Best Robot Vacuum Cleaners 2021

The S6 Max V is far from budget but it eclipses some of the more expensive robot cleaners in terms of features, as well as cleaning power.

It identifies and avoids obstacles (including pet poop), has an excellent mapping system that easily allows for the creation of exclusion zones and will even allow you to schedule the cleaning of your rooms in a specific order at specific times.

It’s also got something extra in the form of the camera, which you can view remotely from your phone, turning it into a secondary home security device. You can check up on its progress or see how your pets are getting on while you’re out.

Read our full Roborock S6 Max V review

While a robot vacuum cleaner is still a luxurious purchase, the Neato Botvac D7 Connected is one of the best you can buy.

It was expensive when we first reviewed it, but it has now come down to a much more tempting price. Besides, we felt that the performance and convenience were enough to justify the RRP – despite the frustrations we found with the app.

Read our full Neato Botvac D7 Connected review

As with any robot vacuum cleaner the RoboVac 30C will not eliminate the need for a traditional vacuum every so often, but it has sufficient suction power (1500Pa) to keep your floors and carpets tidy on the days you’d rather put your feet up and chill.

The ability to connect it to your home Wi-Fi network for remote operation is cool, although nothing new, but we love the voice assistant integration for proper lazy boy cleaning.

It’s not the newest robot in town any more but at its current low price, it’s one of the best value.

Read our full Eufy RoboVac 30C review

Most robot vacs are interchangeable look-wise (Dyson models aside) but the X8 Hybrid has some stylish bronze flourishes that set it apart from its unadorned competitors.

This mid-range addition to the Eufy stable is worth a look if you want up-to-date features such as LIDAR, mapping and scheduled cleaning but you’re after an option that won’t break the bank.

It’s already available for considerably less than its RRP and if you can find it for a good price, you won’t be disappointed. It’s quiet, powerful, has a 180-minute runtime and is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

The mop is a little disappointing but we’ve yet to be blown away by the mopping prowess of a hybrid model.

Read our full Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid review

For its price point, the Proscenic M7 Pro is one of the best robot vacuum cleaners you can buy. It has very powerful suction, it’s quiet and has good climbing ability.

It also has very efficient laser mapping, allowing you to easily create exclusion zones and deep cleaning areas. It comes with a remote and is also Alexa-compatible, although to access the more advanced features, you’ll need to use the app.

The M7 Pro also has a decent mop function but don’t buy it for this, as it’s its least impressive feature.

Read our full Proscenic M7 Pro review

The S6 is a smart vacuum cleaner. It does a great job of cleaning hard floors and carpets, and has plenty of battery power and suction for the task.

It isn’t very good at mopping up ground-in or dried up dirt, so don’t buy it and think it will replace that job as well: it won’t.

Spares are readily available and inexpensive, which is good. The app lets you control the S6 and even choose specific rooms to clean, although we’d love the Alexa skill to be updated so it supports this feature too.

Given that it’s cheaper than a few key rivals and does a better job of vacuuming than most, it’s easy to recommend.

Read our full Roborock S6 review

The Ecovacs Ozmo Deebot 920 is a recommended mid-range option. It’ll give you 110 minutes of cleaning time and it’s quiet, operating at a very reasonable 66dB. It has good climbing ability and a 10cm height, making it among the more manoeuvrable cleaners – both under furniture and over obstacles. During our testing period, we didn’t have to rescue it once.

Its Lidar system helps it to navigate an efficient course around your home and you can use its map function to create custom cleaning modes and exclusion zones.

It also has a mop function which works well enough but is sadly no substitute for mopping by hand. 

Read our full Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo 920 review

If you want to be able to set and forget cleaning schedules, a self-emptying robot vac is a must. Otherwise, you’ll have to remember to empty it each time it runs, or every other time, at least.

If you go for the N8+, you’ll get impressive suction, acceptable mopping and a brilliant mapping system that’ll allow you to set up sophisticated cleaning schedules, with no-go areas marked up. Its carpet auto-detection means it’ll automatically ramp up the power when it encounters a rug or carpet, saving power for when it needs it.

On the minus side, the N8+ isn’t the best climber and got itself stuck more often than many of the robot vacs we test. You’ll also need a big, dedicated space for the oversized dock.

Read our full Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8+ review

The 360 Heurist is a stylish and powerful robot vacuum that’s instantly recognisable as a Dyson. As is its price tag.

Via Dyson’s Link app, you can schedule vacuuming, as well as map and zone your home for different levels of cleaning.

It has a decent 75 minute running time before it needs to trundle back to its dock and recharge, but this is somewhat offset by its very small bin (0.33 litres). 

It doesn’t take up much floor space, which is handy when it’s not in use. However, its height means that it won’t fit under as many piece of furniture as most other robot vacuums. Measure up if you’re considering buying.

Read our full Dyson 360 Heurist review

The Yeedi Vac Station is currently the most affordable self-emptying robot vac we’ve tested.

A self-emptying system is good for scheduled cleaning and for saving you from having to pull bits of fluff and hair from the dustbin by hand. The trade-off is having to find space for a much larger dock.

Yeedi’s offering has very good suction and good battery life but there are some issues you’ll have to compromise on. The first is that when it’s set up to mop, it can’t charge – you’ll have to remove the mop attachment first. Second, it only has space for one stored map, so if your property is on more than one floor, it may not be for you. 

Read our full Yeedi Vac Station review

A luxury item that takes us one step closer to the fully automated home, the Shinebot W400 iLife can support a robot vacuum with automated mopping of your hard floors.

Performance is very good, even without being able to add disinfectant or bleaching agents, and the W400 can comfortably clean around 50 square metres from a single charge. It leaves flat floors almost entirely dry, collecting the dirty water as it passes over an area.

Though it’s not an entirely set-and-forget solution, the iLife Shinebot W400 is certainly a handy gadget to have around – if you can afford it.

Read our full iLife Shinebot W400 review

The N79S is your quintessential robot vacuum cleaner in both design and features.

It’s middle of the road in almost all areas so while it’s cheaper than many rivals, it just has a basic level of performance and perks. It can cope with both carpet and hard floor but bounces around rooms fairly aimlessly.

On the plus side it has a remote control and support for Alexa. If you just want a robot to do a bit of surface cleaning, the N79S is a good choice.

Read our full Ecovacs Deebot N79S review