Best Robot Vacuum for Vinyl Plank Floors: Best Robot Vacuums Worth Buying

If you’re looking for a low-maintenance, smart, and capable robot vacuum that can cut down on the amount of housework, consider the Shark RV1001AE.

For a robot vacuum, the RV1001AE is considered to be a mid-range (bordering on high-end) robot. As a matter of fact, it is the most expensive robot vacuum that Shark is currently offering. This robot is definitely not something that you can impulsively purchase and will take a lot of deliberation. Fortunately, from our assessments, the Shark RV1001AE delivered all of the promised features well.

Let’s first get into the cleaning performance — the thing that most people would like to know about.

RV1001AE Via: Amazon

The robot did well against dirt and a variety of debris ranging in size from rice grains to stringy pet hair. All of the brushes (one primary roller brush and two side brushes) aren’t abrasive, so they don’t scratch sensitive floor types like vinyl planks.

In our test, the RV1001AE was able to clean quite efficiently thanks to a new navigational program. Instead of zig-zagging across the floor like cheaper robots, this Shark robot vacuum goes in straight lines. This ensures that it doesn’t clean the same spot twice, wasting energy and time.

RV1001AE also did well in terms of navigational ability. Thanks to numerous navigational sensors scattered all across its body, the robot can weave between furniture and obstacles without becoming stuck. Even when we pushed the robot into tight spots and tried to stop it with power cables strung across its path, the robot didn’t stop even once.

Since this is Shark’s premium robot vacuum, it also comes loaded with a few extra features that aren’t found in cheaper models. Most of these features can be accessed via a smartphone app.

Shark RV1001AE IQ Robot Vacuum Via: Amazon

Through your phone, you can remotely tell the robot to start cleaning at any time you want. You can set up automated schedules so that the robot will activate and clean, unprompted, at any time you want.

Other than being a remote controller, the app also serves as a monitoring tool. While the robot is working, you can check up on its position, see how long it’s been working for, and the remaining battery. If the battery was to run low while it’s working, the robot will automatically retreat back to its docking station to juice up. When it’s ready to go again, it will resume its progress — once again, completely unprompted.

But the feature that has impressed us the most is the interactive map. The robot’s sensors can recreate different rooms in the house and draw them up in a 2D map. It then uses the map to navigate the house. Shark mentioned that this map is updated after every cleaning session, so basically the more RV1001AE works, the more efficient it’s going to be.

You can label the different rooms in the house and can even direct the robot to clean a specific room only, when needed.

Although the Shark RV1001AE IQ robot vacuum is excellent in so many different aspects, we also recorded a few flaws.

First is battery life. We’ve recorded approximately 90 minutes of battery power in Normal mode before the robot gives out. It is a decent number, but there are many models on the market that offer more than 100 minutes of clean time.

Second is the motor’s noise. If you have small children in the house or thin walls, the noise from the robot could be a bit disturbing.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Roborock is currently one of the best manufacturers of robot vacuums on the market. Models like the Roborock S5 and S6 are all excellent and packed with features. Unfortunately, their premium price tags are a great barrier to entry.

Now that the Roborock S5 and S6 are out, if you’re seeking a value purchase, we recommend the older — but no less capable — Roborock S4 Max. You can lift one of these at a decent discount.

Its vacuuming performance is solid. On bare floors (vinyl plank), the Roborock S4 Max proved itself to be a veritable champion. We rated cleaning performance against dust, dirt, and various types of debris to be better than many high-end robot vacuums, like the iRobot Roomba S9. It only faltered slightly when it comes to pet hair, picking up only around 80% of the total hair we strewn on the floor.

The Roborock S4 Max managed to maintain its momentum even on carpets (both low-pile and high-pile). We recorded similar dust, dirt, and debris pick-up rate on carpeting as bare floors. However, its pet hair performance is still limited at around 70% to 80%.

Similar to the Shark RV1001AE, the Roborock S4 Max is mobile app-compatible. You can connect the robot to your phone via WiFi. From there, you can control every facet of the robot’s operation. You can set schedules, monitor the robot’s operation, and you can view the 2D map that it makes with its sensor.

The S4 Max surveys its surroundings using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor. This type of sensor is extremely accurate and only found in high-end robot vacuums. As a result, the robot’s movements are extremely efficient. It can weave between furniture efficiently and avoid walls without bumping into them like more budget robots. The S4 Max never got stuck while we were testing it, either.

