Major Robot Mop & Vacuum Brands Ranked Worst To Best

Believe it or not, the first patented design of a robot vacuum dates back to 1956. American engineer Donald G. Moore was the man responsible, and his concept was remarkably similar to the robovacs many of us use to clean our floors today. His vision featured a small 'bot that was controlled by a single button and followed pre-programmed paths to clean rooms. Moore's machine even featured both vacuum and mop functions.

Unfortunately, he never saw the commercialization of his robotic housekeeper. In fact, it wasn't until 1996, when Electrolux introduced the Trilobite, that the world had its first commercially available robot vacuum. Then came the Roomba in 2002, which was the world's first commercially successful robot vacuum. Today, these autonomous cleaners are far more advanced than those early models. Many of today's better 'bots incorporate AI and machine learning. Most of these units also now include mops, which finally brings Moore's dream to life.

Today, many brands compete for the title of best robot mop and vacuum brand, including the top players in this ranked list. To reach this conclusion, SlashGear ranked the best brands based on expert and customer reviews, sales numbers, and brand reputation. Included are established contenders and some new players. Still, it's important to note that none on the list, even the lower-ranked choices, offer inferior products. Any brand can potentially make an excellent product or, indeed, a terrible one. However, competition is so fierce in the robovac industry that many great brands have emerged — and if they have made this list, consider them really great.

Yeedi is a rising star in the world of robovacs. Its machines are affordable yet deliver powerful suctions and advanced navigation systems. It's a sub-brand of ECOVACS and is entirely dedicated to the production of service robots and their accessories. Founded in 2019 in Shenzhen, China, the company is well-positioned to draw on the city's experience in electronics manufacturing, product design, and AI resources to deliver some surprisingly good robot mop and vacuums.

The company's star product, the YEEDI M12 Ultra+, delivers exceptional cleaning prowess for its price point. It makes light work of both vacuuming and mopping, leaving surfaces spotless. With 11,800 Pa suction power, its performance rivals many of its more expensive competitors. Maintenance is infrequent, and its TruEdge Adaptive Edge Mopping is precise. Other features like ZeroTangle tech and a space-efficient docking station with functions like Auto-Empty, One-Tap Self Cleaning, and Auto-Refill make this upper-midrange robovac a winner.

When Samsung isn't busy making world-class smartphones or delivering superior smart TVs to the world, it's busy making a variety of other gadgets. One such is its excellent range of robot mop and vacuums. Unfortunately, as the Korean giant is busy perfecting other products, it doesn't have the time to develop such an array of robovacs that other companies have the time to do. However, those it has produced are of high quality and ensure the company makes this list.

Samsung first entered the high-end robotic vacuum market at the 2021 CES with the Jet Bot AI+. It was a fair effort, but the machine had navigation issues on top of being a bit on the bulky side compared to its competitors. Enter 2024's Bespoke Jet Combo AI. This newer, more advanced model integrates a mopping function and features superior obstacle detection and mapping, as well as a self-cleaning station. It's also shorter, but thankfully, it retains the ability to spy on our pets, therefore adding unexpected insights into Fido's secret life as an added bonus.

Narwal was founded in 2016 by former World Robotics Olympiad gold medal winner Junbin Zhang. The company quickly established itself in the robotic cleaning industry with several innovations. Among them was its 2019 automatic mop-washing base station, which led to recognition from TIME Magazine in 2020. The prestigious publication listed the Narwal T10 as one of that year's best inventions. In 2021, Narwal developed another world first with its automatic water exchange system that ensured mopping water didn't leave streaks or residue. Furthermore, its DirtSense AI and Zero-Tangle Floating Brush in the following years were practical applications of emerging technologies.

The Narwal Freo X Ultra incorporates all of this tech and is the company's pride and joy. It boasts an 8,200 Pa suction power that works seamlessly with the floating brush to ensure almost every loose pet hair in the house is picked up. It's also very quiet and incorporates the latest dust-compression tech that just about guarantees you won't need to empty the 'bot for up to seven weeks.

