Robot vacuums have come a long way from the loud, limited machines of only a few years ago. Today's models can map your house, pick up debris with powerful suction, avoid obstacles, empty their own bins, and even mop your floors. Once an unknown newcomer, the Roborock name slots easily onto top lists, from the best robot vacuums to the top all-in-one mopping models.
While Roborock briefly forayed into the handheld market, robot vacuums are the only thing you'll find in the company's lineup today. Roborock's narrow focus allows it to solve some of the biggest complaints involving the machines. Compared to competing models, Roborock vacuums often manage to fit in more suction power within the small size. Hands-off features like self-emptying bins are also characteristic of the brand's high-end models.
How to connect Roborock to Alexa - and what you can do with it
If you're a happy Roborock user, you could unlock even more features by connecting your vacuum to Alexa.Roborock's vacuums cover the gamut from budget-friendly to pricey, self-sustaining models. Using the hands-on experience of Pocket-Lint staff as well as testing from our sister site Android Police, we've rounded up the best Roborock vacuums that deliver clean floors with minimal fuss.
Best Roborock vacuums: Our top picks
Roborock Q Revo
A smart, convenient clean
For a great clean with minimal maintenance, the Roborock Q Revo will not only clean your floors but itself too.
- Dustbin Capacity
- 2.7L
- Battery Life
- 180 minutes
- Suction Power
- 5,500Pa
- Mop
- Yes
- Self-cleaning, self-emptying dock
- Lower price than the S8 Ultra
- Room mapping and object detection
- Suction isn't as good as the S8 Ultra
- Doesn't include many dust bags in the box
Robotic vacuums should save you time, not add items to your chore list. The Roborock Q Revo contains all the self-cleaning, self-emptying tools of the company's flagship models but at a more palatable price point. The dock will automatically empty the vacuum's dust bin and refill its water canister. It also cleans and even dries the mop pads to avoid mildew buildup.
The companion app, which allows the Q Revo to map your home for a better clean, is filled with customizable settings and fits into the 'set it and forget it' space of home technology. For example, you can set each room's suction, water level, and route. This feature makes it possible to use more power on the high-pile living room carpet but low power on the hardwoods, so different floor types get exactly what they need.
Roborock's S8 Series includes the most convenient self-emptying dock yet
Roborock's robot vacuum cleaners just seem to get better and better with each iteration.The 5,500Pa of suction power is more than many similarly-priced competitors and delivers a deep clean, even getting into grout lines and picking up pet hair. While the pricier S series does a little better with the built-in mop, the Q Revo has a water tank to continually wet the mop for cleaner floors than more basic budget models.
While the $900 price point is far from budget-friendly, the Q Revo is actually competitively priced among other options that are fully autonomous with self-cleaning and self-emptying bins. The S8 Pro Ultra offers a better mop, more powerful suction, and more advanced object detection. However, there's a big price jump to get those features, making the Q Revo the best option for most homes. However, buyers should be aware that they'll need to buy extra dust bags. The vacuum ships with very few extras.
Roborock Q5 Pro
An affordable, powerful clean
This more affordable robot vacuum doesn't compromise on cleaning features and performance.
- Dustbin Capacity
- 470mL
- Battery Life
- 5200mAH
- Suction
- 2700Pa
- Mop
- No
- Budget-friendly
- Still has the same 5500Pa suction as pricier models
- 240-minute run time
- No mop
- No self-emptying or self-cleaning features
- Lacks object detection
While Roborock is more likely to oust the competition with better features rather than lower prices, the brand still has a range of models for the budget-minded. The Roborock Q5 Pro is a more affordable option, yet it doesn't compromise on the main reason for picking up a robotic cleaner in the first place: it cleans well and with minimal human intervention.
The Q5 Pro lacks a built-in mop, but its 2,700Pa of power is plenty to suck up debris, including crumbs and pet hair. Like most bots, there's not enough suction to throw out your handheld vacuum, but it does a great job picking up crumbs and hair that hasn't ground deep into carpet fibers. Where many budget bots don't even offer an app connection, the Q5 Pro app allows you to adjust the cleaning power remotely. That means you can easily choose between the best clean or the best battery life and the lowest noise level. With a built-in mapping system, the Q5 Pro is also an efficient worker that seldom gets stuck.
Roborock Q5 Pro and Q8 Max harness AI to clean your house faster
The Q5 Pro and Q8 Max have dual roller systems, powerful suction and use AI to plan faster routes around your house.While the Q5 Pro allows you to set up a cleaning schedule, it's a vacuum-only model that's not as hands-off as Roborock's priciest vacuum-mop combos that automatically empty their own dust bins, refill their water tanks, and self-clean. You'll still have to empty the bin -- though if that's an issue, the Q5 Pro+ has a self-emptying dock for a few hundred dollars more. For the $430 list price, the Roborock Q5 Pro cleans well.
Roborock Q8 Max
Ideal for pets and kids
The Q8 Max's object detection, stronger suction, and built-in mop make it the better budget-conscious choice for homes with pets, kids, or hard floors.
- Dustbin Capacity
- 470mL
- Suction
- 5,500Pa
- Battery
- 240 minutes
- Mop
- Yes
- Dual rollers for pet hair
- Powerful 5,500Pa suction
- Built-in mop
- Lacks self-emptying, self-cleaning features
While the Q5 Pro is a great vacuum, if your home regularly has toys on the floor, roaming pets, or lots of hard floors, you'll want to spring for the Roborock Q8 Max instead. While this model is more mid-range priced than budget, it features obstacle-detection technology that will help prevent it from snagging on a toy or, worse, spreading a pet accident across the house. Unlike the Q5, the Q8 also has a built-in mop, which also makes it a better choice for homes with more hard floors than carpets.
