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  1. Home
  2. Vacuum
  3. Reviews
  4. iRobot
  5. iRobot
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Intro
  3. Review Updates
  4. Best Vacuum
  5. Best Upper Mid-Range
  6. Best Mid-Range
  7. Best Budget
  8. Comparison
  9. Lineup
  10. Page Updates
  11. Conclusion
  12. Comments

The 4 Best Roombas And iRobot Vacuums of 2024 Reviews

Updated Jun 21, 2024 at 03:23 pm
Best Roombas And iRobot Vacuums
overview 14 comments

iRobot is an American manufacturer specializing in consumer robotics, best known for being a pioneer in the design of robot vacuums, with the introduction of the first Roomba model in 2002. Their vacuums are popular with buyers due to their easy-to-use design, with the best models also offering a dense feature set. The company also offers a range of dedicated robot mops under the 'Braava' name.

Updates

Best iRobot Vacuums


  1. Best iRobot Vacuum

    iRobot Roomba S9 Design Picture
    iRobot Roomba S9 In-Test Picture
    iRobot Roomba S9 Build Quality Picture
    iRobot Roomba S9 In The Box Picture
    iRobot Roomba S9 Picture Of Controls
    iRobot Roomba S9 Storing Picture
    iRobot Roomba S9+ 6
    Bare Floor
    7.1
    Low-Pile Carpet
    6.9
    High-Pile Carpet
    7.2
    Pets
    5.2
    Stairs
    5.5
    Cars
    4.3
    Workshop
    4.4
    Vacuum Type
    Robot
    Bagless
    Yes
    Cordless
    Yes
    Anti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)
    Yes
    Wet Compatible
    No
    See all our test results

    The best iRobot Roomba we've tested is the iRobot Roomba S9. This high-end robot vacuum has the most powerful suction motor in iRobot's lineup, delivering good debris-pickup performance on both bare floors and carpeting. Its twin rubber brushrolls are great for dealing with pet hair, and they're easy to clean since they don't have any bristles that can trap debris. The S9+ variant comes bundled with a self-emptying base station, which transfers debris from its dustbin into an external dirtbag, reducing hands-on maintenance requirements.

    Its vSLAM navigation system is camera-based, so it doesn't map out a room as fast as a LIDAR sensor and struggles more with navigating in low light. It still does a good job of plotting out efficient cleaning routes and navigating around furniture once it has mapped out your home; still, it's best to enable the 'Careful Drive' setting in its configuration options to keep it from bumping into walls and furniture. You could consider the iRobot Roomba j9+ if you want an alternative that can identify and react to hazards in real time, thanks to a front-facing camera, but this system is prone to false positives in practice.

    You can also use its companion app to send it to specific rooms or create no-go zones. Unfortunately, battery performance isn't especially noteworthy, especially not for a robot vacuum at this high a price. A full charge lasts about 50 minutes, which might not be enough to clean large carpeted areas in a single go with the vacuum running in its most powerful suction mode. That said, its relatively short battery life isn't that big a deal thanks to its recharge-and-resume functionality, which allows it to resume a cleaning session from where it left off if it needs to return to its dock.

    See our review

  2. Best Upper Mid-Range iRobot Vacuum

    iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ Design Picture
    iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ In-Test Picture
    iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ Build Quality Picture
    iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ In The Box Picture
    iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ Picture Of Controls
    iRobot Roomba j7/j7+ Storing Picture
    iRobot Roomba j7+ 8
    Bare Floor
    6.9
    Low-Pile Carpet
    7.3
    High-Pile Carpet
    6.9
    Pets
    5.0
    Stairs
    5.9
    Cars
    4.9
    Workshop
    4.5
    Vacuum Type
    Robot
    Bagless
    No
    Cordless
    Yes
    Anti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)
    No
    Wet Compatible
    No
    See all our test results

    If you're shopping for something less expensive, the iRobot Roomba j7 is among the best Roomba vacuums we've tested. In many ways, it's more of a side-grade than a downgrade compared to the iRobot Roomba S9, which you can find on sale for a similar price to the j7. The j7 has a less powerful suction motor, so it has a harder time lifting away heavy debris and material embedded deeply within carpet fibers. However, it's smarter because, unlike the S9, it has a hazard-recognition system that uses an additional front-facing camera to identify obstacles beneath the view of its top-mounted camera. This allows the j7 to react to hazards in real-time, so you don't have to ensure your floors are completely free of slippers or loose socks. It also has a broad range of other in-app automation features, like support for virtually-drawn no-go zones, multi-floor mapping, and the ability to direct it to a specific room in your home. It's also quieter than the S9.

