How to Find the Best Budget Robot Vacuum
A bargain robotic vacuum can be a great value. But beware that it may cost more than you expect in terms of maintenance: removing fur from brushes, clogged inlets and emptying small dust bins can quickly make your dream of automated cleaning to be a chore.
For many, the best budget robot is the iRobot j7 Combo. It offers the same hands-off experience for a fraction of the price.
Suction Power
Some models in this range offer enough suction for basic vacuuming. Others may need the use of a handheld nozzle for deeper cleaning. A budget robot vacuum is likely to complete the job if you live in a house with mostly hard floors. If you have a mix of floors, rugs or pets that shed, you will have the best results using an advanced robot vacuum.
Some budget models come with mopping and a water tank capability, adding to their versatility. The newer Dyson R7050C for instance, has very good scores in CR's tests of navigation and a generous bin of 770ml, but it is louder than many of the other robots we've tried and doesn't have mopping features. Eufy Roborock Q5 Pro is smaller, but it is quieter and has an automated dock. It has a water reservoir and a suction power of 5,500-pascals, and an enormous bin that you can fill with cleaning products to make it more effective. The Q5 Pro can be controlled by the smart app which lets you vacuum or mop a room or a sequence of rooms or an entire area. You can also establish no-go zones and customise suction settings for each room.
The budget Shark ION is a great option for those who want something basic, affordable and reliable. It's not as sophisticated as other models, and comes with a basic app and minimal mapping capabilities, but has outstanding cleaning and navigation capabilities as well as cleaning. It's also among few robots that distinguish between hard flooring and carpets. The 300ml dustbin is only emptied once every 30 days.
If you want an upgraded model that can vacuum, mop and create a map of your house for smarter obstacle avoidance, consider some of the most expensive options in this price range. The iRobot Roomba 650/750 has a powerful suction, a clever comb to get rid of pet hair and fine dirt, and can be controlled through your smart home assistant. Samsung Cleanbot SV8000 offers a outstanding cleaning capabilities at a reasonable cost.
Navigation Efficiency
A budget robot vacuum can be as effective as an expensive model, provided that it can navigate your home and avoid obstacles. Our lab technicians utilized an instrument for tracking in a multi-room test home to evaluate the robot's ability to navigate and find the rooms it needed to clean within a specific timeframe, while also staying clear of obstacles such as power cords, furniture, and rug. We also analyze how fast a robot can travel over various terrains used in the home including stairways as well as transitions between different types of floors.
The best budget robot vacuums have efficient navigation systems that help to clean up a room without spending time, running through obstacles, or getting stuck. Most feature mapping capabilities, which are essential for full-house cleaning. Even models that aren't mapping can cover a room efficiently. It is crucial to weigh the cost 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 such as the threshold of a door's sill or the height of a sofa. A good budget-friendly robot must be able to move over these obstacles, and some have settings that can adjust suction power for different floor types. We also look at whether the robot is compatible with smart home technology and can be controlled remotely via an app or voice command.
The iLife V3s Pro is a excellent example of a robot that is budget-friendly that offers basic mapping capabilities as well as clever features. It's also quite affordable. It can be controlled by the iRobot App, and it has an automatic return feature that returns the robot back to its base once the battery runs low, then continues where it started.
The iLife V3s Pro does not come with the advanced object-avoidance technology found on many premium robots. However it does come with live cameras that send a grainy feed to your smartphone so you can observe it working. The cameras are also able to detect stairs and other obstacles and alert you if the robot encounters them. However, the iLife employs random navigation rather than a method designed to avoid objects stuck against furniture legs, which means it may not be able around a leg on a chair or other tight spot as well as a robot with mapping capabilities.
Cleaning Performance
When shopping for a robotic vacuum, it is important to consider the cost and performance. Budget models may not feature advanced features such as mapping, but you can find some that excel in cleaning your home. Pay attention to the dimensions and capacity of the dust bin. You'll need enough space to hold all the debris the robot gathers, such as pet dander, dirt, and hair.
You'll need a machine that can remove stains and dirt from carpets, too. We test every model in the ZDNET chart to determine if it can remove dirt and hair from carpet. The most effective models have a brush that digs through the fibers to eliminate debris.
Budget models are effective in cleaning small spills from bare floors or low-pile floor coverings, but they struggle to get rid of bigger debris and pet hairs from carpets with higher pile. These models tend to have less suction power, but they can still be effective at cleaning up particles from tight spaces such as corners and under furniture.
The iLife V3s Pro is the most affordable model for vacuuming with high marks in our testing due to its ability to remove hair and dirt from carpets. It is also one of our quieter models and is easy to use. It has an opening for suction which collects debris instead of pushing it through the brush bar, and it is able to adjust power to be in line with the surface. It also comes with a side-brush that has three bristles that push debris and hair into the path of the robot, but it doesn't do as good in removing fine dust.
If you require mopping and vacuum, look for a model that offers both functions like the Combo j9 Plus. The robot can mop and vacuum simultaneously and you can alter the settings for each room. It's more expensive than the other low-cost robots in our list, but it has the advantages of a forward-facing camera that allows more precise mapping and better obstacles to avoid for things like power cords and cat Poop.
Maintenance
Robot vacuums are handy however, they come at price. They require regular maintenance that ranges from emptying their dust bin to changing filters and cleaning the brush bar. They can also get caught in cords and fall off the stairs, which is why they must be watched attentively.
The best budget robot vacuums reduce these hassles as they require little management by the user. The top picks have navigation systems that avoid objects and are free of hazards, such as tangled electrical cords and dropped food. They also use a variety of sensors to map rooms and create maps that let them know where they've already cleaned so they don't go over the same spots again.
Even the cheapest robotic vacuums can deliver a good clean when you give them a shot, so don't be discouraged by the price of better models. A majority of our top budget picks are made by top OEMs like iRobot, Roborock and Dreame and you can be sure that they've been developed with the utmost attention to detail and built to last.
If robot vacuum cleaner cheap to invest more, think about investing in mopping machines. These machines can be used to swish a damp cloth over floors to scrub them and remove stubborn stains, and can be used with a specially designed mop pad for difficult jobs such as dried coffee.
There are many mopping robots in our list, but the best budget model is the TP Link Tapo RV30 Plus. It has the sleek, fussless appearance of a home hub but the features and performance of a top robovac with LiDAR navigation. In our tests, the RV30 was capable of moving without crashing into furniture and build detailed floor plans that it can reference on future runs. It's the only budget robot we've tested that include this feature, however iRobot's Roomba also has similar mapping capabilities with an in-app configuration that walks you through the process step by step.
No matter if you opt for a top-rated robot vacuum or a cheaper option, always remember to maintain your robot regularly. It's a good idea empty the dust bin after each cleaning job and to clean the filter, if it has one (check your owner's manual or the website of the manufacturer for more information). Replace the battery if necessary and verify the Wi-Fi connectivity.