The iRobot Roomba j7+ stands out for its intelligent mess recognition. It learns from each object it encounters and offers excellent obstacle avoidance. Plus, it’s guaranteed to avoid pet waste. There’s a handy cleaning base as well.

For premium cleaning performance at an affordable price, the iLife V3s Pro vacuum provides excellent value. It picks up all kinds of debris and navigates with ease. It lacks smart home features, but the included remote control works well.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a single, universal vacuum that’s perfect for everyone, but there are some things to consider to help you make the best decision.

And a capable robot vacuum could really be worth the investment if you're finding it tricky to stay on top on manual cleaning.

The Worx cordless cube ran for 23 minutes on low speed in our Lab tests but can run for longer with a higher-capacity battery from the brand. Although it's a little heavier than other handheld vacuums, you don't need to hold it to use it. It's quiet and all of its tools store on board.

But, if these are #FirstWorldProblems you can live with, then you'll be pleased to know the V3s Pro is great at doing the one thing it needs to do well, and that's picking up debris.

Most uprights feature onboard hoses, wands and tools for vacuuming crevices and upholstery and cleaning above-the-floor spaces like door frames and crown moldings.

Why we love it: It maps and remembers multiple rooms and floor plans and it beat all other robot vacuums in our test at quickly and effectively spot-cleaning a small area. This robot vac is pricey but has high-end features like carpet detection to automatically ramp up suction when needed and dual rubber roller brushes that don’t clog with pet hair.

Carolyn selected all of the picks for this Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners round-up and advised the Cleaning Lab's former reviews analyst, Jodhaira Rodriguez, during the testing of wet-dry vacuum and mop combo devices, one of which was included in this list of the best vacuums.

Plus, when the battery is running low, the vacuum returns to its charging base, empties into a sealed large-capacity bag for mess-free disposal and resumes cleaning where it left off.

This is so that it has adequate space to start cleaning and dock on re-entry, without any furniture getting in the way. Don’t forget that it needs access to a power socket as well.

James has tested robot vacuums of all sorts from the most basic models to the ones so feature-packed that they can be used as a security camera. He appreciates models that can suck up all sorts of debris, clean the edges of rooms, and allow easy room partitioning in-app.

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✅ You want a hands-off dock: The dock will empty dust (into a larger than usual dock dustbin), refill water, dispense detergent and even wash and dry the mop pads, so there's minimal effort required from you.