How Long Does It Take Roomba to Learn Your House
Robot vacuums never get bored or distracted, and they don't mind cleaning every day. So with very little effort on your part, your floors can stay constantly tidy. We've tested dozens of robots, from cheap models that bump around randomly, up through fancy machines that empty themselves and (usually) steer around dog poop. First, consider the strong, durable, smart-enough iRobot Roomba i3.
What to consider
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How smart is it?
Your choice: Clever app-controlled bots that clean rooms on command, or simpler but smart enough models.
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Will it last?
We've tested our picks over several years and analyzed thousands of user reviews with AI to help find reliable bots.
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Can it clean rugs?
Most bots work okay on rugs, but we found the models that will pull up the most hair and dust. (They're all good on bare floors.)
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How about knockoffs?
We spoke with sources in the floor care manufacturing industry to help make sense of all the low-cost, off-brand options.
Our pick
iRobot Roomba i3
Excellent cleaner, smart enough
The i3 is better than competitors at getting pet hair out of rugs, and its nimble nav system consistently and thoroughly cleans large spaces, though it's missing a few advanced features. Like any iRobot Roomba, it should be durable.
iRobot Roomba i3+
Strong, smart-ish, empties itself
This is the Roomba i3 packaged with a charging dock that automatically sucks all the debris out of the robot after a cleaning session. It works! And it makes it even easier to own a robot vacuum.
Buying Options
Like most great robot vacuums today, the Roomba i3 works well in most homes, large or small, because it drives in orderly, back-and-forth rows, keeping track of where it has or hasn't been, so that it doesn't miss any big patches of flooring. But unlike most of its competitors, the Roomba i3 is actually a sturdy, repairable appliance—and while longevity is never guaranteed, you can reasonably expect to own and use it regularly for years. It's also better at cleaning rugs than most bots, and hair doesn't get tangled in its brushes as quickly. With the companion app and a Wi-Fi connection, you can turn the robot on or off, and optionally set an automatic cleaning schedule. That's all you need to know—it's simple. The downside is that it doesn't work quite as fast as some competing models, and you can't use a smart-home app to tell it to clean specific rooms like you can with a bot like the Roborock S4 Max (more on that one shortly). But if you can live without that level of control, the Roomba i3 is clever enough to get the job done in almost any home.
Another neat option: The Roomba i3+ package is the i3 robot, plus a charging dock that automatically sucks the debris out of the robot and stores it in a disposable bag, which you'll only have to change once a month. It actually works and makes owning a robot even more convenient. Owners really seem to find it valuable.
iRobot also sells a few models that are very similar to the Roomba i3 and worth buying if you find them on sale, including the Roomba i4 (which is basically identical to the i3) and the Roomba 900 series, which is older but works similarly.
Our pick
Roborock S4 Max
Supersmart bot, great price
This is one of the most affordable robots smart enough to memorize a home's layout (even a large one) and then quickly and gracefully clean specific rooms or zones on command via smartphone app. But it can't clean rugs as well as a Roomba, and may not last as long.
Buying Options
There are at least a couple dozen super-smart yet affordable robots that, using invisible lasers, can quickly learn the layout of any home, then clean individual rooms (or even sections of a room) on command, and skip everything else. If you're up for fiddling with maps in a smartphone app, it's a fantastic and flexible system.
Many of these laser-navigation bots have similar (and sometimes nearly identical) specs, designs, and behaviors, and there's no clear evidence to suggest that some are more reliable or durable than the others. But we're inclined to recommend the Roborock S4 Max in particular because it's often one of the lower-priced models of its ilk (it often sells in the mid-$300 range), and it has the most full-featured app with the richest set of controls. The main downside to the Roborock and similar laser robots is that they're unlikely to last as long as iRobot's Roomba models, including our pick, the Roomba i3, and their single-brush designs don't clean rugs as well, either. And if you're intimidated or annoyed by the idea of controlling a robot with an app, then the simpler Roomba i3 would be a better choice, because it's a sturdier robot and still cleans in a thorough, orderly fashion.
Budget pick
iRobot Roomba 694
Reliable, repairable, and good on rugs
This tried-and-true robot vacuum is much more durable and repairable than similar bots from other brands and is better at cleaning rugs, too. It's a nimble navigator that rarely gets stuck, though it works best when it only has to clean a few rooms at a time.
Eufy RoboVac 11S
Quiet, nimble, and affordable
This affordable robot vacuum is quieter and fits under more furniture than any other model we've tested. While it works best in small spaces, it rarely gets stuck and does a good job on bare floors and short-pile rugs. It's not as durable as a Roomba 694, though.
Buying Options
Cheaper robots usually have semi-random navigation systems. (We like to call them bump-and-run bots.) That's actually perfectly fine for cleaning three or four rooms per session (or a little more if you're patient), though the bumbling aimlessness gets on some people's nerves and isn't consistently effective at tidying larger areas. We actually recommended the semi-random style for most people up until fall 2021, but it became clear from analyzing user reviews that the zeitgeist has shifted. Now that prices have dropped, most would-be robot owners expect their robot to look like it knows what it's doing, instead of cruising around randomly, bumping into stuff. But we still think bump-and-run bots have a place, so we've shuffled our favorites to budget pick status.
The first one we'd recommend is the Roomba 600 series. This is a sturdier robot than any bump-and-run model from any other brand, which in our opinion more than offsets the Roomba's slightly higher sticker price. The Roomba 600 series is also a stronger cleaner than other brands' low-end robots, especially on rugs, thanks to the dual-brush and dirt-detection systems. The Roomba 694 is the most current model with Wi-Fi (for on-off remote control through a smartphone app), but you sometimes might be able to find a more basic model without Wi-Fi. Paying $250 or less for any of them is a fair deal; $200 or less is an excellent price.
Also consider the Eufy RoboVac 11S, which is so quiet and nimble that it blends into the background like no other robot (apart from the dozen or so clones from Eufy itself and other brands). This basic, affordable bot sounds more like a desk fan than a vacuum—even if you're home while it works, you'll barely notice it running. It's shorter than most bots, which lets it glide under more furniture, picking up plenty of hidden debris. The big downside is that the 11S (and others like it) don't seem to be built to last for more than a couple of years on average, and we've heard about plenty of unrepairable breakdowns that happen even sooner. And while the 11S will get your floors much cleaner than if you didn't vacuum at all, this bot just isn't built to dig up much debris from rugs, especially softer, thicker types. Like the Roomba 600 series (and most other bots in this price range), the 11S is a semi-random navigator and works best in small spaces.
Everything we recommend
Our pick
iRobot Roomba i3
Excellent cleaner, smart enough
The i3 is better than competitors at getting pet hair out of rugs, and its nimble nav system consistently and thoroughly cleans large spaces, though it's missing a few advanced features. Like any iRobot Roomba, it should be durable.
iRobot Roomba i3+
Strong, smart-ish, empties itself
This is the Roomba i3 packaged with a charging dock that automatically sucks all the debris out of the robot after a cleaning session. It works! And it makes it even easier to own a robot vacuum.
Buying Options
Our pick
Roborock S4 Max
Supersmart bot, great price
This is one of the most affordable robots smart enough to memorize a home's layout (even a large one) and then quickly and gracefully clean specific rooms or zones on command via smartphone app. But it can't clean rugs as well as a Roomba, and may not last as long.
Buying Options
Budget pick
iRobot Roomba 694
Reliable, repairable, and good on rugs
This tried-and-true robot vacuum is much more durable and repairable than similar bots from other brands and is better at cleaning rugs, too. It's a nimble navigator that rarely gets stuck, though it works best when it only has to clean a few rooms at a time.
Eufy RoboVac 11S
Quiet, nimble, and affordable
This affordable robot vacuum is quieter and fits under more furniture than any other model we've tested. While it works best in small spaces, it rarely gets stuck and does a good job on bare floors and short-pile rugs. It's not as durable as a Roomba 694, though.
Buying Options
Why you should trust me
I've written about robot vacuums for Wirecutter since 2013, logging hundreds of hours of research and testing in that time. (I have edited or written several of Wirecutter's other vacuum guides, including those about cordless, handheld, and traditional plug-in styles.) I've kept notes on almost 200 robots and tested close to 50 models from more than a dozen brands, running what must be something like 1,200 cleaning cycles in my own homes by this point (I'm on my fourth home since I started on the robot vacuum beat).
In addition to all the testing, I've spoken to dozens of bot owners who live in all kinds of homes and households; read hundreds of owner reviews on retail websites, expert reviews, posts in enthusiast forums, and other reader or viewer comments anywhere I can find them, including all of the feedback from Wirecutter readers; and I've talked to representatives from just about all of the major robot vacuum brands (and plenty of minor ones), including iRobot (Roomba), EcoVacs, Roborock, Shark, Samsung, LG, Neato, Electrolux, Kyvol, and iLife, as well as a few former engineers from some of those companies.
