Before you start shopping for a new robot vacuum, you should consider what you need from it and how much you’re happy to spend. Here are some of the most common features you can find in robot vacuums.

The Dyson 360 Vis Nav almost has it all: immense suction, excellent edge cleaning, and a great design. Plus it's packed with all sorts of features, such as disc brakes and a remote electronic lock. However, it's expensive and lacks a self-emptying option which makes it more hands-on.

An automatic vacuum cleaner is a device that cleans floors without human help. It uses sensors to navigate rooms.

Although this does mean it will likely require more clearance space and will protrude further out from the wall as well. Make sure you have a space in mind for your robot vacuum’s dock before you make a purchase, otherwise you might have to move some furniture around.

Why we love it: Powerful and versatile, this model has a motorized power nozzle to deep clean carpets, a mini motorized brush tool to lift pet hair from upholstery and a floor brush to gather fur on hardwoods and other bare floors. Bonus: All attachments except the power nozzle can be stored right on the vacuum.

In our Lab tests: Worx beat 18 other handheld vacuums to earn the top overall score across tests on carpet, bare floors and pet hair pickup.

This is quite a common feature for robot vacuums. By connecting with your smartphone app, you can schedule when you want it to clean, be it daily, weekly or when you’re not at home.

So, ideally you will still want to run your regular vacuum every so often, while the robot vacuum helps keep dust down in the interim. By keeping on top of the light debris, you won’t need to use your full-sized vacuum so often.

We recommend this attachment if you prefer a canister and have deep pile carpets in, say, just the bedrooms. Otherwise, you’ll use a long flat attachment or brush that can be used on bare floors and low, flat rugs.

Rugs should also factor into your buying decision. You might find that lower-end models will get caught up in tassels.

Why we love it: Its Em excesso-large dust cup is super easy to remove and the HEPA filter minimizes allergens emitted while vacuuming.

She is an active member of the ASTM Committee on vacuum cleaners and chairman of the consumer information sub-committee.

100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more. The best robot vacuums complement regular vacuuming and require little attention, though their built-in smarts raise privacy concerns.

The iRobot Combo Roomba j9+ receives solid performance scores Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners across the board in CR’s tests, earning an excellent score for cleaning bare floors and a very good score for carpet. It has smart mapping technology as well as avoidance technology to help it move around household obstacles like cords.