Generally, robot vacuums don’t have the power to replace your traditional vacuum when it comes to deeper cleans. But for keeping on top of spillages and daily grime, they’re a great help and will mean you have to vacuum a lot less – and who doesn’t want that?

After at least two weeks of testing, we consolidate our findings and use them to judge who (if anyone) we'd recommend the robot vacuum to. We also compare the features and build quality to the price, to assess if the robot vacuum is good value for money.

✅ You have pets: This bot tackled the hair in our reviewer's pet-filled home incredibly well – and better than any other robovac they'd tested .

This will dramatically reduce how often you’ll need to clear it – the iRobots, for example, claim the container can house up to 60 days' worth of dust before it needs disposing of.

Premium, but decent value given the features and performance. Worth the investment for pet owners who want something for regular use.

Big-brand robovacs that are a couple of years old can often deliver the best value for money, with very few sacrifices in performance. And sales events like the Black Friday deals generally come through with strong discounts in this category too.

❌ You want high levels of control: This robovac doesn't always do exactly as its told when it comes to more complex instructions.

It disabled the side brushes when on carpet, so it struggled on room edges, and it didn’t quite have the power to collect all the dust we laid. It did a decent job with pet hair and crumbs though.

✅ You want a truly autonomous robovac: This premium robot vacuum can be relied upon to take care of itself.

I also appreciate how versatile it is: you can turn the upright vacuum into a stick vacuum or a handheld canister for cleaning under furniture, windowsills and more. The model is easy to use and has a large carry handle on top of the canister as well as well-labeled buttons.

Why we love Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners it: We've tested many Dreame stick vacuums, robots and vacuum mops in the GH Cleaning Lab and can confidently say that it's one of our favorite brands because it performs well for the price in multiple categories, including robot vacuums, vacuum-mop combos and mops for hardwood floors.

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With some 2-in-1 robovacs, the mopping is a bit of an afterthought, but the Eufy X10 Pro Omni has rotating pads that press down for a more thorough clean on hard floors. On test, it had pelo trouble at all cleaning a dried-on sugary drink and sticky sauce, automatically choosing the right amount of water for the job.

In fact, it lifted over 90 per cent of the dirt in both tests, something we don’t often see with robot vacuums.