The 4 Best Budget Robot Vacuum Cleaners - Summer 2021 Reviews

The best budget robot vacuum for bare floors that we've tested is the Roborock E4. This impressively built robot vacuum does an outstanding job of cleaning pet hair and debris like rice and cereal from bare floors. It comes with an allergen-trapping HEPA filter, which is helpful if you have a pet that sheds.

It does a very good job of maneuvering around a room, following an efficient S-shaped route. It's small enough that it can clean under most furniture. It has a remarkable battery performance, lasting over three hours even on its most powerful 'Max' setting. It also has three other settings it can automatically select based on the type of surface it's cleaning.

Unfortunately, it incurs quite a few recurring costs since the HEPA filter, brushroll, and side brush all need to be replaced from time to time. It's also fairly demanding to maintain since there are quite a few parts that need to be serviced regularly. That said, this robot vacuum offers a fantastic performance on bare floors, making it one of the best robot vacuums we've tested.

The best budget robot vacuum for carpets that we've tested is the Wyze Robot Vacuum. This vacuum does a decent job of clearing debris like sand, baking soda, or pet hair from high-pile carpet, though it struggles somewhat with fine material on low-pile carpet. It's also more than capable of maneuvering on high-pile carpet.

It feels quite well-built, with a primarily high-grade plastic construction that looks and feels reasonably premium. It also supplies over an hour of continuous runtime even its high-power 'Strong' mode, which should be enough to cover most areas, though its battery life can extend roughly past two hours if it's run on its low-power 'Quiet' mode. Unusually for a vacuum at this price point, it's equipped with a smart pathing navigation system that allows it to plot increasingly efficient cleaning routes in its coverage area. You can also set up virtual boundary markers or schedule cleaning sessions for individual rooms through its companion app.

Unfortunately, it has a small dirt compartment that needs to be emptied fairly frequently. Many parts need to be replaced or maintained regularly, though, for the most part, the various components are quite easy to access. It can also only be purchased from the manufacturer's website currently. Overall, if you're looking for a robot vacuum with an advanced suite of automation features that does an alright job of cleaning carpets, this is a solid, value-conscious choice.

The yeedi K650 is the best cheap robot vacuum cleaner that we've tested. This robot vacuum delivers fantastic performance on bare floors, where it easily clears pet hair as well as bulky and small debris, like cereal or rice. There isn't a major loss in suction performance as its dirt compartment fills up too, which is good if the vacuum has a larger mess to clean.

Despite its budget-friendly price, it feels well-built, with a primarily dense matte-finish plastic body and wheels with rubber treads. Its compact size makes it easy to store and allows it to maneuver under couches, tables, and other furniture. Depending on your choice of power setting, this vacuum can supply roughly anywhere between 50 to over 230 minutes of continuous runtime, which should be sufficient for cleaning most large areas.

Unfortunately, it struggles quite a bit with cleaning messes on low-pile carpet, particularly small, fine material like baking soda and pet hair. Its basic navigational system means that it often bumps into obstacles while maneuvering around a room. While you can't set up virtual boundary markers, you can buy magnetic boundary strips separately to prevent the vacuum from entering certain areas. Overall, this vacuum's good build quality and superb bare floor performance make it a solid choice if you're looking for cheap hands-free cleaning.