Read my full review of the Dyson V12 Detect Slim.

If you're down to do the vacuuming yourself, so long as you get to do it with a Dyson, the V12 Detect Slim should be the main one you're considering. It's not the most basic or heavy-duty option. In fact, those hoping to spend $500 or less on their new vacuum should be able to find the V12 Detect Slim on sale for $499.99 or $449.99 at almost any time of the year.

With up to 60 minutes of runtime, it can tackle full multi-bedroom apartments or a single floor of a home a few times without needing to be charged, but homes larger than 2,000 square feet or with more than two pets might prefer a heavier-duty Dyson. As Dyson's most compact cordless vacuum, the V12 Detect Slim will fit better than most cordless competitors into homes with limited storage space, even if that's under a couch or in a sliver of the closet.

Crowning the V12 Detect Slim as a Mashable Choice Award winner was a no-brainer: It's Dyson's most affordable vacuum that's equipped with the game-changing laser. I almost never choose the Digital Motorbar (the other cleaning head in the box) over the Fluffy Optic laser head because the laser really is that helpful. With it, I'm able to sniff out kitty litter dust, rogue hairs, crumbs, and even invisible broken glass on my apartment's hard floors that I wouldn't have seen otherwise but definitely would have hated to step on with bare feet.

Though the laser alone could be enough to sway someone this way over the similarly-priced Dyson V10 or a model from another main brand, the V12 Detect Slim seals its "bang for your buck" status with totally sufficient suction power, a motorized handheld attachment that's essential for cleaning pet hair off furniture, and the best one-handed maneuverability I've experienced in a vacuum. Even with so many vacs in my house to choose from (including robots), the Dyson V12 Detect Slim is so efficient and easy to use that I find myself relying on it the most.

Read my full review of the Roborock Saros 10R.

If you ask me, the Roborock Saros 10R is the best robot vacuum you can buy in 2025. On top of super strong suction power and special features for corner cleaning, the Saros 10R also self-empties and self-washes and dries its mopping pads. It's pricey, but a worthwhile investment for people who are picky about their cleaning and are willing to pay for the most thorough automated cleaning on the market. The livestream camera complements the heavy duty cleaning nicely for pet parents, in particular.

The Saros 10R has a few standout features that make it such a full-fledged floor care suite. It sets itself apart from other robot vacuums in terms of corner cleaning, thanks to an extendable side brush and extendable side mop. The vacuuming one reaches out from underneath the vac several inches further than the average crappy robot vacuum side brush, sweeping directly in corners and along wall edges. The mopping one is a spinning pad that expands the mopping radius further than the vacuum's circumference, allowing it to scrub areas that most round robot mops miss, like under the lip of kitchen counters. It's not exactly the same level of detailed edge cleaning that I can achieve with my Dyson stick vac, but it's a world of a difference over bots that just skim the edges and hope for the best.

The Saros 10R dishes out 20,000 Pa suction power — double the oomph of my favorite robot vacuum from 2024 (the Roborock Qrevo Master — and automatically works harder when the vacuum senses carpet. Besides the attentive cleaning skills, there's one more cool feature that makes the Saros 10R such a good pick for people with pets: a livestream camera that gives you the POV of the vacuum as it's cleaning. It sounds super extra at first, but it's actually a really comforting tool for checking on pets when you're not home.

So you don't just want any robot vacuum — you want the street cred that comes with a Roomba. As the most powerful mopping Roomba of the 2025 models, the Roomba 505 provides an elevated yet straightforward cleaning experience that'd flourish in just about any household. iRobot's top-notch small obstacle avoidance would also make the Roomba 505 an awesome robot vacuum pick for homes with a high chance of random clutter being on the floor on any given day.

iRobot finally picked up on what people want in a robot vacuum that mops: spinning mopping pads. In my experience, the dual-spinning pad setup consistently scrubs more thoroughly and covers more ground than a singular flat mop pad could do. Sometimes, one of the spinning mopping pads sits on a hinge and can mop in corners — a spot that most basic round robot vacuums usually ignore. I've watched the Roomba Plus 505 Combo scoot right up against the sticky walls by my cats' food bowls, under my kitchen counter, and along my bathtub wall (iRobot estimates that it has 18% closer edge cleaning than former Roombas).

