On bare wood a robot's suction figure barely matters. What matters is what the brush does with a crumb it does not pick up first time, and whether it can also mop.
Everyone in this category says they tested twenty vacuums. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we do instead is read the manuals, compile the published specifications, and work out what each machine costs to run for three years — the method is written out in full.
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend or the order we recommend it in. Full disclosure.
The short answer: the Roborock Q7 M5+. On bare wood it publishes the three things that matter — JawScrapers on the main brush and a zero-tangle side brush, simultaneous mopping with three adjustable water levels, and a sealed 2.7-liter dock rated 7 to 9 weeks hands-free. If you want the longest runtime and the most trusted app instead, the Roomba 105 Vac with AutoEmpty Dock publishes 200 minutes and up to 75 days. And if your floors are entirely hard surface with no rugs, the Lefant M210 has no roller brush at all, which is the one design that physically cannot scatter or scratch.
Hardwood asks a robot the opposite question carpet does
On carpet, a robot's problem is agitation: getting a brush to beat grit up out of the pile so airflow can take it. On bare wood there is no pile, the debris is sitting on top, and the problem inverts. A fast-spinning bristle roller on a hard floor does not lift a crumb so much as flick it sideways — which is why people watching a robot on hardwood often describe it chasing the same piece of cereal around the room.
The second difference is that hardwood shows what a vacuum leaves behind. Fine dust settles visibly on a dark finish; a carpet hides it. And the third is that wood is the one surface where a robot can do a genuinely different job — mopping — which no amount of suction substitutes for. Five of the eight machines below publish a mopping function; three do not.
What we looked at
Brush design, specifically what it does on a hard surface. Anti-tangle designs help with hair anywhere; a brushless suction port is the only design that cannot scatter at all. We say plainly which is which.
Published mopping capability and water control. On wood, water volume is a safety question as much as a cleaning one. Roborock publishes three water levels; iRobot publishes a micro-pump on the Combo; others publish a tank and nothing about control.
Published height, because hardwood rooms tend to have the furniture a robot is supposed to get under. The published figures here run from 2.99 inches upward.
Noise, because hard floors reflect sound rather than absorbing it and a robot on wood is measurably louder to live with than the same machine on carpet. Ratings here span 45 dB to 72 dB.
Navigation, because a bare floor is where systematic row coverage visibly beats bouncing — you can see the lines it missed.
Dock interval and filtration, since fine dust off a hard floor is exactly what you do not want released when the bin is emptied.
Mopping is the real hardwood feature
A robot that vacuums a wood floor daily keeps the dust down. A robot that also drags a damp pad over it afterwards does something a vacuum cannot do at all, and on sealed hardwood that is the difference between a clean-looking floor and a genuinely clean one.
The published implementations differ more than the marketing suggests. Roborock publishes three adjustable water levels with mopping simultaneous to vacuuming. iRobot's 105 Combo publishes a micro-pump metering flow to keep the pad uniformly moist, plus automatic carpet detection and avoidance while mopping, stating explicitly that no programming is required. ILIFE publishes a 2-in-1 tank that splits 200 ml of dustbin against 200 ml of water — honest, and a real capacity cost. Lefant's M2 Plus publishes a 300 ml tank with three levels.
One warning that belongs on every hardwood page: a robot mop is for sealed floors. Unfinished, oiled or waxed wood is outside what these machines are rated for, and your flooring manufacturer's warranty is the authority rather than the robot's box — the same rule the steam mop safe-floors guide sets out at length.
The figures, side by side
Every cell is the manufacturer's own published figure, or "Not published".
