Four robot vacuums from $229 to $899, compared
We ran four robots side by side for five weeks in a home with a cat and a dog. Price predicted how much they could do, not how clean they got the floor.
Sarah Miller
Ryan Mitchell, editor-in-chief
October 14, 2026
5 weeks · 4 models
We choose products independently. We may earn a commission through links on this page; your price stays the same. Affiliate policy
The four robots
Prices checked October 14, 2026
Collected the most hair and got stuck only twice in twenty runs.
$499 at Amazon Read the full review
Vacuums and mops, then cleans the mop pads itself with hot water.
$899 at Amazon Read the full review
A solid lidar robot with a bagless base, but only average on pet hair.
$349 at Amazon See it in our buying guide
A simple robot that’s good enough for an apartment without thresholds.
$229 at Amazon Read the full reviewThe short answer
- The Robomop P7 is the best robot for most homes with pets.
- The P9 Ultra is the only real mopping robot here, and the best at avoiding obstacles.
- The Sweepa R5 is a good mid-range choice at $349, with a real map and a bagless base, but only average on hair.
- The Clean Bot Mini is for small, tidy apartments only.
How we compared them
Every robot cleaned the ground floor of our test house in Columbus 20 times over five weeks: oak in the kitchen, a low-pile rug in the living room and tile in the hall. Our cat and dog supplied hair every day, and before each measured run we added a fixed hair mix so every robot faced the same amount.
We weighed what each robot collected, counted every time it needed rescuing, and measured runtime and noise ourselves. We bought every robot at retail price; no manufacturer saw this comparison before publication.
Head to head
The better result in each row is marked. All figures are our own measurements unless noted.
| Test | Robomop P7 | Robomop P9 Ultra | Sweepa R5 | Clean Bot Mini |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricelowest at time of writing | $499 | $899 | $349 | $229 ✓ Best |
| Test scoreout of 10 | 8.9 | 9.3 ✓ Best | 8.1 | 7.8 |
| Pet hair% collected | 94% ✓ Best | 92% | 85% | 78% |
| Pickup, hardwood% of test dirt | 97% | 98% ✓ Best | 95% | 90% |
| Got stucktimes in 20 runs | 2× | 1× ✓ Best | 5× | 9× |
| Runtimestandard mode | 2½ h | 3 h ✓ Best | 2 h | 1½ h |
| NoisedB at 1 meter | 65 dB | 66 dB | 67 dB | 62 dB ✓ Best |
| Heightfits under furniture | 3.8 in | 4.1 in | 3.7 in | 2.9 in ✓ Best |
| Running costparts per year | $45 | $120 | $30 | $15 ✓ Best |
| Mopping | No | Spinning pads | Drag pad | No |
| Base | Bagged, self-empty | Bagged + pad washing | Bagless, self-empty | None |
| Rows won | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Which one should you buy?
- You have pets that shed
- You want a robot that rarely needs rescuing
- You want it to mop
- You have little space for the base station
- You want vacuuming and real mopping in one
- Your floors are often cluttered
- You mind $120 a year in parts
- Your home is mostly carpet
- You want a mapping robot under $400
- You don’t want to buy bags
- You have a long-haired pet
- Cables are often on your floor
- You live in a small apartment
- You want the lowest price and running cost
- You want to clean one room at a time
- Cables or socks end up on your floor
Buy the Robomop P7 if you have pets, the P9 Ultra if you want mopping, and the Sweepa R5 if you want a mapping robot for less. The Clean Bot Mini only makes sense in a small apartment with a tidy floor.
Frequently asked questions
Is a more expensive robot vacuum cleaner?
Only up to a point. In our test, pickup barely improved above $500. The extra money buys mopping, obstacle avoidance and a station that does more of the maintenance.
Do I need a self-emptying base?
With pets, yes: without one you empty a small bin after almost every run. In an apartment without pets you can do without.
Do any of them need a subscription?
No. Mapping, scheduling and room cleaning are free in all of the apps.
- BrasQ robot vacuum test protocol (2026)
- IEC 62929: Cleaning robots for household use, methods for measuring performance
- Manufacturer manuals and spec sheets
- Prices checked and results updated.
Sarah has tested vacuums, mops, air purifiers and dehumidifiers since 2017. Before joining BrasQ, she spent five years as a test coordinator at a national consumer advocacy group. She studied industrial design at Ohio State and lives in Columbus with her family and a long-haired cat.
Profile and all articles