The Best Robot Vacuum

Updated on 1 March 2023

This comparison is certified 100% impartial and follows our selection process.

This robot vacuum is a very competitive mid-range solution that should meet the needs of most people. Despite its affordable price, it is equipped with an automatic dust emptying station so you only have to empty your bag once a month or so. Its suction performance is also good, even on carpet, thanks to its 4000 Pa. Its app is intuitive and very comprehensive, even allowing you to save multiple maps if you have different floors to clean. In our tests, we liked its intelligent navigation, which avoided most obstacles and never got the robot stuck. The only drawback of this model is its cleaning system, which is a simple scrubbing system and not a vibrating or rotating system. So do not rely on it to actually wash your floors, but it will be able to freshen them up and clean up small stains.

A robot vacuum is a big investment but it will make cleaning much easier.

Camera or telemetry navigation systems are more efficient than random navigation.

Shaggy carpets are the biggest challenge for robot vacuums.

Remember to check what surfaces your vacuum can handle and remove any obstacles from its path.

A handy and easily accessible tank is better, as the container is rather small.

Most vacuums return to their charging base on their own.

You can configure your vacuum using a remote control or directly via your smartphone.

Best budget

Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2S

This model offers a very impressive price/quality ratio. Efficient at vacuuming, and with a complete application, it even has the ability to give your floors a fresh look with its mop.

£ 329.33 on Amazon

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With its good 150 minute battery life, laser navigation and 2200 Pa, this robot proves to be efficient at vacuuming rooms. In our tests, we found its application to be quite comprehensive, although its interface could be improved a bit. With 300 ml, the dust tank is not the largest, but it is still decent for the price. As for its 200 ml water tank, it allows you to wet the mop that will rub the surfaces as it passes. It does not allow for the most efficient cleaning, but at least it has the merit of existing and giving the floors a little freshness. In short, even if the functionalities and performance of this robot remain rather basic, it is the most complete and qualitative entry-level model that we tested.

With its emptying and recharging station, this model is truly the best of the best. It has an incredible 210 minutes of battery life and a 350 ml dust tank. The reason it has no water tank is that it recharges its mops with water directly at its station while it cleans them. And in our tests we found this to be an effective, if somewhat noisy, system. The device has at least 2x the suction power of the cheaper models, which makes it very efficient. Of course, all the functions can be adjusted via its app. Its only negative point is that it takes hours to dry the mops and makes a slight noise during this time.

A true example of water washing efficiency, the S7 has a vibrating mop that really cleans floors, rather than just freshening them. It also offers very good suction results with all types of waste (even pet hair) on hard floors and carpets. Carpet detection is the best we have seen during our tests, lifting the mop in time to avoid damage. We also note that its battery life of 180 minutes is in the high average, and that it has fairly large tanks (470 ml for dust and 300 ml for water). Its application is well organised and quite intuitive overall. However, it was rather noisy.

Our selection

Our choice, Best mid-range	Best budget	Best high-end	Mid-range alternative
Dreame D10 Plus	Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop 2S	Dreame L10 Ultra	Roborock S7
With its quality design, automatic emptying station, good suction performance and intuitive app, this robot offers a complete cleaning solution at a competitive price.	This model offers a very impressive price/quality ratio. Efficient at vacuuming, and with a complete application, it even has the ability to give your floors a fresh look with its mop.	This robot vacuum is particularly effective at cleaning surfaces with its rotating mops. It wets them when recharged before automatically resuming cleaning.	Offering good suction results, even on carpets, this model also allows you to wash with water in a very efficient way with the help of vibrations, while avoiding carpets if necessary.
£ 334.27 on Amazon	£ 329.33 on Amazon	£ 829.00 on Amazon	£ 469.88 on AliExpress

How did we do the test?

In order to test the robot vacuum, we started by unpacking them to judge their design (compactness, presence of a laser, a mop, easy access to the tanks…). Then, we used them on different types of floors (hard floors, carpets…) in passive daily use (to check the good navigation, the management of obstacles, the suction performance…) and during specific tests (by spreading rice on the floor and ketchup when there was also something to wash with water).