Machine
Brush design
Mopping
Height
Rated noise
Roborock Q7 M5+
JawScrapers main + zero-tangle side
Yes, 3 water levels, simultaneous
Not published
65 dB
Roomba 105 Vac AutoEmpty
3-stage multi-surface + edge brush
No
Not published
Not published
ILIFE A30 Pro
Not published as anti-tangle
Yes, 200 ml of a 2-in-1 tank
Not published
72 dB
Shark AV2501AE
Self-cleaning brushroll
No
Not published
Not published
Roomba 105 Vac
3-stage multi-surface + edge brush
No
Not published
Not published
Roborock Q7 L5
Anti-tangle main + zero-tangle side
Yes, 270 ml, 3 water levels
Not published
60 dB
Lefant M2 Plus
Not published as anti-tangle
Yes, 300 ml, 3 levels
Not published
Not published
Lefant M210
BRUSHLESS — no roller at all
No
2.99 in
52 dB
Most manufacturers in this category do not publish a robot's height, which is frustrating given that fitting under furniture is one of the main reasons to own one. Where it is published, we list it.
#
Product
Best for
Score
Price
01
Roborock Q7 M5+ Robot Vacuum and Mop10,000 Pa published and a 2.7-liter sealed dock bag rated at seven to nine weeks: the pet-hair answer, at a real price.
iRobot Roomba 105 Vac with AutoEmpty DockThe same robot as the 105 Vac with the dock that changes how you live with it: 75 days between bag changes instead of an emptying chore every run.
ILIFE A30 Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop10,000 Pa and a five-bag box that ILIFE rates at up to 280 days of hands-free running — the longest published interval on the site.
Shark AI Robot with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base (AV2501AE)The only self-empty dock here with no bags to buy — bagless, HEPA-filtered and rated at 60 days, which changes the three-year arithmetic completely.
Roborock Q7 L5 Robot Vacuum and Mop8,000 Pa, 360-degree LiDAR and dual anti-tangle brushes — the most specified sheet at this price, with a 270 ml tank that is the catch.
Ranked by our published rubric. On hardwood specifically, read the brush and mopping rows before the score — a robot that also mops is doing a job on wood that no amount of suction does.
01 · Best self-empty for pet hair
Roborock Q7 M5+ Robot Vacuum and Mop
10,000 Pa published and a 2.7-liter sealed dock bag rated at seven to nine weeks: the pet-hair answer, at a real price.
JawScrapers main brush plus zero-tangle side brush
Mopping
Three adjustable water levels, simultaneous with vacuuming
Rated noise
65 dB
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Highest published suction figure on the site, at 10,000 Pa
+2.7-liter dock bag is larger than the iRobot's and rated for a comparable interval
+Anti-tangle on both brushes, which is the pet-hair spec that matters
+150 minutes plus recharge-and-resume covers a large floor
Where it stops
−Dock bags are a permanent consumable
−The dock is large and 65 dB when emptying is genuinely startling the first time
−Pa figures remain incomparable between brands, however impressive 10,000 sounds
Who it is for
Pet households with real square footage, where the on-board bin is the daily annoyance.
Skip it if
You live in a studio. This is a whole-floor machine with a dock the size of a wastebasket and you will resent the footprint.
Our score: 8.5 out of 10
Published suction9.5
Navigation9.0
Runtime8.5
Bin and dock9.5
Running cost6.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
02 · Best self-empty under $400
iRobot Roomba 105 Vac with AutoEmpty Dock
The same robot as the 105 Vac with the dock that changes how you live with it: 75 days between bag changes instead of an emptying chore every run.
Ongoing consumable — roughly five bag changes a year at the stated 75-day interval
Suction in Pa
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+75 days between interactions is the single biggest quality-of-life feature in this category
+Bagged dock means emptying does not put dust back in the room, which matters for allergies
+Identical mapping and runtime to the cheaper 105 Vac — you are paying only for the dock
Where it stops
−Dock bags are a permanent running cost that the dockless version does not have
−The dock is bulky and needs clear floor space either side
−0.1-gallon on-board bin is small, which is fine only because the dock exists
Who it is for
Pet households and larger homes, where the on-board bin fills every single run.
Skip it if
Your floor is mostly hard surface and lightly used. At that dirt load the on-board bin lasts a week anyway, and the dock is solving a problem you do not have.
Our score: 8.4 out of 10
Published suction6.5
Navigation9.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and dock9.5
Running cost6.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
03 · Longest dock interval
ILIFE A30 Pro Robot Vacuum and Mop
10,000 Pa and a five-bag box that ILIFE rates at up to 280 days of hands-free running — the longest published interval on the site.
