A great value robot vacuum cleaner and mop.
The SwitchBot S20 is an easy recommendation if you’re after a capable robot vacuum/mop without breaking the bank. Its roller mop system is a standout and on a par with much more premium rivals, it cleans hard floors really well, and its app and integrations are nearly as good as alternatives that cost twice as much. Downsides like noisy docking, average corner coverage, and underwhelming carpet performance at lower suction levels are worth keeping in mind but, overall, the S20 punches well above its price.
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Excellent hard floor cleaning -
Brilliant roller mop system -
Broad smart home support -
Great value for money
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Average carpet performance -
Bulky, dated design -
Noisy docking process -
Weak corner cleaning
Key Features
Introduction
SwitchBot built its name on quirky smart home gear such as adjustable smart blinds, air purifying tables, even its bizarre household robot. But in the background it’s been steadily building a serious smart home arsenal, with an ever-increasing robot cleaner line-up. After the SwitchBot S10’s debut with a plumbing-connected dock in 2023, the Chinese brand is back with its successor: the SwitchBot Floor Cleaning Robot S20.
It looks very familiar but brings some refinements and, crucially, comes in at under $500 / £550 at launch (currently 30% off). That’s less than half what you’ll pay for top-tier models like the Roborock Saros 10 or the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete, and it’s still cheaper than mid-range names like Shark’s PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro or the Eufy Omni E25.
You’re not getting every premium bell and whistle, but you are getting a robot that handles day-to-day vacuuming and mopping really well, and does so without burning a hole in your wallet.
I’ve had the S20 running around my house for the past few weeks, here’s how it fared.
Design and features
- Roller mop
- Choice of dock
- Uses the SwitchBot app
At a glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was the S10 all over again. The S20 shares the same circular frame, three physical buttons on the top edge, and a LiDAR tower up top.
It’s on the chunkier side too: at 11.5cm tall, it feels bulky compared to sleeker rivals like Roborock’s latest models that slip under lower furniture and often measure less than 8cm.
Flip the lid and you’ll find the dustbin, a small cleaning tool, and the power switch. Around the front sits the AI camera and infrared sensors, while the back houses the detachable water tank, which can refill and empty itself when docked.
Docking options mirror what SwitchBot offered last time: a standard self-clean station (the version I tested) or a plumbing-connected option that handles water automatically.
Both conceal a vacuum bag and cleaning solution under a flap, and both arrive with a transparent plastic mat to protect your floor. It’s not as classy as Ecovacs or Roborock’s oversized furniture-like bases, but functional.
You can expect up to 90 days of dust storage in the 4-liter bag, and when the mop is washed, it’s dried with 50°C hot air.
Go with the tank dock and you’ll need to top up the 2.7-liter clean water reservoir every few days and empty the dirty one too. Ignore the latter at your peril, dirty mop water left to stew smells horrendous (think egg sandwich abandoned on a radiator).
If you already own the S10’s auto-fill dock, it’ll work with the S20, and SwitchBot’s new humidifier station also plays nicely.
Underneath, you get a tried-and-tested setup: an anti-tangle rubber roller for carpets and rugs, a V-shaped side-sweeping brush for edges, and the star of the show, the new roller mop.
Setup begins at the dock, with the S20 automatically pairing before you connect it to Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only). Mapping was quick but didn’t recognize floor types automatically, so I had to assign those myself.
Once mapped, though, you get the full spread of controls: split, merge, and rename rooms, set custom cleaning routines for each space, drop virtual walls, and define no-go zones.
There’s nothing mid-range about that app at all, with all the same sorts of customisation options on offer that you’d get from much more expensive platforms; think scheduling, carpet boost and carpet avoidance, as well as an option to program NFC tags to kick start the cleaning action.
Multi-floor mapping is included too, though like every other cleaner (well, almost) it won’t carry itself upstairs.
The robot is unusually vocal, but not annoyingly so. Its clear speaker makes voice prompts genuinely useful. The companion app feels on par with Dreame and Roborock and includes a maintenance hub that logs when brushes, filters, or sensors need attention.
