Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

• Best Suction Power

  iRobot Roomba j9+

  4.0 Excellent

  Pros & Cons

  • • Expertly avoids obstacles big and small
    • More suction power and battery life than predecessor
    • Learns your home for automated cleaning customization
    • Feature-rich app
  • • Expensive

  Why We Picked It

  The Roomba j9+ offers advanced vision-powered navigation, strong suction power, and long battery life. It also boasts smart features, including the ability to prioritize dirty areas, self-emptying functionality, and class-leading obstacle avoidance. It even comes with a pet waste evasion guarantee, so you don't have to worry about it running amok due to an animal accident. It's the most powerful vacuum-only Roomba that we've tested.

  Who It's For

  Fully (or almost fully) carpeted homes: The Roomba j9+ deep cleans effectively, with enough power to remove most dust and dirt from carpet fibers. It performed well in our suction power stress test (sand on carpet) and in the rest of our particle pickup tests. It doesn't have a mop, however, and it sometimes flings dirt on hard floors, but it thoroughly removes large and hard-to-see particles from carpeting.

  Pet owners: With Roomba's pet-poop-evasion guarantee, the Roomba j9+ is a top choice for pet owners. It's also adept at picking up pet hair while minimizing tangles.

  Specs & Configurations

  Battery Life (Tested)	113 minutes
  Dimensions	13.7 by 13.7 by 3.4 inches
  Phone Control
  Scheduling
  Virtual Walls

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• Best Dedicated Mop

  iRobot Braava Jet M6

  4.0 Excellent

  Pros & Cons

  • • Quiet. Small. Solid navigation capabilities. Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
  • • Expensive. Deep stains still require some elbow grease.

  Why We Picked It

  If you're in search of a robot that can wash your hard floors, look to iRobot's Braava line of smart mops. The Braava Jet m6 robot mop can both sweep and mop hardwood, tile, and other non-carpet floors. It can't vacuum, but it's effective at cleaning and polishing your hard floors.

  Who It's For

  Homes with hardwood floors: If you hate dealing with a mop and bucket (or even one of those wet-pad Swiffers), the Braava Jet m6 should be on your radar. It cleans, sweeps, and scrubs hard floors in a way that standalone robot vacuums simply can't. With its long battery life and the ability to cover up to 1,000 square feet in a single session, the m6 is suitable for both apartments and larger homes.

  Roomba vacuum owners: The Braava Jet m6 is a nice addition if you already own an iRobot Roomba i, j, or s series robot vacuum. You can link them in the app and configure the mop to start a run once the vacuum finishes cleaning your floors.

  Specs & Configurations

  Battery Life (Tested)	160 minutes
  Dimensions	10.0 by 10.6 by 3.5 inches
  Phone Control
  Scheduling
  Virtual Walls

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• Best for Affordable Self-Emptying

  iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO

  4.0 Excellent

  Pros & Cons

  • • Self-emptying dustbin
    • Works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT
    • Supports scheduling and area cleaning
    • Detects and focuses on heavily soiled areas
  • • Average battery life
    • Can be loud

  Why We Picked It

  Self-emptying robot vacuums are more expensive than those that require manual emptying, but the convenience is worth it. The Roomba i3+ EVO makes the feature affordable. It lacks some smart navigation features, but you can still direct it to clean specific rooms and control it with your voice or an app.

  Who It's For

  Allergy sufferers: If you don't want to expose yourself to dust while maintaining your Roomba, this is an affordable model that empties its own bin. The i3+ EVO comes with a Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal dock, which charges the robot and holds around 60 days' worth of debris in its AllergenLock bag (depending on how often you vacuum and the cleanliness of your home). When the robot docks after cleaning, you can hear the blower motor in the base kick on as it sucks the contents of the dustbin into the bag.

  People who value convenience: A self-emptying dustbin adds a lot to the convenience of owning a robot vacuum, since you don't have to empty the bin yourself after every run. It's a must-have feature for truly hands-free cleaning.

  Specs & Configurations

  Battery Life (Tested)	90 minutes
  Dimensions	13.26 by 13.26 by 3.63 inches
  Phone Control
  Scheduling

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• Best for Compacting Dust

  iRobot Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot

  3.5 Good

  Pros & Cons

  • • DustCompactor minimizes the need to empty the dustbin
    • Small base station
    • Capable particle pickup
    • Navigates efficiently
  • • Short battery life
    • Got stuck in testing
    • Poor mopping performance

  Why We Picked It

  The innovative Roomba 205 Combo vacuums well for its relatively affordable price, and minimizes maintenance with a unique feature. It features a plastic fin built into its dustbin that compacts dirt to one side after each use. This allows it to last for roughly two months between emptying cycles, without requiring a large, self-emptying base station. Moreover, the 205 has capable navigation, and it can mop during vacuuming runs as well.

  Who It's For

  Small spaces: The Roomba 205's charger is significantly smaller than any self-emptying base station, and the robot's dust compactor enables it to offer similar convenience while occupying much less space in your home.

  Budget-conscious buyers: If you appreciate the convenience of a self-emptying dustbin but don't want to purchase new bags every two months, the Roomba 205 eliminates the need for those.

  Specs & Configurations

  Battery Life (Tested)	59 minutes
  Dimensions	14.1 by 14.09 by 3.98 inches
  Mop/Vacuum Hybrid
  Phone Control
  Scheduling
  Virtual Walls

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