14 best robot vacuum cleaners for spotless floors, tried and tested by a team of experts

Score: 96/100

This robot vacuum is an exceptional cleaner. It took just 11 and a half minutes to whizz around our testing room (the quickest we’ve ever seen), picking up almost every speck of dust, dirt and hair as it went. Large crumbs were no challenge for it either and the extendable brush arm helps gather up most of the debris stuck in the corners of the room.

It’s also our top pick for mopping. It has one of the most innovative mopping systems we’ve seen with a self-cleaning roller that spins at high speeds to remove stubborn stains and worked brilliantly in testing. Mud that had been left to dry for 24 hours lifted in a single pass and our surfaces were left shiny and streak-free. The robot’s AI tech can recognise more than 40 different stains and will tailor its cleaning approach to each one. Plus, once done, the robot will return to its station to be washed in 70°C water and dried, so it’s ready to go again.

The base station is on the tall side so isn’t very discreet but that’s a trade-off we’re willing to accept, especially for all the tech features packed in, including AI-powered obstacle avoidance, seamless mapping and self-emptying. This is a truly impressive hands-off robot vacuum and mop.

Score: 95/100

If your home is mainly carpeted, it’s worth considering this premium robot vacuum from MOVA. Its dust pick-up on short pile carpet was the best we’ve seen so far in testing, thanks to its powerful suction, high speed motor, and anti-tangle brush. The extendable side brush helped us reach into corners and tight spaces and, overall, the robot removed all visible debris in under 20 minutes when we left it to clean our testing room. No pet hair or longer strands got tangled in the roller either.

This robot vacuum also has an extendable mop arm and a slim profile, so it can clean under furniture and around different items. In the lab, it cleaned up most spills in a single pass, but dried-on stains, like ketchup, required more work, so it's best to set the robot off to clean up any mess as soon as it happens.

It’s simple to operate via the intuitive app, and we were impressed with how it climbed over small obstacles and thresholds. While the robot does empty itself into the dock’s dustbin, we did find it occasionally left behind a few crumbs and strands of hair, so it may be worth checking the robot’s bin every so often.

Choose this robot vacuum if your home has lots of carpet, uneven floors, or awkward thresholds, but opt for our winner for stronger mopping, faster whole-room cleaning, and a better all-round performance. If you want great carpet cleaning for less, choose the MOVA P50 Pro, which delivered a similar performance to this model but was less effective at picking up pet hair.

Score: 94/100

Dyson’s latest robot vacuum is packed full of innovative tech, including high-speed scanning and mapping for better navigation and a more thorough clean. It scans the environment seven times per second to ensure it doesn’t bump into any obstacles, and its AI system is trained to recognise hundreds of household objects, minimising collisions.

But beyond the bells and whistles, it aced almost every test we threw at it in the lab, gobbling up large chunks of biscuit on carpet and dust on hard floors. It even picked up more debris than we’d laid down once we let it loose to clean the whole of our floorcare room.

Setting up the app was seamless and it’s easy to manage multiple spaces, set-up no-go zones, and customise cleaning routines. When we programmed it to mop, the results were impressive too. It tackled heavy spills with ease and automatically refreshed and cleaned its roller halfway through to ensure a top-quality finish. If we’re being picky, it left behind traces of some dried-on black coffee, and the mopping was a little noisier than the vacuuming mode, but it wasn’t too disruptive. Overall, this is a premium cleaner that’s worth splurging on.

Score: 93/100

This high-tech robot vacuum has a new ‘AdaptLift’ mechanism that means it can raise itself up to climb over thresholds and adapt to uneven surfaces. It easily coped with going over lips between rooms at the Institute and picked up 99.3% of debris when left to vacuum an entire room.

In terms of cleaning power, it boasts a powerful suction that lifted an impressive amount of dirt from short pile carpets and laminate flooring, with only a small amount of deeply ingrained dust left behind. Plus, large debris like crumbs and cereal were no challenge.

The two rotating mop pads worked a treat on a range of common stains, only leaving behind a slight ketchup mark, and we love the self-cleaning dock that automatically empties the robot, as well as washing and drying the mop pads with hot water so it’s ready to go again.

