These 5 self-emptying robot vacuums were the most hands-off during my testing

Read my review of the 3i G10+.

If you're set on spending less than $500 on a robot vacuum, there are few reasons to not go with the 3i G10+. Between its ability to get around in small, cluttered spaces and its dust-compacting, space-saving design, the 3i G10+ would particularly be a great pick for apartments.

This niche, inexpensive pick also eclipses any other robot vacuum under $500 in the pet hair department — and even has stronger suction power than many premium robot vacuums. While it'd be a great pick for homes with a lot of carpeting or rugs, it can be ruled out for large homes with lots of hard floors and heavy-duty mopping needs.

After my underwhelming experience with the Roomba 205 DustCompactor, I was itching to find a smarter robot vacuum with the same dust-compacting element. And 3i nailed it. While the 3i G10+'s is cool because it saves you the floor space a self-empty dock would take up, that's hardly the G10+'s only monumental feature.

For such an inexpensive robot vacuum I was thoroughly impressed by the G10+'s perceptive navigation around my apartment. Its initial mapping run of the rooms was almost 100% accurate —it even recognized beds, credenzas, and toilets all on its own, and automatically remembered where all of the rugs were. The 3i G10+ is also the incredibly rare budget option with small obstacle avoidance that can steer clear of cords or socks, plus pet waste (I tested this with fake brown sugar). But small obstacle avoidance isn't the only high-end feature 3i squeezed in here here — there's also a livestream pet camera. That was firmly a $1,000+ robot vacuum feature until now.

All of that brainpower isn't just fluff, either. The G10+ is a beast at cleaning. Its 18,000 Pa of suction power is super high for this price range, and you can tell that the G10+ is working hard as it moves extra meticulously when carpet is sensed, or during zone cleaning.

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

Most of us know, deep down, that the ideal home cleaning setup involves both the daily hands-off convenience of a robot vacuum and the detail-oriented freedom of an upright vacuum. If you're having trouble choosing between them, the Eufy E20 3-in-1 is a really strategic way to maximize space and a mid-range budget. It'll get serious daily use if your idea of a clean home goes past the floors to crevices like windowsills, car seats, staircases, and couch cushions.

The Eufy E20 is a robot vacuum that doesn't mop, so the target buyer should consider the number of high-traffic hard floors in their home. If it's mostly carpeting and rugs, you might settle for skipping mopping to secure the self-emptying robot-turned-stick vacuum setup.

The package Eufy brought to the CES 2025 table has turned out to be the most underrated robot vacuum of 2025 so far. At $649.99, the Eufy E20 3-in-1 is several hundred dollars less than most of its mid-tier competitors coming out this year — and less than half the price of the high-end Dreame and Roborock models released alongside it at CES. That price would be decent for any self-emptying robot vacuum with smart mapping by itself, let alone the fact that it's technically also a self-emptying cordless stick vacuum. No Dyson vacuum can say that.

Switching between them just involves pulling the motor out of the robot vacuum body and clicking it onto one of the included attachments. After the robot vac returns from a cleaning or the motor is secured back into the vacuum after handheld use, the dock automatically empties the dust bin for up to 75 days before you need to step in. I appreciate the fact that the dustbin is transparent and that every cleaning run is started with a clean slate — it provides unequivocal proof of how much either vacuum was able to scrounge up off my floors.

No one's claiming that the Eufy E20 in robot vacuum mode or cordless stick mode will be the most powerful that you can buy. We already know that its real power lies in the range of cleaning it offers. But for the price, its suction specs aren't too shabby: At 8,000 Pa, it vacuums with the same amount of suction power as the 2024 Eufy X10 Pro Omni that thoroughly impressed me during testing. Pickup rate of fine debris along edges and long hairs on rugs could be better, but the E20 reliably took care of all visible crumbs, rocks, and loose dust bunnies on my flat rugs, hardwood, and tile. I tended to switch to the upright cleaning head and its 30,000 Pa of suction power to tackle rugs with heavy layers of cat hair.