2.5 liters, five in the box, rated up to 280 days hands-free in total
Tank
2-in-1 integrated: 200 ml dustbin plus 200 ml water tank
Navigation
LDS LiDAR with SLAM mapping, no-go zones and virtual walls
Weight
10.4 lb
Rated noise
72 dB
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Five bags in the box is real money that the competition charges separately for
+Full LiDAR SLAM mapping with virtual walls at a budget price
+10,000 Pa published, matching the dearest robot here
Where it stops
−72 dB is the loudest robot figure on the site
−200 ml dustbin is the smallest here — the 2-in-1 tank splits capacity with the water
−The 150-minute rating is explicitly the gentle-suction number
Who it is for
Buyers optimizing for the longest possible gap between touching the thing.
Skip it if
You want to run it while you are home. At 72 dB it is a run-it-when-you-are-out machine.
Our score: 8.2 out of 10
Published suction9.0
Navigation8.5
Runtime8.0
Bin and dock8.5
Running cost7.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
04 · Best bagless self-empty
Shark AI Robot with XL HEPA Self-Empty Base (AV2501AE)
The only self-empty dock here with no bags to buy — bagless, HEPA-filtered and rated at 60 days, which changes the three-year arithmetic completely.
True HEPA, rated to capture 99.97% of dust and allergens down to 0.3 microns
Rated runtime
120 minutes with recharge and resume
Navigation
360-degree LiDAR with Matrix Clean grid coverage
Brushroll
Self-cleaning
Weight
15.3 lb
Suction in Pa
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Bagless dock — no consumable at all, which no other self-empty robot on this site can say
+True HEPA on the dock, so emptying does not re-release what it collected
+Matrix Clean makes multiple passes over dirty areas rather than one
+Self-cleaning brushroll
Where it stops
−Emptying a bagless dock does put you back in contact with the dust, HEPA or not
−No published suction figure in any unit
−15.3 lb with the base is the heaviest robot package here
Who it is for
Anyone who has done the maths on dock bags over five years and did not like the answer.
Skip it if
Allergies are the reason you are buying a self-empty robot at all. A bagged dock is the better answer for that specific problem, even though it costs more to run.
Our score: 8.1 out of 10
Published suction6.0
Navigation8.5
Runtime8.0
Bin and dock9.0
Running cost9.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
05 · Best mapping under $300
iRobot Roomba 105 Vac
LiDAR mapping, keep-out zones and a 200-minute rating from the brand that will still be supporting the app in five years.
70x more power-lifting suction, compared by the manufacturer against the Roomba 600 series
Control
Roomba Home app, on-device buttons, voice assistants
Wi-Fi
2.4 GHz required for setup and operation
Suction in Pa
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+200 minutes rated, the longest published runtime of any robot on this site
+Real LiDAR mapping, keep-out zones and room targeting at a budget price
+Recharge-and-resume, so a large floor completes without you
+iRobot's app and parts supply are the most durable bet in the category
Where it stops
−The 70x suction claim is measured against iRobot's own decade-old 600 series, not against a competitor
−No self-empty dock in this configuration — you empty the on-board bin
−No published bin volume
Who it is for
Multi-room homes that want scheduled, mapped cleaning without a self-empty dock's price.
Skip it if
Nobody in the house will install an app. Half of what you are paying for is mapping, zones and scheduling, and none of that exists without the phone.
Our score: 8.0 out of 10
Published suction6.5
Navigation9.0
Runtime10.0
Bin and dock6.0
Running cost7.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
06 · Best published suction under $300
Roborock Q7 L5 Robot Vacuum and Mop
8,000 Pa, 360-degree LiDAR and dual anti-tangle brushes — the most specified sheet at this price, with a 270 ml tank that is the catch.
