We’ve tested dozens of robot vacuums in homes with kids, dogs, and cats. We know the feeling of spending countless hours a week trying to clean the pet hair and mini fingerprints scattered around the home, yet feeling like it’s impossible to keep up with everything.
Enter robot vacuums. Robot vacuums aren’t a one-size-fits-all affair, and the right for you depends on many factors. The ZDNET team has spent countless hours evaluating factors like floor mapping abilities, battery life, price, and, more importantly, cleaning efficiency to help you make the best choice.
Also: The best robot vacuum mops: Expert tested
What is the best robot vacuum right now?
Our pick for the best robot vacuum overall is the iRobot Roomba j7+, thanks to its self-emptying capabilities, ability to move across carpet, tile, and hardwood floors, and its easy-to-use app. It’s also often discounted, simply because it’s not the newest Roomba model, so you can expect its price to fall considerably around sales events. It’s the robot we go back to repeatedly after testing others. Read on for the rest of our picks for the best robot vacuums.
The best robot vacuums of 2024
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Roomba j7+
Best robot vacuum overall
The Roomba j7+ is one of our favorite robot vacuums to use throughout a house, whether on carpet, tile, or rugs. After a few initial runs, the j7+ can map a home’s layout. Next, you can use the iRobot app to choose your cleaning method. You can select which rooms you want cleaned, in what order, and how many times you want each room cleaned.
There aren’t many robot vacuums that we trust to remove ingrained pet hair from our carpets, but the j7+ is an exception to that rule. It gets a complete run of my house and does a great job on different floor surfaces. What sets Roomba vacuums apart from others is intelligence. The j7+ uses to recognize and avoid everyday household objects like socks, cords, shoes, and pet waste.
Review: Roomba j7+
If you’re a new pet owner, iRobot’s P.O.O.P. (Pet Owner Official Promise) guarantee will make you feel comfortable enough to leave your Roomba j7+ and pet in the same area. We love knowing that, no matter what the house looks like, we can send the j7+ out to clean, and it won’t suck up something that it shouldn’t. The peace of mind is worth every single penny. Amazon customers also rave about this feature, one saying, “The object identification system is a wonderful addition for pet owners or anyone with loose wires. Having gone through three [poop apocalypses] with our dog and old Roomba over the past five years, the poop avoidance system is a welcome assurance!”
The Roomba j7+ doesn’t have mopping capabilities, but it does pair beautifully with the Braava Jet m6. The two iRobot products use the same technology to tag team your vacuuming and mopping needs. I tested both of these robots out, so be sure to check out our full reviews.
Roomba j7+ features: PrecisionVision Navigation | P.O.O.P. guarantee | Easy robot integration | Price: $749
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Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop with NeverTouch Pro Base
A hands-free robot vacuum and mop combo
Whether vacuuming or mopping, the PowerDetect robot does the dirty work, so you don’t have to. It deep-cleans and mops your floors, while the NeverTouch Pro base means you don’t have to worry about cleanup or maintenance for weeks at a time. After every cleaning run, the robot will return to the base to empty debris, refill the water tank, and wash and dry the mopping pad so it’s always ready for its next clean, giving you maintenance-free cleaning for up to a month.
With Shark’s NeverStuck Technology, the robot lifts itself over obstacles and across thresholds to avoid getting stuck. When mopping, it keeps the pad above carpets to prevent wet messes and deliver whole-home coverage. While the robot handles your cleaning chores for you, the bagless base with HEPA Anti-Allergen Complete Seal captures and traps 99.97% of dust and allergens (down to 0.3 microns, allergens refers to non-living matter). The base traps dust & allergens and keeps them inside, out of the air you breathe, while Odor Neutralizer Technology guards against bad odors in the base for a fresher smelling home.
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Dreame X40 Ultra
Best 2-in-1 vacuum and mop
The Dreame X40 Ultra is an outstanding robot vacuum and mop with excellent mapping capabilities and the strongest suction power on the market. The problem? It’s very expensive, at $1,900.
This robot vacuum and mop has it all, from intelligent navigation to magnetic detachable mop pads that the robot can leave behind at the station to vacuum and then return to put them on and mop. As moms and pet owners, we believe this is the best robot vacuum and mop combination money can buy for busy families with large cleaning areas.
