As well as these standardized tests, my reviewers integrate these robovacs into their daily cleaning setup, to get a feel for how effective and user-friendly they are in general.

Why we love it: The high-filtration dust bag and HEPA AirClean filter help keep dust from being released back into the air. The power cord is retractable and all of the included tools can be stored in the canister.

We also test their performance when picking up small residue, such as crumbs, and let each robot vacuum loose in a room full of obstacles, assessing how well it copes when manoeuvring under an armchair or behind a footstool, and how its coverage matches up to a regular vacuum cleaner. We time how long it takes and look at how well it picks up from corners, edges and crevices.

At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we tried them on both hard floors and carpets, assessing their performance by measuring how much of our specially formulated dust was picked up after a number of sweeps.

We would recommend choosing the version with the self-emptying charging base. It sounds like a jet engine when it’s emptying, but the bin holds weeks’ worth of dust and makes the robot basically fully autonomous.

Big-brand robovacs that are a couple of years old can often deliver the best value for money, with very few sacrifices in performance. And sales events like the Black Friday deals generally come through with strong discounts in this category too.

Voice commands can then send the robot vacuum to wherever it’s needed. The S8 MaxV Ultra’s obstacle-recognition system generally does a good job at avoiding obstacles like chairs and shoes, but it occasionally needs a little intervention.

Robot vacuums have a series of brushes on the underside of the machine that work together to collect dirt and dust that they come in contact with. The dirt is then sucked into the dust cup, which is fitted into the vacuum's body.

You have minimal storage space. Most are slim enough to stash in a corner or closet for speedy clean-ups. They come corded or cordless, and in our Cleaning Lab tests, we’ve found rechargeable ones usually run up to one hour, so Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners you’ll need to keep them plugged into an outlet to keep them fully charged and ready to go. Second batteries are also helpful so you always have a backup.

It has a relatively advanced (and big) docking station – this one empties the vacuum bin, refills the mop and washes the mop pads – but it’s not the best we’ve seen at Automóvel-emptying. On test, it didn’t happen automatically when the vacuum was full, instead clearing it at set intervals.

Why we love it: We've tested many Dreame stick vacuums, robots and vacuum mops in the GH Cleaning Lab and can confidently say that it's one of our favorite brands because it performs well for the price in multiple categories, including robot vacuums, vacuum-mop combos and mops for hardwood floors.

A few of our other favorite perks on a vacuum at this price point are a TurboBrush tool similar to the motorized pet tools on many pricier models, a retractable cord and onboard storage for the tools.

It earned a spot in our Good Housekeeping Best Cleaning & Organizing Awards in 2021 thanks to its innovative fluffy roller brush attachment that shines a laser on the floor to spotlight the tiniest bits of invisible, often overlooked debris.

You are looking for a lightweight, quick picker-upper for bare floors and low-pile rugs. The cleaning performance of this type of vacuum is getting better and better, and it may be the only vac some homes require.