The 11 Best Mop-Vacuum Combos to Make Cleaning Your Home Easier Than Ever

A high price tag should come with high rewards — and that’s certainly the case with the Roborock Saros 10R. The ultra-short body of this robot vacuum — it’s just over 3 inches tall — paired with 3D technology makes getting underneath furniture, cabinets, and other hard-to-reach places no problem for this machine. But that’s far from all. This robot mop-vacuum combo will map your home’s layout and store the information for future cleanings, allowing you to instruct the device to clean your whole home or only certain areas, along with other customizable options, and its navigation system can get the machine where it needs to go. It can also self-empty, auto-switch between vacuum and mop modes based on your floor type, and more. This robot also offers the option to schedule different cleanings (including deep cleaning) on specific days that you need them.

While many of the robot vacuums with mopping capabilities we tested were difficult to set up, this one was a breeze. “[The instruction guide] was very easy to follow, given that it was only a handful of pieces to put together,” says Michael Striker, vice president of audience development and channel marketing at Everyday Health, who tested this product for us. “Once in the app, it was pretty easy to follow getting hooked up to Wi-Fi and to begin scheduling tasks.”

The machine “self-empties into the dock into individual garbage bags that are self-closing to contain dirt — such a great feature!” says Striker. For mopping, it features a 4-liter clean water tank and a 3-liter dirty water tank, both located within the dock, which has a higher capacity than many other robot mop-vacuum combos on our list. “I would definitely recommend this product, although the price tag is a little high,” Striker adds. “This has been great at keeping the general day-to-day dirt and dog hair buildup at bay.”

A couple of things to keep in mind: This machine does run pretty loudly, so it’s best to schedule cleanings for times when you don’t have much else going on. You may not want your robot vacuum to interrupt your Zoom meeting for work or your dinner party, for instance. It also doesn’t come with a cleaning solution for mop mode, so that may be another expense you’ll have to foot.

Looking for something to help you stretch time between your deep cleans? The Kenmore AquaLite 3-in-1 Cordless Hard Floor Cleaner is just the thing. It won’t put a huge dent in your wallet, and it will clean your floor when it’s looking grimy. I tested this mop-vacuum combo, and I’m surprised by how often I continue to reach for it. With two toddlers running around, the messes are pretty constant in my home. However, the ability to run just one machine that cleans not only crumbs from meals but also juice spills, dried Play-Doh stains, and mystery marks makes my life so much easier. Without this, I’d either be mopping a whole lot more often or I’d just be living with dirty floors.

Another thing I like about this mop-vacuum combo is that it doesn’t leave your floors too wet, since it sucks up the water and mess. This is a great feature for my family, because my little ones seem to get into the recently cleaned area every time I mop, often falling on the slippery floor.

This product includes two brush rolls, so if one becomes dirty or needs drying after being cleaned, you have a spare. It also self-cleans and dries on the dock, so you won’t have to worry about mold or mildew growing on the brush roll (mold is one of the things Bassett strongly urges people to look for and remove from their homes during their weekly cleanings), and when the vacuum needs a deeper cleaning, it’s easy to take apart and rinse in the sink.

One gripe I have about this product is that it recommends dry vacuuming first, but that’s the last setting option available when you turn the machine on. It’s also a bit on the heavy side (nearly 13 pounds), but it swivels well and navigates easily despite its weight.

“This was my favorite of the three robot combo vacs I tested, for a lot of reasons,” says Simone Scully, editorial director at Everyday Health. “First, it was super easy to set up, and I like that the water tank is clear (and illuminated at the bottom with a white ring), so you can clearly see when you need to refill the tank. It is also very good at avoiding obstacles and did a pretty good job at not falling off my kitchen step (it did once, but that may be because it was also avoiding my dog).” Scully also loves that it comes with a cleaning solution, which you load right into the docking station, bottle and all. This robot is capable of scheduling cleanings, provides detailed cleaning reports after each cleaning, and alerts you if it becomes stuck.

Like most robot mop-vacuum combos we tried, this one maps the rooms in your home and saves them for later. However, unlike some models, it allows you to designate no-go zones where you don’t want the robot to clean. This also has a pretty robust water tank, and Scully said it ran for a week before it needed to be refilled.

