Best Robotic Vacuums of 2024
Consumer Reports' tests reveal today's top-performing robot vacuums, including those from iRobot and Roborock
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The best robot vacuums from Consumer Reports’ tests are great for touch-ups and spot cleaning, even if they won’t replace your trusty upright or canister vacuum (both are better cleaners). That’s why we test them on carpets and bare floors by spreading cereal, sand, and even yellow peas to see how well they pick up the mess that’s not worth breaking out a big vacuum cleaner for. Their built-in and 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 that run the spectrum between inexpensive and luxury. Our picks take into account these test results, as well as data from the past three CR member surveys on problems and satisfaction with robot vacuums purchased since 2013. Vacuums from iRobot dominate our ratings in this category, but models from Roborock and Shark proved competitive in our tests. Several of the top robot vacs below also offer a mopping function, but those mopping capabilities weren’t evaluated in our vacuum tests.
We’ve listed our picks alphabetically below. For specifics beyond robot vacuums, check out our picks of the best vacuums and our full ratings of vacuums.
Best Robot Vacuums
The Dyson 360 vis nav stands out for its unique features and powerful cleaning performance, despite some limitations. It’s notably heavier than some stick vacuums 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 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. Despite being a little noisier than many other tested models and earning only a very good navigation score in CR’s tests, the vacuum is powerful and designed for convenience.
The iRobot Roomba 675 Target model—a WiFi-enabled robot vacuum with a charging base, a power cable, and an extra filter—performs on a par with some of the best vacs in our ratings despite being a basic and inexpensive model. It gets outstanding marks for cleaning bare floors and pet hair, and its navigational skills are top-notch. The Roomba 675 is also very good at cleaning dirty carpets and the edges of bare floors and carpets.
Our testers say that debris often gets stuck in its bristle roller and rubber scraper, though. And it has a tendency to scatter debris. It also has one of the smallest dirt bins, which brings the vacuum’s score in ease of use toward the bottom.
The iRobot Roomba Combo i5 does very well in most of CR’s tests. The vacuum has smart mapping technology that allows it to learn, map, and adapt to the areas 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. Testers like that it’s easy to remove hair from the iRobot’s signature dual green rubber brush rollers.
The iRobot Roomba Combo j5+ is a solid performer in CR’s tests, with smart mapping technology and avoidance technology. In our tests, 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, this vac also has mopping capabilities. 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. 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; it vacuums and mops simultaneously.
The iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO performs excellently at cleaning bare floors as well as navigating test areas and picking up pet hairs. It’s also very good at cleaning edges and corners on floors and carpets—plus, it’s pretty quiet. Once the bot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed, disposable bag in the base. A few downsides: You have to purchase replacement bags for the base (it comes with two) and the vac may scatter debris.
The Roomba i4+ Evo uses smart mapping technology to move in a gridlike pattern. It aced most tests but particularly excelled at picking up debris from bare floors. It was also pretty powerful at picking up embedded dirt from test carpets. Once the bot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed, disposable bag in the base. A few downsides: You have to purchase replacement bags for the base and the vac may scatter debris.
If you’re after the maximum pickup that a robot vacuum can offer, the Roomba S9+ should be at the top of your list. The big upgrade here is the cleaning power. Thanks to stronger suction and wider brushes, it receives top scores in most of our tests, from cleaning bare floors, pet hair, and edges, to navigation and noise. And even on carpets, the Roomba S9+ receives a very good score.
Another selling point: Once the vacuum is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed, disposable bag in the base. (You’ll want to make room for extra bags in your budget because these aren’t reusable.) The Roomba S9+ is voice-controllable with Amazon Alexa integration, and it has excellent data security, but data privacy leaves a bit to be desired.
The expensive Roborock S8 Pro Ultra has an auto-empty base, meaning it cleans up after itself. Like other highly rated models here, once the bot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into the base.
It also sports WiFi connectivity, and it performs superbly at cleaning carpets, bare floors, and pet hair, and at navigating under furniture and around obstacles. This model also couples as a mopping system, and Roborock claims it’s self-washing and self-drying. That said, it’s one of the noisier models we put to the test, and though it receives a satisfying score in data security tests, it performs near the bottom for data privacy.
Like many robot vac systems, the Shark AI Ultra RV2610WA has an automatic self-cleaning base. Once the bot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into the base. This model also couples as a mopping system, but we didn’t test the unit’s mopping capabilities. It was a solid performer across the board but only average at cleaning carpets, edges, and corners, despite the model’s clean-edge technology claims.
How CR Tests Robot Vacuums
While upright or canister vacuums are better at deep cleaning hardwood and carpets, a robotic vacuum—often controlled by a smartphone app—can be useful for regular touch-ups. And top performers can find their way out of tight spots and around extension cords. You will need to do some prep work in moving clothes, toys, and other objects on the carpet before sending out the vacuum, though.
We evaluate robot vacuums for how well they perform in these categories:
Carpet cleaning: For surface cleaning, 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, technicians 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 picked up. Human hair is embedded into the same section of test carpet. Technicians time how long it takes for the vacuum to pick up the hair and weigh the amount of hair that’s in the dirt bin and the brush roll.
Bare-floor cleaning: 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: 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 many 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.
