The Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner for Every Budget

Whether it's the best robotic vacuum cleaner with mopping function, the best choice for carpets, the best model for hoovering pet hair, or the robotic vacuum cleaner with the best price-to-performance ratio, this article has the right appliance for every purpose. In the second section of the article, we share what users should look out for before buying.

The best robotic vacuum cleaners with mopping function compared

Table of Contents:

• The best robotic vacuum cleaners with mopping function
  • Our recommendation: Dreame X40 Ultra
  • Best alternative: Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra
  • Best for pet fur: Narwal Freo X Ultra
  • Best for carpets: Ecovacs Deebot X5 Omni
  • Best price-to-performance ratio: Xiaomi X20+
  • Best budget model: Narwal Freo X Plus
• Buying guide: How to find the best robotic vacuum cleaner with mopping function
  • Suction power
  • Mopping function
  • Size of the dust and water containers in the robot
  • Navigation and obstacle detection
  • Functions of the base station
  • App support and smart functions

The best robotic vacuum cleaners with mopping function compared

Our recommendation: Dreame X40 Ultra

The Dreame X40 Ultra is the best robotic vacuum cleaner with mopping function that is currently available on the market in our opinion. There is more technology packed in this robot than any other rival can claim. The X40 Ultra has an extendable side brush, a swivel mop, and a hair shredder in the main brush. The fact that this Dreame robotic vacuum cleaner has a suction power of a whopping 12,000 Pa almost feels like an afterthought.

Dreame X40 Ultra review

In reality, the luxury robotic vacuum cleaner navigates through your home without any issues. The LiDAR sensor and the RGB camera help the X40 to recognize new obstacles ahead of time. They are also supported by the Dreame Home app, which boasts such an absurd number of settings that you will be spoilt for choice.

The docking station is no less sophisticated. In addition to hot water for washing and hot air for drying the mop pads, the all-in-one docking station has a self-emptying function. The highlight is located next to the dust bag in the docking station: a container to store the cleaning solution, which is included in the "Complete" version. The Dreame X40 Ultra (Complete) costs $1,699.99 based on its recommended retail price.

Best alternative: Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra

The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is the best alternative to our recommendation, the Dreame X40 Ultra. There are minor differences between the two appliances. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra uses a vibrating mopping plate to get the job done. To clean corners, there is an additional mini mop on the right in the direction of its travel. Speaking of cleaning corners: The extendable side brush also contributes to the outstanding suction result.

Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review

A striking feature of this model is the docking station, which is flat but extended in width. The all-in-one docking station features a self-emptying function, rinses the mopping utensils with hot water before drying them quietly with hot air. Navigation and obstacle detection work flawlessly. What's more, furniture is shown in the detailed Roborock app. Overall, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra has no weaknesses and is by far the best robotic vacuum cleaner from Roborock for good reason.

Best for pet fur: Narwal Freo X Ultra

The Freo X Ultra is the second robotic vacuum cleaner from the Narwal brand, and what an appliance it is! With the Freo X Ultra, Narwal has not only launched a dark horse in the market, but also created the best robotic vacuum cleaner to handle for pet fur. Suction power is also impressive on parquet and tiles. This model is not the best choice for carpets, but still does an acceptable job.

Narwal Freo X Ultra review

The biggest shortcoming of the Freo X Ultra is the lack of a suction function in the docking station. To compensate for this, Narwal incorporated an oversized 1-liter dust container in the Freo X Ultra so you don't have to empty the dust container yourself after every cleaning session. The Narwal robotic vacuum cleaner also features unique advantages in other areas. Cleaning solution is included in the purhcase, which you place next to the fresh water tank in the docking station.

As with the earlier model, the Narwhal Freo (review), there is a touchscreen on the lid of the all-in-one docking station if you don't have your smartphone with you. The Narwhal Freo X Ultra costs $1,399.99 based on its recommended retail price. However, we recommend that you keep an eye on Amazon before buying, as this model is often available at a discount.

Best for carpets: Ecovacs Deebot X5 Omni

The Ecovacs Deebot X5 Omni is the best choice for households with lots of people. The special feature of this robotic vacuum cleaner is how it stops in front of carpets and lifts the mop pads before moving onto the carpet to begin cleaning. What's more, pet fur has no effect on the suction result of the X5 Omni.

In addition to the brilliant suction power, the mopping performance is also top notch. The flat design helps the Ecovacs robotic vacuum cleaner clean under flat furniture without any issue. The Ecovacs Deebot X5 Omni stands at 9.5 cm high, having installed the entire laser navigation technology in front of this robot.