SwitchBot was founded in 2016 with a mission to deliver smart home products at affordable prices. Since the company's inception, it has rapidly expanded its product line. After only two years, it became an Amazon Best Seller in the Smart Home category. By 2023, SwitchBot made significant inroads into the robot vacuum market when it introduced the Floor Cleaning Robot S10. It was introduced at IFA 2023, and SlashGear was impressed despite the relatively short battery life and high noise level. That same year, SwitchBot was receiving global recognition in the form of prestigious awards. Among them were the Good Design Award, the iF Design Award, and the Red Dot Winner.

Toward the end of 2023, SlashGear reviewed the SwitchBot K10+ Pro and gave it the Editor's Choice Award. Despite its mopping capability being a bit on the lightweight side when tackling tough stains, this machine checked most other boxes and left the reviewer suitably impressed by its cleaning effectiveness, especially in tight corners and narrow spaces. However, it was the compact size that surprised most. It's ideal for small apartments and can get to places its bigger siblings can't.

Dreame Technology is a manufacturer of household appliances operating out of Suzhou, China. The company is one of the newer players in the industry, having been founded in 2017. However, it didn't take long for Dreame to establish itself as a leading innovator in smart home cleaning. On top of its robovacs, the company also excels in the production of cordless sticks and wet-and-dry vacuums in addition to high-speed hair dryers. Dreame's products are used in over 21 million households across the globe, making it a strong competitor in the international smart home appliance market.

On day one of the IFA 2024 event in Berlin, Dreame showcased one particularly innovative prototype: a robot vacuum capable of climbing stairs. SlashGear was in attendance and was so impressed, this next-gen robotic cleaner was listed as one of the best at the event. While this feature won't be found in Dreame's products just yet, the company does offer some other quality robotic vacuum and mop cleaners. The Dreame D10 Plus Gen 2 promises users hands-free operation for up to 90 days with its 4L bag and automatic dust collection. With the price in the lower midrange, its 6,000 Pa suction power and floating rubber brush are also impressive features. Additionally, its combination of advanced mapping technology, obstacle avoidance, and easily customizable cleaning plans ensures excellent value on top of convenience and efficiency.

Another Chinese company that has grown at an impressive rate is Anker. It was founded in 2011 by former Google engineer Steven Yang and initially focused on the manufacturing of phone chargers and battery packs. However, the company quickly expanded into other markets. Eventually, it diversified into audio devices under its Soundcore brand and smart home products under the Eufy label. Despite some controversies regarding privacy issues with its home security cameras, Anker has become a globally recognized brand with over 3,000 employees worldwide.

Even though the company's flagship model, the Omni S1 Pro, is a premium-priced product with advanced features, Eufy is still best known for its affordable range of robot mop and vacuum cleaners. One such that impressed SlashGear is the Eufy Clean X8 Pro. This vacuum and mop hybrid delivers excellent performance and quietly goes about its job with little assistance. At such a budget-friendly price, its notable features, such as superb obstacle avoidance, demonstrate the company's commitment to delivering high-quality products at more accessible prices.

SharkNinja is an independent public tech company based in Needham, Massachusetts. It has been pioneering household appliances for several decades and is split into Shark and Ninja brands. The former is responsible for its range of affordable robotic vacuums and mops. Its first robovac, the Shark Ion Connected 750, was released in 2018 and was met with mixed reviews. However, since then, things have improved considerably. SlashGear even listed the Shark AI Ultra as an excellent alternative to Roomba robot vacuums in 2023.

However, the company's current flagship model is the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1, which has departed from its traditional affordable-to-midrange pricing. It's still priced under $1,000 yet offers features that are usually reserved for more premium 'bots. It's a particularly good performer when cleaning hardwood floors. However, its mopping performance is equally impressive and it does an excellent job of removing tough stains. In fact, with its self-empty, self-refill, and self-clean NeverTouch Pro Base, users barely even need to go near this self-sufficient device for up to 30 days. With these features offering high-end performance at a competitive price, Shark is now a strong contender in the robot vacuum market.

