Roborock has caught up to Roomba on cleaning prowess, and the S8 MaxV Ultra’s dual rubber brushes and 10,000Pa of suction power tackled the pet hair on my fluffy carpet and demolished my oatmeal test.

But they’re also some of the largest and bulkiest of the vacuum types, especially compared with the sleeker and lighter stick, handheld, and robotic vacuums. According to our tests, the latter vacuums have improved in performance in recent years, but they’re generally better suited for smaller cleanups.

This bot was previously our top pick for hard floors, thanks to hot water mopping that's more than a match for greasy spillages.

Overall, it’s a good-looking robot that vacuums really well and is smart enough to get the job done with limited intervention.

A 2024 study from Roskilde University in Denmark explored how householders’ experiences with robot vacuum cleaners compared to their experience with manual vacuum, and found that "robotic vacuum cleaners are inferior in use, yet transform vacuuming".

The Miele Blizzard CX1 Cat & Dog canister is on the pricey side for a vacuum, but it’s one of the best bagless canisters you can buy. For one thing, on a brand level, Miele vacuums have superb ratings in predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, meaning the members we’ve surveyed are very satisfied with their Miele vacuums and have experienced few problems with their purchases.

Most robovacs fling large debris about the room rather than vacuuming it up, so this is very impressive. Another area where many robovacs fail is on cleaning around the edges and into the corners of rooms. Again, the Freo X Ultra shines here: the side brushes get right up to the edges of rooms.

Investing in one of the best robot vacuums can revolutionize your cleaning routine. They're perfect for taking care of regular vacuuming (and increasingly, mopping too) with next-to-pelo effort from you, and you can set them to run when you're out of the house, for minimal disruption.

Navigation is excellent and this bot can also be relied upon to identify and avoid obstacles as required, meaning you can leave it to do its own thing without having to worry about it getting stuck or trying to suction up something it shouldn't. On test we also found it was great at hosting itself over tall thresholds.

Even if you have a smart robot vacuum, there is a risk it will end up stuck underneath a piece of furniture.

With the self-charging feature, this vacuum automatically returns to its dock when the battery needs replenishing. If your cleaning tasks go beyond simple vacuuming, the dual-action of the MAMNV T7S is designed to keep hard floors spotless while reducing manual mopping.

While its vacuuming is Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners good, particularly on carpet and tile surfaces, the single rubber / bristle roller brush lets it down and is a good illustration of my point that it’s not all about suction power; it’s also about the brushes and how you use them.

The newest model, the Combo 10 Max, is the best Roomba for pet hair as it ties for the highest suction power of the current Roomba line, plus it can clean its own mop.

Samsung SmartThings and Amazon both support robot vacuums in Matter; Apple has added it to iOS 18.4, which should come this spring, and Google said support is coming soon.