Best Robotic Mops of 2023

These top tools swipe your floors clean without the bucket brigade

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The transformation of the lowly mop is a true rags-to-riches story. The first mops were simply rags attached to the end of a stick. Flash forward to today’s feature-rich robotic mops that zip across the floor as you watch. All that’s missing is your elbow grease!

But how well do robotic mops—also called robot mops and robomops—clean? To find out, Consumer Reports tested nine that range in complexity from basic to elaborate and in price from $200 to $1,400. The simplest we tested are operated by remote control and can only mop. At the other end of the spectrum are hybrid robot mops that mop and vacuum; you control them from either a remote or an app on your smartphone. The fanciest have docking stations where the mops return to dump dirty water and refill with clean water. There were winners among both types in our robotic mop tests.

We put robotic mops through their paces in the same lab where we test their older siblings, robotic vacuums. To test mopping ability, our technicians apply several spots of two tough stains—V8 Vegetable Juice and espresso coffee—to flooring made of ceramic tile and vinyl plank. We let the stains dry, just like they might on your own kitchen floor.

Our technicians then set each robot mop to go on a normal run according to the manufacturer’s recommendation, mopping the entire floor (not just the stained spots). Cleaning modes vary from model to model, so we chose the one most appropriate for the task at hand. The best performers remove the stains and leave a clean floor behind.

Most of the robotic mops we tested traverse a room in a grid pattern, starting around the perimeter and then crisscrossing it from side to side, first in one direction, then in the other. A few follow a random pattern. To test navigation, we assess the mop’s ability to avoid obstacles, maneuver past carpet fringe or tassels, pass over electrical cords, and move underneath furniture. “Many of the mops can be programmed to avoid carpet,” says Joan Muratore, the project leader who oversees our robotic vacuum tests. “If not, we set up a physical barrier. For the connected models, we used the app. For the nonconnected, we used the remote control.”

The mop heads work either by spinning, vibrating, or just passing over the floor (similar to an actual mop). Our testers found that spinning heads do a better job.

Run times for the robotic mops in our tests range from 50 to 100 minutes. Clearance ranges from 3 inches to 5.25 inches—the latter being too tall to pass under some couches or the toe kick of many kitchen cabinets, which are typically 4 inches from the floor.

Finally, we asked our Digital Lab to assess how connected models collect and share data, as well as how easy it is to set the degree of privacy you feel comfortable with and delete data that’s not needed for the mop’s operation. Unlike with the robotic vacuums, however, we didn’t award scores for data security or data privacy. Be aware that any additional devices you use to interact with your robotic mop, such as a mobile phone or smart speaker, may introduce additional privacy and security implications.

Below are the top five mops of the nine we tested from nine different brands. “Although some models also have a vacuuming function, for the purpose of our tests, we assessed their performance only as robotic mops,” Muratore says.

Mary H.J. Farrell

Mary H.J. Farrell is a senior editor at Consumer Reports whose real passion is for cooking and all that entails. She has expanded CR’s cookware category to include not only more pots and pans but also other essentials like stand mixer attachments, sheet pans, and vacuum sealers. Mary also covers vacuums but finds cooking way more fun than cleaning. Since the mid-1990s, Mary has held senior positions at People.com, MSNBC, and Ladies’ Home Journal. One of her earliest jobs was at Good Housekeeping.