The cheapest robovacs will only have a dock for charging. Pricier models incorporate self-emptying of the onboard dustbin, and draining/refilling of the onboard water tanks. The very fanciest models offer automatic mop pad cleaning, and detergent dispensing for the mopping fluid.

Choosing the best automatic vacuum cleaner can make your life easier. These devices offer convenience and efficiency. They clean your home while you relax. With many options available, finding the right one is important. Consider features like battery life, suction power, and smart connectivity. Think about the size of your home and types of flooring.

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.

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 have tall thresholds: The Curv is great at scaling tall steps, and on test it very rarely got stuck.

We look at whether there's any remnants left after a single pass from the robot vacuum, and if it catches them on a second run. We repeat these tests for both hard floor and carpet.

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.

And considering there are cheaper models that perform better, this was a major downside. However, if you just need it for light cleaning, this is adequate, but you might want to consider other options.

In our Lab tests: The Samsung ran for well over an hour, had excellent pick-up power and used AI technology to automatically adjust the suction and brush roll speed to the flooring type. Three cleaning modes — min, mid and max — adapt it to different carpet pile heights and densities.

I’ve been testing robot vacuums for seven years and have run over 70 robot vacuums all over my house. These are my top picks if you’re looking for the best: a robot vacuum that can do it all with limited intervention from you.

Even if you have one of the best Roombas, robot vacuums are recommended more for light, everyday cleaning, rather than for handling really embedded debris.

Vacuum cleaners can be pricey, so it's best to do some research on high-quality models and consider what will work best for you, your home and your floor types. I've tested dozens of vacuums while working in the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, so I know which brands and models are best for each individual.

The app is easy to use and functions well. Our reviewer was also very impressed with the mapping – the X10 accurately mapped their apartment on its first exploratory outing – as well as the navigation and obstacle avoidance.

To assess object avoidance, we lay out a charge cable, a sock that's a similar color to the floor, and some fake pet poop, to see if it can reliably Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners spot and avoid them.