The docking station is bulky, and the robot itself is on the heavy side, but that’s a trade-off we’re happy to make for such a high-quality cleaner.

Head to our Roborock Qrevo S Pro review (90/100) if you're looking for a mid-range robot vacuum, or our Roborock Qrevo Series QV 35S review (88/100) for something on the lower end of Roborock's price scale. If you want something more premium, read our Roborock Saros Z70 review (85/100) as this one has a mechanical arm that can pick up small objects like socks in its path.

Score: 93/100

Shark’s two-in-one robot made a brilliant impression in our tests, picking up biscuit crumbs and cereal without a hitch. It scored highly when lifting dust too, but left some debris ingrained deep in the carpet pile.

On average, it took just over 13 minutes to clean an entire room, successfully collecting 94% of the dirt we laid down. The only slip-up here came from the side brush occasionally flicking the odd crumb aside. We also spotted the brush pushing dust along on hard flooring rather than sucking it in, which meant only 81% was picked up.

Navigation was smooth and confident. It manoeuvred around furniture well and lifted itself over threshold strips in doorways too. The room’s maps were easy to find in the app too, with the option of adding no-go zones and dividing rooms up further.

When mopping, the robot cleared all the mud but left behind a small smudge of red wine. Overall, though, it worked methodically, keeping a straight line and returning to dirty patches multiple times to ensure a clean finish.

We’ve also tested the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Self-Empty Robot Vacuum & Mop RV2620WAUK, which scored 84/100. Read our Shark Matrix robot vacuum review for more details.

Score: 91/100

Robot vacuums and mops are some of the most advanced appliances we test here at the Good Housekeeping Institute, so we have high expectations, but even we’re still sometimes surprised by the innovations. And this design from Eufy definitely falls into that category. It’s has a dual water tank within the robot, which means it collects dirty water and cleans the mop as it goes.

It’s heavier as a result, but it wowed our testers who said it didn’t smear any ketchup beyond the already stained area when cleaning – something rarely seen in the lab. Its vacuuming was also methodical and effective, lifting an average of 83 per cent of dust and dirt across the different test room floors. Pet hair wasn’t much of a challenge for it and it navigated obstacles well, reaching nicely into awkward spaces, but it struggled at room edges, especially on carpet.

Testers liked its multi-tasking docking station that emptied, refilled and recharged the vacuum, giving a relatively hands-free user experience. They also praised its height for easier access – meaning if they wanted to access on-machine controls, they didn’t need to bend over or kneel down. The app was intuitive too.

We’ve also tested three other Eufy models. Head to our Eufy X10 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum review (87/100) for a mid-range robot that excels at cleaning kitchen floors; our Eufy E28 Omni Robot Vacuum Cleaner review (82/100) for a model with a portable spot cleaner in its docking station; and our Eufy E20 robot vacuum review (80/100) if you want a robot, stick, and handheld vacuum in one.

Score: 89/100

This clever robot vacuum comes with some truly innovative tech, so we’re not surprised that it performed so well in our lab tests. It uses Direct Time of Flight navigation, which essentially works by shooting short laser pulses into obstacles and measuring the time it takes for them to bounce off and return – the time equals how far away the object is. It might sound complicated, but this is premium tech that excelled in the lab – the robot passed under low-hanging obstacles, manoeuvred round furniture, and detected stairs instead of taking a tumble.

That’s not the only clever feature though, as we also appreciated its mopping functionality. The robot shoots high-pressure jets of water onto stubborn stains, softening them before the roller mop comes along to finish off the deep clean. This combination worked well in our tests, removing mud and tea that had been left to dry for 24 hours; however, it wasn’t completely faultless, with some traces of black coffee left behind.

We’re being picky though, and its overall cleaning ability was very impressive. Pet owners should note that it missed some small clumps of hair, but it did manage to collect the majority, along with almost all the crumbs and debris we laid down.

Score: 89/100

If you’re concerned about pet hair in your home, we recommend turning to this premium buy from iRobot. It sucked up both large clumps and finer strands in just two minutes, removing most of the hair without a fuss. It excelled when picking up dust and cereal on carpet too but struggled more with biscuit crumbs, only collecting 83% before returning to the docking station.

