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We put them to work around the GHI to find the best you can buy

A robot vacuum cleaner might not sound like a household staple but, while it won’t replace your standard vacuum cleaner in terms of power and ability, having one can drastically reduce your workload around the house.

They’ve developed over the years too, now boasting greater pick-up power, larger dust canisters and, in some cases, self-emptying capabilities. All the models on our list work with Google Home or Alexa too, and are app-controlled, so you can set your vacuum to work even when you’re not at home.

These are the best-in-test robot vacuums for 2022:

These small-scale vacs are ideal for cleaning up spilt food and keeping on top of dust in-between more thorough cleans. They navigate around your home using sensors to avoid bumping into furniture, or by detecting (provided) magnetic strips that mark no-go areas. Some even map out where they’ve been, so no spot is neglected.

Dirt sensors help the robots detect which areas of your floor to pay more attention to, while our winning vac – the iRobot Roomba Series J7+ – takes pictures of areas it couldn’t tackle, sending them to the app so you can address them when you next clean.

Some models come with docking stations that double as a disposal unit too, automatically empty their canisters when they return to the docking station. This will dramatically reduce how often you’ll need to clear it – our two top-scorers, for example, claim the container can house up to 60 days' worth of dust before it needs disposing of.

Auto-emptying is a quick process but can be noisy, so we’d suggest not running them at night or during an important work meeting. For those without this feature, be aware that due to their size, the dust canister will need to be emptied more frequently than a regular vacuum cleaner.

They aren’t the cheapest, but they can bring convenience to your cleaning routine, and our GHI experts were impressed with their capabilities. They save time and effort compared to regular vacuum cleaners and are ideal for a mid-week clean.

If you frequently use handheld vacuums to tackle small areas of debris on your carpet or kitchen floor, then they’ll take the pressure off your back too.

Unfortunately not. Due to their design, robot vacuums cannot move up and down stairs but are ideal for cleaning individual rooms, flats and single-storey homes. Stair cleaning will be left to your regular vacuum.

Don’t worry about them taking a tumble though, built-in sensors prevent this from happening.

In short, yes. While not the case for every robot we tested, we found some models that were able to reach into nooks and crannies, and manoeuvre around furniture with ease – a task that many regular vacuums also struggle with.

We wanted our tests to decide whether robot vacuums can compete with regular vacs. We tried them on both hard floors and carpets, assessing the performance of each by measuring how much of our specially formulated dust was picked up after a number of sweeps.

We consider pet hair, too. Using the real thing sourced from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, our expert grinds it into the carpet to create a worst-case scenario before putting each vacuum to work.

We also test the performance of picking up small residue, such as crumbs, and let each robot vacuum loose in a room full of obstacles to navigate, assessing how well it copes vacuuming under an armchair or behind a footstool, and how its coverage matches up to a regular vacuum cleaner. We timed how long it took and looked at how well it picked up from corners, edges and crevices too.

Lastly, we test associated apps and try out voice control, to make sure it will integrate perfectly into your home. Scroll on to find your new cleaning companion...

iRobot’s Roomba vacuums are iconic gadgets, and this top-scoring model showed us why. Impressing with its pick-up on all tests, large crumbs, finer dirt and even pet hair posed no problems.

It consistently self-emptied its dust canister fully into its docking station. Plus, the app will notify you when it’s full, and with the capacity able to take on up to 60 days' worth of dust, emptying it can sit at the bottom of your to-do list for a while.

It’s slower than a standard vac, taking 31 minutes on average to clean a whole room. But we were impressed with how it notifies you of areas that it couldn’t reach; it sends pictures of obstacles through to the app so you know to tackle them manually later. It also responded reliably to voice control, making it a real all-rounder.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto and spot clean Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 3 hours Running time: 1 hour 15 minutes Canister capacity: 1.7 litres (docking station storage capacity) Variable power: No

The more this vac cleans your home, the more efficient it becomes, learning and mapping out the best way to manoeuvre as it goes. It will also make its way back to its docking station mid-clean, empty itself fully and get back to work.

On test, it performed well and was reliable at picking up dirt and crumbs from hard floors, and was outstanding doing the same on carpet. It would suit pet owners, too.

As you’d expect from iRobot’s highest-end model, it’s not cheap and it wasn’t any faster than either of the brand’s other models we tested. It can only be controlled via the app, but we found it clear to use, allowing you to set no-go zones, create cleaning schedules and look over the vac’s battery life and cleaning history.

Like the J7+, it will notify you if it comes across any obstacles and we found the accompanying instructions detailed, with diagrams that cover device usage and troubleshooting, making it accessible even if it’s your first foray into this sort of home tech.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto and spot clean Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 3 hours Running time: 2 hours Canister capacity: 1.7 litres (docking station storage capacity) Variable power: No

This affordable robot vacuum won’t automatically map out your home. Instead, it comes with boundary strips, so you can mark out no-go zones. These worked well on test, while it also impressed cleaning on carpet and when picking up larger debris, with comparable results to a standard vac. But, while it lifted most pet hair, it did then tangle on the brushes, which took a while to clean.