This guide accounts for all of the robot vacuums available in the US as of November 2021. We try to update this guide a few times a year to keep up with the latest noteworthy models. If you think we've missed one worth covering, let us know—though we may already be testing it.
Do robot vacuums really work? Who should get one?
Yes, robot vacuums can actually keep your floors clean. They're more than a toy or a novelty item, and can be a valuable floor-care tool in most homes. If you're short on time or just hate vacuuming, a robot vacuum will probably make your life easier.
The key is that bots don't procrastinate or get bored, so they spend more time cleaning, and clean more thoroughly, than almost any human. Pet owners in particular seem to gain a lot from bots, but lots of owners have told us they are amazed at how clean their floors look and feel after they start using one regularly. If you run your bot a few times per week, or even every day, crumbs and pet hair will never get a chance to pile up—the mess is gone before it becomes a nuisance, with very little effort required.
All you need to do is press start, and the robot figures out the rest—though some models will let you control which rooms to clean in a given session. (More on how navigation works below.) The bots all try to return to their charging docks at the end of a session (and usually succeed). You don't even have to remember to turn on your bot every time you want to use it: Most of them can be set to run on a schedule, and you can turn many of them on through an app or using a voice assistant. Some will even empty their own dustbins. And others can (sort of) mop while they vacuum.
Bots work on almost any kind of bare flooring and most kinds of carpets and rugs (though there are some exceptions, like high-pile rugs and some very dark flooring—it depends on the specific robot model). They can reliably pick up most kinds of common floor debris, including hair, crumbs, dust, and cat litter. Some people are comfortable using a robot as their only floor-cleaning vacuum (along with a handheld vacuum for couches, car seats, and the like), though bot owners tend to also own a traditional vacuum that they'll use to occasionally deep-clean their rugs. (More on what to expect from robot cleaning performance below.)
Some caveats: Robots are much weaker than traditional vacuums—the strongest models we've tested have less than one-quarter of the raw suction of even an average cordless stick vacuum—so they can't pick up the finest dust and most deeply embedded hair in your rugs, and sometimes they even fail to pick up obvious debris. Bots don't climb stairs, so you'd need to carry them between levels (they usually weigh between 5 and 10 pounds). Certain kinds of run-of-the-mill household clutter like power cords, lightweight floor mats, and stray laundry can trap or confuse the bots, as can tall thresholds, shag rugs, and dark, non-reflective surfaces like black carpets (which can trick a robot's anti-drop sensors into thinking it's about to fall down a flight of stairs, and needs to back away). Errant dog turds pose a hazard, too. We've tested models that attempt to avoid poo and other challenging obstacles, and if you know what you're getting into and have a flexible budget, some of them are good enough to buy.
Every model we've tested has gotten trapped or tangled at least occasionally, even the latest models with sophisticated navigation and smart-home integration. Lots of current robots let you use a smartphone app to set up invisible barriers around areas where your bot seems to get into trouble (in my home, it's the rocking chair, pet bowls, and dollhouse), but you can also make physical adjustments (keeping socks and USB cables off the floor is a big one), or just deal with the occasional failed cleaning session.
Our advice: Try not to watch your robot work. Robots look stupid sometimes—making weird turns, missing spots, struggling to escape from a trap—and that can shatter the illusion that you have an artificially intelligent magic machine. The happiest owners tend to be the ones who leave their bots alone, so it's better to let the robot do its job in peace. All you really need to do is hit start, do some occasional maintenance, and appreciate your tidy floors. If you insist on watching, maybe get a robot with laser-based navigation, because they look the most like they know what they're doing.
But, in the end, some people can't get comfortable with the limitations. Try to buy from a retailer with a return policy of at least a few weeks in case a robo-vac isn't a fit for your lifestyle.
How we picked
It's an excellent time to be a robot-vacuum buyer. Prices for robots with sophisticated navigation and smart-home features have fallen by half compared with just a few years ago. The simplest robots cost less, too. Few robots are truly terrible anymore. And the category hasn't been hit too hard (so far) by the product shortages or price increases that have affected loads of other consumer goods in 2021.
We've aimed to recommend a handful of robots that should work well in most homes while not being wildly expensive. But plenty of models that we don't explicitly recommend can be good or great, too, and we cite many of them throughout this guide.
Based on years of at-home use and side-by-side testing, as well as an AI-assisted analysis of Amazon user reviews with a tool called FindOurView, we think that nimble navigation is the most important element of a great robot vacuum, followed by cleaning performance, and then repairability. Smart maps that let you set up barriers and target individual rooms for cleaning can also be super-handy, as can self-emptying docks. And we considered privacy and security, among other features.
We test out any robot with promising specs and reviews. By our count, more than 100 robot vacuums are available as of November 2021, and we've tested more than 30 of the most noteworthy ones. They include the Eufy RoboVac 11S (and other similarly basic models), RoboVac G30 Edge, and RoboVac X8; every current iRobot Roomba model including the 694, i3, j7+, and s9+ along with some semi-discontinued Roomba models that are still available at some retailers; most of Roborock's lineup, from the basic S4 Max through the AI-equipped S6 MaxV and versatile S7+ with Auto-Empty Dock; Ecovacs Ozmo T8 AIVI and its Auto-Empty Station; the Shark IQ RV1000 with XL Self-Empty Base and Shark AI VacMop; the Wyze Robot Vacuum; low-cost laser-navigation models from lesser-known brands, like the Proscenic M7 Pro, Kyvol Cybovac S31 with Automatic Dirt Disposal, and 360 S9; older models from notable brands including Samsung, LG, Neato, and Dyson; and then some real low-end stuff like the Goovi D380, Eureka Groove, and Coral One.
How we tested
For every robot, I run at least two regular cleaning cycles in my apartment. It's a challenging environment: about 1,000 square feet chopped into nine rooms, with lots of tall thresholds. None of the rooms have any wall-to-wall carpet, but there are 10 area rugs, with styles ranging from lightweight doormats to rubber-backed, medium-pile rugs that take up half a room. I have a long-haired cat, a long-haired wife, and a 3-year-old, who all leave plenty for the robot to pick up (for my part, I spill a lot of coffee grounds). It's a great space for exposing a robot's weaknesses.
As long as a robot can clean my apartment pretty well, without getting stuck or lost too often, I'll put it through some stress tests.
In one test, I run the bot in a room with two chairs, some stray USB cables, a sock, a flat-weave area rug with uneven edges and tassels, and a tall threshold—several of the most-common bot-trapping obstacles in one place.
In another test, I pour out about an eighth of a cup of all-purpose flour across an area rug and bare floor (including some against a baseboard) and let the bot try to suck it up for a couple of minutes. This dust-pickup test gives me a visual gauge for each bot's raw cleaning power.
Then I sprinkle a 2-ounce mixture of cat litter and coffee grounds around my dining room, which has a mix of bare wood and a low-pile rug as well as a big table with three dinner chairs and a bench underneath it. I run each bot for 25 minutes or until it stops on its own, whichever comes first. When it's done, I weigh how much debris each bot managed to pick up.
The dust- and crumb-pickup stress tests are only meant to give us an idea of each bot's cleaning power—they don't tell the whole story, and we don't weigh them too heavily when we're deciding what to recommend.
I make sure to try out anything related to the interface or user experience: companion smartphone apps (and all of the features within, like room or zone labeling, no-go lines, and suction adjustments), compatibility with voice assistants like Alexa, the scheduling system, and, for the bots that still use them, boundary markers, physical remotes, and anything else along those lines.
To test the obstacle-recognition feature on some new high-end robots, I put out a sneaker, a sock, my cat's water bowl, a mini basketball, toy truck, rug with tassels, a USB cable plugged into a power strip, and a fake dog turd (made of a mix of Nutella for the look and texture and oatmeal for bulk) in the path of the robot vac to see if it's able to avoid smearing it all over the floor.
Using a noise-meter app, I also measure the volume and frequency of each bot from about 10 feet away as they work.
Then I check how easy it is to take apart each bot and which kinds of replacement parts are available online.
When I find robots that do well on all of those tests, I run them as much as possible for at least a week to see if they perform consistently.
Our pick: iRobot Roomba i3 and i3+
Our pick
iRobot Roomba i3
Excellent cleaner, smart enough
The i3 is better than competitors at getting pet hair out of rugs, and its nimble nav system consistently and thoroughly cleans large spaces, though it's missing a few advanced features. Like any iRobot Roomba, it should be durable.
iRobot Roomba i3+
Strong, smart-ish, empties itself
This is the Roomba i3 packaged with a charging dock that automatically sucks all the debris out of the robot after a cleaning session. It works! And it makes it even easier to own a robot vacuum.
