Dec 13, 2022 8:00 AM

The Very Best Robot Vacuums

Whether you’re up against pet hair or you want to splurge on a high-end laser-guided bot, we have the perfect pick for you.

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4 / 10

In the past few years, no ther product I’ve tested has advanced as quickly as the humble robot vacuum. Long ago, they were mostly annoying, expensive devices that fell off steps and got stuck on rugs. Now you can find robot vacs at every price point with an incredible array of features, including mapping capabilities, self-emptying bins, and even cameras.

Vacuuming an ever-changing household is a complex task, and no robot vacuum is perfect. However, I test them in one of the most challenging environments possible—a carpeted, two-story family home with messy kids and a shedding dog—and personally, I find them indispensable. Whether you’re choking on cat hair, need to lighten your chore load, or just want to spend more time with your family, we have a pick that will help.

Looking for other handy home items? Be sure to check out our other buying guides, including the Best Air Purifiers and the Best Pots and Pans.

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Updated December 2022: We added new information about iRobot's acquisition by Amazon, added the Shark AI Ultra and the Eufy L35+ Hybrid, and cut a few older units.

Photograph: Roborock
Best Overall
Roborock Q5+
After five years of testing robot vacuums, there are all sorts of inconveniences that I have grown to accept as part of owning and using one. They get stuck on string. Sometimes they fall off steps. But all those hassles fell away with Roborock's midrange Q5+ (9/10, WIRED Recommends), which for over half a year has been the most reliable cleaning partner in my house.
It mapped 850 square feet of my home on the first run for 110 minutes, with plenty of battery left to spare. It methodically ran around the rim of the room before vacuuming it in rows, navigated neatly around kitchen chairs, didn't fall off the step in front of the fireplace, and marked everything accurately on the map. It can save and customize up to four separate maps, which means I can simply pick it up and carry it upstairs or to the basement. Adding Siri voice commands is simple, and I can yell at it to start from over 50 feet away.
I have one gripe, which is that the onboard bin is still pretty small. You can make up for this by increasing the emptying frequency and power in the app, or setting up different zones so it empties after each room. However, it did pick up tumbleweeds of dog hair and adroitly swiped croissant crumbs from under the kitchen counter that other vacuums had left behind. I can ignore it—which is the highest praise you can give to any vacuum, ever.
$700 at Walmart
$700 at Roborock
Photograph: iRobot
I Love Self-Emptying Bins
You'll Probably Need One
If you think your robot vacuum isn't working, the first thing I'd suggest you try is emptying the bin more regularly. If it's dragging dust balls around your house instead of picking them up, it probably just doesn't have enough room in the bin. When I reviewed the Roomba S9+, I predicted that within a few years most robot vacuums would have a self-emptying bin. The future has come to pass, and now almost every manufacturer makes one.
I've tried almost every self-emptying bin available. I think the convenience is worth it, but they may require some tinkering. If you purchase the bin as an accessory rather than bundled, the robot may have trouble settling itself properly on the base station's air ports when it docks. You also have to check occasionally to make sure the self-emptying chutes on both the station and the robot vacuum itself aren't clogged.
Photograph: iRobot
The Absolute Best
iRobot Roomba j7+
We featured iRobot's latest Roomba j7+ in last year's Wish List. Even as dozens of competitors have hit the market, iRobot's vacuums remain attractive, effective, and easy to use. The robots never have trouble settling on the auto-empty station, and so far, iRobot is the only company to offer bin sensors in even the midrange Roomba i3+ line, so that the robot will automatically empty itself when it's full. It's also the only manufacturer to offer a smaller bin with storage inside for tools and extra bags. I always forget where I've put the extra bags. This year, they released a new Combo j7+, which is a combination vacuum and mop model; we have reached out for a review unit.
The Roomba j7+ has powerful suction and some of the best navigational tools on the market. iRobot now has a feature called Genius that lets you teach your Roomba about your personal preferences and cleaning schedules, instead of painstakingly programming them manually. However, earlier this year, iRobot inked a deal with Amazon to be acquired for $1.7 billion. iRobot has assured WIRED that there is no way that Amazon can use the data acquired from inside your home. However, if you find Amazon's statements unconvincing, you should go with our first pick.
$800 at Amazon
$800 at Target
Photograph: Samsung
Amazing Navigation
Samsung Jet Bot AI+
Samsung's Jet Bot AI+ was not my favorite by any means. It looks like it was designed by someone who had never seen a robot vacuum before. It's enormous. The vacuum is 5 inches high, tall enough to get stuck under our sofa, and the tower is a whopping 21 inches high. You'll definitely notice it parked in the corner of your house.
However, I had to include it, because it's quiet, fast, and powerful, and its navigational system is even better than iRobot's. It left about 4 inches of clearance around all obstacles, which might not work for you if you need a lot of edge cleaning. But I watched in amazement as it navigated adroitly around a sleeping 80-pound dog, even vacuuming around her face without trembling a single whisker. It was phenomenal.
$1,100 at Amazon
$1,100 at Samsung

