The 4 best robot vacuums for apartments, condos, and other small spaces (2024)

Who it's for:

Robot vacuums that require you to tidy up the floor before they can safely complete a cleaning run miss the point automatic cleaning completely. In a small space, where the chance of rogue clutter being on the floor is high, a robot vacuum with reliable small obstacle avoidance will be game-changing.

Why we picked this:

Senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart thinks iRobot's small obstacle avoidance is the best on the market, and the Roomba j7 is the most affordable way to bring that home in standalone form if you don't have a free corner to house a self-empty dock. (If you stumble across it on sale at Amazon, you'll be able to snag it for 50% off.) The j7 successfully avoided every charging cord, slipper, and laundry pile in Stodart's home, all of which have been blind spots for other robot vacs (like all of the Shark models).

The j7's broader navigation in terms of maneuvering around furniture and accurately mapping rooms (or non-walled areas like the entryway) are similarly reliable. Its cleaning prowess is enough for light daily upkeep, but you would probably want to opt for one of the other vacs in this list (or the Roomba Combo j9+) to keep up with pet hair from multiple animals.

Who it's for:

Budget shoppers sticking to a strict cap of $200 still don't have to settle for a botvac that's perpetually disoriented. (That's how much the non self-emptying version of the Shark Matrix RV2300 is usually on sale for at Walmart.) The LiDAR-equipped Shark Matrix RV2300 maps incredibly accurately for the price and, in senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's experience, is an extremely reliable spot cleaner in terms of navigating to the selected area on the map as well as the vacuuming itself.

Because this ultra-compact version doesn't self-empty (that one is usually on sale for $299), the ideal buyer won't mind manually emptying as long as navigation is seamless.

Why we picked this:

The standalone version of the base tier Shark Matrix goes further than most robot vacuums in the under-$200-on-sale price range. Like the similarly-priced Eufy L60, the Shark Matrix RV2300 packs essential features like LiDAR-guided smart mapping used to send the robovac to specific spots or rooms, plus set virtual boundaries around cluttered areas that you want the bot to go around. In those targeted areas, though, the RV2300 goes further with optional Matrix cleaning: a back-and-forth crosshatch technique that give the vacuum more opportunites to grab debris it may have missed on the first pass.

Who it's for:

If your budget isn't as limited as your square footage, the $799.99 (or under $700 on sale) Eufy X10 Pro Omni should be a strong contender if you have an even split of carpet and hard floors. While senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart would also recommend the X10 Pro Omni for large spaces due to its long battery life, it's the most compact yet packed self-cleaning dock she's used in her home.

Why we picked this:

Eufy's most premium robot vacuum cleaner clocks potent suction power for this price range, an effective double mopping pad system, small object avoidance, and a self-emptying dock that also washes and dries the mopping pads. You typically won't see a robot vacuum and mop combo that checks off all of those boxes for less than $1,000, so Eufy deserves some serious credit for squeezing it all in at such a digestible price point. If your cleaning closet is overflowing, ditching your mop for a hybrid model that can store all of its own mopping gear (unlike a hybrid robot vacuum that requires a separate water tank to be clicked on and off) could free up some storage space.

What's equally as impressive is that Eufy didn't cut corners on the performance of any of those features just to get them all on the list. It's one of the few hybrids armed with dual spinning mopping pads for more robust scrubbing than that of a single stationary pad, complete with an up-and-down mechanism that applies pressure during mopping and accurately lifts the pads completely above the surface when rugs or carpet are sensed. The 8,000 Pa suction power successfully aced multiple cleaning tests in senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's home, from spilled dry rice and light layers of cat fur on rugs to various types of crumbs on hard floors, including those pushed up against the kitchen cabinets.

In a small or crowded space, the X10 Pro Omni won't constantly get stuck. Stodart had next to no issues when sending the X10 Pro Omni to specific rooms or zones for spot cleaning on the app, and Eufy's small obstacle avoidance was about 90% accurate when avoiding things like phone chargers and shoes. She'd still recommend removing bath rugs before mopping the tile bathroom floor, though.

Who it's for:

The cheapest mopping Roomba will satisfy anyone who can settle for decent cleaning if it means they don't have to spend much more than $500. This is especially true in homes where only one or two rooms, like the bathroom or kitchen, will require mopping. Potential i5 owners will also have to be OK with not being able to start a mopping run on a whim if the mop tank isn't already attached, which isn't the case with the pricier Roomba Combo j7+ or j9+.

Why we picked this:

If a cheap, reliable Roomba is your mission, skip the 692/4 and the i3 and opt for the smarter, more thorough Roomba Combo i5+. It's a revamped version of the already-existing Roomba i5+, with "Combo" denoting new mopping capabilities. iRobot also made changes to the dock, which is now the shorter, more stylish one first seen on the Roomba j7+.

Unlike iRobot's first two mopping Roombas, the Combo i5 doesn't have its mopping pad on board 24/7. Rather, it requires you to be home to manually attach the water tank and mop pad ahead of a mopping run. (Most low-priced 2-in-1 robot vacs are like this.) This also means that the Combo i5 will have to tackle your carpeted areas in a separate cleaning run. The convenient part is that, despite its inability to detect small obstacles like phone chargers, the i5 can remember a map of your home, including the areas that should be avoided during mopping.