6 Best Robotic Vacuums of 2024, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
Today's top-performing robot vacuums feature WiFi connectivity and move in a gridlike pattern
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The best robot vacuums from Consumer Reports’ tests are great for regular touch-ups and spot-cleaning without you having to grab your trusty upright or canister vacuums (which are better cleaners, we’ve found). Their built-in, app-enabled smarts allow them to find their way out of tight spots and around some obstacles, though that brings up some privacy concerns.
The list of reputable brands making high-quality robot vacuums doesn’t stretch long, but CR evaluates all of the mainstays, which run the spectrum between inexpensive and luxury. Our ratings take into account these test results as well as reliability and owner satisfaction data from CR’s member surveys of thousands of robot vacuums purchased since 2013.
Vacuums from iRobot dominate our ratings in this category, but models from Roborock and Shark prove competitive in our tests. Several of the top robot vacs below also double as robotic mops, but we didn’t evaluate mopping capabilities in our vacuum tests.
We’ve listed our top picks alphabetically below. And check out our picks of the best vacuums and our full ratings of vacuums, which also have reviews of canister, upright, stick, and handheld models from over 15 brands. Also see our vacuum buying guide for smart shopping tips.
Best Robot Vacuums
The top-rated robot vacuums excel at cleaning bare floors and picking up pet hair. Some also come with advanced features like WiFi connectivity and smart mapping technology.
The Dyson 360 vis nav stands out for its unique features and powerful cleaning performance despite some limitations and its high price. It’s on the heavy side but compensates with extremely strong suction, effectively picking up pet hair and embedded dirt. Instead of a conventional side brush, it uses an extending side duct to tackle edges and corners. It also has a large brush roll that spans the full size of the vacuum for effective cleaning, and though its dustbin is relatively small, it’s equipped with a convenient one-touch ejection system for easy emptying. While the vacuum earns very good scores for data security, it rates as less than satisfactory for data privacy. Despite being a little noisier than many other tested models, this robot vacuum is powerful and designed for convenience. CR doesn’t have enough survey data to rate owner satisfaction and predicted reliability for Dyson.
The WiFi-enabled Eufy RoboVac X8 performs excellently at cleaning bare floors as well as navigating test areas and picking up pet hairs. It’s also stellar at cleaning edges and corners, but our testers found it has a tendency to scatter debris. This affordable model has a lithium-ion battery and a one-sided brush, and it comes with an extra filter, a filter cleaning tool, and a docking station. It’s worth mentioning that the Eufy Robovac X8 earns only so-so marks for data security and even lower scores for data privacy. But as a brand, Eufy robot vacuums earn favorable marks for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in our member surveys.
The affordable iRobot Roomba Combo i5 does very well in most of CR’s tests. The vacuum has smart-mapping technology that allows it to learn and adapt to the areas in your home that need to be cleaned. It also has mopping capabilities; you simply swap in the mopping bin (and a cleaning solution of your choice) with the attached mopping pad. Our testers like that it’s easy to remove hair from the iRobot’s signature dual green rubber brush rollers. iRobot vacuums have very good scores for data security, but like other models, its data privacy leaves a bit to be desired.
The iRobot Roomba Combo j5+ is a solid performer in CR’s tests, with smart-mapping technology and avoidance technology. In our assessments, it excels at cleaning bare floors but performs less well on carpet. Once the robot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed, disposable bag in the base. Like the iRobot Roomba Combo i5 above, this vac has mopping capabilities, though you’ll need to exchange its bin for the mopping bin and mopping pad.
The iRobot Combo Roomba j9+ receives solid performance scores across the board in CR’s tests, earning an excellent score for cleaning bare floors and a very good score for carpet. It has smart mapping technology as well as avoidance technology to help it move around household obstacles like cords. Once the robot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed disposable bag in the base. This vac also has mopping capabilities, but unlike the Combo i5 and Combo j5+, you don’t have to swap out the bin for mopping because it can vacuum and mop simultaneously.
Although the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is priced on the higher end, it has a bunch of perks. For instance, once the bot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into the base. It also features WiFi connectivity and performs superbly at cleaning carpet, bare floors, and pet hair, as well as navigating under furniture and around obstacles. This model is equipped with a mopping system, and Roborock claims it’s self-washing and self-drying. That said, it’s one of the noisier models we’ve tested, and though it receives a respectable score in data security tests, it scores near the bottom for data privacy.
How CR Tests Robot Vacuums
While upright and canister vacuums are better at deep-cleaning hardwood and carpets, a robot vacuum—often controlled by a smartphone app—can be useful for regular touch-ups. Top performers can find their way out of tight spots and around extension cords. You’ll need to do some prep work in moving clothes, toys, and other objects from the floor before sending out the vacuum, though.
We evaluate robot vacuums for how well they perform in these categories:
Carpet cleaning: For surface cleaning, our technicians disperse 20 grams of cereal, 30 grams of rice, and 20 grams of yellow peas across a 4x5-foot framed test area of medium-pile carpet. Then they measure how much of the debris is captured during a 10-minute period. For embedded dirt, they embed 75 grams of flour across a section of test carpet, let the vacuum run in the area for 3 minutes, and then weigh the amount of flour it picks up. Human hair is embedded into the same section of the test carpet. Technicians time how long it takes for the vacuum to pick up the hair and weigh the amount that’s in the dustbin and the brush roll.
Bare-floor cleaning: Our technicians spread 0.75 gram of sand over laminate flooring in a 4x5-foot framed test area and measure the amount the vacuum picks up in a 10-minute period.
Navigation: Our technicians attach a tracking device to the vacuum and map its movement through a multiroom lab. Then they calculate the coverage of the room over multiple runs and note what the vacuum avoids and what it doesn’t. They conduct several runs to see whether the vacuum is able to learn the layout and improve its navigation. In a separate 4x5-foot framed area, they note whether the vacuum gets caught on power cords or carpet fringe and whether it can transition over different materials. They also measure the height of the vacuum to determine how likely it is to glide under furniture.
Ease of use: This score is a combination of factors, such as the size of the dustbin, whether the vacuum has a handle for carrying it around your home, how easy it is to clean the brush roll, whether the vacuum scatters debris, and whether you can schedule it for routine cleaning.
Data privacy and security: Our experts use The Digital Standard, an open-source set of criteria for evaluating digital products and services that CR created with other organizations to conduct security and privacy tests. We score robot vacuums on more than 70 indicators.
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