If your priority is size, though, this is a solid choice. Our reviewer felt it would be a great choice as an 'upstairs' robot vacuum, away from the tougher challenges of kitchens and living rooms.

The included remote control offers added convenience, allowing you to activate spot-cleaning or focus on the edges of a room. Like most robot vacuums, the 11S Max is designed to return to its charging base when the battery runs low, fully recharging itself before its next cleaning session.

If you’re using a standard charging base, you may have to fix it to the wall, so the robot vacuum won’t knock it out of place. Some bases come with stickers to help with this issue. If you’re lucky enough to own a robot vacuum with a self-emptying base, it should be heavy enough to hold itself in place.

This model is equipped with a mopping system, and Roborock claims it’s self-washing and self-drying. That said, it’s one of the noisier models we’ve tested, and though it receives a respectable score in data security tests, it scores near the bottom for data privacy.

Robots that recharge and then resume cleaning where they left off are especially great for large homes. If a model doesn’t have this, it will start from the beginning of its course each time it recharges.

The Freo X Ultra's mopping capabilities are not quite as impressive as its vacuuming, but still good. On test, it cleared up spillages well, but the mop pads couldn't get close to the edges of rooms.

First, your robot vacuum can literally self-empty, so if the onboard dustbin is filled mid-route, it can empty itself and then continue cleaning uninterrupted. A self-emptying base saves you from the chore of emptying the dustbin so often as well, with most bases able to hold a minimum of 45 days of dust.

Here's the table on which robot vacuums are best at picking up dirt and pet hair. Note that while all of the robot vacuums were tested by picking up the same material on the same surfaces, those with an asterisk were tested in a 15 x 15-foot square, whereas the other models were tested in a 5 x 5-foot square.

Opertating this robovac is nice and straightforward too. We found the app easy to Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners use, with useful customization options. And the bot itself mapped our reviewer's home quickly and accurately, then proved reliable at object avoidance on test, too.

Without the app, the AI Ultra is more limited, but it remains a solid performer for general cleaning tasks.

"Both the vacuum itself and the charging unit/dust bin are attractively designed while remaining inconspicuous. The accompanying app is intuitive and clearly illustrates how the robot maps the areas its cleaning, as well as providing the ability to specify 'no-go zones'. The power settings can be changed between Quiet, Standard, Strong and Max.

The Roborock Q Revo vacuums and wet-mops simultaneously, using circular pads that spin at an impressive 200 rotations per minute. We found this high-speed scrubbing ensures floors are thoroughly cleaned, lifting dirt and debris effectively.

If your robot vacuum has a mopping function, some bases come with water tanks and scrubbing abilities as well, so it can keep the mop cloth clean. However, there are some drawbacks to self-emptying bases. Besides the additional cost, these take up a lot more floor space.

The WiFi-enabled Eufy RoboVac X8 performs excellently at cleaning bare floors as well as navigating test areas and picking up pet hairs. It’s also stellar at cleaning edges and corners, but our testers found it has a tendency to scatter debris. This affordable model has a lithium-ion battery and a one-sided brush, and it comes with an extra filter, a filter cleaning tool, and a docking station.