Mopping was effective with the robot going over messes, returning to its dock to empty its dirty water, and setting out again to keep cleaning. However, the extendable brush roller didn’t quite clean the edges of skirting boards, leaving an average of 5mm untouched.

On hard floors, its dual sweeping brushes sometimes flicked dust rather than vacuuming it up, resulting in only 72% being removed. The overall clean was effective though, and it uses AI technology to recognise and avoid obstacles. The app is also a highlight, providing plenty of information and updates on cleaning schedules, battery life, and no-go zones.

We’ve also tested a mid-range option from iRobot. Check out our iRobot Roomba Plus 505 Combo review (83/100) for more details.

Score: 87/100

Gone are the days of robot vacuums coming in only black and white! Finally, iRobot has answered our prayers with this mini cleaner that comes in pale green and baby pink (as well as the traditional black and white). It’s also one of the smallest robot vacuums on the market and comes with an equally compact docking station, making it ideal for anyone short on space.

While it may be small, it doesn’t skimp on cleaning power, collecting biscuit crumbs and cereal with ease, thanks to the side sweeper brush. If you have pets, you’ll also be pleased to know that it had no problem removing both clumps and finer strands of hair in testing. Note, it removed more dust on hard floors than carpet so may be better for homes with floorboards or a mix of the two.

We also found the mopping function wasn’t very effective, tending to smear stains rather than clear them away. It would be ideal for refreshing floors between cleans though and we were impressed with how it lifted the mop to avoid making the carpets and rugs wet.

The odd niggle aside, this mini robot vacuum can clean tight spaces and under furniture, while complementing your home’s aesthetic.

Score: 87/100

This performed nearly as well when mopping as the Eufy Omni S2 (our top pick for the chore). So, if you frequently find yourself dealing with stains (mucky paws?), this Dreame robot vacuum is a good choice – all wet spills were mopped up in two passes, leaving floors shiny and streak-free. Dried stains lifted relatively easily too with only ketchup proving a bit of a challenge.

This model boasts a ‘dual-joint’ robotic arm to help reach into corners and along edges better. It did the trick too, tackling crevices well and cleaning around pieces of furniture without getting stuck or bumping into them.

It performed best when vacuuming up dust on hard floors, collecting almost every speck laid down. However, some large chunks of biscuit and cereal was crushed under the robot’s wheels, leaving a little mess behind.

The manual control mode was slightly laggy at times, but the robot responded to scheduled cleans without a problem. Overall, it’s well-designed, easy to use, and excellent at navigating round the home.

Score: 85/100

Devouring every single Rice Krispie we laid down, this robot vacuum is a go-to for tackling light messes and everyday debris around the home. The app was easy to navigate, and our tester was amazed by the range of customisable settings, including adding and saving rooms, setting up a cleaning schedule, and adjusting the suction power with the tap of a button or voice command.

After mapping, it took just over 15 minutes to clean a whole room, and the robot successfully avoided all the no-go zones we set up on the app. However, when we tried the mopping function, it needed several passes to clear up a smear of sauce, even with the highest water flow.

The battery can take up to five hours to charge from empty too, but the battery level is clearly displayed on the robot and in the app, so you can easily keep track of how much cleaning power it’s got left.

Score: 84/100

This robot vacuum is a great crumb gobbler. Testers said it was brilliant at collecting biscuit and cereal debris, lifting over 95%. It tackled pet hair effortlessly too, but dust was a different story – while it lifted nearly every speck from laminate, on carpet, a lot was left behind. The mop function works well for cleaning the worst of a spill too, although you may want to follow up with a final wipe yourself, as there’s no spot clean function.

Clear instructions meant testers found it easy to set up and use, and they liked its app control, but struggled to get the voice tech working. Its docking station is available separately and performed well on test generally, even though the vacuum’s canister didn’t always fully empty into it. It’s also fairly large, and there’s minimal information on how often to empty the dust bag. We suggest keeping an eye on it regularly to begin with until you get into your own routine.