Today’s robot vacuums are becoming a bit like cars: with all the features, upgrades, and fancy trimmings available these days, it’s easy to forget that they can just be simple machines that get us from point A to point B. Yes, some bots blow hot air on their bums (mop pads), deftly navigate dog poop, and have arms to pick up your socks, but there are plenty of basic budget robot vacuums that just do a decent job of cleaning your floor autonomously — as long as you tidy up first.
Fancier models have obstacle recognition, and some even use AI-powered cameras to tell popcorn from poop and avoid the latter. If you want one of those, check out my best robot vacuum buying guide. But if you think you can manage the task of picking up after yourself (and your puppy), a budget bot will save you a lot of money and still do a good job cleaning your floor.
Best budget robot vacuum
Tapo RV30 Max Plus
Score: 8
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Where to Buy:
Suction power: 5,300Pa / Dustbin capacity: 300ml / Self-empty dock option: Yes / Mopping option: Yes / Mapping: Yes, lidar / Keep-out zones: Yes, virtual / Runtime: 100 mins, 2,600mAh battery/ Brush style: Single rubber bristle hybrid / Works with: Matter
For around $300, the Tapo RV30 Max Plus is a very capable robot vacuum and mop with some key features typically found only on vacuums that are more than twice its price. These include room-specific cleaning, multiple suction and water levels, smart lidar-based navigation, and an auto-empty dock. With brands like Roborock, you’re often paying double for the privilege of not having to empty the bot’s bin.
Thanks to lidar navigation, the RV30 did an excellent job of navigating my house, cleaning the perimeters of the rooms, and then using a mesh grid to clean inside the rooms. I did have to tidy up before it ran, though, as there’s no camera on board or AI-powered obstacle detection — so cables and socks will trip it up.
Its 5,200Pa suction power is impressive on a bot at this price, and ably sucked up Cheerios and dry oatmeal on hard flooring. It left some of the finer dust and debris, as its single bristle / rubber brush isn’t super effective. It fared less well on carpet. However, in the app, I could set it to clean a room three times for each job, after which it generally picked up all visible debris.
Mopping was better than average for a mop with no pressure or oscillation. It has a wide mop pad, and the bot has a big 300ml tank (which also incorporates a 300ml dustbin), so it applies enough water for a good surface clean.
Another unique feature for a budget robot is the ability to set customized cleaning for each room, choosing from five suction levels and three water levels as well as three rotations.
The Tapo app is very simple to use, with an easy-to-edit map that lets you add virtual walls and no-go zones, add furniture, and designate carpet areas. There’s no carpet sensing, so you need to tell it where carpets are if you don’t want it to mop them. You can also set the cleaning direction and build up to four maps — again, features usually only found on higher-end robots.
5,200Pa suction power is impressive on a bot at this price
It’s also easy to start a clean from the app, and I really like that you can tap on the map to send the robot to that spot.
The biggest downside of the Tapo is its tiny battery, which is just 2,600mAh. That is half the size of most vacs, and it couldn’t clean my entire 800-square-foot downstairs without needing to go back and recharge. It also takes a while to charge and occasionally has trouble repositioning itself on its dock.
You can get the RV30 without the auto-empty dock for around $80 less if you prefer an even simpler robot vacuum setup. This way, it will fit under a couch or bed, but you’ll have to manually empty its bin.
Best basic bump-and-roll bot
Shark Ion
Score: 7
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Suction power: unknown / Dustbin capacity: 425ml / Runtime: 120 mins / Brush style: single bristle / rubber hybrid / Auto-empty dock option: no / Mapping: no / Keep-out zones: no / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
The Shark Ion’s big bin, simple app experience, decent battery life, repairability, and bullish nature make this an excellent bump-and-roll bot. It doesn’t map or have any special navigation features other than colliding with things and changing direction. It’s not fancy, but it gets the job done.
It’s a good one to stick under a bed or desk and set to run when you’re not home, as it’s loud and rattly and will bang into everything in its path. But its big wheels and 120-minute runtime mean it’s less prone to getting stuck or running out of juice than simpler $200 bots.
Unlike many budget bots, it uses a hybrid roller brush that’s both bristle and plastic and doesn’t get as tangled as standard bristle brushes. Its short, squat side brushes are surprisingly effective at getting debris into the robot’s path, and because they’re short, they’re less prone to getting tangled in stray cords.
But the best thing ‘bout this bot is its tank-like wheels that will roll right over anything in its path, including high transitions between rooms, obstacles like lounger chair legs, and other furniture traps that regularly stump other bots. That’s a good thing, as there’s no mapping, obstacle detection, or any way to set keep-out zones here. This bot just goes.