Review: Dreame X40 Ultra
The Dreame X40 Ultra vacuums thoroughly, mops superbly, has a hands-free self-cleaning station, and is great at avoiding obstacles. You don’t have to worry about picking up everything from your floors before running it, so you can have it clean your home daily while you’re out.
Though the app could be more user-friendly, the numerous customization options may overshadow that shortcoming. The Dreame X40 Ultra lets you customize cleaning areas and even choose to have the robot vacuum rugs first, do a thorough rug cleaning, and even whether you want it to take pictures of your pet when it spots them.
Amazon reviewers also feel overwhelmingly positive about the X40 Ultra, one saying, “The performance of this vacuum is where it truly shines. The suction power is incredible, tackling dust, dirt, and pet hair with ease. It even picks up crumbs and debris that my previous vacuum would have left behind. The Dream X40 Ultra glides effortlessly around furniture and obstacles, never getting stuck or confused, which was a constant issue with my old iRobot J9.”
Dreame X40 Ultra features: MopExtend cleaning capability | 12,000Pa suction power | Multi-functional base station | Price: $1,900
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Narwal Freo X Plus
Best robot vacuum for hard floors
The Narwal Freo X Plus is the best midrange robot vacuum we’ve tested. At $400, this robot vacuum and mop excels on hard floors, handling debris, crumbs, and hair without tangling. Though it doesn’t have a self-emptying dustbin, the built-in dust compression feature lets you go up to seven weeks without emptying the Freo X Plus dustbin.
The dustbin can hold up to one liter of debris, and its heat-drying mechanism ensures no odors or bacteria growth. I’ve had issues with odor from other self-emptying vacuums, but not once from the Narwal Freo X Plus during my time testing it.
The Freo X Plus has strong LiDAR mapping and obstacle avoidance capabilities, ensuring swift and effective navigation across your home. It performs exceptionally well on hard floors, but its performance on carpet is less impressive, leaving a few crumbs on its trail.
Review: Narwal Freo X Plus
That said, we’ve found this to be one of the best robot vacuums we’ve tested, and many buyers agree. One verified customer noted, “Having two cats and two litter boxes, I have to constantly vacuum the floor for litter and pet hair. This product does its job to clean the floor with minimum noise and I love the fact that it can detect carpet and adjust the height accordingly.”
Narwal Freo X Plus features: Up to seven weeks without emptying | 7,800Pa suction power | Effective tangle-free technology | Price: $400
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Yeedi M12 Pro+
Best robot vacuum for different floor types
The Yeedi M12 Pro+ truly has no business being this cheap. A 2-in-1 robot vacuum and mop with a self-emptying and self-washing system, the M12 Pro+ has 11,000Pa of suction power, a leader on the market. It features a specialized roller system to prevent hair tangles when vacuuming.
This new M12 Pro+ has minor issues, such as struggling to avoid obstacles and getting its brush stuck, though it performs better than other more expensive options. It also lifts its mop pads when going over carpet or rugs, and this feature performed pretty well with my short-pile rugs, but the 9-millimeter lift isn’t enough to keep my medium-pile rugs dry.
Review: Yeedi M12 Pro+
Despite these minor issues, the M12 Pro+’s robust cleaning features and compact all-in-one charging station make for a high-quality cleaning solution.
“The Yeedi M12 Pro+ has not only met but surpassed my expectations,” one reviewer said about the robot vacuum and mop. “It’s a robust, efficient cleaning tool that has taken the chore out of vacuuming. If you’re in the market for a robot vacuum that offers great performance and ease of use, look no further than the Yeedi M12 Pro+.”
Yeedi M12 Pro+ features: TruEdge deep mopping | 11,000Pa suction power | Zero Tangle technology | Price: $899
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Roomba s9+
Best robot vacuum for pet hair
If you’re like us and have a lot of dog hair lying around, we promise you won’t be disappointed if you invest in the Roomba s9+. This is Roomba’s most powerful robot vacuum to date. It comes in a D-shaped design, allowing the robot to fit in the corners of your home. Once the s9+ gets going, the dual multi-surface brushes suck up everything in their paths. Even on our carpet, the ingrained dog hair and dirt get sucked away and into the robot. One Amazon customer says, “The Roomba not only works really well from a vacuuming perspective, but it has done a remarkable job learning the house.”
