Best for:

Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo may look like a gimmick, adding a cordless stick vac to the Omni Station. Our lab testing shows that this is not the case. Instead, the Deebot T30S is so good as a robot vacuum and stick vacuum that it has become our top recommendation. It's a great option for people who want a robot vacuum and stick vacuum in one unit without compromising performance. It offers strong performance on both hardwood and carpet, supports mopping and has a self-emptying base station.

Why we recommend it:

During testing in our lab, the T30S Combo picked up more than 65% of the sand on the carpet (64.44% from low-pile and 66.67% from midpile). Hardwood was even better, with 85% of sand pickup on the hardwood. It does a fantastic job getting debris off the floor; it’s also great for pet hair with the ZeroTangle brush system, which uses a V-shaped roller and Dual Comb Teeth to physically scrape hair from the brush and direct it to the dust bin. In our testing, it did a great job of tackling pet hair.

The stick vac accessory has many attachments you need to help clean any mess. It’s great to have a stick vac with your robot vacuum and what helps the system stand out is that the Omni Station empties and cleans the robot vacuum and the stick vac. 

The Deebot T30S Combo offers a dual-spinning mop brush system to help keep your hard floors clean. When the vacuum detects the carpet, the mop rises to avoid touching the fibers. When mopping, the brush can swing out to reach the edge of the wall.

Who shouldn't get it:

If you're price sensitive, at $1,200 it's not the cheapest option, but it's less than newer releases from Dreame and Roborock. If you think about it, you're also getting a cordless stick vacuum and robot vacuum and mop in one device.If you can find it on sale, I wouldn't hesitate.

Best for:

The Eufy E20 3-in-1 robot vacuum is one of the most distinct robovacs we've tested. It's similar to our best overall pick, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo, which comes with a detachable and very capable stick vacuum in addition to its vacuuming and mopping robovac. The E20 doesn't have mopping capabilities, but it's still a very capable and easy-to-use robot vacuum and cordless vacuum. We like it for the total flexibility it offers by giving you a robovac, handheld and stick vac in one unit with a solid performance on different floor types.

Why we recommend it:

"This is my favorite robot vacuum," said our lab tech, Schylar Breitenstein, who spent hours testing the Eufy E20 both in the lab and at home. She praised its ease of use and how the portable vacuum fits into the robot vacuum's body for space savings. She also pointed to the numerous attachments included to customize the E20 for different cleaning needs.
In terms of performance, the E20 did quite well in our sand pickup test on a hardwood floor, removing 72% of sand. It struggled a bit more with carpet, falling shy of the 50% we consider a good score at 41% for low- and midpile carpet. Navigation was a mixed bag. Our light path test shows that it cleaned the test room in a methodical fashion, especially focusing on getting the corners first. However, it notably missed spots when navigating around the multi-legged table and would have benefited from a tighter turn. It handled pet hair well on hardwood floors but missed some clumps on the carpet.

However, what earns the E20 a place on our list is the sheer value it offers. It's $549 at full price, but as of this writing, it's on sale for $350. For the price, you get a robot vacuum with a self-emptying dock, a stick vacuum, and a handheld vacuum all in one, where normally you'd need to buy them separately. Its closest competitor with the same features, the Deebot T30S Combo, will cost you more than double this price, giving the E20 tremendous value.

Who shouldn't get it:

If you have a lot of carpeting at home, the E20 didn't do the best, scoring 41% for low- and midpile carpet. For a robot vacuum that can tackle carpet and hardwood equally well, we still like our best overall, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo for its stronger scores on both hardwood and carpet, as well as the ability to serve as both a cordless vacuum and robot vacuum.

Best for:

The Yeedi M12 Pro Plus offers the best bang for the buck among the robot vacuums we've tested. It's specifically great for those who want vacuuming and mopping functionality and have a lot of hardwood floors. It's also really good at tackling pet hair. It also includes a docking station to charge, self-empty and supports mopping.

Why we recommend it:

Yeedi may not be a brand you've heard of, but it's actually a sister company of Ecovacs, which has earned a number of picks on our list over the years. The Yeedi M12 Pro Plus is a very capable robot vacuum and mop that comes with a docking station and very impressive performance on hardwood floors. It scored an impressive 96.5% sand removal from hardwood floors, even higher than Deebot T30S Combo (85%). In fact, this is the highest score on hardwood of any robot vacuum we've tested. It also managed 54.6% from low-pile carpet and 64% from midpile carpet.

