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It would come as a surprise to more people than you think that "roomba" actually isn't the generic term for a robot vacuum. The interchangeability is nearing Band-Aid territory, exemplifying just how iconic iRobot's impact has been on the world of small household appliances.
That can be attributed to the fact that iRobot has consistently been delivering some of the most reliable robot vacuum models for two decades. More than 20 Roombas have come out since the first one hit homes in 2002, but tracking the best Roombas isn't so chaotic when you consider that only a handful of those models are actually relevant at the time of your shopping.
How to tell the difference between the Roomba models
Memorizing the differences between random numbers and letters in a Roomba's title certainly isn't necessary. However, there are some general classification themes that make the Roomba family easier to tell apart.
When shopping for a Roomba, you'll really only be choosing from what we call iRobot's core lineup: the group of three to five Roomba series that are currently listed on iRobot's website. Any Roomba whose title includes a letter with a number (like j9+ or i5) is more advanced than a Roomba with just numbers in the title (like 692). The j Series is iRobot's most advanced right now, followed by the s Series, i Series, and then the 600 Series. A plus sign (like j9+) denotes that the model comes with a self-emptying dock. Check our FAQ for more details on Roomba classification.
What is the most recommended Roomba vacuum?
Naturally, there is one Roomba that is technically "the best:" the best at cleaning, the best at navigating, and the best at being self-sufficient. But which Roomba is categorically the best may not be the best Roomba for every household, especially when price tags come into play. We've created a 2024 Roomba comparison guide to help you pinpoint which Roomba would work best for your home's size, floor type, pet situation, and more.
Why we picked this:
iRobot further built on its legacy in Sept. 2023 when it debuted the all new j9 series. As the number and letter mashup in the title suggests, the Combo j9+ finally combines the best features of the older high-end Roombas: the navigational prowess and small obstacle detection of the j7+, the retractable mop of the Roomba Combo j7+, and the carpet combing suction power of the Roomba s9+.
The Roomba Combo j9+ also introduces new features that lead to a deeper clean on both wet and dry fronts. The new SmartScrub technique pushes the mop back and forth while applying elbow grease to eat at dried-on stains on hard floors, while its dry suction power beats anything a Roomba has been able to dish out before.
The new dock is bigger and better than previous docks from iRobot, and that's because there's more going on than just automatic emptying of the dust bin. The Combo j9+ dock holds a separate water tank that automatically refills the smaller tank on the vac itself for 30 days at a time, relieving a major recurring downfall seen when comparing the old Combo j7+ to other hybrid models. Any maintenance can be done through a door on the front of the dock rather than the top — and with the chic wood accents topping off the new design, you suddenly have a new full-time side table.
Who it's for:
Not everyone in the market for a robot vacuum is willing to pay over $1,000 just to take a chore or two off of their plate. Those who would be down for that investment want a deep clean on both carpet and hard floors that goes past casual surface-level upkeep, and they want it to happen without having to babysit the bot. The Combo j9+ would be particularly worthwhile in large homes with an even mix of floor types that are high-traffic areas for people and several pets.
Why we picked this:
We think the j6+ is the best Roomba for most people because of its solid balance of obstacle-avoiding brainpower and affordability. While the feature differences between the Roomba j7+ and Roomba j6+ are mild, the prices aren't — the Roomba j6+ goes on sale for as low as $399.99 while the j7+ is usually hovering between $529.99 and $589.99.
So, what's the difference? The Roomba j6+ is the cheapest Roomba that can detect and avoid phone chargers and pet waste. Compared to the Roomba j7+, the j6+'s obstacle detection cameras aren't quite as precise, and still may require you to pick up things like towels or put a virtual barrier around pet bowls. Their suction power and self-empty dock capacity are exactly the same, however.
Who it's for:
If your main concern past actual cleaning is keeping your phone chargers and HDMI cords safe, you're probably looking at a Roomba j6+ versus j7+ showdown. We'll make it easy: if you're not pressed on bringing mopping into the picture, go with the j6+. The only skill difference lies in the j7+'s slightly longer list of obstacles it can detect. And considering that the sale price of the j7+ is typically over $200 more expensive, you can probably deal with ensuring socks get into the hamper.
