The easy-to-use Shark app makes automating the robot vacuum painless and relays any issues the bot runs into. For the most part, the robot goes out on its own and deposits up to 45 days worth of debris into its bagless docking station.

The Dyson 360 Vis Nav almost has it all: immense suction, excellent edge cleaning, and a great design. Plus it's packed with all sorts of features, such as disc brakes and a remote electronic lock. However, it's expensive and lacks a self-emptying option which makes it more hands-on.

There are a few caveats when purchasing a robot vacuum this cheap. For starters, the iLife V3s Pro is slow, taking more than 90 minutes on average to clean a 5x5-foot test space — others took less than 30 minutes.

Also, it can’t be controlled from your smartphone, so you have to use the included remote control, and you can't connect it to Alexa or Google Assistant to turn it on or schedule cleanings.

This bot was previously our top pick for hard floors, thanks to hot water mopping that's more than a match for greasy spillages.

Great at vacuuming, and good at mopping although can sometimes spread wet spillages. Long battery life and fast charging.

As you'd expect at this price, this robot vacuum not short on features, including its own voice assistant. It can launched via the tap of a foot (although on test this didn't always work reliably), the base station will wash and dry the mop pads, the dust cups of the robovac and the handheld vac will auto-empty when docked, and the mapping is outstanding.

The list of reputable brands making high-quality robot vacuums doesn’t stretch long, but CR evaluates all of the mainstays, which run the spectrum between inexpensive and luxury.

We recommend this attachment if you prefer a canister and have deep pile carpets in, say, just the bedrooms. Otherwise, you’ll use a long flat attachment or brush that can be used on bare floors and low, flat rugs.

On the navigation front, we'll also test the robot vacuum's edge cleaning abilities – does it get right up to the edges of rooms, or leave a margin that needs manual cleaning.

Why we love it: Its Em excesso-large dust cup is super easy to remove and the HEPA filter minimizes allergens emitted while vacuuming.

I like the clear LCD screen that shows battery life and the number and sizes of the particles being picked up.

That's exactly in line with my personal experience – while I can see that my robot vacuum's cleaning power is not as strong as a manual vac, the fact that it allows for regular, basically effort-free Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners vacuuming means it has still had a massive positive impact on my cleaning routine.

Right now, the best robot vacuum on the market is the Eufy X10 Pro Omni. On test, this combination robot vacuum and mop was almost perfect, acing our cleaning tests and delivering accurate navigation too.