According to our light path test, navigation was also particularly impressive. The robot kept a very tight path around our complicated table setup, hit the corners well, and missed very few spots. Notably, it also supports multi-level mopping, which is a nice feature you don't always get on non-flagship vacuums. Pet hair also proved not to be a problem, with the M12 Pro Plus picking up nearly all the pet hair from hardwood and carpet.

The base station and robot vacuum are both loaded with features. The dock self-empties and includes a water tank to refill during mopping. It also has built-in hot air drying to sanitize the mopping pad between cleanings. And speaking of the mop, like many new robot vacuums, the M12 Pro Plus will lift up its mopping pad if it encounters carpet. The mopping pad is even pressurized, giving you a bit more elbow grease when cleaning.
The Yeedi M12 Pro Plus costs $900 at full price, which puts it on par with the Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro, but it's currently priced at $380 on Yeedi and Amazon, making it quite the steal for the performance.

Who shouldn't get it:

The M12 Pro Plus doesn't have many shortfalls, but low-pile carpet performance is on the lower side compared to some top-tier competitors like the T30S Combo. If you need stronger carpet performance, we're partial to the Ecovacs Deebot X9 Pro Omni, which is still being tested in the lab, but delivered impressive carpet pickup of more than 70% on both types of carpet. Some people have also complained about the confusing app, though that tends to be a pretty common problem in robot vacuums.

Best for:

Together with Roomba and Dyson, Shark is one of the best-known vacuum brands. In recent years, they've faced stiff competition from Dreame, Eufy, Eureka, Roborock and others, which are incorporating innovative features like threshold crossing, self-emptying docks and detangling brush rollers. The PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro is Shark's answer to this. It gives you good vacuuming and mopping with great navigation and the ability to cross thresholds up to 1.5 inches without having to spend as much as the Dreame X50 Ultra. If you love Shark as a brand, the PowerDetect Never Touch Pro is the robot you want.

Why we recommend it:

It comes with all the key features we've come to expect from a modern robot vacuum, including vacuuming and mopping functionality, a self-emptying dock, improved navigation with 3D mapping, 360-degree lidar and dirt detection sensors. In lab testing, it did great picking up sand from hardwood floors, removing nearly 96%, which is one of our highest scores on a robot vacuum. With carpet, we consider anything above 50% to be good; the Shark managed 54.5% from low-pile and 53% from midpile. Pet hair also proved not to be a challenge, with the PowerDetect removing most of it from hardwood and carpet.

Navigation was also quite good, with the robot moving around our test room in 21 minutes. The cleaning time is a little higher than some other models, but it was comprehensive, hitting most of the edges and navigating under a multi-legged table. It missed only a few spots in its passes. Notably, similar to the Dreame X50 Ultra, the PowerDetect is able to lift itself up over thresholds and obstacles up to 1.5 inches, although it can't go as high as the 2.36 inches of the X50 Ultra. The mopping pads also lift up so they won't drag across the carpet, and they self-clean and dry.

Who shouldn't get it:

At $999 at full price, it's one of the pricier robot vacuums on our list, but it's frequently on sale, making it a much more attractive option. If you can't find it on sale, we generally like the Yeedi M12 Pro Plus for offering better bang for the buck with the same capabilities.

Best for:

The Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo is our favorite new midprice robot vacuum at $470 full price and a relative newcomer from iRobot. It offers strong suction on both hard flooring and carpet, supports mopping, and has a unique mechanical paddle that compresses debris in the dustbin to let you keep 60 days' worth of dirt in the robot vacuum at a time.

Why we recommend it:

The 205 DustCompactor Combo gives you everything you need in a surprisingly small form factor. Our lab technician, Schylar Breitenstein, noted that the entire unit, including the docking station, is very small, making it a good option for people in apartments or small homes. In terms of performance, it did well in all of our tests, scoring 82% sand pickup from hard flooring, which makes it nearly as good as some of our top picks like the Deebot T30S Combo. On carpet, we consider anything above 50% to be good, and the 205 didn't disappoint, scoring 55% on mid-pile carpet and 59.5% on low-pile carpet.

It also mops, though strangely, the mopping settings are not available in the app. Despite that, it still worked perfectly, taking about 30 minutes to clean our test area and removing all stickiness from the floor after the first cleaning cycle.

Who shouldn't get it:
Despite having a base station for charging, the 205 DustCompactor does not self-empty or self-refill its water tank, so you'll still need to do that manually. If this is a deal breaker, many robot vacuums on our list have this feature, like the Dreame X40 and X50 Ultra, Yeedi M12 Pro Plus, and others, but they'll cost you significantly more.

