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UPDATE: Feb. 24, 2024, 5:00 a.m. EST Roborock, Ecovacs, Eufy, and Samsung debuted new mopping robot vacuums at CES 2024. We're awaiting their release for hands-on testing and will update our top picks in this story accordingly.
Living modestly square footage-wise doesn't rule out the convenience of a robot vacuum — you might even find that the floors of small spaces get dirty faster because every spot is a high-traffic spot. The best robot vacuums for small spaces not only cross manual vacuuming off of your chore list, but they also save the breath it takes to curse your upright vacuum for hogging your scarce storage space.
While not every robot vacuum design is optimal for a tight squeeze, we've hands-on tested the top contenders in our own modest abodes. Read on for the best robot vacuums for apartments, studios, and other one-story homes:
The Roomba j7 is the most affordable standalone Roomba. It's also one of the few robot vacuums on the market with obstacle avoidance technology, which is able to detect small objects that are typically blind spots for robot vacuums. Small spaces that are home to kids or pets with toys laying about come to mind immediately, but tidy homes aren't immune to chargers, slippers, or extension cords just waiting to throw a wrench into a long cleaning queue. The j7's broader navigation in terms of maneuvering around furniture and accurately mapping rooms (or non-walled areas like the entryway) are similarly reliable.
Who it's for:
Despite the compactness of many self-emptying docks available nowadays, some small spaces still can't afford to make room for a feature like this. And if you want to save some money by sacrificing automatic emptying, we think you'd be happiest with this vacuum, which doesn't require you to clean up before it goes out to clean.
The Roborock S8+ is one of Roborock's strongest performers, only to be topped by the bulky S8 Pro Ultra. By skipping the self-washing and self-drying mopping pads situation, the S8+'s self-empty dock is significantly more slender and tight squeeze-ready than that of the Pro Ultra.
We like the fact that the physical downsizing doesn't take away from the S8's thoroughness. Its sonic mopping pad applies speedy pressurized vibrations to eat away at dry stains that a less-advanced mopping robot vacuum would gloss over. (Mashable's Timothy Beck Werth suggests to wet the mopping pad first and toggle on max mop settings in the app for the best results.)
On the vacuuming front, the S8+ goes after embedded fur and debris by deploying some of the strongest suction power on the market and gripping carpet fibers between dual spinning brushes. Though suction is intense, your phone chargers and slippers should be safe, as the S8+ is one of few non-Roombas with small obstacle detection capabilities. In our tests, this combination of meticulous suction and mindful navigation was particularly noteworthy during edge cleaning, including under the edges of kitchen cabinets where crumbs like to hide.
Who it's for:
Despite not being the most expensive Roborock model, even the S8+'s $799.99 sale price requires a much more generous investment than that of lower-tier hybrids from other brands. But if your small space is made up of several high-traffic areas and an even split of hard floors and carpet, you'll appreciate the balanced, exhaustive cleaning achieved through sonic mopping, extra strong suction power, and meticulous edge cleaning.
If a cheap, reliable (key word) Roomba is your mission, skip the 692/4 and the i3 and opt for the smarter, more thorough Roomba Combo i5+. It's a revamped version of the already-existing Roomba i5+, with "Combo" denoting new mopping capabilities. iRobot also made changes to the dock, which is now the shorter, more stylish one first seen on the Roomba j7+.
Unlike iRobot's first two mopping Roombas, the Combo i5 doesn't have its mopping pad on board 24/7. Rather, it requires you to be home to manually attach the water tank ahead of a mopping run. (Most low-priced 2-in-1 robot vacs are like this.) This also means that the Combo i5 will have to tackle your carpeted areas in a separate cleaning run. The convenient part is that, despite its inability to detect small obstacles like phone chargers, the i5 can remember a map of your home, including the areas that should be avoided during mopping.
Who it's for:
The cheapest mopping Roomba will satisfy anyone who can settle for not-the-most-thorough-but-decent cleaning if it means they don't have to spend much more than $500. This is especially true in homes where only one or two rooms, like the bathroom or kitchen, will require mopping. Potential i5 owners will also have to be OK with not being able to start a mopping run on a whim if the mop tank isn't already attached, which isn't the case with the pricier Roomba Combo j7+ or j9+.
All of the robot vacuums in this review have been tested by the Mashable Shopping team. Over the past few years, we've tested dozens of vacuums from brands that include Dyson, Shark, iRobot, Ecovacs, and Roborock. When testing robot vacuums, we consider features such as:
Size: Think about size both in terms of the dimensions of the vacuum itself and how much space the vacuum takes up while it's charging. The shortest robot vacuums are near or slightly under three inches tall while others reach past five inches. Most non-self-emptying docks aren't bigger than a shoe and can be squeezed inconspicuously into a tight corner or under furniture to maximize your space (assuming that there's sufficient space out front for the robot vac to return).
Automatic emptying: Because robot vacuums are typically under four inches tall, their onboard dust bins are also small and require frequent emptying. (Dustbins fill up particularly quickly in homes with pets.) A self-emptying vacuum takes that job out of your hands, emptying itself into a larger dustbin in its charging dock that holds weeks of dirt without needing to be dumped. You'll want to rule out those with a behemoth of a base, but some slim auto-empty docks don't require much more space than the width and depth of the robot vac itself.
Mopping: If the majority of your space is hard flooring, a robot vacuum that can also mop clears up the space you were using to store a manual mop or Swiffer.
Smart mapping and virtual boundaries: All robot vacuums, even cheap ones, are equipped with sensors and drop detection. But more advanced models take a more strategic route by using LiDAR scanners to map out your home. Through the app, the owner can send the vac to specific rooms or areas of the home, and draw virtual boundaries around areas the vac shouldn't go, like near the pet's food bowls or through the toy corner's perpetual pile of Legos.
Noise: The drone of a vacuum feels a lot louder in close quarters. If you're concerned with keeping kids, roommates, or neighbors on the other side of a thin wall undisturbed, you'll want a robot vac that's been hyped for its sound level. Keep in mind that auto-empty docks create the most noise of the whole process, though some have a shorter, quieter whoosh than others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eufy has the most options under three inches tall, but multiple brands offer vacs that make the cut. Even if you don't pick one that short, almost every option on the market sits well below four inches. Be sure to measure the clearance under your lowest-hanging furniture, like the couch or the bed, to assure that your robovac can scoot under the entire way under.
The 10 minutes it takes to manually vacuum a 600-square-foot apartment probably isn't enough to send someone over the edge as far as chores are concerned. While the time-saving factor may be a moot point here, it doesn't completely diminish the appeal of using a robot vacuum in a small space. (Plus, the less floor there is to cover, the less you need to worry about battery life.)
It's crucial to not automatically assume that less floor to cover means that the cheapest vacuum you can find will suffice. Cramped furniture arrangements and quick changes between floor types actually call for a vac on the more competent end navigation-wise, or you'll risk arriving home to a bot that got stuck within the first five minutes of cleaning.
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].
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