The 3 Best Robot Vacuums For Carpet - Fall 2024

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is the best robot vacuum for carpets we've tested. This vacuum sits at the top of the Roborock lineup and is jam-packed with convenience features. Its dual-sensor navigation system combines a LIDAR sensor that maps out your home with a structured light sensor that identifies and avoids common obstacles in real-time, like power cords and furniture legs. Its surface detection system also allows the vacuum to adjust its power setting automatically depending on the floor type it's cleaning. Another innovation is its twin rubber brushrolls, which significantly improve carpet performance compared to the single roller setup found in older models like the Roborock S7 MaxV.

Another standout feature is its advanced multifunction dock. In addition to the standard dock's ability to empty dustbins (like on the Roborock S8+), the advanced dock can refill water tanks and wash and dry mop pads. It also includes a fast-charging system, so there'll never be too much downtime between cleaning sessions. If your home has hardwood and carpets, you'll be happy with this vacuum's Dynamic Lift system; it automatically raises the mopping pad on carpeted floors, so you don't have to worry about stopping the vacuum to remove its mop pads if you want it to clean multiple surface types in the same cleaning session.

Unfortunately, you may need to manually clean finer debris as this vacuum struggles with this on carpets. Also, while the multifunction dock makes for an excellent hands-off ownership experience, it takes up a lot of space; it may not fit in smaller living spaces.

Check out the Roborock Q5 Max+ if you want a robot vacuum for cleaning carpeting at an upper mid-range price point. You lose some of the convenience features that make the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra our top choice; there's no mopping function nor real-time hazard avoidance, and its dock doesn't offer fast charging, so you can expect more downtime between cleaning sessions. That said, its redesigned dual-roller cleaning head outperforms the S8 Pro Ultra on carpets, so it may be the better choice if you only have carpets in your living space. Like the S8 Pro Ultra, you'll still have to manually go over carpets, as it doesn't consistently clean fine debris.

It also manages to pack in many of its pricier stablemate's automation features, like multi-floor mapping capability and a 'Smart Recognition' feature that automatically determines which of its stored maps it's working in. Using the companion app, you can customize the 3D representation of your home after it's mapped out, label specific rooms, and send the vacuum wherever you'd like using the 'Pin n Go' function. It also has a decently sized internal dustbin, so it won't need to return to its self-empty station too often, and it boasts impressive battery life (still shorter than the Pro Ultra's).

The Wyze Robot Vacuum is worth considering if you're looking for a slightly more affordable robot vacuum that performs well on carpets. While it isn't compatible with a self-emptying station like the Roborock Q5 Max+ and lacks the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra's dual-sensor navigation and hazard-avoidance system, it's still a very good option if you have no need for those features and want to save some money. The Wyze's LIDAR mapping sensor allows it to generate a pretty accurate map of your home, which you can then access in its companion app to set up virtual boundary lines or direct the vacuum to clean specific rooms.

The overall performance on carpeting is nothing special; the vacuum struggles with fine debris embedded deep within carpet fibers, though it doesn't have much trouble with pet hair. While it doesn't have any trouble maneuvering on low-pile carpeting, you'll want to use a full-size vacuum to clean any shag-pile rugs you might have at home, as the Wyze can get bogged down in plush carpeting.