Robot vacuums: which specifications actually matter

A robot vacuum is not a replacement for a vacuum. It is a replacement for the sweep you were never going to do on a Wednesday, and it is very good at that.

Judged as a substitute for the weekly vacuum it disappoints almost everyone. Judged as the thing that keeps the floor from ever getting bad, it is one of the more genuinely useful appliances a family house can own.

This guide compares published specifications and Australian retailer listings. Nothing here was run, timed or tested by us.

The specifications that mean something

Runtime and coverage together. Runtime alone is a battery claim. Coverage is the useful figure, and the two are published together on better listings. The Wertheim SpinBot Pro lists 200 minutes of runtime and coverage of up to 180 m² on a single charge, at $599 on 13 September 2026. That is a genuinely comparable pair of numbers.

Whether it resumes after charging. The critical behaviour for any house bigger than the stated coverage. A robot that returns to base, charges and finishes the job handles a large floor plan. One that stops does not, and this is often not stated at all.

Dust bin capacity. This is the one that decides how often you touch it. The published figures vary enormously: the Wertheim SpinBot lists a 150 mL bin, the CleanBot lists 400 mL. In a house with a shedding dog, a 150 mL bin is a daily job and a 400 mL bin is a twice-weekly one.

Auto-empty base, and its capacity. A base that empties the robot into a larger bag turns a daily task into a monthly one. The SpinBot Pro lists a 3 L dust bag in its station. This is the single feature most worth paying for in a house with pets, and it is why the Pro sits $100 above the standard model.

Mapping. Smart mapping means the machine covers a room in lanes rather than bouncing randomly, which is faster and more complete. The CleanBot lists virtual mapping with room scanning. Random-pattern robots still work; they take much longer and miss more.

Water tank, if it mops. The CleanBot lists a 410 mL tank. A mopping robot damp-wipes hard floors, which is useful and is not mopping. Expect to still mop.

Warranty. Two years across the Wertheim range checked, which is the common Australian figure in this category.

The specification to ignore

Suction in pascals. It appears on nearly every listing and it is close to meaningless as a comparison. There is no independent Australian testing standard behind the figure, brands measure it differently, and the number at the motor is not the number at the floor. Brush design, seal at the floor head and airflow decide pickup far more than the headline pascal count.

If two machines are otherwise similar, do not choose on pascals.

Match it to your floor plan first

This is where most disappointment comes from.

• Coverage against your floor area. If your living area is 120 m² and the machine covers 180 m², fine. If you have 250 m² over two levels, you need either resume-after-charge or a second machine, because a robot cannot use stairs
• One level only. Every robot is single-level. A two-storey house is two robots or one carried machine
• Thresholds and step heights. Published as a climb height on better listings. Australian houses with tiled wet areas and timber elsewhere often have thresholds a robot cannot cross
• Rugs. Thick or tasselled rugs stop robots. Low flat-weave is fine
• Dark floors. Some cliff sensors misread very dark floors as a drop and refuse to cross them
• Cords and clutter. The robot’s real requirement is a floor clear enough to run on, which is itself a household habit change

What it does not do

Worth stating plainly, because the marketing does not.

• Edges and corners. A round robot cannot reach an internal corner. Something still has to
• Stairs. At all
• Deep carpet. A robot lifts surface debris from carpet and does not deep clean it
• Heavy debris and spills. Cereal, kitty litter and anything wet are a problem rather than a job
• Under low furniture it cannot fit under. Measure the clearance under your couch before buying, because that is exactly where the dust is

A house with a shedding dog still needs a real vacuum for the weekly pass. Vacuums for pet hair covers what that machine needs to be, and dog fur, floors and a clean house covers the rest of the routine.

Living with one

• Schedule it daily, not weekly. The value is in never letting the floor get bad
• Run it while nobody is home, because it is noisy and it is in the way
• Empty the bin or the base on a schedule, not when you notice
• Clean the brush roll, which in a house with long hair is a fortnightly job with scissors
• Tidy the floor first, which is the hidden cost and also the hidden benefit

Where the price sits

At the Australian listings checked on 13 September 2026, robot vacuums ran from $399 for the Wertheim CleanBot with mapping and a 400 mL bin, to $499 for the SpinBot with app control and a 150 mL bin, to $599 for the SpinBot Pro with the 3 L auto-empty station and 180 m² coverage.

That is one retailer and one brand family, and the category runs both well below and far above this range elsewhere. Prices move; check before ordering.

Before you buy

• Measure your single-level floor area and compare it to the published coverage
• Check whether it resumes after charging if your area is larger
• Check the clearance under the furniture you most want it to go under
• Decide whether an auto-empty base is worth it, which in a house with pets it usually is
• Ignore the pascals
• Plan for it to supplement a real vacuum rather than replace one