On the map, you can label and “zone” different rooms, such as the dining room or bedroom. This gives you the ability to send the robot to clean a specific room when needed.

Additionally, you can set different behaviors for the robot in each zone. For example, if you don’t want the robot to ever enter your bedroom, you can set a “No-Go Zone” through the app. The robot will automatically turn around when it crosses the threshold of your bedroom.

Battery life is exceptional. In standard vacuuming mode, the robot was able to provide nearly 170 minutes of continuous clean time. When we tuned it to high-performance “MAX” mode, the S4 Max still managed an impressive 110 minutes.

Smart, highly capable, and now available at a steep discount, the Roborock S4 Max can be a good model to buy for value hunters.

➜ RELATED: Shark ION Robot R85 Vacuum Cleaner: Awesome Facts You Need To Know

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Robot vacuums are doubtlessly an expensive purchase. If you’re shopping for one of these robots on a budget, we highly recommend the Eufy RoboVac 11S. Though it is simple in design, the value it brings to the table for the price is decent.

This best robot vacuum for vinyl plank floors works best on bare, unobstructed floors. On our vinyl floor, the RoboVac 11S managed to scoop up the majority of small debris (rice grain), dust, and dirt. Cleaning performance against large debris is decent, but a few pieces of cereal were pushed aside by the robot instead of being sucked up during our test.

Where the Eufy RoboVac 11S fell apart was pet hair. We noticed that the robot visibly struggled when it had to scoop up hair. The stringy strands wrapped around the robot’s brush roll and almost immediately caused tangling. As a result, we don’t recommend this model for pet owners.

During the test, we didn’t notice any damage to the surface of our vinyl floor.

Performance on carpets is mediocre. On both low-pile and high-pile carpets, the 11S left a good portion of debris and dirt behind.

Since it is a budget robot vacuum, the RoboVac 11S isn’t very smart. It navigates around the house using the “bump method” — running in a quasi-random, zig-zag pattern and changing direction when it bumps into a wall or an obstacle.

This isn’t the most efficient way to navigate for robot vacuums. In our test, we noticed the robot turning back around and trying to clean areas that it’s already gone through.

In terms of maneuverability, the vacuum is decent. Thanks to its small stature and sleek design, the vacuum can weave between furniture without much problem. Wires are a challenge, though. If there are power cords strung in front of it, it could become stuck. So, make sure to clean up your floor space as much as possible.

The vacuum doesn’t come with any smart features like mobile app support. What it has is a separate remote controller. Through it, you can control the robot as well as set scheduling. Of course, there won’t be fancy features like a virtual navigation map or location tracking.

But other than its price tag, the best thing about the Eufy RoboVac 11S is the battery life. Using the default cleaning mode, we managed to achieve a run time of over 105 minutes. The robot also comes with a second cleaning mode (MAX) which adds extra power to the motor. In this mode, it lasts around 65-70 minutes.

Overall, while having its fair share of problems and may not be the best-performing robot vacuum on the market, the Eufy RoboVac 11S will still be a good purchase. Not just for those who are shopping on a budget, but also for people who are new to robot vacuums and want to get a basic model to check out the trend.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

If the Roborock S4 Max already has such powerful navigation capability, the S6 MaxV is naturally going to be even better. All the while not compromising on performance or any feature that was available in the older S4.

Performance on bare floors (including vinyl plank floors) is excellent. It can clean up dirt, small and large debris, as well as pet hair. Unfortunately, we did also notice that the S6 MaxV also suffered from the same problem as the S4 in that performance decreased when the dust cup became full.

The Roborock S6’s performance on carpeting is a bit more disappointing. It did a good job against dirt, but it struggled against small debris and pet hair. This applies to both low-pile and high-pile carpets.

Now, the bread and butter of the Roborock S6 MaxV is its automation suite. Like the S4, the S6 MaxV comes with a LiDAR sensor to help it map its surroundings and navigate.

A LiDAR sensor is — without exaggeration — the best navigation system that you can possibly get on the market. Additionally, the robot also has two cameras at the front to detect objects and obstacles. An infrared floodlight is also there to help the robot navigate in complete darkness.

As a result, the S6 MaxV scored excellently in our navigation test. In cramped spaces that many robot vacuums of the same class got stuck in, the Roborock S6 MaxV was able to navigate itself out without any issue.

