Best Robot Vacuums: Our Latest Lab Testing Reveals the Best Robots for the New Year
SOURCE:CNET|BY:Ajay Kumar
We've completely overhauled our robot vacuum testing to include new checks for pickup power, navigation, obstacle avoidance and more. These are the models that stood out to us in 2026.
Today's best robot vacuums can map your space, dodge obstacles and even mop for you, which means that cleaning your home doesn't have to feel like a chore. If you've been on the fence about investing in one, the holiday season and accompanying sales make it a great time to gift yourself one. Robot vacuums are also getting much more advanced. As we head towards CES 2026, we're already seeing machines that can climb stairs, use small robotic arms to move objects, recognize clutter with greater accuracy and refill or empty themselves at their base stations.
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Robot vacuums can handle everything from wet to dry messes across surfaces ranging from carpet to tile -- all without you having to touch a speck of dirt.
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To find the top performers, we completely updated our lab testing approach. While we continue to measure sand pickup on hardwood floors, low-pile carpet and mid-pile carpet, we measure debris pickup differently. We also use heat mapping to check how thoroughly each vacuum cleans, monitor noise levels and test obstacle avoidance with everyday hazards such as pet messes.
What is the best overall robot vacuum?
Our new best overall robot vacuum is a newcomer: the Mova Z60 Ultra Roller Complete. This robot from a Dreame sub-brand scored the highest average pickup across different surfaces, with the best sand pickup score and best mid-pile carpet performance. It also offered excellent cleaning coverage and decent obstacle avoidance, but the slightly older Dreame X50 Ultra earned our first-ever lab award for the best cleaning coverage, tackling 83.8% of our test room.
We also liked the Eufy E28 for its unique carpet cleaning abilities and outstanding obstacle avoidance. On the more affordable end, the Roomba DustCompactor 205 retained its spot from our previous tests, earning the best score on hardwood floors while costing under $500.
Best six robot vacuums of 2025
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Pros
Highest overall average sand pickup (65.14%) and the highest mid-pile carpet sand pickup (47.54%)
Moves slowly, which is beneficial for effectively extracting sand from carpet fibers, and has accurate carpet suction boost
Successfully avoided pet waste, a sock and a pet toy in the obstacle avoidance test
Cleans well along edges with pop-out arm and brush roller
Includes a three-year warranty and a 30-day trial
Retractable turret to get under furniture and lift system to get over thresholds similar to X50 Ultra
Cons
Firmware update was time consuming, taking about 20 minutes and failing three times initially
Initially failed to create a map, though it configured the map after the first cleaning cycle
Hit three out of six objects despite the intelligent obstacle avoidance setting being turned on
Best for:
The Mova Z60 Ultra Roller Complete is best for those seeking the strongest overall cleaning performance across flooring types. Its 65.14% sand pickup score across flooring types was the highest we saw in this batch of 12 robot vacuums. Homes with primarily mid-pile or plush carpets will also benefit. The sand pickup test on mid-pile carpet was unprecedented, scoring 47.54%, which is 86% better than the runner-up. It's also suitable for people who value a lightweight base station for easy transport and a robot vacuum with a sleek design and good edge cleaning capabilities. All this earns it our Editors' Choice.
Why we recommend it:
We recommend the Mova Z60 Ultra Roller Complete because it offers exceptional cleaning performance where it matters most: extracting sand from carpets, with the highest overall average sand pickup score of 65.14%. It also excelled at low-pile carpet, coming just shy of the Eureka J15 Pro Ultra at 60.29% pickup.
It offers the third best area coverage we've tested, with 80.78% area coverage in our test room, putting it just under the Dreame X50 Ultra and Roomba DustCompactor 205 Combo. The pop-out arm and roller brush both allow more comprehensive edge cleaning, which is a nice touch.
It successfully avoided common obstacles including pet waste, socks and pet toys in testing and features an accurate carpet suction boost. The retractable turret and leg, along with a three-year warranty and 30-day trial, make it a compelling and feature-rich choice that's also about $100 cheaper than a comparable model, the Dreame X50 Ultra, when neither is on sale.
Who shouldn't get it:
This robot vacuum might not be ideal for those who aren't comfortable with initial setup difficulties, as the firmware update failed three times and took about 20 minutes, and the device initially failed to create a map (though it did after the first cleaning cycle). Also, while its intelligent obstacle avoidance had some successes, it still hit three out of six test objects, so if you're expecting flawless navigation, you might be disappointed. Finally, its slow movement, while beneficial for cleaning efficiency, means a longer run-time, which could be a drawback for those who prioritize fast cleaning cycles.
The $1,500 price is also on the higher end, so if budget is a concern, you may want to take a look at the Roomba 205, which runs you under $500 when not on sale. For superior obstacle avoidance and useful carpet cleaning features, we like the Eufy E28.
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Pros
Can cross thresholds and obstacles up to 2.36 inches
Excellent hardwood floor cleaning (98.54%)
Good obstacle recognition and avoidance with three avoided
Retractable turret lets it fit under lower furniture
Highest room cleaning coverage at 83.8%
Cons
Very expensive at $1,600
Uses 20% of battery life in each cleaning run for 182.8-square-foot room
Best for:
The Dreame X50 Ultra is the best for those who want comprehensive room coverage and excellent hardwood floor cleaning capabilities. It's also a robot vacuum designed to solve the problem of crossing thresholds. It can cross them and obstacles up to 2.36 inches by deploying a pair of small legs to lever itself over obstacles. It offers excellent vacuum performance on hardwood at 98.54%, nearly identical to that of the Roomba 205, and has the best room coverage at 83.8%, meaning it cleaned the largest area of our test room compared with other robot vacuums. This earns it our lab award for cleaning coverage.
Why we recommend it:
In our lab testing, it successfully climbed a stack of plywood up to 2.36 inches, although it faced some issues coming down from anything more than 1.5 inches. Dreame advises that it works best when there's a transition between the two vertical obstacles, such as a 1.65-inch threshold followed by a 0.7-inch threshold.
In cleaning capabilities, it's no slouch either. In lab testing, it removed 98.54% of sand from a hardwood floor. It also did quite well on carpet, with 51.88% pickup on low-pile and a mid-pile score of 25.51%. Mopping functionality is also solid. Our lab engineer took it home and tested the mopping and vacuuming on his 1,200-square-foot main floor. It mapped the main level in 11 minutes and cleaned everything in a little more than two hours. The base station also comes with two tanks, one for clean water and one for dirty water, along with another compartment for cleaning solution.
In real-world testing, it worked great with pet hair, removing most -- if not all -- of the pet hair from hardwood and carpet. The tangle-free roller brush never got tangled in a household with a Great Pyrenees. Navigation was also good, with the X50 Ultra able to identify objects such as shoes, socks, tennis balls, electrical cords and other items it could have gotten stuck on. It also recognized and worked around pets.
Who shouldn't get it:
At $1,600 at full price, it's one of the more expensive robot vacuums you can buy, so we only recommend it if you truly have numerous thresholds and challenging transition strips in your home. It also didn't last very long, using up 20% of its charge during a single cleaning session for our relatively small 182.8-square-foot test room.
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Pros
Good price at $479 MSRP and $270 on sale
Best sand removal on hardwood (99.27%)
Small robot and base station won't take up too much space
Can mop and vacuum
Mechanical paddle helps optimize dustbin space
Cons
No auto refill water tank
No mopping settings or customization options in the app
Only avoided one of six objects
Best for:
The Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo is the best for those on a tight budget that don't want to compromise too much on cleaning performance. It's our favorite midprice robot vacuum at $470 full price. It offers strong suction on hard flooring with an impressive 99.27% pickup, the highest we've tested and a total average of 58.64%. It also supports mopping and has a unique mechanical paddle that compresses debris in the dustbin, allowing you to store up to 60 days' worth of dirt in the robot vacuum at a time. You also get impressive area coverage, with our second highest score at 82.44%, putting it just behind the Dreame X50 Ultra. All this makes it a great affordable pick for most people and earns our Editors' Choice.
Why we recommend it:
The 205 DustCompactor Combo gives you everything you need in a surprisingly small package. Our lab technician, Schylar Breitenstein, noted that the entire unit, including the docking station, is tiny, making it a good option for people in apartments or small homes. In terms of performance, it did well in our testing, scoring our highest hardwood score at 99.27%. It's not as strong on carpet, at 42.32% on low-pile and 16.23% on mid-pile, but it works out to an average of 52.61%, which we consider good.
As mentioned, area coverage is excellent, with our second highest score. You can see on the heat map there are very few missed spots and it actually does better than our best overall, the Mova Z60.
It also mops, though strangely, the mopping settings are not available in the app. Despite that, it still worked perfectly, taking about 30 minutes to clean our test area and removing all stickiness from the floor after the first cleaning cycle.
