Best robot vacuum cleaner 2024: automate your floorcare while shooting the breeze

Thanks to massive advances in robotic technology, the best robot vacuum cleaners are far more than just a cute novelty nowadays. They navigate with almost frightening precision, suck up dust pretty efficiently and can even empty their own bins in some cases.

Even the best robot vacuum cleaner is not going to mean you'll never need to push a normal vacuum – like a trusty Dyson vacuum , or any of the other best cordless vacuum cleaner on our lists – around. However, used daily or even weekly, the best robot vacuums are an effective way to stay on top of dust and maintain your floors and carpets.

Without further delay, here are the top robot vacuum cleaners available today, featuring models from eufy, Roborock, EZVIZ, Dyson, and more.

Best robot vacuum cleaners and mops of 2024

A direct replacement for the S7 MaxV Ultra and a higher-end alternative to the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, this accomplished autonomous floor cleaner comes with a commendable set of tantalising specs and features accurate LiDAR navigation, limpet-like suction power (a whopping 10,000 Pascals to be precise), an excellent mopping system that automatically lifts the mop off the floor whenever the front camera and sensors detect carpet or rugs, and a charging station that both empties the robot’s bin of floor detritus and cleans its wet mop using hot water for maximum efficiency. It then dries the mop using warm air.

Where this model’s predecessor – the S7 MaxV Ultra I reviewed in 2022 – impressed in almost every area bar the look of the grain solo-like charging-cum-cleaning dock, this model’s charging station is much more aesthetically pleasing and comprises a magnetic front fascia panel that hides the new dust bag arrangement and brand new floor cleaning solution dispenser. The rest of the dock has also been given a facelift with a smooth frontage that completely hides the two hidden water reservoirs (one for clean water and the other for the dirty stuff). For those who prefer complete integration of their appliances, the S8 MaxV Ultra is also available as a svelte plumbed-in variant that draws water from the mains while pumping dirty mop water down the drain.

The S8 MaxV Ultra is one of the most reliable hybrid robot cleaners we’ve seen, requiring very little intervention aside from changing the dust bag and emptying and filling the dirty and fresh water tanks from time to time. It’s an excellent, albeit pricey, choice for anyone looking for what could well be the ultimate in robot vacuuming tech.

Read our full review of the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra

The Roomba J9 is available in three configurations: the Combo J9+ 2-in-1 vac-and-mop with self-emptying Clean Base and onboard water reservoir for automatic refilling of the robot’s mop reservoir; the non-mopping J9+ with standard self-emptying Clean Base; and the bog-standard J9 comprising just the robot vacuum and no mopping or automatic bin emptying functions.

If you have pets who leave a lot of hair and muddy paw prints on the floor, we would advise opting for the Combo J9+ which performs the tasks of vacuuming, self emptying and automatic mopping with consummate aplomb. Alternatively, if you don’t need any mopping, try the basic J9+ which will save you a lot of time emptying the robot’s bin yourself.

Like most hybrid robot vacs that also mop, the Combo J9+ is fitted with a static, rear-mounted wet mopping pad that drags along the floor while picking up dust and even tackling both wet and dried stains. It also vacuums at the same time. However, it does take quite a long time to fully map an entire floor plan.

Unlike the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra above and several other contenders which feature a fully hands-off mop-cleaning docking base with reservoirs for both clean and dirty water, the Roomba Combo J9+’s mop attachment requires manual cleaning by removing it and either rinsing it under a tap or dropping it into the washing machine. So, if you are looking for a more sanitary method of autonomous mopping, the Combo J9+’s mop-swapping system might just be what you’re looking for.

Read our full review of the iRobot Roomba Combo J9+

The EZVIZ RS20 Pro is one of the most stylish and feature-filled hybrid robot vacs on the market. It vacs, it mops, it automatically empties the contents of the robot’s bin and it washes the mops with hot water and then dries them using hot air. It also uses LiDAR for precise navigation. In fact it’s just like the winning Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, only quite a lot cheaper.

