How to Find the Best Budget Robot Vacuum

A bargain-priced robot vacuum is a steal. Beware of the maintenance costs that could be more than you anticipated: tangles in brushes, air inlets that are blocked and emptied dust bins will quickly turn your automated cleaning dream into a burden.

For many people, the best budget robot is the iRobot J7 Combo. It provides the exact hands-off experience for a fraction of the price.

Suction Power

Some models in this price range have sufficient suction to perform basic vacuuming, but others may need a little help by a handheld nozzle to reach into the smallest crevices and cracks. A budget-friendly vacuum will likely do the job well if you live in a home that has primarily hard floors. If you have a mix of floors, rugs or pets that shed, you will be able to get the best results with the most powerful robot vacuum.

Some models with a budget price include mopping capabilities and a water tank, increasing their capabilities. The newer Dyson R7050C, for example, has very good navigation scores in CR's tests and a huge bin of 770ml, but it is louder than many of the other robots we've tested and doesn't have mopping features. The more compact Eufy Roborock Q5 Pro, in contrast, is quite quiet and has an automatic emptying dock. auto vacuum cleaner has a reservoir of water with a suction capacity of 5,500-pascals and a large bin you can fill with cleaning solutions to make it more effective. The Q5 Pro can be controlled by the smart app that lets you mop or vacuum a space, sequence of rooms, or an entire area. You can also set up no-go zones, and customise suction settings for each room.

The Shark ION is a good choice for those looking for something affordable, simple and reliable. It's not as sophisticated as the other models we've tested and comes with a basic app and basic mapping capabilities, but it does have good navigation and cleaning capabilities. It is also one of the few robots we've tested which can tell the difference between carpets and hard flooring and also has a 300ml dustbin that needs to be cleaned every 30 days.

Take a look at some of the top models that are priced at this level If you're looking for something more sophisticated that can vacuum, mop, and create a map for smarter obstacle-avoidance. The iRobot Roomba 650 and 750 offer a powerful suction force, clever combs for pet hair and other dirt, as well as in-app scheduling and voice control using your smart home assistant. The Samsung Cleanbot SV8000 is another option that provides superior cleaning performance for the money.

Navigation Efficiency

A budget-friendly robot vacuum could be as effective as a higher-priced model as long as it is able to navigate your home and avoid obstacles. To measure the effectiveness of navigation our lab technicians set up a tracking device to watch a robot's movement through a multiroom test house and assess its ability to identify the areas it has to clean in a specific amount of time, while avoiding obstacles like power cords, rugs and furniture. Additionally, we analyze how fast robots can move over a variety of household terrain, including stairways and transitions between different floor types.

The best budget robot vacuums are equipped with navigation systems that enable them to effectively clean a room without getting lost or running into obstacles. Most feature mapping capabilities, which are vital to complete house cleaning. But even budget models without mapping have ways to effectively clean a room therefore it's essential to balance cost with the features you want for your home.

We also look at the ease with which robots can overcome thresholds in the home, for example the heights of a door's sill or the heights of a sofa. A budget-friendly robot should be able to transition over these obstacles, and a few provide settings to adjust suction power for different kinds of floors. In the end, we must look at whether a budget-friendly robot is compatible with your home's smart-home setup and can be controlled remotely via an app or voice control.

One example of a top budget robot is the iLife V3s Pro, which has basic mapping capability and other smart features in an affordable price. It can be controlled using the iRobot App and comes with an automatic return feature that will return the robot to its base once the battery runs low and continues where it started.

The iLife V3s Pro does not include the advanced object-avoidance technology that is found on many top robots. However it does have a live camera which transmits an unreliable feed to your phone so you can watch it work. The cameras can also spot obstacles like stairs and other steps and trigger an alert when the robot comes across them. However the iLife uses random navigation rather than a method that is designed to avoid objects that are stuck to furniture legs, which means it may not be able to get around a chair leg or another tight spot as easily as a robot that has mapping capabilities.

Cleaning Performance

When you're shopping for a robot vacuum, it is important to balance price with performance. Budget models may lack advanced features such as mapping, but they can still do an excellent job of cleaning your home. Be aware of the size and capacity of the robot's dustbin. You'll need enough space to accommodate all the garbage that a robot accumulates, including pet dander, dirt and hair.

You'll need a machine that can remove stains and dirt from carpets too. We test every model on the ZDNET chart to see whether it can remove hair and dirt from carpet. The most effective models have a special brush that digs through the fibers to remove debris.

The majority of budget models are effective in cleaning up spills on plain floors and carpets with low piles, but struggle to clear larger chunks of debris and pet hair from higher-pile carpets. These models typically have less suction power, but they can still be effective in cleaning debris from tight areas such as corners and under furniture.

The iLife V3s Pro vacuum cleaner is the best vacuum for its price range. It has a good score in our tests, and it's able to remove dirt and hair from carpets. It is also among our quieter models, and is simple to use. It has an opening for suction that scoops debris rather than pushing it through the bar, and it can adjust the power to match the surface. It also comes with a side-brush that has three bristles that push hair and debris into the robot's path, but it's not doing as good in removing fine dust.

If robot vacuum cleaner best buy looking for a vacuum and a mop choose a model that offers both functions like the Combo j9 Plus. It is able to simultaneously vacuum and mop, and make specific vac/mop settings to each room. It's more expensive than other budget robot vacs in our chart, but it has the advantages of a forward-facing camera, which allows for more precise mapping and better protection against obstacles such as power cords and cat poop.

Maintenance

The convenience robot vacuums offer is great, but the technology comes with the cost of. Regular maintenance is required, from emptying the dustbin to changing filters and cleaning their brush bar. They can also get caught in cords, or fall off the stairs.

The best budget robot vacuums reduce these issues by requiring minimal management from the user. The best models come with navigation systems that allow them to avoid obstacles and avoid dangers like electrical cords and food items that have been dropped. They also make use of a mix of sensors to map rooms, and then create maps that show the areas they've cleaned before to ensure they don't re-clean the same areas again.

Even the cheapest robotic vacuums can deliver a good clean if you give them a chance and don't be put off by the cost of higher-end models. Many of our top budget choices are made by top OEMs such as iRobot, Roborock and Dreame You can be confident that they've been developed with the utmost attention to detail and built to last.

You might consider a mopping robot If you're willing to spend more. These machines can be used to swish a damp cloth across floors to scrub them and remove stubborn stains and they can be used with a specially designed mop pad for difficult jobs such as dried coffee.

The TP Link Tapo RV30 plus is the best budget mopping robot we've reviewed in our roundup. It has the sleek elegant, minimalist design of a home hub but the features and performance of a top-rated robovac, including LiDAR navigation. During our tests it proved that the RV30 was capable of navigating without hitting furniture, and constructing detailed maps of its flooring, which can be used to reference in future runs. This is the only robot in the budget that we tested with this feature. iRobot Roomba also has mapping capabilities, but the app setup guides you through the entire process.


Whether you choose an expensive robot or a less expensive alternative, you should always maintain your robovac regularly. It's a good idea to empty the dust bin after each cleaning task, and also to clean the filter if one is present (check the manual of your owner or the manufacturer's site for more details). You should also replace the battery when needed and keep track of its Wi-Fi connectivity as well as app updates.