The only drawback is the battery life. You also have to reckon with long charging times. Apart from that, the Ecovacs Deebot X5 Omni is a first-class vacuum and mopping robot that is well worth the money. This model costs approximately $1,190 after conversion based on the recommended retail price.

Best price-to-performance ratio: Xiaomi X20+

The Xiaomi X20+ is the best example of how affordable models can also offer excellent performance. This robot vacuum costs €399.99 (it is unavailable in the USA) a pop. Despite the comparatively affordable price tag for a vacuum and mopping robot, the docking station has an integrated mop washing and drying function as well as a self-emptying function.

Xiaomi X20+ review

The robotic vacuum cleaner's performance should not be underestimated. The suction and mopping performance is more than adequate for a €400 robotic vacuum cleaner. What's more, the navigation and obstacle detection worked almost too well at this price. The Xiaomi Home app, which is very similar to the Roborock app in terms of user interface, is packed with numerous detailed settings for the eager cleaning assistant.

Best budget model: Narwhal Freo X Plus

If you want a lot of power for very little money, you won't be able to avoid the Narwhal Freo X Plus. The $399 device certainly offers you plenty of bang for your buck!

Narwhal Freo X Plus review

The Narwal Freo X Plus only comes with a charging station but like the Narwal Freo X Ultra, it has a 1-liter dust container under the hood. The 7,800 Pa suction power offers top value for this price range. In the review, even animal fur posed no problems for the Freo X Plus. The mopping performance, on the other hand, was disappointing. However, this is hardly surprising as the robot drags a mop along behind.

On the other hand, the robotic vacuum cleaner scores points for navigation and the available software in the form of the Narwal Freo app. All in all, with the Freo X Plus, Narwal offers an incredibly powerful robotic vacuum cleaner at a low price.

Find the best robotic vacuum cleaner with mopping function: What you need to know before you buy

There are many things to keep an eye out for before purchasing such an expensive appliance. After all, the robotic vacuum cleaner with the highest suction power on paper is not necessarily the best-performing model in the market. Let's take a look at what really matters in a robotic vacuum cleaner with mopping function. nextpit summarized everything you need to know about suction power, mopping function, navigation, and available functions of the docking station.

Suction power: Listed Suction power (Pa) is only half the battle won

No robotic vacuum cleaner vacuums as well as a conventional vacuum cleaner. This is simply not possible because of the compact design of these appliances. In addition to the motor and the navigation technology, manufacturers also install dust and water containers in the household helpers, which measure 10 cm high on average. To ensure more thorough cleaning, it's worth taking a look at our tips and tricks on how to improve your cleaning results.

Think of robotic vacuum cleaners as extra help around the home. Even if they are somewhat expensive to own, the increase in built-in suction power in recent years has been remarkable. To illustrate this: The Dreame L10s Ultra (review), which topped our "Best Of" list for an extended period in 2023, boasts a suction power of 6,000 Pa. The market has now more than doubled this suction power. With the latest Deebot X5 Omni, Ecovacs launched a robot hoover with an absurd 12,800 Pa suction power.

As a rule of thumb, robotic vacuum cleaners have a side brush on the right in the direction of travel. Devices like the Narwal Freo (review) offer a secondary side brush. This does not make a big difference to the suction result. Manufacturers now install an extendable side brush for robotic vacuum cleaners to clean more efficiently around corners. However, you have to expect a far higher price for models armed with such a swiveling side brush.

Carpets

Carpet cleaning is a rather difficult task for the majority of models. Lightweight short-pile carpets, in particular, are not suitable for robotic vacuum cleaners. Moving over these carpets is the biggest challenge. The robotic vacuum cleaners drag light carpets along until they get stuck in them.

Suction results are generally weaker than on smooth surfaces such as parquet flooring and tiles. In the supporting apps, manufacturers offer the ability to increase suction power automatically as soon as robotic vacuum cleaners drive onto carpets. Dreame goes one step further with the X40 Ultra and integrates the option of "more intensive carpet cleaning". In this case, the robotic vacuum cleaner reduces its speed to vacuum carpets more thoroughly.

Pet fur

Normally, manually untangling tangled pet fur in the main brush is a compromise users have made with robotic vacuum cleaners. In 2024, robotic vacuum cleaners made a huge leap forward in terms of picking up pet fur. Manufacturers like Narwal and Ecovacs even installed so-called "anti-tangling brushes" in their appliances. Dreame took an "unconventional" approach with the X40 Ultra and integrated a hair shredder into the main brush.

