I’ve been testing robot vacuum cleaners for years, and in that time they’ve gone from an expensive dust-pan on wheels to a must-have appliances for busy households. Today’s best robot vacuum cleaners are capable of spotting and avoiding dangling cables and shoelaces, scrubbing floors with spinning mops and even emptying their own bins and washing themselves.
Roomba is still a byword for robot vacuum cleaners but, while the classic brand was first to market, I’ve found myself increasingly impressed by high-tech rivals from brands like Eufy, Roborock and Tapo, each armed with an ever-growing list of clever features.
With so much advanced tech on offer, choosing the right one can feel like a chore in itself. To help you decide, I’ve put the top robovacs through their paces in real homes to find the models that genuinely make life easier.
How I tested
I tested each robot vacuum cleaner over many months and in different homes (some with pets), paying close attention to how each robot performed in new surroundings. As well as allowing the robots to clean routinely, I subjected them to some more rigorous tests, too.
- The rice test: To test suction power I dumped an entire cup of basmati on to hard and carpeted floors. You need a decently powerful robovac to lift grains out of fabric, and weaker models that didn’t make the cut left some debris behind or transported rice around the flat. Some models have a tendency to fling grains away from the robot – though a second pass will usually catch these runaways.
- The cornflour test: Cornflour is a much lighter particulate that even powerful robots might struggle to completely clear with vacuuming alone. Like dust, it tends to stick to surfaces with electrostatic forces, making it a good stand-in for daily dirt and an ideal demonstration of a robot’s mopping capability.
- The shoe test: For robots with obstacle avoidance, I deployed a single trainer in the middle of a hallway with its laces snaking along the floor. More advanced robots can spot the shoe and its tantalising lace before navigating around it, but cheaper options get snarled up on the footwear.
As well as testing their hoovering skills, I rated each robot’s app and how easy they were to set up and maintain. I also considered the costs of any replacement parts – all robot vacuums wear out over time and require fresh filters, brushes, dust bags and rollers.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
IndyBest is The Independent’s expert-driven shopping section. We thoroughly test every product we feature in as wide a range of conditions as possible to bring you unbiased reviews based on real-world testing. We include products to suit all budgets and only recommend products we think you’ll love.
Steve Hogarty is a technology journalist with more than a decade’s experience writing about everything from phones and laptops to the latest smart home gadgets. With help from friends and colleagues, who generously offer their floors up for testing, he’s able to measure each robovac’s true performance in different types of homes.
