21-03-2025
The best robot vacuum and mop to keep your house clean in 2025
Surely, you've heard the expression, "It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it." If the job in question is vacuuming or mopping, guess what: Nobody has to do it! Leave it to robot vacuums instead. These gadgets have improved considerably in recent years, offering more suction, smarter navigation and even mopping features. Many can empty their own dustbins and wash and dry their mops, too. (I know, it's a short step between that and a complete robot uprising, but I'm willing to risk it if it means I can skip floor chores.) Of course, with prices starting around $700, these premium cleaners aren't exactly as budget-friendly as our favorite cordless stick vacuums. So what's the best robot vacuum to keep your house clean? And which one is worth the money? Read on.
First things first: manage your expectations. Over the past year we've tested several high-end models, most of them vacuum/mop combos offering varying levels of self-cleaning and the promise of robust, AI-powered navigation. Not one of them is perfect; a model that's good at vacuuming falls short at mopping, another that's good at mopping gets tripped up on cords. Put simply, if you're expecting Rosey the Robot-level efficiency (that's a Jetsons reference, kids, look it up), you're going to be disappointed.
Just how effective these machines can be in your home depends a lot on your home. Do you have carpet, rugs, hard floors or some combination of the three? Do you have a pet that sheds or a kid that smears jelly on every surface? What's the clutter situation like? Ultimately, the more obstacles and mess and floor variety a robot vacuum has to face, the more likely it is to get stuck or fail to clean well.
That said, when you come home from a long day and find freshly vacuumed carpet and shiny kitchen floors, it's a thing of beauty. And you didn't even have to fight with a surly teenager to make it happen.
Best robot vacuums for 2025
Factors to consider when choosing a robot vacuum
How we tested these robot vacuums
Other robot vacuums we tested
Robot vacuum FAQs
Read more:
The best vacuum cleaners of 2025
The best handheld steam cleaners
The best air purifiers
Update, Mar. 21, 2025: We checked all product prices and availability and included new reviews for the Ecovacs Deebot T30S and Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1, which we added to our top picks. Our pick for the best robot vacuum overall remains unchanged.
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Good news: Even inexpensive vacs do a pretty good job sweeping floors, and many of them now offer what was previously a premium feature: a self-emptying bin, a nice time-saver. Without it, you need to manually dump the debris after every cleaning or two. (Looking at you, Dyson 360 Vis Nav.) With it, you can often go a month or more before emptying.
Don't focus too heavily on the suction rating (expressed as "Pa," short for "Pascals"). Although a higher number translates to greater cleaning power, it doesn't necessarily mean "better at cleaning," as there are other variables at work as well. iRobot, makers of the famed Roomba robots, doesn't even specify a Pa number for its products. That said, I'd look for a minimum of 5,000Pa, which should be enough to suck up Cheerios (arguably the most important measure of vacuum acumen).
What else should you look for? These are some key features to consider when evaluating robo-vacs:
App-based mapping and scheduling: Once upon a time, you had to deploy special sensors or even strips of magnetic tape if you wanted to keep your vac out of certain spaces. Modern models will use smart mapping to scan your entire space, label individual rooms and allow you to create virtual "no-go" zones. (For example, my desk chair sits on a plastic mat that's curled up at the edges, so I've established a small zone to keep the vac away from it.) Mapping capabilities happen in a companion app, which also allows for scheduling, spot-cleaning, smart-assistant integration and much more.
Self-cleaning mop dock: I already mentioned the self-emptying dustbin, which is great, but most of the models here can also self-wash their mops. Without this feature, you'll have to manually remove/clean the mop pad on a regular basis — not fun. Some also self-dry.
Auto-rising mop pad: Speaking of mop pads, you don't want a wet one dragging across the carpet, do you? Look for a vac with an auto-rising pad, one that will lift up when sensors detect carpet. (If you have medium- or high-pile carpet, though, it may not raise high enough.)
Smart obstacle-avoidance: Got pets? Cords? Curtains? Kids? Newer, smarter vacs can avoid toys, socks, pet accidents and other items that would trip up other models. Take note that this feature sometimes relies on a camera, one that may be able to stream a live feed to your phone through your WiFi. It's also a potential (but tiny, in my humble opinion) security risk, something to consider if you think hackers are interested in what's on your floor.
Battery life: Ideally, any robot vacuum should be able to sweep your entire floor in one cleaning session without needing to recharge along the way. But this depends on the size of your home (or, at least, the size of the selected cleaning area), the size of the included battery and the overall power of the vac. (The higher the Pa, the higher the battery demand.) How much runtime is required to completely clean your house? Hard to say, but take note that most robot vacs have a rated runtime of anywhere from 90-210 minutes. If you live in an apartment, a shorter time may be fine. If it's a big place, consider a longer-lasting battery.
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After unboxing the vacuums, we studied the instruction manuals and checked reviews from real-life shoppers. We evaluated how easy the vacs were to set up then put them to work in our homes, making sure they traveled into various rooms and over different surfaces. We dropped extension cords in their way to see if they got tripped up (bad news: most did). If the vac offered mopping capabilities, we tested those out, too, against everyday dirt and grime.
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Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra Robot Vacuum & Mop ($1,800): It's great at vacuuming and good at mopping, but at this price, it should have a better map editor and be able to avoid something as simple — and common — as an extension cord. Read my full Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review to learn more.
Dyson 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum ($1,199): Even if you can afford it, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav isn't a smart buy. While it does an admirable job sucking up dirt, it's quite limited overall. (It's just a vacuum — no mopping — and it doesn't even self-empty its dustbin.) It's bright blue-purple, so it hard on the decor, too. Read my full Dyson 360 Vis Nav review to learn more.
Ecovacs Deebot T30S ($650): This sophisticated robot zips around quickly and efficiently, and you can even control it with your voice. But it frequently got caught up in low- and medium-pile rugs, and the instructions tell you to block off stairs so it doesn't fall down them, which is surprising considering how techy it seems. The app is very detailed, but the instruction manual was a bit confusing, which made setup more complicated than it needed to be. FYI it also comes with a separate handheld vacuum with three attachments that fit into the dock, which is a nice bonus. Too bad it makes the dock massive.
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They absolutely do, and usually without a problem. However, if your vacuum is also a mop, it's possible that wet mop pads will drag over the carpet, especially if it's high-pile. While many modern robo-vacs can automatically raise their mops when carpet is detected, in my experience they don't go high enough. The DreameBot L20 offers a potential solution to this problem — it can automatically detach its mop pads before heading out — but it's not smart enough to mop hard floors first, go back to the dock, drop its mop, then head back out. (You have to configure it manually if you want to do that.)
I'm not sure there's a "best" place, but ideally the dock should live somewhere out of the way, the better to preserve your decor and avoid tripping over it. For example, I have ours parked in our laundry room next to the washing machine; I just have to make sure the door stays open so the robot can roll out to the rest of the house. I also recommend placing the dock on a hard floor instead of carpet, if possible, especially if there's a mop involved.
Absolutely, though with a few caveats. First, if you have a large dwelling, it may need to return to the dock to recharge before whole-house cleaning is complete. Second, these things obviously can't climb stairs (yet), so if your home has more than one floor, you'll have to manually move the robot up or down.
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