2 Best Robot Vacuums of 2026, Lab-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 in our tests are great for regular touch-ups and spot cleaning.
As the category has evolved, many manufacturers of robot vacuums have combined vacuuming and mopping functions in a single machine. Here, though, we’re looking specifically at vacuum-only models. If you’re interested in a device that vacuums and mops, we have separate recommendations for the best robot vacuum and mop models.
To find the best robot vacuums, we put them through a string of cleaning performance tests. We also judge them on reliability and owner satisfaction based on surveys of thousands of CR members who have purchased a robot vacuum since 2016.
Below, we’ve spotlighted our two most highly rated robot vacuums. Both excel at cleaning bare floors and picking up pet hair. They’re adept at avoiding obstacles and offer a level of data security acceptable to our experts.
For more detailed information on how all the models we tested perform, you can consult our robot vacuum ratings. Our full vacuum ratings also include our reviews of canisters, uprights, handhelds, corded and cordless sticks, and robot vacuum and mop combos from more than 20 brands. And if you’re a pet owner, you might want to check out these robot vacuums that are especially proficient at vacuuming up pet hair.
The budget-friendly 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 many of the other vacuums we’ve tested, and its low clearance means it’s less likely to get caught under furniture. Its convenience score takes a bit of a hit because its dustbin is on the smaller side and isn’t the easiest to clean. The model earns very good scores for data security but less-than-satisfactory scores for data privacy.
On the upside, Eufy robot vacuums earn a near-top-level rating for their predicted reliability and a decent rating for owner satisfaction. Compared with other robot vacuum brands, Eufy models are less prone to clogs and app or online function issues, although 14 percent of Eufy robot vacuums have batteries that died, according to our survey.
The iRobot Roomba Max 705 is quiet and performs well in every cleaning test we’ve thrown at it. It’s outstanding at vacuuming up pet hair and is no slouch at cleaning carpets, either. This vacuum is also better than many other robot vacuums at navigating spaces and avoiding obstacles.
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 tangle-free brushes. If you hate untangling hair from a vacuum’s brush rolls, this iRobot model is considered easy to clean.
In our member surveys, iRobot vacuums earn a midlevel rating for reliability and a below-par rating for owner satisfaction. According to member feedback, iRobot models are more likely to experience WiFi connectivity issues than those from most other brands.
How CR Tests Robot Vacuums
While upright and canister vacuums are better at deep-cleaning hardwood and carpets, a robot vacuum—often controlled via 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 to move clothes, toys, and other objects off 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 apply 75 grams of flour across a section of test carpet, run the vacuum 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 collects over a 10-minute period.
Navigation: Our technicians attach a tracking device to the vacuum and map its movement through a multi-room lab. Then they calculate how much area the vacuum covered across multiple runs and note what it avoids and what it doesn’t. They also conduct several runs to see whether the vacuum can 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 vacuum’s height to determine how likely it is to get stuck 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 the security and privacy of digital products. We score robot vacuums on more than 70 criteria in this set.
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