Best Robot Vacuum For Thick and High-Pile Carpet

Want us to cut to the chase? Ok – we won’t waste your time.

Here’s the best robot vacuum for high pile carpet: iRobot Roomba 960.

When you are shopping for a new robot vacuum you need to consider a few things. One of the main considerations needs to be about what type of flooring the vacuum will be running on.

While the majority of the robot vacuums work great on hardwood floors, laminates and even tile, a lot of them can struggle when it comes to carpet.

Your average robot vacuum is going tackle low-pile carpet with ease. It is when you start to get into the thicker, medium-pile to high-pile, carpets that you start to run into problems with certain models.

Now let’s get into which are the best robot vacuums for thick carpet. Our selections are based on how well they handle medium-pile and high-pile carpet, battery life, cost, value, and ease of use.

iRobot Roomba 960 – Best For High-Pile Carpet

PROS

• Quality navigation system
• Quiet
• Great on all floor surfaces
• Great suction
• iRobot app is excellent
• Works with Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands
• Impressive mapping & reporting software

CONS

• Expensive
• Taller than some models, so it can get stuck under furniture 

The Roomba 960 from iRobot is our top pick for high-pile carpets. The large wheels, tremendous section power, and adjustable height feature make it great for taking on tall, plush carpets of any kind.

While the Roomba 960 is excellent at vacuum your thick carpet, it can also transition flawlessly to pretty much any other surface. The 960 works very well on laminate flooring, hardwood, tile, and all carpet types.

Do you have a large rug in the middle of your room? No problem! That is one of the best qualities of the 960 – being able to go from a hard floor, right up over a rug with ease.

The 960 also comes with the great app from iRobot. You can easily control your robot vacuum from your android or apple device. 

I especially like how well the app reports back on where the robot has cleaned. It shows a very accurate map of where all the robot traveled and what it potentially missed.

You can get the Roomba 960 on Amazon for under $500. There are often sales on major holidays, so be sure to keep an eye out.

Eufy RoboVac 11S – Best Budget Vacuum for Thick Carpet

PROS

• Good Suction
• Long battery life
• Low profile – great for getting under furniture 
• very quiet
• Does well on most surfaces
• Good price and value

CONS

• Can’t control via an app
• Doesn’t come with virtual barriers
• Not supported by Alexa or Google voice commands

If your goal is to purchase a quality robot vacuum to handle medium-pile to high-pile carpet, and you don’t care about all the extra, then the Eufy 11S is a great pick.

It is lacking on the tech side, as it doesn’t have a great app, voice commands, or impressive mapping features. But, it does have very good suction and is extremely quiet for how powerful it is.

This is a great budget option for a robot vacuum if you have medium-pile or thick carpet. It will get the job done and can also transition to other floor types with no problems.

Once of the best qualities is the Eufy’s height. This robot vacuum is only 3″ tall, which means it can fit under pretty much any furniture in your house. 

Where the Roomba 960 might get stuck under your sofa or kitchen chairs, the Eufy 11S will have no problems getting in and out of this tight areas.

You can get this great budget robot vacuum for under $250 on Amazon.

Honestly, if you do not care about being able to control the vacuum from your phone and aren’t tied to specific routines, then this is the robot vacuum you should get for thick carpets. I would.

Goovi D380 – Runner Up For Budget Robot Vacuum For Thick Carpet

PROS

• Compact and slim. Great for getting under furniture
• Quiet
• Good battery life
• Works well on medium-pile carpets and hard surfaces
• Very affordable

CONS

• No app or voice commands
• Unknown reliability, as it is a newcomer in the market 
• Suction isn’t anything amazing
• Might struggle on thicker carpets

If you though the Eufy was nice, but still a bit above what you are looking to spend, then the Goovi is a good option. You can grab it for about $50 less than the Eufy, at only around $200 on Amazon.

The Goovi isn’t going to blow you away with all of its bells and whistles…because it doesn’t really have many. It also doesn’t have the strongest suction on the list. 

It is a solid option if you are looking robot vacuum that can handle short to medium-pile carpets. It will do ok on high-pile and thicker carpets, but it will not be as good as others on this list.

While it does not have a mobile app to use, it does come with a handy and pretty easy to use remote control. 

Roborock S5 – Best Options That Also Mops

PROS

• Vacuums and mops
• Great suction
• Good battery life
• Good navigation and mapping
• Voice command with Alexa and Google Assistant
• Comes with virtual barriers

CONS

• App still needs some upgrades
• It is taller so it doesn’t fit under as much
• Higher price tag

Roborock is actually one of my personal favorite brands. Even before they started to make a name for themselves in the vacuum market, I was seeing good things from them.

The Roborock S5 is a very good vacuum. It comes with some very strong suction, which makes it work very efficiently on short and medium-pile carpet.

It will work on thick carpet, but isn’t as efficient as some other models.

What sets the S5 apart from any other robot vacuums on this list is that fact that it can also mop. Yep, the Roborock S5 is a robot vacuum/mop. 

So if you have hardwood floors, tiles…basically any surface other than carpet, this is a great buy.

But this article is about the best robot vacuums for thick carpet. Good point. However, most people don’t have a home comprised entirely of just one flooring material. In fact, if you have carpet in your kitchen, you may want to rethink that. Just my two cents.

For instance, my main floor has tile all through the foyer and into the kitchen. But the rest of the main floor is all carpet.

So I enjoy having one machine that can mop the kitchen floor, but then also make its way into the living room to vacuum the carpet. This way you don’t need to buy a robot vacuum, and a robot mop. (Yes, I did anyways)

Anyways, on to the pricing. With the added mopping feature this robot does jump up in price a bit. You can grab the Roborock S5 for about $500 on Amazon.

Final Thoughts On Picking A Robot Vacuum For Thick Carpet

I tried to give a few different options on this list. Hopefully I was able to list at least one product that everyone can be happy with. There are obviously so many other models and options available, also.

All of the robot vacuums you pick are going to come with pretty much the same standard features. They are going to clean with the touch of the button, they will have some form of schedule, and the will have sensors to keep them from falling down the stairs.

As you go up in the price you are going to get cool features like advanced scheduling, superior mapping, and voice commands with Alexa and Google Assistant.

Not a lot of people have high-pile or really thick carpet in their homes nowadays. But, if you are feeling the shag, then have it. (I am talking about carpet). Any of the robot vacuums on this list should do a decent job, but I was sure to point out which ones handles carpet the best. 

The Roomba is really your best pick, if the money doesn’t matter that much. Even with its price tag, it isn’t horrible compared to other models from iRobot.