How to Find the Best Budget Robot Vacuum
A bargain-priced robot vac uum can be a great value. Beware of maintenance costs that could be more than expected: tangles in brushes, blocked air inlets and emptying dust bins will quickly transform your dream of automated cleaning into a chore.
The iRobot j7 Combo is the best budget robot for a lot of people. It offers a similar hands-free experience at a fraction of its price.
Suction Power
Certain models in this range are able to handle basic vacuuming. Others may require a handheld nozzle for deep cleaning. If you live in a home with primarily hard flooring and a low-cost robot vacuum should work. If you have a variety of floors, have rugs or pets who shed, you'll have the best results using an advanced robot vacuum.
Some budget models come with a water tank and mopping capability, further increasing their flexibility. The newer Dyson R7050C is a good example. It has excellent navigation scores in CR's tests and a generous bin capacity of 770ml, however it is louder than many of the other robots we've tried and doesn't offer mopping features. The smaller Eufy Roborock Q5 Pro, in contrast, is quite quiet and has an auto-empty dock. It also comes with an water tank, powerful suction capacity of 5,500pascal and a large bin can be filled with cleaning solution to make it an efficient mopping device. The Q5 Pro can be controlled via the smart app, which lets you vacuum or mop a room, sequence of rooms, or a whole area. You can also establish no-go zones and set suction settings to your preferences for each room.
The Shark ION is a good choice for those who are seeking something affordable easy to use and reliable. It's not as sophisticated as other models, having a basic app and no-frills mapping capabilities, but has outstanding cleaning and navigation capabilities as well as cleaning. It is also one of the few robots we've tested which can distinguish between hard flooring and carpets and has a 300ml trash bin that has to be emptied every 30 days.
Take a look at some of the top models that are priced at this level if you want something more advanced that can vacuum mop, sweep, and create maps for more effective obstacle-avoiding. The iRobot Roomba 650 and 750 are extremely powerful suction power as well as a comb that is cleverly designed for pet hair and other dirt, and an in-app scheduling and voice control with your smart home assistant. Samsung Cleanbot SV8000 offers a excellent cleaning performance at a reasonable cost.
Navigation Efficiency
A low-cost robot vacuum can be as effective as the more expensive models as long as it is able to navigate your home and avoid obstacles. Our lab technicians employed an instrument for tracking in a multi-room test home to assess the robot's capability to navigate and locate rooms that it needed to clean within a specified timeframe, while also staying clear of obstacles such as furniture, power cords and carpets. We also analyze how fast the robot can move across various terrains used in the home such as stairways and transitions between different types of floor.
The most affordable robot vacuum s come with effective navigation systems that can help them clean a room without wasting time, crashing into obstacles, or getting stuck. The majority of robot vacuums have mapping capabilities that are necessary to complete a thorough house clean. Even best robot vacuums -cost models with no mapping can cover a room efficiently. It's important to consider balancing the price of your machine against the features you require.
We also examine how easy it is for robots to traverse thresholds within the home, for example the thresholds of a door sill and a sofa. A good budget robot will be able to pass through these obstacles and some have settings that can adjust the suction power according to the floor type. We also look at whether a budget-friendly robot is compatible with your home's smart-home configuration and can be controlled remotely through an app or voice command.
One excellent budget robot is the iLife V3s Pro, which has basic mapping capability and other smart features in an extremely affordable price. It is controlled by the iRobot app, and also has an auto-return feature that returns it to its original location when the battery is exhausted and then picks up where it was when it left.
The iLife V3s Pro doesn't have the advanced object avoidance found on many premium robots, but it does have a live camera that transmits a grainy video feed to your phone so you can keep an eye on it while it is working. The cameras can spot stairs and other obstructions and alert the robot when it encounters them. However, the iLife utilizes random navigation instead of a method designed to avoid objects that are stuck to furniture legs, which means it may not be able to maneuver around a chair leg or another tight spot as easily as a robot equipped with mapping capabilities.
Cleaning Performance
When you are looking for a robot vacuum, it is important to consider the price and performance. The cheapest models might not feature advanced features such as mapping, but you can find many that perform very well at cleaning your home. You should also pay attention to the size of a robot's dustbin and how much dirt it can hold prior to having to empty it. It should be able to accommodate all the waste that a robot collects including hair, dirt, and pet dander.
You'll want a vacuum capable of removing stains and dirt from carpets as well. We test every model in the ZDNET chart to see whether it can remove hair and dirt from carpet. The top models come with a special brush that digs into fibers to pull out debris.
Budget models are effective in getting rid of small messes on plain floors or low-pile floor coverings but they struggle to remove larger pet hairs and debris from higher-pile carpets. These models tend to have less suction however they can be effective in cleaning particles from tight spaces like corners and under furniture.
The iLife V3s Pro is the best budget model for vacuuming, scoring high marks in our tests because of its ability to remove dirt and hair off carpets. It's also one of the quieter models we test and is easy to use. It has a suction opening which is able to collect debris instead of pushing it through the bar. It is also able to adjust the power to match the surface. It comes with a sidebrush that has three bristles that push hair and other debris into the path of the robot. However, it's not as effective in picking dust particles.
Look for a model with both vacuum and mop functions, like the Combo j9 Plus. The robot can vacuum and mop simultaneously, and you can customize the settings for each room. It's more expensive than other budget robot vacs in our list however it comes with the advantages of a forward-facing camera that allows more precise mapping and better protection against obstacles such as power cords and cat piss.
Maintenance
Robot vacuums are handy, but they come at a cost. Regular maintenance is essential to empty the dustbin to changing filters and cleaning the brush bar. They may also get caught in cords and drop off the stairs, so they should be monitored with care.
The most affordable robot vacuums ease the burden since they require only minimal user management. The best models have navigation systems that stay clear of objects and stay clear of hazards, such as strangling electrical cords and dropping food items. They also make use of a mix of sensors to map rooms and build maps that let them know which areas they've cleaned previously so they don't go over the same areas over and over again.
Don't let the cost of the more expensive models deter you. They can still do an excellent job if given the chance. A majority of our top picks for budget are from top OEMs, like iRobot, Roborock and Dreame, so you'll be assured that they've been designed with the utmost care and built to last.
If you're willing to invest more, think about mopping with a robot. They can use a moist cloth across floors to scrub them clean and help eliminate stubborn stains, and they can be used with a mop pad that is specifically designed to tackle tough jobs such as dried coffee.
The TP Link Tapo RV30 plus is the most affordable mopping robot we've reviewed in our roundup. It has the sleek and uncluttered appearance of a home hub, but the performance and features of a top-rated robot with LiDAR navigation. During our tests it proved that the RV30 was able of navigating without bumping into furniture and constructing detailed maps of its flooring that can be used to reference on future runs. It's the only budget robot we've tested that include this feature, although iRobot's Roomba has similar capabilities in mapping and has an in-app setup that walks you through the process step by step.
If you decide to go with an expensive robovac or a more affordable alternative, you should always keep your robovac in good condition. You should empty the trash bin and clean the filter after each cleaning session (refer to the owner's manual or the manufacturer's site for more information). You should also replace its battery when needed, and check in on its Wi-Fi connectivity and app updates.