As an iRobot vacuum, the AI inside the s9+ can recognize shoes, socks, cords, and more, so you don’t have to worry. And Roomba does a great job keeping your devices up to date, so they’re always learning and getting smarter through continued software updates.
Also: How Roomba’s $1,000 robot vacuum handled my house of children and pets
The s9+ comes with an auto-empty base that doubles as a charging station, so once the robot picks up all of your dirt and debris, it’s sucked right into an enclosed bag so it stays trapped away. The s9+’s auto-empty base is much smaller than the j7+’s, making it easier to tuck away and blend in with your home decor.
Because this is an iRobot device, the Roomba s9+ will pair with the Braava Jet m6 to clean your floors thoroughly.
Roomba s9+ features: 30% wider dual multi-surface rubber brushes | Delivers 40x power-lifting suction | Dirt Detect technology | Price: $813
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Shark ION AV751
Best budget robot vacuum
If you’re overwhelmed by the technology and features that come with several of the new robot vacuums, this Shark ION would be an excellent option for you. You don’t need an app to get this robot vacuum going: Press the Clean button, and it’s off. The tech inside is minimal — this Shark doesn’t map where it’s been or have the AI capabilities to avoid cables or shoes, but it makes up for it with its suction power.
Review: Shark ION AV751
You’ll want to remember that by not having mapping capabilities, it just drives around, and may clean the same room repeatedly. From our experience, though, running the AV751 daily kept an entire house clean. One day, it may clean the kitchen and living room; the next, it may clean the laundry room and bathroom. The important thing was that the Shark could keep up with two dogs and cat, which is a massive task.
The Shark ION Av751 has no auto-empty base, so you must manually dump the dirt and debris into the trash can. But that means the charging station is significantly smaller than many other robot vacs on the market. Shark is a brand name most known and trusted in the cleaning industry, so you can rest assured that this budget-friendly option will be a safe one. Amazon reviewers love the price, one saying, “In my opinion, this is the BEST budget vacuum at the price point.”
Shark ION AV751 features: Tri-brush system | Stair/cliff edge detection | Alexa and Google Assistant integrated | Price: $225
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The Roomba j7+ is one of the smartest, most advanced robot vacuums we have tested on the market. Its PrecisionVision navigation ensures that it’s cleaning the rooms you want to be cleaned and gathers an accurate map of your house. The ability to add Cleaning zones for particularly dirty areas or Keep-out zones where you may not want the robot to go is an added bonus.
Pet parents everywhere can agree that the P.O.O.P. guarantee will help them sleep easier at night, knowing their home will get vacuumed without smearing through any accidents. And, of course, being a Roomba device, you know that the robots are always getting new software updates, so your robot vacuum is always getting smarter.
| Robot vacuum | Price | Obstacle avoidance | Mapping technology | Auto-empty base | Two-in-one vacuum and mop |
| Roomba j7+ | $749 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Dreame X40 Ultra | $1,900 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yeedi M12 Pro+ | $899 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Roomba s9+ | $813 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Narwal Freo X Plus | $400 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Shark ION AV751 | $225 | No | No | No | No |
After spending the last two years testing numerous robot vacuums, the one feature that distinguishes them the most is their intelligence. Some individuals are looking for a hands-off approach. They want to set a schedule in the app and not have to worry or think about the robot for weeks at a time. Others may not be that comfortable with tech or want to have more control of where and when the robot is running. Both are reasonable expectations, but you’ll be buying two different vacuums.
| Choose this robot vacuum… | If you need… |
| Roomba j7+ | A highly intelligent, AI-driven vacuum. With its ability to recognize up to 80 household objects, your home will get cleaned while your cords and shoes aren’t bothered. |
| Dreame X40 Ultra | One robot to vacuum every surface type in your home while mopping hardwood/tile/laminate flooring. It’s truly an all-in-one machine that will keep your home clean with the touch of a button in the app. |
| Yeedi M12 Pro+ | You want the top-of-the-line in terms of self-cleaning technology, efficiency, and pure power. |
| Roomba s9+ | A vacuum to tackle excessive pet hair, dirt, and debris. It’s Roomba’s best suctioning robot on the market. |
| Narwal Freo X Plus | An affordable robot vacuum that performs like a high-end unit on hard floors, with up to 7 weeks between emptying. |
| Shark ION AV751 | A simple robot vacuum without all of the bells and whistles. This can be a more manageable option for individuals who don’t need a lot of technology in their robot vacuum. |
While trying to determine the best robot vacuum, we kept several factors at the forefront of our testing and research, which can also aid your search.