Buying Options
The iRobot Roomba i3 is the first robot vacuum we recommend to most people, because it's smart enough to clean an entire level of your home in a mostly orderly pattern without missing spots, and is a stronger cleaner in a sturdier, more repairable body than similar bots from other brands. While the navigation system is missing a few high-end features, the Roomba i3 is a great choice for people who want a robot that mostly just works, without having to fuss with settings. The Roomba i3 can also work with the iRobot Clean Base automatic-emptying dock, and the two are sold together in a combo package as the Roomba i3+. (Read more about self-emptying docks below.)
The Roomba i3 stands out from other brands' robots at this price mostly because it's more durable and easier to repair. We don't often hear about Roomba bots completely breaking down, even after a couple of years of regular use (though as with any product, it does happen sometimes). The i3 is a relatively new model, originally released in fall 2020, but it's built on the same basic body as nearly every other Roomba from the past decade, and we're confident from long-term testing similar models since 2013 that the Roomba i3 should also hold up well.
Like any robot, the Roomba i3 will need new parts from time to time, but what's unique is that all the replaceable parts, everything from brushes and batteries to wheels and transmissions, are available directly from iRobot, and you can always do the repair at home with a screwdriver. (iRobot even still stocks parts for the original Roomba from 2002 and every model released since then, a rare show of commitment to supporting products over time).
The Roomba i3 is also a better cleaner than most robot vacuums—at any price. We know this because on many occasions, we ran it immediately after other bots had done a cleaning session, and the Roomba i3 would still come back with a lot of extra debris in its bin that the other bots must have left behind. We also tried the opposite, running the i3 before the Roborock S4 Max, and found that the S4 did not come back with much debris in its bin, likely because the Roomba i3 grabbed it all first.
Part of the success is the brush design. Roombas (including the i3) are the only robot vacuums that use two brush rolls that rotate toward each other, which works well on all surfaces but has its biggest advantage over other robot vacuums on rugs. In fact, the "brushes" on the i3 are really rubber-nubbed extractors (check out the photos), which are particularly good at picking up pet hair, especially from thicker and higher-pile rugs, without much hair getting wrapped around the roller. All Roomba bots, including the i3, also have a dirt-detection system—another unique feature you can't find in other brands' bots. When the Roomba senses that it's passing over an area with a lot of debris, it'll stop and make a few passes back and forth to pick up as much as possible.
The Roomba i3's cleaning weaknesses are the same as most other bots: It sometimes struggles with sandy-type debris on bare floors, and it may struggle on really high-pile carpets, where the aggressive brushes can get jammed on the long fibers. But we think that the i3 on balance will out-clean other bots on more surfaces with more types of debris.
Like many robot vacuums at this price, the Roomba i3 can thoroughly clean big spaces, by following a (mostly) logical, orderly path throughout your home. It won't miss many spots or waste much time recleaning the same areas, like our budget picks or other low-end models that navigate semi-randomly. The i3 should also reliably return to its charging dock. And it doesn't get stuck on obstacles like thresholds or power cables very often. While the Roomba i3's nav system doesn't come with all the convenient controls that other bots at this price often do (more on that shortly), it generally gets the job done without any fuss. Just don't watch it too closely—it acts a little weird sometimes.
Another neat feature is that the i3 can work with iRobot's Clean Base auto-emptying dock. The package is sold as the Roomba i3+ and usually costs $200 more than the robot-only version. (We get into more details about self-emptying docks later in this guide, but the gist of it is that the system works and is really convenient—you can go a couple of months without having to throw away debris by hand.)
The Roomba i3 can connect to Wi-Fi so that you start or stop the bot, set a cleaning schedule, and tweak a few settings through the iRobot app if you'd like, though it's totally optional. It also works with Alexa and Google voice assistants.
iRobot makes a few similar models that you could consider. The Roomba i4 is the same as the i3 but is exclusive to Costco. (You can sometimes find third-party listings for this bot or a so-called Roomba i4+ on Amazon, generally for an inflated price that you should avoid.) The older Roomba 900 Series was a pick in this guide from fall 2015 through fall 2020. It's now semi-discontinued—that is, you won't find it listed on the iRobot website as a current item, but you can still find some variants through certain retailers, particularly around Prime Day or Cyber Week. The only meaningful differences compared with the i3 are that the 900 Series bots have cameras, which speed up navigation a bit in most scenarios, but can make it worse in dim lighting; the 980 and 985 have more battery life than the i3; and none of the 900 Series bots work with the auto-emptying dock. They're all great robots, and it's reasonable to just pick the option with the lowest price, whatever that happens to be when you're shopping.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The biggest downside compared with other bots at this price is that the Roomba i3 doesn't have any smart-mapping features (like our other pick, the Roborock S4 Max). That is, the i3 can't remember your home's floor plan from session to session. And since it relearns your home's floor plan from scratch every time it runs, it doesn't support super-convenient smart-map features like no-go zones, or cleaning specific rooms in a specific order while ignoring others.
Another side effect of the Roomba i3's approach is that it's relatively slow compared with bots with smart mapping features. In our experience, the Roomba i3 takes about 75 minutes to clean 1,000 square feet (give or take, depending on how many walls and other obstacles are in the way). In spaces larger than that, the bot may have to pause in the middle of cleaning to go recharge itself for 90 minutes at a time, before it picks up where it left off. That can feel quite a while to wait for clean floors, especially if you're trying to stay out of the robot's way, or to tolerate its whooshing motor and the sound of it thumping into baseboards and furniture legs. And if you pick up and move the bot by more than a foot or so in the middle of a session (like you might if you have to rescue it from a trap), the Roomba i3 will usually get confused and lose its positioning. So then you have to start from scratch again.
There are also a few workarounds to get the Roomba i3 to clean a smaller space in a given session. The easiest is to just strategically shut some doors, if you can. iRobot virtual walls are another option. These are small, AA-battery–powered beacons that project an invisible do-not-cross barrier. They come in either a narrow cone shape (to block a doorway and keep the bot within or out of a confined area, for example) or a semicircle (to keep the bot away from specific hazards, like pet bowls). They aren't as flexible as invisible barriers that you can draw in an app, but they're much more elegant than the ugly magnetic strips used with some other cheaper bots (like certain Eufy models). That said, the virtual walls are expensive if you buy them through iRobot, at $60 each, though it's not hard to find used ones on eBay or similar marketplaces. But on a basic level, you'll never have as much control over the i3 as you would over a robot with smart maps.
Personally, since my wife started working from home with me in our small apartment in early 2020, I've really come to value the level of control and convenience that I can get from a robot with a smart-mapping system like the Roborock S4 Max (our other pick), or a higher-end Roomba like the i7 or j7 (more on those shortly).
But if your home doesn't have many bot traps, and you tend to be away from home while the bot works, or if you can retreat upstairs or downstairs or outside for a bit, then the long, whole-house cleaning sessions probably won't bother you. You might even prefer the simplicity of leaving everything to the bot, and never having to think about an app. And again, we think the Roomba i3's rug-cleaning ability and expected sturdiness are very good reasons to consider this robot at this price.
What about higher-end Roombas?
If you like most of what you've read about the Roomba i3, except for its not-quite-advanced navigation system, you could consider upgrading to a smarter Roomba, either the Roomba i7 or the poop-avoiding Roomba j7, or the versions that come with a self-emptying dock, the i7+ or j7+.
These higher-end models are built on the same basic body as the effective, durable Roomba i3, but with added smart mapping. This feature, enabled through a camera and fast image processor (not a laser, like most other bots with smart-maps), can learn and remember the layout of one or more levels of your home. Once it's been trained, you can use an app to tell the Roomba to clean specific rooms whenever it's convenient for you. And it can avoid the areas where you draw invisible no-go zones. These bots also tend to clean a given space faster than the Roomba i3, because they chart a course with fewer turns, and have fewer collisions with walls.
The Roomba i7 is an older model and tends to cost less than the new Roomba j7. We wrote a review of the self-emptying Roomba i7+ in 2018, when it was brand new, and called it the best robot vacuum that money could buy. The rest of the industry caught up very quickly, so the i7+ is no longer such a standout. But it still works well. As of late 2021, it's no longer one of iRobot's "core" products and won't be available through as many retailers as other models, but you can still find it in plenty of places for now. The functionally identical Roomba i6 is also common, as are the auto-emptying Roomba i6+ or Roomba i8+.
The Roomba j7 is a newer model, with an object-detection system that helps it steer around dog poop and power cables. It lived up to its promises in our limited testing (more on that later), and it may learn to steer around other types of obstacles in the future through software updates. It's also available as the Roomba j7+, with a self-emptying dock that's shorter and arguably better-looking than the dock that comes with the i3+ and i7+. (The j7+ dock is not cross-compatible with the i3 or i7 bots, unfortunately.)