360-degree LiDAR with multi-floor maps and no-go zones
Brushes
Anti-tangle main brush plus zero-tangle side brush
Rated noise
60 dB
Wi-Fi
2.4 GHz only
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Publishes a suction figure, unlike most of the field
+Dual anti-tangle brushes — both main and side, which most brands only claim for one
+Multi-floor mapping stored on the robot, so it works in a two-story house
+Vacuums and mops in the same pass
Where it stops
−270 ml dustbin is barely half the Lefant M210's, so it fills fast in a pet home
−Pa figures are not comparable across brands and Roborock does not publish their method
−No self-empty dock in this configuration
Who it is for
Multi-floor homes that want proper mapping and are willing to empty a small bin.
Skip it if
You have shedding pets and no self-empty dock. A 270 ml bin in a dog house is a daily chore, and the Q7 M5+ exists specifically to fix that.
Our score: 7.8 out of 10
Published suction8.5
Navigation9.0
Runtime8.5
Bin and dock5.0
Running cost7.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
07 · Cheapest self-empty
Lefant M2 Plus Robot Vacuum and Mop
6,000 Pa, LiDAR mapping and a 2.5-liter self-empty station rated at 75 days, from the least-known brand here.
2.5 liters, rated up to 75 days hands-free; ships with two bags
Dustbin
250 ml on-robot
Water tank
300 ml, three suction levels
Navigation
360-degree LiDAR with multi-floor mapping and no-go zones
Obstacle detection
190-degree PSD detection, stated to avoid objects from 1.6 inches away
Wi-Fi
Dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Self-empty dock at the bottom of the price band, which is where the genuine saving is in this category
+Carpet detection lifts or avoids depending on whether the mop holder is fitted
+Dual-band Wi-Fi — the only robot here that does not force you onto 2.4 GHz
+Two dock bags in the box
Where it stops
−6,000 Pa is the lowest published suction of the self-empty machines here
−250 ml on-robot bin is tiny, which the dock only partly excuses
−Small brand: app longevity and dock-bag availability in year four are unknowns
Who it is for
Buyers who want self-emptying at the lowest possible entry price and accept the brand risk.
Skip it if
You want the app to still work in 2032. iRobot and Roborock are safer bets on software support, and a self-empty robot is worthless once its dock bags stop being sold.
Our score: 7.7 out of 10
Published suction7.0
Navigation8.5
Runtime8.5
Bin and dock8.5
Running cost6.0
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
08 · Quietest robot here
Lefant M210 Robot Vacuum
52 dB and 2.99 inches tall, with a brushless suction port that sidesteps hair tangle by not having a brushroll at all.
Up to 120 minutes in low suction mode, manufacturer-stated
Height
2.99 inches
Diameter
11 inches
Dustbin
500 ml
Rated noise
52 dB
Suction port
Brushless — no roller brush
Navigation
FreeMove 3.0, 6D infrared anti-collision — no LiDAR mapping
Battery
Lithium iron phosphate
Suction in Pa
Not published
Every figure above is the manufacturer's own published number. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says "Not published" rather than an estimate.
What the numbers say
+Brushless port cannot tangle, because there is nothing to tangle on — the only true fix for long hair
+52 dB is the quietest published figure on this site
+11-inch diameter gets between chair legs a 13-inch robot cannot
+Lithium iron phosphate chemistry is more cycle-durable than standard lithium-ion
Where it stops
−No brushroll also means no agitation, so carpet pickup is weak by design
−The 120-minute figure is explicitly the low-suction number
−No LiDAR mapping
Who it is for
Hard-floor homes with long-haired occupants or pets, and anyone who has cut hair off a robot brushroll once too often.
Skip it if
You have carpet you actually want cleaned. Without a brushroll it lifts surface debris and leaves embedded grit; this is a hard-floor machine.
Our score: 6.6 out of 10
Published suction4.0
Navigation4.0
Runtime9.0
Bin and dock6.5
Running cost9.5
Scored against the published rubric on How We Pick. These are judgments about spec sheets, not measurements.
