Vacuums have come a long way. You no longer have to suffer the indignity of dragging around an unwieldy plastic hose connected to a clumsy, wheeled canister the size of a Galapagos tortoise. In fact, you don't even need to get off of the couch. Though it still feels like a relatively new product category, there are several good robot vacuums available to help you dispose of dust, pet hair, and other debris in your home—without needing to lift a finger. Which is the right one for you? We've rounded up our highest-rated robot vacuums, and provided a few pointers to help you find just the 'bot you're looking for.Unlike more traditional canister or stick models like the Hoover Air Cordless, robot vacuums are autonomous and (for the most part) intelligent. The vacuums we've tested are equipped with lasers, motherboards, sensors, and even Wi-Fi to navigate around your home without the need for assistance. With a few exceptions, you barely have to interact with them at all. Most robot vacuums come with charging docks;

some, like the Roomba 980, can even charge themselves. Just pick a robot-accessible spot for the dock, and the 'bot will return on its own before it runs out of juice. When it does, it will sit there until it has enough energy to go back out and continue to bust dust from where it left off. You can also set schedules for most 'bots to wake up and start a cleaning job, so it can take place while you're out of the house. That means you can potentially avoid all physical interaction until the vacuum needs to be emptied—you still can't take that step out of the equation. Also unlike many traditional vacuums, all of the robots included here don't use bags to hold the dust, hair, and other debris they suck up. Instead, they use an easy-to-remove dust bin you can simply eject and empty into the nearest garbage can. And many come equipped with HEPA filters that prevent allergens from spreading through the air. Also worth noting: Floor-cleaning robots like the iRobot Braava 380t and the iRobot Scooba 450specialize in mopping and sweeping.

They aren't eligible for this list because they don't vacuum up dirt and debris, but they will get your hardwood floors nice and shiny. The Moneual Rydis H68 is the only vacuum on this list that offers wet mop cleaning as well. Convenience vs. CostA robot vacuum is usually higher in price than a traditional vacuum (though not always; the Dyson Cinetic Animal + Allergy costs a whopping $700). The models listed here range from $250 to $900. That's a pretty sizable investment, even on the lower end. Let's consider just what you get for the price. Unless you really love to vacuum, the task itself is pretty mundane. Depending on the size of your house, a robot vacuum can save you anywhere from minutes to hours of your time every week by taking care of a pretty thankless chore. That alone is reason enough for some people to consider one. In addition, robot vacuums have reached the point where they're basically just as effective and powerful as regular vacuums. The robots rounded up here use filters, side brushes, and spinning brushes that will do an equally good job of cleaning your home as their upright equivalents.

They're also fairly compact, so they won't take up much space in your storage closet. And they're able to travel underneath most couches and tables, so you won't have to rearrange furniture. Even if you do, the more advanced robots on this list use memory banks to note where furniture is placed, so as not to bump into anything on a future pass.best vacuum cleaner in nz Also worth mentioning: The latest vacuums, like the Neato BotVac Connected and the aformentioned Roomba 980, can connect to your home Wi-Fi network so you can control them with your smartphone, even when you're not home. ac duct cleaning diyConvenience like this is pricey, but it definitely has its perks.best vacuum cleaner in nz

For more shopping advice, including robot and traditional models, be sure to read our buying guide. To see our most recent reviews, check out our Vacuum product page. Intex Auto Pool Cleaner About Best Sellers in Automatic Pool Cleaners These lists, updated hourly, contain bestselling items. Here you can discover the best Automatic Pool Cleaners in Amazon Best Sellers, and find the top 100 most popular Amazon Automatic Pool Cleaners.best steam vacuum cleaner for hardwood floorsFor some, robot vacuums might carry the whiff of silly self-indulgence. average cost of air duct cleaningOn the other hand, these devices are getting better and better at picking up after us, offering to keep things clean with a level of near total set-and-forget convenience. vacuum cleaner robot best buy

Since our initial round of robot vacuum reviews in 2013, we've tested new models and come away impressed with the results. Industry leader iRobot debuted the new Roomba 880, which lives up to the company's reputation for top-of-the-line performance. We tested additional varieties of Neato cleaners, including the budget-friendly XV Essential and the Super Nintendo-esque XV-21. As for budget-brand Infinuvo, which bombed with last year's CleanMate QQ5, the company sent over the new Hovo 510 for a second shot, and lo and behold, the thing actually cleans. One of the most interesting things about our tests is watching each robot make routing decisions. Some of them, like the Neato models, take a regimented, linear approach, finding the boundaries of the room and then moving along in neat rows within that space. The LG Hom-Bot uses a clever camera to turn your ceiling into a reference map for the room. Infinuvo relies on outward spirals to provide room-wide coverage. iRobot's approach is starkly different.