Photograph: Ecovacs
Best Mop
Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni
I used to hate mopping robots. Sure! Take 10 minutes out of your day to fill a tiny bin with a few droplets of moisture and swipe a barely damp towel over your kitchen floor! No thank you. Yes, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 is expensive and enormous, but it's also the first combo vac-mop I've tried that actually worked. A massive rumble releases water into a pool in the base of the vac, where little mops rotate and rinse themselves before it trundles. It scrubs your wet floor actively, wiping up wet sugar with aplomb, before returning to the base where little hot air jets dry the mops off so they don't stink! Amazing!
Unfortunately, Ecovacs includes some other features that make me give it the side-eye, like onboard cameras, speakers, and a microphone so you can … roll the vacuum up to your toddler and talk to them? Weird. And it doesn't include basic protections like two-factor authentication. If you have the cash, this is one of your best options for a clean kitchen floor, but if it creeps you out, you have other options.
$1,000 at Best Buy
$1,000 at Ecovacs
Photograph: Shark
Best Affordable Vac-Mop Combo
Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop
What are the odds that this year, I would find a second vac-mop combo that I didn't hate using? But Shark's AI Ultra 2-in-1 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a much more affordable alternative to the giant, pricey Ecovacs (and without the unnecessary cameras). Instead, it uses laser navigation to make an accurate map of your home within 20 minutes, which you can subdivide in the easy-to-use app to indicate vacuuming or mopping zones.
When you swap out the Shark's vacuum bin for the mopping bin, you can see it wiggle as it scrubs the floor. If you spot-clean with UltraMop, you can see it wiggle even more. The scrubbing action, combined with Shark's proprietary cleaning solution (only use water if you don't want to buy the solution separately, cautions Shark), ensures that your hardwood floors are getting thoroughly cleaned. It never got the carpets wet, and, yes, the vacuum function worked well too. My only quibble is that washing the reusable mop pads by hand can get gross pretty quickly.
$700 at Amazon (With Auto Empty)
$700 at Target
$600 at Best Buy
Photograph: Eufy
Best for Pets
Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid
Unlike almost every other vacuum here, Eufy's latest and most powerful robot vacuum utilizes twin turbines. Each turbine generates up to 2,000 Pa of suction energy, meaning that it can suck up twice as much dirt in one pass. In my testing, the X8 Hybrid's maps were way too wonky for me to trust it to lug a full 250-mL tank of water around my house. However, it was the perfect vacuum to deep-clean all the dog hair and kid detritus in the basement. If you have an enclosed area that needs a regular deep cleaning, this will do the trick.
$550 at Amazon
$600 at Lowe's

Photograph: iRobot
Best Cheap Robot Vacuum
iRobot Roomba 694
If all you want is a robot vacuum for under $200 that will Ping-Pong around your kitchen after dinner, there are no shortage of options. The Eufy 11S ($120) is very short, to fit under the lowest cabinets. In my testing, I have found that Yeedi vacuums have trouble making it back to the dock, but otherwise, their battery life and room navigation are excellent.
But generally, if you want a cheap robot vacuum, I suggest looking at the ones from iRobot. Even the cheapest iRobot vacuums have features like Dirt Detect, where it automatically spot cleans, that I have yet to see pop up in any other line. The company has many robots in its midrange 600 series and E series that are all about $300 or less. There are some minor differences—for example, the 694 has a roller brush, while the slightly more expensive E5 has iRobot's signature brushless roller; different vacuums may have different button styles—but for the most part, if you can find a Roomba for $300 or less, it's a great buy. The app is simple and easy to use, the vacuum is quiet and powerful, and it has stellar navigation capabilities.
$180 at Walmart
$180 at Amazon
Photograph: Narwal
Don’t Buy These Vacs
We'll Take a Pass
Not every vacuum earns a spot on our list. Here are a few that I repacked straightaway.
Narwhal for $699: This expensive vacuum is incredibly beautiful and preposterously hard to use in every way. The proprietary app is clunky, the navigation software is buggy, and it failed to pick up dog hair that I tossed right in front of it.
Neato D10 for $430: We've liked Neato's vacuums in the past, and I was excited to try the latest model. It's one of the easiest robot vacuums to set up. However, the build quality has worsened noticeably over the years; it kept disconnecting from the app and losing my map in the process. And at 4.25 inches tall, it got stuck under my dishwasher and cabinets.
Eufy L35 Clean Hybrid for $280: I want so badly to love all Eufy vacuums. They're attractive, and the app is so clean and easy to use. But Eufy's mapping software has lagged behind its competitors. My 7-year-old likes to bring up the time when the Eufy simply could not locate itself in the house and kept chasing me, much to my annoyance. (Coincidence? Perhaps not.) You don't want a robot vacuum that ticks you off.
Photograph: Getty Images
A Few Tips
Yes, You Still Need a Push Vac
Robot vacuums have a complicated task. Your home is ever-changing, and no robot vacuum will be perfect. If you're having problems, here are a few tips to try.
Stay home for your robot vacuum's first few runs. Many homes have hot spots—a weird door jamb, a lumpy rug—where you will need to rescue your vac. Do a quick run-through beforehand for robot booby traps, like ribbons and pieces of string.
Check your Wi-Fi. If you have a Wi-Fi-enabled robot vacuum, most of them can only connect to the 2.4-GHz wireless band. If you're having problems connecting, make sure you're linking to the right band. Check out our guide to setting up your smart home for more tips.
Vacs need maintenance. Like every robot—especially one that comes in contact with the grimiest parts of your house—you need to care for it regularly. Error messages may prompt you to empty the bin mid-run, cut the hair off the rollers, or wipe off the cliff sensors. Instruction manuals and YouTube can help.
Vac during the day. If you have a mapping robot vacuum, it usually uses an optical sensor, which means it requires a little light to navigate. It's better to schedule a run at 2 pm than at midnight.
Don't throw out your old vacuum. I hate to be a downer, but you're probably still going to need a second vacuum once in a while. I keep a Dyson around for quick spot cleaning and vacuuming bedroom corners.

Adrienne So is a senior associate reviews editor for WIRED, where she reviews consumer technology. She graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish, and she previously worked as a freelance writer for Cool Hunting, Paste, Slate, and other publications. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Senior Associate Reviews Editor

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