All the models on our list also work with your Google Home or Alexa and are app-controlled, so you can set your vacuum to work even when you’re not at home.

Many of today's best robot vacuums are also able to mop floors. This can be useful if you have a mix of hard floors and carpet, but be aware that robovac mopping tends not to clean as well as good old manual mopping.

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What sets this robot vacuum apart from the rest of the iRobot range is its ‘Dirt Detective’ feature, which means it automatically cleans the dirtiest rooms first and learns your cleaning habits, so it can make personalised suggestions to improve your routine.

Uprights can weigh anywhere from 10 to over 20 pounds, which can be heavy to carry up and down stairs. If your home has more than one level and you prefer an upright, consider keeping one on each floor.

We also factor in the weight of each model. All special features and claims are assessed, and we even give the tool storage and owner's manual a grade.

It’s heavier as a result, but it wowed our testers who said it didn’t smear any ketchup beyond the already stained area when cleaning – something rarely seen in the lab. Its vacuuming was also methodical and effective, lifting an average of 83 per cent of dust and dirt across the different test room floors.

In our Lab tests: Self-emptying bases are all the rage now, and in our tests, the L10s managed to empty all of the hair and debris in the vacuum into its base without clogging or leaving anything behind in the brush roll.

Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s homes writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market.  When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her cooking, running and exploring London’s foodie hotspots – or trying to make friends with every dog she passes.

We recommend this attachment if you prefer a canister and have deep pile carpets in, say, just the bedrooms. Otherwise, you’ll use a long flat attachment or brush that can be used on bare floors and low, flat rugs.

Today’s robots are more sophisticated than ever. Most can be controlled with an app on your phone, and some are even voice-enabled. Many can return to the home base for a recharge and then go back to cleaning wherever they left off.

The mopping mode uses a pad rather than rotating brush heads, so results are more of a light wipe-down than a proper scrub. The S8 MaxV Ultra’s 10,000Pa suction power ensures deep cleaning, even reaching tight corners, though this comes with the downside of being rather noisy. Thankfully, it’s easy to schedule the robovac to mop and clean while you’re out of the house.

The specs stood up on testing too; this robovac's vacuuming powers are some of the very best we've come across. Our tester also found it could tackle the edges of rooms remarkably well, and its mopping is excellent too.

Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners reliable and best value for money buys.