Who shouldn't get it:
Despite having a base station for charging, the 205 DustCompactor does not self-empty or self-refill its water tank, so you'll still need to do that manually. If this is a deal breaker, many robot vacuums on our list have this feature, though they'll all run you quite a bit more. Object avoidance is also a disappointment. It avoided just one out of six objects, with two critical failures, where the test had to stop due to poop wrapping around the wheel and a sock getting sucked in. The only obstacle it was able to successfully avoid was the 90-degree pet waste. For better object avoidance at a reasonable price, we like the Eufy E28, though it won't have as of a good cleaning performance on hardwood.
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Pros
Great value by including robot vacuum and a portable carpet cleaner in one
Excellent obstacle avoidance with five of six avoided
Only robot vacuum with a carpet cleaning feature
Cons
Pickup scores are on the average side at 44.49% across flooring types
Lowest room coverage we tested at 70.03%
Best for:
The Eufy Omni E28 is the best robot vacuum for impressive obstacle avoidance and portable spot cleaning functionality. It's another one of Eufy's unique three-in-one robot vacuums. Unlike the E20, which incorporates a cordless and handheld vacuum into the robot, the E28 is a portable deep cleaner built into the robot's base station. The detachable dual water tank (clean and dirty water) doubles as a deep cleaner, complete with a handle and hose attachment that lets you do spot cleaning on various soft surfaces, including carpets and fabric.
"At home testing the carpet cleaner, I loved the self-cleaning feature on the extractor," said Breitenstein. "It cleans very well. It does need to be plugged in to use, but with an extension cord, it's very attainable to clean everywhere." Add excellent obstacle avoidance that managed to avoid five of six obstacles and you get a very capable robot vacuum for $1,400 full price, though it's usually less on sale.**
Why we recommend it:
**
In terms of performance for regular usage, the robot vacuum scores on the average side, with 44.49% sand pickup across flooring types. On carpet, it gets 40.58% from low-pile carpet and 11.88% from mid-pile, which isn't as high as we'd have liked for something specifically designed to clean carpets. Obstacle avoidance was also excellent, with five of six obstacles avoided.
In terms of other capabilities, it has all the key elements you'd expect, including self-washing and drying for the mop, brushes that prevent entanglement with pet hair, the ability to clean corners and self-emptying and automatic refilling for the base station.
At full price, the E28 will run you $1,400, but you can often get it on sale for less, which makes it a good option if you have a lot of carpeting at home but need to save space by not having a dedicated carpet cleaner. "For $999 or less, I think this price is completely justified considering it comes with a carpet cleaning function," said Breitenstein, also noting that the dustbin is quite large compared to competitors.
**
Who shouldn't get it:**
If comprehensive room cleaning is important to you, the E28 doesn't do so well. It scored the lowest average cleaning score at just 70.03% -- the worst of any robot vacuum we tested in this batch of 12. As the heat map shows, is missed a significant number of spots, left lines between cleaning areas and wasn't able to fit under two items of simulated furniture. For superior cleaning coverage, we like the Dreame X50 Ultra (83.8%), Roomba 205 (82.44%) and Mova Z60 (80.78%).
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Pros
Best pet hair pickup we've tested
-Sleek design with attractive accents
Decent average sand average across flooring types at 51.51%
-Best app interface and software we've tested
Cons
Only avoided two of six obstacles, including two pet waste types
-Mediocre hardwood performance at 86.13% and mid-pile carpet on the lower side (17.39%)
Best for:
The Yeedi S16 Plus has the best pet hair pickup of any robot vacuum we've tested, completely removing all pet hair from our test area on hardwood and effectively removing most of it from low-pile and mid-pile carpet. It also has one of the best app interfaces we've tested, with clearly laid out cleaning options and easy usability. If you own pets that shed, this may be a good option, but there are some key caveats.**
Why we recommend it:**
The pet hair pickup on the Yeedi S16 Plus is truly impressive, removing most of the pet hair from all of our test surface types. In cleaning performance, it's a mixed bag with 86.13% pickup from hardwood floors, putting it below the Mova Z60, Dreame X50 Ultra, Roomba 205, Yeedi M14 Plus and others. Low-pile carpet performance is solid, with 51.01% pickup, though mid-pile is lower at 17.39%. Breitenstein noted that it accurately ramped up suction on carpet, especially mid-pile carpet, which isn't something that all the robot vacuums we've tested do by default.
In navigation, coverage is also less comprehensive than many of our top picks, with 76.21% of our test room covered and several notable missed spots on the heat map.
Like many other Yeedi robots, it includes the more effective Ozmo roller mop that self-rinses with clean water as it mops, comes with a self-emptying base station and has a tangle-free roller to prevent hair wrap.
At $1,400 full price, the S16 Plus is on par with our top picks, but it benefits from going on frequent and sizable sales.
**
Who shouldn't get it:**
The S16 Plus is held back by its poor obstacle avoidance. It avoided just two of six obstacles and notably ran over two types of pet waste, getting the 180-degree waste stuck in the roller. It also ran over a pet toy and sock. While the S16 Plus can clean up after your pets, it's not the right choice if your pets are prone to leaving waste or toys scattered around. For better obstacle detection, we like the Yeedi M14 Plus and Eufy E28.
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Pros
Excellent obstacle avoidance, with five out of six objects avoided
Strong hardwood floor pickup at 92.7%
Attractive design with rose gold/pinkish accents
Best and most user friendly app interface among robots tested
Cons
Poor mid-pile carpet performance at just 8.7% pickup
Relatively expensive at full price, but often on sale
Best for:
The Yeedi M14 Plus offers the best obstacle avoidance we've tested (together with the Eufy E28), avoiding a total of five test objects out of six total. It also has strong hardwood pickup, with a 92.7% pickup score and an average pickup of 50.03% across flooring types. It also has one of the better app interfaces among robot vacuums, with a highly usable software interface that clearly lays out cleaning options.
**
Why we recommend it:**
Yeedi has earned spots on our list in the past, with the M12 Pro Plus being a top pick under our old testing procedures. The M14 Plus has a lot going for it, including excellent obstacle avoidance -- it only hit the 90-degree pet waste obstacle out of the six we tested.
In terms of cleaning performance, it has strong sand pickup from hardwood floors, but suffers on mid-pile carpet. Average room coverage is also on the lower side, with 71.18% coverage and several missed spots visible on the heatmap -- particularly during transitions between different flooring types.
The unit comes with a self-emptying base station, a feature increasingly common across different price ranges. It also comes with hot water mopping and air drying and includes the Ozmo roller mop, which is one of the better mopping types you can get compared to spinning mopping pads.
Who shouldn't get it:
If you have a lot of thicker carpet, the M14 Plus isn't a good option. It scored just 8.7% on mid-pile carpet across all five tests, though it fares better on low-pile at 48.7%. The price is on the higher side at $1,199, but it often sees substantial discounts, and as of this writing, it’s available for just $480, making it a much better deal.
For a more reliably affordable robot vacuum, we like the Roomba DustCompactor 205 Combo.
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The robot vacuums below were tested using an earlier procedure that included our old light path navigation system instead of heat map navigation, a different set of pickup tests, and did not include noise level testing, among other differences. For this purpose, we've removed ratings and superlatives from the product cards; however, we'll retest them using our new procedures and update the above section with our findings. Just because the robots below were tested with an old methodology doesn't mean they're not worth considering for your needs -- and their presence on this list means they scored well at the time of testing.
Pros
Self-emptying robot vac and stick vac in one
Excellent performance on hardwood (85% sand pickup)
Pet hair doesn't get tangled on the brush
Supports mopping
Cons
Pricey at $1,200
Not the strongest carpet performance we've seen at 65% average pickup
Best for:
Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo may look like a gimmick, adding a cordless stick vac to the Omni Station. Our lab testing shows that this is not the case. Instead, the Deebot T30S is so good as a robot vacuum and stick vacuum that it has become our top recommendation. It's a great option for people who want a robot vacuum and stick vacuum in one unit without compromising performance. It offers strong performance on hardwood and carpet, supports mopping and has a self-emptying base station.
Why we recommend it:
During testing in our lab, the T30S Combo picked up more than 65% of the sand on the carpet (64.44% from low-pile and 66.67% from mid-pile). Hardwood was even better, with 85% of sand pickup on the hardwood. It does a fantastic job getting debris off the floor; it’s also great for pet hair with the ZeroTangle brush system, which uses a V-shaped roller and Dual Comb Teeth to physically scrape hair from the brush and direct it to the dust bin. In our testing, it did a great job of tackling pet hair.
The stick vac accessory has many attachments you need to help clean any mess. It’s great to have a stick vac with your robot vacuum and what helps the system stand out is that the Omni Station empties and cleans the robot vacuum and the stick vac.
The Deebot T30S Combo offers a dual-spinning mop brush system to help keep your hard floors clean. When the vacuum detects the carpet, the mop rises to avoid touching the fibers. When mopping, the brush can swing out to reach the edge of the wall.
Who shouldn't get it:
If you're price sensitive, at $1,200 it's not the cheapest option, but it's less than newer releases from Dreame and Roborock. If you think about it, you're also getting a cordless stick vacuum, robot vacuum and mop in one device. If you can find it on sale, I wouldn't hesitate.
