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.

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.

We were particularly impressed by the effectiveness of its row-cleaning pattern — it thoroughly picked up fur and debris even if it blew or knocked them to the sides on an initial passthrough.

The S8 Max Ultra is a very solid all-rounder, and only lost its place in our ranking because Roborock came out with some even better models very shortly afterwards.

❌ You want something that mops well: The mopping here is just dragging a wet wipe across the floor, and not worth bothering with.

There are some downsides, though. The suction power is low for the price bracket – in fact, generally, you're paying a premium for the small size here.

In our tests, it left pelo debris behind on any bare floor — including vinyl and tile — and it was very easy to maneuver and carry thanks to its oversized wheels, compact design and easy-grip handle.

5%. Ultimately, this is a great investment if your pets are prone to accidents and you want to avoid further mess. Keep in mind that's it's a little forceful prior to mapping though — it even knocked one of the weights which secures the walls out of place during our debris tests.

Plus, we liked its superior mop powers to tackle stubborn stains. But if Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners 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.

It can also offer alternative cleaning patterns, so you can choose the route you want it to take. At 4.75 inches, it's taller than many other robot vacuums — it could just reach under our kitchen baseboards, but failed to get under the dishwasher, which the majority of others models could clear.

Today's top-specced robovacs can generate upwards of 10,000Pa of suction. That's rare though, and you're generally looking at machines that sit in the four-figure price bracket to get that kind of power.

❌ You're short on space: The dock is pretty massive, and the styling won't be to everyone's taste.

Onboard dustbins tend to be small, so if you're dealing with lots of dust or hair then I'd recommend prioritizing a self-empty dock. However, be aware that the more functions you add, the bigger the dock will be – the ones with water tanks can be pretty massive.

There's not much this hybrid vacuum misses with an overall 93 cleaning score. It excels in picking up cheerios and cat litter but like our top pick struggled to remove pet hair from the carpet.