Robot vacuums that leave others in the dust
Let’s put the upright vacuum, broom, dust pan and mop back in the closet — your housekeeping is now your robot vacuum’s problem. Although robot vacuums were once only found in the pages of classic science fiction, or in “Jetsons”-like midcentury dream homes, they are now real appliances, with models boasting an array of sophisticated sensors, CPUs, lasers and even AI-enhanced software.
While a little voice may be saying that you don’t need to drop a bunch of cash on a robot to sweep your floors, the fact is that if you’re looking to keep your home nice and tidy — and don’t have the time to grab your dustpan every time you notice something that needs to be swept up — these robots are useful tools and will pick up things like kitty litter and dust bunnies, depending on what cleaning mode you set them to. Also, they’re versatile, keeping hardwood floors, tile floors, area rugs and carpets spick and span with powerful suction that, in some cases, rivals an upright vacuum.
As cool as they are, living the robotic vacuum cleaner dream can set you back a hefty sum. Some cost as much as four figures. While you don’t have to spend that much, you do get a lot in return. That includes self-emptying dust bins, multiple room and floor mapping, powerful suction and thoughtfully designed hardware. These are three of CNET’s favorites, each for a different budget.
BEST ROBOT VACUUM IF YOU’RE LOADED iRobot Roomba S9 Plus
If someone were to give you a blank check to buy the best robot vacuum, this is the bot to get. That said, the iRobot Roomba S9 Plus has a whopping price tag that tops $1,000 (though sometimes it’s discounted). For that staggering pile of cash, this robotic vacuum delivers powerful suction and superb dirt and dust removal.
On hardwood floors, this Roomba picked up an average of 93% of our test sand, the highest amount in our test group, but it struggled a bit cleaning sand from low-pile carpeting and area rugs, earning a low average dust and sand pickup of 28%. The Roomba robot vac removed an average 71% of sand from our medium pile carpet, the best result that we saw on this specific test. It also cleaned up more dog hair, pet dander and allergens than any vacuum in this test group, and the bot navigates and maps multiple rooms and floors. iRobot has also updated its app to let you designate “keep out zones” that you want the S9 Plus to avoid, and it lets you use voice commands to immediately clean a room
using Alexa or Google Voice Assistant.
The robot zipped through our test room in a short average time of 25 minutes. You can link the S9 Plus to the Roomba app and your home Wi-Fi as well. Best of all is the Roomba S9 Plus’ CleanBase docking station. The dock both charges the robot’s battery and empties its dustbin automatically, making cleaning even easier and keeping you from worrying about battery life. Now that’s convenient.
BEST MIDRANGE ROBOT VACUUM Neato D7
For less than half the list price of the Roomba S9 Plus, the $500 Neato’s D7 vacuums up dirt, dust and messes almost as well, making it the best robot vacuum at a midrange cost. On average, this robotic cleaner picked up a greater amount of sand (36%) across low-pile carpet and rugs than the Roomba did. This automatic vacuum cleaner narrowly beat the S9 Plus for
cleaning power on hardwood bare floors, too, collecting an average of 95% of the sand we put down. The vac cleaned dirt, dust and sand from midpile rugs less effectively though, notching a pickup average of 47% while cleaning.
While the Neato can’t match the Roomba’s prowess at removing pet hair or emptying its own dust bin, the D7 navigates more efficiently around furniture yet covers more ground, thanks to smart robot vacuum built-in lidar laser navigation mapping. You can also control the cleaning robot using the Neato app as a remote control, as well as link it to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The app allows you to designate areas of your home as off-limits to cleaning too.
BEST ROBOT VACUUM VALUE Eufy Robovac 11S Max
Here’s a robotic vacuum that proves you don’t need to blow your budget to get a
solid robot vacuum cleaner. Even though the Robovac 11S Max costs just $190 right now, it cleans floors effectively. That’s especially true when cleaning bare hardwood floors. It managed to remove an average of 71% of our test sand from this type of surface. The bot didn’t work as well cleaning carpets, earning sand-pickup averages of 21% and 27% on low-pile and midpile, respectively.
And thanks to this vacuum’s basic navigation system, it took well over an hour to negotiate our test room. Compared with other models we tested, that’s a lot. Still, the Eufy used its runtime wisely. The vacuum covered the space well, cleaning up and leaving almost no spots untouched. The Eufy is also self-charging, so again, no need to worry about battery life or factor that into overall cleaning time. It’s the best robot vacuum for the value.