The easy-to-use Shark app makes automating the robot vacuum painless and relays any issues the bot runs into. For the most part, the robot goes out on its own and deposits up to 45 days worth of debris into its bagless docking station.

I loved that the floor brush can be quickly attached with the press of a button. Some online reviewers said the hose was a bit short, but it didn't bother us during testing.

An automatic vacuum cleaner is a device that cleans floors without human help. It uses sensors to navigate rooms.

The S8 Max Ultra is a very solid all-rounder, and only lost its place in our ranking because Roborock came out with some even better models very shortly afterwards.

Who it's best for: This model is a great choice if your floors are mostly wood or laminate, thanks to its large parquet floor brush that safely and thoroughly cleans the cracks and crevices of hardwood floors.

Who it's best for: If you have a busy schedule and pelo time to clean your floors, this is our favorite robot vacuum. It can suck up dry debris, spot clean small areas and pick up pet hair, all while remembering floor layouts.

Price-wise, it's not cheap – although we couldn't fault the build quality or engineering, and these kinds of do-it-all docks do always come at a price. But if you have lots of hard floors and mopping is your priority, it's worth the investment.

That might feel like overkill, but if you're planning to use the L40 Ultra regularly then it's going to save you a significant amount of time and effort.

Dust, pollen, pet dander, smoke and more are all caught by these high-efficiency filters that are also found on air purifiers, and since HEPA filters are available on many upright, canister and stick vacuums, it’s relatively easy to find a model to fit your needs.

This mid-tier robovac offers good vacuuming and mopping, the mapping is strong, and it copes well with pet hair. It's less good at getting up to the edges of rooms and the object avoidance can be unreliable, though.

The benefit of the dinky size is that this bot can reach places bigger bots can't, and on test we found it navigated confidently around furniture legs and into tight spaces.

When we first get the robot set up, we'll see how long it takes to create a map of the home, and how accurate that map is. For subsequent runs, we'll keep an eye on how the robot navigates the space; if takes a logical route through the house, if it repeats already-clean areas, and so on.

Onboard dustbins tend to be small, so if you're dealing with lots of dust or hair then I'd recommend prioritizing a self-empty dock. However, be aware that the more functions you add, the bigger Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners the dock will be – the ones with water tanks can be pretty massive.

✔️ Cleaning modes: Consider a vacuum with various cleaning modes if you like the option to fully customize your cleaning experience or you're looking for one product that can clean multiple floor types.