Mopping function: the name says it all

The name sums it up. Mopping is just one function, not the core discipline of a robotic vacuum cleaner. You should see it more as a practical addition. Models from $800 and above offer solid mopping results. Dried coffee or ketchup stains are usually not a problem for such robotic vacuum cleaners. Manufacturers offer apps that can set the water flow rate, i.e. how much the mopping equipment should be moistened. You can have up to three levels here. The Dreame X40 Ultra offers a whopping 32 modes!

There are now numerous appliances that have a retractable mop. The principle is similar to that of the swiveling side brush: the aim is to clean corners more efficiently. The good thing here is how numerous models that retail for less than $1,000 feature a swiveling mop. Examples include the Roborock Q Revo MaxV (review) or the Ecovacs T30 Pro Omni.

Dust and water container sizes in the robotic vacuum cleaner: The bigger, the better?

Don't be fooled here. Cheaper devices have dust and water containers with a sometimes significantly larger capacity than their more expensive counterparts. There is a very specific reason for this: the cheaper models only have a charging dock and no self-emptying or cleaning capability. To conceal the lack of a feature-rich docking station, manufacturers installed larger dust and water containers in the robots.

This can be seen in the following examples: the station of the $1,399.99 (RRP) Narwal Freo X Ultra has no self-emptying function. For you not to empty the dust container after each cleaning session, Narwal installed a 1-liter dust container for this purpose. The same applies to water containers. The docking station of the yeedi Cube (review) lacks a water container to store clean water. Instead, the robotic vacuum cleaner has a 1-liter water tank.

Navigation and obstacle detection: Robotic vacuum cleaners sing the praises of "LiDAR"

LiDAR, or laser navigation, has become the standard for navigation. LiDAR stands for "Light Detection and Ranging". With this type of navigation, the robotic vacuum cleaner uses laser beams to measure distance. LiDAR is the most precise form of navigation and spatial measurement. Robot vacuum cleaners continuously scan their surroundings and obstacles regardless of lighting conditions.

Few models still rely on a camera as a means of navigation. Nevertheless, there are numerous robotic vacuum cleaners that have an RGB camera installed as a monitoring function in addition to LiDAR navigation. This means you can always keep up to date with how well-behaved your cats were while you are away on vacation.

With the X series, Ecovacs offers robotic vacuum cleaners without the classic LiDAR tower. Instead, ever since the Deebot X2 Omni (review), Ecovacs relied on a D-shaped design where the entire navigation technology is integrated in front. What's more, robotic vacuum cleaners have bumpers in front to protect furniture and other objects that the appliance runs into, and vice versa.

Functions of the docking station: Self-emptying function, mop washing, and drying

The docking station is more than just the charging station for the robotic vacuum cleaner. Larger docking stations normally contain fresh and dirty water tanks. Docking stations also clean and dry the mopping equipment. Meanwhile, docking stations use hot water and hot air to clean the mopping equipment while preventing mold growth.

Models like the Narwal Freo X Ultra have space in the docking station to store some cleaning solution that is automatically added to the fresh water. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and the Dreame X40 Ultra offer a different solution. Here, an extra container lets you manually add cleaning solutions. Don't forget the self-emptying function as well. Docking stations that empty dust from the robotic vacuum cleaner's dust container without you getting your hands dirty. You can specify how often this should happen in the respective app.

App support and smart functions: Make the robotic vacuum cleaner your own

Supporting software in the form of an app is available for every robotic vacuum cleaner with a mopping function. You will need a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection to connect to it. In the app, you can choose between the suction power and the water flow rate. With more expensive models, you can also determine settings for navigation, i.e. how closely the robotic vacuum cleaner should navigate around its paths.

In the other settings, apps provide access to docking station functions. For example, you can specify how often the dust should be emptied and how thoroughly the mopping equipment should be scrubbed and dried. There are also practical tips to maintain your robotic vacuum cleaner: The app shows you the remaining service life of all the appliance's components.

Finally, you have numerous options to edit the scanned maps in the app. For models that cost around the $1,000, you can include furniture to the map to help the robotic vacuum cleaner navigate better.

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This brings us to the end of our list of the best robotic vacuum cleaners with mopping function. Do you have a favorite? Let us know in the comments.