6 best robot vacuums and mops of 2024, tested hands-on at home
Overview
After careful hands-on testing, we feature our favorite gear and gadgets as Mashable Selects products in our dedicated shopping guides.
Table of Contents
Despite the enthusiasm of actors in Swiffer commercials, few people are smiling at the workout that is manually mopping their floors.
If you experience similar dread when faced with vacuuming, the best robot vacuum and mop combos will cross those two chores off of your list (three, if you count digging your old mop out of the closet as a chore in itself).
Since 2020-ish, most robot vacuum companies have added at least one hybrid model to their lineup, with prices ranging from $200 to well over $1,000. You can generally expect the mopping technique to get a little more meticulous as price goes up, so the type of mess that you’ll be expecting your 2-in-1 model to conquer becomes a big deciding factor. Are you mostly concerned with wiping up spur-of-the-moment spills, or will you be a stickler about dried-on stains that call for more heavy-duty scrubbing?
Fortunately, both ends of the pricing spectrum provide way more bang for their buck in 2024 than they did in the early 2020s. The past year or so has seen serious strides in the automated mopping department: Brands like iRobot, Roborock, Eufy, Shark, and Narwal are moving far past the bare minimum â the mere presence of mopping gear â with features that actually make autonomous mopping effective, like pressurized and/or spinning mopping pads (rather than lackadaisical, stationary ones), water tanks that refill themselves, and interior compatibility with cleaning solutions for better sanitization than cleaning with just water.
This shift is particularly exemplified in the fleet of new hybrid robot vacs released at CES 2024, where a new standard for the future of mopping robot vacuums was set. The best robot hybrids will also cross post-mopping maintenance off of your list by automatically washing and drying their own mopping pads, turning the self-empty dock into a full self-cleaning station. With one of these self-cleaning models, your robovac will be ready to mop again almost immediately â a clutch change from older, more basic designs that required you to toss soggy mopping pads in the washing machine after every use.
The Mashable shopping team has tested 15+ of the most popular robot vacuum and mop combos on their own personal floors, narrowing down your options to the top six hybrid cleaners.
Our Pick
Who it’s for: The Narwal Freo X Ultra is ideal if you prioritize a true hands-off cleaning experience over staying within a certain budget. Between self-washing and drying mopping pads, a self-filling water tank, a two-month dustbin capacity, and enough stamina to cover 2,000 square feet without needing to charge, this ultra-premium takes its time and can be trusted to thoroughly tend to large floor plans.
Narwal’s futuristic aesthetic is also worth nothing. Your decision on which self-emptying hybrid to get could very well come down to whether or not you want a giant, shiny egg sitting in your living room.
Why we picked this:It seems like Narwal thought of everything when revamping the original Narwal Freo that stole the hearts of TikTok. As one of the first vacs that debuted at CES 2024 to become available for purchase, the Narwal Freo X sets high standards with genius case-by-case mopping features that tailor the task to the status of the floor it’s cleaning. AI-powered waste water sensors force the Freo X Ultra to keep mopping until the floor is spotless, working in tandem with obstacle avoidance technology to avoid small items like pet toys or charging cords.
This means that the Freo X Ultra is likely to take multiple passes over the same spot, returning to the dock to rinse at least once. However, I had zero complaints about the time-consuming process because of how visibly meticulous the scrubbing was, powered by two forceful, spinning pads that have been doused in both water and cleaning solution.
Once the Freo X Ultra has met its own cleanliness standards, it heads home to thoroughly sanitize and dry those soggy mopping pads â a task that must be performed manually with the identically-priced Roomba Combo j9+.
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Who it’s for:As one of the only robot vacuums surpassing $1,500 on the market right now, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is inherently polarizing. But if you’re open to investing in the most thorough, hands-off clean possible â along with the relief of not having to upgrade for years to come â Roborock’s latest flagship model is unmatched. With self-washing and self-drying mopping pads, above-average suction power, small obstacle avoidance, and a livestream pet camera, the S8 MaxV Ultra is an exhaustive floor care suite that would be an ideal sidekick in homes with multiple pets and an even split of hard floors and soft floors of multiple piles.
