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Find the robot vac that’s right for your home — and your bank account.
Credit: Roborock
UPDATE: Jan. 10, 2024, 1:00 p.m. EST This story has been updated to include the best deals on robot vacuums from Roborock, Shark, Ecovacs, and more.
Best robot vacuum deals this week:
Only three things are certain in life: Death, taxes, and a few days each month when you need to vacuum but just don’t have time. Whether you detest the chore or hope to make your home upkeep a bit breezier, a robot vacuum is a lifesaver.
Robot vacuums under $200
Why we like it
For a solid cheap Shark option, skip the outdated $139 Shark ION and opt for the Matrix instead. For less than $200, you’re securing LiDAR-powered smart home mapping and virtual boundaries, plus Matrix technology, which attacks debris from multiple angles in a crosshatch pattern to grab anything that was missed on the original pass. On top of the thorough spot cleaning, Shark claims that the Matrix packs 50% more suction power than the Roomba i3. (Though Walmart isn’t marking this as a sale price anymore, note that this vacuum did originally retail for $299.99.)
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Spot cleans in a thorough grid pattern
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120-minute battery life
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Schedule cleanings in the app
More robot vacuums on sale for under $200
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iHome AutoVac Juno — $85
$199(save $114.99) -
iHome AutoVac Nova — $139
$249.99(save $110.99) -
Eufy RoboVac LR20 — $149
$399(save $250)
Robot vacuums deals under $500
Why we like it
The self-emptying version of the standalone gray model listed above is on sale at Walmart for less than $300 — $30 less than a near-identical model we saw on sale at Best Buy last week, which is now back to full price.
Home mapping and virtual boundaries guided by 360-degree LiDAR are present here, plus Shark’s newest claim to fame that we just mentioned: its Matrix cleaning technique that vacuums in a crosshatch pattern to grab any debris missed from the first angle.
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HEPA filter
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120-minute battery life
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Self-emptying dock holds at least 30 days’ worth of debris
More robot vacuums on sale for under $500
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Shark Detect Pro with self-empty station — $479
$599.99(save $120.99 with code YEAR2024)
Robot vacuum and mop hybrids
Why we like it
The new robot vacuums that Roborock unveiled at CES aren’t the only robot vacuums that Roborock has dropped in the past few months. In October, Q8 Max+ came out — and now, it’s on sale for less than half the price of the $1,599.99 S8 Max Ultra that’ll be available in the spring.
Mashable Deals
Compared to the new S8 line, the Q8 Max+ doesn’t wash or dry its own mopping pads or refill its own water tank. It still mops and vacuums in the same pass without you having to swap out a water tank and then self-empties.
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Powerful 5,500 Pa suction
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240-minute battery life
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Self-emptying dock holds at least seven weeks’ worth of debris
More hybrids and robot mops on sale
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Yeedi Vac 2 — $99.99
$199.99(save $100) -
iRobot Roomba Combo j5+ — $429.23
$599.99(save $170.76) -
Shark Matrix 2-in-1 — $299.99
$449.40(save $149.41 with code ROBOT150) -
Yeedi Vac Station — $299.99
$499.99(save $200) -
Roborock Q5 Pro — $319.99
$429.99(save $110 with on-page coupon) -
Roborock Q8 Max — $459.99
$599.99(save $140 with on-page coupon) -
Shark Matrix 2-in-1 with XL self-empty station — $499.60
$699.60(save $200 with code ROBOT200) -
Roborock Q7 Max+ — $499.97
$869.99(save $370.02) -
Roborock Q5 Pro+ — $499.99
$699.99(save $200) -
Eufy Clean X8 Pro — $499.99
$649.99(save $150 with Prime) -
Roborock Q8 Max+ — $649.99
$819.99(save $170) -
Ecovacs Cube Pro — $599.99
$799.99(save $200) -
Roborock S8 — $599.99
$749.99(save $150 with on-page coupon) -
Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni — $699
$1,099.99(save $400.99) -
Dreametech L10s Ultra — $749.99
$899.99(save $150 with on-page coupon) -
Roborock S8+ — $799.99
$999.99(save $200) -
Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni — $1,149.99
$1,499.99(save $350)
Frequently Asked Questions
The control of an upright vacuum comes with its own type of satisfaction. But if you’re not one to classify cleaning as cathartic, a robot vacuum could erase that huge, agonizing task from your chore list. (And did we mention the joy of having “first-day clean” floors all the time?)
But whether robot vacuums are worth it or not comes with a caveat: It can’t be just any robot vacuum. A cheap robot vac that doesn’t do the job right — scattering dust, bumping into walls, getting stuck on area rugs — might actually create more work for you.
Suction power is key: A vacuum is the one purchase that you hope sucks a lot. Suction power is typically measured in Pascals (Pa), with most current vacs ranging between 1,500 Pa and 3,000 Pa. Stronger sucking will be needed to pick up heavier pieces of debris (be sure to set a no-go zone around Legos) and to pull matted-down pet hair from rugs.
Know your floor type: Carpeting and high pile rugs will probably require stronger suction than hard floors, as well as special features like an extra-wide or self-cleaning brush roll to prevent hair from wrapping and clogging. Folks in homes with multiple floor types might consider a bigger, sturdier robot vacuum that can hurl itself and its wheels over mats, rugs, and transitions from carpet to hard floors.
Consider automatic emptying: Because robot vacuums are typically under four inches tall, their onboard dust bins are also small — which means they frequently require emptying. (Dustbins fill up particularly quickly in homes with pets.) A self-emptying vacuum takes that job out of your hands, emptying itself into a larger dustbin in its charging dock. These larger bins can typically hold weeks of dirt without needing to be cleaned or dumped out.
Think about your home’s layout: Every robot vacuum is equipped with sensors and drop detection. But if your home has lots of rooms, lots of turns, or lots of close-together furniture, you’ll have fewer navigation issues with an advanced model that uses intelligent mapping to remember exactly how your home is laid out, including labeling of specific rooms, mental notes of staircases, and ability to deploy zone cleaning.
Pay attention to low-profile furniture: No one should have to be scared about what’s accumulated under their couch over the past year. A robot vacuum measuring three inches or less in height should be able to scoot under most low-hanging couches and beds.
Assess battery life and square footage: One of the main complaints people have about their robot vacuum is that it craps out in the middle of the floor. Larger spaces require more time to clean, and it all depends on how annoyed you’ll be if it only finishes a few rooms at a time. Average run times for the list below range between 90 and 200 minutes, which translates to about 500 and 2,800 square feet covered on one charge.
Look for app control: WiFi-enabled robot vacuums can be synced with a smartphone app to control scheduling, manual start, and cleaning settings, as well as telling your vac to make its rounds when you’re not home. Low-end models that don’t connect to WiFi will usually come with a separate remote. If you’re used to asking Alexa or Google to turn off the lights or tell you the weather, a model with voice integration will blend in nicely.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she’s not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she’s almost definitely watching a horror movie, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” or “The Office.” You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].
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