Buying Guide: How to Choose a Robot Vacuum

A robot vacuum is worth what its navigation is worth. A model that maps your home, cleans in straight lines and stays out of the rooms you fence off will do more for your floors than one with a bigger suction number. After that, the choice comes down to how much upkeep you're willing to do and how much you'll spend on parts over the years.

Best for...

• Budget Roborock Q7 M5 LiDAR mapping, multi-level maps and no-go zones for $159.99; you empty the bin yourself.
• Quality iRobot Roomba 105 Vac + AutoEmpty Dock LiDAR mapping plus a dock that empties the robot for up to 75 days, for less than $300.
• Premium Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro The base empties the robot, refills its water and washes and dries the mop pad, and Shark covers it for three years.

Start with a tape measure

Before you compare anything else, measure the gap under your sofa, beds and cabinets. Consumer Reports, in its robot vacuum ratings, measures each robot's height precisely because it decides how likely the robot is to get stuck under furniture. A robot that can't fit under the bed will leave the dustiest part of the room untouched.

Makers don't always make this easy. Roborock lists the Q7 M5 at 3.90 inches and iRobot the Roomba 105 at 4.09 inches, a difference that can decide whether a low sofa gets cleaned. Shark's page for the PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro gives only the dimensions of robot and base together, so for that one you'd have to ask Shark or measure in the store.

Also check doorway thresholds and rug edges. Shark says its robot "lifts itself over obstacles and across thresholds", but none of the three pages gives a maximum threshold height, so a tall threshold is a question to ask before buying.

Quick buying guide

1. Measure under your furniture The gap under your sofa and beds decides which robots can clean there. Compare it with the robot's published height.
2. Pay for navigation first A robot that maps with LiDAR cleans in lines, remembers rooms and respects no-go zones. That matters more than suction.
3. Don't shop by pascals Suction figures in Pa aren't tested in a standard way across brands. Treat them as marketing, not as a measure.
4. Decide how much upkeep you'll do A plain charging base means emptying the bin often. Self-emptying docks trade that chore for bags or bins to maintain.
5. Price the parts before the robot Filters, brushes, mop pads and bags wear out. Check they're sold, in stock and affordable on the maker's store.

Navigation: the feature worth paying for

Robot vacuums find their way in three broad ways.

• Gyroscope and bump sensors. The cheapest robots track their turns and bump into things. As Ecovacs puts it in its own explainer, gyro systems track changes in direction "while they don't create visual maps". They get there eventually, slowly and unevenly.
• Cameras (vSLAM). A camera recognizes landmarks to build a map. It works best in bright rooms.
• LiDAR. A spinning laser measures distances all around the robot. It builds accurate maps and, in Ecovacs' words, "works equally well in the dark".

A map is what makes the other features work: room-by-room cleaning, no-go zones around pet bowls and cables, and cleaning a second floor without starting over. All three of our picks use LiDAR, and the good news is how cheap it has become: even the $159.99 Roborock maps several floors of a home.

Obstacle avoidance is the next step up. The Roomba 105 relies on its LiDAR, which iRobot says "avoids obstacles"; the Shark adds a 3D sensor in front to detect objects and furniture. If your floors are often cluttered with cables, toys or pet toys, this is the feature to pay for next.

Why we don't compare suction

Every box leads with a suction figure: 10,000 Pa, 18,000 Pa, "70X more suction", more every year. The problem is that nobody measures it the same way. As PCMag's reviewer explains, "there is no regulated standard for testing pascals in robot vacuum cleaners", and in his own sand test an 8,000 Pa robot picked up 45.6% of the sand while its 18,000 Pa successor picked up 37.7%.

Roborock at least says how it gets its number: the Q7 M5's 10,000 Pa comes from its internal testing in the strongest mode with a full battery. iRobot's "70X more suction" is, per its footnote, a comparison with its own older Roomba 600 series. Neither tells you how clean your floor will be.

Docks and mopping

The dock is where prices jump, because it decides how often you have to touch the robot.

• Charging base only (Roborock Q7 M5). The robot returns to charge, and you empty its bin by hand, often after every run in a home with pets.
• Self-emptying dock (Roomba 105 + AutoEmpty). The dock sucks the dirt out of the robot into a sealed bag. iRobot says it empties "for up to 75 days" before you change the bag.
• Multifunction base (Shark RV2820ZE). It empties debris into a 60-day bin, refills the robot's water tank for up to 30 days, and washes and dries the mop pad after every clean.

Mopping on a robot is light wet wiping, not scrubbing. It deals with dust and fresh marks, not dried spills. What matters in daily use is whether the mop gets out of the way on carpet: the Q7 M5 can't lift its mop, so you remove the mop module before it cleans rugs; the Roomba 105 Vac doesn't mop at all; the Shark keeps its pad above carpets while mopping.

