Best Affordable Robot Vacuums in 2023

When the Roomba hit stores in the early 2000s, consumers went crazy over this novel vacuum cleaner, forcing iRobot to produce twice as much as planned to meet the 2002 holiday season demand. However, almost 20 years later, numerous robot vacuum cleaner brands and models have gained ground, and this type of vacuum accounts for approximately 23 percent of the world’s vacuum cleaner products.

Today, choosing a reliable, affordable robot vacuum is an almost impossible task with all the options available, but this guide has you covered. To help, we have reviewed dozens of robot vacuums and narrowed them down to bring you the 12 best budget robot vacuum cleaners for under $250.

4) ILIFE V3s Pro Robot Vacuum

The ILIFE V3s Pro is a pet-friendly vacuum cleaner that’s designed to pick up pet hair, among other contaminants. It comes with its own remote controller that you use to program cleaning schedules, to choose cleaning modes, and to send basic stop/go commands. If you want an inexpensive robot that works well on carpets and hard floors, the V3s Pro is for you.

According to ILIFE, a single charge provides enough power to clean up to 40 minutes before the robot heads back to its charging station. Navigating its way back to the charging station can be tricky since it moves in a random pattern, but for its price, this is hardly an issue.

3) Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S

The 11S by Eufy doesn’t have the highest suction rating (1300 Pa) for an affordable robot, but it can manage to extract fine debris from carpets rather easily. A single charge provides up to 100 minutes of cleaning time while following a random pattern across floors. It’ll eventually cover every square inch of your home, given enough time.

Inside of the 11S is a 3-level filtration system that ensures nothing comes flying out of the robot’s exhaust port. It can carry as much as 0.6 liters of debris at a time in its dust bin before waiting to be emptied. It also uses BoostIQ technology that switches to max suction power when rolling across carpets.

2) iRobot Roomba 675 Robot Vacuum

Voice and smartphone compatibility offer convenient control wherever you are. Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa know how to start, stop, find and dock the Roomba 675 robotic vacuum, and they can even help you create a cleaning schedule. On the iRobot HOME app, you can access all the same functions as well as map reports and suction adjustment.

An array of sensors prevent damage to the robot by telling it to avoid stairs and obstacles. The Roomba 675 also uses a navigational technology called iAdapt. With iAdapt, a laser distance sensor analyzes its surrounding to generate a map and plan the best route.

From hardwoods to high-pile carpet, iRobot designed the Roomba 675 to clean close to the surface. The floor plate raises and lowers intuitively, and a pair of brushrolls lift and flex. A side brush sits at a 27-degree angle to maximize its sweeping ability, and there are even dirt-detect sensors that step-up the suction in extra-dirty spots.

The soft black robot measures 3.7 inches tall with the height taking into account the robot’s high-grip wheels. The Roomba 675 is a self-charging robotic vacuum that docks and recharges without human assistance. With each full charge, the 1,800 mAh lithium-ion battery lasts 1.5 hours.

A high-efficiency AeroVac filter/bin combo offers excellent allergen filtration and dirt collection. The filter net is a HEPA-style media that captures many of the dust and pollen particles on your floors. The dirt bin holds 10 ounces of debris, and it features a door that swings open to the side.

1) Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Max Robot Vacuum

BoostIQ suction is Eufy’s current feature of pride and for a good reason. The 11S Max’s 2nd Gen BoostIQ is an automatic function that kicks up the suction to 2,000 pascals in 1.5 seconds flat. Even in this mode, the robot remains quiet at 55 decibels. There are also two side brushes and a brushroll that sweep, pull and lift simultaneously.

The Eufy RoboVac 11S Max can clean places other robotic vacuums can’t thanks to its 2.85-inch height. A 2,600 mAh lithium-ion battery lasts for 100 minutes between 5-hour charges. Since the 11S Max self-docks, recharging the battery is a hands-free process.

Eufy went a different direction than it has in the past with the 11S Max’s filter. Instead of separate layers, the filtration system consists of a single cartridge with slanted pleats. The box-style bin is easy to remove and empty, and its large volume holds 20 ounces of dirt and debris.

You get plenty of choices in terms of cleaning modes. Auto mode vacuums your entire house. Edge mode cleans baseboards and corners. Quick clean takes care of one room, and spot mode picks up small piles of dirt. Ten-plus infrared sensors divert the Eufy 11S Max from ledges and objects; two robust wheels can climb 0.6-inch-tall threshold strips, and the tempered glass top prevents visible scratches.

On the glossy black robot, there’s a one-button control panel that lets you start an auto-clean session. All the other functions are controllable with the remote, such as manual suction adjustment. You can also use the remote’s display screen to program and view a daily vacuuming schedule.

Conclusion

Sales of robotic vacuums continue to rise. While many are the co-stars of plenty of YouTube videos, they can do more than giving “cats a ride”. Tests show that robotic vacuums do clean, although they don’t match the best uprights and canister vacuums. Some robotic vacuums move methodically across the floor in a single pass.

They can cover a standard room in 15 to 20 minutes. Multipass robots travel in a random pattern and can take up to two hours, but tests show they do a better job. You’ll also want to keep an eye on these little robots the first few times, to make sure they don’t get tangled up in anything or stuck under the furniture. Below a comparison table of the top 5 value robot cleaners from our article.

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Last Update: 2023-06-04 | Affiliate links/Images from Amazon Product Advertising API