Robot vacuums that actually find their way back home
Robot vacuums have come a long way from the "bounces off everything and gets stuck under the sofa" days. The good ones now map your house, clean in efficient lines instead of random circles, and genuinely find their way back to the dock. The bad ones still get stuck on a rug and beep at you.
We tested five robot vacuums in a real three-bedroom house over six weeks. Clutter, cables, a cat, mixed flooring, and a rug that's been the downfall of many a robot.
Maps the house perfectly, empties its own dustbin into the dock, mops as well as vacuums, and never once got stuck in six weeks. At £400 it's the sweet spot of price and performance.
How we tested
We ran each vacuum daily for 6 weeks in a real home:
- Mixed flooring — carpet, laminate, tiles, and a thick rug
- Real clutter — chairs, cables, shoes, a cat bed, a cat
- Daily dirt — pet hair, crumbs, dust, the lot
- Docking test — does it find its way back every time?
- App quality — scheduling, mapping, no-go zones
- Mopping test — for the robots that mop
The winner: Roborock Q Revo
The Q Revo is the one that just works. In six weeks of daily cleaning:
- Navigation: LiDAR mapping. It knows exactly where it is, cleans in efficient lines, and doesn't bounce around. It mapped the house on the first run and never got lost.
- Suction: 2,700Pa — picks up pet hair, crumbs, and fine dust from both carpet and hard floors.
- Self-emptying: The dock holds 2.5L of dust. You empty it every 4–6 weeks, not every clean.
- Mopping: Yes, it mops. It lifts the mop pad when it detects carpet, so it doesn't wet your rugs. The mopping isn't as good as a manual mop, but for daily maintenance it's fine.
- Obstacle avoidance: It went around the cat bed, didn't eat any cables, and only got stuck once (on a dropped sock).
- App: Excellent. You can set no-go zones, schedule cleans, and even control it remotely.
- Price: £400–£450. Not cheap, but half the price of the premium models that do the same thing.
The runner-up: Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni
The Ecovacs does everything the Roborock does — mapping, mopping, self-emptying — and adds a self-washing mop pad. The dock washes and dries the mop after each use, which is genuinely clever. At £550 it's pricier, and the app is clunkier than Roborock's. But if the self-washing mop appeals, it's a strong choice.
The budget option: Eufy RoboVac 11S
£150. No mapping, no app, no dock. It bounces around randomly and cleans. Surprisingly, it does a decent job — the random pattern eventually covers the whole floor. But it can't be scheduled remotely, doesn't empty itself, and gets stuck more often. For a small flat, it's fine. For a house, get the Roborock.
What to avoid
Any robot vacuum under £100 from a brand you've never heard of. They have weak suction, get stuck constantly, and the battery dies within 6 months. A bad robot vacuum is more work than a manual vacuum, because you have to rescue it.
iRobot Roomba j7+. It's good — excellent obstacle avoidance, great mapping. But at £700+ it's nearly double the Roborock for the same features. The "poop avoidance" feature (it detects pet waste and avoids it) is genuinely useful, but not £300 useful.
Robot vacuums that "also mop" but don't lift the mop. If the mop pad is always down, it'll wet your carpets. Look for the " mop lift" feature — it lifts the pad on carpet.
The honest verdict
If you have hard floors and a pet, a robot vacuum will change your life. The Roborock Q Revo runs every morning, empties itself, and the floors are visibly cleaner. It's not a replacement for a proper vacuum (corners, stairs, and deep carpet still need manual attention), but for daily maintenance it's genuinely transformative. Worth every penny of the £400.