Other Robot Vacuums to Consider
We are approaching the great robot vacuum convergence. At whatever price you want to pay, you can find a robot vacuum that will look very similar and have similar features. Here are a few that also worked well for us.
Roborock Qrevo Curv for $1,300: This was Roborock’s 2024 flagship vacuum and it’s still great (reviewer Ryan Waniata calls it the best robot vacuum he’s ever used). It has slightly less suction power than this year’s Saros 10R, but I did use it to clean an entire carpet full of baking powder.
Eufy Mach S1 Pro for $1,200: This astoundingly beautiful robot vacuum will be the centerpiece of your kitchen. The water chamber is see-through and lights up, and an ozone generator purportedly removes up to 99.99 percent of bacteria. It also has ultra-precise navigation and a self-cleaning roller mop that washes itself as it cleans. However, it only has 8,000 Pa suction, which is less than some of our other picks, and at 26.4 inches high, the dock is very tall and makes storage a little difficult.
iRobot Roomba 694 for $275: The word Roomba is synonymous with robot vacuum, and while later versions are of dubious value, the older ones are great and dirt-cheap. Even the cheapest ones have features like Dirt Detect, which spot-cleans specific areas. The app is also simple and easy to use, and the vacuum is quiet and powerful.
Eufy X10 Pro Omni for $700: Believe it or not, this is not a bad price for a hybrid robot vacuum mop (9/10, WIRED Recommends) with such fantastic navigational capabilities! (Sales have brought it even lower.) However, the Yeedi above is cheaper and offers much of the same functionality.
Dreame L40 Ultra for $1,500: Dreame’s robot vacuum-mop combo debuted at IFA 2024. It’s a little cheaper than the Dreame X30 Ultra (7/10, WIRED Review), but can’t do its coolest trick of removing the mop pads. WIRED reviewer Nena Farrell found that while it is cheaper, it is still not cheap, and it did bump into things a little more often than the X30. However, it is pretty and has plenty of battery life left after both mopping and vacuuming.
Avoid These Robot Vacuums
Not every vacuum earns a spot on our list. These are the ones I repacked straightaway.
TP-Link Tapo RV30C for $229: I like the simplicity of this robot vacuum but you can’t find replacement bags for it anymore.
Eureka J20 and Eureka J15 Pro Ultra for $850: Eureka is a highly respected name in the vacuum field, and these robot vacuums are gorgeous and come with many bells and whistles. However, Eureka vacuums found the tiny lip between the hardwood floor of my kitchen to the carpet of the living room to be completely insurmountable and the app also forgot the map every time it hit a minor obstacle. It was so annoying.
Proscenic M9 for £439: Reviewer Simon Hill reported that this robot vacuum is terrible. It misses a lot of spots, the chute becomes instantly clogged with hair, and it makes constant noises. Whenever it gets stuck, it tells you to call customer service. The only plus side is that it seems to be out of stock.
Narwal Freo X Ultra for $1,400: This is a beautiful vacuum with lots of features, including baseboard dusting. However, despite moving it from room to room to find better Wi-Fi, and switching from phone to phone to try different versions of the app, I was unable to connect it to the app and so could not use it. (I reached out to Narwal multiple times but could not fix it; we will update if I do find a fix in the future.)
Switchbot K10+ for $600: WIRED reviewer Simon Hill also tried this robot vacuum, which is adorable (half the size of a regular vacuum) but suicidal. The roller gets clogged easily, it can’t find its way back to the dock, and it often hurls itself down the stairs.
Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 for $1,000: This vacuum cleaned surprisingly well (5/10, WIRED Review). However, it doesn’t auto-empty, DirtDetect doesn’t work, and the app is completely bonkers (maps aren’t accurate, can’t add multiple floors, and cleaning times are off).