We all know at least one person who claims a robot vacuum has changed their life. Honestly, they’re probably right. There is something to be said for always knowing your floors are clean. Plus, some people simply hate vacuuming.

Just like all tissues are called “Kleenex,” and all bandages “Band-aids,” robot vacuums and the brand Roomba have become interchangeable. But we’re here to put some respect on the other names in the robot vacuum game.

Given Roomba-maker iRobot’s domination of the robot vacuum market since 2002, this assumption made sense for a while. Roombas have been around longer than the movie Holes and came out less than a year after Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake stepped out in that all-denim ensemble.

But the first robotic vacuum wasn’t even an iRobot brainchild. iRobot may be the brand to credit for making robot vacuums attainable for mainstream households, but Swedish brand Electrolux technically introduced the first robot vac in 1996. iRobot continues its reign as one of the best, but it wasn’t the first — and isn’t the last either.

Roborock, Shark, and Eufy have entered the chat.

Are robot vacuums worth it?

The crisp control of an upright Dyson vacuum comes with its own type of buzz. But if you’re not one to classify cleaning as cathartic, a robot vacuum could erase that huge, agonizing task off of your chore list. (And did we mention the joy of having first-day-clean floors every. single. day.? It’s not totally unlike staying in a hotel in that regard.)

But whether robot vacuums are worth it or not comes with a caveat: It can’t be just any robot vacuum. A cheap robovac that acts drunk — scattering dust rather than sucking, bumping into walls, getting stuck on area rugs — is completely missing that convenience factor that draws people to robot vacs in the first place. We’ve gathered the best-reviewed models in general for 2021, but some extra criteria specific to your home or needs can help narrow down the options:

Suction power: A vacuum is the one purchase that you hope sucks a lot. Suction power is typically measured in Pascals (Pa), ranging between 600 Pa to 2,500 Pa in the ones on this list. Stronger sucking will be needed to pick up heavier pieces of debris (be sure to set up a barrier around Legos) and to pull patted-down pet hair from rugs.
Floor type: Carpeting and high pile rugs will probably require stronger suction than hard floors, as well as special features like an extra-wide or self-cleaning brush roll to prevent hair from wrapping and clogging. Folks in homes with multiple floor types might consider a bigger, sturdier robovac that can hurl itself and its wheels over mats, rugs, and transitions from carpet to hard floors.
Home layout: Every robot vacuum is equipped with sensors and drop detection. But if your home has lots of rooms, lots of turns, or lots of close-together furniture, you’ll have fewer navigation issues with an advanced model that uses intelligent mapping to remember exactly how your home is laid out, including labeling of specific rooms, mental notes of staircases, and ability to deploy zone cleaning.
Low-profile furniture: No one should have to be scared about what’s accumulated under their couch over the past year. A robot vacuum measuring three inches or less in height should be able to scoot under most low-hanging couches and beds.
Battery life and square footage: One of the main complaints people have about their robot vacuum is that it craps out in the middle of the floor. Larger spaces require more time to clean, and it all depends on how annoyed you’ll be if it only finishes a few rooms at a time. Average run times for the list below range between 90 and 150 minutes, which translate to about 500 and 2,600 square feet covered on one charge.
App control: WiFi-enabled robot vacuums can be synced with a smartphone app to control scheduling, manual start, cleaning settings, as well as telling your vac to make its rounds when you’re not home. Low-end models that don’t connect to WiFi will usually come with a separate remote. If you’re used to asking Alexa or Google to turn off the lights or tell you the weather, a model with voice integration will blend in nicely.

Robot vacuums and pet hair

Pet hair can straight-up clown a botvac without the right features. If your home is shedding heaven, a D-shaped vacuum could take some of the pressure off of you to find the spots where it collects. We can’t scientifically back this, but we’re pretty sure pet hair gets up and crawls into corners when we’re not looking. A robot vacuum with a flat side can fit into those 90-degree angles and skim the edges of walls better than most circular bots can.

The next line of defense is a tangle-free brush roll. It’s essentially an XL brush roll that prevents shedding remnants from from getting wrapped up and tangled, likely having to be cut with scissors. Rubber trim or rubber fingers are a material that hair already doesn’t like to stick to, but also works to kill static that may be pinning hair to a carpet.

A robot vac’s filtration system is also an important consideration for homes with pets, as well as allergy sufferers in general. Vacuuming is bound to kick up dander, dust, and pollen into the air. A good filter captures that (HEPA filters catch the smallest particle) and makes sure it also makes its way into the dust bin. (All vacuums listed below have a HEPA filter unless noted otherwise in “The Bad” section.)

Roomba vs. Shark robot vacuums

In an unspoken sort of way, Roomba has been crowned as “the best” on the sole basis that it’s the most established brand in the robot vacuum market. But Shark has the automatic advantage of being a brand that’s hella established in the vacuum market as a whole, from stick vacuums to handheld ones, to ones with huge canisters.

But while Shark may be experts on suction power, brush rolls that don’t tangle, and other things on the vacuum end, Roomba has mastered suction and dominates the robot end. The maps created by a Roomba after it gets a sense of your home feature precision down to each room and the type of messes it typically sees. Shark’s vacuums struggle to make reliable maps more often. Roombas also typically have better run time.

A general comparison between the two brands doesn’t work so well. Like the Instant Pot vs. Ninja Foodi debate, Roomba has significantly more models to choose from at a range of prices and features that can be tailored to your needs. Shark’s whole lineup is generally more budget-friendly than its most direct counterpart from Roomba. Shark offers self-emptying, a self-cleaning brushroll, and smart-home mapping for as low as $449.99, while Roomba’s cheapest self-emptier starts at $599.99 — two models top that at $849.99 and $1,299.99.

Whether iRobot, Shark, Robovac, or any other brand is the best at actual cleaning is pretty subjective. “Best” to someone with four dogs and lots of carpet may not mean “best” to someone with a huge house with stairs and 100% hardwood. At any rate, patience is required. Not even the best robot vacuum is guaranteed to not be a bumbling idiot on occasion, especially when they’re still learning the blueprint of your home.

Here are the best robot vacuums for any home and budget in 2021: