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The best robot vacuum for any budget: Roomba, Roborock, Eufy models and more compared

If you’re ready to pass off the floor cleaning to a helpful automaton, a robot vacuum cleaner could be a good fit for your household. We talk through our favorite options in a variety of price ranges. We also talk about what kind of features and cleaning power you can expect in each price range.…

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If you’re ready to pass off the floor cleaning to a helpful automaton, a robot vacuum cleaner could be a good fit for your household. We talk through our favorite options in a variety of price ranges.

We also talk about what kind of features and cleaning power you can expect in each price range. Do you need to pay more for smarts? There’s a new feature that lets vacuums automatically avoid obstacles like pet waste, but does it work? See models from iRobot, Roborock and Eufy in action as we answer all of these questions.

00:00 Intro
01:20 Pros and Cons
03:37 Budget Friendly Option
05:34 Mid Range Option
07:33 High End Option
10:24 Avoiding Disaster
11:48 Outro

See all of the models we tested here:

Buy our top three here:
Roomba s9+:
Roborock s7:
Robovac 25c:
*CNET may get a commission from these offers.

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57 Comments

57 Comments

  1. Ameer Ali Ouarda

    November 25, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    What about the Dyson 360 Heurist?

    • Bjarne 9841

      November 25, 2021 at 3:07 pm

      The software is so bad, that it’s more an alpha product than a final

    • Roxxy Nvx7

      November 25, 2021 at 4:28 pm

      Yeah no…

  2. Samurai X

    November 25, 2021 at 1:37 pm

    Nice

  3. Mr. BlueCreeper

    November 25, 2021 at 1:50 pm

    Roborock offers a Self-Emptying Base and a Comba package called the Roborock S7+. It’s $950! Would that possibly be better than the Roomba S9+?

    • krisalis709

      November 26, 2021 at 2:01 am

      While I personally would buy an S7+ over Roomba S9+ the S7+ still has some downsides.
      The auto empty system isn’t as good imo. Through torture tests you can find online Roomba’s auto empty scores consistently the best. This is mostly because of patented bin technology that all the other companies are just mimicking.
      The S7+ mopping is still just meh. If you’re serious about having super clean floors the attachable mop is just a gimmick and not a serious feature. This is because you can’t use cleaners with the attachable mop, but you can with dedicated mopping robots.

  4. Local Guide

    November 25, 2021 at 1:51 pm

    10:27 LMAO!!

  5. Blue Eyed Tech

    November 25, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    I use the Eufy 30c and love it. While not as good as a mid or high range robo vac it’s still amazing and I’m surprised how much it picks up at the end of its cleaning cycle. The 30c is an amazing first robo vac 👍

  6. Blue Eyed Tech

    November 25, 2021 at 2:06 pm

    As a dog owner poop avoiding tech makes a robo vac worth it alone

  7. Jameel Ja

    November 25, 2021 at 2:48 pm

    You should have mentioned the shark robot vacuums. It has self emptying bin, app navigation, for $450 CDN. I got 2 for less than the price of an irobot.

  8. Chris Martin

    November 25, 2021 at 3:00 pm

    The wyze robot vac is by far my favorite robot vacuum that I’ve ever had. And I have owned 8.

    • quepiid

      November 26, 2021 at 4:58 am

      They haven’t added the mopping feature yet. Once they do. They will be my next top pick. Right now it’s roborock

  9. Bjarne 9841

    November 25, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    There is an 360 s6 renewed for under 100$, this is unbeatable

  10. Jonas Riliškis

    November 25, 2021 at 3:42 pm

    so budget friendly options (dumb navigation) <200$ and mid range (smart navigation) >600$ ? Yeah I would say midrange is something like Roborock S5 Max (smart navigation) <400$

  11. islam Noor

    November 25, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    Roborock S7+ is the best with bagless auto empty dock for $950 and using Lidar for navigation. Video is poorly prepared and not based on good research

    • Jeremiah Johnson

      November 28, 2021 at 12:21 am

      I was thinking the same while watching the video and grabbed my phone to make a similar statement.

  12. Ivan

    November 25, 2021 at 4:52 pm

    I’m surprised that there was no mention of the Ecovac Deebot, also the Roborock also offers a self-emptying docking station.

