There are caveats, though. Robovacs can't deal with stairs, so their usefulness in multi-floor homes is far more limited. They're also not capable of proper deep cleans, so if you're dealing with lots of hair or dirt, they might not cut it.

One of the big benefits of a Roomba is that they're relatively slim in height, meaning they can venture places other bots can't. On test, we found this one was especially good at handling pet hair, with its grippy rubbery rollers.

We'll also look at how the robot tackles the issue of switching between vacuuming and mopping – will it reliably detect floor type, and pick up its mop pad when moving from hard floor onto carpet, for example?

We're constantly getting new samples in for testing, and as a member of ASTM International's F11 Vacuum Cleaner Committee, we meet twice yearly with engineers and technical representatives from all brands to help develop and shape the vacuum cleaner test standards we all use to assess performance, ease of use, durability and more.

❌ You want high levels of control: This robovac doesn't always do exactly as its told when it comes to more complex instructions.

In our Lab tests: Worx beat 18 other handheld vacuums to earn the top overall score across tests on carpet, bare floors and pet hair pickup.

You’ll be using an upright vacuum to clean bare floors and low-pile rugs, we recommend selecting a model where you can adjust the height of the nozzle and switch off the rotating brush to avoid damaging flat and delicate surfaces or scattering debris.

✔️ Weight: Lastly, the weight of a vacuum makes all the difference when lifting it up and down the stairs and around the house. A heavier, larger option may be great for power and durability, but it's not ideal if you live in a multi-level home or want to vacuum hard-to-reach places.

Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Net Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Marketing Marketing

It is one of the most expensive canister vacuums we’ve tested, but it is a favorite in our Lab and will last for years, preventing you from needing to replace it down-the-line.

The iLife V3s Pro is the best robot vacuum you can get for less than $200. Despite its low price, the V3s Pro consistently outperformed other robot vacuums that cost three times as much. It picked up nearly all of Fido's fur in our lab tests — making it one of the best robot vacuums for pet hair — and it performed well in everyday home usage.

That's due to a lack of features at higher prices or more niche use cases that aren't as versatile as the top models in our list. Still, the models below are worth checking out if money isn't an issue.

Onboard dustbins tend to be small, so if you're dealing with lots of dust or hair then I'd Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners recommend prioritizing a self-empty dock. However, be aware that the more functions you add, the bigger the dock will be – the ones with water tanks can be pretty massive.

One liked its speed, especially on hardwood floors, saying, “It honestly did all of the work and I barely had to fuss with a wet mop head or dry it off."