AI obstacle detection exists (SwitchBot tells us that it can recognise more than 100 objects), though it’s not as sharp as Ecovacs or Roborock’s.
In testing, it mislabeled things frequently, and the map icons didn’t always line up to what the description said. Still, the important part worked, it avoided things like socks, pet bowls, and cables.
On the smart home front, it’s well covered. Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri Shortcuts, Home Assistant, SmartThings, Homey, and IFTTT are all supported. Matter is available too, but only if you add a SwitchBot Hub, and for now that’s Apple Home-only.
The dock handles cleaning as promised, but it’s not subtle about it. Emptying the dustbin produces a roar, while water refills come with a shrill vibration. Neither lasts long, but they’re noticeably harsher than the quieter operations of pricier stations.
Performance
- Good cleaning on hard floor
- Solid mid-range mopping
- Corner performance not so good
SwitchBot offers three modes here: vacuum only, vacuum and mop, or vacuum followed by mop. That last one is new, and it’s a handy addition.
Hard floor results were excellent. The S20 dealt easily with dirt, crumbs, and dried mud, and the roller mop delivered impressive results without simply smearing water around. The steady clean water flow and automatic pad washing make it one of the best mid-range mopping systems I’ve tried.
Carpets were a bit more mixed. On maximum suction (10,000Pa), it pulled up debris effectively. But drop it down a notch and the results were less convincing; surface fluff disappeared, but deeper dirt didn’t budge. You’ll want to run it at max for proper carpet cleaning, at the expense of more noise and shorter runtimes.
Corners were another slight letdown. Without something like Roborock’s extendable side arm, dust lingered along skirting boards. The side brush did help funnel bigger debris into the bin, but fine crumbs were often left behind.
On the plus side, carpet protection worked perfectly: the mop automatically lifted and cut water flow whenever it detected a rug, and the built-in wiper stopped excess moisture.
Navigation was solid, with no missed areas, even in low light thanks to the LEDs around its camera. Go/No-Go zones and virtual barriers were honored flawlessly.
Yes, the dock is noisy during emptying and refilling, but the sheer convenience of automated cleaning cycles makes those interruptions forgivable.
Should you buy it?
You should buy if you mostly have hard floors
Decent suction and roller-based cleaning work well on most hard floors.
You should not buy if you want more features or power
If you need more suction power, better corner cleaning or the ability to get under low furniture, look elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
The SwitchBot S20 isn’t here to outshine the top dogs from the likes Ecovacs or Roborock, but it delivers reliable cleaning, an advanced mopping system, and solid smart home integration, all at a price that undercuts much of the field.
It does have weaknesses: carpet cleaning is best only at max suction, the design feels dated, and the dock makes a racket. But none of those outweigh the value you’re getting. For under £550 / $500, this is one of the most appealing mid-range robots around. If you want something more powerful, check out the guide to the best robot vacuum cleaners.
How we test
We test every robot vacuum cleaner we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
- Used as our main robot vacuum cleaner for the review period
- We test for at least a week
- Tested with real-world dirt in real-world situations for fair comparisons with other vacuum cleaners
FAQs
Yes it is, although you need a compatible Hub and the cleaner only works with Apple Home for now.
One dock uses water tanks, and the other one can be plumbed in.
Test Data
| SwitchBot Floor Cleaning Robot S20 |
|---|
Full Specs
| SwitchBot Floor Cleaning Robot S20 Review | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | – |
| Size (Dimensions) | 365 x 365 x 115 MM |
| Weight | 5.2 KG |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| First Reviewed Date | 15/10/2025 |
| Model Number | SwitchBot Floor Cleaning Robot S20 |
| Vacuum cleaner type | Robot vacuum and mop |
| Bin capacity | litres |
| Filters | 1 (washable) |
| Run time | hrs min |
| Charge time | 4 hrs |
| Brushes | 1x side, 1x roller |
| Mop Option | Roller |
| Smart assistants | Yes |
