There are caveats, though. Robovacs can't deal with stairs, so their usefulness in multi-floor homes is far more limited. They're also not capable of proper deep cleans, so if you're dealing with lots of hair or dirt, they might not cut it.

On March 13, 2025, iRobot issued a warning to investors that they could face closure within a year, in part due to high levels of debt. This came only a day after the company announced new Roomba robot vacuum cleaners.

Plus, different cleaning modes (like Eco) have longer or shorter battery run times with less or more powerful suction. This can be helpful when you're trying to vacuum larger floor areas versus suck up a specific mess in one small area.

Over the past 10 years, we've tested dozens of robot vacuums, both by performing objective tests as well as real-world setups. Each model we review is first evaluated to see how well it can pick up three types of debris. We measure out 20 grams of Cheerios, 20 grams of kitty litter, and 20 grams of pet hair. Next, we scatter each individually across a hardwood floor, and then weigh the contents of the robot vacuum's dustbin to see how much of each it picked up. We then repeat the same three tests on a low-pile carpet. Afterwards, the robot vacuum receives a cleaning performance score, which is the percentage of debris it was able to collect. After we record each robot vacuum's scores, we let these machines loose in our tester’s home to see how each holds up in terms of navigation, obstacle avoidance, and coverage in real-world testing.

In our Lab tests: The Dreame H12 Pro is an updated version of a previously tested pick with many of the same capabilities and features. We sent it out to consumer testers who confirmed it was easy and effective to use.

And if you suffer from allergies, these robot vacuums have high-efficiency filters to help eliminate allergens that are hanging in the air. Of course, the downside to having a robot vacuum clean up after your pets is that you'll also have to make sure you plan for more frequent maintenance.

I also appreciate how versatile it is: you can turn the upright vacuum into a stick vacuum or a handheld canister for cleaning under furniture, windowsills and more. The model is easy to use and has a large carry handle on top of the canister as well as well-labeled buttons.

✅ You have pets: This bot tackled the hair in our reviewer's pet-filled home incredibly well – and better than any other robovac they'd tested .

In our Lab tests: The Samsung ran for well over an hour, had excellent pick-up power and used AI technology to automatically adjust the suction and brush roll speed to the flooring type. Three cleaning modes — min, mid and max — adapt it to different carpet pile heights and densities.

Plus, when the battery is running low, the vacuum returns to its charging base, empties into a sealed large-capacity bag for mess-free disposal and resumes cleaning where it left off.

A big bin means you don’t need to empty it as often. The largest I’ve seen is 800ml, but anything over 500ml is decent. With many bots now pulling double duty as mopping robots, plus the popularity of self-empty dock / charging bases, it’s getting harder to find small robot vacs with big bins.

That's due to a lack of features at higher prices or more niche use cases that aren't as versatile as the top models in our list. Still, the models below are worth checking out if money isn't an issue.

Why we love it: While it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of pricier vacuums, like multiple suction levels, a HEPA filter or a brush roll that can be turned off, it does have five height options ranging from bare floors to high pile carpets, an oito-foot hose for cleaning above the floor and a large, easy-to-empty dust cup.

This isn't a cheap bot, and while I think the featureset and performance justify the price, it'll be out of budget for some. We have more affordable options in our roundup of the best robot vacuums for pet hair – although be aware that if you really want something up to the task, you will likely need to spend Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners a bit more.