Best robot vacuums under $300 in 2023

Robot vacuums can be pretty expensive gadgets, about $1,000 on a high-end robot vacuum cleaner. In this guide, several robot vacuums in $300 range can do everything you expected and more, without sacrificing cleaning performance.

Robot vacuum is autonomy.Just need to turn it on, walk away. Before diving into pros, talk those cons first. Robot vacuum cleaners are much smaller than upright vacuums, which leads to less powerful suction. They also hold less dirt because their built-in bins are a fraction of the size of a standard vacuum canister or bag.

You can control some robot vacuum with your smartphone, set cleaning schedules and more, but robo-vacs are primarily tasked with cleaning floors. It is hard to clean hard-to-reach places such as couches, stairs, light fixtures.

How to choose a best fit robot vacuum, the most important factor you should consider is the types of floors in your home, carpet, tile, laminate, hardwood?  Vacuums used on carpets need more suction power that can pick up debris. Unfortunately, there isn’t a universal metric by which suction is measured. Some companies use Pascal (Pa) levels in specification and generally the higher the Pa, the stronger. But other companies  simply say their robots have X-times more suction power than other robot vacuums, and don't mention Pa level. If you are given a Pa measurement, look for around 2000Pa if you have mostly carpeted floors.

Size is also important. Check the specs for the robot’s height to see if it can get underneath the furniture you have in your home. 

Object detection helps the robot vacuum navigate around furniture while it cleans, rather than mindlessly pushing its way into it. Cliff sensors prevent robot vacuums from tumbling down the stairs, making them the best vacuum for multi-level homes. Object detection and cliff sensors are other features to look out for. 

Shark AI Ultra has all-black look with three buttons for docking, cleaning and max mode.  It also connects to WiFi so you can use the Shark Clean app. The Shark AI Ultra ran for about 60 minutes before needing to recharge, which can clean large space without need to recharge. I found some link you can buy with warranty about $300.

iRobot roomba 980 looks much sleeker now with its new design, similar to some of the more expensive Roomba models. It has three physical buttons on it, start, dock and spot . It also connects to WiFi so you can use the iRobot app to control it. However, the spot-clean function is only available as a button.

It can run for around 60 minutes before needing to recharge. According to iRobot, it says run times will vary based on floor surfaces,and it is estimated to have a 90-minute battery life when cleaning hardwood floors. I found some link you can buy with warranty for about $160.