These higher-end Roomba models have some disadvantages compared with other smart-map robots that rely on laser navigation, including our other top pick, the Roborock S4 Max. Laser-nav bots can learn your home's layout in a single session, whereas these Roombas typically need two or three sessions of training. The laser-nav bots also tend to bump into less stuff than the Roombas do and complete their jobs faster as a result. However, we still predict that Roomba bots on average will last longer than any of their competitors and work better at getting hair out of rugs.
Here's a quick summary of the important differences between iRobot's best Roomba models.
Then there are the top-of-the-line Roomba s9 and self-emptying Roomba s9+, which we do not recommend. Instead of the classic puck shape, it has a D-shaped body and extra-wide brushes to improve its edge-cleaning and corner-cleaning abilities. It also has four times more raw suction than the already-strong Roomba i3, i7, or j7. That helps it consistently pick up larger debris like cat litter or yard waste better than most robots, though it still doesn't come close to deep-cleaning dust from a rug like a traditional vacuum. We don't like the s9 because it's one of the clumsiest navigators we've tested. It's like the developers left in a bunch of code that makes it think it's still round. We watched it stubbornly try to shove itself into spaces where it obviously couldn't fit, roughing up some furniture in the process. This would be annoying in a $400 robot, but it's especially frustrating in a robot that costs more than our favorite dishwasher. Hooman Shahidi, iRobot's vice president of product development, told Wirecutter that it's more difficult to get a D-shaped robot like the Roomba s9 to navigate smoothly. iRobot representatives have also told us that they've been fixing navigation problems via software update since the robot launched, but recent user reviews suggest the s9's performance is still inconsistent.
Our pick: Roborock S4 Max
Our pick
Roborock S4 Max
Supersmart bot, great price
This is one of the most affordable robots smart enough to memorize a home's layout (even a large one) and then quickly and gracefully clean specific rooms or zones on command via smartphone app. But it can't clean rugs as well as a Roomba, and may not last as long.
Buying Options
The Roborock S4 Max has the most clever, controllable navigation you'll find in any robot vacuum. Its smart-map feature is as robust as any that we've used, letting you tell the bot which specific rooms to clean, places to avoid, and when to do it all through a smartphone app and Wi-Fi connection. It also moves faster and bonks into fewer things than other robots at this price, particularly the Roomba i3. It won't clean carpets or hair as well as the Roomba i3 and may not last as long, but owners generally seem satisfied with this bot's performance.
The smart-map feature is the highlight here. Using its laser rangefinder (LiDAR) and bump sensors, the S4 Max learns your floor plan in a single cleaning session and creates an interactive map in the companion app. That map enables a bunch of cool tricks, like targeted room cleaning and no-go zones, without having to manually move the bot or fiddle with physical barriers like you would with other robots, including our other picks. The S4 Max isn't the only robot with a smart-map feature, nor is it the cheapest, nor does it always work perfectly. But it's as robust and flexible as any system we've come across.
Even setting aside the smart maps, the Roborock S4 Max is still one of the best navigators we've used. The laser nav system, combined with speedy processing, helps the Roborock pre-plan a cleaning path where it avoids bumping into most furniture and walls, so it finishes its job noticeably faster and with less thunking around than most robots, especially non-laser navigators like the Roomba i3 and even Roomba i7. It rarely misses any accessible areas of your home, like random-navigation robots (including our budget picks) sometimes do, and it's not susceptible to the same low-light navigation errors as robots that rely on cameras (like the Roomba i7). Even when it does bump into an object its LiDAR turret didn't detect, we've found that it course-corrects faster and more accurately than other bots.
When you add up all those little optimizations, the S4 Max saves a noticeable amount of time compared with other bots. I found that the S4 Max could clean my kitchen, dining room, and living room (about 600 square feet in total) in 30 minutes, which is about 15 minutes quicker than the Roomba i7 (which itself is a few minutes faster than the Roomba i3). The bigger your home, the more valuable this speed will be. The S4 Max's massive battery should power the bot through at least 1,500 square feet without having to recharge, even on its strongest suction level, whereas other popular bots, like the Roomba i3, need to stop and repower for a while after cleaning about 1,000 square feet.
With the horde of copycat bots that have flooded Amazon and other retailers, the S4 Max might not always be the best deal among robots of this type. But Roborock has been making quick, smart, strong-enough robots for longer than most of those knockoff brands, and they seem to do a better job of supporting their products, so we're comfortable recommending the S4 Max as a standout in its class.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The S4 Max will be fantastic in many homes, but it has a few quirks and shortcomings you should know about.
If you want to take advantage of the targeted room cleanings and other smart-map features (and really, that's the whole point of this robot), the S4 Max has a bit of a learning curve, like any other bot with this kind of interactive navigation system. First, you need to connect the bot to Wi-Fi via your router's 2.4 GHz frequency only, and like anything Wi-Fi related, some people seem to have trouble getting it to work smoothly on their network. Then, you pair it with a companion app (either Xiaomi Home or Roborock's own app—their features vary slightly, and we find the latter to be simpler). It'll take some time to get used to the icons and sub-menus, while the imperfect border-drawing tool means you'll be doing a little trial and error to get some of your zoned cleaning really dialed in. For a lot of people, the app's robust controls are worth the fiddling and occasional frustration. For others, it's more trouble than it's worth, and in that case we'd suggest a simpler robot like the Roomba i3—one that just starts cleaning when you turn it on, and keeps going until it can't find anywhere new to clean.
The Roborock's cleaning performance is adequate but not great. On its strongest suction setting (it has four levels), the S4 Max has enough oomph to suck up almost anything from a bare floor, but even the Balanced suction setting is fine for common debris like crumbs or pet hair. Its single brush can pick up surface-level debris from most types of carpets, but it won't dig up hair like a dual-brush Roomba can.
Some older Roborock models, especially the previous-generation Roborock S4, have struggled to climb onto rugs if the transition is more than a half centimeter or so, or to clean plush rugs without the robot sensing that its brush is tangled (even when it is not) and stopping in place. The S4 Max seems to be better on both counts, though we found that its side brush always got tangled on the 1-inch fibers of our shag rug. A thick rug like that is a challenge for any robot vacuum (and lots of regular vacuums, too), and it worked better when we took off the side brush. But even then, the S4 Max moved slower over the rug and seemed to pick up less debris than competing Roomba models. Bottom line: If you have soft, thick rugs, this Roborock is not one of the best ways to clean them. If your rugs are short enough that you don't sink into the pile or leave footprints when you walk on it, the S4 Max is a safe bet.
Reliability and longevity are hard to predict, but the information we've gathered from user reviews suggests that Roborock bots aren't quite as reliable as the average Roomba over the course of a few years—but they aren't some short-lived throwaway product, either. As of 2021, Roborock now does a decent job of keeping spare parts like filters and spare brushes in stock for its recent-model robots, which is an improvement over the spotty stock status of the past few years. It's anyone's guess as to whether spare parts—particularly the expensive ones, like battery packs—will still be available beyond the short term (let's call it three years), and Roborock has been noncommittal when we've asked for clarity on its long-term product support strategy. Even if you can find something like a spare transmission or wheel, it's not so easy to just swap it into the S4 Max using a regular screwdriver. But we're happy to report that Roborock seems to be establishing a decent reputation for product quality and support.
We have read some negative owner reviews about newer-generation Roborocks failing after a few months—not a ton, but enough that we're worried about the longevity. Sometimes it's mysterious, other times it seems traceable to a design flaw that could've been avoided.
If the S4 Max is out of stock or the price seems high, you actually have a ton of similar models to pick from, available from loads of brands at some really great prices (though we can't vouch for their longevity, and their apps tend to be worse than Roborock's).
Other Roborock models worth considering
Roborock also makes some souped-up versions of the S4 Max—all very similar robots, just with slightly different features. Check out the relevant details in a table below. You might find our writeups about extra features like mops, obstacle detection, and self-emptying docks useful, too.
| Clip-On Mop | Navigation | Self-Emptying | |
| S4 Max | No | Smart Map | No |
| S5 Max | Yes; Water-Flow App Control | Smart Map | No |
| S6 | Yes; No App Control | Smart Map | No |
| S6 Pure | Yes; No App Control | Smart Map | No |
| S6 MaxV | Yes; Water-Flow App Control | Smart Map, Avoids Some Small Hazards | No |
| S7 | Yes; Water-Flow App Control; Self-Rises on Rugs | Smart Map | Optional |
Budget pick: iRobot Roomba 694
Budget pick
iRobot Roomba 694
Reliable, repairable, and good on rugs
This tried-and-true robot vacuum is much more durable and repairable than similar bots from other brands and is better at cleaning rugs, too. It's a nimble navigator that rarely gets stuck, though it works best when it only has to clean a few rooms at a time.
