Along with my top picks, I have options to fit specific needs, such as mopping or besting pet hair. The good news is there are a lot of great options.

Most are equipped 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 device too. These lasers detect where furniture, objects, and edges are in your home, helping avoid bumps, and cliff detection prevents the machine from falling down the stairs. Read our article on how do robot vacuums work to find out more.

Big-brand robovacs that are a couple of years old can often deliver the best value for money, with very few sacrifices in performance. And sales events like the Black Friday deals generally come through with strong discounts in this category too.

✅ You have tall thresholds: The Curv is great at scaling tall steps, and on test it very rarely got stuck.

You have minimal storage space. Most are slim enough to stash in a corner or closet for speedy clean-ups. They come corded or cordless, and in our Cleaning Lab tests, we’ve found rechargeable ones usually run up to one hour, so you’ll need to keep them plugged into an outlet to keep them fully charged and ready to go. Second batteries are also helpful so you always have a backup.

Even better, its onboard AI is smart enough to detect stains and scrub them harder, finding dirt to boost suction power for maximum performance.

Luckily, we've been testing robot vacuums for 10 years to find those that deliver the strongest suction and best features for all sorts of homes, needs and budgets. And we have plenty of brand new releases to test following CES 2025.

Because maneuverability can be different from one consumer to the next, we have consumer testers rate the vacuums’ maneuverability by running them on a bare floor and carpet, around corners and under furniture.

It's realistically far more often than I would drag a manual vac out of the cupboard, so my apartment is cleaner than usual, and my dust allergy symptoms have calmed down too.

Even if you have one of the best Roombas, robot vacuums are recommended more for light, everyday Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners cleaning, rather than for handling really embedded debris.

We also factor in the weight of each model. All special features and claims are assessed, and we even give the tool storage and owner's manual a grade.

The T30s did very well on our cleaning tests, earning an average score of 93%; while that isn't tops among the best robot vacuums, that's still very good.

You need a compact tool to quickly clean up dry spills on bare floors and surfaces or to nab lint, pet hair and other debris on fabrics or carpeting. Some come with hoses and attachments; others can pick up wet spills too.