Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum & Sonic Mop, Home Mapping, HEPA Bagless Self Empty Base with 30-Day Capacity, CleanEdge, for Pet Hair, WiFi, UR2650WS (Renewed)

Why it's worth it

The Matrix Plus vacuums and sonic-mops in one pass and empties itself into a bagless base that holds about a month of debris. There's no pad washing, so you rinse it yourself — but it's the least you can spend and still get real automation.

This is the robot to buy if you're not sure you want a robot mop at all. It vacuums and sonic-mops in the same pass, scrubbing hard floors 100 times a minute, and it empties its own bin into a bagless base that holds roughly a month of debris. No bags to reorder, ever. For an apartment with tile and a couple of rugs, that's most of the benefit at a fraction of the commitment.

Matrix Clean is smarter than the name suggests. Instead of a single pass in straight lines, the robot works a grid over each area, hitting the same dirt from two directions. Shark also puffs air at corners to knock debris into the robot's path. Neither trick replaces proper navigation, but together they cover for it, and you end up with fewer obvious misses in a room it mapped roughly.

From our review of 10 robot mops, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +This is the robot to buy if you're not sure you want a robot mop at all
• +Matrix Clean is smarter than the name suggests
• +The base handles filtration too, sealing dust behind a HEPA filter rather than puffing it back into the room when it empties

What to know

• –There's no mop washing
• –Navigation isn't LiDAR-grade, so a multi-room layout with thresholds and furniture confuses it more than the pricier robots here