Why we picked this:Roborock has been on the self-washing and self-drying mopping pad game since 2022, two years earlier than most of its biggest competitors. Other brands finally joined the ranks when debuting their new models at CES 2024, but Roborock already had something up its sleeve to set its new hybrid flagship apart: 10,000 Pa of suction power. Those five digits seriously proved themselves in senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart’s testing, visibly removing layers of cat hair from multiple rugs, grabbing every piece in a mess of spilled dry rice, and being the only robot vacuum in the house to fully suck up a mound of corn starch. This was all completed in Max+ mode, which Roborock says achieves 99.5% hair pickup. Four other lighter modes are also options.
During vacuuming, a laptop charger and sock were accurately detected and avoided. A large hunk of soil was identified as pet waste â though that was originally intended to be sucked up, it was giving turd. Speaking of advanced technology, the S8 MaxV Ultra is one of the only robot vacs that sports a livestreaming pet camera onboard. Users can see what the vacuum sees while it’s roaming and even send the S8 MaxV Ultra to look for their pet if it’s hiding.
But the full-fledged mopping system is what really seals the deal when it comes to walking barefoot at home. Once water and detergent have been automatically dispensed from inside the dock, the mopping pad vibrates 4,000 times per minute to scrub at stains like paw prints or shoe marks. The bot will re-mop if necessary, then return to the dock to wash and dry its mopping pads.
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Who it’s for:The Eufy X10 Pro Omni will appeal to a specific group of people doing a balancing act between budget and automation. If you’re down to splurge past a few hundred dollars to outsource not only mopping, but also maintenance of those soggy mopping pads through a more advanced self-empty dock, Eufy’s flagship model is the rare option that’ll bring that home for less than $1,000. (The same can’t be said for similarly-priced hybrids like the Roomba Combo j7+ or Roborock Q8 Max+.)
For large homes where a majority of the flooring demands both mopping and vacuuming, the exceptional battery life here will really sweeten the deal. Whether that space comes in the form of multiple stories or just square footage on a main floor, the X10 Pro Omni will be able to clean in a variety of intensity modes for at least two hours without needing to charge.
Why we picked this:Eufy’s first stab at the fully self-sufficient tank and mopping system â the main thing that separates average hybrids from premium hybrids â was a major win. Senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart was surprised to see a hybrid in this price range with dual spinning mopping pads, which scrub a little more ferociously than stationary pads. Eufy’s new hybrid had no issues wiping up splatters of buffalo sauce, dusty paw prints, and small chunks of wet cat food off of her hardwood floor.
Success on the tiled bathroom floor was hindered by overly cautious obstacle avoidance that mistook a bath mat for a towel and refused to even vacuum the area. Even so, having small obstacle avoidance at all is still crucial for confidently sending the robot vacuum out to clean when you’re not home to get it unstuck. No laptop chargers or socks were harmed in Stodart’s home, even when set directly in front of the X10 Pro Omni’s cleaning path on purpose.
Shoppers will also appreciate that Eufy didn’t skimp on dry vacuuming to focus on mopping. The X10 Pro doles out 8,000 Pa of suction power, making it a heavy hitter at any price point, but especially this one. This can be done at the same time as mopping or on its own, with multiple intensity modes for both suction power and water level.
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Read our full review of the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1.
Who it’s for:We suggest the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 if your main concern with a robot mop is whether it actually scrubs (with more than water, at that) but also that its advanced mopping capabilities can be secured for a few hundred dollars. We will say that the Matrix Plus 2-in-1 is best for homes without a heavy rug situation, as the bot requires you to manually point out rugs or carpets in the app and can’t vacuum while the water tank is attached.
Why we picked this:The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 (previously the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1) really surprised us, which is why it earned a spot among the very best robot vacuum and mop hybrids and as our favorite Shark robot vacuum. Both the standalone and self-emptying versions of the Matrix Plus 2-in-1 can be scored for less than that when they’re on sale at Shark’s website, which they almost always are â firmly in the budget category compared to bots from iRobot and Roborock.
Despite its budget status, the Shark AI Ultra proved to be a feature-packed robovac that aced Mashable’s at-home cleaning tests. Activating Matrix cleaning mode while mopping triggers the mopping pad to vibrate 100 times per minute and goes over the desired scuffed or stained area multiple times. During dry vacuuming, Matrix mode also hits the designated area from multiple angles in a crosshatch pattern, upping the likelihood of picking up hair or debris that couldn’t quite be grabbed on the first pass. And that’s on thoroughness.