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Pros
Very easy to use
Flexible and customizable for your cleaning needs with multiple attachments
Strong vacuum performance on hardwood with 72% pickup
Great value at $549 full price and often on sale
Cons
No mopping functionality
Could be better on carpet, scores under 50% on low-pile and mid-pile
Best for:
The Eufy E20 3-in-1 robot vacuum is one of the most distinct robovacs we've tested. It's similar to the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo, which comes with a detachable and very capable stick vacuum in addition to its vacuuming and mopping robovac. The E20 doesn't have mopping capabilities but it's still a very capable and easy-to-use robot vacuum and cordless vacuum. We like it for the total flexibility it offers by giving you a robovac, handheld and stick vac in one unit with a solid performance on different floor types.
Why we recommend it:
"This is my favorite robot vacuum," said our lab tech, Schylar Breitenstein, who spent hours testing the Eufy E20 in the lab and at home. She praised its ease of use and how the portable vacuum fits into the robot vacuum's body for space savings. She also pointed to the numerous attachments included to customize the E20 for different cleaning needs.
In terms of performance, the E20 did quite well in our sand pickup test on a hardwood floor, removing 72% of sand. It struggled a bit more with carpet, falling shy of the 50% we consider a good score at 41% for low- and mid-pile carpet. Navigation was a mixed bag. Our light path test shows that it cleaned the test room in a methodical fashion, especially focusing on getting the corners first. However, it notably missed spots when navigating around the multi-legged table and would have benefited from a tighter turn. It handled pet hair well on hardwood floors but missed some clumps on the carpet.
However, what earns the E20 a place on our list is the sheer value it offers. It's $549 at full price but as of this writing, it's on sale for $350. For the price, you get a robot vacuum with a self-emptying dock, a stick vacuum and a handheld vacuum all in one, where normally you'd need to buy them separately. Its closest competitor with the same features, the Deebot T30S Combo, will cost you more than double this price, giving the E20 tremendous value.
Who shouldn't get it:
If you have a lot of carpeting at home, the E20 didn't do the best, scoring 41% for low- and mid-pile carpet. For a robot vacuum that can tackle carpet and hardwood equally well, we like the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo for its stronger scores on hardwood and carpet, as well as the ability to serve as both a cordless vacuum and robot vacuum.
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Pros
Excellent performance on hardwood (96.5%) and strong mid-pile carpet performance (64%)
Very reasonable price
Great for pet hair
Good navigation around obstacles
Includes self-emptying dock and mopping capability
Cons
Low-pile carpet performance could be better at 54.6%
Some user complaints about the app and setup
Best for:
The Yeedi M12 Pro Plus offers the best bang for the buck among the robot vacuums we've tested. It's specifically great for those who want vacuuming and mopping functionality and have a lot of hardwood floors. It's also really good at tackling pet hair. It also includes a docking station to charge, self-empty and supports mopping.
Why we recommend it:
Yeedi may not be a brand you've heard of but it's a sister company of Ecovacs, which has earned a number of picks on our list over the years. The Yeedi M12 Pro Plus is a very capable robot vacuum and mop that comes with a docking station and an impressive performance on hardwood floors. It scored an impressive 96.5% sand removal from hardwood floors, even higher than Deebot T30S Combo (85%). In fact, this is the highest score on hardwood of any robot vacuum we've tested. It also managed 54.6% from low-pile carpet and 64% from mid-pile carpet.
According to our light path test, navigation was also particularly impressive. The robot kept a very tight path around our complicated table setup, hit the corners well and missed very few spots. Notably, it also supports multi-level mopping, which is a nice feature you don't always get on non-flagship vacuums. Pet hair also proved not to be a problem, with the M12 Pro Plus picking up nearly all the pet hair from hardwood and carpet.
The base station and robot vacuum are loaded with features. The dock self-empties and includes a water tank to refill during mopping. It also has built-in hot air drying to sanitize the mopping pad between cleanings. And speaking of the mop, like many new robot vacuums, the M12 Pro Plus will lift up its mopping pad if it encounters carpet. The mopping pad is even pressurized, giving you a bit more elbow grease when cleaning.
The Yeedi M12 Pro Plus costs $900 at full price, which puts it on par with the Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro, but it's currently priced at $340 on Yeedi and Amazon, making it quite the steal for the performance.
Who shouldn't get it:
The M12 Pro Plus doesn't have many shortfalls, but low-pile carpet performance is on the lower side compared to some top-tier competitors like the T30S Combo. If you need stronger carpet performance, we're partial to the Ecovacs Deebot X9 Pro Omni, which is still being tested in the lab, but delivered impressive carpet pickup of more than 70% on both types of carpet. Some people have also complained about the confusing app, although that tends to be a pretty common problem in robot vacuums.
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Pros
Excellent performance on hardwood floors with 96% sand pickup
Good carpet cleaning performance at above 50% pickup
Comes with self-emptying dock
Can cross obstacles up to 1.5 inches
Cons
Somewhat pricey without sales
Takes 21 minutes for a single room
Best for:
Together with Roomba and Dyson, Shark is one of the best-known vacuum brands. In recent years, they've faced stiff competition from Dreame, Eufy, Eureka, Roborock and others, which are incorporating innovative features like threshold crossing, self-emptying docks and detangling brush rollers. The PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro is Shark's answer to this. It gives you good vacuuming and mopping with great navigation and the ability to cross thresholds up to 1.5 inches without having to spend as much as the Dreame X50 Ultra. If you love Shark as a brand, the PowerDetect Never Touch Pro is the robot you want.
Why we recommend it:
It comes with all the key features we've come to expect from a modern robot vacuum, including vacuuming and mopping functionality, a self-emptying dock, improved navigation with 3D mapping, 360-degree lidar and dirt detection sensors. In lab testing, it did great picking up sand from hardwood floors, removing nearly 96%, which is one of our highest scores on a robot vacuum. With carpet, we consider anything above 50% to be good; the Shark managed 54.5% from low-pile and 53% from mid-pile. Pet hair also proved not to be a challenge, with the PowerDetect removing most of it from hardwood and carpet.
Navigation was also quite good, with the robot moving around our test room in 21 minutes. The cleaning time is a little higher than some other models, but it was comprehensive, hitting most of the edges and navigating under a multi-legged table. It missed only a few spots in its passes. Notably, similar to the Dreame X50 Ultra, the PowerDetect is able to lift itself up over thresholds and obstacles up to 1.5 inches, although it can't go as high as the 2.36 inches of the X50 Ultra. The mopping pads also lift up so they won't drag across the carpet, and they self-clean and dry.
Who shouldn't get it:
At $999 at full price, it's one of the pricier robot vacuums on our list, but it's frequently on sale, making it a much more attractive option. If you can't find it on sale, we generally like the Yeedi M12 Pro Plus for offering a better bang for the buck with the same capabilities.
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Pros
Picked up 100% of sand from hardwood during pickup test
Strong carpet pickup at 61.9% low-pile and 60% from mid-pile
Motorized mopping
Good at identifying carpeted versus hardwood areas
Cons
No water tank for mopping
Somewhat outdated navigation compared with lidar on newer robot vacuums
Best for:
The Roomba J7 Plus is a very capable and reasonably priced robot vacuum but it lacks mopping functionality. Enter the Roomba Combo J7 Plus, which adds mopping to its skillset. Rather than just slapping a mopping pad onto the bottom, iRobot designed a motorized mopping pad with arms that lift it out from the bottom of the cleaner and relocate it to the top whenever it detects it's traveling over carpets. It offers strong hardwood scores, with an impressive 100% pickup, good carpet scores at 61.9% on low-pile and nearly 60% on mid-pile.
Why we recommend it:
It's a capable vacuum, and it did great at tackling all three flooring types (hardwood, low-pile carpet and mid-pile carpet) we tested. However, it faces stiffer competition these days with new combo robot vacuums that incorporate water tanks into their base stations and come with features like self-detangling rollers and hot air drying. Navigation also leaves something to be desired compared with lidar-based cleaners from names like Dreame, Neato and Roborock.
Our lab tech took the Roomba Combo J7 Plus home, where they have a mix of carpets and hardwood floors. It did a great job of identifying carpeted areas during its initial mapping run. We never caught it vacuuming those carpeted areas without lifting the mop up and out of the way first. It's just a better, more high-end approach to automated mopping and one you won't need to think about quite as much.
Despite some downsides, the Combo J7 Plus is typically priced at $589 these days and offers strong overall cleaning performance. As a result, it's our pick for the best Roomba robovac you can get.
Who shouldn't get it:
Despite strong performance scores, the Combo J7 Plus is showing its age in the navigation tech. It lacks lidar and more advanced sensors, so you're likely to get better, more comprehensive coverage with some of the newer models we recommend, like the Dreame X50 Ultra.
