For a more budget-friendly option, pet owners should consider the Roomba e5 with Wi-Fi. It’s a capable vacuum, too, and a top-five finisher on all three flooring types we test, which is something that only one other robot vacuum we’ve tested can claim (the also-excellent Neato D10). On top of that, the S9 Plus aced our pet hair pickup tests, where we scatter clumps of actual shark cordless pet hair donated from a friendly local groomer across all of our test floors. The 700 series, introduced in May 2011, though largely similar to the 500 and 600 series, included a more robust cleaning system, improved AeroVac Bin with HEPA filter, and improved battery life. Like the 500 series, the 700 series had models with different technologies and accessories.
The Roborock Q5 has a single brush roll , which we found to be less effective on carpets than Roomba’s dual-roll design. Finally, we sprinkle a 2-ounce mixture of cat litter and coffee grounds in a space with a mix of bare wood and a low-pile rug. We run each bot for 25 minutes or until it stops on its own, whichever comes first. When the bot is done, we weigh how much debris it managed to pick up. For cleaning that fits in perfectly with your life and your home, iRobot OS delivers unique intelligence to your robot so it works the way you want it to.
The Roomba j7 has Imprint Smart Mapping, but unlike the Shark, it took more than one runthrough of my home for it to create a complete map. IRobot’s app distinguishes between a regular cleaning job and a “mapping run,” so make sure you’re choosing the latter the first few times you run the machine. We tested the claim out with a fake turd made from Nutella and oatmeal, and the j7 worked great. The j7 spotted the faux feces from a few feet away and then methodically worked around the mess, never getting closer than about a foot.
However, it did pick up tumbleweeds of dog hair and adroitly swiped croissant crumbs from under the kitchen counter that other vacuums had left behind. I can ignore it—which is the highest praise you can give to any vacuum, ever. It mapped 850 square feet of my home on the first irobot vacuum cleaner run for 110 minutes, with plenty of battery left to spare. It methodically ran around the rim of the room before vacuuming it in rows, navigated neatly around kitchen chairs, didn’t fall off the step in front of the fireplace, and marked everything accurately on the map.
If you don’t want smart features like mapping, don’t need a self-emptying dustbin and don’t mind picking up before you start the vacuum, the Eufy 11S is the budget robot vacuum we recommend. It’s a basic and affordable vacuum with a slim profile, good suction and quiet operation, and should work well for anyone who wants to maintain their floors in between manual vacuuming. The j7+ leaves behind neat rows of just-vacuumed carpeting and the powerful suction of the unit was able to pick up cat litter and pet hair in my bedroom carpeting.
And it doesn’t include basic protections like two-factor authentication. If you have the cash, this is one of your best options for a clean kitchen floor, but if it creeps you out, you have other options. Whether you’re up against pet hair or you want to splurge on a high-end laser-guided bot, we have the perfect pick for you. If the S7 MaxV Ultra is out of your price range, the S7+ is an excellent alternative. It can’t refill its own water tank, clean its own mopping cloth, or function as a home security camera, but it offers all the other perks of the S7 MaxV Ultra for $400 less.