Nearly any robot vacuum can sufficiently clear tile or hardwood floors of the hair and crumbs blowing across it like tumbleweeds. But for a robot vacuum to work on carpet, much more suction power and concentrated airflow is required to uproot the debris embedded in those fibers.
Do robot vacuums work on carpet?
Yes, several robot vacuum cleaners do a pretty phenomenal job on carpet and rugs. In fact, the best robot vacuum brands like iRobot, Roborock, Eufy, and Shark have been mastering the art for several years, particularly honing in on pet hair pickup and combatting hair tangling in the brush.
For homes with varying floor types and a notable amount of foot traffic, buying the cheapest robot vacuum you can find will likely create more hassle than it’s worth. Every time that bot gets stuck on a rug corner or welcomes you home to pet hair still visibly clinging to the living room carpet, you’d probably rather just do the job yourself — but rest assured that that’s not an inevitable experience with every robovac.
The best robot vacuums for carpet have powerful suction, of course, aided by brush roll systems designed to dig into low- and high-pile carpet to pinch hair and large chunks while simultaneously inhaling fine debris that a weaker robot vac would pass right over. The most common way to measure suction power is in Pascals (though top contenders like iRobot and Shark just have to be different by not adhering to that method). When suction power in Pa is advertised, look for at least 4,000 Pa, and definitely don’t entertain anything lower than 2,700 Pa. For reference, robot vacuums at the premium end of the spectrum clock around 10,000 Pa.
Our top picks also use automatic suction adjustment to customize cleaning based on floor type, leading to stronger cyclonic force when crossing over soft floors. All current picks come with a self-emptying dock (or at least offer the option) to mitigate the frequency of trips to the trash bin, which would be a lot if the robovac is deep cleaning the amount of gunk from your carpets that it should be.
And if a robot vacuum has mastered carpet — the hardest floor type to tackle — these models will undoubtedly ace the hard floors in your home. In 2024, most of the robot vacuums with market-leading carpet cleaning are just as advanced at mopping.
The Mashable team is on a continuous mission to compare robot vacuums and narrow down those options for you based on your living situation. We’ve hands-on tested dozens of robot vacuums on several pile lengths of carpets, rugs, and bath mats in a variety of home layouts. Here are our favorites for every carpeted situation in 2024.
 We’re comparing top models from Roborock, iRobot, Shark, and Eufy to find the best robot vacuums for lifting pet hair and crumbs from carpets.Â