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Are robot vacuums worth it — for your home?
The honest answer is "it depends," so here's the arithmetic. Pick a robot, describe your home, and see the 3-year cost per hour of floor time you'd get back.
When a robot vacuum is worth it
- You vacuum or mop at least twice a week today.
- Your floors are mostly hard, or rugs are low-pile.
- You'll spend five minutes clearing cords and socks before runs.
- You want floors maintained daily rather than deep-cleaned weekly.
When it probably isn't
- Floors are cluttered and that won't change.
- Most of the home is thick carpet — a robot maintains it, but you'll still need a real vacuum.
- Lots of stairs: robots clean one floor at a time and can't climb.
The assumptions, in the open
We assume a robot replaces a share of your current floor time: about 70% on hard floors, 55% with rugs, 40% on carpet. We subtract 15 points if the robot can't really mop on hard floors, 20 points for cluttered floors, and add 5 for pet homes, where daily runs matter most. We also subtract about 10 minutes a week for robot upkeep — emptying, brushes, tanks.
These are our planning assumptions, not measured results. Change the inputs to match your home.
Upkeep you should budget
From Dreame's official US price list: main brushes $22.99–$44.99, filters $29.99–$34.99, mop pads $19.99, dust bags $17.99. Roborock: main brush $22.99, side brushes $15.99 for two. A typical year of parts runs roughly $110–$230 depending on model — our estimate.
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