The best robot vacuums for small homes and spaces

The Neato Robotics D7 offers smart mapping at a very impressive price. It has your home covered, even in cramped areas and smaller homes with lots of obstacles to work around.

It uses laser navigation, while you also set boundaries and no-go zones via the app. Set the Neato Robotics D7 to work wherever — and whenever — you want.

Neato pioneered the D-shaped robot vacuum long before Roomba, and it's thanks to this D-shape that the D7 gets into corners and along the edges of walls so effectively. A spiral combo brush alternates between plastic and standard bristles to yank stubborn hair out of rugs and carpets.

The battery is put to the test on high and medium pile carpets and rugs, but lower-pile carpeting is a breeze. It's generally better on carpets than hardwood or tile floors, so keep that in mind if you have a combination of the two in your flat.

If you don't plan to live in a small home long term, iRobot's Roomba i7 is a good investment. The i7 is compatible with iRobot's self-emptying base, so when you decide to upsize you can also upgrade your robot vacuum without buying a totally new one.

This robot vacuum has some of iRobot's most advanced technology and power under its hood, with 10 times the suction power of standard Roombas. 

The i7 has smart mapping, which learns your home's layout — granted if you live in a one-room rectangle apartment, that's kind of a useless feature. But if you're in a small flat with several rooms you'll find it does the job.

The Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S has one of the slimmest profiles amongst robot vacuums, allowing it to easily clean under most furniture.

The robot vacuum is best for low- to medium-pile carpet or hard flooring — it doesn't perform super well on high-pile carpet. Put the RoboVac 11S is standard or max modes depending on the surface you're cleaning and how messy it is. 

Although it's small, the Eufy vacuum doesn't cut corners with features: It has multiple cleaning modes, operates quietly, easily transitions between floor types, and has sensors that prevent it from falling or bumping into things. But because of its low price, the robot vacuum doesn't have WiFi capabilities, so all controls are located on the included remote. 

Roombas really are the crème de la crème of the robot vacuum world. And if you’re spending top dollar, the iRobot Roomba s9+ is one the very best.

An upgrade on previous models, Roomba’s first D-shaped vacuum it has a slow-action side brush that won't scatter debris across the floor and helps clean the edges and corners (also helped by the D-shape design).

It also has vastly improved suction power — an impressive 2,500pa — with better air flow and wider dual rubber brushes which are effective on all kinds of surfaces, from medium-pile carpets to hardwoods. It’s also equipped with tech to learn and map your home and cleans in neat rows.

It does fill up faster than other Roombas, though it’s a testament to the cleaning power of the s9+. It fills up faster because it’s sucking up more dirt. It's also self-emptying, however, and returns to its charging base after two hours of uninterrupted cleaning.   

The Eufy RoboVac X8 hybrid model is packing power, with 2,000pa suction and twin-turbine technology. That makes this especially good for carpets embedded with stubborn pet hair. For small homes, where it sometimes feel like pet hair gets everywhere, it’s a revelation.

BoostIQ technology automatically adjusts suction power depending on the floor surface, and all that extra dirt is efficiently dealt with. UltraPack Dust-Compression squeezes the debris in tightly, increasing the bin capacity.

The X8 Hybrid uses laser navigation and multi-floor mapping to memorise your home. You can also customise schedules, no-go zones, and target areas that are most in need of cleaning. It also avoids obstacles to prevent getting stuck — whether it’s a dropped dog toy or wayward sock.

This RoboVac also mops, with an impressive 250ml water tank. Big enough to get all your rooms done in one go.

Coredy do a very respectable line of low-price, well-reviewed models. The Coredy R580, for instance, packs in everything you need from a robot vacuum — and for well under £200. A low price might be attractive for buyers in smaller homes. After all, you might not want to shell out big bucks for what is essentially a small job.

But the Coredy R580 is well equipped for a budget model. It can be controlled via an app or voice control — choose from Alexa or Google Assistant —and allows you to schedule and set multiple cleaning modes.

You can set a no-go zone with boundary strips, while anti-drop technology prevents it from falling down the stairs. Other features that make this worth the small price tag include powerful suction of up to 2,000pa (which increases when the vac detects carpet), a super slim profile for getting under furniture, and an optional mopping function.