When it comes to robot vacuums, the Roomba is iconic. Sure, plenty of jokes have been told at the expense of this gadget, but it’s still a go-to piece of tech used to clean the floors of many homes around the world. Important features like smart navigation and strong cleaning have solidified it as one of the best automatic floor cleaners we’ve tested. The folks at Amazon were also onto the popularity of this epic vacuum, because in 2022, the online mega-retailer moved to acquire iRobot outright for a jaw-dropping $1.7 billion (later amended to $1.4 billion).
The deal in question drew scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission and, over a year later, it still hasn’t closed. That means the Roomba isn’t an Amazon gadget — at least not yet. The notion of an Alexa-friendly floor cleaner may be exciting to many consumers, but others may be less thrilled at the idea of an autonomous Amazon-branded robot that is listening to your every conversation while learning your daily routines and mapping every nook and cranny of your home.
Thankfully, the robot vacuum industry has blossomed, with a number of diverse brands producing noteworthy cleaners — with many performing quite well in our cleaning and navigation tests. The best of those Roomba alternatives we’ve tested (as pulled from our overall list of best robot vacuums) are listed below.
Battery Life/Runtime 180 minWeight 10.4 lbsBin Capacity 0.47 litersAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA) YesVacuum Type Robot
Currently available for $360 (with a savings of $290), the Roborock S7 won us over across hours of controlled tests, with laser-guided navigational smarts, strong cleaning scores with pet hair and sand, and on-board Wi-Fi for anyone who wants to control the cleaner with an app or sync the thing with a voice assistant (both Alexa and the Google Assistant are supported, along with Siri Shortcuts). Roborock gets points for versatility, too, as the S7 can double as a robotic mop thanks to the on-board water reservoir and mopping attachment.
As for cleaning power, the Roborock S7 was our top overall finisher among 18 robot vacuums for the percentage of sand vacuumed out of our low-pile test carpet, and it finished in a close second behind the Roomba S9 on plushier mid-pile carpet. It also cleaned our test floors about 36% faster than the Roomba S9 did, so it’s a good pick if you’re looking for something efficient, too.
Read our Roborock S7 Robot Vacuum review.
Looking for a smart little floor cleaner that doesn’t cost quite so much? Eufy has you covered with a variety of models at this point, none of which will cost you nearly as much as their Roomba counterparts. One of our favorites is the Eufy RoboVac 25C, which held up surprisingly well in our cleaning tests despite a budget bin price tag. In fact, as of writing this, you can find it at Walmart for just $129 right now.
That’s a great deal for a robot vacuum that outperformed costlier, previous-gen flagships from names like iRobot and Neato in our test lab. It performed the best on hardwood floors, so if you’re living somewhere without a lot of thick carpets, then this is a steal.
Battery Life/Runtime 300 minWeight 7.9 poundsBin Capacity 0.7 litersAnti-Allergy Filter (HEPA) YesVacuum Type Robot
Neato is one of iRobot’s top competitors, and its robot vacuums often give Roombas a run for their money as far as performance is concerned. That was the case with the Neato D10, which picked up more than twice as much sand from low-pile carpets as the Roomba S9 Plus did, while essentially tying it on hardwood floors, picking up an impressive 91% of sand in our tests.
Results like those landed Neato a spot on our best list as a solid mid-range pick, but the Roborock S7 ultimately replaced it as our favorite mid-range pick. The D10 is still an excellent app-enabled robot vacuum, though, and worth considering alongside the Roborock S7 at its asking price of $440.
Update, Oct. 18, 2023: This post has been updated to note that Amazon’s 2022 acquisition of iRobot has yet to close.
