We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
Put your feet up and do the vacuuming all at once
Found the perfect flooring but struggling to keep it clean? If you have a hectic schedule or you simply have better things to do than vacuum, then let one of the best-rated robot vacuum cleaners take care of all that daily dust.
Increasingly advanced, a great robot vacuum is almost powerful enough to replace your regular cordless vacuum. These gadgets have light maintenance covered, reducing the time you'll spend on deeper cleans. Even better? Most robot vacuums released these days can simultaneously mop your floors, saving you time and effort. Though they do come at an expense, there's simply no denying the convenience of a robot vacuum mop.
Just looking for our product recommendations? Here are our picks for the best robot vacuum cleaners that you can buy, tried and tested, in 2025:
Why invest in a robot vacuum? Their pick-up can be highly effective on all types of surfaces, even lifting pet hair, and they're adept at tackling corners and reaching under furniture – particularly in hard-to-access areas like under your bed. Even the best robot vacuum cleaners can't climb stairs, but they do have clever sensors to save them from taking a tumble.
How do they work? Underneath the unit, you'll find wheels that help it move around your home. There'll also be a sweeping brush, and this brush spins to sweep dust and debris away from corners and into the path of its roller brush, to collect and suck into its on-board dust bin. Some robot vacuums will need emptying, while others are self-emptying and arrive with a charging station or dock, where their main dustbin lives.
As far as mopping goes, there's a mop pad (usually microfibre) that needs to be fitted underneath the unit. This will be dragged over your floors while the vacuum is moving, and occasionally, water will be dispersed onto your floors. Otherwise, on more expensive models, you'll find one or two rounded pads that can rotate, to actually scrub your floors clean and reach into corners.
In short, these robot vacuums offer so much convenience, so keep reading to discover our favourite picks of the best robot vacuums, as tried and tested in our busy homes.
This article was updated in mid-September to include the Roomba 505 Plus Combo Robot Vacuum and Mop, which was tested by one of our freelancers.
We also added a section explaining how we test robot vacuums and the things we do in our testing process, including information on who has tested each vacuum in this guide.
Say hello to Eufy's newest and smartest offering: the Omni S1 Pro. Like the X9 Pro, this smart piece of kit is a robot vacuum and mop with plenty of impressive features. Loved and used daily by our Homes Ecommerce Editor, Laura Hill, this is a lifesaver for her. It does come at an expensive price tag, however, at more than £1,000, hence why it isn't our number one pick.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of the S1 Pro is the 290mm roller mop. Working at a speed of 170 RPM, it mimics the action of human scrubbing to remove even the most stomped-in pieces of dirt. With a suction strength of 8000 Pa, the vacuum function is not to be sniffed at, either.
What's more, it comes with two separate water tanks that separate clean and dirty water, as well as an integrated ozone generator to ensure the water used is always sterilised (as pet owners, this was a big plus for us). It's arguably one of the best vacuums for pet owners.
Of course, the S1 Pro also includes many of the handy features of previous Eufy models, such as app control and smart object avoidance, making it a great all-rounder if you can afford to splurge.
READ MORE: Eufy S1 Pro robot vacuum review
| Mapping technology | Yes |
|---|---|
| Charging time | 4 hours |
| Running time | Up to 184 minutes |
| Canister capacity | Docking station: 3L, robot: 250ml |
A new release from robot powerhouse iRobot, the Roomba 505 is one of the best robot vacuums, and it also mops your floors. Not only does it sit on its own dock, complete with a dustbin and two water tanks – one for clean water and the other for dirty – but it's available in two colourways. As recommended by one of our freelancers, Annie Collyer, she claims it's among the best she's ever tested.
The best thing about it? Other than its easy-to-use app that maps your house incredibly fast, its mop pads are revolutionary – they actually spin to scrub your floors clean. Gone are the days of dragging a dirty mop pad over your floors; this robot even returns to its dock to clean its mop pads when needed, and it dries them, too.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of all is that this robot can reach right into the edges of your skirting boards, and it never misses an inch. You can set no-mopping zones over rugs and no-go zones around places you'd rather it not clean. Even better? Its roller brush cleans pet hair well, and it's tangle-free, so you'll never have to worry about detangling it.
At a rather reasonable price tag, this robot vacuum offers so much convenience, especially for busy households. Once you've set a schedule, all that's required is for you to pick up objects from your floors and ensure both tanks are ready for cleaning. Its dustbin can hold up to 75 days' worth of dirt and debris.
| Mapping technology | Yes |
|---|---|
| Charging time | 2+ hours |
| Running time | 3 hours |
| Canister capacity | 75 days |
We love the sleek X8 Pro as a hands-free way to keep a home with pets clean, and we’re impressed with its performance on carpet and hard floors. It upgrades the features of Eufy’s X8 model. While the two are similar, the newer one has more suction and a clever roller brush that automatically detangles pet hair. This removes one of the biggest frustrations with vacuum maintenance and means you’re much less likely to need to flip over the vacuum and remove pet hair from the brush yourself.
