Eufy L50 robot vacuum review: Jack of one trade

Even though robotic cleaners leave 20 to 30% of all dander, hair, dirt, and general ick behind, that’s still 70 to 80% less than I’m tasked with cleaning myself. For that reason, I was initially easily satisfied with the performance of robot vacuums, but because of their increasing expense, I have come to expect more over the years. These devices should dump their refuse into a larger bin, follow the schedule and instructions set in the companion app, and, mop the floors while they’re at it.

But with more perks, there’s more upkeep. There are mop heads to replace, proprietary floor cleaners to restock, software updates to download, and always, without fail, something stuck in a pipe, tube, or drainage sink somewhere. It can be exhausting. So, there is something still to be said about prioritizing straightforward, basic vacuums over the over-complicated feature-filled robot vacuums. And the Eufy L50 takes simple to heart, becoming our little robotic guide on the path back to the basics.

Price, availability, and specs

The Eufy L50 is quite an affordable robot vacuum with a standard retail price of $200. It’s available directly through Eufy and through other online sellers like Amazon and Walmart. For an additional $25, Eufy offers an accessory bundle, which includes a replacement brush, filter, and other important components.

What’s good about the Eufy L50?

Excellent mapping and four suction modes

The L50 is relatively quiet, as far as vacuums go. It’s quieter than the Shark that it replaced, and it’s much quieter than the premium-featured, premium-priced Eufy I recently tested. The standard and high-power modes on the Omni S1 Pro were so loud that, while it was running, you could easily convince me that Air Force One was landing in my backyard, not a little vacuum scrubbing my kitchen floor. That’s the price you pay with higher-suction robovacs, though.

The L50 is backed by Eufy Clean, my favorite robot vacuum companion app. In the app, you can set no-go zones and distinguish rooms, set schedules, and select from one of four vacuum powers, ranging from quiet to turbo.

My house has hardwood floors, tile, and very short-pile carpet. The L50 did an exceptional job of sweeping up loose debris, like crumbs and cat hair, on the hardwood floors. It removes clumps of fur out of short-pile rugs pretty well, but needs the turbo turned on. I admittedly found it odd that the vacuum only has one side brush, but this actually didn’t seem to impact performance. One of my main requests of a robovac is that it clears dust bunnies from along walls, and the L50’s ability to do so in corners wasn’t perfect — no robotic vacuum is perfect there, though. It did clear the build-up of hair and dirt along the edges.

What’s bad about the Eufy L50?

Not much battery juice in the tank

Putting aside the robovac’s obviously absent features — no self-emptying dock, no mopping — one of its few flaws is that the infrared obstacle detection needs some preemptive support to be successful. It doesn’t bode well with tasseled or fringed rugs; even if you want the vacuum to include such a rug in its route, it’s best to mark the rug as a no-go zone and vacuum it manually. Eufy notes this on the product page, though, so you’re at least informed.

The brush got stuck on a charging cord twice, but both times, the cord was strewn on an intricately patterned rug. If your space also has a lot of patterned floors, you may need to help the vacuum out by picking up any cables, socks, or other obstacles before it runs.

This is a good practice anyway, so the vac can make uninterrupted passes, but leaving obstacles out on patterned floors befuddles the infrared sensor. It’s also worth mentioning that the L50, like many other robovacs in this price range, has a circular piece jutting from the top of the device. This is where the light beams for the infrared obstacle detection come from, unlike in higher-end vacs that use a camera mounted unobtrusively on the snout. This infrared sensor may prevent the L50 from getting underneath certain furniture pieces.

Unfortunately, the battery capacity leaves something to be desired. You’ll get about two hours on standard suction mode, but I almost exclusively run robot vacuums on the highest suction setting, which reduces battery time to about an hour. This was fine for my house, but probably wouldn’t be viable for larger homes. The Dreametech D9 Max has a 30-minute advantage over the Eufy L50 — although, keep in mind that the D9 Max costs $150 more, and is a vacuum-mop duo with quite a few inefficiencies and maintenance obligations.

Should you buy it?

As long as you don’t hate it for its limitations

Robot vacuums — you either love them or you hate them. I’ve spent enough time snaking wires out of a robovac’s brushes or scooping gobs of wet pet fur out of a robovac’s mopping mechanism to feel quite apathetic about their utility — it just depends on the day, the state of my household’s pet- and child-dominated warzones, and my motivation to lug out the dead weight that is my Dyson Ball Animal vacuum.

Truth be told, I am surprised that I enjoyed the L50 so much. I’ve read enough ticked-off user cheap robot vacuum reviews to know that most of the flack directed at these products stems from over-inflated expectations. If you run a Maine Coon cattery, have wall-to-wall thick, plush carpet, twin toddlers, or own three Golden Retrievers, maybe don’t go with a $200 robovac. You are asking for disappointment. Buy this vacuum as a gift for a college student moving into their dorm, for a first apartment, or for a small house with easy terrain — short-pile rugs, hardwood, vinyl, tile.

The Eufy L50 covers my robovac core expectations: it maps and navigates areas reliably, offers a range of suction modes, and cleaning sessions can be scheduled for certain days of the week. If that’s where your robovac wishlist stops, the Eufy L50 is a fine choice.