    The j7+ variant of this vacuum comes bundled with a self-emptying base station, so every time the vacuum docks, it transfers debris into a dirtbag inside the charging station. If you have an iRobot Braava Jet M-Series robot mop, the Imprint Link feature allows it to start mopping hard surfaces like laminate or hardwood automatically after the j7 has finished its vacuuming session.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range iRobot Vacuum

    iRobot Roomba i3 Design Picture
    iRobot Roomba i3 In-Test Picture
    iRobot Roomba i3 Build Quality Picture
    iRobot Roomba i3 In The Box Picture
    iRobot Roomba i3 Picture Of Controls
    iRobot Roomba i3 Storing Picture
    iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO 6
    Bare Floor
    6.6
    Low-Pile Carpet
    7.3
    High-Pile Carpet
    6.7
    Pets
    5.1
    Stairs
    5.8
    Cars
    4.9
    Workshop
    4.3
    Vacuum Type
    Robot
    Bagless
    No
    Cordless
    Yes
    Anti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)
    Yes
    Wet Compatible
    No
    See all our test results

    The iRobot Roomba i3 is worth considering if you're shopping at a mid-range price point. It doesn't have the iRobot Roomba j7's real-time hazard recognition system and has a less powerful suction motor than the iRobot Roomba S9. That said, if you go for the i3+ variant of this vacuum, which comes bundled with iRobot's Clean Base self-emptying docking station, you'll have a self-emptying robot vacuum at a substantially lower price than either the S9+ or j7+. Besides, it's not as though the i3+ EVO is lacking in automation features. You can use the iRobot HOME companion app to label different areas of your home after it's finished mapping or set up boundary lines, preventing it from getting stuck in a difficult-to-clean area. It also has a recharge and resume feature, enabling it to resume a cleaning session from where it left off if it had to stop a previous job to return to its dock. It's fully compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa devices, enabling you to use voice commands.

    Similar to the j7 and iRobot Roomba S9, this vacuum has a HEPA filter that does a great job of sealing in allergens like dust or pet dander. Build quality is also impressive, with durable rubber wheels and a plastic top cover with a textured finish resembling woven fabric. Unfortunately, debris pickup performance isn't particularly impressive, especially on carpets; it'll need to make several passes to collect everything embedded within carpet fibers.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget iRobot Vacuum

    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] Design Picture
    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] In-Test Picture
    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] Build Quality Picture
    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] In The Box Picture
    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] Picture Of Controls
    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] Storing Picture
    iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] 3
    Bare Floor
    6.5
    Low-Pile Carpet
    6.3
    High-Pile Carpet
    5.9
    Pets
    4.7
    Stairs
    5.7
    Cars
    4.6
    Workshop
    4.0
    Vacuum Type
    Robot
    Bagless
    Yes
    Cordless
    Yes
    Anti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)
    No
    Wet Compatible
    No
    See all our test results

    The iRobot Roomba 694 is the best option if you're shopping for a budget-friendly Roomba. It's important to note that this is an incredibly bare-bones robot vacuum with few automation features, even when compared to only slightly pricier mid-range models like the iRobot Roomba i3. There's no room mapping capability; instead, the 694 uses random bump navigation to move around its cleaning area. As a result, it might clean some areas more than once, but the overall room coverage is impressively thorough. It also lacks features like recharge and resume and doesn't support user-generated no-go zones or individual area cleaning.

    That said, it's a worthy option if your Wi-Fi coverage at home is spotty since you can control all of the vacuum's major functions using the included remote control, with no need for a companion app on your smartphone. Unusual for a robot vacuum in this price range, it has a surface detection system that allows it to ramp up its suction power automatically on carpeted floors. The build feels solid, especially for a budget-friendly model, with a body made of thick, sturdy plastic.

