Worth it for most homes — but for one specific reason. A robot doesn’t clean better than your upright. It cleans every day without you thinking about it, and daily beats deep when it comes to dust and pet hair.

Why the daily part matters more than the cleaning part

Every robot review on the internet argues about pickup percentages. I’ve stopped caring about that number. A robot that gets 85% of the debris off your floor seven days a week leaves your house cleaner than an upright that gets 99% once a weekend. The math isn’t close.

This is also why the cheapest robots disappoint people. It isn’t that they clean badly on day one. It’s that they get stuck, need rescuing, quit halfway through, and eventually you stop running them. A robot you don’t run has a pickup rate of zero.

Three times I’d tell you to skip it

First, if your home is wall-to-wall thick shag or deep pile. Robots are short and light, they lose traction, and the brush can’t reach the base of the fiber. Save your money.

Second, if your floors stay covered in cords, toys and clutter you’re not going to pick up. A robot needs a reasonably clear floor to do its job, and if picking up before every run becomes a chore, you’ve bought yourself a new chore.

Third, if you expect it to be completely hands-off. Even the best one needs about five minutes of you per week — hair off the roller, a wipe of the sensors, a filter tap. That’s the honest number. Anybody quoting you zero is selling something.

Dad’s Take

A B+ robot that finishes the job every time beats an A+ robot you keep rescuing. Every single time.