The best robot vacuums for hardwood floors

The first true hybrid Roomba's value for folks who are protective of their hardwood floors lies not only in its cleaning (which is certainly satisfactory) but in its object avoidance. The Combo j7+ looks nearly identical to the original, but with the addition of what looks like the spoiler on a sports car. That's the retractable mop.

iRobot's PrecisionNavigation allows the j7+ to perceive obstacles that other robot vacuums plow right into. Those smarts extend to sensing carpet in mop mode, too: Instead of letting the mop hover and risking drips, the Combo j7+ lifts its mop on top of the vacuum itself. It's the botvac to get if you're nervous about pet waste being smeared or about a pointy Lego being dragged across the floor. The meticulous eye for its surroundings also assists in navigating on dark floors.

Unfortunately, unlike some similarly-priced premium vacs that wash their own mopping pads, you'll be responsible for your Roomba not dragging dirty pads around.

The mopping feature on many self-proclaimed hybrids doesn't do much more than push water around. Roborock's newest 2-in-1 is a meticulous beast on both wet and dry accounts. With Roborock's August 2021 drop of its auto-empty dock, the S7 now poses a threat to iRobot's Braava Jets and its line of self-emptying vacuums, which don't mop.

The S7 is gentle yet highly effective on linoleum, tile, and of course, hardwood. Sonic scrubbing takes on light shoe prints near the door or sticky spills in the kitchen, making extra passes over larger puddles. Upon encountering a rug, the S7 is the rare robot mop that actually knows when to cut the water and concentrate on maneuvering a fluffy area rug. 

The Roomba 694 is essentially a prettier version of its predecessor, the popular 675. It does a respectable job compared to other vacs under $300, and the simplicity of the iRobot Genius app solidifies its set-and-forget nature. 

The entry-level Roomba does not navigate through smart mapping. Rather, it bumps around to tackle most of the noticeable debris, using dirt detection sensors to sniff out and administer a more thorough clean on dirtier areas. The durable build helps the 694 to transition easily between surfaces if you have a rug or different types of flooring.

A hybrid that goes as far as to ensure that dirty mopping pads aren't being dragged across the floor takes autonomous mopping to a whole new level. The Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra empties its own dust bin, refills its own water tank (swapping dirty water for clean when necessary), and washes its own mop pads — hence the obnoxiously-sized dock. It's an almost identical menu of specs to the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni for $200 less.

Some current S7 MaxV owners are underwhelmed by its performance on carpet covered in pet hair, but if your home is almost fully hardwood, that's not major. As for rugs, however, the MaxV is great at hoisting itself over corners to avoid getting stuck. It also won't get your carpets or rugs wet.

Autonomous wet and dry cleaning plus auto-emptying is typically a pricey checklist, but this Yeedi makes the whole process hands-free for less than $400 on sale (which it almost always is).

The presence of room mapping is also impressive at such a practical price point, despite undercooked quirks like only having the capacity to hold a map of one story at a time. The shaky navigation isn't so annoying when you can still enjoy the convenience of targeting specific rooms and setting virtual boundaries in the app.

The robotic version of the Bissell SpinWave goes harder on dry floors than most hybrids in two ways. Its dual spinning fibercloth attachments actually scrub (compared to the delicate drag of a stationary pad), pulling from a tank of wood-specific cleaning solution if you'd prefer that over water.

The SpinWave won't map your home or follow virtual boundaries, but its soft surface avoidance sensors can be trusted to keep carpets and rugs dry while mopping. Though it's not the ultimate robot for heavy pet hair, low pile upkeep is more than possible with this level of dry suction.

After skirting the walls with its flat edge and making the number of passes necessary to get the job done, the s9+ releases its dust on its own. The self-emptying base won't need to be emptied by you for at least 60 days.

The advanced sensors and navigation make it easy for the s9+ to learn your home's layout. It's able to distinguish between different rooms of the house, so you can send it to a specific room if there's a mess, and it learns the more you use it, offering customized cleaning plans. 

Boasting 10 times the lifting power of the Roomba 694, the i3 tackles tough dry spills for a really decent price. Adding to its value is its compatibility with iRobot's automatic dirt disposal base, which you can buy separately in the future.

Though i3 owners don't get to experience the LiDAR room-targeting smart mapping that rest of the high-end Roombas do, this row-by-row cleaning is quite precise. Reactive Sensor Technology keeps it from getting stuck less than older models. 

If you'd prefer your first robot vacuum to empty itself, the Shark IQ Robot XL is a good place to start. Its price point of $600 (usually less, because it's always on sale) is killer just based on the fact that the self-empty base is already included.

This smart Shark utilizes whole home mapping and cleans in neat, methodical rows rather than hopeful bumping. Choose which rooms need to be cleaned or let it roam the house. After its short battery life runs out, the Shark knows to head back to charge, then finishes the job.

The Neato Botvac D6 offers the same squared-off shape as the s9+ with a price that's much easier to stomach. Its corner expertise and laser-guided smart mapping offer detailing that many budget circular vacs just can't.

 It runs up to two hours on a charge and has a brush roll that's 70 percent larger than standard round robot vacuums. The D6 replaces the Neato Botvac D7 on our list, which is hard to find in stock nowadays.

If you can live without some of the bells and whistles if it means saving some money, this Eufy RoboVac is an efficient budget model.

While it sort of randomly bounces rather than planning via laser mapping, you'll still be able to control it through the app or your voice and set custom cleaning schedules. A three-stage system, BoostIQ (which activates when the bot senses carpet), and 2,000Pa of suction power is as tough on carpets as you could ask for from this price range.