The 4 Best Roombas And iRobot Vacuums of 2024 Reviews

Updates

• 02/23/2024 iRobot Roomba j9+ reviewed
• 01/18/2024 iRobot Roomba 694 [690, 692] updated
• 12/09/2022 iRobot Roomba i1 reviewed
• 12/01/2022 iRobot Roomba 675 updated
• 11/02/2022 iRobot Roomba i8+ reviewed

Best iRobot Robot Vacuums

1. Best iRobot Vacuum

   

   

   

   

   iRobot Roomba S9 1

   
   Bare Floor

   7.4

   Low-Pile Carpet

   7.2

   High-Pile Carpet

   7.4

   Pets

   6.5
   Anti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)

   Yes

   Wet Compatible

   No

   See all our test results

   The best Roomba vacuum 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. However, 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+ 2

   
   Bare Floor

   7.0

   Low-Pile Carpet

   6.9

   High-Pile Carpet

   6.9

   Pets

   6.0
   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 . In many ways, it's more of a side-grade than a downgrade compared to the best Roomba vacuum, 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+ EVO 2

   
   Bare Floor

   6.5

   Low-Pile Carpet

   7.0

   High-Pile Carpet

   7.1

   Pets

   6.5
   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 lacks 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] 0

   
   Bare Floor

   6.7

   Low-Pile Carpet

   5.6

   High-Pile Carpet

   6.2

   Pets

   5.8
   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 lets it automatically ramp up its suction power 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; the only difference between the two is that the 694 comes with an extra post-motor filter, while the 692 bundle doesn't.

   See our review

Compared To Other Brands