    While the 694 has no trouble dealing with debris on bare floors, it struggles on carpets. In addition, it uses an older brushroll design compared to the pricier iRobot models on this list, which has an array of closely packed bristles that get easily tangled up with pet hair, reducing its overall efficiency. In addition, it isn't compatible with a self-emptying base station, which would reduce hands-on maintenance requirements. Air filtration performance is also terrible, with fine particles spewing out the exhaust. It's worth noting that this vacuum is sold as the iRobot Roomba 692 in some markets, with the only difference between the two being that the 694 comes with an extra post-motor filter, while the 692 bundle doesn't.

    See our review

Compared To Other Brands


  • Superb pet hair pickup.
    Newer iRobot models come equipped with twin rubber brushrolls that are very effective when collecting pet hair and are much easier to clean than comparable rollers that use fabric bristles.
  • Great build quality.
    Even budget-friendly iRobot vacuums have a premium look and feel. Panel gaps are tight enough to help prevent fine dust from escaping, with some models having an onboard HEPA filter, resulting in great filtration performance.
  • Easy to use companion app.
    While features might vary depending on your model, iRobot's HOME app is fairly snappy and intuitive. Even budget-friendly models offer support for voice commands, so you can control them using your Amazon Alexa or Google Home device.
  • No models currently offer LIDAR mapping.
    iRobot vacuums don't incorporate LIDAR mapping. Their optical sensors tend to map out rooms slower than alternatives with LIDAR sensors, and they also don't work as well in the dark.
  • Few models offer both vacuuming and mopping capability.
    Currently, only the iRobot Roomba j7 Robot Vacuum and Mop features both vacuuming and mopping capability in the same machine. The brand tends to rely on its Imprint Link feature for this kind of use, which pairs their Roomba robot vacuums with their Braava robot mops to have the latter run immediately after the former has finished cleaning.
  • Weak debris pickup performance on lower-end models.
    Most of iRobot's mid-range and budget models have trouble dealing with debris embedded deep within carpet fibers and in cracks and crevices.

iRobot vs Roborock

Unlike iRobot vacuums, Roborock equips most of their product lineup with LIDAR sensors, resulting in quicker, more precise room mapping, even in the dark. Many of their models also feature onboard mopping modules, though most are passive systems that provide little surface agitation. That said, iRobots tend to feel sturdier, while their twin rubber brushroll system usually results in better pet hair pickup.

iRobot vs eufy

iRobot vacuums tend to target a higher price niche than eufy models, reflected in their superior cleaning performance, wider array of features, and sturdier build quality.

iRobot currently has a relatively small range of robot vacuums. Unlike alternatives from Roborock, iRobot robot vacuums don't use LIDAR sensors, resulting in slower room mapping, though some newer models offer real-time hazard recognition. Another point in Roborock's favor is that many of their models have mopping attachments, which is rare for iRobot. The best Roomba vacuums are better built than similarly-priced Roborock models and offerings from Shark or eufy.

Lineup

  • Roomba S-series: Robot vacuum series with VSLAM navigation and the most potent suction motor in the company's lineup. Models with the '+' suffix come bundled with a base station.
  • Roomba j-series: Robot vacuum series with VSLAM navigation and real-time hazard identification to spot and avoid obstacles in real-time. The j7+ Combo variant is the first iRobot with a swing-out mopping attachment for cleaning stains.
  • Roomba i-series Robot vacuums with VSLAM navigation. Higher-numbered model designations indicate a greater array of automation features and overall cleaning performance, with some exceptions; the i4 and i8 are merely Costco-exclusive variants of the i3 and i7 models, respectively, with no major mechanical differences.
  • Roomba 600-series: Entry-level random-pathing robot vacuums. Newer 690 models offer Wi-Fi connectivity.

Recent Updates

  1. Jun 21, 2024: Minor text edits for conciseness and clarity. No change in recommendations.

  2. Mar 12, 2024: Added iRobot Roomba j9+ as an alternative to the iRobot Roomba S9.

  3. Feb 12, 2024: Verified that all main product picks are still available.

  4. Jan 10, 2024: Minor in-text adjustments to further elaborate on product recommendations.

  5. Dec 04, 2023: Ensured all main picks are still available and represent the best choice for user needs.

Conclusion

iRobot is a manufacturer specializing almost exclusively in robot vacuums and mops. The best Roombas are well-built and easy to use. However, their reliance on optical sensors means they're generally slower to map out their coverage area compared to alternatives with LIDAR.

Test Results