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Who it’s for:Outdated Roomba owners looking to upgrade to something bigger and better will set themselves up for a smooth transition with the Roomba Combo j9+. All robot vacs in the iRobot ecosystem can transfer maps to each other in the app, so you can completely skip the days-long charade of your new robot vacuum learning your home’s layout.
If your floors are well-loved â in the sense that they have some pretty deep, dried stains on them or are your pet’s favorite spot to roll around â you’ll be wowed by this Roomba’s scrubbing and suction power alike. Unlike previous Roombas, this one saves you even more time, by freeing you from manually refilling the water tank for 30 days at a time. As an added bonus, if you’re someone for whom the “aesthetic factor” ranks highly among robot vac criteria, rest assured that the Combo j9+ is sheer eye candy. I mean, its dock is literally topped with chic wood accents â allowing it to double as a side table. In the world of robovacs, this is quite rare.
Why we picked this:As the number and letter mashup in the title suggests, the Combo j9+ finally combines the best features of the older high-end Roombas: the small obstacle detection and retractable mop of the Roomba Combo j7+ (which we also tested and really liked), and even better suction power than the Roomba s9+, which was previously the most powerful Roomba. The Combo j9+ also beats the suction power of the aforementioned Combo j7+, which was noticeably worse at picking up chip crumbs and cat hair than the new Combo j9+ in our comparative tests in the same apartment.
The mop on the Combo j9+ is also better than that of the all of the other hybrid Roombas, as well as many competing hybrids from other brands that drag a wet cloth across the floor with one or two passes. We could see iRobot’s new SmartScrub working, successfully attacking dried stains on a hardwood floor by persistently scrubbing back and forth with force. The Combo j9+ can also accommodate both water and the cleaning solution of your choice in its water tank, which automatically refills the vacuum itself when the small onboard tank runs dry.
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Who it’s for:If you’ve confirmed that you definitely want a Roomba, the decision boils down to how much you want to spend. Anyone firmly in the “absolutely nowhere near $1,000 category” should opt for the Roomba Combo j5+ â if you can wait for it to drop to its sub-$500 sale price. Unlike the Combo i5+, the Combo j5+ is the cheapest mopping Roomba with obstacle avoidance technology â a must if you don’t feel like removing items like cords or slippers out of the way before a robot vacuum can do its thing.
Why we picked this:iRobot’s small obstacle avoidance technology is simply the best we’ve tested, which is reason enough to choose it over a competitor depending on the level of lived in a home is. In senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart’s experience, the j Series Roombas have a near-perfect track record when identifying various chargers and extension cords, when other brands missed a few. Likewise, these Roombas also never accidentally mistook non-issues like bath mats for obstacles to avoid.
The combination of that, smart mapping, self-emptying, and mopping make it a quadruple threat in the $500 to $600 category, depending on the sale price you come across. It also has the same suction power (decent, but not heavy duty enough to keep up with serious shedding) and self-empty dock as the pricier Roomba Combo j7+.
In terms of mopping, the Roomba Combo j5+ is sufficient but basic. Rather than having a water tank and mopping pad on board full time like more advanced 2-in-1s, the mopping gear here needs to be manually clicked on and off by a human to differentiate between vacuuming and mopping modes. That manual involvement does make mopping a little less spontaneous, but it’s still sufficient for spills here and there, as well as daily surface-level dustings.
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Mashable product reviewers (especially our vacuum specialist, Senior Shopping Reporter Leah Stodart) have been testing popular robot vacuums in their homes since 2020. Our hands-on tests of hybrid robot vacuums have included everything from budget models under $200 that just cover just the basics to $1,500 premium models that are highly advanced in the way that they clean, navigate, and take care of their own recurring maintenance. In 2024 so far, Stodart has tested the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, Eufy X10 Pro Omni, Roomba Combo j5+, and Narwal Freo X Ultra, most recently evaluating the Yeedi M12 Pro+.
Stodart says: At this time, I’m choosing to leave the Yeedi M12 Pro+ off of the recommendation list. On paper, it checks a ton of premium boxes at a really digestible price point â most notably its self-washing and drying mopping pads and 11,000 Pa in suction power, which (if it actually worked that well in testing), would be some of the most powerful suction power on the market, beating the 10,000 Pa of the $1,799.99 Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra. Given the Yeedi M12 Pro+’s sub-$1,000 price point (as low as sub-$700 on sale), it was a budget-friendly rising star that I had to get my hands on ASAP.