Scully’s only complaint was that the machine did get stuck a couple of times, and sometimes the battery died while it was stuck. Other than that, she says there’s not much about this machine that she would change, and that it’s great for anyone who needs help with maintenance cleans, those with pets or kids, and busy professionals.

While any robot mop-vacuum combo will likely helpful for someone with mobility challenges, we think this one is top tier because of how smart it is. It’s great at avoiding obstacles, and our tester, Everyday Health editor Ashley Ziegler, says that hers hasn’t gotten stuck at all. “We had a robot vacuum years ago, and it would constantly crash into baseboards, and this one doesn’t do that at all,” Ziegler says. “It’s very cautious around walls and furniture, and it hasn’t ended up stuck under anything once.”

While the initial setup may be difficult, once this machine has your house mapped, you can set it and forget it. Schedule it to clean overnight or while you’re at work, and it will have your home clean by the time you return (it can be a bit on the slow side). You can block off rooms you don’t want cleaned, and you can control the robot remotely via an app if you want more say over what the machine is doing.

“This thing does it all. It has mapping features, knows how to avoid obstacles, can avoid carpet when on mopping mode, self empties, and goes back to its dock when it needs to charge,” Ziegler says. “Seriously, once it’s all set up, this thing is amazing. It’s an investment, but it has made life so much easier for me.”

This robot mop-vacuum combo ranked best for quick cleans because it cleaned our tester’s kitchen in an impressive amount of time — under 20 minutes. Robot vacuums and mop-vacuum combos often clean slowly, which usually isn’t an issue since you’re not the one doing the work. But that doesn’t mean it’s not convenient when one robot is faster than the rest. “It was the fastest at cleaning my kitchen of all three robot vacuums I tested, taking only 17 minutes,” says Scully, who tested this product. “It cleans things up with one pass most of the time, but in the app, you can select a more thorough cleaning mode and it will double back on itself and clean a spot where it senses dirt twice.”

Like most robot cleaners, the iRobot Roomba Plus 405 Combo Robot will map out your home and store that information for later cleanings, which you can schedule ahead of time. The app even lets you review cleaning reports, which contain a visual map of where your machine cleaned, with color coding to show which areas were the dirtiest. It also does a decent job at avoiding obstacles and only got stuck in a precarious location a couple of times during our testing. One drawback is the small size of its water tank — only 0.5 liters. That means you’ll be refilling it every couple of days, but that might not be a huge issue since this robot does all the rest of the work.

If mopping is your priority, the Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni Robot Vacuum is effective at cleaning hard floors by mapping and storing your home’s layout, allowing you to schedule cleanings directly from the product’s phone app. “The mopping function worked so well on this — the Ecovacs’ mop pads would go right up to my baseboards, and retract whenever they encountered carpet,” editor Katie Tuttle says. She adds that the machine did a good job of distributing cleaning solution without oversaturating her floors. The water flow is something you can control on the app, along with suction power and other features.

“I did find this a little frustrating to set up,” Tuttle says. “The setup itself was pretty standard — download the app, connect to Wi-Fi. However, it took me forever to get the N30 to find its station. After its first mapping expedition, it could not find the station, even when I set it right in front of it.” After an online search, Tuttle figured out that the power cord is very sensitive and needs to be plugged in securely. She also wanted a bit more from the robot’s vacuum function. While the mop setting was great at getting right up close to the baseboards, when vacuuming that wasn’t the case. So, while this may be your go-to machine for mopping, you may need to double-check things after it vacuums.

Robot mop-vacuum combos can get quite expensive, and you might not want to drop a pretty penny to keep your college student’s dorm clean. But a college student busy with classes, papers, and social engagements might be one of the best candidates for a robot vacuum that mops, if only just for those maintenance cleans every couple of days. That’s why we chose the Tapo RV30 Max Plus as the best robot mop-vacuum combo for college students: The price won’t break the bank, and it does a good job of cleaning up the minor messes that happen every day.

“The app can be comprehensive in terms of some of the features: I love that I can view the live mapping, set up rooms, cleaning preferences, and watch in real time,” says Marisa Olsen, an Everyday Health writer who tested out this mop-vacuum combo. Olsen emphasizes how much she appreciated the compact size of this robot, which has a small footprint compared to the amount of storage space you’d need for a large, heavy vacuum, mop basin, and long mop. “It was certainly convenient when it worked — and no lifting, lugging, or crouching!”