This best robot vacuum for LVP floors comes with a smartphone app and a variety of different features and functions. The LiDAR sensor can create a map of your home, which you can see in the app.

Other than setting up rooms and areas, you can also create “virtual barriers”. Draw a line across the threshold of a room you don’t want the robot to access. The S6 MaxV will automatically avoid that room, turning around when it hits the virtual barrier. On cheaper models, you have to do this with physical magnetic tapes.

A new feature that’s available on the S6 MaxV but not the S4 is the ability to map out four different floors. The S4 only allows you to map out one. As such, this robot is going to be excellent for people with multi-level homes.

Battery life is decent, but could be improved. When set to the normal vacuuming setting, you can get around 90-100 minutes out of the robot. However, when you switch it to the low-power “Quiet” mode, you may be able to get as much as 170 minutes of clean time.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Most robot vacuums on the market these days are round-shaped. While this shape makes it easier for the robot to navigate around, it’s difficult for them to access awkward spaces like house corners.

So, manufacturers have put out robot vacuums that are shaped like the letter D. The flat front of the robot can fit perfectly into house corners to draw out dirt and debris from there.

This is a high-end, best robot vacuum for vinyl plank floors, so naturally, we expect very good performance to come out of this model. Fortunately, the performance of the S9+ meets up with our criteria.

S9+ works well on bare vinyl plank floors, where it can clean up dirt, small debris, and pet hair without much fuss. The robot also does a good job at dealing with large debris, but as the dust cup began to fill up, suction performance against large debris dropped significantly.

Performance on carpet is a bit less good. S9+ can take out dirt and pet hair, but struggles with debris of all types. Same goes for high-pile carpets. It took the S9+ several passes to fully pick up everything in our test carpets and rugs.

We also tested the vacuum’s ability to clean in tight corners. The result is positive: the S9+ — thanks to its special design — can reach deeper into these awkward corners than the average round-shaped robot vacuum.

Like the other high-end robot vacuums such as the Shark RV1001AE and the Roborock S4 Max, the iRobot Roomba S9+ can be controlled through a mobile app.

The first time you activate the robot, it’s going to wander around the house to map out the layout of your place. After that, you can zone out each room for easier management and control. Scheduling functions are available, as well as other monitoring tools to help you control the robot better.

Note that the S9+ is an upgraded variant of the standard S9. With the Plus version, you also get a charging station-dust cup combo.

When this best Roomba for vinyl plank flooring completes a round and returns to the charging station, it automatically dumps everything that it collected into an external dust cup. So, you don’t have to manually empty the robot everyday. Instead, you only need to take out the external dust cup and clear it. This is one of the best features of the S9+ so far.

 iRobot Roomba S9+ VIa: Amazon

Battery life is decent. You have three cleaning modes in total and depending on the one you select, power usage is going to be different: Lower, Balanced, and Exceptional.

With the Lower power mode, you can achieve up to 150 minutes of clean time. In return, cleaning performance is low. This mode is only recommended for small spot-cleaning.

In Balanced mode, you can reach around 100-110 hours, which is great.

But when you tune the S9+ to the strongest mode — Exceptional — you’ll only get about 50 minutes of run time out of the robot. This performance mode is recommended for use on carpeting.

The iRobot Roomba S9+ is an expensive product. Still, it could potentially be worth it. After all, it’s quite possibly the best Roomba for vinyl floors that you can get right now.

➜ RELATED: Irobot Roomba 960 Robot Vacuum: Wi-Fi Connected Mapping

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

If you need a robot vacuum that’s not just budget-friendly, but also has high battery life then we recommend the iRobot Roomba 694. For the price, the robot offers acceptable performance and, of course, battery life is exceptional.

Like most robot vacuums in this price range, the Roomba 694 has the best recorded performance on bare floors. It can sweep up dirt, dust, and small debris effortlessly. If the dust cup isn’t full yet, the vacuum can suck up a lot of large debris. Performance weakens as the dust cup begins to fill. Pet hair is a bit of a challenge for this robot.

If you’re wondering “Is Roomba safe for vinyl plank floors?”, the answer is yes. We’ve tested the Roomba 694 on our vinyl floors and we detected no damage to the flooring.

Performance on carpeting is mediocre. It doesn't do very well on low-pile carpets. It can clean up dust, dirt, and some pieces of pet hair and large debris, though it may take several passes for the robot to pick up everything. The Roomba 694 struggles greatly when it has to deal with small debris like rice grains.

