A quick guide to finding the best robot vacuum cleaner in Australia (and what makes them the best).
Australia’s best robot vacuum cleaners in 2024: reviewed and ranked
Robot vacuum cleaners have been around for over 20 years now, which is quite frankly crazy to think about. In that time the little robots have made huge advancements; lidar navigation and mapping, auto-empty stations, self-cleaning mops, even humidity linked settings.
In a mature market it is harder to pick out the best robot vacuum cleaner, unless you've tested a bunch of them. Thats where we step in. Over the past couple of years we have reviewed and rated over 30 robot vacuum cleaners looking at aspects like particle efficiency, battery life, smart navigation, and reliability.
Weighing these against the price, we score and rank every robot vacuum cleaner to help find the best robot butler available in Australia. Our tip pick is admittedly pricey, but we have more affordable options that are well worth considering as well.
How we pick the best robot vacuum cleaners
Price
Robot vacuums are becoming high ticket items, so we look at the value proposition that higher price point gives you. If there is similar performance at something half the price, then we will be sure to let you know.
Design
Design takes in to account the size and capacity of the dustbin and the base station plus its functionality. We also look at the roller design taking in to account how well features like "zero tangle" rollers live up to their claims.
Performance
We compare the performance specs including battery life, whether the device resumes cleaning after a recharge, included functionality like mopping, and smart carpet detect.
Expert testing
Every robot vacuum cleaner we rank is reviewed by our experts. In a controlled environment, we test things like; particle performance, mop and edge performance, the app accuracy and usefulness, and device reliability.
- Georgia Dixon
Reviewer
- Totally self emptying and cleaning
- Best suction on the market
- Whisper quiet
- Oh so expensive
- Mop can't really handle tough stains
Ecovacs is among the largest robot vacuum cleaner brands in the country, so it make sense that their devices feature on best-of lists across the net. The latest flagship, the X5 Pro Omni is the creme-de-la-creme of robot vacuums, kitted out with self emptying, self cleaning mops, excellent obstacle avoidance, and edge mopping.
We found that the X5 picked up 95% of debris during testing, across all kinds of floor types. Its mopping is a huge step up from most robot vacuums, in part thanks to its reliable mop cleaning throughout the process. Rather than wait until the very end, the X5 will return to the dock and clean its mop pads after every room to make sure you don't spread dirty mop water around.
Object detection and avoidance are crucial for automous robot vacuums, and the Pro Omni does a stellar job. Whether its consistent obstacles like chairs, or last minute ones like a curious puppy, our testing showed the device was able to pivot reliably and effectively.
Ecovacs' X5 Pro Omni will handle pretty much anything you throw at it.
Best robot vacuum cleaner deal
- Nathan Lawrence
Editor-at-large
- Excellent navigation in tight spaces
- Cat-friendly
- Initial set up can be tricky for the less techy
- Side brush tends to fall out
Cheap robot vacuums can be touch and go, but in our testing the N20 Plus was all go! We found the whole process to be quick, from the physical set up, through to the speedy cleaning time. It was able to handle tricky turns, and tight spaces with ease, but we did sometimes find the side brush tucked in a corner rather than connected to the robot.
Down from $949, to just $649 for Black Friday, the Deebot N20 Plus represents incredible value at this pricepoint. You'd be hard pressed to find another robovac at this price with mopping, and self emptying included. It's pricier counterpart, the N20 Pro Plus does have more advanced mopping, but you'll need to pay more for that luxury. Plus, the bagless, Dyson-like design means you won't have to fork out extra for vacuum bags later on down the track.
The main downside we found was the tricky initial setup, and connection to the WiFi. If you struggle with getting devices up and running on your home connection, make sure you've got your patience saved up before you start.
Robot vacuums under $500
Sale price valid until withdrawn by Amazon
Sale price valid until withdrawn by Amazon
Sale price valid until withdrawn by Amazon
Next best all rounder
- Anula Wiwatowska
Home and Lifestyle Tech Editor
- Excellent navigation
- Less hair tangles on the rollers
- Mopping is actually effective
- Very expensive
- Extendable mop arm is smaller than other devices
Roborock has a reputation for excellent robot vacuum cleaners, so it is no surprise that its top of the range S8 MaxV Ultra tops our list. Equipped with all the fixins like self-emptying, a self-cleaning mop, extendable edge mopping arm, and truely smart obstacle avoidance, the S8 MaxV Ultra hardly ever needs your help.
In our testing the device reliably avoided problem areas like cords, and only got clogged once on larger debris. It's zero tangle rollers did the trick against stubbourn pet hair, even if it did cough up some furballs. Otherwise it simply did its thing, sending a push notification and lighting up a red LED when the mop water required changing.
Easily able to tackle different different floor types without wetting your carpet, the S8 MaxV Ultra can handle most environments but you will pay a pretty penny for it.
- Self cleaning mops with hot water
- Roborock, ECOVACS, and Dreame in particular have been battling it out to provide the hottest hot water wash. Dreame is in the lead with a 70°C wash.
- Extendable mop heads
- The top robot vacuum cleaners and mops this year all have extendable mop heads, aimed to better clean edges and underneath surfaces.
- Zero-Tangle rollers
- Everyone has developed their own way to stop hair tangling up in the robot vacuum rollers. Roborock has two rollers, ECOVACS uses angled bristles and a comb, and Dreame's TriCut brush cuts the hair so it can be sucked up easier.