While its dry vacuuming performance on rice, kitty litter, and long hair on multiple carpet piles has been mostly in line with other vacuums I’ve tried, I wasn’t necessarily getting “most powerful suction money can buy” vibes. Then, the eerily low price point starts showing itself each time the plastic-y build struggles to hoist itself over bath mats and my living room rug from the tile or hardwood, often getting stuck. A mopping pad even popped completely off at one point. In terms of mopping itself, again, it was fine, but nothing amazing. Between mediocrely satisfactory cleaning, overall flimsiness, and obstacle avoidance technology that kept running right over my phone charger, I’m definitely recommending the $799.99 Eufy X10 Pro Omni as the budget pick.
The next vac on the testing docket is the new Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot + AutoWash Dock.
How we assess a robot vacuum’s performanceRanking 2-in-1 robot vacuums requires testing of all of the factors we consider for regular robot vacuums, plus a few additional bullet points specific to mopping. For this list, we tested botsâ ability to sweep and mop on hardwood, rug, and tile surfaces. When cleaning up dry waste, we scattered debris (read: Cocoa Pebbles, intentionally smashed potato chips) around the floor and along the edges of a wall to test suction and edge cleaning. When that process was complete, we then stained the floor with something more stubborn, like a small patch of syrup or dried drops of soy sauce. If these vacs would simply drive over the stain without mopping it up, what’s the point of getting a hybrid vac versus a normal vac, after all?
We found that in order to effectively mop, the best hybrid models need to do more than drag a wet mop pad lightly across your floor. Ideally, the mopping pad will vibrate or wipe back and forth rather than being stationary, and it will scrub with downward pressure to mimic human elbow grease. Compatibility with a cleaning solution is always preferred over being restricted to mopping with just water.
However, to earn a spot in our guide to the best robot vacuum/mop hybrids, these cleaning machines had to do more than satisfactorily vacuum and mop. We also tested their navigation capabilities when it comes to furniture and walls and smart mapping accuracy, as well as considered whether they self-empty and detect and avoid small obstacles like charging cords or pet waste. Because what good is a robot mop if it can never reliably make its way to the spots that require mopping?
Frequently Asked Questions
At their core, robot vacuum mop combos are really just robot vacuums with an attached water reservoir and scrubbing pad. Thus, they work identically to regular robot vacuums on dry debris like crumbs and pet hair, but also dispense water or cleaning solution for mopping when on a hard floor.
The mopping mechanism can look a little different from there. Cheaper hybrid models require a person to manually attach a water tank or mopping pad to switch to mopping mode, while more advanced models always have mopping gear on board and are ready to start mopping whenever called upon. When the water tank is built in like that, these hybrid models are typically equipped with heightened floor type sensors and are smart enough to stay away from carpet or rugs while mopping while the hybrids that require manual swapping often need you to denote spots that they shouldn’t mop through the app.
For the most effective clean, look for models that can accommodate sanitizing cleaning fluid in addition to just plain water. Likewise, robot mops that incorporate a scrubbing motion (or, better yet, sonic vibration technology) will do a better job at eating away at stubborn grime.
The traditional mop and bucket is a logistical headache, but a 2-in-1 robot vacuum can be just as frustrating if they’re not doing what you bought them to do. If you’ve decided you’re down to pay to cross two chores off your list with one purchase, then the following factors are key in ensuring an experience that’s actually worthwhile:
Floor type sensors: A robot vacuum’s ability to adjust suction based on floor type is important even just in the dry sweeping realm. But for robot mops, this is exactly the feature that will keep your carpets from getting soggy. Most hybrids automatically start to mop once their water tank is attached, but only the smarter ones know to pause the water flow and lift their wet cloth above the carpet. Bots that remember your rooms or follow virtual boundaries can also be programmed to avoid carpeted areas while mopping altogether.
Mopping with movement and force: The best robot vacuum and mops may not scrub with as much “oomph” as your own two hands, but they can tackle shoe prints or water marks better than those that just lightly put wet cloth to floor. While most 2-in-1 models can successfully wipe up a fresh juice or wine spill, a mopping mechanism like Roborock’s sonic mopping or iRobot’s SmartScrub technology actually exerts force in tandem with rapid back-and-forth movement to penetrate stubborn dried stains and render the most noticeable results on hard floors.
