Not suction. Moving up buys better obstacle avoidance, a smarter dock, a mop that lifts higher over carpet, and taller threshold climbing. What it doesn’t buy is a fundamentally better vacuum on a flat, clear floor.

The four things that genuinely improve

Obstacle avoidance is the big one. Premium robots identify a cord, a sock or a charging cable and steer around it. Value robots mostly don’t, which means either you tidy the floor first or you rescue the robot.

The dock is second. Empty, wash, dry, refill — each step you add is one less thing you do by hand.

Mop lift is third, and it only matters on mixed flooring. A higher lift means the pad genuinely clears the carpet instead of dragging a damp edge across it.

Threshold climbing is fourth, and whether it matters depends entirely on your house. Measure before you decide it’s worth paying for.

What doesn’t improve much

Actual pickup on a flat, clear hard floor. A good value-tier robot cleans nearly as well as a flagship in that scenario, and anybody telling you otherwise is reading a spec sheet.

So the honest way to think about the money is this: premium buys you fewer interruptions, not cleaner floors. If your floors are usually clear and your layout is simple, the value tier is genuinely the right answer and you should keep the difference. If you’ve got kids, pets, cables and a complicated floor plan, the premium features stop being luxuries and start being the reason the robot finishes its job.

My picks at each tier

My value pick right now is the MOVA P10 Pro Gen 2. My premium pick is the Dreame X60 Max Ultra.

Dad’s Take

You’re buying fewer interruptions, not cleaner floors. Decide how messy your floors actually are and buy accordingly.