During testing, the Tapo RV30 Max Plus was able to clean up most debris, especially on the hard floor — but vacuuming the carpet often took longer, and the machine sometimes missed some key debris and crumbs. This machine also works slowly, and its water tank needs frequent refilling. But we think that, for the price, college students may not find much to complain about with this robot.

“The floor type did not matter — it cleaned consistently,” says Everyday Health writer Raki Swanson, who tested this mop-vacuum duo. “This product is very lightweight, and it moves really well. It does swivel easily and gets pretty low to the ground, almost flat, to get under all areas if needed.” Swanson likes the time that this machine saves her, as well. “It truly cuts down cleaning time. You don’t need to vacuum or sweep first and then clean the floors — it does it all in one,” she says. “It is lightweight, and I love that it is self-cleaning.” She did find, however, that the self-dry feature is a bit on the loud side, and the water tank is a bit small on this machine.

We like how easily programmable this robot combo is. Not only can you have the Narwal Flow map out and memorize your floor plan, schedule cleaning jobs, and program no-go zones — you can also set the vacuum’s suction power and even determine how thorough of a job you want done. So, whether you want a quick cleaning before guests stop by, or a deeper, more complete clean, this machine has got you covered. “I like being able to schedule cleanings, how thorough of a job I want it to do, and that it doesn’t bump into my pets,” says Scully, who tested the Basic Dock version of this product. “The no-go zones did help me program it to avoid stairs (which it didn’t do that great of a job at detecting on its own).” Scully also felt that this had the easiest water tank to empty of all the mop-vacuum combos she tested. Also, its 5-liter tank capacity is so robust that this robot didn’t run out of water even when Scully went away on vacation.

Scully did find setting this product up to be confusing — she recommends downloading the app and doing it that way, rather than following the paper instructions that come with the vacuum. She also wasn’t sure how she felt about the photo feature, as this product takes photos of obstacles, and even took photos of her pets, which gave her some pause about security. But she was thrilled with the programmability of this device, as well as its large water tank capacity, so we think it’s a great option if those are your priorities.

Sometimes, battery life is the thing dragging your cleaning routine down. There’s nothing worse than being halfway through vacuuming or mopping the floor when the battery on your cordless device dies. That’s why some people prefer a corded mop-vacuum duo. We love that this one is capable of picking up debris, performing deep scrubs, and steam sanitizing your floors. What’s more, this model is extremely user-friendly, so you won’t have to spend much time figuring it out. 

Writer Riley Blanton says that this product is “best for families, especially with young kids who are always making messes.” She tried it out on several surfaces and added, “It does well! I tried it on tile and wood. It was a little hard to navigate on stone, but so are most mops.” Blanton missed the convenience of using a cordless device a bit, but she was impressed by this machine’s capabilities.

You may not think your mop-vacuum combo needs AI capabilities, but this one uses AI to detect how dirty your floor is and adjusts its cleaning power accordingly. As it passes over a tough stain, it’ll scrub harder than it does in spots that don’t need that kind of intensity. Now that’s something that could make mopping way easier.

This mop-vacuum combo combines the best of both worlds: While it’s not a robot, this mop-vacuum duo has smart capabilities that we didn’t see on the other standard combos. We also love that it automatically cuts any hair that’s at risk of becoming a tangled mess on the brush roll. The self-cleaning mode scrubs the brush roll when you’re finished, and dries it with hot air at 194 degrees F. Its cleaning modes include AI Smart Mode, Max Enhancement, Suction Mode, Quiet Mode, and Wood Floor Mode.

“It’s a bit heavy, but it’s super easy to use,” says Ziegler, who tested this combo. “I love that it’s self-propelled, so pushing it isn’t as much of a challenge.” Unlike the other mop-vacuum combos on this list, this separates dry debris from the dirty water, using debris bags for anything it picks up in suction mode. “The debris bags aren’t my favorite,” says Ziegler, “but they’re not difficult to change or anything. Just an extra expense.” She recommends this product to those who have a lot of hard surfaces in their homes. “It’s great for keeping things clean with minimal effort,” she adds.