Why we like it:
iRobot's summer 2023 product drop also extended mopping capabilities to one of the more affordable existing Roombas. At $549.99 for the self-emptying version or $349.99 for the standalone vac, the i5 more than halves the $1,399.99 price tag of the Combo j9+. You probably wouldn't clock that price difference upon first glance, though, because the i5+ has shed the tall, skinny auto-empty dock it had for years for the stylish compact one of the j7+.
The i5 series is one of iRobot's Swap and Mop models that can't vacuum and mop on the same cleaning run, meaning you have to be around to physically swap the dust bin for the water tank. The convenient part is that, despite its inability to detect small obstacles like phone chargers, the i5 remembers specific rooms as well as the carpeted spots you want it to avoid while mopping. (A 2022 firmware update unlocked Imprint smart mapping capabilities for all Roomba i series vacuums, aside from the i1 and i2).
Who it's for:
The cheapest mopping Roomba will satisfy anyone who can settle for not-the-most-thorough-but-decent cleaning if it means they don't have to spend much more than $500. This is especially true in homes where only one or two rooms, like the bathroom or kitchen, will require mopping. Potential i5 owners will also have to be OK with having to physically switch out the water tank for the dry dust bin depending on which flooring they're trying to tackle, since the i5 is a Swap and Mop Roomba rather than the design with a mopping pad built in.
Read our full review of the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+.
Why we picked this:
The Combo j7+ was the very first true vacuum and mop hybrid from iRobot. Though it's since been upstaged by the 2023 Combo j9+, the 2022 Combo j7+ will always be pivotal for iRobot's legacy — and because it's not the newest 2-in-1 anymore, it's also usually on sale.
Its original retail price of over $1,000 was actually many folks' only big gripe with this model. But if you can find it at its new normal sale price of $799, you'll be scoring one of the smartest robot vacuums on the market for a pretty digestible cost. With PrecisionVision cameras for small obstacle detection and a mop that lifts over the vacuum itself, the Combo j7+ can be trusted to not eat your phone charger and not soak your carpet.
Compared to the Combo j9+, the j7+ has less powerful suction power, less forceful scrubbing, and doesn't automatically refill the water tank aboard the vacuum through a bigger tank in the dock. Compared to the j6+, the j7+ has more meticulous obstacle detection and can pinpoint hurdles like socks, towels, and pet bowls on top of cords and pet waste.
Who it's for:
If you've confirmed that you definitely want a Roomba that mops, the next question is whether you'd like to be able to send your Roomba to mop when you're not home. The Combo j7+ is the cheapest Roomba that has the retractable mop on board, meaning you don't need to be home to manually swap out the dry dust bin like you do with the Combo i5. Even on sale, $799 is a pretty hefty investment — but unless you have multiple pets that shed onto thick carpet and hard floors with heavy foot traffic, the Combo j7+ provides a nearly-identical hands off experience to the Combo j9+ for much less money.
Why we picked this:
Now that smart mapping and automatic emptying have become casual features seen more frequently than the most high-end robot vacuums, options like the Roomba i3+ can offer a more affordable path to that hands-off convenience. A 2022 software updated blessed the Roomba i3 (and the rest of the i Series) with iRobot's Imprint Smart Mapping technology, so the Roomba i3 can tackle specific rooms that you queue up on the app. (The mapping update didn't include Keep Out Zones, so you'll still need to purchase virtual barrier devices to make certain spots off limits within a room.)
Though the i3 won't be immune to getting tripped up on a bath mat or under a table once in a while, its navigation skills are less bumper car-ish than the 600 Series Roombas.
Who it's for:
The Roomba i3+ is the Roomba for those on a budget who still want to be off the hook from manually dumping their vacuum's dust bin after every cleaning session. Homes with a pet, crumb-prone kids, or a decent amount of carpeting would benefit from the i3's boosted suction power over the cheaper 600 Series.
Note: The Roomba i Series is the most prominent example of this odd retailer-exclusive spinoff thing that iRobot seems to do with certain retailers. Walmart sells the Roomba i1+ for as low as $288, which is a different color but otherwise physically identical to the i3+. However, the i1+ didn't receive the software update that unlocked room-to-room mapping, as the i1 and i2 were skipped for some reason. The Roomba i4, which has identical cleaning capabilities to the i3, is mostly only seen at Amazon — the only difference is its inclusion of an extra filter and virtual wall.
Why we like it:
Earning Roomba bragging rights without spending more than $300 — less than $200, if you grab it during a good sale — is possible with iRobot's current baseline vacs, the Roomba 694 and 692. The only difference between these bots is that the 692 doesn't come with an extra filter, but its sale price could be a few dollars less than the 694.
