By Mashable | Created at 2025-03-22 09:53:54 | Updated at 2025-04-05 01:15:33
1 week ago
Is a robot vacuum overkill for your small apartment? Not if you pick the right one.
By
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
on March 22, 2025
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Table of Contents
UPDATE: Mar. 22, 2025, 5:00 a.m. EDT iRobot announced several new series of Roombas on March 11, a few of which could be prime contenders for small spacaes. I'm in the process of getting each series into my home for hands-on testing, and will update this guide accordingly.
The 10 minutes it takes to manually vacuum a 700-square-foot apartment probably isn't enough to send someone over the edge as far as chores are concerned. While the time-saving factor may be a moot point here, it doesn't completely diminish the appeal of using a robot vacuum in a tight space.
It's actually totally plausible that spaces with less square footage get dirty faster because virtually every spot is a high-traffic spot. With that logic, a robot vacuum is absolutely worth it in a small space.
However, it is crucial to not automatically assume that less floor to cover means that the cheapest vacuum you can find will suffice. Cramped furniture arrangements and quick changes between floor types actually call for a vac that's relatively good at navigating, or you'll risk coming home not to a clean home, but to a vacuum that got stuck in kitchen chair legs during the first five minutes of cleaning. Before getting into my specific robovac recommendations, let's chat about the specs to keep in mind to make this robot vacuum a smart purchase.
Do robot vacuums work in small apartments?
While some heavy-duty robot vacuums with large do-everything docks would probably be overkill in a small space, there are several compact, quiet robot vacuums on the market that make a lot of sense in a small space.
One way to downsize the space a robot vac takes up is to forgo the self-empty dock. While forgoing automatic emptying to save room on the floor may not be ideal, having to empty manually may be a little less damning in a small space, as the vacuum wouldn't be sucking up as much dirt on each run as it would in a big house. However, finding a super compact auto-empty dock nowadays isn't hard.
iRobot also has an innovative new solution to the floor space problem. Just announced on March 11, the Roomba 205 DustCompactor can deal with its own dust for eight weeks. Instead of a self-empty dock, this robovac compacts the dust inside the vacuum and charges on a tiny dock that could fit under a credenza or TV stand.
If your small apartment has hard floors, a robot vacuum and mop combo is a genius way to downsize chores supplies. This'll save you not only the time it takes to mop manually but also the breath it takes to curse your Swiffer for hogging your scarce closet space. Smart mapping and zone-within-rooms labeling that comes with it are a crucial feature if your home has multiple floor types, despite the fact that your home may not have many specific rooms to select on a map in the first place.
Not sure which robot vacuum would be worth it in your small space? I've hands-on tested a ton of options in my own apartments over the years and have handpicked the three best robot vacuums for apartments, studios, and other one-story homes at the start of 2025. (While each vacuum's retail price is listed by default, I've also noted the most common sale price in "The Good" sections. And yes, robot vacuum deals can be found throughout the year — not just during a shopping holiday like Black Friday.)
With these in mind, the overall bang for your buck for each robot vacuum comes into play. Are its features on paper and actual cleaning competence worth the price tag, and how practical is that cost for the average household? Learn more about how we test
To encapsulate the full spectrum of messes a robot vacuum might encounter, each one is sent out to tackle various spills, debris, levels of pet hair, and more on multiple floor types. The vacs that mop perform extra tests on stains and spills.
A robot vacuum’s ability to get to the right spot in the first place is arguably as important as the cleaning itself. I keep tabs on navigational accuracy when it comes to smart mapping my home, finding specific rooms and zones, and identifying small obstacles.
User-friendliness and intuitiveness
The ideal robot vacuum will be a relatively seamless addition to your household. Because if it’s loud, an eye sore, or generally a pain to use, you're not going to want it in your house at all.
Anyone aiming to avoid manual sweeping may also want to avoid manual upkeep of a vacuum. Many robot vacuums automate their own dust bin emptying, mopping pad washing, and more — the more self-sufficient they are, the better.
