Eufy X10 Pro Omni is the best robot vacuum for most people. This self-empty robot vacuum and mop checks pretty much all our boxes. The suction power is excellent, pulling all kinds of debris, fluff and hair and fluff out of our tester's carpet (although it did flick larger debris about rather than sucking it up – a problem with almost all robovacs). It's relatively quiet in all but it's very highest vacuum setting, too.

Premium, but there are very few alternatives with this roller mop system. Plus you're paying for the comprehensive dock.

The latest Matter spec, Matter 1.4, adds support for cleaning specific areas, so while you will still need the manufacturer app to set up a map, you will be able to use your smart home platform app and / or voice assistant to direct the robot to do things like clean the kitchen or clean downstairs.

Some still use that method, but our favorite robot vacuums use smart mapping features to make a map of your home before the first cleaning so they can clean more methodically. Mapping also allows them to avoid running into permanent obstacles, such as couches or door frames. Your robot vacuum will likely learn your space a little better each time it cleans your home. too. You can also direct the robot vacuum from your smartphone to only vacuum your kitchen or bedroom, if you need it to do a quick clean before guests come over or after a messy meal. Most of our picks have smart mapping, including our best overall pick (the one exception is our best value pick).   Can Robot Vacuums Clean Around Clutter? One of the biggest pain points of using a robot vacuum is pre-cleaning your floor before running your device. The latest technology allows for object avoidance, so they require less work on your part. If your vacuum has this feature, it will have a camera on the front that can identify objects, like a sock or a pack of crayons on the floor, and coach the vacuum to go around it. Obstacle avoidance is an Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners especially great feature for pet owners, especially if their pets like to nap in a common, yet unpredictable area or are accident-prone. We love it because it keeps the robot from getting plugged up with socks or running over other objects and possibly making a bigger mess. This feature is a work in progress for many robot vacuums and will likely get better (and more precise) in the years to come. It's currently offered on four of our picks, but we've found performance will vary from model to model and object to object.

Robot vacuums have a series of brushes on the underside of the machine that work together to collect dirt and dust that they come in contact with. The dirt is then sucked into the dust cup, which is fitted into the vacuum's body.

Explore in-depth reviews below to find the best automatic vacuum tailored to your needs and home environment.

After at least two weeks of testing, we consolidate our findings and use them to judge who (if anyone) we'd recommend the robot vacuum to. We also compare the features and build quality to the price, to assess if the robot vacuum is good value for money.

We don’t collect reliability data for handheld vacuums because consumers tend to replace rather than repair them, given their relatively modest price.

The companion app works extremely well – our tester was especially impressed that it automatically partitioned the rooms into their own spaces. In terms of performance, we had almost pelo issues with this robot vacuum at all – if it's in your budget, it's worth the investment.

The Switchbot S20 Pro robot vacuum / mop hybrid, the successor to my previous pick for favorite mopping vacuum, the S10, is scheduled to launch in May or June. It features an extendable roller mop and side brush and 15,000Pa of suction power, more than twice that of the prior model.

While its mapping is very good, it can take a really long time (Roombas use vSLAM, not lidar), and it doesn’t seem to adapt to changes in my home as easily as other robots.

On test, we were wowed by this robovac's mopping abilities. The mop pads assert downwards pressure as they rotate, leaving our tester's floors shining and spotless. In contrast, the vacuuming was good but not outstanding.

There are some downsides, though. The suction power is low for the price bracket – in fact, generally, you're paying a premium for the small size here.

It’s also less prone to getting tangled up with hair. Two brushes are better than one, and a brush housing that has some flexibility — so it can move with the contours of the floor — is also more effective.