The Venga! Robot Vacuum Cleaner is a great budget option, which offers superb versatility through changeable heads. These allow it to act as a vacuum, mop or brush. It also has built-in sensors to stop it from colliding with walls or falling down the stairs.

The PowerDetect even offers more than the pricier competition with an ActiveLift leg. This helps it crawl over obstacles. It effortlessly popped the floor cleaning bot over my home's raised saddles and onto carpets in my living and dining room.

First and foremost, you should follow the directions in your instruction manual for where to place the robot vacuum. While most will offer similar guidance, the measurements required can vary, and some designs may prefer a greater clearance. Generally speaking though, your robot vacuum should be placed against a flat and straight wall on a level surface, with around 3 ft of clearance on each side, and at least 4 ft in front.

❌ You're on a budget: This is a premium robovac, and while we think the performance justifies the price, there are cheaper alternatives if it's out of your budget.

【AutoBoost Technology】The DEENKEE flat vacuum robot automatically increases suction power on carpets for deeper cleaning, and switches back to normal suction power level on hard surfaces to minimize energy consumption.

❌ You want something that mops well: The mopping here is just dragging a wet wipe across the floor, and not worth bothering with.

Premium, but decent value given the features and performance. Worth the investment for pet owners who want something for regular use.

In a separate 4x5-foot framed area, they note whether the vacuum gets caught on power cords or carpet fringe and whether it can transition over different materials. They also measure the height of the vacuum to determine how likely it is to glide under furniture.

That level of smarts means a high price tag, although our tester felt it was justified by the build quality and featureset. If you're looking for a truly autonomous cleaning solution, the Roborock Qrevo Curv will deliver.

Navigation: Our technicians Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners attach a tracking device to the vacuum and map its movement through a multiroom lab. Then they calculate the coverage of the room over multiple runs and note what the vacuum avoids and what it doesn’t. They conduct several runs to see whether the vacuum is able to learn the layout and improve its navigation.

"Both the vacuum itself and the charging unit/dust bin are attractively designed while remaining inconspicuous. The accompanying app is intuitive and clearly illustrates how the robot maps the areas its cleaning, as well as providing the ability to specify 'pelo-go zones'. The power settings can be changed between Quiet, Standard, Strong and Max.

A robot vacuum uses navigation tools like sensors, lasers and cameras to work its way around your home, suctioning up pet hair, crumbs and dirt into its dustbin from hard floors like wood, tile and laminate and low pile carpets and area rugs. Many high-end robots are capable of mapping and learning your space, so you can set the robot to clean only one room or a specific area.

The S8 Max Ultra is a very solid all-rounder, and only lost its place in our ranking because Roborock came out with some even better models very shortly afterwards.

The SwitchBot K10+ Pro Robot Vacuum takes the top spot thanks to its cleaning power, compact nature and multiple functions – all for a price point which is reasonable in the context of the automated vac market.