Best Robotic Vacuums for Hardwood Floors

You don’t need to shell out a grand for a good robotic vacuum. For a fraction of that amount you can get the Eufy 11S, which earns an excellent rating on bare floors. While it’s not the most efficient cleaner (testers noted that it sometimes scatters debris), it gets the job done, operates quietly, and has a cliff sensor to keep it from tumbling down stairs. This model isn’t WiFi-enabled, so you can’t control it remotely from a smartphone app, but that also means it can’t be hacked. Eufy robotic vacuums, as a whole, receive top marks for reliability and owner satisfaction in our members survey.

The Eufy 30C is an extremely quiet vacuum, making it a great choice for those who might need to run a robotic vac while they’re at home. Although this is one of the cheaper models in our robotic vacuum ratings, it earns top marks for cleaning bare floors. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and you can program the robot through the manufacturer’s app. It also comes with two extra side brushes, an extra filter, magnetic strips, a remote, a docking station, a cleaning brush for the brushroll, and wire ties to organize cords.

There’s a lot to like about the budget-friendly Eufy robovacs. New to our ratings, the Eufy Clean G40+ does not disappoint—unless your home has a lot of carpeted surfaces. Where it shines is on bare floors, and it’s almost as good at picking up pet hair. Our technicians also found it fairly easy to empty the bin once the Eufy made its rounds. You’ll also appreciate how it navigates a room and ducks under furniture.

The Eufy Robovac 11S Max earns top-notch ratings for navigation and cleaning bare floors in our labs. Better yet, this vac is so quiet that our testers could barely tell it was running. Its spiral combo bristle/rubber blade brushroll can be easily removed to clean. Bear in mind though, this model doesn’t do as good a job of cleaning carpet, and it isn’t WiFi-enabled.

The Eufy RoboVac G30 Edge may not be great when operating on carpets, but it boasts top marks for cleaning bare floors. This model is a champ at navigation and it’s also great at cleaning along the edges of walls and corners. Compared with competing bots, it’s on the quieter side. WiFi-enabled, you can control the device from your smartphone, and with a very slim profile height of under 3 inches, it’s low enough to get under our test furniture with room to spare.

This iRobot vac achieves excellent pickup scores thanks to its two counter-rotating rubber rollers. It randomly maneuvered around the test floors multiple times, increasing its chances of sucking up dirt. It has a side brush that was able to clean edges well. The dirt bin pops open with the push of a button, and the brush roll is easily removed with a lever arm and a button. This model doesn’t have a remote control, but you can schedule its cleaning times from an app and review its cleaning pattern after it’s finished.

This iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO is similar to the i3+ but features improved mapping capabilities. It aces our tests when it comes to cleaning bare floors and navigation. An all-around impressive choice, this robovac is quiet and great for picking up pet hair to boot. Its only downside is that it has a slightly smaller dust bin compared with others we’ve tested.

The iRobot Roomba i4+ Evo is one of our top-scoring iRobot models and costs a lot less than its top-ranked sibling, the iRobot Roomba S9+. It earns high marks from our members for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction and it excels at cleaning bare floors. This robovac uses smart mapping technology to move in a gridlike pattern. Once the vacuum is docked, the debris is automatically sucked into a disposable bag in the base. Replacing the bags, however, is an added expense.

The iRobot Roomba j7+ is a solid performer in CR’s tests, and that includes a top score on bare floors. The manufacturer says the vacuum has smart mapping technology that allows it to learn, map, and adapt to the areas to be cleaned. Like the i4+ EVO above, once the robot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the bin into an enclosed disposable bag in the base. Replacement disposable bags must be purchased.

The top-rated Roomba S9+ is pricey, but it delivers great performance across the board. The vacuum earns impressive scores down the line in our cleaning tests, and it’s the best of the best when it comes to cleaning bare floors and edges. This is a self-emptying model that discharges its dustbin into a disposable bag, no hands required. Like the e5 and the 960, the S9+ earns a midlevel rating for data privacy and an excellent rating for data security.

In our tests, we found the Roborock S7+ to be great at picking up pet hair and equally top-notch at cleaning bare floors. This model moves in a grid pattern and has one side brush that effectively cleaned test edges. This vac has an automatic dirt-dispensing system and can hold up to eight weeks’ worth of dust in the 3-liter dust bag. In our tests, we found that those results will vary based on floor surfaces and debris. The upside is that the bag helps with cleaner debris disposal. The downside of the system is that you have to purchase replacement bags.

The Samsung Jet Bot+ performs impressively in CR’s tests, including our tests on bare floors. This product is round in shape and has a side brush, which is a departure from other robot vacs in the Samsung line. Once the robot docks after cleaning, a vacuum in the docking station automatically empties the contents from the bin into an enclosed disposable bag in the base.

The Samsung Jet Bot AI+ is an all-around champ in our robotic vacuum tests, receiving high scores for its ability to clean bare floors, pet hair, carpet, and the edges of walls and corners. It also offers impeccable navigation and garners a high rating for ease of use. It comes with a self-emptying dock for no additional charge. This vacuum also features WiFi connectivity with smartphone control via the SmartThings app. One downside: It has a higher profile, which may not fit under all furniture.