Top 6 robot vacuum and mop combos to look for on Prime Day

Who it's for:

As one of the only robot vacuums surpassing $1,500 on the market right now, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is inherently polarizing. But if you're open to investing in the most thorough, hands-off clean possible — along with the relief of not having to upgrade for years to come — Roborock's latest flagship model is unmatched. With self-washing and self-drying mopping pads, above-average suction power, small obstacle avoidance, and a livestream pet camera, the S8 MaxV Ultra is an exhaustive floor care suite that would be an ideal sidekick in homes with multiple pets and an even split of hard floors and soft floors of multiple piles.

Why we picked this:

Roborock has been on the self-washing and self-drying mopping pad game since 2022, two years earlier than most of its biggest competitors. Other brands finally joined the ranks when debuting their new models at CES 2024, but Roborock already had something up its sleeve to set its new hybrid flagship apart: 10,000 Pa of suction power. Those five digits seriously proved themselves in senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's testing, visibly removing layers of cat hair from multiple rugs, grabbing every piece in a mess of spilled dry rice, and being the only robot vacuum in the house to fully suck up a mound of corn starch. This was all completed in Max+ mode, which Roborock says achieves 99.5% hair pickup. Four other lighter modes are also options.

During vacuuming, a laptop charger and sock were accurately detected and avoided. A large hunk of soil was identified as pet waste — though that was originally intended to be sucked up, it was giving turd. Speaking of advanced technology, the S8 MaxV Ultra is one of the only robot vacs that sports a livestreaming pet camera onboard. Users can see what the vacuum sees while it's roaming and even send the S8 MaxV Ultra to look for their pet if it's hiding.

But the full-fledged mopping system is what really seals the deal when it comes to walking barefoot at home. Once water and detergent have been automatically dispensed from inside the dock, the mopping pad vibrates 4,000 times per minute to scrub at stains like paw prints or shoe marks. The bot will re-mop if necessary, then return to the dock to wash and dry its mopping pads.

Who it's for:

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni will appeal to a specific group of people doing a balancing act between budget and automation. If you're down to splurge past a few hundred dollars to outsource not only mopping, but also maintenance of those soggy mopping pads through a more advanced self-empty dock, Eufy's flagship model is the rare option that'll bring that home for less than $1,000. (The same can't be said for similarly-priced hybrids like the Roomba Combo j7+ or Roborock Q8 Max+.)

For large homes where a majority of the flooring demands both mopping and vacuuming, the exceptional battery life here will really sweeten the deal. Whether that space comes in the form of multiple stories or just square footage on a main floor, the X10 Pro Omni will be able to clean in a variety of intensity modes for at least two hours without needing to charge.

Why we picked this:

Eufy's first stab at the fully self-sufficient tank and mopping system — the main thing that separates average hybrids from premium hybrids — was a major win. Senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart was surprised to see a hybrid in this price range with dual spinning mopping pads, which scrub a little more ferociously than stationary pads. Eufy's new hybrid had no issues wiping up splatters of buffalo sauce, dusty paw prints, and small chunks of wet cat food off of her hardwood floor.

Success on the tiled bathroom floor was hindered by overly cautious obstacle avoidance that mistook a bath mat for a towel and refused to even vacuum the area. Even so, having small obstacle avoidance at all is still crucial for confidently sending the robot vacuum out to clean when you're not home to get it unstuck. No laptop chargers or socks were harmed in Stodart's home, even when set directly in front of the X10 Pro Omni's cleaning path on purpose.

Shoppers will also appreciate that Eufy didn't skimp on dry vacuuming to focus on mopping. The X10 Pro doles out 8,000 Pa of suction power, making it a heavy hitter at any price point, but especially this one. This can be done at the same time as mopping or on its own, with multiple intensity modes for both suction power and water level.

Read our full review of the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1.

Who it's for:

We suggest the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 if your main concern with a robot mop is whether it actually scrubs (with more than water, at that) but also that its advanced mopping capabilities can be secured for a few hundred dollars. We will say that the Matrix Plus 2-in-1 is best for homes without a heavy rug situation, as the bot requires you to manually point out rugs or carpets in the app and can't vacuum while the water tank is attached.

