A robot with mapping capabilities like LIDAR or 3D obstacle recognition will remember your floor plan and keep track of where it has and hasn't been, which will allow it to clean faster and more thoroughly.

After cleaning, we calculate the pickup percentage by weighing the dustbin to determine how much debris was captured.

Users with carpets up to 7 millimeters high don’t even need to remove the mopping pads to vacuum, as the robot intelligently detects carpets and lifts the pads to prevent wetting. (The pads also don’t require removal after every use, thanks to the robot’s self-cleaning and drying mechanism when it returns to its dock.)

The j7+ comes with a cleaning base which is hard to fault. It can hold up to 60 days of debris and looks easy on the eye compared to other bases — plus it’s more compact too.

Price-wise, it's not cheap – although we couldn't fault the build quality or engineering, and these kinds of do-it-all docks do always come at a price. But if you have lots of hard floors and mopping is your priority, it's worth the investment.

The list of reputable brands making high-quality robot vacuums doesn’t stretch long, but CR evaluates all of the mainstays, which run the spectrum between inexpensive and luxury.

✅ You want a hands-off option: The dock takes care of a lot of mop maintenance, including emptying and refilling tanks, and cleaning the mop pads.

Most robot vacuum models can easily handle cleaning Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners both carpets and hardwood, but some are better at cleaning one or the other. Higher-end robot vacuums such as the Roomba J9+ Combo can accommodate rapid surface changes by folding its mop pad atop itself and ramping up power whenever carpet is detected, and then throttling back down when it senses hardwood.

Issues like this can be avoided after the first few trips around the house, if you identify problem areas your robot vacuum typically encounters, simply block them off.

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.

Robot vacuums do not offer as strong a performance as upright vacuum cleaners, particularly corded ones. It’s for this reason that we don’t recommend throwing away the best vacuum cleaner even if you decide to invest in one of these strong contenders.

On test, we found it did a fantastic job of clearing spillages. We were also impressed with the comprehensive docking station, which helps ease the burden of the maintenance tasks involved with mopping robot vacuums.

The T30s did very well on our cleaning tests, earning an average score of 93%; while that isn't tops among the best robot vacuums, that's still very good.

We've tested many robot vacuums at Tom's Guide. While most perform great, they aren't as easy to recommend for everyone.