So why is this bot only at number three in our guide to the best robot vacs and mops that money can buy? Well, despite the uniqueness of its mopping system, the way it works also makes this whole package unsuitable for any homes where rugs or carpets straddle an entire floor space. This is because the RS20 Pro’s twin circular mops cannot be raised on carpet or rugs like most other models. Instead, the mops are left behind in the cleaning base whenever the bot is commanded to perform a vacuuming session. But when you select mopping in, say, a kitchen that is blocked by a strip of carpet, the RS20 Pro will refuse to traverse the offending strip if the mops are attached.

Hence, if you really like the look of this machine – and it really is very good at what it does – you will either need to create some hard-floor channels for it to negotiate en route to the room you want mopping or remove the rugs and carpet strips entirely. And that’s not very convenient in our opinion. On the other hand, if you have swathes of hard floor with some fully carpet rooms, you might not find a better performing model for the price.

Read our full review of the EZVIZ RS20 Pro

The SwitchBot is just 24.8cm in diameter which is about 9cm smaller than almost all standard robot vacs, including the Roborock S8 or new iRobot J9+. This means that the SwitchBot can negotiate tight spaces and corners beyond the scope of standard-sized robot vacs. It really is small when you see it in the flesh and so is the self-emptying docking station – just 32cm in height, 26cm in width and about 40cm in depth with the robot in situ. And yet, despite the dock’s diminutive size its disposable dustbin bag is at least twice the size of any other model I’ve tested – and that means you don’t have to change dust bags as frequently.

Given the size of this titchy thing, you might expect woeful suction power but against all odds it’s not bad at all, even with pet hair. However, it won’t automatically empty its tiny internal bin until a set period of time has elapsed so I would recommend setting this period to its minimum, which is 60 minutes of vacuuming before returning to the dock to empty the bin. Since my test model’s internal bin fills up with pet hair in about 20 minutes, I urge SwitchBot’s tech bods to please provide a shorter range of bin-emptying options – 15 and 30 minute frequencies should do the trick.

What I haven’t mentioned until now is that this diminutive floor cleaner also mops hard floors. However, mopping involves fitting one of the supplied Swiffer-style mop heads and it’s a bit of a faff it must be said. Yes, it will mop a floor but it won’t do it nearly as well as dedicated mopping models from Roborock or iRobot. I personally consider it more of a novelty than anything else. But hey, it’s there if you need it.

I was perhaps most impressed by this robot’s LiDAR navigation and mapping skills which are very Roborock like. Once a room has been mapped and the rooms automatically divided, you can customise the map with no-go zones, change room dividers and the names of each room. You can also set cleaning schedules and select from four levels of suction power, from Quiet not Max. However, it doesn’t have the obstacle avoidance expertise of the big players so make sure you don’t have too much clutter on the floor.

If you have a large living space then this probably isn’t the model for you, unless you need a companion for your existing full-sized robot. But if you have a small abode with a pet or two, the SwitchBot comes highly recommended.

Read our full SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+ review

Let’s start with this model’s excellent obstacle avoidance since I have personally had a dog poo experience with a robot vac. Ingeniously, the J7 identifies obstacles and avoids them when necessary, including dog turds. In fact, iRobot is so confident of the J7’s turd-evasion technology, it will ‘replace any Roomba j7 that doesn’t avoid solid pet waste’. That’s a major plus in our book.

Aside from avoiding clutter, the J7+ also learns as it goes about its daily business by sending the user a number of images it has taken of any offending obstacles it’s come across while vacuuming. All you do is let it know whether the obstacles are permanent or temporary. It also maps the home remarkably well while the app itself lets you divide adjoining rooms and create no-go zones with ease.