Three robots, three budgets

• Best for budget

  Robot vacuum and mop, charging base

  Roborock Q7 M5

  • LiDAR navigation with multi-level mapping and no-go zones
  • Vacuums and mops at once; the mop doesn't lift
  • 3.90 inches tall; 3,200 mAh battery

  $159.99

  As seen at us.roborock.com on Sep 28, 2026

  See it at Roborock

• Best for quality

  Robot vacuum, auto-empty dock

  iRobot Roomba 105 Vac Robot + AutoEmpty Dock

  • ClearView LiDAR navigation, keep-out zones in the app
  • Dock empties the robot into a bag for up to 75 days
  • 4.09 inches tall; vacuum only, no mop

  $279.9937% below iRobot's stated former price

  Reference (iRobot's stated former price): $449.99. As seen at irobot.com on Sep 28, 2026

  See it at iRobot

• Best for premium

  Robot vacuum and mop, multifunction base

  Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro (RV2820ZE)

  • 360° LiDAR plus a 3D sensor to avoid objects
  • Base empties into a 60-day bin, refills water for up to 30 days, washes and dries the pad
  • Lifts itself over thresholds; 3-year limited warranty

  $599.9940% below Shark's stated former price

  Reference (Shark's stated former price): $999.99. As seen at sharkninja.com on Sep 28, 2026

  See it at Shark

Prices are the ones shown on each maker's own US store on the date given. iRobot and Shark state the price they reduced from, so we show it; Roborock shows a struck-through price without saying what it is, so we don't.

We picked three different brands on purpose, one per budget, so that the differences in price show up as features you can check on each spec sheet. The same questions apply to every other brand on the market.

Count the running costs

A robot vacuum keeps costing money after you buy it. Before choosing one, look up its replacement parts on the maker's store, and check whether they're actually in stock. On September 28, 2026:

• Roborock listed a two-pack of washable filters for the Q7 M5 at $24.99;
• iRobot listed a three-pack of dirt disposal bags for the AutoEmpty docks of the Roomba 100 series at $19.99, each bag holding up to 75 days of debris;
• Shark listed, among the accessories for the RV2820ZE, a robot pre-motor filter at $14.99 and a replacement grey water tank for the base at $25.99.

A bagless base like Shark's saves the cost of bags, but its dust bin and water tanks still have to be emptied by hand. A bagged dock like iRobot's is cleaner to empty and costs a few dollars a bag. Neither is free.

	Roborock Q7 M5	Roomba 105 + AutoEmpty	Shark RV2820ZE
Navigation	LiDAR	LiDAR	LiDAR + 3D sensor
Robot height	3.90 in	4.09 in	Not published
Base	Charging only	Auto-empty into a bag	Empties, refills water, washes and dries the pad
Mopping	Yes, mop doesn't lift	No	Yes, pad lifts on carpet
Warranty	1 year	Not stated on the page	3 years (2 on parts)
Price seen Sep 28, 2026	$159.99	$279.99	$599.99

All specifications are the makers' own. Shark lists only the size of the robot and base together, not the robot's height. Source: us.roborock.com, irobot.com and sharkninja.com product pages, read Sep 28, 2026

Warranty and support

Warranties differ more than you'd expect. Shark lists a three-year limited warranty for the RV2820ZE, two years on parts. Roborock's store shows a one-year limited warranty, with paid extensions. iRobot's product page doesn't state the warranty length, so check it before you order.

Support matters too, because a robot depends on its app. When iRobot, the maker of the Roomba, went through a pre-packaged chapter 11 process, it was acquired by its lender and supplier Picea in January 2026, and it said it expected no disruption to its app or product support. It's a reminder to favor brands with a track record of software updates, whichever you choose.

Cameras, apps and privacy

A robot that maps your home knows the layout of your home, and one with a camera can see it. That's not hypothetical. In 2024, security researchers showed that some Ecovacs robots could be taken over via Bluetooth from as far away as 450 feet, with access to their cameras and microphones.

None of our three picks advertises a camera, which limits what could leak. Whatever you buy, keep the firmware updated, use a strong password on the app account and turn off remote features you don't use.

Our take

For a first robot in an apartment with hard floors, the Roborock Q7 M5 is enough: it maps, it respects no-go zones, and at $159.99 it is the cheapest way into LiDAR navigation among our picks. If you have pets, rugs or no patience for emptying bins, the Roomba 105 with its AutoEmpty dock is the one we'd look at first. The Shark makes sense for larger homes with a lot of hard floor to mop and owners who want to touch the robot as little as possible. Whichever you choose, compare the price with other stores and with its recent history: a robot vacuum's price moves a lot during the year, and a "reduced from" price is the seller's claim, not a guarantee of a bargain.

Questions shoppers ask

Is a robot vacuum a replacement for a regular vacuum?

For most homes, no. Consumer Reports describes robots as a complement to regular vacuuming. They keep floors tidy between deep cleans, but they aren't as powerful as uprights or canisters and they don't do stairs.

Does more suction mean a cleaner floor?

Not reliably. There is no regulated standard for measuring pascals in robot vacuums, and in PCMag's own sand test an 8,000 Pa model picked up more than its 18,000 Pa successor.

Are robot vacuums with cameras a privacy risk?

They can be. In 2024 researchers showed that some Ecovacs models could be taken over via Bluetooth and their cameras accessed. Look for a clear statement from the maker about image storage and security, and keep the app and firmware updated.

Are the discounts on these robots real?

iRobot and Shark show the price they say each robot was reduced from, and our badges name that reference. A seller's former price is a claim, not proof: check the robot's price history before treating it as a bargain. Roborock shows a struck-through price without saying what it is, so we show no discount at all.

Is iRobot still in business?

Yes. iRobot went through a pre-packaged chapter 11 process and was acquired by its lender and supplier Picea; the deal closed in January 2026. iRobot said it expected no disruption to its app or product support.