Each guide answers one buying question and shows the figures behind the answer.
3 guides
How to choose
Floor mix and furniture clearance decide this, not suction claims. Here is the time each machine really costs you over a year, and what the law guarantees.
Photo: Jirka Matousek from Brussels Taipei Hong Kong Singapore Prague Shenzhen · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Budget and prices
Consumables are 47% of a robot vacuum's annual cost on the example here. The machine is the other half, and electricity is under $15 a year.
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Performance
Pickup falls because the filter and brush load up, not because the motor weakens. The full maintenance routine costs 354 minutes a year on these figures.
Photo: Dennis van Zuijlekom from Ermelo, The Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons