Think of them as an easy way to maintain your floors in between deeper cleanings with your current vacuum. Despite manufacturer claims, most just don’t have the same suction power of an upright.

To maintain the real-world environment, each model also had to contend with random floor clutter during several cleanings.īe aware even the most premium robot vacuums are a supplement, not a substitute, for your stand-up vacuum. I tasked each one with vacuuming a 400-plus square-foot space that includes low-pile carpet, hardwood flooring, and linoleum that was regularly littered with food crumbs, pet hair, tracked-in dirt, stray cat litter, and other debris. To help you determine which ones are worth the expense, we tested models from some of the most popular brands in a real-world lab: my home, where the floors are punished daily by two kids, three cats, and a dog. The convenience robot vacuums provide come at a cost: As much as $1,400 at the high end, with many of the best models running no less than half that.

Best vacuum robot