❌ You don't need the very best mopping: The advanced mopping and comprehensive dock bump up the price here, and other robovacs will do a good enough mopping job for most people (the Eufy X10 at #1 has a great mop, for example).

Many of today's best robot vacuums are also able to mop floors. This can be useful if you have a mix of hard floors and carpet, but be aware that robovac mopping tends not to clean as well as good old manual mopping.

To help you find the best vacuums, I've gathered a list of top-performing vacuums from our tests. In the Lab, we put all types of vacuums through extensive testing based on ASTM International industry-standard methods and use a custom-built machine to quantify the amount of embedded dirt that the vacuum cleaners remove from medium-pile carpeting. In addition, we assess bare floor cleaning, pet hair pick up, ease of use and more.

Also, it can’t be controlled from your smartphone, so you have to use the included remote control, and you can't connect it to Alexa or Google Assistant to turn it on or schedule cleanings.

Who it's best for: This model is a great choice if your floors are mostly wood or laminate, thanks to its large parquet floor brush that safely and thoroughly cleans the cracks and crevices of hardwood floors.

Dual, rotating circular disc mop pads tend to deliver a more effective clean than semicircular mop pads, in my experience.

Once the robot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed disposable bag in the base. This vac also has mopping capabilities, but unlike the Combo i5 and Combo j5+, you don’t have to swap out the bin for mopping because it can vacuum and mop simultaneously.

The handheld vacuum was a great complement; not only did it suck the crumbs out of our couch cushions, but it was also able to pick up the kitty litter that the Deebot T30s missed in the carpet cleaning lab test.

These are becoming standard now and coming down in price (thankfully). A self-empty dock turns the charging base for your robot into a motorized emptying station that sucks out the dirt from its bin. (Warning: this process can be loud!

You can also opt for a robot vacuum, which does the cleaning for you and goes back to recharge on its own when it’s time, but the charging base must remain connected to a power outlet and should not be moved so the robot knows how to get back to it after cleaning.

It does come at a hefty price, and there are cheaper models such as the Shark PowerDetect, that can do a decent job. However, if you're after a splurge buy, and want top-notch results each time, we would recommend the investment.

We also factor in the weight of each model. All special features and claims are assessed, and we even give the tool storage and owner's manual a grade.

Uprights can weigh anywhere from 10 to over 20 pounds, which can be heavy to carry up and down stairs. If your home has more than one level and you prefer an upright, consider keeping one on each floor.

This isn't a cheap bot, and while I think the featureset and performance justify the price, it'll be out of budget for some. We have more affordable options in our roundup of the best robot vacuums for pet hair – although be aware that if you really want something up to the task, you Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners will likely need to spend a bit more.