That’s not all, though. It gets even more hands-free. Go for the variant with the self-emptying station, and it makes the whole process of vacuuming your home so much less effort. After each clean, the robot will return to its dock and deposit everything it picked up into the 2.5-litre dust bag.
Setting up the robot is super simple, and the laser-guided mapping is fantastic at working its way around your home. We found it easy to separate and name our rooms within the companion app, and from there, it’s straightforward to set different cleaning programs on a per-room basis. Ideal if you know the kitchen needs a deeper clean!
| Mapping technology | Yes |
|---|---|
| Charging time | 5 hours and 40 minutes |
| Running time | Up to 180 minutes |
| Canister capacity | 0.335 litres |
Hoover has launched its first range of robot vacuum cleaners, and it's come as no surprise to us that they are top-notch. There are three options available at various price points: the standard HG4 is £249, choose the version with mopping capability and it's £269, and for mopping and self-emptying, it's £349.
In comparison to the wider range of robot vacuums on the market, all of these options are very reasonable, and the quality is not compromised.
A real highlight of this model is the self-emptying capability. After each session, it automatically takes itself back to its base and empties dust into the cleaning station, so you don't need to come into contact with any dirt at all. You simply replace the bag once it's full.
Its sweeping brush is stronger than it looks and catches everything it comes into contact with. The mapping mechanism is also incredibly fast and accurate, and the robot covers all areas while carefully avoiding furniture and smaller obstacles. We're particularly impressed by how well it can manoeuvre over even very chunky rugs, which is something other robots struggle with.
| Mapping technology | Yes |
|---|---|
| Charging time | 4 hours |
| Running time | 120 mins |
| Canister capacity | 3L |
The Dyson 360 Vis Nav is a highly effective cleaning machine with a steep price, offering some of the most powerful suction in the robot vacuum market. Its D-shaped design and full-width brush bar allow it to reach deep into corners, and we find it delivers a thorough clean across various surfaces whether on our wood floors or carpeted rooms.
The vacuum uses its sensor to detect dust particles and adjust suction accordingly, so you get high levels of cleanliness even in high-traffic areas – and, interestingly, you can see which parts of your home have the most dust via the app!
However, while the Dyson 360 Vis Nav excels at picking up dust, it lags behind some competitors for smart navigation features. For example, it lacks the AI-powered object detection and avoidance systems found in rivals from iRobot. This can lead to the Dyson getting stuck on obstacles or struggling with changes in the environment, such as moving furniture, but it’s also straightforward to solve by clearing the floors before it cleans.
On test, the vacuum was easy to set up, with intuitive mapping, scheduling and control. It doesn’t offer features like mopping or self-emptying, but the cleaning performance is top-tier, getting the closest to the kind of dust pickup that we expect from our full-size vacuum. Of course, it is a lot noisier than some models, but this is a trade-off we’re happy to make for its impressive power.
| Mapping technology | 360-degree camera |
|---|---|
| Charging time | Approximately 1 hour and 55 minutes |
| Running time | Up to 65 minutes |
| Canister capacity | 500ml |
This Roomba came close to rivalling our stick in pick-up power – with everything from crumbs to pet hair vanished in its wake. It responds quickly to voice commands, and our tester liked that it snaps and sends you a photo if it can’t overcome an obstacle.
Its auto-emptying function is very effective, and its app notifies you when the docking station’s bin needs emptying. It took more than half an hour to clean our average-sized test room, but it did so thoroughly. Choosing between this robot vacuum cleaner and the top-of-the-range s9+ was tough – they both performed similarly on test – but the more affordable price tag earned the Roomba j7+ our top spot.
| Mapping technology | Yes |
|---|---|
| Charging time | 3 hours |
| Running time | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Canister capacity | 1.7 litres (docking station storage capacity) |
If you’re looking to give your plush new carpets the robot vac treatment, note that this Eufy devoured most of our dirt on the test, including pet hair. Its brushes proved too powerful for hard floors, blowing dust around instead of drawing it into the canister.
