A robot with mapping capabilities like LIDAR or 3D obstacle recognition will remember your floor plan and keep track of where it has and hasn't been, which will allow it to clean faster and more thoroughly.

For our straight-line pickup tests on hard flooring, we spread large and small debris within a marked area proportional to the width of each robot vacuum’s nozzle. Each robot vacuum is given 10 minutes to clean and the debris collected is weighed to determine how much was picked up.

Some others we think are very useful are automatic carpet recognition, setting up no-go zones through an app and recharge-and-resume capabilities. But, not everyone will need all of these, and deciding which ones are important to you is a big part of choosing a robot for your home.

Luckily, we've been testing robot vacuums for 10 years to find those that deliver the strongest suction and best features for all sorts of homes, needs and budgets. And we have plenty of brand new releases to test following CES 2025.

Ruth is a Homes Editor at TechRadar, and has been reviewing consumer tech for over three years. She's spent the past year focusing on home appliances, and floor cleaners in particular.

There are four cleaning modes on the Lefant M210 Robot Vacuum Cleaner; automatic, planning, fixed point, and edge, which are designed to take into account all elements of your home. It is equipped with an advanced brushless nozzle as well as two side brushes to draw hair, debris and dust directly into the 500ml dust collection bucket.

Plus, we liked its superior mop powers to tackle stubborn stains. But if you're looking for a more affordable robot vac, we would suggest our best budget pick iLife V3S Pro, which cleans even tricky materials such as pet hair like a champ without breaking the bank.

While it doesn’t have a self-emptying base, we found maintenance to be simple. The dustbin detaches easily, and a one-touch ejection button lets you quickly dispose of debris directly into the trash.

It's speedy as well, mapping the first floor of our home in a near record of 7 minutes, thanks to the Quick Mapping option. However, it was less impressive on carpet, with an average score of 86% — its downfall was its inability to pick up dog hair, collecting just 74%.

Previously in this slot we had the Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni, which offers hot water mopping that's great at tackling greasy spillages. There are some compromises you'll need to make with this model, but it's often on sale and significantly cheaper than this Eureka model.

If your home has an equal ratio of hardwood floors to carpets then iRobot's hybrid robot Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners mop and vacuum is tough to beat. You get a thorough clean with a mopping pad that automatically retracts atop the vacuum.

The Roborock Q Revo vacuums and wet-mops simultaneously, using circular pads that spin at an impressive 200 rotations per minute. We found this high-speed scrubbing ensures floors are thoroughly cleaned, lifting dirt and debris effectively.

Before you start shopping for a new robot vacuum, you should consider what you need from it and how much you’re happy to spend. Here are some of the most common features you can find in robot vacuums.

ADAPTIVE NAVIGATION - A full suite of advanced sensors allow Roomba to navigate under and around furniture, and along edges. Cliff Detect keeps it from falling down stairs.