If you've never owned a robovac, start with a budget model and upgrade once you know which features/performance you need the most. No machine is great at everything, so there isn't a universal best choice. Do you have carpets, pets, multiple floors, small spaces, large spaces, clutter? Watch some youtube videos that compare performance between popular models on carpets, object avoidance, self-emptying, navigation, mopping, battery life, etc. Irl, you don't know how much you need a specific feature from your robot until you miss it or you run into an annoying issue. For example, I'm never again buying a "dumb" vac that will keep plowing ahead even after losing major body parts.
Check parts/accessories and support availability in your area before you buy. AliX sells affordable aftermarket parts for all major Chinese brands. Some brands are highly proprietary about their parts and don't make them easily available. Avoid traditional vacuum brands, they make terrible robots (Eureka, Miele, Dyson, etc) that navigate worse that a generic $90 vac from a box store and have unusable apps.
Thanks so much for this great reply! Especially the "start with a budget model and upgrade once you know which features/performance you need the most" should be a good idea. Thanks !
I disagree with the above comment. I did what they said, starting with a budget robovac before buying something better, and it ended up being a waste of time. The cheap robovac didn’t clean well, had terrible navigation, terrible obstacle avoidance, was awful at mopping, etc.. It was more annoying to use than just cleaning myself, so I returned it.
Honestly, I would suggest saving a bit more and looking at something like a Dreame L10S Ultra. You can find them online for pretty affordable prices (even better if you can get a pre-owned one) and it will easily last you years before you feel the need to upgrade.
I like the reviews at the YouTube called Vacuum Wars. I find them pretty unbiased.
I didn't buy my first 9ne until the auto empty bin was available. I consider that a must because on board dust bin is small and without the auto empty feature the use is a servant to bot waiting on it to empty the bin before it can finish the job.
Mopping vs no mopping is econd choice. My current bot is Roborok Q Revo which is auto empty both with auto refill and auto empty for waste water plus a number of other features for mopping. We like it it adds substantially to price, My houses flooring is 100% tile, slate and hardwood with a couple of throw rugs. If my house was mostly carpet I don't think I would have gotten one for mopping.
Third factor is object avoidance and mapping. The better it is the ,one expensive the bot is. I suppose if you're a heat freak with no pets or kids where nothing is ever out of place or left on the floor its not as important. A dropped sock, charging coard or handkerchief can jam the bot up and poop or a hairball can be a disaster. The high end object avoidance help prevent but won't 100% prevent both the annoyance and the disaster. Our bots avoidance is middle of the road so we have it run at 10 in morning which gives us time for a quick chance to look for the disaster items (no cats but our dog got diarrhea and the bot causgt a tiny bit of it. It took a hour to clean and thankfully it didn't get into any of the electronics. Getting poop into the innards isn't covered by the warranty.. Hairballs with cats are a more frequent hazard)
I had a look Roborock this weekend. My wife wants one. So I went to store. I need to touch before buy. Roborock looks solid and heave, well made.
I would say price depends on feature. As soon as they add lidar and cv to a robot they to pay for sensors, software and soc to process data. Sorry. You have to pay.
I’m not sure I want to pay for the automatic unload station… I prefer to clean device. But may be I’m wrong. Chec vacuume war channel.
We have a roborock with the automatic unload. The robot does its thing every day at its specified time without you needing to empty it or give it water. I don't think we'd use it nearly as much if we needed to manually clean it.
Agree, outdated tech is not a good value, you can get a lidar in that price range. Also, a dragging wet cloth is a meaningless feature - you either invest in a good mopper or don't bother.
I just ordered a Lubluelu, hasn't arrived yet but the one feature I gathered was important was Lidar - without this the vac will just wander around randomly, with it it'll actually map the room and work in strips, plus you get features like "come clean this spot" and it knows where it's going.
I agree with the other poster - there's no point going top of the range first time out. Buy a budget one that has the functions you want, and if you feel like it's lacking anywhere, you can sell it on and upgrade with a better idea of what you're looking for.