If you only need to vacuum a few rooms at a time, and you're looking to save a few bucks, consider the Roomba 694, or really any model from the 600 series. There are plenty of affordable robot vacuums that can keep small spaces tidy, but we recommend these basic Roombas because they're more durable and repairable than other brands' bots, and they work better on more types of rugs, especially if you need to clean up a lot of hair.
The biggest difference compared with our top picks is that the Roomba 600 series navigates semi-randomly, rather than following an orderly, predictable path. This was the norm for robots until a few years ago, and a lot of people were happy with it. But as of 2021, smart robots are much more common and affordable—and much better at cleaning large spaces consistently and efficiently. But the semi-random bots still have a place in the world, and we think the Roomba 600 series is a great option if you want a simple, sturdy bot for a fair price.
The 600 series comes in a few variants. We're going to use the Roomba 694 as shorthand to refer to the 600 series throughout the rest of this section. But if it's a Roomba and the model number starts with a 6, everything you're about to read applies, except that Wi-Fi capabilities vary from model to model (more on that below).
The main thing that makes the Roomba 600 series stand out from other affordable robot vacuums is that it's more durable and easier to repair (just like other Roomba models, as we covered earlier). They generally don't break, spare parts are always in stock, and you can swap in everything from a new filter to a new transmission with nothing more than a screwdriver. You'll usually pay more for the Roomba 694 than you would for our other budget pick, the Eufy 11S, or other super-cheap bots with random navigation. But the Roomba can easily pay off in the long run because it'll last longer.
Personally, I used an old Roomba 650 at home for four years and found that it held up very well. Several other Wirecutter staff members own Roomba 600 series bots and have also found them to be sturdy and reliable.
Another advantage is that the Roomba 694 (like other Roombas) has two counter-rotating brush rolls, mounted in a suspension system, while every other bot at this price has a single brush sitting at a fixed height. Even the cheapest bots we've tested do a good job of picking up the most common types of debris from bare floors and short rugs. But the Roomba's design helps it work better on rugs, especially when it needs to pick up a lot of hair. The Roomba 694 also has a dirt-detection system, which helps the bot reliably clean the most obvious piles of debris, as long as it encounters that pile on its semi-random travels.
The Roomba 694, like most affordable robots, is what we call a bump-and-run navigator. Basically, it bloops around semi-randomly until its battery runs low, and then it tries to get back to its dock before it completely runs out of juice (and doesn't always succeed). It looks dumb, but it's basically effective, especially in smaller spaces. And even though it navigates with absolutely reckless abandon, we've found that it's actually a lot less likely to get stuck on random hazards around the house than other bots; it has several specific "escape" routines for common traps.
The good-enough navigation, combined with 90 minutes of battery life, an effective brush design, and clever features like the dirt-detection sensor, all add up to a consistent clean, as long as you're only relying on the Roomba 694 to tidy up three or four rooms at a time (not in an orderly pattern, if you can live with that). In our experience, it can be useful in spaces as large as 1,000 square feet, as long as you run it most days of the week as a habit and can forgive that it might not thoroughly clean every room every time that it runs. But some people don't want to deal with the unpredictable coverage, and that's understandable. If you want a smarter robot, take a look at our top two picks, the Roomba i3 and Roborock S4 Max.
Compared with other cheap bump bots, the Roomba 694 is a little rough on furniture. It slows down but doesn't stop short of obstacles. If all the clomping and bonking noises are going to bother you, or you're nervous about the Roomba knocking some priceless vase off your wobbly side table, consider a gentler bot, such as a Eufy, or a bot that tries to navigate around obstacles, like a Roborock. None of the current Roomba 600 series models come with a barrier system, but they work with the iRobot virtual walls, which you can buy separately.
The Roomba 694 (but not all Roomba 600 series models) can connect to your home Wi-Fi network, so you can use an app to turn it on or off even if you aren't home, set a cleaning schedule, or check if it's time to replace the filters or clean the sensors. You can also control it through Amazon Alexa or Google Home. The voice commands, in our opinion, are more of a gimmick or party trick—all you can do for now is tell the bot to start, stop, or look for its base—but some people find them cool or handy.
If you like the sound of the Roomba 694 but want just a little more cleaning power, you could look for a Roomba e5. It's a similar robot, with semi-random navigation, plus some extra suction and nubbed "extractor" rolls that are great at getting debris out of rugs (like on the Roomba i3). Some retailers sell the functionally identical Roomba e6 instead. It's a semi-discontinued model, and at this point may cost less than the weaker Roomba 694, so keep an eye out for deals. If you somehow stumble across a good deal for an old Roomba 800 Series model, that's also very similar to the Roomba e5, but may not have Wi-Fi.
Budget pick: Eufy RoboVac 11S
Budget pick
Eufy RoboVac 11S
Quiet, nimble, and affordable
This affordable robot vacuum is quieter and fits under more furniture than any other model we've tested. While it works best in small spaces, it rarely gets stuck and does a good job on bare floors and short-pile rugs. It's not as durable as a Roomba 694, though.
Buying Options
The Eufy RoboVac 11S and other Eufy models that begin with a number instead of a letter stand out as some of the quietest robots we've tested. They're also some of the shortest, so they can fit beneath more pieces of furniture. Like the Roomba 694, the Eufy's navigation is semi-random, so it's best for cleaning just a few rooms at a time. It's not great at getting pet hair out of plush rugs, but it'll work fine for keeping bare floors and short rugs pretty tidy. The RoboVac 11S was even the top pick in this guide for a couple of years. However, over time we've realized that, unlike the basic Roomba 600 series models, the basic Eufy series isn't durable, nor is it built to be repaired.
The 11S is quiet enough that you could easily forget that it's running if you're home while it's working. We measured the volume on the bot's maximum suction setting and found that it was just 57 dBc, a full 5 dBc quieter than the Roomba 694—that's a major difference. On its normal suction setting, it's just 53 dBc, which sounds more like a fan than a vacuum cleaner ("traditional" vacuums are often 70 dBc or louder because of their much stronger suction). And since the 11S stops short of most obstacles, it also avoids creating many of the bonking impact noises that the rougher Roomba 694 does. Other basic Eufy models have slightly stronger suction and can be a couple decibels louder, but they are still quieter than most competitors.
Another surprisingly useful upside to the basic Eufy bots is the short body. At 2.85 inches, the bot is almost a full inch shorter than the Roomba 694, enough to let it glide under even lower-clearance furniture where dust and hair build up but never see the light of day. I was surprised the first time I saw the 11S disappear under my bed—and then more surprised when it reemerged with an unholy amount of cat hair stuffed into its bin and wrapped about the brush roll.
As for cleaning, we've found over and over again that basic Eufy bots are capable of picking up all the most common types of debris off bare floors and low-pile rugs. It's actually kind of surprising how effective they are, since the advertised suction is so modest, and the single brush roll is small. If you have plush carpets and a lot of hair to deal with, though, you'll want a robot with better brush action and possibly stronger suction.
The 11S and similar Eufy models have a manual steering mode (Roombas don't). It's useful for quick spot cleanings, sort of like a cheap stick vacuum.
Eufy makes several RoboVac models built on the same base as the 11S, plus extra features. These can include extra suction, which marginally improves cleaning performance; Wi-Fi connectivity and smart-home integration, which lets you turn the bot on or off via app or voice and set detailed schedules; and compatibility with barrier tape, which is a cumbersome eyesore (if you really need barriers, buy a Roomba with a virtual wall accessory, or a bot with smart mapping like the Roborock S4 Max). The following table is a cheat sheet of the most popular Eufy bump bots as of November 2021 (though it's not a full list of all their models).
| Connectivity | Works with barrier tape | Max suction (pascal) | |
| 11S | None | No | 1,300 Pa |
| 11S Max | None | No | 2,000 Pa |
| 15C | Wi-Fi, Alexa, Google Home | No | 1,300 Pa |
| 15C Max | Wi-Fi, Alexa, Google Home | No | 2,000 Pa |
| 15T | None | No | 1,500 Pa |
| 30 | None | Yes | 1,500 Pa |
| 30C Max | Wi-Fi, Alexa, Google Home | Yes | 2,000 Pa |
A pro tip on pricing: A representative from Eufy told us that they put their robots on sale so often that you really don't need to pay full price for any of their robots if you can afford to wait.
The biggest problem with the RoboVac series is that they don't last as long as Roombas do, and they can't be fixed when they break. About a year after the 11S was released, we started to hear from owners whose bots had already died, and the complaints have kept on coming. It's not uncommon to hear about Eufy bots that break within 18 months, but it's rare to hear about Roomba 600 series models failing so quickly.
We dismantled an older Eufy RoboVac 30, and major repairs are impossible without breaking parts of the robot. The Roomba 694, on the other hand, was easy for us to strip down and reassemble with just a screwdriver.