- Often on sale for under $300
- Accurately avoids phone chargers and pet waste
- Better obstacle avoidance than Roomba j6+
- Maneuvers effectively in tight furniture setups
- Option to buy j7+ or Combo j7+, which adds compact self-empty dock or mop
- Reliably memorizes different rooms and zones
- Have to create a zone for spot cleaning
- Won't deep clean thick carpet
- Clean Base emptying is wickedly loud (if you buy it)
Robot vacuums that require you to tidy up the floor before they can safely complete a cleaning run miss the point of automatic cleaning completely. In a small space, where the chance of rogue clutter being on the floor is high, a robot vacuum with reliable small obstacle avoidance will be game-changing.
I think iRobot's small obstacle avoidance is the best on the market, and the Roomba j7 is the most affordable way to bring that home in standalone form if you don't have a free corner to house a self-empty dock. (If you stumble across it on sale at Amazon, you'll likely be able to snag it for 50% off.) The j7 successfully avoided every charging cord, slipper, and laundry pile in my home — a helping hand I appreciate every time I decide on a last-minute clean and don't have time to run around and grab stuff off the floor.
The j7's broader navigation in terms of maneuvering around furniture and accurately mapping rooms (or non-walled areas like the entryway) are similarly reliable. Its cleaning prowess is enough for light daily upkeep, but if one of your main cleaning concerns has to do with the thick mound of pet hair that's taking over your small space, you may want to check out the more powerful models in my list of robot vacuums that are specifically great for carpet.
- Often on sale for under $200
- Tiny dock can wedge into very small free space
- Compact self-emptying version available for $299 on sale
- Super affordable and accurate LiDAR
- Matrix Cleaning goes over extra soiled spots from multiple angles
- Onboard dust bin occasionally leaks crumbs
- Might wrestle with small rugs
- Simply isn't going to deep clean carpet
Budget shoppers trying to stick near $200 still don't have to settle for a botvac that's perpetually disoriented. The Shark Matrix RV2300 maps incredibly accurately and in my experience, is an extremely reliable spot cleaner in terms of navigating to the selected area on the map as well as the vacuuming itself.
Because this compact standalone version doesn't have an auto-empty dock (the self-emptying one is still budget-friendly at $329), the ideal buyer won't mind manually emptying as long as navigation is seamless.
The standalone version of the base-tier Shark Matrix goes further than most robot vacuums in the under-$200-on-sale price range. Like the similarly-priced Eufy L60, the Shark Matrix RV2300 packs essential features like LiDAR-guided smart mapping used to send the robovac to specific spots or rooms, which I really do find to be a crucial feature even if you're only dealing with a few rooms. (Smart mapping is such a normalized feature nowadays that it's harder to find a vac without it than with it, anyway.)
Compared to, say, the cheapest-of-cheap Roombas in the sub-$200 price range, the Shark RV2300 goes further with Matrix cleaning: a back-and-forth crosshatch technique that gives the vacuum more opportunities to grab debris it may have missed on the first pass. This seriously upped the reliability of this vacuum in my eyes — and even though it wasn't the suction needed to dig cat hair out of my living room or bedroom rugs, it was more than enough to keep visible food crumbs out of the kitchen and kitty litter off the bathroom floor on a daily basis.
- Often on sale for under $700
- 8,000 Pa suction power is extraordinary in this price range
- Affordable AI obstacle avoidance
- Automatic water refill and mop pad washing/drying
- Loud automatic emptying
- Mistakes small rugs for obstacles
- Still only has a single roller brush
If your budget isn't as limited as your square footage, the $799.99 (or under $700 on sale) Eufy X10 Pro Omni should be a strong contender if you have an even split of carpet and hard floors. While I would also recommend the X10 Pro Omni for large spaces due to its long battery life, it's the most compact yet packed self-cleaning dock I've used in my home.
