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146 models are on sale today for $500 or less, shipping included. Ranked by our score from lab tests and owners’ ratings. The list moves with the prices.
Under five hundred dollars you get a robot with laser navigation, a good map of your home and enough suction for hard floors and low-pile carpet. More and more models in this class have a self-emptying station, and the odd one even a station that washes the mops. What you usually miss: hot water for the mop, a camera that recognizes socks and cables, and extending brushes for the corners.
The list below changes daily with the prices. The order is our score from lab tests and owners’ ratings. The price is today’s lowest including shipping.
With carpet and rugs the robot must lift or drop its mop, or the rug gets wet. Or you put the rug in a no-go zone, so the robot skips it and does not drive on it.
Mopping freshens the floor; real stains rarely come off. Spinning or roller mops paired with self-cleaning stations deliver the most effective floor cleaning.
Score out of 10: 60% lab tests, 25% owners’ ratings at the stores that ship to the United States, 15% the maker’s facts. Price does not count. Only models a lab has tested are ranked, and only models sold in the United States count. Method.
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