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Pros
Impressive hardwood performance at 78.9% sand pickup
Managed to score higher than 50% on both types of carpet
Budget-friendly at $115
Cons
No real navigation system
Very slow at cleaning, took 91 minutes for one room
Best for:
For those on a very tight budget, the Eufy RoboVac 25C is one of the only robot vacuums available for around $100 to $150. Despite the cut-rate price, you get surprisingly good performance on hardwood floors and solid carpet pickup performance.
Why we recommend it:
You might not expect sufficient cleaning power from a budget-priced robot vacuum, but that's precisely what the Anker Eufy RoboVac 25C delivers. For instance, its ability to scour sand from hardwood floors (78.9%) wasn't too far below that of our top midrange pick. It's a decent performer on low- and mid-pile carpets as well, sucking up averages of 54% and 52% of sand from them, respectively.
The current asking price is just $150 at Walmart, although stock is dwindling at other retailers. Who shouldn't get it:
How did Anker cut down on costs here, anyway? The answer is navigation. Instead of relying on cameras or lasers to map out its environment, the machine bumps around the floor like a slow-motion ping-pong ball, changing direction when it encounters an object or obstacle. As a result, it took an excessive 91 minutes to finish its cleaning cycle in our test room, so don't expect it to cover your house in anything close to an efficient fashion.
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Pros
Good vacuuming on hardwood
Very low profile and fits under pretty much everything
Quiet operation
Works well with pets
The chassis lift prevents it from getting stuck most of the time
Cons
Dust and water tank are too small
Mopping performance isn't great
Obstacle avoidance needs some improvement
Expensive at $2,600 at full price
Robot arm is neat, but only useful in limited circumstances
Best for:
If money is no object and you want a robot vacuum that's capable of crossing thresholds and obstacles like the Dreame X50 Ultra, with the added benefit of a robotic arm to help you sort items, the Saros Z70 is for you. It offers decent vacuum performance, mopping capabilities and comes with a self-emptying and auto-refilling base station. It's certainly a unique robot vacuum and one of the few that worked well in my challenging apartment that has multiple large thresholds between rooms and lots of clutter caused by three cats.
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Why we recommend it:**
The Saros Z70's main selling point is the mechanical arm, which can pick up and sort small objects like crumpled papers, napkins, slippers and shoes. It's neat seeing the arm automatically emerge from the robot vacuum's body to do some pickup. It's fairly easy to designate a sorting zone in the app and the arm will usually put things where it's told but to be frank, the arm is hit and miss. It's capable of recognizing the objects it's trained for, but t usually wasn't able to pick up things like pet toys (though that's something Roborock is working on and that potential makes it a robot vacuum worth watching).
"The arm is a neat feature to watch, but I personally don't find it very useful," said Jared Hannah, senior technical project manager at our Louisville testing lab. "I feel like if the robot is smart enough to avoid obstacles such as shoes and socks, I don't need it to try and pick them up and move them. As long as the robot doesn't get stuck on anything during its cleaning cycle, that's good enough for me."
In other capabilities, the Saros Z70 isn't too shabby. It has great sand pickup on hardwood floors, scoring 82.5% sand pickup, just short of our best overall, the T30S XCombo. On mid-pile carpet, it does better than the Dreame X50 Ultra, at 52%. On low-pile, it's at 51%, which is pretty solid and not too far off the Shark Power Detect NeverTouch Pro. It also has key functionality we expect from a robot vacuum, including a self-emptying and self-refilling docking station and advanced navigation.
I was also personally impressed by its mapping. After an initial quick scan, the robot did a great job of generating a layout of my apartment, identifying flooring types, key pieces of furniture, pet areas and cords. Tagging things manually was also fairly straightforward, though if I have one gripe, it's that the app is a bit overwhelming in terms of settings and customization options.
For me, the AdaptLift chassis was the real lifesaver. Like the Dreame X50 Ultra, it can deploy a pair of legs to lever itself over obstacles. It's one of the few robot vacuums that can cross the 2-inch thresholds in my apartment.
Who shouldn't get it:
Price is obviously the sticking point here. At $2,600, it's the single most expensive robot vacuum on this list and it's possible to get superior cleaning performance for a fraction of what you'll pay for the Z70. If the lift system is something that's important to you, you can get a similar feature from the Dreame X50 Ultra for about half the price. The dustbin and water tank are also on the small side because of all the space taken up by the arm, so that's another thing to consider.
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Pros
Excellent hardwood pickup at 95%
Strong low-pile (90%) and mid-pile (86%) carpet pickup
Includes self-emptying docking station
Supports mopping
Good obstacle recognition
Cons
Still expensive at full price despite being older generation
Superseded by newer model, the X50 Ultra
Best for:
Not so long ago, the Dreame X40 Ultra was our splurge choice. Priced at $1,500, it was one of the most expensive robot vacuums we recommended for its excellent obstacle recognition and ability to clean multiple floor types. However, it's been replaced by a successor, the Dreame X50 Ultra, which is capable of overcoming vertical obstacles. That means the X40 Ultra is now often available for significantly less (currently $700 on sale), making it a much better deal, taking into account its excellent performance across flooring types.
Why we recommend it:
The X40 Ultra delivered some of the best sand pickup results we’ve seen from a robot vacuum -- 95% on hardwood, 90% on low-pile carpet and 86% on mid-pile carpet. These are among the highest scores we’ve recorded across these flooring types. It even outstrips our best overall, the T30S Combo.
Despite being a generation older than the X50 Ultra, it still has most of the key features you want in a higher-end robot vacuum, including an all-in-one base station that can self-empty and auto-refill, 3D structured light navigation, advanced obstacle recognition, a swing arm for edge cleaning, multi-level mapping and hot water mopping.
Who shouldn't get it:
The X40 Ultra is a great robot vacuum, but it's an older generation model, so availability may start to dwindle over time. For now, though, it's an excellent choice as long as it remains on sale. If it goes back up to full price, then there are better options available, including the versatile T30S Combo and relatively affordable Yeedi M12 Pro Plus.
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April 2025: We added newly tested robot vacuum and mop recommendations to the list: the Yeedi C12 Plus, Dreame X50 Ultra, Eufy 3-in-1 E20, Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro and Yeedi M12 Pro Plus. We eliminated our test for black rice because every robot vacuum was hitting nearly 100%. Instead, we've re-weighted our scoring using just sand on three different test surfaces.
June 2025: Reworked product entries of all the robot vacuums we recommend to provide additional guidance on why we recommend them and who shouldn't buy them. We also added other robot vacuums we tested and some new infographics that compare robot vacuums.
July 2025: Added the iRobot Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo as our new pick under $500, the Roborock Saros Z70 as the best splurge, and the Dreame X40 as the most consistent. We also updated the section on other robot vacuums we tested with new products and results.
August 2025: Added new test results for the Deebot X9 Pro Omni and T80 Omni. Added an explanation of how we test average runtime.
September 2025: Added a new section covering developments in the robot vacuum industry and details on new robovacs currently being tested in the lab.
October 2025: Added a section for robot vacuums we're currently testing in the lab and updated FAQ answers.
November 2025: We've made extensive changes to our testing procedures, adding testing for sand and carpet pickup, navigational heat map, noise levels and object avoidance testing. We have a new batch of robot vacuums recommendations based on this new testing.
January 2026: Updated robot vacuum testing data. Added clarification to testing procedure.
We're currently testing a number of robot vacuums in the lab, across a range of prices and brands. What's notable here is that we're seeing flagship features -- like the lift systems that allow the robots to cross obstacles -- come to more affordable models in the lineup. We're seeing this trend with Dreame and Ecovacs, as well as their respective sub-brands, Mova and Yeedi. There are also some lesser-known names, with 3i and Switchbot coming with affordable offerings that incorporate innovative features,
Dreame Aqua 10 Ultra Roller: I am currently testing this one at home. It offers a roller map with an impressive 30,000 pascals of suction and ProLeap legs that can climb obstacles up to 3.15 inches.
Exciting things are happening in the robot vacuum industry. Between CES 2025 and IFA 2025, we've seen dozens of new robot vacuums released, incorporating new technologies that allow them to clean and navigate spaces more effectively than ever before.
Andrew Gebhart, our colleague at CNET's sister site PCMag, was able to see a live demo of the Marswalker taking on stairs.
Andrew Gebhart/PCMag
The biggest changes that are coming are the arrival of genuine stair-climbing robots with the Eufy Marswalker and Dreame Cyber X, both of which vaguely resemble a space rover, allowing them to use treads to climb up stairs. Both appear to be semi-autonomous shells that can work with an existing robot vacuum, with the Marswalker confirmed to be compatible with the Eufy Omni S2. The Cyber X is more of a proof of concept, but it shows that many companies are working to tackle the stair problem, and we expect to see the first consumer versions in 2026.
The holiday season and accompanying sales are a great time to pick up a robot vacuum. Moreover, adding features like stair-climbing is bound to make these robot vacuums more expensive. Add to that the ongoing tariff wars, and there are no guarantees that prices will be as low as they are right now months into the future.
PCMag's Andrew Gebhart also got to see the Cyber X in action, watching the robot climb stairs.