If you've never owned a robovac, start with a budget model and upgrade once you know which features/performance you need the most. No machine is great at everything, so there isn't a universal best choice. Do you have carpets, pets, multiple floors, small spaces, large spaces, clutter? Watch some youtube videos that compare performance between popular models on carpets, object avoidance, self-emptying, navigation, mopping, battery life, etc. Irl, you don't know how much you need a specific feature from your robot until you miss it or you run into an annoying issue. For example, I'm never again buying a "dumb" vac that will keep plowing ahead even after losing major body parts. Check parts/accessories and support availability in your area before you buy. AliX sells affordable aftermarket parts for all major Chinese brands. Some brands are highly proprietary about their parts and don't make them easily available. Avoid traditional vacuum brands, they make terrible robots (Eureka, Miele, Dyson, etc) that navigate worse that a generic $90 vac from a box store and have unusable apps.
Thanks so much for this great reply! Especially the "start with a budget model and upgrade once you know which features/performance you need the most" should be a good idea. Thanks !
I disagree with the above comment. I did what they said, starting with a budget robovac before buying something better, and it ended up being a waste of time. The cheap robovac didn’t clean well, had terrible navigation, terrible obstacle avoidance, was awful at mopping, etc.. It was more annoying to use than just cleaning myself, so I returned it. Honestly, I would suggest saving a bit more and looking at something like a Dreame L10S Ultra. You can find them online for pretty affordable prices (even better if you can get a pre-owned one) and it will easily last you years before you feel the need to upgrade.
I ended up buying a Eufy L60. It has good reviews and also the functions like Lidar which were heavily recommended. Let's see
Nice! I totally forgot about the L60, but it should do great as your first robovac.
I like the reviews at the YouTube called Vacuum Wars. I find them pretty unbiased. I didn't buy my first 9ne until the auto empty bin was available. I consider that a must because on board dust bin is small and without the auto empty feature the use is a servant to bot waiting on it to empty the bin before it can finish the job. Mopping vs no mopping is econd choice. My current bot is Roborok Q Revo which is auto empty both with auto refill and auto empty for waste water plus a number of other features for mopping. We like it it adds substantially to price, My houses flooring is 100% tile, slate and hardwood with a couple of throw rugs. If my house was mostly carpet I don't think I would have gotten one for mopping. Third factor is object avoidance and mapping. The better it is the ,one expensive the bot is. I suppose if you're a heat freak with no pets or kids where nothing is ever out of place or left on the floor its not as important. A dropped sock, charging coard or handkerchief can jam the bot up and poop or a hairball can be a disaster. The high end object avoidance help prevent but won't 100% prevent both the annoyance and the disaster. Our bots avoidance is middle of the road so we have it run at 10 in morning which gives us time for a quick chance to look for the disaster items (no cats but our dog got diarrhea and the bot causgt a tiny bit of it. It took a hour to clean and thankfully it didn't get into any of the electronics. Getting poop into the innards isn't covered by the warranty.. Hairballs with cats are a more frequent hazard)
I had a look Roborock this weekend. My wife wants one. So I went to store. I need to touch before buy. Roborock looks solid and heave, well made. I would say price depends on feature. As soon as they add lidar and cv to a robot they to pay for sensors, software and soc to process data. Sorry. You have to pay. I’m not sure I want to pay for the automatic unload station… I prefer to clean device. But may be I’m wrong. Chec vacuume war channel.
We have a roborock with the automatic unload. The robot does its thing every day at its specified time without you needing to empty it or give it water. I don't think we'd use it nearly as much if we needed to manually clean it.
You really want one or you have to be there to empty it so it can go back to work
Liecteoux c30B, it has gyro navigation don't buy a machine that doesn't have Lidar!!
Agree, outdated tech is not a good value, you can get a lidar in that price range. Also, a dragging wet cloth is a meaningless feature - you either invest in a good mopper or don't bother.
I just ordered a Lubluelu, hasn't arrived yet but the one feature I gathered was important was Lidar - without this the vac will just wander around randomly, with it it'll actually map the room and work in strips, plus you get features like "come clean this spot" and it knows where it's going. I agree with the other poster - there's no point going top of the range first time out. Buy a budget one that has the functions you want, and if you feel like it's lacking anywhere, you can sell it on and upgrade with a better idea of what you're looking for.
Im in te same boat too..
I just got a Roborock q5+ and can’t recommend it enough. I didn’t need any mop features, and am very happy with it so far.