An array of sensors on the Roomba constantly reads its surroundings and sends back information about where to go. The resulting navigation can look data-drunk, and the Roomba can take longer to finish a run than its competitors, but in some circumstances it resulted in the cleanest room. None of these vacuums will replace a human-driven upright yet, but if you're looking to use that upright a little less, regular robot vacuum runs can help you stretch out the days between deep cleanings. With a growing number of options to choose from, you're going to want to be sure to shop around before settling on a purchase -- and that's where we come in. Infinuvo CleanMate QQ5 Regardless of its low price tag, the Infinuvo's $349 CleanMate QQ5 failed to deliver acceptable performance. We can forgive a certain capability gap between products $300 to $400 apart, but considering its hard-to-clean rollers, thoughtless dust bin design, and, in certain circumstances, its complete inability to clean, we wouldn't recommend this vacuum at any price.

Read the full review of the Infinuvo CleanMate QQ5. Infinuvo Hovo 510 After the CleanMate QQ5 performed so poorly, we can't claim to have had very high expectations for Infinuvo's follow-up model, the Hovo 510. That said, we were happy to give it a shot, and when we did, the results were a little bit stunning. Like the QQ5, the Hovo 510 is a budget-priced robot vacuum, costing well under $300. But unlike the QQ5, it actually cleans. In some cases, such as on hardwood floors, it cleans really, really well. The pet hair performance remains pretty awful, so you're definitely getting what you pay for, but still, for automated cleaning on a budget, this is a robot vacuum we can actually recommend. Read the full review of the Infinuvo Hovo 510. iRobot Roomba 880 iRobot replaced the Roomba 790 that we reviewed last year with the Roomba 880. For starters, the clunky paperweight of a touch-screen remote is gone, replaced with a miniature remote that makes a lot more sense. There's also a new "AeroForce Cleaning System" that replaces the old model's bristly brushes with rubbery "extractors," and in our tests, they did a terrific job.

One thing that didn't change is the price point. At $699, the Roomba 880 remains a luxury purchase, but as the best Roomba yet, we think it's a splurge you can justify. Read the full review of the iRobot Roomba 880. LG Hom-Bot Square Rather than coming in low like Infinuvo, LG opted to out-luxe iRobot by pushing its Hom-Bot Square to $799 and laying the polish on thick. We were taken with the Hom-Bot's slick design and its focus on features, including a nestling remote, Siri-like voice notifications, and a variety of cleaning modes, one of which will let you manually steer the bot around the specific area you want it to clean. What we can't say is that the Hom-Bot is a better vacuum. It cleans a large room well enough, but we'd trade that robot voice for an extra sensor, or perhaps a little more juice behind the vacuum intake. Read the full review of the LG Hom-Bot Square. After the Neato XV Signature Pro performed so well for us last year, we decided to see what the rest of the Neato family was capable of.

Enter player two, the Neato XV-21, a robot vacuum that bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain gaming system of yore. Like the Signature Pro, this Neato comes to play when it's time to pick up pet hair, and it posted some of the highest scores we've seen from a robot vacuum in that test. This is thanks in part to an upgraded combo brush -- the same one as you'll find in the Signature Pro. The two models are nearly identical, though we did see a few navigational difficulties in the $429 XV-21 that we didn't see in the $449 Signature Pro. Read the full review of the Neato Robotics XV-21 Neato Robotics XV Essential For a slightly less-expensive option, you could also take a look at the $379 Neato XV Essential. Like its siblings, the albino-looking XV Essential was a steady performer, but it didn't clean quite as effectively as they did, due to the fact that it comes with a downgraded brush. That, along with the fact that it uses a less-robust filter, led us to say that the XV Essential is anything but.

Read the full review of the Neato Robotics XV Essential Neato Robotics XV Signature Pro This Neato breakdown brings us back to where it all began, the XV Signature Pro. If the Roomba is all charm, and the Hom-Bot all polish, the Neato XV Signature Pro is all business. At $449, it lands comfortably in the middle of our roundup, yet when it revs up (loudly) and rolls mechanically, linearly up and down your carpet, it's hard to complain about the results. How does the Signature Pro stack up against the other Neatos? For just $20 more than the XV-21, you're getting an additional high-performance filter, along with what might be a slight uptick in navigational smarts. And if the XV Essential is a storm trooper, the XV Signature Pro is Darth Vader -- we all know who wins that fight. Just be sure and stay tuned: with a new generation of Neato BotVacs making its way to store shelves, the robot vacuum race is far from over.Read the full review of the Neato Robotics XV Signature Pro If you're not convinced that a robot vac is right for your home, check out our list of the best vacuum cleaners overall to see the best in all formats.