Andrew Gebhart/PCMag
Dreame is also joining Roborock in creating an arm-equipped robot vacuum, with the Cyber10 Ultra intended to rival the Saros Z70. Like the Z70, it can sort items and pick up after you.
PCMag's Gebhart watched the Cyber10 Ultra pick up and move a sock.
Andrew Gebhart/PCMag
Less eye-catching but no less important is Ecovacs' new Deebot X11 Pro Omnicyclone. It's the first robot vacuum with four-wheel drive and gallium nitride fast charging. AWD should give it better stability and obstacle crossing, while the fast-charging capabilities should let it quickly top up while docked, resulting in shorter cleaning cycles. The Yeedi S20 Infinity is a version with similar features from Ecovacs’ sub-brand.
The X11 Pro Omni should be able to recharge enough during a quick mop cleaning session to continue its cleaning cycle.
Ecovacs
Budget
Before you do anything else, make sure you're clear on what you want to spend on your new vacuum. Robot vacuum models can cost anywhere from $200 to nearly $2,000, so it's important to set a budget to prevent overspending. We recommend deciding on what features (such as self-emptying bins, built-in mopping capabilities or advanced AI image recognition for elite-level obstacle avoidance) fit your needs and researching what your budget can get you. That way, you know what you're looking for and can ensure you're getting the best value.
Navigation and obstacle detection
Many robot vacuum models have sensors to navigate around your home or apartment, but how effectively do the sensors perform? The ability of a robot vac to detect objects in its path can mean the difference between returning home to a clean house and a situation where the robot is trapped on cords or an area rug.
Certain models including the Dreame L40 and Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro have powerful obstacle detection capabilities and navigate your home with efficiency. Many new and upcoming robovacs also incorporate AI object recognition, allowing them to recognize objects intelligently and learn about new objects over time. This is true of the Dreame X50 Ultra and Roborock Saros Z70 and Ecovacs' T50 Pro Omni, among others.
Pets
Is there anything worse than your vacuum roller brush getting all tangled up and clogged by a heap of pet hair? Luckily, many manufacturers make robot vacuums that are suited for cleaning up after pets. Models like the Dreame X50 Ultra and the Yeedi S16 Plus are adept at sucking up pet hair on carpet and hardwood flooring as well as detecting (and avoiding) pet waste. Several of the models on this list have high-efficiency filters to help eliminate allergens that may come from pet hair and dander to help with allergies, too. One of the best new innovations is self-detangling brush rollers that are designed to avoid getting clogged by pet hair.
Noise level
We measure the noise level of each robot vacuum using LAeq, which represents the average noise over time, with an adjustment for human hearing. The data above reflects average noise levels in decibels, recorded throughout the entire test while the unit is operating. A lower score indicates a quieter vacuum, which is generally preferable. However, noise doesn’t weigh heavily in our scoring at this time, as all the robot vacuums fall within a similar range to the human ear.
Each robot vacuum we consider for recommendation gets put through its paces in our test lab in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to test floors where we run our controlled pickup tests, we monitor each robot vacuum in a special test room filled with mock furniture to gauge how well it navigates around common obstacles. Past that, we check each robot vacuum's ability to gobble up pet hair without getting clogged or leaving loose strands behind, we consider mopping capabilities, and we check to see how well it navigates fake dog messes, too.
When it comes to vacuuming prowess, we want to know how effective each robot is against common crumbs and other debris, and also how it fares against much smaller particles like dust, dirt and sand. To find out, we use sand as an analog for finer particles.
In each case, we scatter a measured amount across three test floors: low-pile carpet, mid-pile carpet and hardwood floors. Low-pile carpet is shorter, less plush carpet with shorter fibers, so typically robot vacuums have an easier time picking up from it (though not always). Mid-pile is softer and more plush, with taller fibers. It tends to be more challenging for robot vacuums (though again, not always). After the cleaning, we weigh each of the floor panels to calculate the percentage of debris the robot vacum was able to pick up. From there, we repeat each run four more times for a total of five tests and average the results.
We spread a measured amount of sand in the taped areas for each of the flooring types.
Ajay Kumar/CNET
Robot vacuum navigation skills
Your robot vacuum will only clean your home as thoroughly as it's capable of navigating it. The ideal cleaner will make easy work of finding its way from room to room and automatically avoiding obstacles along the way, all of which makes for proper, low-maintenance automated cleaning.
To test navigation efficiency, we record the robot vacuum in our test room with an overhead camera and use a video analysis software to assign the robot vacuum an average coverage percentage based on the total portion of the accessible room they are observed to visit during three standard test runs. The heat map that's generated is then analyzed to provide the result. The test room includes dummy furniture, low-hanging furniture, different flooring types (tile, hardwood and carpet).
The heat map can be interpreted as follows:
Blue/Cyan: Very few passes -- light coverage
Green: Occasional passes -- low to moderate coverage
Yellow/Orange: Frequent passes -- high coverage
Red: Hottest zones -- the top slice of activity where the robot lingered, turned or adjusted its path
Below is an example from the Mova Z60 Ultra, our best overall. It offers superb area coverage and it carried out navigation in a very organized and efficient manner, second only to the Dreame X50 Ultra, also pictured below.
Mova Z60 heat map coverage.
CNET Labs/Schylar Breitenstein
X50 Ultra heat map.
CNET Labs/Schylar Breitenstein
In contrast, our worst-scoring robot vacuum in this category was the Eufy E28, with numerous missed spots -- especially around edges and corners -- and light coverage in the outer parts of the room.
Eufy E28 heat map.
CNET Labs/Schylar Breitenstein
In large part, it comes down to the tech at play. Over the years, we've consistently noted that robot vacuums that use laser-guided lidar navigation tend to be very good at mapping their environment and finding their way around. Meanwhile, 3D-mapping cameras with object recognition smarts can give robot vacuums the extra ability to identify and adapt to obstacles in their path.
Object avoidance
We test object avoidance at the very end of our procedure by using six distinct common items placed in the environment to see if the robot vacuum is able to recognize and avoid them. These items include 360-degree pet waste, 180-degree pet waste, 90-degree pet waste, a lamp, pet toy and sock.
We test pet waste in different spots of the room, giving the robot different amounts of room to maneuver.
CNET Labs/Schylar Breitenstein
For the pet waste classifications, we distinguish between the fake pet waste based on the angle of the barriers around it that limit the possible approaches from the vacuum. That means:
The 90-degree trial is in the corner of the room, usually preventing the vacuum from accessing that portion of the room if it successfully avoids the obstacle.
The 180-degree trial is along a wall, allowing more options to clean around it.
The 360-degree trial is in the middle of the room and should be easy for the vacuum to clean around.
The more objects avoided, the better.
Here are the robot vacuums we tested with our new testing methodology that didn't earn a spot on our main best list. Some of them may still be worth buying for the right use case.
3i
3i S10 Ultra: We haven't reviewed many robot vacuums from 3i, but the company has some unique offerings including the S10 Ultra, which it claims is the first water recycling robot vacuum in the world. What that means is that it's capable of purifying and distilling its own wastewater extracted from the robot, as well as utilizing water vapor and condensation from the air to refill the robot's water tank with clean water. It's a fascinating implementation that can help cut down on how much water gets wasted on mopping.
In terms of performance, the S10 Ultra is a capable robot vacuum, removing 93.45% of sand from hardwood floor, which is the third highest score on our list. However, carpet performance wasn't as good, at 37.68% low-pile and 17.68% mid-pile, resulting in a 49.6% average. That said, it has all the key features you'd expect from a higher-end robot vacuum, including advanced lidar navigation, dirt and liquid detection, a self-cleaning spinning roller mop and AI obstacle avoidance. Our lab technician, Schylar Breitenstein, noted that the app wasn't very user-friendly and that she had issues with connectivity to Wi-Fi. Obstacle avoidance was also a let down, with a complete failure for all six obstacles. The bulky and heavy base station weighs 50 pounds and takes up significant space. All this keeps it off our best list.
Ecovacs/CNET
Ecovacs Deebot X9 Pro Omni: It comes with premium features, including advanced navigation, an all-in-one docking station, self-emptying and a self-washing mop. In performance, it falls in the middle of the pack, at 88.32% for hardwood, 45.22% for low-pile carpet and 20.87% pickup for mid-pile. This gives it an average of 51.47%, placing it in the top five in terms of performance. Navigation isn't as strong, with 76.42% room coverage in our heat map and a couple key missed spots. It also only avoided two out of six obstacles, making it hard to recommend with its $1,300 price tag, or even its discounted $700 price.
Switchbot S20: The Switchbot S20 comes in two models, one with a regular mopping and self-emptying base station and another with a water refill station that can hook up to a water connection similar to a dishwasher. Both will run you $800, making it relatively affordable next to other robovacs we've tested. We tested both models, though we weren't able to fully complete lab testing the water hookup feature. In terms of performance, it's the second worst robot vacuum we've tested, scoring 21.90% on hardwood, 42.9% on low-pile carpet and 10.72% on mid-pile carpet for a average of 25.17%. It does a bit better in navigation, covering 79.3% of the test room, putting it just behind the Mova Z60 and it also excels at obstacle avoidance, managing to avoid five of six obstacles. Unfortunately, weak performance keeps it from earning a recommendation.