Smart mapping: A robot vacuum’s navigation tech decides how accurately it can remember your home’s layout (if at all). Currently, the golden standard for smart mapping is LiDAR: A laser that scans different points in your home to determine where walls are. On the other hand, there’s also VSLAM technology â which instead uses cameras for mapping and navigation. The major downside of VSLAM is that it needs light to operate (meaning you won’t be able to program your hybrid vac to work while you sleep, like you can with LiDAR navigation).
Once a robot vacuum has made its rounds and gotten its bearings, it creates a floor plan to reference for future cleanings. You’ll be able to modify and label rooms as necessary in your robot vacuum’s corresponding app, as well as send the botvac to specific rooms.
Virtual boundaries: Most times, the app also provides an option to set up virtual boundaries around smaller areas that you’d like the vacuum to avoid, like a pile of toys or your pet’s precious water bowl. This feature is particularly necessary for rugs if your 2-in-1 can’t sense floor type. Otherwise, there’s nothing stopping your new hybrid from mopping on soft floors.
Dust bin size and self-emptying: If youâre living in a condo, apartment, or other small space, you probably wonât need a massive vacuum reservoir. If youâre hoping to cover an entire house, youâll want to look for something that wonât have to be emptied out after every single cleaning session. A self-emptying vacuum will come in clutch here, as it automatically empties its debris into a dock and lets you off the hook for a month or two.
Battery life: A 90 to 100-minute battery life should be sufficient to cover an apartment in one charge, or if most of your cleaning will be done on a room-by-room basis. Battery life of 170 to over 200 minutes isn’t hard to find and would be ideal for square footage above 1,500. Even the cheapest robot vacuums nowadays should recharge on their own and automatically resume cleaning, meaning you won’t have to pick them up and escort them back to base.
Definitively crowning a winner depends more on your cleaning and budget priorities. As a whole, there are significantly more Roomba models to choose from at a diverse range of prices and features that can be tailored to your needs. On the other hand, Shark’s lineup is much smaller, but each Shark robovac is generally more affordable than its respective counterpart from iRobot.
If you prioritize thorough spot cleaning or staying within a strict budget, Shark would win. Its most recent line of robot vacuums from 2023 can all enter Matrix mode, in which the vacuum retraces either the entire floor or a targeted spot from multiple angles to ensure that the job was thoroughly completed. (Spot cleaning with a Roomba is a slightly more convoluted process.)
However, your hot take may be that none of that matters if the vacuum can’t get to the right spot in the first place because it’s stuck. If the least amount of babysitting possible is your goal, you should get a j-Series Roomba. iRobot also has more mopping robot vacuum cleaners to choose from, whereas Shark really only has one main hybrid that would be worth your money.
And the iRobot vs. Shark debate is hardly a worthwhile one when brands like Roborock, Eufy, and Narwal offer such packed contenders that could very well be a better fit for your household. In the case of mopping specifically, all of these brands have ventured into full self-cleaning dock territory whereas neither Shark nor iRobot have a self-empty dock that can also wash and dry the mopping pads.
2-in-1 robot vacuums (aka hybrids or combo models) aren’t to be confused with dedicated robot mops like iRobot’s Braava Jet, which is often sold in a bundle with a Roomba. Rather, true hybrids are robot vacuums with a water reservoir and mopping pad attached somewhere. Some mop more intensely than others, but the bottom line is the same: They vacuum identically to their non-mopping counterparts, but also dispense water to wipe hard floors.
For instance, when eyeing a mopping Roomba, you probably wouldn’t choose the $300 to $450 (depending on a discount) on the iRobot Braava Jet m6 over the $400 to $600 (depending on a discount) Roomba Combo j6+. The Braava Jet m6 on its own won’t vacuum, so you’d need to already have a robot vacuum, buy one, or do the vacuuming yourself before sending it out to mop. The Roomba, on the other hand, can do both, as well as empty itself and use small obstacle detection tech to avoid cords and pet waste. While the Combo j6+’s scrubbing may be slightly less meticulous than that of the Braava Jet m6, the discrepancy isn’t enough to buy a standalone robotic mop.
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].
Stacia Datskovska is an NYU journalism major (graduating this December). Her work has appeared in USA Today, Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, HuffPost, Bustle, and more. When she’s not writing something or other, Stacia can be spotted crying over poetry, making a home-cooked meal, or walking on an NYC pier. For her more half-baked thoughts: @staciadats on Twitter.