    • Tilted Tripod Media

      November 26, 2021 at 5:12 am

      Yeah that’s exactly the comment I was just making they didn’t mention the Roborock and self empty bin and it’s light years ahead of Roomba I tested out the Roomba S9 plus and I hated it because the brush roll sits so low to the ground it gets stuck on stuff from time to time the dust sensor constantly needs attention because it won’t let you vacuum until you clean it and camera base navigation sucks it’s not as efficient and it can’t navigate in the dark.

    • Josh L

      November 26, 2021 at 5:52 am

      Yea I agree. Deebot is one of the top robot vacuums

    • Tilted Tripod Media

      November 26, 2021 at 5:59 am

      @Josh L I had the deebot t8 aivi with self empty bin and the vacuumed itself was fine however the small duel extractor port design on the empty station is a bad design as large chunks of sod due can’t be sucked out where as the Roborock sucks all it’s debris out the main large brush roll through a big port. Also the deebot software and app isn’t as good. It would constantly erase my map and I’d have to remap the house. Honestly the optical avoidance that many of these robots have using cameras to detect objects and then vacuum around them isn’t really a feature that’s necessary. I mean don’t keep a cluttered house pick things up that are small like cables laying around in the middle of the floor it’s really not that difficult then let the thing vacuum. I mean if you were using an upright vacuum you would pick up the floor before vacuuming wouldn’t you?

  13. slip0n0fall

    November 25, 2021 at 4:58 pm

    Don’t know how Ecovac didn’t make the list – T8+ on sale for $450 at Best Buy

  14. Cross

    November 25, 2021 at 6:36 pm

    they are basically good for increasing when u do need to bust out the big guns. like it can handle the small buildup of dust so it doesnt get out of hand

  15. Kadeem Gomez

    November 25, 2021 at 9:57 pm

    Can you guys at CNET make a Top 5 Tech Turkeys of 2021?

  16. Sean Archer

    November 25, 2021 at 11:56 pm

    Since when is the S7 a mid range vacuum?! Costs as much as the rest, outperforms most, if not all others, has all the bells and whistles, including an app that’s probably best in biz and self emptying bin… Y’all need to make it clear what’s a sponsored video, and by whom, before putting stuff out here.

  17. I am TC

    November 26, 2021 at 12:00 am

    What’s between 135 and 650? I think that’s the actual mid range, not $600 plus price tag. Thanks for the review

  18. David Jamgochian

    November 26, 2021 at 12:07 am

    Amore

  19. m

    November 26, 2021 at 12:24 am

    The best vacuum is the one that is attached to a human. It does a better job and its a good workout.

    • Cutter 504

      November 28, 2021 at 5:28 am

      Exactly

    • Troy Wiora

      November 29, 2021 at 2:24 pm

      It’s hardly a good workout. Yesterday my robot started vacuuming and I went on a 35 mile bike ride. When you are not tied to chores, you have freedom to do other things. Whether that’s getting in a workout or just relaxing on the couch. It’s why these robots are a successful idea.

  20. quepiid

    November 26, 2021 at 4:57 am

    The only thing that roborock doesn’t do that the roomba s9 does it sync with the separate mop robot. The roborock has the app and self emptying bin. I’mm top of that it cleans the room way faster. Roborock for the win

  21. Tilted Tripod Media

    November 26, 2021 at 5:11 am

    I’m kind of disappointed that they just made this video and posted it and yet they didn’t mention anything about the Roborock s7 self empty bin. I have tested the iRobot Roomba S9 plus and I have a video of it over on my channel and I did not like it the camera base navigation is definitely lagging behind the laser based navigation on other robots and that dust detection center constantly getting dirty and needing attention is annoying. The only thing roombas have that beats out all other vacuums is that dual brush roll design other than that go get the Roborock S7 plus with the self empty bin it’s incredible I’ve been using it for the last month and it efficiently cleaned my house barely bumps in the things and the mopping feature is great. I have actually stopped using rumbas and I used to swear by them since other models have come out that use lasers and are so much better at navigating they can even work in the dark where the Roomba can’t. I will be doing a video review of the Roborock s7 and self empty bin soon. I love seeing it and I’m still kind of shocked that they overlooked the brand new Roborock s 7+ with the self empty bin

  22. Josh L

    November 26, 2021 at 5:51 am

    Deebot and Roborock are the only brands I trust

  23. Neha Chhabra

    November 26, 2021 at 6:39 am

    can you do a video on i home robot vacuum plus mop

  24. jleetj

    November 26, 2021 at 6:52 am

    Would be nice to have one that can clean up, not just avoid, the poop.

