THE BEST ROBOT VACUUMS OF 2020, ACCORDING TO 100+ HOURS OF TESTING
Chances are you own some sort of vacuum, but are you using it as much as you should be? Probably not.
Upright vacuums are heavy, a pain to lug around, and their cords get in the way. Stick vacuums don’t offer as much suction, but at least they’re cordless, versatile, and come in handy for quick cleanups and messes. Even if you own multiple vacuums, you’ll be surprised how much you’ll rely on a robot vacuum, especially since you don’t have to do the vacuuming yourself.
They’ll keep your floors looking nice and tidy with little effort on your part. Push a button (or tap on your smartphone screen), and they’ll suck up a bunch of crumbs, dust, and pet hair before you get the chance to even notice them. You can schedule cleanings, and they’ll automatically start at a set time each day. That way you won’t even have to think about vacuuming.
How We Tested
We tested 10 robot vacuums from five different manufacturers to find out which ones navigate the most effectively, deliver the most suction to clean up crumbs, dust, debris, and hair while still offering a good balance between price and performance.
The main testing criteria included the following:
- Agility and Navigation
- Suction Strength
- Ease of Use
Learn more about how we test products, from the questions we ask our testing team, to the types of products we feel are actually worth testing, to the overall time we put in to our testing process.
Over the course of a 3-week testing period and after sucking up enough pet hair and dust bunnies to make a duvet, we narrowed it down to six favorite models.
LiRobot Roomba E5 Robot Vacuum
$379.99$179.33 (53% off)
When it comes down to it, a robot vacuum needs to be three things: agile, thorough, and versatile. This Roomba robot vacuum is all that and then some. It’s the best robot vacuum you can buy for its ability to navigate, clean both hard flooring and carpet, and its repairability.
The e5 provides five times the suction of Roomba’s more affordable 6 Series robots (currently Wirecutter’s top robot vacuum pick). During our tests with the vacuum, we found that the e5 could handle dust, pet hair, crumbs, fine debris like salt —really, anything we threw at it — with ease.
It never got stuck during our test runs and returned to its base after completing its jobs. It left our floors (especially the carpets) cleaner than other vacuums in its price range did.
Since you can schedule cleaning with the app, the vacuum will clean automatically without you even having to think about it.
Neufy RoboVac 11S MAX Robot Vacuum
$249.95
The eufy RoboVac 11S MAX is a powerful yet affordable robot vac that caters to shoppers on a budget. What we love about the 11S MAX is how unassumingly amazing it is.
It’s a beast at sucking up debris and performs just as well as robot vacuums that are twice the price. We’re big fans of its twin side brushes, which help it clean better along the edges compared to most other round robot vacuums.
During our tests with it, the vacuum navigated flawlessly around our space. It dodged dining room chairs, increased its suction speed when it sensed carpet, and its brushes successfully directed dust bunnies to its path. The vacuum didn’t get stuck, and its slim profile helped it to clean under tight spaces.
If savings are important to you, the 11S MAX is definitely worth considering for its excellent cleaning performance.
iRobot Roomba 960 Robot Vacuum
$649.99$449.00 (31% off)
We can’t recommend the Roomba 960 enough for pet owners who desperately want to keep pet hair on their floors down to a minimum. What sets it apart from the competition is its dual brushes, avoided pet hair tangles better than any model we tested.
The Roomba 960 also has a high-efficiency filter which traps 99% of cat and dog allergens. Its battery lasts about 75 minutes and it doesn’t finish the job before dying, it’ll return to its base, recharge, and start up where it left off.
The vacuum comes with a small accessory which creates a virtual wall or circular perimeter next to the space you don’t want the Roomba to travel to. During testing, we placed it behind our dogs’ food and water bowls so the vacuum wouldn’t get stuck or make a mess. It worked flawlessly.
The 960 was more impressive at deep cleaning carpets than most and its lower profile lets it reach hard to reach spaces where dust bunnies hide. It successfully sucked up large debris like stray dog kibble, too, making it a must-buy for pet owners.
Neato Robotics Botvac D7 Robot Vacuum
$829.99$499.99 (40% off)
The range-topping D7 Botvac offers best-in-class, laser-guided mapping and navigation tech that sets it apart from all of its competitors. This means it won’t get stuck or bump into as many objects as competing cleaners.
This robot offers a turbo mode that helps it suck up dirt deep within every crevice or between every carpet fiber. We found that it performs better than Roomba vacuums on hard floors for clearing messes, since Roomba vacuums typically push debris around slightly more.
It’s also a good choice for users who have large floor plans or homes with multiple stories. That’s because the D7 offers an impressive 2-hour runtime. It also can store multiple floor plans, so you can finish cleaning one story, then carry it upstairs to clean the second floor of your home.
If you’re looking for a wicked-good robot vacuum with superior suction, outstanding navigation tech, and a convenient app, the Neato Botvac D7 is worth your consideration.
iRobot Roomba s9+
$1,299.99$1,099.00 (15% off)
The Roomba s9+ is the world’s best robot vacuum to date. It’s suction is so powerful, it can replace an upright or stick vacuum. Best of all, when the s9’s bin is full, it’ll automatically return to its base, empty itself, and resume cleaning where it last left off.
The s9+ offers a wider cleaning path than its predecessor, the i7+, and it’s equipped with 30% wider dual rubber brushes. Both pet and human hair won’t get tangled or caught around the brushes at all — it all goes straight to the bin.
The vacuum’s increased suction also allows it to suck up debris deep within the grout on hard flooring and embedded in carpets of all thickness levels. Compared to the i7+, this vacuum is faster, it climbs over thresholds and rooms transitions better, and it navigates almost perfectly.
In the event you want to move it to additional floors of your home, the s9+ can remember multiple floor plans, too, You can ask your smart speaker to tell the vacuum to start cleaning, or you have the option to have the robot vacuum to clean specific rooms in your home.
The appeal of splurging for the Roomba s9+ over other robot vacuums is that it will clean your floors without you even thinking about it. No other robot vacuum in the world requires as little input as the s9+, which makes it worthy of the splurge.
ECOVACS DEEBOT 661 Robot Vaccum
$399.99$249.00 (38% off)
Although there are dozens upon dozens of robot vacuums to chose from, very few double as a robot mop. The ECOVACS DEEBOT 661 is one of the few hybrid models that will not only vacuum your floors with just the push of a button, but mop them, too.
Its 3-inch height helps it easily clean dirt from under furniture, but it doesn’t offer as much suction and performance as the other standalone robot vacuums we recommend.
Like other hybrid cleaners, this one requires you to wet and affix a reusable Swiffer-like pad underneath it, which it then pushes around to “mop” your floor. True robot mops spray water directly on your floor or have rolling brushes that help clean them more effectively.
Hybrid models, on the other hand, just trickle water slowly on the pad to keep it from drying out. Your floors still get cleaner and shinier than if you didn’t mop at all, but it’s not as clean as some good old fashion elbow grease with a regular mop and bucket.
Considering the DEEBOT 661’s more affordable price point, its long 110-minute runtime, and several smart features, for now, it’s the best hybrid model for most people.
