Also consider the Eufy RoboVac 11S, which is so quiet and nimble that it blends into the background like no other robot . 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 irobot vacuum cleaner most bots, which lets it glide under more furniture, picking up plenty of hidden debris. The big downside is that the 11S 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.
The 11S isn’t actually any slimmer than the more powerful RoboVac 30C – both of them sit at 2.85-inches thin. It’s cheaper than the 30C and can run for just as long with the same BoostIQ technology to keep the carpets clean too. The only difference you’ll notice in your cleaning between the two models is that the 11S cuts the suction power to 1300Pa – only 200 difference maximum and at a much lower price tag. You do lose support for smart assistants as well as the Eufy app, however – the 11S ships with a remote you can use to schedule your cleaning and switch your cleaning modes.
Even if advanced obstacle recognition worked well enough to let you skip the pre-tidying, your home would still feel messy. 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. The dustbin on the i3 is smaller than the ones on some other bots at this price, but the upgraded Roomba i3+ comes with a dock that automatically empties the bin when it’s full, or at the end of a cleaning session. The i3 has two counterrotating “extractor” rolls, which we’ve found to be excellent for cleaning rugs and resisting tangles.
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. 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.
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. We actually irobot vacuum cleaner 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.
Our floors have never, ever been this clean, and that’s pretty great given that we’re almost always at home now. But as a relative novice to robot vacuums, I was in for a few unwelcome surprises during our first few days together. The size and shark cordless square footage of your home should play a key role in how you choose which Roomba is right for you. A smaller house or apartment won’t need a Roomba with the longest battery life or the largest dust bin available, but a larger home might.
If you’re hesitant about the price, though, opt for the Roomba e5 (view at Bed Bath & Beyond) instead. We also love that this Roomba for smart homes takes home automation to the next level by using Imprint Link technology to automatically vacuum and mop your floors if you have a compatible Braava Jet machine. Although it’s one of the more affordable Roombas on the market, this model doesn’t skimp on power, consistent suction, or efficient cleaning. This model comes with its own emptying base and maintains intensely powerful suction across floor surfaces.
While it’s tempting to tuck your robot vacuum’s charging station in a corner, you’re probably going to need to put it somewhere a bit more conspicuous. The base station for my Roomba, for example, needs to sit against a flat wall, with about 1.5 feet of free space on either side and four feet of clearance in front. I should also add, however, that emptying your robot vacuum can be a curiously satisfying experience. In my household, emptying the Roomba has become something of a family event, where we marvel at how much dust and dirt the Roomba has managed to sweep up.
IRobot recently introduced an i7 model, which is discounted to $509.99 right now (regularly $699+). With features such as in-app mapping, scheduling and no-go zones, the Neato BotVac D8 was promising. The signature D-shape design of the machine makes it easier to get into corners and edges, and it was the easiest of all the connected vacuums to set up.
This ends up in surprisingly good overall coverage, but you may find that some areas that trap the robot get lots of attention, and more open areas just get one quick pass. The budget-priced iLife V3S Pro uses a suction tube like a traditional vacuum cleaner rather than the roller brushes employed by other robot vacuums, and does a better job picking up pet hair without clogging. There are also a few workarounds to get the Roomba i3 to clean a smaller space in a given session. These are small, AA-battery–powered beacons that project an invisible do-not-cross barrier.