High-pile carpet performance is a bit better, fortunately. The robot was able to deal with most dirt, pet hair, and large debris. But cleaning smaller debris still proves to be a challenge for this robot.

As expected from a robot vacuum at this price range, the automation suite isn’t very impressive. It uses “bump navigation” to get around and doesn’t have a LiDAR sensor or a camera to help it see. The Roomba 694 does come with an app and through it, you can perform basic functions like setting cleaning schedules and monitor its health and progress.

It doesn’t have the fancy “virtual barrier” function that the S6 has, but you can prevent it from entering certain areas with physical magnetic tapes. Just strung them across the threshold of rooms that you want to cordon off. The tape doesn’t come with the robot and has to be purchased separately.

Battery life, though, is extremely impressive for such an affordable robot vacuum. You can count on it to work for 120-130 minutes straight without having to recharge. This is great news, considering how iRobot only advertised the Roomba 694 to have a 90-minute battery life.

➜ RELATED: Irobot Roomba E5: Is This The Best Entry-Level Robot?

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Self-emptying is a hugely convenient feature that can save you a lot of hassle maintaining the robot. Basically, the feature includes an external dust cup attached to the robot’s charging station. When the robot returns from a cleaning session and docks to its station, it then transfers all of the dirt in its internal dust cup to the larger external dust cup.

This arrangement simplifies emptying significantly. You don’t have to spend a lot of time fiddling with the robot. Instead, all you have to do is open up the external dust cup, remove the dust bag inside, and throw it into the trash.

If that sounds interesting to you, the iRobot Roomba i3+ has got you covered. You’ve previously seen this feature being included in the iRobot Roomba S9+, as well. The greatest difference between either model is that this one is a lot more affordable. You don’t have to spend north of $700 to get a self-emptying robot!

The external dust compartment that attaches to the i3+ charging station can be filled with a 0.7 gallon dust bag. This is enough to store several days worth of dirt. There is an indicator light on top that tells you exactly when the bag has filled up and it should be taken out and replaced.

When you purchase the i3+, you will find two complementary dust bags in the box. Once these two bags run out, you’re going to have to buy replacement bags. They’re quite expensive: $15 for a pack of 3. If you’re worried about recurring costs, do take this into consideration before you place an order for this robot.

Performance-wise, the iRobot Roomba i3+ does best on bare floors. We’ve tested this roomba for vinyl floors on our own stretches of vinyl flooring and the results were quite positive. It managed to clear every trace of dirt and debris (both small and large alike). We did notice it struggling with sucking up pet hair, though.

The Roomba i3+ managed to avoid the shortfall of the previous models. Since it automatically empties when the internal dust cup becomes full, there’s no drop in performance.

Carpet performance is disappointing. It doesn’t do well on short-pile carpets at all. It was able to deal with trace amounts of dirt and pick up around 50% of large debris, it wasn’t able to pick up a lot of small debris and pet hair.

High-pile carpet performance is a little bit better, but not by much. It still managed to pick up only 50% of pet hair and debris on our test article.

Navigation is done with floor and wall-tracking sensors. As a result, they aren’t as accurate as those with LiDAR sensors like the Roborock models.

 iRobot Roomba i3+ Via: Amazon

Still, from our tests, the navigation sensors of the i3+ still turned out to be highly effective. The robot managed to navigate around obstacles and move through tight spaces without becoming stuck.

After it has finished a cleaning session, a map will pop up on your phone detailing where the robot went. Note that this map is only temporarily stored. You won’t be able to label rooms or mark off virtual boundaries like with the Roborock S4 or S6.

Since this is considered as a mid-range product, it comes with many useful features that more budget models don’t have. Besides the self-emptying function, you’ll also get the automated “return to base” function. The robot automatically turns around and returns to its charging dock to replenish its battery when power gets too low. It would then resume its work when the battery level gets high enough.

You may also control the iRobot Roomba i3+ via voice command through either Amazon Alexa or Google Home smart speakers.

Battery life overall is acceptable, neither good nor bad. Every full charge, the robot will be able to work for around 90 minutes before sputtering out.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Similar to the iRobot Roomba S9+, the Neato D8 is a D-shaped robot vacuum. The unorthodox design allows it to fit into house corners and suck out dirt, debris, and pet hair more efficiently than traditional round-shaped robots.

And while we’re on the topic of pet hair, this is the one thing that we’ve found the Neato D8 to be very good at: dealing with pet shedding.