Eufy is good about honoring its warranty if a bot breaks down within the one-year window and will often offer a discount for a new one to customers whose bots break outside the warranty period. And the company does sell some replacement parts, including filters, brush rollers, side brushes, brush guards, and batteries through Amazon—but no replacement wheels or brush transmissions, like iRobot does for Roombas. Many people will probably get years of reliable service from their Eufy bots. But the picture is starting to become clear that they aren't going to last like Roombas will.
We've also discovered that, as of late 2021, several other brands are selling near-copies of the Eufy bots. More on these clones later.
Other notable robot vacuums
Roborock alternatives: Wyze, Ecovacs, Proscenic, and loads of others
We've tested a handful of other affordable-ish bots with quick, accurate laser-based navigation and smart-map features—a few among dozens of similar models that we don't have time to test, some of them from brands that appear to exist only in Amazon listings. From what we've seen in our own testing and have learned about the workings of the vacuum industry, it's pretty likely these bots and their apps have a lot of overlapping hardware and software.
They've all worked well, and we wouldn't try to talk anyone out of buying them instead of the Roborock S4 Max—as long as you get a good price, and accept that they're usually lacking some of the polish that Roborock models have.
It's wild: Precise, quick, controllable nav systems like this barely existed two years ago, but now they're normal and affordable. Pioneers like iRobot and Neato developed early versions of these killer features and held them as a competitive advantage, followed by Roborock and Ecovacs. Now you or I could pick a supplier on Alibaba and start selling our own brand of generic robots on Amazon in a couple of months.
The downside with some of these other bots is that you might end up having a hard time getting customer support. It won't always be clear where you can get spare filters, brushes, or other consumable parts, let alone major components like battery packs, wheels, or LiDAR assemblies. It's tough enough to find these parts from established brands like Roborock, so it's hard to imagine the smaller brands will make it any easier. If any of these brands disappear after a year or two, it wouldn't be the first time it's happened in the competitive world of robot vacuums. We've also noticed that the lesser-known brands have not updated their robots' software with bug fixes or new features as consistently as Roborock has.
The most noteworthy Roborock alternative is the Wyze Robot Vacuum. Wyze is known for selling good-enough and implausibly affordable smart-home gear like security cameras, locks, thermostats—and the laser-nav Wyze Robot Vacuum too. At roughly $280, including shipping from Wyze.com, it's consistently been one of the lowest-priced models of its ilk through most of 2021 (around $40 cheaper than the Roborock S4 Max's lowest price). We tested one, and it works a lot like all the other laser-nav models. The robot itself feels relatively flimsy, but we have no clue what to expect in terms of durability, and our analysis of user reviews didn't turn up any unusual complaints. The main reason we don't recommend the Wyze is that the app can't currently remember maps for multiple floors of a home. It learns one level, whereas Roborock bots can remember up to four levels. According to the Wyze customer support forums, a beta version of the Wyze app supports multiple maps, and it's supposed to be released widely at some point. If that doesn't matter to you, or you're willing to believe that they'll actually release the multi-level update soon (I wouldn't, but I've been wrong before), the Wyze seems like a decent-enough option.
EcoVacs is another notable brand. We've tested a handful of their laser-nav bots over the past few years, including the Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI (a higher-end but otherwise similar version of their latest models, N8 and N8 Pro). All the ones we've tested worked fine when they were new, but you can usually find a better bot for a lower price. The major flaw is the EcoVacs app, which is glitchier than others. Also, they may not be as durable as other brands' bots. In our analysis of user reviews for the Ozmo 920, one of EcoVacs' most popular laser-nav bots from the past few years, we spotted a relatively high percentage of complaints about them breaking down within a year, either due to LiDAR unit failures or batteries that no longer hold a charge. Many of those reviewers also noted difficulty getting replacement parts. We can't be sure whether other models will have similar rates of problems, though the typical user ratings for EcoVacs' laser-nav bots tends to be a few tenths of a point lower than other brands' ratings. To EcoVacs' credit, we've found that their bots are a little better at traversing tall rugs and large thresholds than other brands' bots.
We've also tested both the Proscenic M7 Pro and Kyvol Cybovac S31, along with their auto-emptying docks, and they're perfectly decent (at least when they're new). They're also nearly identical to one another. The Proscenic or Kyvol might be worth it if they're cheaper than the S4 Max, and if you're willing to take a flier on unproven brands. They seem to be slightly stronger cleaners than the S4 Max, but that will rarely matter. Their navigation (as of late 2020, at least) is a little clumsier, and some of the details lack polish, like the translation in the app, manual, marketing materials, and even the voiceovers from the bot itself. Both come with clip-on mops (fine). In owner reviews, the main complaints about both bots: glitchy, unstable apps and poor customer service.
The Eufy RoboVac X8 seems to be a fine laser-nav robot vacuum based on our testing, but it's relatively expensive and doesn't offer meaningful improvements over the cheaper models. Its defining feature is supposed to be its strong suction, with two turbines pulling 2,000 pascals each (whereas most laser-nav bots have a single turbine and less than 2,500 pascals of suction total). That's fine, but it's still a tiny fraction of the suction you'd get from a traditional vacuum and only makes the X8 a marginally better cleaner than a much more affordable robot, like the Roborock S4 Max. The older Eufy RoboVac L70 is still available as well, but its app is not capable of permanently remembering specific rooms in your home, which makes it substantially less convenient than most current laser-nav bots.
Even Shark and Samsung have recently joined the laser-nav bonanza, with the Shark AI Robot Vacuum RV2000, and Samsung Jet Bot and Jet Bot AI+, respectively (after previously releasing robots that use camera-based smart navigation). We weren't able to test any of them before the 2021 holiday season, but we're confident that the Shark and lower-end Samsung will work similarly to all the other laser-nav robots described in the previous few paragraphs. The "everyday" prices are a bit high, but we've seen some pretty good deals on the version of the Shark that comes with the self-emptying dock. Since we know laser-nav bots are all pretty similar to one another, this Shark could be a good choice if you see it on sale. We're actually hesitant to recommend the Samsung Jet Bot AI+, even if it's on sale, until we try it out; it has tank treads instead of standard wheels, a feature that looks cool but did not work well on the only robot we've tested with this design, the Dyson 360 Eye. It struggled to cross from floors onto rugs without getting stuck.
There are tons more laser-nav robots, with largely similar specs and appearance, including bots from barely there brands, including Tesvor, Dreametech, Viomi, and Honiture. Again, our educated guess is that they all probably work okay and are just more prone to app glitches and less likely to get useful software updates over time than the best brands in this category.
The only brand in this space we'd be sure to steer clear of is 360. The 360 S9 we tested works just fine—we'd imagine the cheaper S5 and S7 do as well. But the brand's parent company, Qihoo 360, is on the US Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List, which means it has "been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."
Other not-quite-as-smart robots
Shark's non-laser robots are reasonably priced and look great on paper, but are just okay in the real world. We've tested a couple iterations of the Shark IQ RV1000 series since 2019 (with self-emptying docks), as well as the new Shark AI VacMop hybrid, and found they're much more prone to app glitches and stupid navigation than the best brands. They're also pretty loud on bare floors, sort of like a two-stroke lawn mower puttering in the distance. To their credit, they seem to be strong cleaners, particularly on bare floors.
The Samsung Powerbot R7 series has a ton of raw cleaning power, especially at the top of the line—we think that's why it gets good ratings from other expert reviewers—but the nav system is awful, prone to quitting around simple obstacles like carpet transitions or the cluttered space under a dining table. These robots are often on sale for a deep discount, but buyer beware.
Neato was a pioneering robot vacuum brand, and iRobot's only credible competitor from about 2010 through 2015, but has since fallen behind the times. Their Botvac robots have strong suction and big, powerful brushes, plus a D-shaped body that's marginally better at cleaning edges and corners than the round bodies on most other bots. But the Botvac models' fundamental weakness is that they struggle to successfully climb from floors onto rugs, not to mention across door thresholds—their wheel suspension is backwards and they ride very low to the ground. Inconsistent Wi-Fi connectivity has long been a regular complaint. Quality control has been a problem at times, too. User ratings are consistently mediocre. Despite using LiDAR, its current robots (the D8, which has been out since early 2021, and the brand-new D9 and D10) seem to navigate much slower and less accurately, with a clunkier app, than the Roborock S4 Max and its clones.
The LG CordZero R9 is a very expensive vacuum with powerful cleaning specs, but user reviews from Australia, where it's been available for a while, are not favorable.
The Trifo Max worked fine in our tests, nothing impressive or obviously bad. User reviews suggest it gets lost pretty easily, isn't built to last, and has poor customer service. We haven't tested Trifo's other models, but we'd expect similar results.
Miele designs and manufactures many wonderful appliances, but the glitchy, easily confused Miele Scout RX2 isn't one of them.
