The best robot vacuums will pootle around your home, sucking up dust and dirt automatically, making your life easier by allowing you to focus on other chores, or put your feet up, rather than having to guide the floor cleaner around.
The best robot vacuums will effectively clean both carpets and hard floors, while many can mop as well as vacuum. They also have a wide array of sensors to ensure they don’t collide into furniture or plunge to the bottom of a flight of stairs while they’re cleaning. , freeing up even more of your time.
Many can match the best cordless vacuums when it comes to suction power and as some can even empty their own dust canisters, they can offer a viable alternative if you’re looking for one of the best vacuum cleaners to replace your existing model.
A robot vacuum can make a handy addition to your existing vacuum cleaner, which can take on daily dirt, leaving you to focus on an occasional deep clean. If you’re still handling some of the floor cleaning yourself, then check out our guide on how to vacuum properly and how often you should vacuum.
There’s a wide range of robot vacuum cleaners on the market, with robot vacuum stalwarts such as Roomba and Neato competing with newer, but not less capable brands including Eufy, Ecovacs and Shark. We’ve put an array of designs to the test to help you discover the best robot vacuums you can buy right now.
- Check out our new interactive cordless vacuums video below
The best robot vacuums we've tested 2021: ranked
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
How we test robot vacuums
To identify the best robot vacuums, we put models from big brands such as Shark, Dyson, and Roomba to the test along with smaller names including Eufy and Roborock. We evaluate the dirt pick-up of each model covering both fine dust and cookie crumbs, along with larger particles including cereal, while also looking at whether its pick-up on edges and in crevices is as good as on large surface areas.
As well as assessing how effectively the robot vacuums clean floors, we also compare how easily they maneuver on carpet and hard floors, as well as whether the robovac takes a logical path around a home or cleans in a random pattern, which means areas could easily be missed. We also looked for robot vacuums that can learn the layout of your home meaning they can be dispatched to clean a certain room or areas in just a few taps.
We rate each robot vacuum on how easy it was to empty, how loud it is in use, and how long the battery lasts between charges, too.
What to consider when buying a robot vacuum
There are a number of aspects you should consider when choosing the best robot vacuum cleaner for you.
As well as deciding on whether you want a robovac that just vacuums or one that mops as well, it’s also important to consider battery life, as nobody wants a robot vacuum that runs out of power halfway through cleaning your home. Similarly look for robot vacuums that have large dust canisters, or those that empty their own dust bins, meaning it really can be left to clean your floors unaided.
Some robot vacuums take a methodical path across your floors which ensures the vacuuming process is quick and efficient. However, these tend to be more expensive than robot vacuums that employ a random route when cleaning your floors.
Also, look for a smart mapping feature that ensures the robot vacuum learns the layout of your home and can clean specific rooms or areas at the touch of a button, and those that allow you to set no-go areas that the robot vacuum won’t even attempt to clean - ideal if you have teenagers, which leave their clothes all over their bedroom floor.
Is it worth buying a robot vacuum?
In short, yes. Robot vacuums can be more expensive than an upright or cordless vacuum but you’re paying for the added convenience of not having to do the vacuuming yourself. Robot vacuums are a great solution for busy people who simply don’t have time to put the vacuum around but they also offer a good alternative for those with mobility issues because all you need to do is switch them on.
Many robot vacuums cope well with both hardwood floors and carpeted areas but if your home has lots of staircases then, you’ll need an additional vacuum to clean the stairs. With many robot vacuums suitable for programing from your phone, you’ll be able to switch these devices on when you’re out and about and come home to clean floors.
Can a robot vacuum replace a normal vacuum?
Robot vacuums can offer a very impressive clean, even on thick carpets which makes them a good alternative to an upright or other types of vacuums. They’ll be more convenient too as you can set them to work when you’re busy doing other things. The dust cups on robot vacuums are often smaller than you’d expect to find on a canister or an upright vacuum cleaner.
While robot vacuums don’t have crevice tools that work well down the side of your sofa or on your stairs, these machines do normally have small brushes on the outside of their shells. The brushes do a good job of getting close to baseboards and making sure that any crumbs or dirt on hard floors doesn’t escape the vacuum’s suction.
How do robot vacuums work?
Robot vacuums have a series of brushes on the underside of the machine that work together to collect dirt and dust that they come in contact with. The dirt is then sucked up into the dust cup, which is fitted in the body of the vacuum. Most are fitted with smaller brushes that extend past the circumference of the vacuum and the purpose of these is to reach dirt that’s settled against baseboards or in awkward places.
More advanced robot vacuums have lasers on the front of the machine and some on the underside of the machine too. These lasers detect where furniture, objects, and edges are in your home helping to avoid bumps and cliff detection prevents the machine from falling down the stairs. Read our article How do robot vacuums work to find out even more.
- Don't miss today's cheap robot vacuum deals