Narwal Flow: The $1,500 Narwal Flow is similar to the cheaper SwitchBot S20, with two models that include an auto-refilling base station. Where they differ is in performance. The Flow does better, scoring 93.43% on hardwood, 46.09% on low-pile carpet, but much worse on mid-pile at 8.12%. In navigation, it falls in the middle of the pack at 77.11%. It fares quite poorly at obstacle avoidance, failing to avoid all tested obstacles, which together with the low mid-pile carpet performance, serves to keep it off our list.
Narwal Freo Pro: The Fro Pro is a more affordable alternative to the Flow, running you $700 at full price. In performance, it's unfortunately a big letdown, scoring the lowest average score at 20.17% pickup across flooring types. It also fares poorly in individual scores at 37.33% hardwood, 20.87% low-pile carpet and 2.32% mid-pile carpet. In room coverage, it managed 73.8%, but there were some notable missed spots compared to other models. In object avoidance, it did better than the Flow, avoiding two of six obstacles.
The Narwal Flow comes in two models: one with an optional water refill and drainage system (right) and one with a regular tank (left).
Narwal/Zooey Liao/CNET
The Eureka J15 Ultra will run you about $999 at full price, putting it lower than the Dreame X50 Ultra and Mova Z60 Ultra, and even less when it's on sale but in terms of performance, it didn't live up to our expectations. While it scored our highest low-pile carpet pickup score at 60.58%, it picked up just 1.74% on mid-pile, oddly giving it our lowest score for that category. It also only picked up 60.58% from hardwood, giving it an average of 40.97%, the third lowest score we tested. Navigation was decent at 76.47% coverage in our test room, but the object avoidance was a complete failure, with the J15 Ultra failing to avoid all six of our test objects.
Narwal/CNET
Here's a quick rundown of the rest of the robot vacuums we've tested in past years using older methodology, some of which are still worthy of consideration for certain shoppers.
3i
3i P10 Ultra: The P10 Ultra is 3i's more traditional robot vacuum and mop offering and it comes in at a lower starting price -- $1,100 at full price and $700 on sale, as of writing. In terms of performance, it's just shy of the S10 Ultra, picking up 75% of sand from hard flooring, around 49% from low-pile carpet and 52% from mid-pile carpet. It also has many of the key features you'd expect, including an all-in-one base station that can self-empty and automatically dry the mop, 70 days of dust storage, lidar navigation and 3D scanning, an AI camera for obstacle avoidance that can recognize over 100 objects and messes and anti-tangle brushes. Our lab tech noted some issues, though. When opening the dustbin, all the debris fell out, and there was some significant lag when using the app. Perhaps most notably, on the mid-pile pet hair carpet test, we found hair wrapped around the bristle roller that had to be manually pulled out. It's a good option if you can get it for sale, offering suction performance similar to the Eufy E20 on hard flooring and carpet, though it lacks the flexibility of Eufy's unique three-in-one design.
Dreame
Dreametech DreameBot L10S Ultra: A souped-up Dreametech model that typically costs around $500, the DreameBot L10S Ultra features a king-size three-liter self-emptying bin and self-filling water tanks, allowing it to complete multiple mopping runs before needing a refill. It was only a so-so performer in our cleaning tests, getting regularly outperformed by its smaller sibling, the top-rated DreameBot D10 Plus. That model doesn't have the self-filling water tank, but at several hundred dollars less than the L10S Ultra, it's a much better buy.
Dreame L40 Ultra: The L40 Ultra is a capable robot vacuum that performed well at picking up sand from hardwood floor (95%) as well as low-pile (63%) and mid-pile (62%) carpet. Navigation was also impressive, with tight corners and no missed spots. However, at $1,499 at full price, it's one of the more expensive robot vacuums on the market, so we don't recommend it unless you can find it on sale for under $500.
Dreametech DreameBot D10S Plus: A newer, slightly fancier version of our top-recommended DreameBot D10 Plus, the DreameBot D10_S_ Plus added in a slightly larger bin that won't need to be emptied quite as much, a slight bump in suction power and a sleek, black-bodied design -- all for about a hundred bucks more than the regular D10 Plus. It was a bit better on thin, low-pile carpet than that top-rated cleaner, but not quite as good on hardwood floors or mid-pile carpet, which was somewhat surprising. Unless the bigger bin is of particular interest, we think you're better off saving some money and sticking with the D10 Plus.
DreameBot D10 Plus (out of stock): This is the former overall pick, but the aging device is harder to find at retailers. It performs well on both carpets and hardwood floors with lidar navigation and a self-emptying dustbin. While it's largely discontinued, its successor, the Dreame D10 Plus Gen 2 , is in stock for around $400 (or less with a sale). Its features rival top brands including Roomba and Roborock at a significantly lower cost, making it a solid option.
Ecovacs
Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni: Retailing for $1,500 (though typically available for significantly less), this is the fanciest and most expensive Deebot we've danced within our test lab. It vacuums, mops, empties its own bin, refills its own water reservoir and features all of the rest of the bells and whistles that you'd expect from such a costly cleaner. It wasn't a leader in any of our tests, which is disappointing at this price, but it never faltered too badly, either. The pickup percentages on hardwood floors were all decent, and its performance was passable on the carpet, too, with more than 50% of the sand sucked up in both our low- and mid-pile tests.
Ecovacs Deebot 500: The Deebot 500 is a basic but competent robot vacuum that offers app controls and voice compatibility with Alexa and Google. It wasn't a strong performer in our carpet tests and is priced too high to count as a budget pick.
Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 950 (out of stock): The Ozmo 950 adds mopping functionality to the Deebot mix. As with other Deebots, the cleaning power didn't blow us away.
Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni: The N30 Omni is a capable robot vacuum and mop, but it doesn't stand out in performance. It scored decently in our sand removal test from hardwood (58.8%) and OK at low-pile (46.5%) and mid-pile (50.4%). At $800, there are robovacs with better performance in this price range.
Ecovacs Deebot T50 Max Pro Omni: The T50 Max Pro Omni is another robot vacuum and mop combo targeted toward the higher end of the market. It certainly looks like it, with a premium-felling design and beautiful rose-gold accents on the robot vacuum. It's loaded with features, including a self-emptying dock that can detangle its brushes, advanced navigation and obstacle avoidance, and auto-refill for mopping. Performance was generally good, averaging 61% for sand removal from our three test surfaces. It did the best on hardwood, removing 76.5% of sand and more than 50% from both types of carpet. However, navigation left something to be desired, with numerous missed spots in our testing room, especially when navigating our multi-legged table. Robot vacuums with these features are also increasingly common, and at the $999 price, competition is stiff, which keeps it from earning a spot on our list.
Ecovacs Deebot T80 Omni: The $1,000 T80 Omni is another capable robot vacuum and mop from Ecovacs that offers solid performance. It scored 62.75% in our sand pickup test on hardwood, a respectable score, though not as high as some others we've seen. It also did quite well on carpet, scoring 65.12% on low-pile and 64.34% on mid-pile. It took about 21.36 minutes on average to clean our test room, which is relatively standard for the robots we've tested. What keeps it off our main list is that while performance is solid and the T70 Omni is loaded with premium features, including an all-in-one base station, a self-cleaning and drying mop, advanced navigation and threshold crossing, it was outperformed by Ecovacs' own T30S Combo.
Eufy
Eufy 11S Max: The Eufy 11S Max is a robot vacuum that might have earned our budget pick if its performance had held up. However, while this slim robovac does well at sucking up sand from hardwood (71%), it struggled with both low-pile (21%) and mid-pile (27%) carpet. It's $249 at full price, but it may become a more palatable option on sale ($140 as of this writing).
Eufy Omni S1 Pro: We were mixed on the S1 Pro. On one hand, our tester loved its fast and efficient cleaning, strong mopping, capable mapping and navigation, and useful self-sterilizing base. However, in lab testing, it didn't quite live up to expectations. While it did excellently on removing sand from hardwood floors, getting 81.5%, it fell short on carpet at 37.8% for low-pile and 38.5% for mid-pile.
Eureka
Eurkea E10S: The Eureka 10S is a very capable midrange robot vacuum and mop with lidar navigation. It picked up 64.5%% of sand from hardwood, 45.2% from low-pile carpet and 40.7% from mid-pile. Navigation was also generally quite good, with few missed spots. At $450, there are better-performing robot vacuums for the price, like the ones from Yeedi; however, if you can get the 10S on sale for closer to $300, it's a good option in the midrange.
Eureka J15 Pro Ultra: This high-end robot vacuum and mop from Eureka didn't live up to expectations. It underperformed on hardwood floors, scoring just 22% on sand pickup. It did alright on carpet, at 50% on low-pile and 49% on mid-pile, but for a vacuum that costs $1,000 at MSRP, this is a disappointing performance.