Another handy thing with this robovac is that it’s pretty good at negotiating rugs. Since its two rubber rollers are set quite high, it doesn’t snag the edges of rugs as much as some other models. And when it’s finished vacuuming it returns to its handsome Clan Base dock and empties the contents of its bin into the dock's much larger receptacle.

In terms of design and function, the new Roomba J7+ is a firm favourite with us. Despite the hideous racket the Clean Base makes while it’s emptying the J7’s bin, this robot vacuum cleaner is smart, reliable and efficient.

Read our full iRobot Roomba j7+ review

The newest robot vacuum cleaner from Tapo is the *wait for it*: the Tapo LiDAR Navigation Robot Vacuum & Mop + Smart Auto-Empty Dock. For concise purposes, we'll be calling it the Tapo RV30 Robot Vacuum... and it's a pretty great robot vacuum cleaner, especially if you want good cleaning that's low maintenance.

While it has a generic style, the Tapo RV30 Plus Robot Vacuum packs in some cool features that can rival other competitors. The big appeal to this robot vac is the self-emptying bin, which delivers all of that dust and detritus to a sizeable 4litre bin built-in to the docking station. There’s a generous mopping capability, voice updates, and the appliance can be managed with ease via the excellent Tapo app.

Read our full Tapo RV30 Robot Vacuum review

A new release for 2023, the Eufy Clean X8 Pro is an impressive hybrid floor cleaner that offers an incredible performance on hard floors and for tackling pet hair. With its app and mapping process, the eufy X8 Pro takes care of all your cleaning jobs, including emptying itself with its self-emptying station.

The only downside is its height, as it can be too tall to get into some areas but the eufy X8 Pro is still a strong choice if you're looking for a robot vacuum cleaner. It's easy to set up and the app is a standout, as it maps quickly and easily without any issues. For hard floors and pet owners, T3 highly recommends the eufy X8 Pro.

Read our full Eufy Clean X8 Pro review

The ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni is a high-end robot vacuum that thoroughly vacuums rugs, tile, and hardwood, and scrubs hard surfaces clean. The vacuum is designed to seamlessly transition from hard floor surfaces to rugs, which it does successfully, although it may get a little stuck on tassels here and there.

The smartphone interface may take some getting used to, but once the device learns the layout of your home, it’s a handy way to keep your floors clear and sparkling while you do anything but clean. Like most robot vacuums, it's got a pretty compact and sleek design, and overall, it does a good job around the house.

Read our full ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni review

Despite some navigation anomalies, the stylish new Dyson 360 Vis Nav is a superbly designed robot vacuum cleaner replete with a D-shaped body and an extra long brush bar for full width cleaning. Its suction power, too, is commendable. However, this model doesn’t come with a self-emptying bin so if you have a herd of hairy pets in the home, it might not be the best robot vac for you.

You need to be a little more patient with this model when setting it up for the first time because its top-mounted 360˚ camera and navigation software is slow and bit dubious when it comes to initially mapping your home. In fact you may need to initiate a few separate mapping runs before it collates your entire floor plan accurately and even then, the map it creates isn’t as comprehensive as some others on this page.

But on the plus side, the 360 Vis Nav’s build quality and range of unique design flourishes are second to none and, once it’s ensconced itself in your home, it should provide regularly scheduled clean ups with very few issues. Just be sure to not leave any small clutter like wires and small toys lying about or it will likely run slipshod over them.

Read our full Dyson 360 Vis Nav review

Kärcher is most synonymous with its ubiquitous range of pressure washers but the German brand has also branched out into lawnmowers and, for the very first time, robotic carpet cleaners, like the new RCV3 we’re reviewing here.

The RCV3 is a stand-alone bot that doesn’t come with a self-emptying dock so if you have hairy pets in the home, perhaps look elsewhere. Why? Well, although the RCV3’s integral bin is of average size (500ml), it will fill up with hair very quickly and you may find yourself following it around to empty its bin after just ten minutes on the pile. I should add that this applies to every robot vac without its own bin-emptying system. The upshot is that if you have dogs and cats, perhaps check out a model in the iRobot Plus series instead, which all come with an automatic bin system for hands-off floor maintenance.

