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Jan 30, 2024

The 8 Best Robot Vacuums of 2023, Tested and Reviewed

Check out our top picks for all budgets, floor types, and lifestyles. Emily

Check out our top picks for all budgets, floor types, and lifestyles.

Emily Estep is a plant biologist and journalist who has worked for a variety of online news and media outlets, writing about and editing topics that range from film and beauty to science and the automobile industry. Her plant biology degree has a focus on sustainable agriculture, and she's an expert on growing your own food, environmental sciences, and all topics relating to houseplants.

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Better Homes and Garden /Henry Wortock

A robot vacuum is a simple way to keep your floors tidy without dedicating your entire weekend to cleaning. Instead of dragging out your hefty vacuum to get rid of dirt, crumbs, and hair ground into the floor, the best robot vacuum cleaners will navigate around the house and clean on their own. However, it's important to find a vacuum that operates quietly, doesn't get stuck, and successfully avoids obstacles in its way.

"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. We 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, we 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 took the robot vacuums home, where we used the devices in our own homes for an entire month.

Amazon

During testing, this robot vacuum received perfect scores for effectiveness on hard flooring and carpets alike.

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 we 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 at home for a month, we were no longer tempted to spend hundreds of dollars on pricier models, that's how impressed we were with the relatively affordable Roomba's features.

Price at time of publish: $275

Product Details:

Battery Life: 90 minutes | Noise Level: 77 decibels | Object Avoidance: No

Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek

Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek

Better Homes & Gardens / Rachel Marek

Amazon

Its effectiveness on carpets and hard floors outperformed much more expensive vacuums we tested.

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 brush roll 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. We specifically noted how easy and straightforward this vacuum was to use, especially when compared to some of the high-tech robot vacuums we'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, we felt like experts 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.

We found it to be a "lifesaver in sucking up dog hair" when we tested it at home. "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

Product Details:

Battery Life: 100 minutes | Noise Level: 72 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

This robot vacuum received perfect scores for effectiveness during our tests and didn't leave behind any visible mess or debris.

The deep cleaning mode is very loud.

If the convenience of unsupervised vacuuming and a suite of customizable features are worth the splurge for you, we highly recommend the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra. During testing, we found the high-tech features, superior mop function, and effortless usability of this vacuum to be more than worth the price tag.

We felt the vacuum worked equally well cleaning hard floors like wood and tile as it did on rugs, though the hard flooring tended to be in higher-traffic areas of the apartment where we tested the Roborock S8. We found ourselves using it daily and especially loved the ability to set it to clean a single room or area for quick sweeps after meals or minor spills.

It's superior to any other vacuum/mop combination we've tried since both the vacuum and mop features function beautifully. The mop is better at water control and maneuverability than a manual mop would be, and managed to avoid getting rugs wet during testing at home. Value-wise, we felt we'd actually pay more than the retail price, given how much time and energy it's saved us.

When it came to maneuverability, it did bump into a glass table a few times, but otherwise, we didn't run up against major issues. We did find that it worked better when we made sure the entrance to a room or area was relatively clear before running the vacuum.

Each of the modes had a different sound level—the quiet and light vacuum settings were low enough that you could easily carry on a conversation or watch television at the same time, but the deep cleaning setting was loud enough to be disruptive.

The dust bag is self-emptying (after a month of daily use we still had room in the bag) and the mop's water container needs to be manually emptied every couple of uses, though we found this very easy to do. The app lets you know when it's time to perform this maintenance.

Price at time of publish: $1,600

Product Details:

Battery Life: 180 minutes | Noise Level: NA | Object Avoidance: Yes

Walmart

It comes with two boundary strips you can set up to help your vacuum avoid certain areas of your house.

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 us 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: $431

Product Details:

Battery Life: 100 minutes | Noise Level: 75 decibels | Object Avoidance: No

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

It uses a rubber brush to scoop up hair and dirt, making it easier to avoid hair wrapping around it and clogging the machine.

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. We 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. We especially loved how easy it was to remove the rubber brush from the vacuum and clean off compared to other vacuums we'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

Product Details:

Battery Life: 75 minutes | Noise Level: 70 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Best Buy

This vacuum also has a built-in mop that received perfect scores for effectiveness during our tests.

It wasn't able to avoid power cords during testing, so make sure those are out of the way before running this vacuum.

We 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 carpets 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 dustbin 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

Product Details:

Battery Life: 180 minutes | Noise Level: 68 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

You'll be able to edit the vacuum map to control what rooms it should clean and avoid.

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

Product Details:

Battery Life: 200 minutes | Noise Level: 65 decibels | Object Avoidance: Yes

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

Amazon

The mapping feature allowed it to move without hesitation throughout the room during our tests, so it never got stuck or lost.

Larger items can get stuck and prevent the self-emptying feature from working properly.

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 T9+ Vacuum and Mop Combo was the best robot vacuum with mapping, as it easily navigated around obstacles during our real-world tests.

Before you can use the vacuum to its fullest potential you must let it create a map, memorizing and storing information about the layout of your home for future tasks. This initial process took us about two hours but was well worth it. 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.

The object avoidance technology was also impressive; when we tried it at home, we noticed how well it avoided walls and table legs due to the sensor, even rerouting around the dog on its way back to the charging base. It does a great job of picking up dog hair and dust, as well as chunkier debris (we even noticed a few screws in the dustbin).

We found that this vacuum worked extremely well on the wood and ceramic floors in the house where we long-term tested, receiving perfect scores for its effectiveness. We also loved that this vacuum empties itself out afterward, so you don't have to worry about cleaning out the dustbin after every task. However, if it sucks up a chunkier piece of debris, it can block the self-emptying feature from working properly.

The vacuum also has a mop attachment to handle liquid messes on your floors. We appreciated that the mopping pads are disposable for easy cleanup.

Price at time of publish: $600

Product Details:

Battery Life: 180 minutes | Noise Level: NA | Object Avoidance: Yes

After two days of testing in our lab, our selection for the best robot vacuums is the iRobot Roomba 694 Robot Vacuum because of its effectiveness on multiple flooring types. We found it to be extremely easy to operate, with helpful features that allow it to navigate without assistance around your space.

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 took the best robot vacuums from our lab tests home, where we continued to use the devices in our daily lives for an entire month. We evaluated the vacuums based on their performance, design, ease of use, and more before assigning a weighted score.

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

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.

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."

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

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.

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.

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.

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. We 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.

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

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 we noted that it was extremely loud when cleaning. The Roomba S9+ got tangled up in power cords and ran over pet messes and laundry.

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.

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.

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.

Better Homes & Gardens / Henry Wortock

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.

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.

Looking for more products that have earned our BHG Recommends seal of approval? Check out our picks for everything from picnic blankets to humidifiers.