Eureka J20: The J20 is another flagship robot vacuum and mop from Eureka that didn't wow us. It did alright in picking up sand from hardwood, scoring 66.7%, but it feels notably short on carpet, at 24.4% for low-pile and 31.9% for mid-pile. Despite some nice features like the self-emptying dock, mop washing, hot air drying and 3D obstacle avoidance, you get get a better robot vacuum and mop for the $1,000 price.
iRobot
iRobot Roomba 694: This budget-priced Roomba does a decent job cleaning carpets and hardwood floors. In terms of performance, it's extremely close to the Eufy RoboVac 25C, so if that model isn't available, give this Roomba a look as an alternative budget pick.
iRobot Roomba i3 Plus: At $350 or less, this is an entry-level option among self-emptying Roombas, so if you just want something from iRobot that empties its own bin for as little cash as possible, give it a look. It was a middle-of-the-pack performer in all of our cleaning tests, never disappointing us but never really wowing us, either.
iRobot Roomba i7 Plus: This is another entry-level Roomba with self-emptying smarts, and you can currently get it for roughly $600 on Amazon. In our carpet tests, it wasn't able to suck up much more than 25% of sand, which suggests some limitations to its cleaning power.
iRobot Roomba J7 Plus: The Roomba J7 Plus is another Roomba vacuum that earned a place on our list for strong performance and AI-powered poop detection capabilities. However, this is a feature that's becoming increasingly common on newer models that are making impressive strides in obstacle detection and avoidance. It also lacks mopping capability, another expected feature. Supplies appear to be dwindling outside of a few retailers.
iRobot Roomba S9 Plus: The Roomba S9 Plus used to be our pick for pet owners and plush carpets. It excelled in our old testing procedures, picking up 71% of sand on mid-pile carpet. However, it lacks mopping functionality, an increasingly common feature on robot vacuums across price ranges. Its availability is dwindling, too.
iRobot Roomba S10 Max Combo: The S10 Max Combo is iRobot's highest-end robot vacuum. It costs $1,400 at full price, though you can sometimes find it on sale for less than $1,000. As the name suggests, it can both vacuum and mop, comes with a self-emptying dock, and washes its mopping pad after every use. It had excellent hardwood performance in our testing, picking up 96.5% of sand, and better-than-average performance on carpet, with 67.5% on low-pile and 58.7% on mid-pile. Navigation was generally comprehensive, but it could struggled with tighter turns around some table legs, leaving some missed spots. Unless you can get it on sale, there are other robot vacuums with better performance and similar features for the price.
Narwal
Narwal Freo X Ultra: The Freo X Ultra is a premium robot vacuum and mop combo with all the bells and whistles you'd expect. It has lidar navigation, auto mop drying and washing, a self-emptying base station and a brush that's resistant to tangling with pet hair. Performance is decent, but doesn't particularly stand out. It does well on hardwood, removing nearly 76% of sand, but falls short on carpet, removing 41.5% from low-pile and 36.3% from mid-pile. For $900, there are better options from Shark, Ecovacs and others.
Narwal Freo Z10: The Z10 is another premium robot vacuum from Narwal priced at $1,099, but once again, performance left something to be desired. It does well on hard flooring, scoring 68.6% sand pickup from hardwood, but fared quite poorly on carpet, with just 18.6% on taller-fiber carpet and 24.03% on shorter-fiber carpet. Our lab tech also noted the cheap feeling replaceable insert bin inside the dustbin made of low-density plastic. People will need to periodically replace the insert bins, purchasing additional ones from Narwal, creating an added expense. We also had issues with setup, with the robot displaying an error and trying to have us replace a brand-new dustbin. Finally, it struggled to map and navigate, with the unit unable to position itself after circling our test room multiple times.
Neato
Neato D9 (out of stock): Nearly identical in appearance to the D8 and the D10, the Neato D9 is a powerful vacuum, particularly on thick carpets, where it leads the way in our cleaning tests among all of the cleaners we've tested in the past two years. You won't get a self-emptying bin or a mop, but if you just want something to keep crumbs and pet hair out of your carpets, it's well worth a look as an alternative to the Roomba S9 Plus.
Neato D10: One of the latest D-shaped cleaners from Neato, the D10 promises powerful suction and room-by-room navigation smarts via the Neato app. It was a relatively strong performer in our tests, but we didn't see enough of an edge over the D8 or the D9 to justify the extra expense.
Roborock
Roborock S5 Max (out of stock): An older model in Roborock's lineup, the S5 Max was a robot vacuum and mop combo. It did great on hardwood floors, picking up 85% of sand, but fared poorly on carpet, managing just 28% on low-pile and 41% on mid-pile.
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra (out of stock): It's no longer available, but when we tested it, it proved to be a fairly capable robot vacuum, scoring 76.5% on hardwood, 58.9% on low-pile carpet and 56% on mid-pile. The S8 MaxV Ultra is its successor and a good option if you're keen on a Roborock.
Roborock S8 is a top midrange robot vacuum with excellent performance and intelligent navigation. It excels at cleaning various floor types, and it includes a built-in mopping pad for added versatility. While lacking a self-emptying bin, its strong performance makes it an excellent choice for homes with diverse flooring.
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is a premium robot vacuum with exceptional cleaning power and intelligent features. It effectively cleans various floor types with powerful suction and an advanced mopping system. Obstacle recognition and lidar navigation ensure efficient cleaning throughout your home.
Roborock Qrevo Curv: The Qrevo Curve is a fairly expensive robot vacuum and mop, costing $1,600 at full price, though it is currently on sale for $1,300. It has an attractive design with an egg-shaped charging station. It doesn't particularly stand out in performance, but it does great on hardwood, picking up 86% on sand. It falls short when it comes to short-fiber and long-fiber carpet at 47.7% and 42.2%, respectively.
Roborock Saros 10: The Saros 10 is a very capable robot vacuum, though its $1,599 price makes it hard to recommend compared with more affordable options that offer similar performance. It did well in our testing, scoring 86%, picking up sand off hardwood floors, putting it on par with our best overall pick, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. With more plush mid-pile carpet, it did reasonably well at 49%, but fared lower than average with lower-fiber carpet, at 35%. The dustbin was also small, but we were impressed by the navigation and the fact that the Saros 10 didn't require much mapping to clean. It also comes with all the premium bells and whistles, including mopping functionality, intelligent dirt detection, self-detangling main brush, hot water mopping, and dock self-cleaning. If you can get it closer to $1,000, it's a great option.
Roborock Saros 10R: It's hard to keep all of Roborock's lineup straight since both the 10 and 10R have similar features and capabilities, but they have different base stations and use different types of mops and brushes. With the 10R, you get another high-end robot vacuum that offers strong performance on all the flooring we tested it on. It scored 89% removing sand from hardwood and 64% from low-pile carpet. It also did great on mid-pile, with 58% removed. Naturally, it can mop and vacuum, boasts an all-in-one dock that can self-empty, has tangle-avoiding brushes, and great obstacle detection and avoidance. The sticking point ends up being the price, like the Saros 10: It'll run you $1,600 at full price, but if you can get it on sale for closer to $1,000, it offers better performance on carpet than the Saros 10 and is on par with our best overall, the T30S Combo, for hard flooring.
Samsung
Samsung JetBot AI Plus: You already saw it fail our poop avoidance test, and that wasn't the only place where Samsung's JetBot AI Plus came up short, with pickup percentages that ranked near the bottom in all of our cleaning tests. At $650, this tech-rich robot vacuum just isn't worth it.
Shark
Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1: The PowerDetect is Shark's high-end model, priced between $600 and $1,000. It does an excellent job of picking up rice, and it's better than average (higher than 50%) when it comes to picking up sand from low- and mid-pile carpets. However, its hefty weight and middling carpet performance usually mean there are better options on the market at a lower price, including the Roomba Combo J7 Plus.
Shark IQ RV1001AE: A self-emptying cleaner, the Shark IQ RV1001AE is worth a look as an affordable option that empties its own bin. It gathered a respectable 84% of sand from hardwood floors in our cleaning tests but failed to pick up more than 35% of the stuff in any of our carpet tests, which isn't as strong as some of our top recommendations.
Yeedi
Yeedi Cube: An offshoot of EcoVacs, the Yeedi Cube is a self-emptying floor cleaner with a built-in mopping mode. The "cube" in question is the docking bay, which looks like a little robot vacuum garage, up into which it empties its bin. It was a middle-of-the-pack performer on hardwood floors, and rather lackluster on both of our test carpets, which makes this pick pretty passable.
