Historically, robovacs aren't great at cleaning up to the edges of rooms, but today's best robot vacuums add spinning side brushes designed to flick debris into the robot's suction path.

Rodriguez updated this story with notes from other Lab analysts’ extensive testing and research notes.

We'll also look at how the robot tackles the issue of switching between vacuuming and mopping – will it reliably detect floor type, and pick up its mop pad when moving from hard floor onto carpet, for example?

Although this does mean it will likely require more clearance space and will protrude further out from the wall as well. Make sure you have a space in mind for your robot vacuum’s dock before you make a purchase, otherwise you might have to move some furniture around.

For this price, its downsides are tradeoffs we're willing to make. That's why it's also one of the best cheap robot vacuums.

A new robot vacuum can be a significant investment, so to ensure you end up with the right one for you, each model here has been tested either on-team, or by one of our regular, experienced freelance reviewers.

It's super convenient not to have to dump out contents after every run especially if you're upgrading from a typical on-board dustbin. The Shark IQ excelled at all of our tests, even picking up kitty litter on the carpet which other models (like our previous pick for this category, the Roomba i3+) scored low marks in.

The companion app works extremely well – our tester was especially impressed that it automatically partitioned the rooms into their own spaces. In terms of performance, we had almost no issues with this robot vacuum at all – if it's in your budget, it's worth the investment.

Plus, we liked its superior mop powers to tackle stubborn stains. But if you're looking for a more affordable robot vac, we would suggest our best budget pick iLife V3S Pro, which cleans even tricky materials such as pet hair like a champ without breaking the bank.

(If you want even more impressive mopping, check out the Eureka J20 at #seis, which has a roller mop that supplies Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners continuous fresh water, and siphons off the dirty stuff as it cleans.)

Ease of use: This score is a combination of factors, such as the size of the dustbin, whether the vacuum has a handle for carrying it around your home, how easy it is to clean the brush roll, whether the vacuum scatters debris, and whether you can schedule it for routine cleaning.

That's due to a lack of features at higher prices or more niche use cases that aren't as versatile as the top models in our list. Still, the models below are worth checking out if money isn't an issue.

Human hair is embedded into the same section of the test carpet. Technicians time how long it takes for the vacuum to pick up the hair and weigh the amount that’s in the dustbin and the brush roll.

The PowerDetect even offers more than the pricier competition with an ActiveLift leg. This helps it crawl over obstacles. It effortlessly popped the floor cleaning bot over my home's raised saddles and onto carpets in my living and dining room.