Best for:

One of the biggest problems I face using a robot vacuum in my apartment is the different height thresholds between rooms, which make it impossible for most robot vacuums to handle. The Dreame X50 Ultra is a robot vacuum designed to solve this problem. It can cross thresholds and obstacles up to 2.36 inches by deploying a pair of small legs to lever itself over obstacles. It offers solid vacuum performance on hardwood and can mop your floors, too.

Why we recommend it:

In our lab testing, it successfully climbed a stack of plywood up to 2.36 inches, although it faced some issues coming down from anything more than 1.5 inches. Dreame advises that it works best when there's a transition between the two vertical obstacles, such as a 1.65-inch threshold followed by a 0.7-inch threshold. It's still more capable of climbing obstacles than any other robot vacuum we've tested, earning it a place on our list.

In cleaning capabilities, it's no slouch either. In lab testing, it vacuumed a room in 23.6 minutes and removed 62% of sand from a hardwood floor. For reference, we consider anything above 50% to be good. Carpets proved more of a challenge, with 35% off low-pile and 44% off midpile.

Mopping functionality is also quite good. Our lab engineer took it to his home and tested the mopping and vacuuming on his 1,200-square-foot main floor. It mapped the main level in 11 minutes and cleaned everything in a little more than 2 hours. The base station also comes with two tanks, one for clean water and one for dirty water, along with another receiver for the cleaning solution.

In real-world testing, it worked great with pet hair, removing most, if not all, of the pet hair from hardwood and carpet. The tangle-free roller brush never got tangled in a household with a Great Pyrenees. Navigation was also quite good, with the X50 Ultra able to identify objects like shoes, socks, tennis balls, electrical cords and other items it might get stuck on. It also recognized and worked around pets.

Who shouldn't get it:

The strong navigation abilities and good suction of pet hair earn it our recommendation. However, at $1,699 at full price, it is one of the most expensive robot vacuums you can buy, so we only recommend it if you truly have numerous thresholds and challenging transition strips in your home. For a robot vacuum that offers this capability at a lower price, the Shark PowerDetect Never Touch Pro can manage thresholds up to 1.5 inches.

Best for:

The Roomba J7 Plus is a very capable and reasonably price robot vacuum, but it lacks mopping functionality. Enter the Roomba Combo J7 Plus, which adds mopping to its skillset. Rather than just slapping a mopping pad onto the bottom, iRobot designed a motorized mopping pad with arms that lift it out from the bottom of the cleaner and relocate it to the top whenever it detects it's traveling over carpets. It offers strong hardwood scores, with an impressive 100% pickup, good carpet scores at 61.9% on low-pile and nearly 60% on midpile.

Why we recommend it:

It's a capable vacuum, and it did great at tackling all three flooring types (hardwood, low-pile carpet and midpile carpet) we tested. However, it faces stiffer competition these days with new combo robot vacuums that incorporate water tanks into their base stations and come with features like self-detangling rollers and hot air drying. Navigation also leaves something to be desired compared with lidar-based cleaners from names like Dreame, Neato and Roborock.

Our lab tech took the Roomba Combo J7 Plus home, where they have a mix of carpets and hardwood floors. It did a great job of identifying carpeted areas during its initial mapping run. We never caught it vacuuming those carpeted areas without lifting the mop up and out of the way first. It's just a better, more high-end approach to automated mopping and one you won't need to think about quite as much.

Despite some downsides, the Combo J7 Plus is typically priced at $589 these days and offers strong overall cleaning performance. As a result, it's our pick for the best Roomba robovac you can get.

Who shouldn't get it:

Despite strong performance scores, the Combo J7 Plus is showing its age in the navigation tech. It lacks lidar and more advanced sensors, so you're likely to get better, more comprehensive coverage with some of the newer models we recommend, like the Dreame X50 Ultra.

Best for:

For those on a very tight budget, the Eufy RoboVac 25C is one of the only robot vacuums available for around $100-150. Despite the cut-rate price, you get surprisingly good performance on hardwood floors and solid carpet pickup performance.

Why we recommend it:

You might not expect sufficient cleaning power from a budget-priced robot vacuum, but that's precisely what the Anker Eufy RoboVac 25C delivers. For instance, its ability to scour sand from hardwood floors (78.9%) wasn't too far below that of our top midrange pick. It's a decent performer on low- and midpile carpets as well, sucking up averages of 54% and 52% of sand from them, respectively.