Another bonus: replacement parts are easily available, making it simple to repair and just keep going.
Shark doesn’t share suction power specs, but it ably handled all my tests, including the toughest: raw oatmeal. Those little flakes are hard to pick up; side brushes will spin them all over the floor. It did a good job on pet hair, too, although, like most robots I tested, it required at least two runs to get everything up effectively.
The app is super basic: just on / off, scheduling, and a choice of three power levels (all loud). Disappointingly, you can only schedule it once a day. Most robots can be programmed to do two to three passes, but in place of that, I like the option to schedule it to go out twice to make sure it gets the job done. I couldn’t do that with the Shark. Still, you can press its button or use the app to send it out again if needed.
Best budget robot vacuum without Wi-Fi
Eufy 11S Max
Score: 8
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Suction power: 2,000Pa / Dustbin capacity: 600ml / Runtime: 100 mins / Brush style: single bristle / rubber hybrid / Auto-empty dock option: no / Mapping: no / Keep-out zones: no / Works with: n/a
The Eufy 11S Max is a rarity — a robot vacuum that doesn’t use Wi-Fi at all. There’s not even an app. Instead, you just press the button, and off it trundles. It also comes with a remote if you’d rather not get up off the couch, and you can use that to program it to clean at a specific time.
The 11S is super slim, 72.5mm high, with no lidar tower, so it will get under most couches. It has a big 600ml bin, and I was very impressed with how much it got up off my hardwood floors, even with its relatively small 2,000Pa of suction. There are three cleaning levels, and at the lowest, it registers around 55db, which is quiet enough to run in a home office.
It does have a smallish battery — only 100 minutes of runtime — but it will go back and recharge. For $200, this is the perfect budget bot for those wary of or who don’t want to deal with an app or Wi-Fi. It’s a bump-and-roll bot, meaning there are no real navigation skills. But it has plenty of replaceable parts, including the battery and wheels, so you can keep it going for a long time.
Other budget robot vacuums to consider
- The $239.99
$399.99Switchbot K11 Plus is a great option for small spaces. It’s tiny size lets it navigate around tight spaces with ease, and it even comes with a charging dock that’s shorter than a ruler. Despite its compact size, it offers 6,000Pa suction and does a good job of cleaning up both carpets and hardwood floors. Just note that its mopping is more of a light wipe than a true scrub, and there’s no AI-powered obstacle avoidance.
What we’re currently testing and what’s coming next
- In light of reports around iRobot’s uncertain future, we’ve removed the iRobot Roomba Combo i5 from our recommendations. While if the company goes out of business, Roombas should still work in offline mode, you may not be able to control them via the app or with voice commands. As for the company’s new budget robovacs — Roomba’s $169.99
$319.99Roomba 105 Combo and the $469.99 Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo — we’re still in the testing phase, but so far aren’t impressed. While both models can vacuum and mop, boast 7,000Pa of suction, and include other useful features, each has already run into notable issues during testing. For example, the 205 we received — which features an onboard debris and dust compactor that iRobot says goes eight weeks before having to be emptied — arrived with battery problems. - We’re also in the process of testing the $329.99
$549.99Roborock Q10 S5 Plus Robot Vacuum and Mop, and so far we’re fans. Along with 10,000Pa of suction power, it offers a 2.7-liter self-emptying base that can hold up to 70 days’ worth of debris. Its sonic mop lifts automatically when it detects carpet and can scrub floors 3,000 times per minute, and you can set specific rooms to clean, create no-go zones, and customize cleaning schedules. - Shark has launched a new line of budget robots under its Navigator line. We’ve started testing the Shark Navigator RV2110 and, so far, we’re impressed with its basic lidar navigation, which allows it to map your home so it doesn’t need to bump n’ roll like the Ion. At the current sale price of $179.99
$299.99, it’s a good option as you have more control of where it cleans, and it doesn’t miss areas. - The Shark RV2120AE is the same robot with an auto-empty dock, which, like all Shark auto-empty docks, doesn’t require replacement dust bags. However, at $249.99 ($150 off)
$499.99, the RV2120AE is more expensive than the Tapo, even when you consider that you have to purchase bags for the latter. The Shark RV2110AE is cheaper at $348, but it has a smaller battery and only one side brush, so it won’t run as long between charges. One benefit of Shark vacuums to consider over the Tapo is that they’re very repairable — you can buy replacement parts for almost everything on the bot, which you can’t with the Tapo.
Update, December 10th: Adjusted pricing and availability. Removed the Roborock Q5 Pro and added the Switchbot K11 Plus. Sheena Vasani also contributed to this post.