It cleaned our test room in a respectable 25 minutes, taking corners and crevices in its stride, but its navigation was fairly random. It lacks mapping and no-go zone capabilities, so get it going on a WFH day when you can keep an eye on it.
| Mapping technology | No |
|---|---|
| Charging time | 5-6 hours |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Canister capacity | 0.6 litres |
These time-saving machines can be pricey, so let's run through the key things to consider before you buy a robot vacuum. Different models offer different features, at various prices. It's only worth paying for those you'll use, so here's what to look for:
One of the key ways that robot vacuums differ from one another is in how they get around your home. The most basic models use haphazard bounce navigation to knock themselves around your space. This type of vacuum has sensors to stop it from taking a tumble down the stairs but won’t have any navigation system.
It may sound inexact, but you’d be surprised how effectively this random approach works. If you’re on a budget and have a small space, this may be the way to go. The next level up? Robot vacuums that clean the floor systematically.
These models can clean in straight lines until they reach obstacles, and will use this as they get around. The most advanced type will use laser navigation to map out your home. These ones learn the difference between your kitchen and your bedroom.
Speaking of smart models, many of the best robot vacuum cleaners with laser navigation onboard will map out your whole floor plan before they set off, so they know where to clean through your home.
You can dictate where most clean too, creating no-go zones through the compatible app or by using supplied magnetic strips. Some of the more affordable models on our list don't have these features, but as long as you're around – and have picked up any dangling curtains or cables – while they're cleaning, this shouldn't be a problem.
Most robot vacs have accompanying apps that you can use to control them. If they have an app, you’ll find they're compatible with Alexa or Google Home too, so you can talk to them if you'd prefer to simply say 'hey Google, tell the robot vacuum to clean the kitchen,' for example. If you're not fussed about smart features, some models come with a remote instead of an app or voice control.
None of us enjoy mopping the floors. The good news is that you're increasingly likely to find vacuum/mop hybrids when searching for robovacs. These high-tech combo cleaners are often great for houses with hard flooring, but it's worth checking exactly how the mop part of the vacuum works.
They tend not to be designed to deal with stubborn stains, and we think cheaper ones are a little more likely to leave a big puddle on your floor. Advanced ones will either fill up their own water tank at the charging station or need a manual refill, and they should be smart enough to deal with carpeted areas first or lift up their cleaning pads as they approach your rugs.
Compact robot vacs can generally carry less than one litre of dust, meaning they'll need regular emptying. That said, some higher-end gadgets boast auto-empty functionality, with disposal technology integrated into their docking stations. iRobot claims that its j7+ and s9+ models can hold up to 60 days' worth of debris.
When it comes to the actual testing of robot vacuums, we like to ensure this is done in a real-life environment. We need to know that they can take on life's everyday messes, such as cleaning biscuit crumbs from your rug, tackling the dog's kibble around the dog bowl or even sucking up dried mud from your doormat.
We always make sure to match the product to whoever will be doing the testing – for example, if it claims to be great for households with pets, we will ensure the reviewer has one or more pets to test this claim.
These robot vacuum cleaners are used in our actual homes for a minimum of two weeks. After this, we begin the testing process, in which we test how the robots clean different floor types. We also check how good they are at edge-to-edge cleaning, and we will note anything the robot vacuum struggled with or features we particularly love.
We note how well the vacuums navigate obstacles and map out dimensions. And we look at the tech, considering how intuitive the apps are to use and how effectively the vacuums respond to voice control.
We do like to keep our team of robot vacuum cleaner testers small, so we have a small pool of people who will test a robot vacuum every few months, or as a new release arrives, to provide an accurate comparison. This makes it easier for us to decide which robot vacuum is best suited for a particular situation, and it helps us rank these robot vacuums fairly.
Other factors such as price, design, battery life and ease of use, as well as app-compatibility, also play a huge role in determining just how much we recommend these robot vacuums.
The models featured on this list are a mix of those from hands-on tests and recommended picks from our rigorous research. The following models have been tested by either a member of the House Beautiful team or a contributing freelancer.
iRobot Roomba 505 Plus Combo Robot & AutoWash Dock - tested by Freelance Contributor, Annie Collyer
Eufy S1 Pro Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Mop - tested by Laura Hill (Homes Ecommerce Editor)
Eufy X8 - tested by contributor Simon Cocks (Technology Editor at GoodHousekeeping UK)
Hoover 2-in-1 - tested by Amelia Smith
Dyson 360 Vis™ Nav - tested by contributor Simon Cocks (Technology Editor at GoodHousekeeping UK)
iRobot Roomba j7+ - tested by GHI
Eufy Anker 15C Max - tested by GHI
Dunelm's £6 side table makes small rooms feel instantly more stylish
Shop Oliver Bonas’ Sicilian-inspired summer range
3 easy tablescapes to elevate summer entertaining
Striped bedding is the easy-to-live-with trend replacing plain white sheets