The current asking price is just $150 at Walmart, although stock is dwindling at other retailers.
Who shouldn't get it:

How did Anker cut down on costs here, anyway? The answer is navigation. Instead of relying on cameras or lasers to map out its environment, the machine bumps around the floor like a slow-motion ping-pong ball, changing direction when it encounters an object or obstacle. As a result, it took an excessive 91 minutes to finish its cleaning cycle in our test room, so don't expect it to cover your house in anything close to an efficient fashion. If you don't like this trade-off.

Best for:
If money is no object and you want a robot vacuum that's capable of crossing thresholds and obstacles like the Dreame X50 Ultra, with the added benefit of a robotic arm to help you sort items, the Saros Z70 is for you. It offers decent vacuum performance, mopping capabilities, and comes with a self-emptying and auto-refilling base station. It's certainly the most unique robot vacuum I've ever used and one of the few that worked well in my challenging apartment that has multiple large thresholds between rooms and lots of clutter caused by three cats.

Why we recommend it:
The Saros Z70's main selling point is the mechanical arm, which can pick up and sort small objects like crumpled papers, napkins, slippers, and shoes. It's neat seeing the arm automatically emerge from the robot vacuum's body to do some pickup. It's fairly easy to designate a sorting zone in the app and the arm will usually put things where it's told to, but to be frank, the arm is hit and miss. It's capable of recognizing the objects it's trained for, but things like pet toys it usually wasn't able to pick up, though that's something Roborock is working on and that potential makes it a robot vacuum worth watching.
"The arm is a neat feature to watch, but I personally don't find it very useful," said Jared Hannah, senior technical project manager at our Louisville testing lab who was using the Saros Z70 at the same time as me. " I feel like if the robot is smart enough to avoid obstacles such as shoes and socks, I don't need it to try and pick them up and move them. As long as the robot doesn't get stuck on anything during its cleaning cycle, that's good enough for me."
In other capabilities, the Saros Z70 isn't too shabby. It has great sand pickup on hardwood floors, scoring 82.5% sand pickup, just short of our best overall, the T30S XCombo. On mid-pile carpet, it does better than the Dreame X50 Ultra, at 52%. On low-pile, it's at 51%, which is pretty solid and not too far off the Shark Power Detect NeverTouch Pro. It also has key functionality we expect from a robot vacuum, including a self-emptying and self-refilling docking station and advanced navigation.

I was also personally impressed by the mapping. After an initial quick scan, the robot did a great job of generating a layout of my apartment, identifying flooring types, key pieces of furniture, pet areas and cords. Tagging things manually was also fairly straightforward, though if I have one gripe, it's that the app is a bit overwhelming in terms of settings and customization options.
For me, the AdaptLift chassis was the real lifesaver. Like the Dreame X50 Ultra, it can deploy a pair of legs to lever itself over obstacles. It's one of the few robot vacuums that have been able to cross the two-inch thresholds in my apartment.

Who shouldn't get it:
Price is obviously the sticking point here. At $2,600, it's the single most expensive robot vacuum on this list and it's possible to get superior cleaning performance for a fraction of what you'll pay for the Z70. If the lift system is something that's important to you, you can get a similar feature from the Dreame X50 Ultra for about half the price. The dustbin and water tank are also on the small side due to all the space taken up by the arm, so that's another thing to consider.

Best for:

Not so long ago, the Dreame X40 Ultra was our splurge choice. Priced at $1,500, it was one of the most expensive robot vacuums we recommended for its excellent obstacle recognition and ability to clean multiple floor types. However, it's been replaced by a successor, the Dreame X50 Ultra, which is capable of overcoming vertical obstacles. That means the X40 Ultra is now often available for significantly less (currently $700 on sale), making it a much better deal, taking into account its excellent performance across flooring types.

Why we recommend it:

The X40 Ultra scored some of the highest sand pickup scores of any robot vacuum, with 95% sand pickup from hardwood and 90% from low-pile carpet and 86% from mid-pile.These are some of the highest scores of any robot vacuum we've tested on these flooring types. It even outstrips our best overall, the T30S Combo.

Despite being a generation older than the X50 Ultra, it still has most of the key features you want in a higher-end robot vacuum, including an all-in-one base station that can self-empty and auto-refill, 3D structured light navigation, advanced obstacle recognition, a swing arm for edge cleaning, multi-level mapping and hot water mopping.

Who shouldn't get it:

The X40 Ultra is a great robot vacuum, but it's an older generation model, so availability may start to dwindle over time. For now, though, it's an excellent choice as long as it remains on sale for around $700 to $800. If the price rises back to full price, then there are better options available, including the versatile T30S Combo and relatively affordable Yeedi M12 Pro Plus.