I pick robots the way I’d want a friend to pick them for me: by checking what’s actually on sale, reading what owners say after the honeymoon period, and working out what the thing really costs to live with. Here’s exactly how that works, including the bits I can’t do.
Who’s writing
I’m Matt. I started Little Robot Shop because I wanted robots to do my chores, and I’ve owned, set up and occasionally argued with a few of them. I’m not an engineer, and I don’t write for engineers. This site is for people buying their first robot, whether that’s a robot vacuum, a pool cleaner or a coding robot for a child.
Robots I’ve used myself
When a page says “I’ve used this”, it means I have. Robots I’ve used myself include:
- Hobot 2S window cleaner
- Roborock S7 robot vacuum
Everything else on the site is research, and every page makes clear which is which. I’d rather tell you a robot was researched than pretend I tested something I didn’t.
How a robot makes the list
Every pick has to get past five questions:
- Can you still buy it? I check that each robot is still sold new, on the maker’s site or a major store, before it goes on a page. Robots go out of date quickly; a list full of discontinued models is no use to anyone.
- What do owners say after a few months? I read what owners report on Amazon, retailer review pages, YouTube owner videos, review sites and maker forums, and look for the patterns: the praise that keeps coming up, the complaint that keeps coming up, and what breaks after the box has gone in the recycling. One person’s review can be a lucky or unlucky unit. A pattern across hundreds of owners usually isn’t.
- Does it fit a real home? Height (will it fit under the sofa?), floors, pool type, lawn slopes, Wi-Fi, noise, and for kids’ robots, the age on the box and what it needs to run.
- What does it really cost? Not just the price: filters, brushes, batteries, replacement parts, subscriptions and the warranty.
- Will the maker still be around? A robot that needs an app needs its maker to keep that app going. If the company has been sold, gone quiet or stopped updating its app, I say so.
Specs come from the makers’ own pages, and I translate them into what they mean for you. “2,700 Pa suction” means nothing on its own; “fine on hard floors and low rugs, struggles on thick carpet” does.
What I don’t do
- I don’t make up experience. If I haven’t used a robot, I won’t write as if I have.
- I don’t copy reviews. Owner patterns are summarized in my own words, never quoted, and never pinned on a named reviewer.
- I don’t type Amazon prices or star ratings into my pages. They go out of date the moment I publish. Live prices come from the product boxes, and the text uses price bands like “under $300”.
- I don’t change a page’s date without changing the page. When a page says it was updated, something real changed, and the update note says what.
- I don’t accept payment from brands to include or rank a product. No maker pays to be on a list, or for a better spot on one.
What I can’t see
Some of the internet is closed to me. Reddit and Amazon’s full review pages can’t be read by the tools I use for research, and I don’t use scrapers or tricks to get around that. So when a page says what owners report, it comes from the sources listed above, and when the evidence is thin, the page says so.
How I use AI
I use AI tools to help with research and first drafts. Every page is checked against its sources before it goes up, and every pick, verdict and opinion is mine. The details are on How I use AI.
How this site makes money
Some links on this site are affiliate links, mostly to Amazon. If you buy through one, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what I recommend: the robot that suits you best is the one that keeps you coming back, which is worth more to me than any single commission. The full details are on the affiliate disclosure page. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Keeping pages current
Every page shows when it was last checked. When a robot is discontinued, replaced or starts collecting the same complaint, I update the page and say what changed.
Spotted something wrong?
If a robot on this site has been discontinued, a spec is wrong, or you’ve owned one and your experience is different, tell me. Owners who’ve lived with a robot for a year know things no spec sheet does.