The standard clean deployed by these baseline Roombas is enough to trust for light daily upkeep, especially if the majority of your home is hard flooring. The 694 and 692's cleaning does get more methodical over time, dishing out extra attention to high-traffic areas with Dirt Detect technology.
Who it's for:
The 694 or 692 will be a satisfactory choice for anyone who just wants to cover the bare minimum of automated cleaning rather than pay more for extra smarts or suction power. If your robot vacuum checklist maxes out at hardwood, tile, or linoleum upkeep and the ability to schedule cleanings when they're away, that's probably you.
Roomba s9+
Best budget choice for carpets (if it's on sale)
Read our full review of the Roomba s9+.
Why we picked this:
Hear us out: The Roomba s9+ actually isn't the best Roomba at anything anymore, but its combination of suction power and price point leave it a solid contender. Now that it's two years old, the s9+ has received a permanent price drop from $999.99 to $649.99, and is often seen on sale for $599 (or $499 during Prime Day).
The only Roomba with more intense deep carpet cleaning than the Roomba s9+ is the $1,399.99 Roomba Combo j9+ that just came out in Sept. 2023 (and probably won't be on sale any time soon). Though the slightly older Roomba j7+ is smarter than the s9+ in terms of avoiding small obstacles like cords, the s9+ still beats it in terms of sheer suction power. (If you want numbers, the s9+ cleans with 40 times the suction of 600 Series Roombas while the j7+ offers 10 times the suction.)
Who it's for:
The Roomba s9+ could still be the way to go if the Roomba j9+ (the same power as the Roomba Combo j9+, but without the mopping) isn't on sale and you definitely don't want to spend much more than $500 on a Roomba. Despite being succeeded by several newer releases from iRobot, the s9+ still has the second-best suction power of any Roomba and dual roller brushes necessary to dig into carpet fibers to pull out embedded crumbs or fur.
Frequently Asked Questions
More than 20, but only a handful of those will be relevant and in stock at any point in time that you're shopping. Roombas are classified by "series," which are kind of like umbrella levels that can have several Roombas under them. (For example, the Roomba j Series is made up of the j9+, j7+ and j6+.) The differences between the series simply stems from how good at cleaning and navigating those vacuums are, and the ascending numbers also give some insight as to how advanced each model in that series is.
The guide above dives into the differences between each current Roomba model. But let's not forget what each current Roomba model has in common.
All recent Roombas — including every one in our guide — is WiFi-enabled, app-connected, and compatible with Alexa. On the iRobot Genius app, you can schedule recurring cleanings, start a spontaneous cleaning from your phone, and if your model supports it, send your Roomba to a specific room or zone. Each time iRobot updates Genius, every Roomba receives the update (even if you bought it pre-update). The latest version whips up custom cleaning suggestions based on where it worked the hardest during earlier rounds, like suggesting a kitchen sweep after dinnertime each night.
All Roombas deploy a three-stage cleaning system that loosens and lifts dust and dirt from carpets while relying on a side-sweeping brush to push debris from edges and corners into the bot's cleaning path. Dirt Detect is an adaptive method even the most basic Roombas use to sniff out dirtier areas of your floor and work harder on them.
The plus sign in a Roomba's title denotes the inclusion of a self-emptying Clean Base. The Clean Base is where those models will charge as well as empty the debris they've collected into a bigger canister for a few weeks at a time. (Without the Clean Base, Roombas are still self-charging and know to return to their dock when cleaning is finished.) i Series Roombas and on can be purchased with or without a self-empty dock.
Admittedly, things do get confusing when older models discontinued by iRobot itself are still available for purchase at various stores. There's also a curious little arrangement between iRobot and select retailers involving store-exclusive spinoff versions of current Roombas with negligible design differences but notable price variations. For instance, Walmart's Roomba i1+ is identical to the mainstream Roomba i3+ (aside from a color change) but goes for way less than the i3+ when on sale — which is almost always.
Roomba sales happen year-round. Roombas are definitely on the pricier end of the spectrum compared to vacs from Roborock, Shark, and eufy, which typically offer similar advanced features, like room mapping or automatic emptying, at lower price points than iRobot. But even outside of Black Friday season (and through late December) and Prime Day, you can almost always find main Roomba models on sale for $100-$200 less than their MSRP, making them a more digestible purchase.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].
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