Then we tried out the application. We checked its intuitiveness and whether it was possible to change the language. With it, we took a look at the mapping of the space. Finally, we took into account the emptying system when there was one and measured whether the robots were particularly noisy or quiet.

How to choose your robot vacuum?

Robot vacuums are a practical alternative to conventional vacuums (hand-held, upright, bagged and bagless vacuums), as they make your cleaning chore much easier. 

Thanks to the technological improvements of recent years, there are now many models of robot vacuums on the market in all price ranges, but it is not easy to make an informed choice. 

To make it easier for you, we analysed the three existing navigation systems: 

• Random navigation system: robot vacuums without artificial intelligence work with predetermined programmes that are supposed to clean the whole room. They often have obstacle detection, but it is purely contextual: they do not memorise their location. This is actually how the vacuum changes direction. As a result, the robot will most likely cover the same spot several times before it cleans the entire surface of your room.

• The camera navigation system: a vacuum with a camera uses a visual interpretation software to create a 3D map from the collected image. This technology is a serious improvement compared to earlier models, but it is not perfect. This technology often requires a certain level of brightness in the room. Moreover, the vacuum literally does not see smaller obstacles.
• The laser telemetry navigation system: straight imported from the construction and military worlds, laser technology is by far the most efficient to date. Thanks to a laser meshing of what is in front of it, the vacuum detects all the reliefs and obstacles. The artificial intelligence can even store the mapping in its memory and learn the perfect route room by room.

Other criteria:

• Sensors: beyond the navigation system, a good robot vacuum must above all be equipped with good sensors to deal with possible obstacles, but also with the void. This will protect your furniture from possible collisions and your appliance from falling down the stairs.
• Vacuuming efficiency: it is important to check which types of floor it is capable of cleaning. While the vast majority of vacuum cleaners do a good job to remove dust from tiles, parquet floor and vinyl, it is not necessarily the same for carpets. Be aware that some mop carpets can get tangled in the cleaning brushes and in the cables of electrical appliances.

• Tank and filtration system: the robot vacuum is a bagless model. It is equipped with a tank that must be emptied manually, and whose size is much smaller than the other vacuum models. Handling must therefore be easy, as it will have to be repeated frequently. Filtration is important to ensure that little dust is released into the air, especially if you suffer from allergies or have pets that shed their hair.
• Dimensions: while it is generally advised to remove all objects that could obstruct the robot, you should also check that it is able to pass under your furniture or between the legs of your chairs, if you do not want to put them up before each passage. Check the height and diameter of the vacuum before you buy one.

• Autonomy and charging: since they are cordless, autonomy is important to match the surface area to be cleaned. It is also preferable that the charging time is not too long.

As far as functionality is concerned, many of the options are often touted as revolutionary by manufacturers that highlight them. But which ones are really useful? We have identified four of them: 

• RTH or Return to Home: if the battery runs out, the vacuum returns safely to its base and takes care of recharging itself (unlike models that have to be plugged in manually). This is now a fairly standard feature found on many models. Where it can stand out is if the appliance is able to resume its cleaning cycle where it left off, so that it doesn’t waste time going back to where it once vacuumed.

• DNE or Do Not Enter: materialised in the form of a physical cord or a programming option (virtual wall), with this option you can prohibit your vacuum from entering a particular area, containing many fragile obstacles or electrical cables, for example.
• Pre-scheduling: many robot vacuums offer to schedule cleaning cycles at fixed times (when you are not in the house, so that it is completely free, for example).
• Connectivity: on some robot vacuums, the options are accessible on the box itself. On others, more recent models, manufacturers have chosen to use a smartphone application, which is more practical. Disadvantages may lie in the Wi-Fi connection, which may be variable or may not cover the whole house. Also, don’t forget to pay attention to the Android or iOS compatibility of the app.

Note: If you are looking for a robot that integrates both vacuuming and floor cleaning functions, we invite you to take a look at our dedicated article.