We’ve tested the D8 on a stretch of vinyl plank floors and found that it was able to suck up all of the hair that we strewn in front of it. This is thanks to the primary brush roller as well as the side brush on the underside of the robot. They do a great job at agitating and swiping up pet hair without becoming tangled.

Of course, the brushes did all of this without scratching the vinyl floor. We found no scratches or marrings on the surface of the vinyl planks after the D8 went back and forth on it a few times.

Pet hair performance on carpeting is similarly great. It hiccupped very slightly on low-pile carpet, leaving only a few stray hairs here and there. On high-pile carpets, the D8 once again sucked up every piece of hair excellently.

So, for pet owners out there, the Neato D8 comes highly recommended.

Against other kinds of contaminants, the D8 also performed quite well. On bare, unobstructed floors, its performance was commendable against dirt and small debris. We found suction against large debris like cereal pieces to be a bit lackluster, though.

On carpeting, the situation was reversed: it did well against large debris, but staggered when it had to deal with smaller debris types like rice grains. This applies for both low-pile and high-pile carpets.

The automation suite on the Neato D8 is quite decent. Like the Roborock robot vacuums, the D8 uses LiDAR for more accurate and efficient navigation. Via the companion app, you can also view the virtual map that the robot recreates while it’s vacuuming your home. You can set out rooms and zones on this map, as well as set up virtual barriers.

Basic functionalities like controls, scheduling, cleaning history, battery level, and so on are available for use and viewing through the app.

One thing worth noting: although the Neato D8 is WiFi-capable, it only connects to the 2.4GHz bandwidth. Many households these days have 5GHz Wi-Fi. In that case, the robot won’t connect to your 5GHz network. Fortunately, most Internet routers these days support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bandwidth, so this shouldn’t be a problem for most people.

Nevertheless, this is still useful information worth knowing if you somehow can’t connect your robot vacuum to your WiFi.

Battery life is good. Not excellent, but not terrible, either. How long you can get out of the robot will depend on the cleaning mode that you select. If you’re looking to conserve battery power and only have to deal with minor dirty or dusty spots, use the ‘Eco’ mode. Battery life goes up to 70 minutes in this mode.

In ‘Turbo’ mode, which is the strongest cleaning mode available that’s reserved for carpet cleaning, you can get around 40 minutes. Mediocre, but not unacceptable.

The robot is programmed to automatically return to its charging dock and recharge when its battery power drops below 25%.

➜ RELATED: How To Reset Shark ION Robot Vacuum

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Manufacturers have gotten creative with their robot vacuums. Instead of just letting them be automated vacuum cleaners, Ecovacs has integrated features to make the Ozmo T8 AIVI a home monitoring camera.

Before we get into that, though, let’s talk first about its primary function of this best robot vacuum for vinyl plank floors.

Like most other robot vacuums on this list, the Deebot Ozmo T8 works best on bare floors. It doesn’t pick up 100% of everything. Nonetheless, it picked up the vast majority of dirt, dust, and debris that we put out on our test stretch of vinyl plank floors. After a few passes from the robot, everything’s eventually picked up.

We observed no damage to the vinyl planks after a few passes by the Ozmo T8.

Carpet performance is lower, but acceptable. On low-pile carpet, the Ozmo T8 works well against dirt, pet hair, and large debris. It struggled at picking up small debris like rice grains, however.

Performance on high-pile carpets is reversed. The robot’s began to pick up more small debris than large debris. It still managed to pick up dirt and pet hair at a nominal rate.

The robot vacuum can also mop the floor using a simple mop attachment.

Its smart features are the true selling point here. The robot can be connected to your phone through WiFi and via a companion app. Then, you will be able to perform basic functions like setting up cleaning schedules and create virtual boundaries (a map will be made by the robot’s sensors).

The greatest feature is the “Sentry Mode”. When the robot isn’t vacuuming, you can set it to go around the house looking for intruders. It uses the AIVI visual detection sensor as a security camera. If it detects anything out of sort, it will record an HD video and send it to your phone. Basically, the robot can become a mobile security camera when needed.

Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI Via: Amazon

Note that when it’s in this mode, it won’t be able to vacuum.

The battery life of the Ozmo T8 AIVI must definitely be the best on this list so far. In the low-power ‘Quiet’ mode, the T8 can run for up to 5 hours (290 minutes) without pause. Switched to the ‘Max+’ mode, which is the most powerful suction mode available, the on-board battery can last for about 120 minutes.

