Independent rankings
Robot vacuums whose docks empty the bin, wash the mop and dry it, so the machine is something you refill rather than something you service.
A robot vacuum without a self-emptying dock is a chore on a schedule: a 300 ml bin holds about two rooms. The dock is what turns the machine from a device you operate into one you top up every few weeks. Weighted heaviest on what the dock actually does, and mop drying counts: a dock that washes but does not dry is one that smells by Wednesday.
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The X50 Ultra robot on a plumbed 249 mm dock: 20,000 Pa, legs for a 4.2 cm sill, a LiDAR that retracts to 89 mm, an 80 °C wash, 220 minutes a charge and a 3-year warranty.
The X60 Pro with a plumbed dock only 249 mm tall: the same 42,000 Pa, 89 mm clearance, climbing legs and 18 cm mop reach, with water piped in and out instead of carried in tanks.
Dreame's roller-mop flagship: 30,000 Pa, a 270 mm roller at 9 to 11 N that slides to the wall and lifts 14 mm, legs for a 4.2 cm sill or 8 cm double step, two AI cameras and a 100 °C wash.
Dreame's American flagship: 35,000 Pa, 4.5 cm sills and 8.8 cm double steps, a LiDAR that drops to 79.5 mm, pads that extend, detach and run 40 °C water, an 80-minute charge and a 100 °C wash.
Dreame's steam flagship: 40,000 Pa, a 270 mm roller at 18 N that steams at 180 °C, extends 8 cm and lifts 15 mm, legs for 5 cm sills, a retracting LiDAR and a 100 °C wash.
The L60 with legs: 35,000 Pa, ProLeap legs for 8.8 cm double-layer thresholds, a LiDAR that retracts to 89 mm, 280 object types, mops with 40 °C water, and a 6,400 mAh battery for 220 minutes.
The X60 Pro on a dock that fits one of three pad types per room and doses three detergents: 42,000 Pa, 5.2 cm sills or 10 cm double steps, a LiDAR that retracts to 89 mm, two cameras, a 100 °C wash.
Roborock's flagship: 36,000 Pa, twin spinning mops the dock washes at 100 °C, and a solid-state 3D sensor instead of a LiDAR turret.
Roller mop and legs without the retracting turret: 30,000 Pa with a carpet boost, a roller at 9 to 11 N that lifts 14 mm under a guard, a 4.2 cm sill or 6 cm double step, 120 mm tall, a 100 °C wash.
Dreame's ProLeap legs on a fixed-LiDAR L robot: 19,500 Pa, a 4.2 cm sill or 6 cm double step, an RGB camera with structured light, pads that lift and detach, a 75 °C wash, 200 minutes a charge.
The makers rate the bag in the dock in days: how long it holds what the robot empties into it in an average household before it has to be changed. It is an estimate, not a measurement, and a large floor, a lot of carpet or a pet that sheds can shorten it. Most of the docks that state a figure state 100 days; the groups below list the docks rated above that and below it, with the interval on each row. A dock whose maker states no interval is in neither group, which does not mean its bag fills quickly.
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 125 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Dreame press image
Dust bag interval: 150 days
Dreame press image
Dust bag interval: 120 days
Dreame press image
Dust bag interval: 150 days
Narwal press image
Dust bag interval: 180 days
Photo: ECOVACS ROBOTICS press kit
Dust bag interval: 48 days
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 75 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
Dreame press image
Dust bag interval: 75 days
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 75 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 65 days
Photo: ECOVACS ROBOTICS press kit
Dust bag interval: 90 days
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 75 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
Eufy press image
Dust bag interval: 60 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 75 days
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 75 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
MOVA press image
Dust bag interval: 90 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
Roborock press image
Dust bag interval: 49 days
Dreame press image
Dust bag interval: 90 days
What decides whether a robot vacuum copes with pet hair: the brush, what the robot sees and where the hair goes, from the makers' own specifications.
The five jobs a robot vacuum dock can do, which machines we list do which, what the dust-bag interval means and which dock you actually need.