5 best robot vacuums and mops of 2024, tested hands-on at home

Who it's for:

As one of the only robot vacuums surpassing $1,500 on the market right now, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is inherently polarizing. But if you're open to investing in the most thorough, hands-off clean possible — along with the relief of not having to upgrade for years to come — Roborock's latest flagship model is unmatched. With self-washing and self-drying mopping pads, above-average suction power, small obstacle avoidance, and a livestream pet camera, the S8 MaxV Ultra is an exhaustive floor care suite that would be an ideal sidekick in homes with multiple pets and an even split of hard floors and soft floors of multiple piles.

Why we picked this:

Roborock has been on the self-washing and self-drying mopping pad game since 2022, two years earlier than most of its biggest competitors. Other brands finally joined the ranks when debuting their new models at CES 2024, but Roborock already had something up its sleeve to set its new hybrid flagship apart: 10,000 Pa of suction power. Those five digits seriously proved themselves in senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's testing, visibly removing layers of cat hair from multiple rugs, grabbing every piece in a mess of spilled dry rice, and being the only robot vacuum in the house to fully suck up a mound of corn starch. This was all completed in Max+ mode, which Roborock says achieves 99.5% hair pickup. Four other lighter modes are also options.

During vacuuming, a laptop charger and sock were accurately detected and avoided. A large hunk of soil was identified as pet waste — though that was originally intended to be sucked up, it was giving turd. Speaking of advanced technology, the S8 MaxV Ultra is one of the only robot vacs that sports a livestreaming pet camera onboard. Users can see what the vacuum sees while it's roaming and even send the S8 MaxV Ultra to look for their pet if it's hiding.

But the full-fledged mopping system is what really seals the deal when it comes to walking barefoot at home. Once water and detergent have been automatically dispensed from inside the dock, the mopping pad vibrates 4,000 times per minute to scrub at stains like paw prints or shoe marks. The bot will re-mop if necessary, then return to the dock to wash and dry its mopping pads.

Who it's for:

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni will appeal to a specific group of people doing a balancing act between budget and automation. If you're down to splurge past a few hundred dollars to outsource not only mopping, but also maintenance of those soggy mopping pads through a more advanced self-empty dock, Eufy's flagship model is the rare option that'll bring that home for less than $1,000. (The same can't be said for similarly-priced hybrids like the Roomba Combo j7+ or Roborock Q8 Max+.)

For large homes where a majority of the flooring demands both mopping and vacuuming, the exceptional battery life here will really sweeten the deal. Whether that space comes in the form of multiple stories or just square footage on a main floor, the X10 Pro Omni will be able to clean in a variety of intensity modes for at least two hours without needing to charge.

Why we picked this:

Eufy's first stab at the fully self-sufficient tank and mopping system — the main thing that separates average hybrids from premium hybrids — was a major win. Senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart was surprised to see a hybrid in this price range with dual spinning mopping pads, which scrub a little more ferociously than stationary pads. Eufy's new hybrid had no issues wiping up splatters of buffalo sauce, dusty paw prints, and small chunks of wet cat food off of her hardwood floor.

Success on the tiled bathroom floor was hindered by overly cautious obstacle avoidance that mistook a bath mat for a towel and refused to even vacuum the area. Even so, having small obstacle avoidance at all is still crucial for confidently sending the robot vacuum out to clean when you're not home to get it unstuck. No laptop chargers or socks were harmed in Stodart's home, even when set directly in front of the X10 Pro Omni's cleaning path on purpose.

Shoppers will also appreciate that Eufy didn't skimp on dry vacuuming to focus on mopping. The X10 Pro doles out 8,000 Pa of suction power, making it a heavy hitter at any price point, but especially this one. This can be done at the same time as mopping or on its own, with multiple intensity modes for both suction power and water level.

Who it's for:

If you've confirmed that you definitely want a Roomba, the decision boils down to how much you want to spend. Anyone firmly in the "absolutely nowhere near $1,000 category" should opt for the Roomba Combo j5+ — if you can wait for it to drop to its sub-$500 sale price. Unlike the Combo i5+, the Combo j5+ is the cheapest mopping Roomba with obstacle avoidance technology — a must if you don't feel like removing items like cords or slippers out of the way before a robot vacuum can do its thing.

Why we picked this:

iRobot's small obstacle avoidance technology is simply the best we've tested, which is reason enough to choose it over a competitor depending on the level of lived in a home is. In senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's experience, the j Series Roombas have a near-perfect track record when identifying various chargers and extension cords, when other brands missed a few. Likewise, these Roombas also never accidentally mistook non-issues like bath mats for obstacles to avoid.

The combination of that, smart mapping, self-emptying, and mopping make it a quadruple threat in the $500 to $600 category, depending on the sale price you come across. It also has the same suction power (decent, but not heavy duty enough to keep up with serious shedding) and self-empty dock as the pricier Roomba Combo j7+.

In terms of mopping, the Roomba Combo j5+ is sufficient but basic. Rather than having a water tank and mopping pad on board full time like more advanced 2-in-1s, the mopping gear here needs to be manually clicked on and off by a human to differentiate between vacuuming and mopping modes. That manual involvement does make mopping a little less spontaneous, but it's still sufficient for spills here and there, as well as daily surface-level dustings.

Who it's for:

If you can live without the fancy self-cleaning dock that deals with soggy mopping pads for you, as long as your robot mop actually scrubs the floor well, then consider the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1. This hybrid will do a more meticulous job than other hybrids in the same price range.

While the Shark Matrix 2-in-1 is safe to send into fully carpeted rooms, you also have to manually draw a no-mopping box around every single rug on the map. People in homes with a complex rug situation may want to opt for a more advanced bot that automatically stops mopping when it senses soft floors.

Why we picked this:

The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 (previously the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1) really surprised me and Mashable contributor Timothy Beck Werth, which is why this vac also earned the spot as our favorite Shark robot vacuum. Despite its budget status, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 proved itself in our at-home cleaning tests, particularly when it came to spot cleaning. Activating Matrix cleaning mode while mopping triggers the mopping pad to vibrate 100 times per minute and go over the desired scuffed or stained area multiple times.

During dry vacuuming, Matrix mode also hits the designated area from multiple angles in a crosshatch pattern, upping the likelihood of picking up hair or debris that couldn't quite be grabbed on the first pass.

Read our full review of the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1.