The Electrolux Pure i9 is an oddity that we want to love but can't recommend. In our tests, the unique 3D mapping system was fantastic at avoiding obstacles, but the short battery life and tendency to waste time spinning in place meant it couldn't reliably clean even a small-ish apartment in a reasonable amount of time.
We wouldn't recommend the Coral One robot-handheld hybrid at any price. It's uncomfortably loud—by far the noisiest vac we've ever tested. The nav system was not effective. There's no Wi-Fi or barrier system. It sort of converts into a handheld vacuum, but it's very heavy, and you'll need to remember where you put the awkwardly shaped nozzle.
Cheaper, simpler robots: Mostly Eufy clones
Dozens of cheap bump-and-run bots are now available. We keep finding deals on bots from no-name brands like Coredy, Goovi, Onson, and Amarey, all of which have product dimensions that are barely distinguishable from those of the Eufy RoboVac 11S (and similar Eufy models) that we recommend.
We bought one of the Goovi models, and lo and behold, we found that it is functionally identical to the 11S, with many of the same components and even the same beep and boop sounds. (It's not worth linking to any of them because the listings seem to come and go all the time.) After doing a little research on the robot-vacuum supply chain, we're pretty confident that all of these brands are basically selling variations of the same robot.
The takeaway point: If you see something that has the same specs as the Eufy 11S or another Eufy model, particularly the height (give or take a few hundredths of an inch) it's probably going to work exactly the same way. Go ahead and get one if you see it at a deep discount. One caveat: Eufy has an okay reputation for customer service, whereas several of those other brands barely have a believable web presence, so they may not be as quick to help if you have a problem that's covered by the warranty.
We've also tested some cheap bump bots that are slightly different from the standard-issue Eufy, including the Ecovacs Deebot N79S (similar to models made by Yeedi, an Ecovacs sub-brand), the iLife A4s (similar to models from Noisz, an iLife sub-brand), and the Eureka Groove. They're basically fine, but they won't match the agility of the Eufy (and its endless clones) or the durability of the Roomba.
What about self-emptying robots?
They work and they're useful, though fall a little short of life-changing. A self-emptying (or auto-emptying) robot vacuum comes with a big charging dock, which sucks debris out of the robot through a trapdoor in the dustbin, and stores it in a disposable bag or bagless bin (it depends on the model). Instead of emptying your bot's bin after every cleaning session, you only have to empty the dock every month or two.
The dream scenario is that you set your robot to automatically run on a schedule and then empty itself out, so you don't have to touch your bot or even think about cleaning your floors for weeks on end. It probably won't work out so smoothly for most people, because you'll still have to pick up shoes and cords and toys off the floor, and in all likelihood the bot will get stuck from time to time, so it won't always get back to its dock automatically. But the dream is possible—and even if it isn't fully realized in your home, it's still super-convenient to not deal with a messy dustbin every time you use your robot vacuum.
We've tested most of the auto-empty docks out there, including multiple versions from iRobot and Shark, and one each from EcoVacs, Roborock, and a generic-brand dock that came with a generic-brand Roborock knockoff (the Kyvol Cybovac S31). They all work well.
If you want one, we'd recommend getting one of the self-emptying versions of one of our picks, though we'd steer you toward a Roomba instead of a Roborock. The Roomba i3+ is usually the most affordable way to get a great self-emptying robot vacuum system. The only Roborock model that works with an auto-empty dock is the high-end Roborock S7+, which is quite expensive. The Roomba j7+, which has a lot of the same advanced navigation features as the Roborock, actually costs less than the S7 and dock combo. In our limited experience, the iRobot dock is also more likely to completely empty your bot's bin after every session; the Roborock dock (and some others we've used) sometimes won't suck all the hair out of a bin, because it gets hung up on a part of the trap door.
Downsides: The docks are big and can be sort of ugly. They can get clogged sometimes, but it's not too hard to unclog them. They sound like a plane taking off while they're emptying a robot. And of course they're pretty expensive. But if these factors don't bother you (and you have the budget), auto-empty docks are great.
What about robots that avoid poop (and other obstacles)?
Some high-end robot vacuums now include advanced obstacle recognition in their nav systems. In theory, these systems should help the robots simply drive around any floor clutter they find, and even avoid hazards like dog turds. (It's rare, but accidents happen and smears follow.) The utopian vision is that, with this kind of so-called artificial intelligence, you're freed from the burden of pre-tidying your home before you run the robot, and the bot will never get stuck on socks, cords, or any number of common traps.
But we've put the current AI bots to the test in the real world, and they aren't that good yet. Certain models are pretty good at avoiding certain obstacles, but none of them reliably avoid every kind of common floor-clutter, and some models just don't deliver on their promises at all.
Besides, most good robots at all prices are pretty good at avoiding (or at least wiggling away from) bot-trapping obstacles. And bot owners tend to get in the habit of picking up the kinds of floor-bound clutter that can create a problem—toys, shoes, laundry, even certain lightweight floor mats—so that the robot can work effectively.
If you understand that you'll probably be disappointed but want to try an AI bot anyway, consider the iRobot Roomba j7 (or j7+) or the Roborock S6 MaxV (both are higher-end versions of our top picks, and each cost a few hundred dollars extra).
iRobot doesn't claim that the Roomba j7 can avoid most kinds of obstacles yet. (It was launched in fall 2021, and representatives from iRobot suggested to us that it will get smarter over time through software updates.) However, the one obstacle that they do promise to avoid—with a money back guarantee—is poop. "You'd be surprised at how many types of poop there are," said Hooman Shahidi, iRobot's vice president of product development, in a conversation with Wirecutter. He noted that they've curated a large learning library of different "shapes and configurations" of pet waste.
We tested the claim out with a fake turd made from Nutella and oatmeal, and it worked great. The j7 spotted the faux feces from a few feet away (the LED ring on the bot flashes blue for a second when it thinks it sees an obstacle), and then methodically worked around it, never getting closer than about a foot. It also did a good job staying away from a power strip, power cord, and USB cable. But it didn't recognize (or at least didn't try to avoid) our other obstacles, including toys, a sock, a shoe, and a water bowl. We like this bot for a lot of other important reasons (expected durability, cleaning power, smart navigation), and the obstacle recognition is almost like a toss-in feature, so it's not a bad buy. Will it actually learn to avoid more stuff, as iRobot says it should? The company has a good history of following through on those kinds of promises, but you should expect the improvements to trickle out over several years, not months.
As for the Roborock S6 MaxV, it failed the crucial dog-turd avoidance test multiple times when we first tested it in 2020, and was just okay at avoiding other kinds of obstacles. We tested it again in late 2021, and it either improved due to a software update (they've issued several since our last round of testing) or some other variable in our testing changed. But it passed the poo test, and avoided many other obstacles too. We're not confident that you can count on the bot's AI to avoid a doo-doo catastrophe but if you were thinking about getting a Roborock anyway and are curious about the AI, it's not a bad option.
We also tested the EcoVacs T8 AIVI, which did not avoid any objects. It just informed us in the app, after the session was over and the Nutella smeared everywhere, that there were many objects on our floor and that we should pick them up.
The Shark AI VacMop did not avoid any obstacles, nor did it even acknowledge in the app that it encountered any obstacles.
Bigger picture: If there are certain parts of your home where a bot always gets trapped and there's nothing you can do about it, there's a more effective option than trying to rely on AI. You could instead just buy a robot with a smart-map feature (like the Roborock S4 Max, or Roomba j7 or the older Roomba i7) and use it to set up an invisible no-go zone around the trouble areas.
Also, we're not convinced that obstacle avoidance is really the holy grail of robot-vacuum technology. Yeah, avoiding the occasional accidental pet waste is really valuable. But the other stuff maybe isn't as valuable. One of the reasons robot vacuums help your home feel so tidy is because they force you to pick stuff up off the floor. Even if advanced obstacle recognition worked well enough to let you skip the pre-tidying, your home would still feel messy.
What about vacuum-mop combo robots?
Many robot vacuums can double as mops—well, more like weak Swiffers. You just clip on a water reservoir (no cleaning solution allowed with most models) and a microfiber pad behind the vacuum intake, and the bot will wipe the floors while it vacuums.
We've tested a bunch of them across a few different designs for our forthcoming guide to the best robot mops. Here's the gist: They work okay if your floors don't get very dirty. You can't count on them to wipe away stuck-on grime or sticky spills, just light stains and splatters any dust that the vacuum might miss. We don't think it's worth paying extra for "mop upgrades," like app-enabled control over how much water the bot uses in a specific room or vibrating pads. None of these are bad things, but they don't meaningfully improve the cleaning performance. Dedicated robot mops work better, but if you think a vacuum-mop combo will work for you, we'd recommend a Roborock with a mop, like the Roborock S5 Max.