Why we picked this:

The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 (previously the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1) really surprised us, which is why it earned a spot among the very best robot vacuum and mop hybrids and as our favorite Shark robot vacuum. Both the standalone and self-emptying versions of the Matrix Plus 2-in-1 can be scored for less than that when they're on sale at Shark's website, which they almost always are — firmly in the budget category compared to bots from iRobot and Roborock.

Despite its budget status, the Shark AI Ultra proved to be a feature-packed robovac that aced Mashable's at-home cleaning tests. Activating Matrix cleaning mode while mopping triggers the mopping pad to vibrate 100 times per minute and goes over the desired scuffed or stained area multiple times. During dry vacuuming, Matrix mode also hits the designated area from multiple angles in a crosshatch pattern, upping the likelihood of picking up hair or debris that couldn't quite be grabbed on the first pass. And that's on thoroughness.

Who it's for:

Outdated Roomba owners looking to upgrade to something bigger and better will set themselves up for a smooth transition with the Roomba Combo j9+. All robot vacs in the iRobot ecosystem can transfer maps to each other in the app, so you can completely skip the days-long charade of your new robot vacuum learning your home's layout.

If your floors are well-loved — in the sense that they have some pretty deep, dried stains on them or are your pet's favorite spot to roll around — you'll be wowed by this Roomba's scrubbing and suction power alike. Unlike previous Roombas, this one saves you even more time, by freeing you from manually refilling the water tank for 30 days at a time. As an added bonus, if you're someone for whom the "aesthetic factor" ranks highly among robot vac criteria, rest assured that the Combo j9+ is sheer eye candy. I mean, its dock is literally topped with chic wood accents — allowing it to double as a side table. In the world of robovacs, this is quite rare.

Why we picked this:

As the number and letter mashup in the title suggests, the Combo j9+ finally combines the best features of the older high-end Roombas: the small obstacle detection and retractable mop of the Roomba Combo j7+ (which we also tested and really liked), and even better suction power than the Roomba s9+, which was previously the most powerful Roomba. The Combo j9+ also beats the suction power of the aforementioned Combo j7+, which was noticeably worse at picking up chip crumbs and cat hair than the new Combo j9+ in our comparative tests in the same apartment.

The mop on the Combo j9+ is also better than that of the all of the other hybrid Roombas, as well as many competing hybrids from other brands that drag a wet cloth across the floor with one or two passes. We could see iRobot's new SmartScrub working, successfully attacking dried stains on a hardwood floor by persistently scrubbing back and forth with force. The Combo j9+ can also accommodate both water and the cleaning solution of your choice in its water tank, which automatically refills the vacuum itself when the small onboard tank runs dry.

Who it's for:

If you've confirmed that you definitely want a Roomba, the decision boils down to how much you want to spend. Anyone firmly in the "absolutely nowhere near $1,000 category" should opt for the Roomba Combo j5+ — if you can wait for it to drop to its sub-$500 sale price. Unlike the Combo i5+, the Combo j5+ is the cheapest mopping Roomba with obstacle avoidance technology — a must if you don't feel like removing items like cords or slippers out of the way before a robot vacuum can do its thing.

Why we picked this:

iRobot's small obstacle avoidance technology is simply the best we've tested, which is reason enough to choose it over a competitor depending on the level of lived in a home is. In senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's experience, the j Series Roombas have a near-perfect track record when identifying various chargers and extension cords, when other brands missed a few. Likewise, these Roombas also never accidentally mistook non-issues like bath mats for obstacles to avoid.

The combination of that, smart mapping, self-emptying, and mopping make it a quadruple threat in the $500 to $600 category, depending on the sale price you come across. It also has the same suction power (decent, but not heavy duty enough to keep up with serious shedding) and self-empty dock as the pricier Roomba Combo j7+.

In terms of mopping, the Roomba Combo j5+ is sufficient but basic. Rather than having a water tank and mopping pad on board full time like more advanced 2-in-1s, the mopping gear here needs to be manually clicked on and off by a human to differentiate between vacuuming and mopping modes. That manual involvement does make mopping a little less spontaneous, but it's still sufficient for spills here and there, as well as daily surface-level dustings.