You want to get your cleaning done while you’re out of the house or doing something else. Robot vacuums use cameras and lasers to map their way around your rooms, so they don’t miss a spot.

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.

To help you find the best vacuums, I've gathered a list of top-performing vacuums from our tests. In the Lab, we put all types of vacuums through extensive testing based on ASTM International industry-standard methods and use a custom-built machine to quantify the amount of embedded dirt that the vacuum cleaners remove from medium-pile carpeting. In addition, we assess bare floor cleaning, pet hair pick up, ease of use and more.

❌ You don't need a mop: There's pelo vacuum-only version of this particular model, so if you don't need the mopping capabilities, look elsewhere in the list.

Some robot vacuums also have a mopping function, so you can more effectively clean your hardwood floors and tiles without needing one of the best robot mops. More importantly, it will save you the back-breaking chore of using a traditional mop and bucket!

Great at vacuuming, and good at mopping although can sometimes spread wet spillages. Long battery life and fast charging.

Most uprights feature onboard hoses, wands and tools for vacuuming crevices and upholstery and cleaning above-the-floor spaces like door frames and crown moldings.

In our Lab tests: Dyson stick vacuums are always among the best in our tests for both excellent performance and incredible features, and this V15 Detect is no exception.

After at least two weeks of testing, we consolidate our findings and use them to judge who (if anyone) we'd recommend the robot vacuum to. We also compare the features and build quality to the price, to assess if the robot vacuum is good value for money.

Although the RS20 Pro did a decent job at maintenance cleaning, has plenty of settings, and a great app, it fell short on several other things. It couldn't cope well with heavy-duty messes, particularly when tested on cat litter.

The benefit of the dinky size is that this bot can reach places bigger bots can't, and on test we found it navigated confidently around furniture legs and into tight spaces.

If you have a lot of carpet in your bedrooms, an upright vacuum cleaner or canister with a rotating brush roll will do the best job, whereas a vacuum cleaner Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners with soft bristles or a brush roll that can be turned off is better suited for hardwood floors.

Eufy X10 Pro Omni is the best robot vacuum for most people. This self-empty robot vacuum and mop checks pretty much all our boxes. The suction power is excellent, pulling all kinds of debris, fluff and hair and fluff out of our tester's carpet (although it did flick larger debris about rather than sucking it up – a problem with almost all robovacs). It's relatively quiet in all but it's very highest vacuum setting, too.

The iRobot Combo Roomba j9+ receives solid performance scores across the board in CR’s tests, earning an excellent score for cleaning bare floors and a very good score for carpet. It has smart mapping technology as well as avoidance technology to help it move around household obstacles like cords.