Of all robot vacuum brands I've tried, premium Roombas like this one have proven to be the best at dodging small obstacles like cords, laundry outside of the hamper, and pet waste. While the most advanced Roborock models have accidentally eaten a charger or sock in my testing, the Roomba Plus 505 Combo has yet to do so. It's this accuracy rate that could convince a robot vacuum non-believer that it's safe to leave running at home alone.

iRobot's room-to-room smart mapping is similarly accurate — allegedly even better than pre-2025 now that iRobot has made the switch to LiDAR. The new Roomba Home app looks surprisingly clunky despite being paired with new technology, but it's still user-friendly enough for most people. You can even name permanent clean zones within your home map to be swept on a more frequent schedule than the full room, like the area near the kitchen table or front door.

If much of the vacuuming your home requires involves deep cleaning carpet, the Shark PowerDetect is the heavy-duty pick I'd suggest over the Dyson V12 Detect Slim. In my experience, it's just as thorough (if not more thorough) on my pet hair-covered rugs as the most powerful Dysons that cost several hundred dollars more, but is able to balance its airflow in a way that mostly keeps it from getting stuck on carpet — an issue I've run into when a Dyson is just too powerful.

Because all Dysons require manual emptying, the fact that the Shark PowerDetect does self-empty could be your sole deciding factor. If you'd prefer to keep that harrowing gray dust bunny out of sight and out of mind, you'll appreciate not having to empty the PowerDetect into the trash on a daily basis — especially if you're keeping up with pet hair.

Not to be confused with the Shark PowerDetect robot vacuum, the Shark PowerDetect cordless stick vacuum doesn't get enough attention for the value it packs. The chance to combine the suction power and handheld control of a manual vacuum with the hands-free convenience of an auto-empty station is inherently huge because it's still pretty rare — automatic emptying isn't the norm for upright vacuums like it is for self-emptying robot vacuums.

As Shark's most powerful cordless vacuum, this thing sucks — I can literally feel the double brush rolls snatching up the cat hair and other gunk embedded in my rugs as it pulls my hand across the room. The suction actually gets so tenacious and loud that I often find myself switching to Eco mode over Boost or Detect mode. The evidence of how hard it's working lies in a quick glance at the dustbin just a few minutes into sweeping. Because it automatically empties each time it gets hung back on the dock, each cleaning session starts with an empty bin. Even if my floors didn't have much visible debris that time, I was always greeted with a giant gray ball of whatever was invisibly chilling on my rugs.

My only real complaint isn't regarding the cleaning itself, but the bulkiness of the cleaning head that does limit how far you can get into or under some spaces. The PowerDetect is also about two pounds heavier than Shark's Detect Pro cordless vacuum, which I also tried and really liked.

Read my review of the Eufy E20 3-in-1.

For the shoppers really struggling to choose between a robot vacuum or stick vacuum, the Eufy E20 3-in-1 is a relatively budget-friendly way to get both. The E20 would especially get daily use if your idea of a clean home goes past the floors to crevices like windowsills, car seats, staircases, or the pit of despair between couch cushions.

There's something so genius about a robot vacuum that can turn into a stick vacuum. It's not even that expensive, which makes it an inarguable staple in any list of vacuum cleaners. At $649.99, the Eufy E20 3-in-1 is a reasonable price for a self-emptying, smart mapping robot vacuum — let alone the whole bonus cordless vacuum and handheld vacuum features.

While the Eufy E20's true power lies in its widespread usability in any situation, its robotic and handheld cleaning power should definitely suffice for any casual cleaner. Its 8,000 Pa of suction power matches the Eufy X10 Pro Omni, which I tested in 2024 and really liked. While its pickup rate along wall edges and efficacy on long hairs on rugs could be better, the robot version of the E20 reliably took care of all visible crumbs and loose dust bunnies on all of the floor types in my apartment. I tended to switch to the upright cleaning head to tackle rugs with heavy layers of cat hair — its 30,000 Pa of suction power beats out all of the most powerful robot vacuums I've tested. For going after cat hair on the furniture, however (or messes on a windowsill or in the car), having the option to go handheld is something I could never give up. Switching between these modes involves pulling the motor out of the robot vacuum body and clicking it onto one of the included attachments.

For the price, I can live with not having small obstacle avoidance, especially because the E20 is a reliable navigator otherwise. Its map of my three-bedroom apartment was extremely accurate on the first try. After that, the Eufy correctly made it to the right rooms and spots on a daily basis — without getting stuck on a bath mat or under a bed.