt into a built-in vacuum bag.” Price at time of publish: $700 Battery Life: 110 minutes | Noise Level: 68 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes If you’re willing to spend a little more for high-tech convenience, we also loved the Samsung Jet Bot AI+ Robot Vacuum Cleaner, which has object avoidance, mapping capabilities, and even a self-emptying feature.
Our Testing Process
We spent two days testing the best robot vacuums on the market in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, to see which ones made the task of vacuuming easier and which weren’t worth the money. Our team of experts designed an obstacle course to challenge each robot vacuum on hard floors and carpets, adding furniture, power cords, and small objects like socks and faux pet waste to see how each vacuum was able to maneuver throughout the space. We also added sand, dirt, hair, and pieces of cereal to the floor to determine how effective the vacuums were at picking up different types of debris. Finally, we had our testers take the best robot vacuums from our lab tests home with them, where they continued to use the devices in their daily lives for an entire month. They evaluated the vacuums based on their performance, design, ease of use, and more before assigning a weighted score.
What to Know About Robot Vacuums Before Shopping
Flooring Type
When picking out the best robot vacuum for your needs, be sure to consider what type of floors the vacuum is designed to work on. During testing, different robot vacuums performed better on certain types of flooring. While some were great at tackling cereal spills on hard floors, they struggled to pick up hair out of carpet fibers. Others worked great at removing debris from rugs but only scooted dirt around on hardwood. “Those with open-style or larger homes should consider purchasing a robot vacuum with smart mapping capabilities,” Hild says. “Smart mapping robots can seamlessly and efficiently navigate an entire level of a home and keep track of its location … Users can also set up ‘Keep Out Zones’ for keeping the robot out of unwanted areas.” Some robot vacuums even have mopping features that’ll wipe up liquid messes on your floors, which can be an important feature if you’re looking for an all-in-one device.
Common Debris and Obstacles
If you’re planning to use your robot vacuum when you aren’t at home, it’s especially important to find a model that is capable of navigating its surroundings without getting stuck, falling down stairs, or breaking something in your house. The best robot vacuums will have object sensors and object avoidance to help them move across your floor seamlessly. The more high-end models even have mapping capabilities, which allow the vacuum to memorize the layout of your home from one cleaning job to another, so it spends less time bumping into walls and more time picking up debris. “[If you’re a pet owner], check to make sure the robot’s filters are capable of capturing dog and cat dander—especially if you suffer from pet allergies,” Hild says. “Effective brushes and rollers are also important in making sure the robot vacuum can actually handle picking up short and long pet hair alike.”
Battery Length
Whether you’re cleaning one room or the whole house, you’ll want to make sure whatever robot vacuum you choose has the battery power to get the job done without recharging. The robot vacuums we tested ranged between 70 minutes and 200 minutes, so depending on the size of your home, you may be able to purchase one with a shorter battery length or require one that runs for longer.
Noise Level
The best robot vacuums will not only make your life easier by cleaning your floors for you, but they’ll also be quiet enough not to disturb you. We measured the decibel rating of each vacuum we tested, and the quietest option was the Samsung Jet Bot AI+ Robot Vacuum Cleaner, which was only 68 decibels.
Other Robot Vacuums We Tested
Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry Robotic Vacuum
On paper, the Bissell SpinWave Wet and Dry Robotic Vacuum has all the features you could want in a robot vacuum—mopping capabilities, object avoidance, easy emptying, and more. However, when we tested it in the lab, we found that even its most basic features were unhelpful. The vacuum couldn’t pick up cereal, pet hair, or even grains of sand from any flooring type, and the mop failed to clean up sticky residue when cleaning.
Shark JetBot+ Robot Vacuum with Cleaning Station
If it weren’t for the price, the Shark JetBot+ Robot Vacuum with Cleaning Station would have made our list of the best robot vacuums. It received perfect scores for its performance on both hard floors and carpet, especially when it came to removing pet hair. Our testers found its features—which included a self-emptying dust bin, live tracking, and mapping technology—to be extremely useful. However, other robot vacuums on our list offered the same features and effectiveness as the Shark JetBot+ for less money. For this reason, we chose to leave this vacuum off our list.
iRobot Roomba S9+
While the iRobot Roomba 694 earned the No. 1 spot in our list of the best robot vacuums, the Roomba S9+ didn’t perform as well during testing. Though it earned reasonably high scores for its effectiveness on hard floors and carpets, the vacuum had trouble picking up hair on rugs, and our tester noted that it was extremely loud when cleaning. The Roomba S9+ got tangled up in power cords and ran over pet messes and laundry.
Your Questions, Answered
How do I clean my robot vacuum cleaner?
You can keep your robot vacuum in excellent condition for a long time by providing occasional maintenance and care. This includes replacing the filter inside the vacuum regularly (check the manufacturer’s instructions to see how often this should be), cutting any tangled hair out of the brush roll, and emptying out the dust bin after every use. Some high-end robot vacuums have self-emptying and self-cleaning capabilities, which limit the number of times you need to empty the dust bin and care for the machine. Hild also recommends regularly wiping down the sensors at the bottom of your robot to ensure it can “see” correctly to avoid obstacles and staircases. “WiFi connected robot vacuums can also provide maintenance tips and reminders via the companion app, even offering health status updates on various components, such as filters and roller brushes,” Hild says.
How long do the best robot vacuums last?
Most robot vacuums will last around four to six years, provided you take good care of it and ensure it doesn’t run over anything it’s not supposed to, like pet waste, power cords, and socks. Many robot vacuums have object avoidance technology and stair recognition, which can prevent it from falling down the stairs while in use.
Is it worth getting a robot vacuum?
Buying a robot vacuum can make it easier to keep your floors neat and tidy on a daily basis without having to take time out of your busy schedule. After testing more than 30 different robot vacuums in our lab, we found that while added features like object avoidance, mapping, and self-emptying are helpful, the most important factor is their effectiveness on different flooring types. We also think that robot vacuums with sensors are helpful, as they allow it to move throughout your home without falling down stairs or getting stuck behind furniture.
Who We Are
Samantha Jones is a commerce editor at Better Homes & Gardens, writing about a variety of home products including the best stick vacuums, removable wallpaper, steam irons, and more. For this story, she spent several hours researching the best robot vacuums and important features to consider when purchasing a robot vacuum cleaner, then compared her research to testing insights gathered from our lab tests in Des Moines, Iowa. She also interviewed Brent Hild, director of product management at iRobot.
What is BHG Recommends?
Next to all of the products on this list, you may have noticed our BHG Recommends seal of approval. Products that earn the seal have been put through rigorous testing to make sure they’re worth a spot in your home. We buy most of the products we test ourselves, but occasionally we are provided samples by companies if buying isn’t an option. In these cases, we use the same testing criteria we use to test the purchased products and we let you know that we got it for free to remain as transparent as possible about our picks. Looking for more products that have earned our BHG Recommends seal of approval? Check out our picks for everything from picnic blankets to humidifiers.