➜ RELATED: How to Empty Roomba - A Step-By-Step Guide to Clean Your Irobot Vacuum the Right Way

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The Neato BotVac D7 Connected has the same special D-shaped design as the iRobot Roomba S9+ and the Neato D8. With it, the robot can fit into tight corners and maneuver around cramped spaces more efficiently.

Performance of the D7 on bare floors is excellent. With an empty dust cup, the robot was able to suck up nearly 100% of everything we threw at it from dirt and debris to pet hair.

However, as the dust cup began to fill, performance dropped. The effect is especially notable when it comes to large debris. At first, the D7 was able to take care of everything. When we did the same test but with the dust cup halfway filled, it left nearly half of the cereal bits we strewn on our vinyl plank floors untouched.

Despite this small setback, we have to admit that the D7’s bare floor performance is the best we’ve seen so far on this list.

Carpet performance is less stellar. It performed decently against common dirt and pet hair, but it wasn’t very effective against debris. The D7 struggled while picking up both small and large debris on low-pile and high-pile carpets.

When it comes to navigation, the Neato D7 Connected also did well thanks to the laser navigation sensor mounted on top. The robot moves very fluently through the house without becoming stuck even once.

Neato BotVac D7 Connected Via: Amazon

There’s an extra setting in the companion app for the robot called ‘Extra Care’. With this switched on, the robot is going to move around more gently and won’t bump obstacles like walls and furniture as hard.

You can also manually control the robot’s path while it’s working, as well. This is certainly a unique feature that sets it apart from other robots on the list.

The companion app of the Neato D7 contains all of the basic functionalities that you would expect from a robot vacuum of this price range. You can check the virtual map that the robot has drawn, set labels for different rooms, and create boundary lines.

Last but not least, battery life is good. On ‘Eco’ mode, which is highly power efficient, the robot can last for as long as 120 minutes. When you need the extra cleaning power, you can switch on the ‘Turbo’ mode. Since it saps more power out of the battery, this mode can only be run for around 100 minutes.

The robot is programmed to automatically return to its charging station when battery power becomes lower than 27%.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

What to Look for When Buying a New, Best Robot Vacuum for Vinyl Plank Floors
 

Performance on Different Surfaces

Each robot vacuum will be more suited at cleaning different surfaces. Some models are better at cleaning hard floors than carpets, and vice versa. So, when you’re seeking for a new robot vacuum to buy, make sure that the robot is going to work best with the type of flooring you have.

Automation Features

This is the bread and butter of robot vacuums. The more features that their automation suite has, the more convenient they’re going to be to use.

Basic, low-end models only offer certain features such as time scheduling, stair detection, and remote control. Higher-end models will offer a wider range of features like mobile app integration, automated docking, virtual wall, security webcam, and so on.

Depending on your budget and your needs, take your pick carefully.

Navigation Suite

The navigation suite of a robot vacuum is hugely important. It decides how efficient your robot is going to be.

Cheaper models will usually use bump navigation to get around. Basically, they will wander around aimlessly in quasi-random patterns, changing their direction when they bump into walls and obstacles. This is the least effective of all navigation systems.

More expensive models will give you laser (LiDAR) sensors and optical camera-based navigation. Not only are they a lot more accurate, they will support advanced features like virtual mapping.

Battery Life

Battery life is important for any gadget. The larger the battery, the longer your robot can clean before it has to retreat back to its base and recharge. There are many models on the market that offer well over 100 minutes of continuous cleaning.

Manufacturers have gotten crafty over the years and programmed automatic “return to base” functions. When the robot’s power level lowers beyond a certain limit (usually between 25-27%), they will return to their charging dock on their own.

➜ RELATED: Roomba's Battery Life: A Detailed Guide to Enhance Performance 

Budget

Last but not least is the budget. A robot vacuum — even an entry-level model — is expensive compared to traditional vacuum cleaners. So, weight and balance your budget carefully before you make a purchase decision.

Conclusion

Our selection for the best robot vacuum for vinyl plank floors is the Shark IQ RV1001AE robot vacuum for hard floors. It has an excellent balance between performance, design, and smartness. We believe that most people are going to be happy with this robot vacuum.

Of course, since this list is a collection of only the best that the market has to offer, other models have their own merits, as well. Whichever you end up choosing, they’re going to take good care of your vinyl plank floors!