  25. SecretOfMonkeyIsland

    November 26, 2021 at 9:42 am

    I cant see many people owning these that live in two storey homes as carting up and down stairs negates the effort saving and the sheer cost and space required for two.

  26. Johan

    November 26, 2021 at 7:06 pm

    Roborock has voice control and supports Google assistant, it also features all the same app features as the more expensive ones. It ALSO has a self emptying dock. Did CNET even bother ?

  27. dukebox

    November 26, 2021 at 8:05 pm

    10:25 let’s shoot the shit. brilliant.

  28. KUL San

    November 26, 2021 at 8:23 pm

    Do a video on the best private phone and no 1

  29. Erick M

    November 26, 2021 at 10:13 pm

    11/26 5pm: The Roborock S7 is usually priced at $650 but is currently $455 on Amazon after a $195 coupon. I’m guessing that discount will be gone by the end of the day or Cyber Monday. Does not include the $300 dock that empties the dust bin and cleans the mopping pad. But if you want a vac/mop with a docking station, $750 for now.

    If you don’t want to spend even $450, the Roborock S4 Max gets you all of the features and majority of the power the S7 has without any mopping stuff. Usually listed around $350ish on Amazon, currently $280 with a coupon

  30. Paul Ho

    November 27, 2021 at 4:09 am

    Vacuum Wars prepared me for this.

  31. 123Osaka456

    November 27, 2021 at 2:55 pm

    Roborock S7 scratches hardwood floors pretty badly

  32. VASTRIX `

    November 27, 2021 at 3:37 pm

    I feel that the s9+ is slightly better at vacuuming than roborock s7 with pet hair. But I will buy Roborock S7 because it has a vibrating mop to clean up spills. I have no pets that shed, so this will be fine with me. In my personal opinion, Roborock S7 is the best Hybrid Vaccum. There may be other competition.

  33. Solun

    November 27, 2021 at 7:42 pm

    Great video

  34. Banana Plays

    November 27, 2021 at 9:35 pm

    You really should look at the Wyze robot vacuum

  35. Banana Plays

    November 27, 2021 at 9:41 pm

    9:52 The Roborock and others can do all of these

  36. Pedro Martins

    November 28, 2021 at 9:14 am

    The worst robovac review ever… Romba s9+ it’s so outdated… and don’t even bother buying a bumper robovac, it’s throwing money to trash

  37. Jason Reuter

    November 28, 2021 at 5:21 pm

    Interesting review, I bought a cheaper model by by roborock with bump detection. I have it run three times per week and the bin needs empty after each sweep, but now it can not finish all of the cleaning with one sweep due to battery. I have had it for three years so for the price back then of $165.00 I’m disappointed in the battery live it has lost.

  38. Andrew Walker

    November 28, 2021 at 11:44 pm

    I just bought a brand new Wyze Robot Vac for Black Friday. $230 shipped. It has app control, LiDAR navigation, and removes plenty of the debris from our house. Disappointing this review neglects so many good options in the <$500 range. Many mapping / navigation models are under the $500 mark.

  39. Abdul Wahid

    November 29, 2021 at 1:10 am

    Money is an issue that everyone has for a better and luxurious life. Life was hard for me until I started making profits on my investment with the help of Beatrice Wilbert

    • Abdul Wahid

      November 29, 2021 at 1:17 am

      @Harry De Vis Through what’sapp 👇

    • Abdul Wahid

      November 29, 2021 at 1:17 am

      【±¹³²¹²⁹⁰¹¹⁶²】

    • Geoff Howard

      November 29, 2021 at 1:17 am

      Bitcoin is the safest crypto for investing right now. Couldn’t agree more about trading the asset too.

    • Joshua Steinfeld

      November 29, 2021 at 1:18 am

      I’m not surprised you talk about her here
      I came across some nice comments about her here on YouTube and i gave her a try and honestly i don’t regret the move

    • Harry De Vis

      November 29, 2021 at 1:18 am

      @Abdul Wahid thanks i will write to her right away

  40. Anthony Harvey

    November 29, 2021 at 9:14 pm

    There is also repairability. iRobot takes the win there. Every part is modular so anyone can order a replacement part and keep it rolling for many years unlike the others.

  41. xamomax

    December 1, 2021 at 7:41 am

    The biggest complaints I have with my older roombas are (1) they get stuck easily, (2) they get tangled with hair, even though I don’t have pets, (3) they don’t return to their charging bases reliably. Are these still issues with this latest generation?

  42. acche2

    December 1, 2021 at 4:32 pm

    Please include the Dreame w10?

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