Best robot vacuums for carpet 2024: Eye these 4 on Prime Day

How we tested

I’ve tested dozens of robot vacuums from the biggest vacuum brands over the past few years. New releases with any sort of buzz are brought home as soon as possible to be tested on my own floors and compared to the competition. So far in 2024, I’ve tested the Narwal Freo X Ultra, Roomba Combo j9+, Roomba Combo j5+, Shark RV2300, and Shark Detect Pro. Most recently, I tested the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, Eufy X10 Pro Omni, and Yeedi M12 Pro+. The next vacs on the testing docket are the Roborock Qrevo Master and the Roomba Combo 10 Max Robot + AutoWash Dock.

One note about a recent model I’ve left out for now: I felt a sense of urgency to try the Yeedi M12+ Pro given its promised 11,000 Pa in suction power. If true, that would make it one of the most potent robot vacuums on the market, beating the 10,000 Pa of the $1,799.99 Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra. Before testing, the M12+ Pro was on the fast track to be our budget pick for carpet. Unfortunately, while its performance on rice, kitty litter, and long hair on multiple carpet piles was mostly in line with other vacuums, I wasn’t wowed. The eerily low price also showed in the way the flimsy design struggled to hoist itself over bath mats and rugs from tile or hardwood.

I also do not recommend the Dyson 360 Vis Nav for homes with lots of carpets — or, well, any homes at all. You’d think that a machine from veteran vacuum brand Dyson (which claimed it was the most powerful robot vacuum in the world) would kill it on carpets. Like the Yeedi M12+ Pro, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav wasn’t horrible or stellar on the carpets or rugs in my home. It also missed a ton of crumbs in the corners of my kitchen, despite corner cleaning being one of its alleged strengths. Those shortcomings plus a lack of mopping or automatic emptying make the $1,199.99 price tag impossible to justify.

How I assess a robot vacuum’s performance

I directly compared the cleaning capabilities of these bots on multiple floor types (obviously focusing on carpets for this guide). I also noted how they stacked up against cordless vacuums from brands like Dyson and Shark).

I put every robot vacuum that comes into my home through a series of standardized obstacle courses that I’ve perfected over the years. My evaluation criteria are based on my own real-life cleaning needs, praise and complaints from online reviews, and intel from all the people I’ve cornered to talk about their vacuum qualms. My tests cover a vacuum’s performance with multiple types of debris and flooring. As part of my ongoing search for the best robot vacs for carpet, specifically, I paid special attention to how effectively these vacuums removed new messes like freshly spilled food crumbs, as well as more stubborn debris like pet hair that’s been embedded in carpet fibers over an extended period of time.

I also considered each robot vacuum’s recurring maintenance needs and navigational smarts. This includes its accuracy with room-to-room smart mapping, zone cleaning, its ability to be careful around carpets and keep them dry when mopping, and the presence of a self-emptying dock to ensure the whole home can be cleaned without constantly clearing the dustbin.