While the biggest reason to choose the Q8 Max over the Q5 is the obstacle detection and built-in mop, the Q8 Max also boasts a bit more power and two roller brushes. That means this robovac has some excellent cleaning abilities, including sweeping corners much better than lower-priced competitors. Adjustable power settings mean you can turn down the noise if you are vacuuming while home, or set up an Alexa or Google Home routine to clean on full power while you are away.
Best smart plugs: Get your smart home on a schedule
These smart plugs offer remote control from your phone, easy scheduling, and are compatible with Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit.While the Roborock Q8 Max is an excellent combo, the mopping system isn't as high-end as the vacuum. Mopping is an average wipe that does a decent job in many scenarios but doesn't provide thorough scrubbing or get deep into grout lines. The mop also isn't self-cleaning like the company's top-tier options. The lineup also includes the Q8 Max+, which has similar cleaning capabilities but upgrades to an auto-emptying dust bin built into the dock for a few hundred dollars more. Disposable dust liners will add to the cost in the long term, however.
Roborock S8 Pro Ultra
Powerful clean, minimal effort
The self-emptying, self-cleaning dock with the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra crosses more than just one chore off your list.
- Dustbin Capacity
- 350ml
- Battery Life
- 180 minutes (Quiet Mode)
- Mop
- Yes
- Suction
- 6000Pa
- Automates with self-cleaning ,self-emptying dock
- Powerful 6,000Pa suction
- Obstacle detection and avoidance
- Expensive
- Large dock isn't ideal for small spaces
Roborock just announced upgrades to this model on Jan 8 -- the Roborock S8 Max Ultra with 8,000Pa of suction power and the S8 MaxV Ultra with 10,000Pa. Both options are set to launch in April 2024. Those bent on the most features regardless of price may want to wait for the latest versions, while discounts on the S8 Pro may be more common in the meantime.
While robovacs do much of the work for you, they still require regular cleaning and bin emptying -- unless, of course, you splurge for an option like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra. Besides containing the company's top vacuum and mop, the S8 Pro Ultra's dock self-empties both the dust and mop bins. The mop pad is self-cleaning and self-drying, plus it even refills the water at the base station. You'll still have to empty and refill the base station, but much less often than you would the vacuum itself.
Roborock S8 Pro Ultra: Superior cleaning and self-maintenance
The S8 Pro Ultra is the flagship of Roborock's S8 line-up and a real powerhouse.The S8 Pro Ultra has an incredible 6,000Pa of suction power. That mixed with the LiDAR and obstacle detection that maps out the room means it does an excellent job cleaning your floors. While the built-in mop isn’t going to replace a good manual scrubbing, it cleans better than more affordable combos. An automatically lifting mop pad also means that this Roborock isn’t going to wet your carpets.
This high-end robovac leaves few complaints, but there are a few things to nitpick. First, the price is rather steep. The S8 Pro Ultra also sometimes struggled to traverse thick, plush rugs in our hands-on testing. It didn't get stuck, but recognized the rug as an obstacle and didn't attempt to clean it. The convenience of the water tanks and bins in the dock also means this robovac takes up more space and isn’t ideal for small apartments.
The bottom line: What is the best Roborock vacuum?
Roborock covers the gamut from affordable robovacs to all-in-one combos that even take care of the filling and emptying for you. As with choosing any other cleaning product, the choice of which model to get should be based on your household needs. The best Roborock for most homes is the Q Revo for its excellent cleaning capability and hands-off convenience features, though the large dock isn't ideal for small apartments.
Small spaces that just need a quick clean can be well served by the lower-priced Q5. Homeowners and renters with pets and kids will want a bit more suction power, plus the dual rollers and built-in mop of the Q8 Max. The S8 Pro Ultra’s power and self-cleaning features, meanwhile, may tempt some to splurge.
How did I choose these Roborock vacuums?
Using hands-on testing from Pocket-lint reviewers and its sister sites, I selected only vacuums with at least a four-star rating. Based on those, I narrowed the choices down by searching for the cleaning system that offered the best combination of clean, convenience, and price. Because every home differs, the best Roborock vacuum I selected is ideal for multiple types of homes, while I also made sure to consider homes with pets and kids as well as smaller spaces.
Is Roborock a good vacuum?
Unlike many vacuum companies that started with traditional stick models before moving to robotic cleaners, Roborock began with a robotic smart vacuum. The company launched its first model in 2016 after the CEO bought 20 different models and couldn’t find one that worked well.
Pocket-lint staff has long been impressed with Roborock technology -- our reviewers have favored the vacuums for their excellent cleaning capabilities, smart features, and automatic, hands-off software. Roborock has a wide range of different models, from budget options for a basic clean to high-end models that will even empty and refill themselves. While features vary across the company's line-up, a majority of the Roborock vacuums that we tested received four or more stars.
What is the best Roborock for pet hair?
Homes that have pets will be best served by choosing a robovac that has high suction power and multiple roller brushes to remove pet hair better. Models with obstacle detection are also a good idea -- otherwise a robotic vacuum could end up spreading a pet's accident across the floor.
Our favorite Roborock for pet hair is the Roborock Q8 Max, which sits at a mid-range price point but offers excellent suction, dual roller brushes, obstacle detection, and a built-in mop for those muddy paw prints. Our premium pick, the S8 Pro Ultra, has even more power plus self-emptying, which also makes it a great choice for pet owners if you can swallow the higher price point and larger dock.