Best Robotic Vacuums for $300 or Less
These autonomous cleaning machines are deals on wheels
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If you’re shopping for a reasonably priced robotic vacuum, Consumer Reports’ robotic vacuum ratings has a few shining stars for $300 or less. That’s a welcome development in a category where you can easily spend two to three times that on a product that serves as a backup to your full-sized vacuum.
“Robotic vacuums are best at taking care of light debris and the daily dust pileup,” says Sue Booth, who oversees Consumer Reports’ vacuum testing. “Many of these models can be scheduled to run every day, provided you’ve set up your home to accommodate their movements.”
Because robotic vacuums have become much better at cleaning, we’ve upped our testing. Booth and her team built a multiroom lab to evaluate how well each robotic vacuum removes surface debris on medium-pile carpet and bare floors, whether it can get into tight corners, and how well it navigates and cleans multiple types of rooms. Our experts also evaluate the data privacy and security of each connected vacuum. (Data security assesses whether a robotic vacuum incorporates security measures such as encryption. Data privacy examines privacy setting options and publicly available documents, such as privacy policies and terms of service, to see how manufacturers collect and use your data.)
Looking for a specific model? Browse our ratings of more than 35 robotic vacuums from manufacturers such as Bissell, Ecovacs, iRobot, Samsung, Shark, and more.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the best models if you’re hunting for a robotic vacuum within a budget of $300.
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CR’s take: Despite its name, the bObsweep PetHair earns only a Fair rating for picking up pet hair from medium-pile carpet within the first 10 minutes of making its rounds. It’s also not the cheapest option on this list, and its taller robotic vacuum profile of 4.75 inches means it will have more difficulty squeezing under furniture. But if you have enough clearance under your couch, you could consider this model, which earns an Excellent rating in our bare-floor cleaning test and is better than average on carpet. It’s also one of the quieter robotic vacuums we’ve tested.
CR’s take: Talk about a bargain. The Eufy 11S earns a Good rating in our carpet cleaning test and an Excellent rating on bare floors. While it’s not the most efficient cleaner (testers noted that it sometimes scatters debris), it gets the job done, operates quietly, and has a cliff sensor to keep it from tumbling down stairs. This model isn’t WiFi-enabled, so you can’t control it remotely from a smartphone app, but that also means it can’t be hacked. Eufy robotic vacuums as a whole receive an Excellent rating for reliability in our members survey, as well as a Very Good owner satisfaction score.
CR’s take: The Eufy 30C is an extremely quiet vacuum, making it a great choice for those who might need to run a robotic vac while they’re at home. Although this is one of the cheaper models in our robotic vacuum ratings, it earns an Excellent score for cleaning bare floors. In addition, it’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and you can program the robot through the manufacturer’s app. But because Eufy discloses very little information about its data privacy policies, its robotic vacuums earn only a Fair rating in our privacy tests. And in terms of security, its robotic vacuums earn just a Good rating because the company hasn’t confirmed with CR that it has a security oversight panel, a vulnerability disclosure program, or security updates over time—three things other robotic vacuum companies do have.
CR’s take: Another stellar Eufy vacuum, the 11S Max has a longer average run time than both the 11S and the 30C, at 95 minutes. (The other two run about an hour, on average.) Like those Eufy vacuums, this affordable machine earns an Excellent rating for cleaning bare floors. However, its pet-hair cleaning is not quite on par—in our tests it earns a Good score vs. a Very Good for the other two. Note: This model isn’t WiFi-enabled and can’t be used with a smartphone app.