Eufy's most premium robot vacuum cleaner clocks potent suction power for this price range, an effective double mopping pad system, small object avoidance, and a self-emptying dock that also washes and dries the mopping pads. You typically won't see a robot vacuum and mop combo that checks off all of those boxes for less than $1,000, so Eufy deserves some serious credit for squeezing it all in at such a digestible price point. If your cleaning closet is overflowing, ditching your mop for a hybrid model that can store all of its own mopping gear (unlike a hybrid robot vacuum that requires a separate water tank to be clicked on and off) could free up some storage space.
What's equally as impressive is that Eufy didn't cut corners on the performance of any of those features just to get them all on the list. It's one of the few hybrids armed with dual spinning mopping pads for more robust scrubbing than that of a single stationary pad, complete with an up-and-down mechanism that applies pressure during mopping and accurately lifts the pads completely above the surface when rugs or carpet are sensed. The 8,000 Pa suction power successfully aced multiple cleaning tests in my home, from spilled dry rice and light layers of cat fur on rugs to various types of crumbs on hard floors, including those pushed up against the kitchen cabinets.
In a small or crowded space, the X10 Pro Omni won't constantly get stuck. I had next to no issues when sending the X10 Pro Omni to specific rooms or zones for spot cleaning on the app, and Eufy's small obstacle avoidance was about 90 percent accurate when avoiding things like phone chargers and shoes. Bath mats were one thing the X10 Pro Omni was a little too cautious about, refusing to clean them because it thought they were towels (and the app doesn't let you dismiss incorrectly identified obstacles.) To combat this, I simply shook my bath mats out onto the bathroom floor and let the X10 Pro Omni tackle the bare floor.
Frequently Asked Questions
The slimmest robot vacuums are under three inches tall, but the average height of a robot vacuum with a decent dust bin and brush roll system is between three and 3.5 inches. (Robot vacuums with a water tank and mopping pads will be taller.) Even if you don't pick one that short, almost every option on the market sits well below four inches. Be sure to measure the clearance under your lowest-hanging furniture, like the couch or the bed, to assure that your robovac can scoot under the entire way under.
No, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav isn't worth the cost, and would be particularly frustrating in a crowded living situation. Dyson claims that its first robot vacuum in almost a decade has twice the suction power of any robot vacuum on the market. While vacuuming was decent in testing done at senior shopping reporter Leah Stodart's home, she wasn't as blown away by the results as she expected — and was full-on disappointed by the 360 Vis Nav's edge cleaning, despite Dyson asserting that the 360 Vis Nav uses a special side duct to reach into corners and along walls better than competitors.The 360 Vis Nav's build isn't slim or chic, either — and with such a loud color scheme and chunky design, it wouldn't exactly blend in in a small space.
And without a self-emptying dock, mopping capabilities, or small obstacle sensors that detect cords or pet waste (an absolute must in this price range), the Dyson 360 Vis Nav isn't worth $1,199.99. There are more reliable options that have a much more robust list of features, whether you're down to spend over a grand or not.
Less square feet to cover in one cleaning session means battery life isn't the determining factor that it is when buying a botvac for a big house. But think of it this way: While minutes of runtime on one charge may not matter here, good battery life in a small house would allow your robot vacuum to deploy max suction power on its whole route instead of sacrificing power to conserve battery. This way, you're not deciding between sacrificing cleaning speed or cleaning performance.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
The robot vacuum beat in particular has cemented itself as Leah's main ~thing~ across the past few years. Since 2019, her expertise has been perpetually bolstered by the meticulous eye she keeps on robot vacuum deals and new releases, but more importantly, her hands-on experience with more than 25 robot vacuums tested in her own home. (This number has probably gone up by the time you're reading this.) That at-home testing is standardized through Mashable's robot testing guide — a granular scoring rubric for assessing all aspects of owning and using a robot vacuum on the daily — that Leah created herself.
Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].
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