Other models we recommend

Dreame D9 (£299.00 upon publication): An inexpensive alternative with a good app and smart navigation. With its good 150-minute battery life, this robot is effective at vacuuming your rooms thanks to the presence of a well-working laser. In our tests, we found the app to be comprehensive for the price. It is possible to change the language, but this setting is not the easiest to access in the app. At 300ml, the dust tank is not the largest, but it is still decent. As for its 200 ml water tank, it allows you to wet your mop which will rub the surfaces as it passes. It is not the most efficient way of cleaning, but it does have the merit of existing and giving the floors a fresh look.

Ultenic T10 (£454.86 upon publication): A good robot despite some shortcomings. This robot is quite convincing in its price range, thanks to an application that is easy to use, an average suction performance and a battery life that we evaluate as being very good. All it needs is a little more precision in its navigation and map management for us to be fully satisfied.

Dreame L10s Pro (£446.98 upon publication): A efficient robot vacuum mop. This model is an excellent option if cleaning functionality is important to you. It has two rotating mops that allow it to clean much more efficiently than models with a simple scrubbing system. In addition, it has a huge suction power of 5300 Pa and a very complete application. Being a model in the “s” range of Dreame’s robot vacuums, it is also equipped with an AI that helps it avoid obstacles and optimise its navigation. In fact, in our tests, we noticed that it navigated particularly well, and it rarely got stuck.

Other models we tested

Lefant M210 (£239.99 upon publication): This model is very compact and has the advantage of fitting everywhere. However, this results in a smaller suction area. In addition, the application is very poorly designed and not at all intuitive.

Eufy 11s (£169.99 upon publication): This ultra-basic entry-level model has the advantage of being fairly durable and having easily replaceable parts. However, the lack of an application makes it much less practical to use.

Ultenic D5s Pro (£266.42 upon publication): This robot has a very large 500 ml dust tank. It also has a 200ml water tank to wet the mop that scrubs the floor behind it. While its application is smooth, its map does not seem to stay in memory. During our tests, we also found its navigation to be rather random.

Eufy G30 (£299.99 upon publication): At this price level, the lack of a laser is disappointing. As a result, navigation is not good and the robot bumps into many obstacles. In addition, the front brush came off several times during our tests while vacuuming.

Trifo Lucy (£399.99 upon publication): During our tests, its poor navigation caused it to get stuck many times. On top of that, the application is incomplete, not very intuitive, and it is impossible to access the map when the robot is disconnected.

Roidmi Eve Plus (£409.99 upon publication): It is a good choice for large spaces and lively homes, thanks to its automatic emptying station. Nevertheless, we regret its inconvenient dust tank, its perfectible application and its very high noise level during emptying.

Neato D10 (£560.10 upon publication): During our tests, we were unable to connect it to a Wi-Fi network, as the robot is only compatible with certain Wi-Fi frequencies. We found this unacceptable for a device at this price.

Ecovacs N8 Pro Plus (£616.10 upon publication): This model with automatic dust emptying station is overall very good, with its qualitative design and high performance. Its application can be improved, however, and there are competing models with the same functionalities at a more competitive price.

Eufy Robovac LR30 Hybrid+ (£549.99 upon publication): Overall, this model is correct, but lacks a little something to be good: the automatic emptying at its station is very noisy, the navigation is not perfect, no full tank detection is provided… Too bad.

Dreame L10s Ultra (£1133.19 upon publication): This robot vacuum mop with automatic dust and water emptying is extremely comprehensive and efficient. However, its slightly cheaper version, the L10 Ultra, offers better value for money in our opinion as it has the same benefits, just sacrificing the AI improved navigation.

Dreame Bot Z10 Pro: Equipped with an automatic emptying station for dust, this robot is very good, but a little outdated, and has been replaced by the D10 Plus in Dreame’s range.

Yeedi Mop Station: Unavailable.

Somlos S1: Unavailable.

Ecovacs Deebot T10: Unavailable.

Translated by Aylin Akturk