The 4 Best Budget Robot Vacuum Cleaners - Spring 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. There are also many parts that need to be replaced or maintained on a regular basis, 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 eufy RoboVac 11S is the best cheap robot vacuum cleaner that we've tested. This very affordable option has a fantastic battery performance, as it provides roughly one to two hours of continuous use, depending on what power setting is used. It's light enough to easily carry around and very compact, so it shouldn't have any issue cleaning under low-lying furniture.

It delivers its best performance on bare floors like hardwood or laminate, where it has no issue clearing debris like rice and cereal, and it's also effective at cleaning pet hair from carpets. It has a decent-sized dirt compartment for a robot vacuum, so you can empty it a little less often. It comes with a remote control that allows you to create a cleaning schedule and set the suction power and cleaning mode without an internet connection.

However, its performance can drop as its dirt compartment fills up, especially when it comes to sucking up debris like cereal from bare floors. It also struggles to clear fine debris from carpets. Also, it has demanding maintenance needs and high recurring costs. Still, it's among the best cheap robot vacuums that we've tested, and it's even on our list of the best robot vacuums for pet hair.