ECOVACS is a leading robotics firm based in Suzhou, China. The company was founded in 1998 and marked its first foray into the robot vacuum market in 2007 with its DEEBOT series. The DEEBOT 5 was the company's first floor-cleaning 'bot and since those early days, ECOVACS has expanded its product range. In 2011, it introduced window-cleaning robots with the WINBOT 5 series. But, it was the introduction of the DEEBOT 9 Series in 2013 that made consumers sit up and take notice. These high-tech robovacs incorporated laser mapping and smartphone control. By 2017, ECOVACS had introduced OZMO tech to its home helpers. This was the company's simultaneous vac and mop tech that cemented its place as a high-ranking robovac manufacturer.

Since then, ECOVACS has taken nothing but giant strides. By 2020, the company had a 41% share of the online market in China and had branched out into the air purifier market. The launch of the DEEBOT X1 OMNI gained the company further international recognition when CES named it as an Innovation Award Honoree in 2022. The company's current flagship model is the sequel to the X1, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI. It has upped the suction power from 5,000 to 8,000 Pa and incorporates a mop-lifting mechanism similar to Roborock's and a D-shaped design that is able to tackle corners and edges more effectively. ECOVACS currently claims to serve more than 50 million users across 145 countries worldwide, indicating significant global expansion.

Roborock is a relatively new player in the robotic mop and vacuum industry. The company was founded in 2014, but the giant strides it has taken since then make it fully deserving of its number two ranking on this list. Chinese electronics manufacturing giant Xiaomi played a pivotal role in Roborock's founding, and the company's first product, the Mi Home Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, was released in 2016. By 2018, it had sold over 2 million units in China alone and was the country's best-selling robovac. This prompted expansion into foreign markets, and in 2021, Roborock unleashed the S7 on the world. It combined ultrasonic mopping with intelligent mop lifting and received a special mention from TIME on the magazine's list of best inventions in 2021.

The "vacuum with brains" was followed up the next year by the S7 MaxV Ultra. It launched at CES 2022 and earned the title of the world's first true 2-in-1 vacuum and mop robotic cleaner by performing both functions without requiring any manual change. It won the Smart Home category award that year and was bestowed with comparisons to Rosey the Robot from "The Jetsons" on top of boosted sales. At CES 2024, Roborock showcased its new range of robovacs, including the S8 MaxV Ultra, a product that SlashGear's reviewer said took "cleaning beyond limits." Not only does it have a superior 10,000 Pa of suction power, but it automatically cleans, detangles, and empties, as well as performs self-cleaning with hot water and warm air. It also utilizes AI-powered features, such as voice control, obstacle avoidance, and smart navigation, among other state-of-the-art features.

The best overall robot mop and vacuum brand is iRobot. This company has more than 30 years of experience in the robotics business and has contributed to projects as diverse as exploring the Great Pyramid of Giza to monitoring the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. However, the company also gave us the Roomba, the world's first commercially successful robot vacuum. iRobot brought the Roomba into the world in 2002, and it was more efficient than anything that had come before it. With advanced features, such as dirt detection and a drop sensor, more than 1 million Roombas were sold by 2004.

More than two decades later, iRobot is still selling Roomba robot vacuums by the shipload, and they are way more advanced than they used to be. In 2018, the Roomba i7+ with Clean Base took everyone by surprise. Not only could it map your entire home, but you could control it from anywhere you happened to be via its smartphone app. The fact that it could also self-empty was the cherry on top.

In recent years, the company has added advanced features, such as obstacle and hazard avoidance. SlashGear was impressed enough by the Roomba Combo J9+ in 2023. Now, there's the Roomba Combo 10 Max. This model adds to the previous release's retractable mopping system with a charging dock that not only empties the bin and refills the water tank but also washes and dries the mop on top of giving itself a thorough cleaning.

To compile this ranked list, SlashGear went through a comprehensive evaluation process. We considered multiple factors, including expert reviews from reputable tech publications and industry insiders. We also scrutinized customer feedback across various selling platforms, including Amazon and Best Buy, as well as brand websites. We took positive and negative comments into account and paid particular attention to recurring points.

Brand popularity and reputation were also important factors that were considered. SlashGear also looked into each company's history in the robotics and home appliance sectors and their track record of innovation. For newer companies with less of a legacy, factors considered include the impact their products have had and the level of customer satisfaction they have achieved.