I’ve been very impressed with this robot vac’s performance – it has a decent 2,500 pascals of suction power, excellent obstacle avoidance that includes toys, cables and scattered clothing, LiDAR navigation for near-instantaneous room mapping and real-time app monitoring, a spot-cleaning function and the wherewithal to create weekly cleaning schedules.

This particular model is equipped with a soft brush roller rather than the rubber kind that the likes of iRobot and Roborock prefer. Although the brush isn’t as effective as rubber on carpets, it’s exceedingly good on hard floors. For extra performance points there’s also a damp flannel mop on the rear that sweeps up any remaining dust particles so hard floors are kept spotless. You’ll be pleased to learn that the RCV3 can also mount the edges of rugs without causing too much ruffling or getting stuck.

Although the RCV3 isn’t necessarily a million times better than some of the more esoteric Chinese brands out there, the mere fact that it comes from a very well-known European brand makes it a much better bet in my opinion, certainly in terms of warranty, after-sales service and parts availability. It’s keenly priced, too.

Beko has been a brand of choice for those on a budget since 1955 so it’s good to see the Turkish manufacturer making its first foray into robotic cleaning with a model that retails at a very modest £233.

The Beko VRR60314 doesn’t come with a self-emptying bin so perhaps avoid it if you have hairy pets. However, for the vast majority who don’t have pets, a standard model like this will more than suffice at keeping most floor surfaces spick and span on a regular basis. And without complaining about it.

The Beko also comes with a wet mop attachment though the mop won’t automatically lift on carpets and rugs like the all-conquering Roborock S7. It will however give your hard floors a good wipe down while the front end does all the vacuuming. And speaking of vacuuming, this model boasts an impressive 2,000 pascals of suction which is more than enough oomph for effective hard floor cleaning and modest performance on carpets up to medium pile.

The Beko measures 33cm x 8.5cm – good for cleaning under low furnishings – and comes equipped with a main bristle brush that, at just 16cm in width, is shorter than a lot of the competition. Nevertheless, it still managed to clean our test room extremely well though it did take longer than others to perform the task. The extra long revolving bristle brush on the side, meanwhile, made a fair fist of flinging dust from edges into the suction path.

For the low price, I’ve been very impressed with this model’s navigation skills – while quite erratic, it avoided most obstacles and it didn’t fall down any stairs. Using the Homes Direct app, you can control it to perform four types of cleaning – Auto, Spot, Wall and Manual. Auto adopts a classic zigzag pattern, Spot is for cleaning a specific area and Wall ensures the vac follows walls for a more logical cleaning pattern. Of course, the app also allows you to set scheduled cleaning times.

If you’ve always fancied trying a robot vac but have been put off by the high prices, give this one a go. It’s simple to use and, for the keen price, it performs surprisingly well, especially on hard floors.

The Yeedi Vac 2 Pro offers a significant step up from previous Yeedi models, with excellent mopping and vacuuming process more effective. It's not 'cheap' as such but it's way more affordable than the assorted Roborocks and iRobots that we usually favour, and represents particularly excellent VFM when you take into account that it is both a vacuum cleaner and a mop. Yeedi also offers frequent discounts via its Amazon shop, too.

With an impressive 3000pa of suction and a battery life of around 4 hours, it has more power and longer life than similarly priced rivals. It's also easy to use, reliable and the mapping isn't bad, although the obstacle avoidance could be made a little less stringent – it likes to give obstacles detected quite a wide berth, rather than cleaning up to the edge of them. There are a few other niggles around the mapping process and app, but for the price, you really can't complain.

