The Venga! Robot Vacuum Cleaner is a great budget option, which offers superb versatility through changeable heads. These allow it to act as a vacuum, mop or brush. It also has built-in sensors to stop it from colliding with walls or falling down the stairs.

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Some others we think are very useful are automatic carpet recognition, setting up pelo-go zones through an app and recharge-and-resume capabilities. But, not everyone will need all of these, and deciding which ones are important to you is a big part of choosing a robot for your home.

All the robot vacuums in this ranking have been rigorously tested, either by one of the TechRadar Homes team or an experienced reviewer. Meet some of the expert reviewers who tested the robovacs that feature in this guide.

Price-wise, it's not cheap – although we couldn't fault the build quality or engineering, and these kinds of do-it-all docks do always come at a price. But if you have lots of hard floors and mopping is your priority, it's worth the investment.

The robot navigated tight spaces and cleaned under kitchen cabinet toe kicks without getting stuck. However, the LIDAR sensor on top makes it too tall to fit under some low-profile furniture. After methodically covering our test floors, the Shark returned to its dock and emptied every speck of debris it collected.

Premium, but decent value given the features and Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners performance. Worth the investment for pet owners who want something for regular use.

In a separate 4x5-foot framed area, they note whether the vacuum gets caught on power cords or carpet fringe and whether it can transition over different materials. They also measure the height of the vacuum to determine how likely it is to glide under furniture.

This small vacuum does it all. The powerful suction and brush combo of the Proscenic 850T guarantee a consistently great clean. You can attach a cloth to the underside for hardwood mopping too.

Without the app, the AI Ultra is more limited, but it remains a solid performer for general cleaning tasks.

Robot vacuums usually don't require much upkeep, but each model will have its own maintenance requirements. There are things you can do to keep your robot working in tip-top shape like removing tangled hair from the brush, emptying the dust bin after each cleaning session, cleaning or replacing the filter and wiping the sensors or cameras to make sure that your robot can see your home well for the next cleaning session.

✅ You have pets: This bot tackled the hair in our reviewer's pet-filled home incredibly well – and better than any other robovac they'd tested .

Not all robovacs can handle the extra challenge posed by lots of pet hair, but one that really impressed on this front was the Dreame L40 Ultra. This bot was put through its paces in a home filled with furry, four-legged friends, and really rose to the occasion.

Any special features such as app control, mopping functions, and self-emptying bases are factored in too. This all adds up to days of testing; it takes time, but helps ensure we're evaluating them all properly. After extensive testing, we’ve compiled several buying guides to showcase our results, including the best Roombas, the best cheap robot vacuums and the best robot mops. We can even tell you what it's like when you use a robot vacuum in your home for the first time. So if you want to know more about robot vacuums so you can decide if one is right for you, you’ve come to the right place.