Yeedi C12 Plus: The Yeedi C12 Plus is a solid midrange robot vacuum and mop that offers strong, across-the-board performance for a reasonable price. It was our former pick for best midpriced robot vacuum before being supplanted by the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo. It picked up 78.65% of sand from a hardwood floor and managed 45% from low-pile and 57% from mid-pile carpet. Pet hair was removed easily from hardwood floors, but it took more than one pass to get it off the carpet. On the plus side, the brushes didn't tangle. Navigation was generally quite good in our light path test, with the C12 Plus keeping tight corners around a complicated table setup and generally not missing any spots. It's also no slouch on features with support for multi-level mapping and the ability to climb thresholds up to 0.8 inches, similar to the Dreame X50 Ultra and Shark NeverTouch. It comes with an all-in-one docking station that supports a self-emptying dustbin that can last for seven weeks. It lacks an auto-refill water tank, though, so you'll need to refill the 220ml water tank on the robot directly. At $479, it offers similar functionality to more expensive robot vacuums like the T30S Combo and SharkPowerDetect at less than half the price. Currently, it's on sale for $270, making it one of the best bangs for the buck when it comes to robot vacuums. While the C12 Plus can do mopping, it doesn't have an auto-refill water tank in its base station, so you'll need to do that manually. The dust canister is also bagless, which we typically don't like since dust gets everywhere when you empty it. For these features, we like Yeedi's higher-end model, the M12 Pro Plus.
Yeedi S14 Plus: The S14 Plus is Yeedi's newest, top-range robot vacuum and mop combo. It has a lot going for it, with strong performance on hardwood floors (82.4%) and very good performance on carpet (58% low-pile and 59.7% mid-pile). It's also loaded with features including an auto-empty and self-drying dock, a 3D sensor for navigation and self-detangling brush rollers. However, at $1,400 at full price, you can get even better performance from the Yeedi M12 Pro Plus, which is our recommended robot vacuum for both vacuuming and mopping and hardwood floors. It's also less than half the price.
Other brands we've tested
Electrolux Pure i9 (out of stock): This cleaner has a unique, triangular design, and it incorporates 3D-mapping cameras into the mix for smarter navigation. It was an underachiever in our cleaning tests, so we'd recommend shopping around.
Greenworks GRV-5011: This $658 laser-guided floor cleaner performs well on hardwood floors. Couple that with the built-in mopping functionality, and it might be worthy of consideration for homes with hard floors. Performance on low- and mid-pile carpet was less than stellar, though, averaging toward the bottom of the pack in both cases.
IonVac Smart Clean 2000: One of dozens of cheap, no-name robot vacuums available from Amazon and other online retailers, the IonVac Smart Clean 2000 was near-competent in our cleaning tests, but always just a little below average. Nothing about it stands out enough for us to recommend it.
Lynkbey M20 Pro: A newcomer to our tests, Lynkbey's flagship cleaner is a self-emptying, mop-wielding powerhouse that seeks to take on Roborock. It was a top-three finisher in our hardwood floor tests, and an above-average finisher on low- and mid-pile carpets, although I'd note that it couldn't quite suck up 50% of the sand in either test, which is a slight red flag for performance. Still, it's a likeable upgrade pick, especially if you can catch it on sale for less than the full $1,150 asking price.
Lubluelu SL60D (out of stock): No longer available in the US, but still available in the EU, UK and Australia, the Lubluelu SL60D is a solid midrange or budget vacuum if you can get it for the $272 price or less. It scored well in our testing, with 77.8% sand pickup from hardwood and 55.3% from low-pile carpet. It didn't fare as well with mid-pile, at 36.8%, but it also offers premium features including lidar navigation, mopping, voice control and a self-emptying dock.
Ultenic MC1: This robot vacuum is from a little-known brand, but it was our previous pick for midrange robotics. It did well on our old lab tests, picking up nearly 75% of sand. It also offers features such as a self-emptying dock and mopping system, which is impressive for a robot vacuum. However, it's currently only available on Ultenic's storefront and lacks suction power compared to newer models.
AirRobo P20: This robot vacuum and mop combo is one of the more affordable options we've tested. At $499 MSRP and frequent discounts and sales, you'll rarely get mopping and vacuuming functionality at this price. However, as a vacuum, it doesn't excel, removing just 48% of sand from hardwood floors and struggling on low-pile (22%) and mid-pile (18.4%) carpet.
Noesis Florio F10 Pro: With a name that sounds vaguely like a dental disease, the Noesis Florio was a strange robot vacuum and mop to test. It had a very odd navigation pattern, which made it inefficient for cleaning sand and pet hair. In fact, it got the worst results of any robot vacuum we've tested, removing just 7.8% of sand from hardwood, 3.1% from low-pile carpet and 11.2% from mid-pile carpet. We redid the testing six times to confirm this result. The dustbin was also very small, and we were unable to properly test navigation due to the current preventing our light path test. For $1,600 at full price, this robot vacuum is not worth the money, even at a discount.
Monsga MS1 Max: I was really interested in testing this robot vacuum as part of our search for a new budget or midrange pick. For $520 at full price, it offers a lot of premium features, including mopping, lidar navigation, a self-emptying bagged base station and voice control. However, the performance was nothing to write home about. It removed 46.7% of sand off hardwood floors, but just 11.4% off low-pile carpet and 23.7% off mid-pile. The below-average carpet performance keeps it from earning a spot on our list.
Robot vacuum brushes have improved at resisting hair tangles, but every now and then, they still need a little help.
Chris Wedel/CNET
We like to think that our robot vacuums are completely self-reliant and, to some extent, that's increasingly true. Many robot vacuums have self-emptying docks, auto-refill water tanks and self-detangling brush rollers. However, hair can still get tangled around the brush and sensors can get dirty. Performing regular maintenance on your robot vacuum will help it continue to perform well for years to come.
Some of the routine cleaning that needs done for your robot vacuum is daily, while other stuff can be done weekly or even monthly.
Daily: Emptying the bin, checking wheels for stuck debris
Weekly: Cleaning brush rolls and wheels
Monthly: Charging contacts and cliff sensors; removing and deep-cleaning the brushes
We've dedicated a complete breakdown of the different parts of your robot vacuum that need some regular maintenance. Most of these tasks take only a few minutes, but they pay off with a much cleaner home.
However, some of the latest robovacs -- like those from from Narwal -- have multi-function base stations that automatically handle tasks such as emptying the dustbin and refilling the water tank. With maintenance intervals of up to 120 days, you can look forward to spending far less time on upkeep in the future.
Robot vacuums are complex machines, equipped with more moving parts, electronics and software than traditional vacuums. However, with regular maintenance and timely replacement of parts like batteries, brushes and filters, they can last just as long -- often providing years of use.
Keep in mind that most manufacturers offer a one-year limited warranty covering parts and labor, though there are exceptions. For instance, Mova provides a longer warranty, giving buyers added peace of mind.
How well a robot vacuum cleans your home depends on many factors. Floors cluttered with obstacles like wires, charging cords, toys, shoes and clothing can stop them in their tracks. The less overall clutter, the better a robot will operate. Some robot vacuum models clean tile, wood flooring and different types of carpet better than others, too.
Until recently, the answer was no, but that's changed since IFA 2025, when the Eufy Marswalker and Dreame Cyber X were showcased with the ability to climb a flight of stairs. Right now, they're just proof of concept, but Eufy has confirmed the technology is coming to market, likely in 2026, and the Omni S2 will be compatible with the Marswalker.
In the meantime, many robot vacuums can cross thresholds by using a lift system to cross gaps between rooms up to 2 inches and above. Dreame's X50 Ultra was an early example, but it's been joined by other offerings from Dreame, such as the Aqua 10 Ultra Roller, as well as the Roborock Saros 10 and 10R , and newer models from Mova and Yeedi.
Surprisingly, the answer is yes. The Roborock Saros Z70, the recipient of our Best of CES Award, comes with a mechanical task arm that allows it to pick up and move objects it finds lying around the room. We put it to the test and found that the sorting was hit and miss, but it's been improving over time. We've also seen a similar tech on Dreame's Cyber 10 Ultra, which was showcased at IFA 2025.
Many robovacs now have mopping features, including many on our best list, like the Mova Z60 Ultra Complete and Dreame X50 Ultra. And you can even find more affordable robot vacuums, like the iRobot Roomba DustCompactor 205, that can mop.
We like the Yeedi S16 Plus for pet hair pickup. It sucked up the most pet hair of all the robot vacuums we tested in our latest batch.
The iRobot Rooma DustCompactor 205 and Dreame X50 Ultra are our top picks for hardwood floors, with 99.27% and 98.45% sand pickup, respectively.
The best robot vacuum for carpet is the Mova Z60, which scored 60.29% on low-pile carpet and 47.54% on mid-pile. Those were the highest scores in the category.
Shark and iRobot (maker of the Roomba) are two top rivals in the robot vacuum market, and choosing between their products will ultimately come down to price. Shark robovacs tend to cost a bit less, but if you don't have a strict budget in mind for your robovac purchase, go with one of CNET's choices for best overall robovac: the Roomba Combo J7 Plus. For Shark, we like the full-featured Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro for its good navigation and cleaning performance, though it's on the more expensive end. For a more detailed analysis of the two brands, CNET experts have put together a comprehensive comparison.