Read our full Yeedi Vac 2 Pro review

Despite being a few years old, the Roomba S9+ is still arguably the most advanced – and expensive – robot vac around at the moment, and a veritable stonker it is, too. Like the Roomba i3+, i7+ and new J7+, the flagship S9+ ships with an automatic bin-emptying function that is truly hands off. We would always advise going for a combination system of this nature, especially if you have pets in the home because the alternative is having to empty the bot’s tiny bin yourself on a pretty regular basis.

At 2,200 Pascals, the iRobot Roomba s9+ has extremely powerful suction and that means it's an excellent option for those with a lot of carpet. It also automatically detects the type of floor surface it’s on, ramping up or lowering the suction accordingly. The 3,300mAh battery, meanwhile, keeps the bot running for up to an impressive 120 minutes at a time. Its mapping system is also one of the best we’ve seen and the app that accompanies it is a joy to use.

Is there anything it’s not good at? Yes, to some degree thin rugs, especially if they have tasseled edges. Since the two rubber rollers are set lower than other vacs, they tend to snatch tassels and the edges of thin rugs on a fairly regular basis. However, in many instances the S9+’s roller will turn off if its sensor detects loose material and either back off or attempt to climb over the ruffled rug to continue on its path. If you have the financial wherewithal and a lot of carpets, you might not find a more complete model for your needs.

Read our full iRobot Roomba s9+ review

How to buy the best robot vacuum cleaner for you

All the robots here come with docking/charging stations and do the following: clean, return to their docking stations when their batteries are dying, clean again, return home once finished. Again, newer ones are better at cleaning average-sized floors in one sweep. But they can't climb stairs.

The robots can also all be taken off their charging stations, put in a room with the door shut, and made to clean there only, although then they usually won't return to base, because they don't know where the base is. However, the latest and greatest robots not only map your home accurately, they also let you specify which part of the map is which, so you can dispatch your robot pal to clean only the bathroom or home cinema space.

Navigation is usually via a mix of sensors, LiDARs and cameras. The latter technology is the most cutting-edge but that is not to say it is necessarily better than the ones that use LiDAR laser scanning. As you can imagine, a robot that navigates by 'looking' upwards with a LiDAR is going to struggle if it goes under a sofa. They all have drop sensors to prevent them falling down the stairs.

Now, the first rule of robot vac buyers' club is this: do NOT try to use a robot vac like a normal one. Don't use it once a week, or to clean up spills. You will go mad. Robot vacs, by definition, do not suck up as much dust as proper vacs. And even if they did, they could only hold a little bit of it in their compact, frisbee-like bodies.

But guess what? They're robots! You can make them clean every single day and they won't complain. Even more than once a day, if you like. So long as you remember to empty their tiny dust bins every day.

And that brings us to the latest range of robot vacs that are fitted with self-emptying charging docks. Basically, when the vac-bot’s little bin is full, it trundles back to base whereupon all the detritus in its bin is sucked into the dock’s much, much larger bagged bin. A self-emptying robot vac is highly recommended if you have a messy home and especially if you have hairy pets since the robot’s bin will fill very quickly with clumps of hair and you will become an angry person after having to the empty the bin yourself every 10 minutes or so. With a self emptying model you simply sit back and wait for about month before throwing away the dock’s full bin bag and replacing it with a new one.

As well as setting these robot slaves to work every day, I also strongly recommend you let them work while you're out, or otherwise occupied. Why? Because, if you watch most of these robots working, it will drive you mad. You can see the debris it should be picking up. You're willing it to move there. But it has its own, 'intelligent', preset way of cleaning. It'll get there when it damn well gets there. And even then, maybe it'll miss it.

Also, robots hate moving obstacles such as humans. So get out and let it do its thang, is my advice. I mean, do you like being watched while you work? Exactly. It's also a bit of a waste of time trying to use the 'spot cleaning' modes on most of these robots – a cordless/handheld vac of some sort is so much easier.

There are other things to bear in mind like cleaning or changing filters but if I'm being honest, I have NEVER EVER done that. But if you suffer from allergies, you may need to.