4 Best Robot Vacuums of 2025, Tested and Reviewed
We not only test how well these robotic vacuums clean but also evaluate how well they protect the data they collect
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If you want to be more hands-off in your cleaning, a robot vacuum could be a helpful addition to your home. While they aren’t as powerful as upright or canister vacuums, the best robotic vacuums from our tests are great for regular touch-ups and spot-cleaning.
As the category has evolved, many manufacturers of robotic vacuums have combined the functions of vacuuming and mopping in a single machine. Here, though, we’re looking specifically at vacuum-only models. You can find details on how vacuum/mop combination machines perform in our separate robotic vacuums and mops ratings.
In addition to performance tests, we also judge robotic vacuums on reliability and owner satisfaction based on surveys of thousands of CR members who have purchased one since 2015. The list of reliable brands making high-quality robot vacuums isn’t long, but CR evaluates many of the major brands, whose models run the spectrum from inexpensive to pricey. Our ratings take into account this reliability and owner satisfaction data, as well as our test results.
Below, we’ve listed our Top Picks among the current crop of robotic vacuums alphabetically. These top-rated robot vacuums excel at cleaning bare floors and picking up pet hair. Many of them are adept at avoiding obstacles, and all of them offer WiFi connectivity with a level of data security acceptable to our experts.
For more detailed information on how the models we tested perform, you can consult our robotic vacuum ratings. Our full vacuum ratings also include our reviews of canister, upright, stick, and handheld models from more than 20 brands. And if you want to know which vacuums to avoid buying, check out the worst vacuums from our tests and what to buy instead.
The Dyson 360 vis nav stands out for its unique features and powerful cleaning performance despite some limitations and its high price (though we’ve found it on sale at times at half off). It’s on the heavy side but compensates with extremely strong suction, effectively picking up pet hair and embedded dirt. Instead of a conventional side brush, it uses an extending side duct to tackle edges and corners. It also has a large brush roll that spans the full size of the vacuum for effective cleaning. Though its dustbin is relatively small, it’s equipped with a convenient one-touch ejection system for easy emptying.
While the vacuum earns very good scores for data security, it’s less than satisfactory when it comes to data privacy. Dyson robot vacuums earn a solid rating for predicted reliability, based on our member surveys, though they get bottom marks for owner satisfaction.
For a less expensive alternative, the Eufy C10 T2292 is a great choice if you don’t have too many carpeted areas in your home. While it’s only middling at cleaning dust and debris from carpets, it’s excellent at cleaning bare laminate floors in our lab tests. The vacuum is also impressive at cleaning up pet hair, making it ideal for pet owners.
This vacuum’s body is slimmer than the other vacuums we’ve tested, and its low clearance means it’s less likely to get caught underneath furniture. Although the vacuum’s dustbin is on the smaller side, that might not be much of a problem because the vacuum automatically deposits debris into a self-emptying station. Its convenience score gets dinged a bit because our testers have noticed that when hair gets caught in the vacuum’s brush roll, it’s not easy to remove. But on the upside, Eufy robot vacuums earn a near-top-level rating for their predicted reliability and a decent rating for owner satisfaction. Like the Dyson above, it earns very good scores for data security but scored less than satisfactorily when it comes to data privacy.
The Eureka NERE10SW is another great option if you’re looking for a less expensive bot. It’s very good at cleaning carpets (the vacuum gets an automatic suction boost when it detects that it’s on a carpet). It’s stellar at vacuuming up pet hair and performs just as well at removing debris from bare floors. But it tends to have a harder time cleaning the edges and corners of a room.
Though it’s a strong cleaner, it’s not necessarily as efficient as some of the other models we’ve tested. We noticed that it took longer than other robotic vacuums to fully clean our test area. The vacuum comes with a self-emptying base that it returns to after each cleaning session. Its data privacy and data security scores mirror those of the Dyson and Eufy models above.
The iRobot Roomba Max 705 may be slightly more expensive than other robovacs, but it’s quiet and performs well in every cleaning test we’ve thrown at it. It’s also outstanding at vacuuming up pet hair, and it’s no slouch at cleaning carpets, either. (Like the Eureka NERE10SW above, it increases suction power when it’s on carpets.) This vacuum is also better than many other robotic vacuums at navigating spaces and avoiding obstacles. The manufacturer has declared bankruptcy but maintains that its pending restructuring will not affect the functioning of its devices.
Based on our assessment of how well the vacuum and its manufacturer protect a user’s data, the Roomba Max 705 earned a high score for its data security measures. But it scored only so-so for data privacy. The vacuum comes with an automatic emptying base and brushes designed to be tangle-free. In our member surveys, vacuums from iRobot earn middling ratings for reliability and owner satisfaction.
How CR Tests Robot Vacuums
While upright and canister vacuums are better at deep-cleaning hardwood and carpets, a robot vacuum—often controlled by a smartphone app—can be useful for regular touch-ups. Top performers can find their way out of tight spots and around extension cords. You’ll need to do some prep work in moving clothes, toys, and other objects from the floor before sending out the vacuum.
We evaluate robot vacuums for how well they perform in these categories:
Carpet cleaning: For surface cleaning, our technicians disperse 20 grams of cereal, 30 grams of rice, and 20 grams of yellow peas across a 4x5-foot framed test area of medium-pile carpet. Then they measure how much debris is captured during a 10-minute period. For embedded dirt, they embed 75 grams of flour across a section of test carpet, let the vacuum run in the area for 3 minutes, and then weigh the amount of flour it picks up. Human hair is embedded in the same section of the test carpet. Technicians time how long it takes for the vacuum to pick up the hair and weigh the amount that’s in the dustbin and the brush roll.
Bare-floor cleaning: Our technicians spread 75 grams of sand over laminate flooring in a 4x5-foot framed test area and measure the amount the vacuum picks up in a 10-minute period.
Navigation: Our technicians 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. In a separate 4x5-foot framed area, they observe 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.
Ease of use: This score is based on a combination of factors, such as the size of the dustbin, whether the vacuum has a handle for carrying it around your home, how easy it is to clean the brush roll, whether the vacuum scatters debris, and whether you can schedule it for routine cleaning.
Data privacy and security: Together with other organizations, we created The Digital Standard, an open-source set of criteria for evaluating digital products’ security and privacy. We score robot vacuums on more than 70 criteria in this set.
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