In addition to washing dishes, vacuuming is one of the most hated household chores. Fortunately, more and more smart devices can take over from us. We have tested a number of them and have listed the best for you.
Robotic vacuum cleaners are slowly but surely conquering our homes. Apparently so many people hate this household task that they are happy to deposit hundreds of euros for such a device. If you then put down so much money for a robot vacuum cleaner, you better buy something good. That is why we have tested a lot of specimens and have listed the best ones for you.
Best all-rounder: IRobot Roomba 960
When you think of robot vacuum cleaners, you quickly think of the Roomba. This robot vacuum cleaner is the most famous, most popular series of vacuum cleaners you can find, and that is not surprising. The devices are doing very well and are widely praised. In fact, this vacuum cleaner is so good that it still comes out of our test as the best all-rounder, just like last year.
The Roomba 960 is a beautiful device with WiFi on board. It has three cleaning modes and sensors that can detect dirt. The device was able to keep our floors clean and the camera navigation works reliably. The accompanying app works well and gives timely notifications if something is wrong.
The ability to connect the device with other smart home assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home are a nice extra. The Roomba costs around 600 euros and if you do Amazon Prime even have around the 545 euros.
Runner-up: Neato Robotics Botvac D7 Connected
The Botvac D7 is about as pricey as the Roomba 960, but also with this device you get value for money. The fantastic navigation system gives users, among other things, the possibility to create virtual barriers on the detailed map. That way you know for sure that your vacuum cleaner will not go for a walk and will come to places where it is not allowed.
The device looks beautiful and the compagnion app gives you the option to use multiple cleaning modes. The app also keeps track of the last 20 cleaning sessions and the vacuum cleaner works with Amazon Alexa, Google Home and IFTTT. Moreover, the D-shape of this vacuum cleaner ensures that even the most difficult corners are properly cleaned.
The Botvac D7 costs around 700 euros.
Honorable mention: Xiaomi Roborock S6
If a manufacturer builds a robot vacuum cleaner with more than one function, then you often notice that it is a product that can do a little of everything, but does not excel at anything. This does not apply to the Roborock S6. This smart vacuum cleaner not only cleans your floors, but also mops them.
This robot vacuum cleaner goes well with the big boys and, unlike the S5 we tested last year, this vacuum cleaner has improved suction, carpet recognition, the ability to change the floor plan and more. Moreover, the device is also a lot quieter.
The mop function is also nice. It is one of the few devices where you can set how much water is used to clean stubborn stains on the floor. Still, there were some moments when we had to take the mop ourselves.
Despite that, it is a nice vacuum cleaner with a competitive price, especially when you look at all premium functions. In addition, the device can handle smart assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, although those functions are somewhat limited.
The Xiaomi Roborock S6 can here be achieved most advantageously.
The most versatile vacuum cleaner: iRobot Roomba i7 +
iRobot has taken the robot vacuum cleaner to a higher level by coming up with a model that empties its own dust compartment. The docking station of the i7 + automatically sucks the dust and other debris from the vacuum cleaner when it is back and can store up to 30 loads, all in its own filter bag. This is to prevent dust from escaping again when things have to be replaced. This model is highly recommended, but it will cost you almost 1200 euros.
The vacuum cleaner is the most economical to get here.
Best budget vacuum cleaner: Ecovacs Deebot N79S
The low price of this vacuum cleaner may make you think that this thing just can’t do anything, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Ecovacs Deebot N79S has a few features on board that you will only find on models that cost hundreds of euros more, including capturing the layout of the rooms in which the device needs cleaning, a smartphone app and support for smart home devices such as the Amazon Echo . And only for that 209 euros.
This vacuum cleaner comes with a separate remote control that can easily be switched between cleaning modes. Moreover, you can also set different cleaning times.
Best runner up budget vacuum cleaner: Eufy RoboVac 11
If functions such as a map of the rooms to be cleaned or Wi-Fi connection are not that important to you, but want the good cleaning modes, then you soon end up with the Eufy Robovac 11. The device passed our tests perfectly and had one of the smoothest profiles that allowed the vacuum cleaner to reach even the trickiest spots without problems. In addition, the vacuum cleaner is so flat that it could even be placed under low cupboards and benches where other vacuum cleaners could not come. The RoboVac also comes with a separate remote control that makes it easy to switch between cleaning modes. Moreover, you can also set different cleaning times. This all worked so well that we didn’t even miss the app.
This vacuum cleaner was the best budget vacuum cleaner in our eyes last year, but the Ecovacs Deebot N79S gives you much more for your money. That does not make the Eufy RoboVac 11 a bad vacuum cleaner, especially since the price of this device has fallen in the last year.
The RoboVac 11 costs around 179 euros and is still worth considering.
Conclusion: Pricey devices
If you see the prices of these devices, you can be shocked. Certainly in comparison with conventional vacuum cleaners, the costs for the smart variants are sometimes ten to twenty times higher. You will have to ask yourself if you think it’s worth it. Certainly because these smart vacuum cleaners (despite claims by manufacturers) are not a complete replacement, rather an addition. Because let’s face it. The suction of these things does not come close to a good loose (stupid) vacuum cleaner.
If you still want a smart vacuum cleaner, but the prices of our winners are too high, you can also find copies that cost less than 100 euros with a little good searching. In our eyes, however, they are not worth the effort. They are not much smarter than a normal vacuum cleaner and you will have to walk after them nine out of ten times to make sure that no cables are being eaten (causing the device to get stuck) or that the vacuum cleaner is not choking on larger ones. pieces of dirt (papers or toys) or sometimes even long (pet) hair. In some cases this even went wrong with some smarter (more expensive) vacuum cleaners. The cheapest ones are also not smart enough to follow a path and continue to drive straight on until they bump into something or “randomly” decide to turn half a turn (think of those good old toy robots from the 1980s).
The Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 930 (a beautiful device with a great mop function) had more trouble with the obstacles mentioned earlier than the other vacuum cleaners and regularly called for help because something was stuck in the rotating brush.
In short, you will not be completely away from vacuuming (or mopping), but these robotic vacuum cleaners ensure that you spend a lot less time on this tedious task.