The side brushes made it nimble at tackling crevices, but we noticed it struggled slightly with corners. It took 34 minutes to finish a whole room, but the results were remarkably clean throughout. It's versatile too; control it via an intuitive app, effective voice control or a remote – providing tech that everyone can use.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto, spot, edge and quick clean Mapping technology: Yes – boundary strips Charging time: 5 to 6 hours Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes Canister capacity: 0.6 litres Variable power: Yes

A consistent cleaner on both hard floors and carpet, this app-controlled robot vac is a reliable addition to your cleaning arsenal. It responded to our voice tests every time, and its app was a similarly reliable way to control it. The latter also allows you to establish no-go zones and set schedules with little hassle.

In our room test, it did get stuck against a table leg, eventually sending a notification to the app asking for help. The cleaning pattern didn't look that methodical either, passing over certain areas multiple times and missing some edges – the app allows you to monitor the cleaning history though, so you can catch any spots that may need more attention.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 2 hours Running time: 3 hours 20 minutes Canister capacity: 0.7 litres Variable power: Yes

This robot vac can be used almost straight out of the box, thanks to its manual controls. The Eufy app will unlock greater functionalities including setting no-go zones, but it’s not imperative for use. Voice control was simple to enable, too. The comprehensive instructions – complete with illustrated guides – also helped make set-up a doddle.

It was a solid cleaner, picking up smaller dirt and crumbs well and excelling with larger debris. Some dust got blown away on hard floors due to the speed of the brushes, but it cleaned a room quickly – in 17 minutes 51 seconds – and its sensor system stopped it from getting stuck, even when it bumped into obstacles.

Note: this model also doubles up as a robot mop, and while we didn’t score this feature, we found it good for lifting light dirt as it distributed an even amount of water without leaving areas overly damp afterwards. We wouldn’t turn to it for heavy soils though.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto, room, zone and spot clean Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 4 to 5 hours Running time: 3 hours Canister capacity: 0.4 litres Variable power: Yes

If you’d like an iRobot but don’t want to shell out for either of our two winning models, this one is worth considering. The big difference between this and the others is its lack of mapping capabilities. It doesn’t have a memory function, and you can’t set no-go zones, so it’s not particularly systematic in the way it cleans. As a result, the room’s edges and corners were also neglected in our test.

This aside, it vacuumed well; some dust was blown away on hard floors but its pick-up power was reliable on carpet and with pet hair. The app was well-designed too, while the vac responded consistently to voice control.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto and spot clean Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 3 hours Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes Canister capacity: 0.6 litres Variable power: No

Like its hybrid counterpart, this robot vac took just 17 minutes and 51 seconds to clean a whole room - invest in this if you’re looking for one that doesn’t dawdle! Its speed meant it missed some spots, but its pick-up wasn’t impacted, proving reliable on fine and large dirt, and leaving the edges clear.

It was good with pet hair too, and while hair did tangle on the brushes, it was less noticeable than most other models we tried. Furniture proved trickier – it pushed at a chair for a full minute before dislodging it and continuing its clean – but it maps as it goes and responded well to the no-go zones we set up via the straightforward app. It doesn’t let you know when the bag is full, however, so keep a regular eye on this.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto, room, zone and spot clean Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 4 to 5 hours Running time: 3 hours Canister capacity: 0.6 litres Variable power: Yes

Our carpets were practically spotless when we used this Eufy vac, lifting all pet hair and brushing dirt towards the suction inlet. Some pet hair got caught on the brushes though, which also proved too powerful for hard floors, dispersing dust and crumbs around the room rather than drawing them in.

It was relatively quick vacuuming an entire room though, clocking in at an average of just under 25 minutes. It had a fairly random navigation pattern, but despite this left almost no traces of dirt in corners or crevices.

It’s not compatible with boundary strips, so it’s best to set it off when you’re in to monitor its path. As with other Eufy models, it was easy to set up and comes with three forms of control – a remote, the app and voice command.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto, spot, edge and single room Mapping technology: No Charging time: 5-6 hours Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes Canister capacity: 0.6 litres Variable power: Yes

It took an average of 30 minutes, but this robot vac left barely a speck of dust, large debris or pet hair when cleaning our test room. It had good pick-up for fine to medium crumbs on carpet too, but it didn’t quite compare to that of a standard vac. Some pet hair got caught on the brushes, but any tangling was limited and easy to remove.

However, we saw more wear and tear on this vac than the others we tested, and the design didn’t feel particularly robust; the dust canister flap stopped sitting flush when closed after repeated use.

Set-up and navigating the app were straightforward, with detailed instructions available for those new to the tech. The mapping, no-go zones and voice control were all effective too. Pick this one if you’re after a vac for quick refreshes, rather than deep cleans.

Key specifications Number of cleaning modes: Auto Mapping technology: Yes Charging time: 3 hours Running time: 2 hours Canister capacity: 0.6 litres Variable power: Yes