Cleaning performance matters, but not as much as you think
We've found that as long as a robot has a brush roll and a side brush, it'll pick up crumbs, tufts of pet hair, and other common debris from bare floors and low-pile rugs. That's enough to keep most homes tidy, and most owners seem happy with it.
If you have thicker rugs, or you just feel like owning a stronger bot, then go ahead and spend a little more on a bot with better brushes or stronger suction.
However, we don't think it's worth chasing the very best cleaning performance. The robots with the strongest suction and the most-aggressive brushes can cost hundreds extra, yet they're only marginally better cleaners than the most affordable bots, and have just a small fraction of the power of a traditional vacuum. (And specs and power measurements aren't a reliable way to gauge overall cleaning performance anyway, so we don't think it's useful to get caught up comparing kilopascals, cubic feet per minute, or brush widths.)
An example: I let half of my apartment get dirty for a few days, building up cat hair and toddler crumbs and other miscellany. First, I ran the basic Eufy 11S (usually less than $200). After an hour, it had picked up enough debris to fill the palm of my hand. It's mostly hair, some crumbs, some dust—a typical load in other words. Then I ran the Roborock S4 (now discontinued, but it was usually $400) on its strongest suction setting. It came back with some hair, but only about 25% of what the Eufy had found, though it did find a good amount of dust that the Eufy hadn't. Then I ran the Neato D7 (usually $700 when it was a current product), and it picked up just enough hair to coat the filter, and a bit of dust, but far less debris than the Roborock S4. Then I ran the Roomba s9+ (usually $1,100), and it came back with barely anything in the bin. I repeated the experiment a few days later and got the same results.
Other important stuff
Durability and repairability: Some models can last for quite a while, even if you barely maintain them, while others are likely to end up in a landfill within a couple of years, even if you want to repair them.
We've decided to make this a significant factor in our recommendations. We scouted reviews for hints about longevity, and favored bots with easy-to-find replacement parts like filters and brushes, but also batteries, wheels, and transmissions. We also fully disassembled some popular bots to get a sense for the build quality and how straightforward they might be to repair.
Wi-Fi and smart-home connectivity: This is more common than not now. Most models can connect to the internet over Wi-Fi, so that you can control them through a smartphone app or a smart-home assistant like Alexa. It's always optional; you never need to connect to the Wi-Fi if you don't want to, but it can unlock a lot of software-based features in the smartphone app. Wi-Fi is actually a common source of consternation in user reviews, because a lot of models struggle to connect—we don't know why, but it happens a lot.
Battery life: An hour of battery life should cover about 1,000 square feet. But longer run times are never a bad thing, especially if you have lots of rugs and a robot that can crank up its suction to better clean carpeted surfaces. That said, very few owners complained about their bot vacs' battery lives in our analysis of user reviews.
Noise: Quieter bots are great if you have to be at home while they run. Some models run as quiet as 54 dBc, which is like the background hum from a refrigerator, so you won't have to raise your voice or turn up the TV to hear over the bot. Some bots can get as loud as 65 or even 70 dBc on their highest suction settings, which is noisy enough that it'll probably become uncomfortable to be near after 20 minutes or so. Though a lot of models let you dial down the suction and reduce the noise, and if you're usually out of the house (or on a different floor) while your bot runs, the noise doesn't really matter.
Height: Shorter bots get under more furniture, and it's helpful, but that only matters if you have furniture that sits low to the ground in the first place.
Bot shape: D-shaped robots are better at cleaning corners than round robots, but they tend to be clumsy navigators (a representative from iRobot, which makes both shapes of robot, admitted as much to us). Plus, round bots have side brushes that usually sweep debris out of corners anyway.
Boundary markers: If you need to set several do-not-cross borders in your home, you can get a bot with a "smart" mapping system and an invisible barrier option. But if you only need to block off one or two areas, some bots work with real-world boundary markers. iRobot's Virtual Wall system is pretty elegant; other bots rely on strips of magnetic tape, which are an eyesore.
Dustbin size: A bigger bin might be handy if you have a lot of sheddy pets (or people) in your house. But in our analysis of user reviews, small bins were rarely cited as a downside.
Security and privacy: All robots have the ability to collect at least some data about your floor plan (the mapping bots can collect quite a bit), and if they connect to Wi-Fi, there's some chance that the data falls into unwanted hands. For example, a security firm figured out how to look directly through the camera on certain LG robot vacuums. And a minor panic broke out several years ago after a Reuters article reported that iRobot had plans to sell owner data to third parties (and later corrected the story to something more wishy-washy).
In 2020, we sent a privacy and security questionnaire to the brands that make our picks and have compiled the key portions of their responses in the table below. In general, the owner data isn't that sensitive, and the mapping data is unsophisticated for now. We're more uneasy about what companies may do with collected information in the future, like selling it to third parties. The makers of our current picks don't sell data for now, but privacy policies are always changing. Otherwise, our main concern is that the little amount of sensitive data on a vacuum, like your Wi-Fi network password, is stored securely (if it's stored online at all), in case there are data leaks or breaches in the future. If you're annoyed or creeped out by the whole thing, you can either buy a non-connected bot or just never set up the Wi-Fi—these bots all still clean your house automatically even if you don't connect them to the internet. But you won't be able to use interactive mapping features without an internet connection. If you decide to sell or give away a Wi-Fi robot, be sure to factory reset it to remove Wi-Fi credentials.
| Roomba 694 | RoboVac 11S | Roborock S4 | Roomba 960 | |
| Navigation sensors | Bump-and-run | Bump-and-run | LiDAR | Gyroscope |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mapping | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Assistant compatibility | Alexa, Google Home | None | Alexa, Google Home | Alexa, Google Home |
| Do you share or sell data with third parties for marketing purposes? | No | N/A | No | No |
| Is identifying data (such as Wi-Fi name and network password) encrypted when stored in the cloud? | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes |
| Can the camera be accessed without permission by anyone but the owner? | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Is video transmitted with end-to-end encryption? | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Does the company offer a bug bounty program? | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Are you notified of security updates to the app or vacuum? | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes |
| What permissions does the app ask for? | Bluetooth, Location, Notifications | N/A | Location, Notifications | Bluetooth, Location, Notifications |
| Privacy policy | Read | Read | Read | Read |
Care and maintenance
Before you start a cleaning session, you should pick up any laundry, charging cables, or lightweight mats—most bots will get stuck on them. Yes, it's a little bit of work. And you should expect a few hiccups during the first handful of sessions. But then you'll figure out the pain points and get into a routine, and it won't seem like a big deal.
It's normal for a robot not to re-dock from time to time. But if it happens consistently, try moving the dock. For bump-and-run bots, it's a good strategy to keep the dock near the middle of your home (rather than stuffed in the corner in the back room) so that the bot will cross its path more often, increasing the chance that it finds and successfully re-docks when the battery runs low. For all bots, you need to leave a few feet open around and above the dock. If the dock is in a cluttered area or under a piece of furniture, there's a good chance the bot will not re-dock.
All robot vacuums need a little maintenance. In most homes, we think a bot will stay in good shape if you do about 15 minutes of maintenance per month, maybe a little more if the bot has a heavy workload.
- Shake off the filter every few sessions.
- Replace the filter every few dozen sessions. You could save some money by using third-party filters, which are extremely unlikely to harm the bot, but you may void your warranty if you happen to send in your bot for repairs with one of them in the filter slot.
- Cut away any hair wrapped around the brush roll as necessary. Most bots come with a tool that can cut and then brush away the fuzz.
- Clean the bearings on the brush roll, caster, and side brushes every few weeks. You might need a screwdriver for this job, but many bots let you pop out the parts with no tools.
- Wipe the sensors clean as needed, according to the manufacturer's guidelines—usually with a microfiber cloth or cotton swab with a little water or rubbing alcohol.
- Keep a can of compressed air handy in case you need to blow dust out of gears or other hard-to-reach nooks in the bot.
- Replace filters and side brushes a few times per year, the brush roll about once a year, and the battery as needed—probably every second year, though that depends on how often you use the bot.
If your bot breaks down outside of the warranty period, you may be able to repair it, particularly if it's a Roomba. Don't chalk up the bot as a total loss until you check to see if the broken part is available as a replacement.
Sources
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Duane Gilbert, former hardware engineer for iRobot , phone interview, March 2018
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Bruno Hexsel, former software engineer for Neato Robotics , phone interview, March 2018
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Vacuum Wars YouTube channel
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Evan Ackerman, robot vacuum coverage, IEEE Spectrum
About your guide
Liam McCabe is a senior staff writer for Wirecutter, and has covered the wild world of appliances since 2011. After testing dozens of robot vacuums, he is neither worried about AI nor holding his breath for self-driving cars. He enjoys visiting factories and learning about regulatory loopholes, and has flooded our testing area only three times.
How Long Does It Take Roomba to Learn Your House
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-robot-vacuum/