As TechRadar’s Homes editor for floorcare, I’ve tested robovacs of all kinds, and at all different price points. The good news is that you don’t actually need to spend a small fortune to snag yourself a capable robot vacuum that’ll deliver a solid clean and save you plenty of effort on your weekly chores. Below, I’ve rounded up my three favorite cheap robot vacuums in the US right now.
At TechRadar, we count any robovac that costs less than $500 at list price to be a budget model. At current prices, all of the robot vacuums I’ve listed here come in under $350 (actually, two are under $220), and while they don’t offer the fanciest features on the market, all punch above their affordable price tag when it comes to cleaning performance.
My personal favorite is the Dreame D9 Max Gen 2 (#1). It’s capable, reliable, and does as it’s told – the perfect budget bot. However, it doesn’t self-empty its dust, so if you’re dealing with lots of dirt or hair, you might want to opt for the Ecovacs (#2), which has a dock with an auto-empty bin (although that’s paired with relatively low suction). If you can push to a higher price, the Narwal (#3) offers the highest outright suction – it’s powerful enough to pick up plenty of pet hair. However, that bot can struggle to follow instructions, and is better for whole-home cleans than anything more specific. All three can offer basic mopping as well as vacuuming.
To see what you’d get if you spent a bit more, head to our roundup of the best robot vacuums on the market. Or if you just want a cheap robot vacuum to help you stay on top of your daily cleans, read on for my pick of the best you can buy right now.
1. Dreame D9 Max Gen 2
The Dreame D9 Max Gen 2 is a convenient, capable robot vacuum that comes in at a very affordable price. Setup and control are straightforward, and the app is well-designed and intuitive. During my testing period, I found navigation was reliable, and the bot had no problem following specific instructions (not always a given at this price point). The vacuuming is also effective and thorough, even if the object avoidance is a little patchy – you’ll need to tidy up before sending this robovac out to clean.
The mop setup is basic: it’s a fixed, D-shaped pad that sits on top of a wide, thin tank. As is the case with all the models listed here, it’s great for light cleans, but doesn’t offer anything in the way of deep cleaning (to be honest, that’s true even of some of the priciest hybrid robovacs on the market).
The main potential downside is that the D9 Max Gen 2 doesn’t have self-empty capabilities. If you’re regularly dealing with large volumes of dust or dirt – for example, if you have shedding pets – that might be a deal-breaker, because you’ll end up having to manually empty the small onboard bin with annoying regularity. However, for relatively low-level cleaning, it’ll be fine; plus, it means the dock is nice and compact (17.6 x 12 x 17.3in). Of these cheap options, the Ecovacs model at #2 does come with self-empty, and the Narwal at #3 compresses the dirt in its onboard bin to fit more in.
Read my full Dreame D9 Max Gen 2 review
2. Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus
The Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus is the only bot in my mini round-up offering self-empty capabilities. That means when it’s done vacuuming up, it’ll dump everything it has picked up into a large dust cup in the dock, so you won’t have to deal with manual emptying nearly so often.
On test, we thought this robovac performed well for the price. The suction power is the lowest of any bot listed here, but it still did a decent job of picking up most debris, and was especially good at cleaning around the edges of rooms. It also offers impressively long runtimes – it’ll clean for up to 300 minutes on a single charge. Typically, a bot will just return to its dock to charge up if required, then resume its cleaning task. However, a long runtime is useful if you’re using the robot to clean multiple levels (in which case it won’t always be able to access its dock to juice up) or if you need your bot to clean up quickly. Like both of the other robovacs listed here, the mopping is fine but not outstanding.
Read our full Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review
3. Narwal Freo X Plus
The Narwal Freo X Plus offers the highest level of suction of the three models listed here, and while that doesn’t always equate to better cleaning, in this case, we were very impressed with this bot’s pickup powers. The Narwal Freo X Plus was tested in a home with two French Bulldogs, two long-haired humans, and two short-haired humans, and it did a stand-up job of keeping the floors clean, sucking up large debris, fine dust, and hair without issue.
The dock is the charge-only type, so you’ll need to take care of emptying the dirt manually. However, where it has the edge on some of the competition (including the Dreame at #1) is that this robovac can compress the dust in its small onboard bin, enabling it to fit more in. The mopping comes courtesy of a fixed, D-shaped mop pad and internal water tank. As is the case with all the bots here, it’s fine for light cleans but nothing more challenging. The companion app is decent, and there’s the option of voice control if you want to go entirely hands-free.
There are some downsides, and the main one is with navigation. While this bot is great if you ask it to clean your whole home in the most thorough way possible, it can’t handle any request more specific than that (if that’s a deal-breaker, we have a dedicated guide to the best robot vacuums for pet hair). This Narwal is the priciest bot I’ve featured in this article – although deals do crop up regularly – but it might be worth it if you need that extra suction.
Read our full Narwal Freo X Plus review
Specs compared
Model | Max suction | Mop | Self-empty dock |
|---|---|---|---|
Dreame D9 Max Gen 2 | 6,000Pa | Yes | No |
Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus | 3,800Pa | Yes | Yes |
Narwal Freo X Plus | 7,800Pa | Yes | No (dust compression) |