The one to skip
Skip the Shark AV2501AE if hardwood is most of your floor. It is an excellent machine and its bagless dock with true HEPA at 99.97% down to 0.3 microns is the best filtration story on this page by a distance. But it publishes 15.3 lb — by far the heaviest robot here — no mopping function, and no height figure, on a page where getting under furniture and putting water on the floor are two of the three things that matter. It is a carpet-and-allergy machine that will do your wood floors adequately, which is not the same as being the right buy for them.
And read the ILIFE A30 Pro's tank honestly: 200 ml of dustbin plus 200 ml of water in one 2-in-1 housing. Its 280-day claim across five supplied bags is the longest hands-free interval on this site and genuinely useful — but the on-robot bin is the smallest here, and on a hard floor that is where the dust goes between dock visits.
What we cannot tell you
How much any of these actually scatters on your floor. There is no shared test for it, the pascal figures that dominate the category are measured differently by every brand and comparable between none of them, and we have not run these machines. We also cannot tell you whether a damp pad is safe on your specific finish — that is between you and your flooring warranty. Our method page sets out where the published evidence ends and judgment starts.
How to choose in one paragraph
If you want one machine that vacuums and mops the wood without thinking about it, buy the Roborock Q7 M5+ for the anti-tangle brushes, the three water levels and the sealed dock. If runtime and app longevity matter more than mopping, buy the Roomba 105 Vac with AutoEmpty Dock and its 200 published minutes. If the whole floor is bare and the budget is tight, the brushless Lefant M210 cannot scatter and cannot tangle. If you want mapping and mopping without paying for a dock, the Roborock Q7 L5 is the same brush design in a cheaper machine. And if there is carpet in the house too, read do budget robot vacuums work on carpet before you decide.
Common questions
What is the best robot vacuum for hardwood floors?+−
On published specifications, the Roborock Q7 M5+: JawScrapers on the main brush plus a zero-tangle side brush, mopping with three adjustable water levels simultaneous to vacuuming, and a sealed 2.7-liter dock rated 7 to 9 weeks hands-free. For the longest runtime instead, the Roomba 105 Vac with AutoEmpty Dock publishes 200 minutes and up to 75 days.
Do robot vacuums scratch hardwood floors?+−
The published risk is not the wheels, it is debris. A fast-spinning bristle roller on a bare floor can flick grit sideways rather than lifting it, and grit dragged across a finish is what marks it. Designs that address this are anti-tangle rollers with softer contact and, at the extreme, the Lefant M210's brushless suction port, which has no roller at all.
Should a robot vacuum for hardwood also mop?+−
On sealed wood it is the biggest single upgrade, because mopping does something suction cannot. Five of the eight machines here publish a mopping function. The implementations differ: Roborock publishes three water levels, iRobot's Combo publishes a micro-pump plus automatic carpet avoidance with no programming required, and ILIFE splits 200 ml of water against 200 ml of dustbin in one tank.
Is a brushless robot vacuum better for hard floors?+−
For bare floors specifically, it solves two problems at once: with no roller there is nothing to wrap hair around and nothing to flick debris sideways. The Lefant M210 publishes exactly that design. The same missing roller is why we do not recommend it for carpet — it cannot agitate pile either.
Are robot vacuums safe on sealed hardwood?+−
For vacuuming, yes. For mopping, only on sealed floors, and your flooring manufacturer's warranty is the authority rather than the robot's packaging. Unfinished, oiled and waxed wood are outside what these machines are rated for, and some flooring warranties exclude water regardless of the machine.
How loud is a robot vacuum on a hard floor?+−
Louder than the same machine on carpet, because hard surfaces reflect sound instead of absorbing it. Published ratings on this page run from 52 dB on the Lefant M210 to 72 dB on the ILIFE A30 Pro, with Roborock at 60 and 65 dB. Several manufacturers here publish no noise rating at all.
Sources
Manufacturer-published specifications — Every runtime, wattage, capacity, weight, filtration and warranty figure quoted on this page is the manufacturer's own published number for that model, retrieved September 1, 2026. Where a manufacturer publishes no figure, the page says 'Not published' rather than estimating one.
Sweep & Suction — How We Pick — Our published method, including the scoring rubric, the three-year running-cost formula and an explicit statement of what published specifications cannot tell you.