- Floor types: Some robot vacuums are equipped to work with certain floor types, like carpet or hardwood. Others may be able to accommodate other floor types, like stone or marble. Before you buy, consider the types of flooring in your home and which vacuum is most appropriate.
- Mapping: For full automation, your robot vacuum must have a mapping feature to navigate each room. You also want to consider an obstacle avoidance feature that can avoid things like furniture, wires, and even pet waste. This feature is a must-have in my home with strewn about.
- Battery: A robot vacuum is hardly worth it if it doesn’t have the battery to keep it going. Consider the battery time before choosing the best robot vacuum to ensure it has enough power to clean your home. If you select a robot vacuum with the technical capability to pause its job, return to the charging base to refill its battery, and then resume the job where it left off, this may not be as big of a factor as others on this list.
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Connectivity: Many of the best robot vacuums offer voice control, some even with Alexa. Others may feature an app that allows you to control your robot from afar, set schedules, track progress, and control the machine’s efforts. If you’re hoping for voice activation rather than using an app, check and see if the machine is compatible with the home assistant of your choice.
ZDNET has several robot vacuum reviewers that have tested over 50 units thus far. We conduct tests in real homes with real challenges and in a controlled lab environment for comparison.
Here’s what we consider when testing robot vacuums at ZDNET:
- Determine evaluation criteria: For our key evaluation criteria, we consider how robots perform by assessing their suction power, navigation, mapping, and battery life. We also assess the user experience, the robot’s versatility, longevity, and whether it delivers on its specifications.
- Unboxing: During this process, we assess the packaging and setup experience and note any accessories and unique features.
- Testing environments: We test the robot vacuums on different floor types and see how they navigate various obstacles to test performance.
- Performance metrics: We test suction power with various debris types and assess obstacle navigation and mapping accuracy.
- Extra features: When testing robot vacuum and mop combinations, we evaluate their effectiveness at removing stains and overall cleaning quality. We also check how unique features work, like obstacle avoidance and recognition, extendable mop pads, etc.
To top it all off, we gauge the device’s longevity and long-term performance by using it over the course of a few months. Our review timelines vary, but we typically test robot vacuums for about a month before reviewing and keep our reviews updated while the device is available.
For a more detailed look at our testing process, check out our robot vacuum testing methodology page.
The technology has come a long way since auto-emptying bases were first introduced. That being said, they all have seemingly worked out the kinks and work well. In our testing experience, we haven’t had auto-empty base issues. The only thing we would keep in mind is to make sure your self-emptying base is equipped with disposable bags to capture and hold all of the dirt and debris. It makes cleaning up that much easier and ensures that once the dirt is vacuumed up, it isn’t being let back out into your home. Once the bag is full, you’ll simply pull it away, throw it in the trash, and put in a brand new bag.
In our testing experience, you get what you pay for with two-in-one machines. We don’t like robot mops that don’t use a cleaning solution. Our floors are dirty enough that simply pushing around water doesn’t get anything cleaned. When looking at purchasing a two-in-one machine, be sure to see what the recommended cleaning solution is. If the manufacturer only wants you to use water, we personally would steer clear.
You also want to make sure the robot comes with the AI technology that can differentiate carpet from hardwood flooring. It is not worth guarding your favorite rugs every time you use the machine to keep the robot from ruining them. Both Roomba and Roborock do an excellent job of this.
Also: The best robot vacuum mops you can buy
If you have a lot of carpets and rugs in your home, you will want to look for a robot vacuum with a higher suction power or Pa (Pascal Pressure Unit). The higher the Pa, the better the suction power is.
There are hundreds of robot vacuums on the market, so naturally, we couldn’t include all the top performers. Here are a few standouts that we’ve also tried:
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