On the smart mapping front, the Eufy E20 excels at getting to the right spot. It created a near-perfect map of my three-bedroom, three-bath apartment on the first try. After I added an extra border or two in the app, the E20 accurately made its way to selected spots on a daily basis without getting stuck on a bath mat or under a bed.

Read my full review of the Eufy X10 Pro Omni.

The Eufy X10 Pro Omni is a seriously clutch find for shoppers who prioritize a "set it and forget it" robot vacuum experience and are willing to pay more than $500 — but not toe the $1,000 mark — for that peace of mind. The hands-off experience here includes automatic avoidance of small obstacles like cords and a self-washing and drying mopping pad system. The fanciest-ever Eufy vac offers both these features for as low as $679.99 on sale.

Between the large water tank and a battery life that outruns (sometimes even doubles) many pricier competitors, the X10 Pro Omni is a smart choice for large homes with multiple stories. You can squeeze hours of cleaning out of the X10 Pro without it returning to the dock to refill or recharge. A substantial chunk of that square footage would ideally be hard floors, as this Eufy's dual pressurized mopping pad system doesn't deserve to collect dust (cleaning pun definitely intended).

This is the first time any Eufy robot vacuum's self-emptying dock can also self-refill the bot's water tank and self-wash and dry the mop pads. The self-washing and drying aspect, especially, is a bullet point that's rarely seen in the sub-$1,000 price range — the other robot vacuums that debuted at CES 2024 are evidence of that. Even iRobot's $1,399 Roomba Combo j9+ doesn't do that.

As impressive as the all-in-one station is, the X10 Pro Omni's cleaning proficiency is also noteworthy. In terms of suction power, 8,000 Pa is quite high, not just in this price range but in general. The power proved itself in my testing, successfully removing matted-down cat hair from a low-pile rug and spilled rice from a medium-pile rug and surrounding hardwood flooring, including against the wall. During mopping, the spinning mopping pads were able to wipe up spilled wine that had been drying for several hours, as well as visibly remove dusty cat paw prints near the litter box.

The presence of small obstacle avoidance seals the X10 Pro Omni's bang for your buck status. It's another feature rarely seen at this price point. I cherish this feature a little extra, as there's bound to be a phone charger, catnip mouse, or blanket tufts on my floor at any given moment. Aside from a blip involving a bath mat mistaken for a towel (and an annoying quirk in the Eufy app that doesn't let you dismiss an incorrectly-pinged obstacle), the X10 Pro Omni accurately identified and avoided most cords and socks in my home.

This Shark Matrix model is ideal for budget shoppers with low-intensity cleaning needs — Best Buy almost always has this Shark Matrix on sale for between $249.99 and $329.99. It'd be best in a low foot traffic home or an apartment that doesn't have a ton of pet hair, and is a great vacuum for hardwood floors. Its self-empty dock is easily the most compact in this list, taking up less than two feet of floor space.

The entry-level Matrix line is the go-to solid, cheap Shark option now that the older Shark ION vacuums are basically obsolete. Aside from the automatic emptying itself, the main upgrade there is LiDAR-based smart mapping and zone cleaning — a staple feature even if your space only has a few main rooms to clean. During my testing, the Matrix RV2320S made it to the correct room or zone without fail 100 percent of the time during my testing, despite the app itself being a bit clunky. At least it's better than using the Roomba Home app with the similarly-priced Roomba 105.

As for actual cleaning performance, this Shark goes past the satisfactory-at-best clean that you typically get when opting for a brand's low-end robot vacuum. Much of this stems from Matrix Cleaning: a mode where the Shark automatically vacuums from multiple angles in attempts to grab any debris missed on the first pass. It was way less likely to leave kitty litter or crumbs behind in daily cleaning areas, including the hard-to-reach spots along walls.