How to Find the Best Budget Robot Vacuum
A bargain-priced robot vacuum is a great value. But beware that it may cost more than you anticipated in the maintenance department: untangling hair from brushes, clogging inlets and emptying tiny dust bins could quickly turn your dream of automating cleaning a chore.
For many, the best budget robot is the iRobot Combo. It offers a similar hands-free experience, but at only a fraction of the cost.
Suction Power
Some models that are priced at this level have sufficient suction for basic vacuuming, while others might require a bit of assistance by a handheld nozzle to reach the deepest crevices and cracks. A budget-friendly vacuum will likely do the job if you live in an apartment with primarily hard floors. If you have a variety of floors, carpets or pets who shed, you'll get the best results with an advanced robot vacuum.
Certain models that are priced lower come with mopping capabilities and a water tank, which increases their flexibility. The Dyson R7050C comes with an enormous 770ml bin as well as excellent navigation scores, but is more loud and does not include mopping capabilities. The smaller Eufy Roborock Q5 Pro, in contrast, is quite quiet and has an automatic emptying dock. It also has an water tank, powerful suction capacity of 5,500pascal and a large bin can be filled with cleaning solution to make it an effective mopping machine. The Q5 Pro can be controlled via the smart app, which lets you mop or vacuum a room or a 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 option for those seeking something affordable and simple to use. It's not as advanced as other models, having a basic app and no-frills mapping capabilities, but it does have superior cleaning and navigation capabilities. It's also one of the few robots we've tested that can tell the difference between hard flooring and carpets and also comes with a 300ml dust bin that needs to be cleaned every 30 days.
If you want a more sophisticated model that can mop, vacuum and draw an outline of your home to avoid obstacles more effectively take a look at the more premium options within this price range. The iRobot Roomba 650/750 has a powerful suction, clever combs to get rid of pet hair and fine dirt and voice control via your smart home assistant. The Samsung Cleanbot SV8000 is another option that has excellent cleaning performance for the money.
Navigation Efficiency
A robot vacuum cleaner that is budget-friendly can be just as effective as expensive models, so long as it is able to navigate through your home and avoid obstacles. Our lab technicians utilized the tracking device in a multi-room test residence to test the robot's ability to navigate and locate the rooms it needed to clean within a specific time period, while keeping away from obstacles like power cords, furniture, and rug. We also examine how fast a robot can navigate through different terrains within a house, including stairs and floor transitions.
The best budget robot vacuums have navigation systems that let them efficiently clean a space without getting lost or running into obstacles. The majority of robot vacuums have mapping capabilities that are necessary for a full-house clean. Even models that aren't mapping can effectively cover a room. It is important to consider balancing the price of your machine against the features that you need.
We also examine how easy it is for a robot to overcome common thresholds for homes like the threshold of a door's sill or the width of a sofa. A good budget-friendly robot will be able to negotiate these obstacles and some have settings that adjust the suction power according to the type of floor. We also consider whether a budget robot is compatible with your smart home setup and is able to be controlled remotely through an app or via voice control.
One excellent budget robot is the iLife V3s Pro, which comes with basic mapping capabilities as well as other features that make it a very affordable price. It can be controlled using the iRobot app, and comes with an auto-return feature that will return it to its base when the battery runs out and then picks up where it began.
The iLife V3s Pro does not include the advanced object-avoidance technology you find on a variety of premium robots. However it does come with live cameras that send a grainy feed to your smartphone so that you can watch it work. The cameras can detect stairs and other obstructions and alert the robot if it comes across them. The iLife however, employs random navigation instead of a method designed to avoid objects stuck to furniture legs. It may not be able get around a tight spot or a chair leg as a robotic system with the ability to map.
Cleaning Performance
When choosing a robotic vacuum, you must consider the cost and performance. The cheapest models might not have advanced features like mapping, but they'll still be effective of cleaning your home. Be aware of the dimensions and capacity of the dust bin. It is essential to have enough space to hold all the trash a robot collects including pet dander, dirt and hair.
You'll also want a robot vacuum that can remove stains from carpets. We test every model in the ZDNET chart to see whether it is able to remove dirt and hair from carpet. The best models have a special brush that digs through the fibers to pull out debris.
Budget models are effective in getting rid of small messes on plain floors or low-pile floor carpets but they struggle to get rid of bigger pet hairs and debris from carpets with higher pile. They usually have less suction power than models that are more expensive, but can still do an excellent job of getting rid of obstructions from tight spaces like corners and beneath furniture.
The iLife V3s Pro vacuum cleaner is the top vacuum in its price range. It has a high score in our tests and it can remove hairs and dirt from carpets. It's also among the quieter models we test and is user-friendly. It has an opening for suction that collects debris instead of pushing it through the bar, and it has the ability 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 robot's path. However, it is not as effective at picking dust particles.
If you're looking for a vacuum and a mop you should look for a product that offers both functions, such as the Combo j9 Plus. The robot can simultaneously mop and vacuum and you can also customize the settings for each room. It's more expensive than the other robot vacuums in our list, but it has a camera on the front that allows for more precise mapping, and better obstacle avoidance for things like power cords or cat urine.
Maintenance
The convenience robot vacuums offer is fantastic, but the technology comes at cost. They require regular maintenance that ranges from emptying their dust bin to changing filters and cleaning the brush bar. They may also get caught up in cords or fall off the steps.
The most affordable robot vacuums reduce these issues by requiring minimal management from the user. The top models come with navigation systems that steer clear of objects and are free of dangers, including strangling electrical cords and dropping food. They also make use of a mix of sensors to map rooms, and then create maps that indicate where they've already cleaned to ensure they don't re-clean the same areas repeatedly.
Don't let the cost of the higher-end models deter you. They can still do an excellent job if given a chance. Many of our top picks for budget are from top OEMs, like iRobot, Roborock and Dreame and you can be sure that they've been developed with the utmost care and built to last.
Consider a mopping robotic in the event that you're willing to spend more. These machines can scrub floors using a damp cloth and eliminate the most stubborn stains. They can also be used in combination with a mop pad to tackle tough jobs, like dried coffee.
There are Robot Vacuum Mops mopping robots in our roundup however the most affordable model is the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Plus. It has a sleek and uncluttered design, but it also comes with all the features and capabilities of a top rated robovac. During our tests the RV30 was capable of moving without hitting furniture and build detailed floor plans that it can reference on future runs. This is the only robot in the budget that we tested with this feature. iRobot Roomba also has mapping capabilities, however the app setup guides you through the entire procedure.
No matter if you opt for an expensive robot vacuum or a cheaper option, always remember to keep your robovac in good condition. You should empty the dustbin and clean the filter after each cleaning session (refer to the owner's manual or the website of the manufacturer for more details). You should also replace its battery as required and monitor its Wi-Fi connectivity as well as app updates.