Roomba’s are all the rage. Whether you are watching funny cat videos online or hearing positive feedback from friends, the Roomba is definitely the most popular and sought after robotic vacuum cleaner. When it comes to picking the right Roomba, it’s not always easy.
There are a number of different generations and models. Sometimes the differences don’t seem very significant but the price tag varies.
In this resource page, I will highlight the best Roomba model according to affordability, value, and overall performance. At the bottom of the page you will find a comparison table for easy contrasting of all the Roomba models.
Looking for the Best Roomba Deals Right Now?
Special Deals: Before going further, I just wanted to mention that the Roomba 690 is currently on sale for a record 22% off at this listing. This is the only 600 series with WiFi capability.
These are the other current deals ongoing for Roomba’s right now:
Best Affordable Roomba
In this category we will look at the best budget Roomba models. This is a helpful category for price conscious consumers who just want a Rooma for the best possible price. You might have to settle for an older model, but the features of these Roomba’s are usually more than competent for your average home. If you are looking for the cheapest Roomba, check out the suggestions below.
Most affordable Roomba: Roomba 614
Full Review: My Roomba 614 Review
The Roomba 614 is currently the lowest priced model available on iRobot’s online store. Costing $299.99, three Roomba 614 units could easily cover the cost of one Roomba 980. The Roomba 614 can still give you a very efficient clean using iRobot’s patented 3-Stage Cleaning system, wherein it uses the main brush and side brush to loosen up and sweep the dirt, dust, and debris on your floor before the powerful suction sucks them all in.
The Roomba 614 has the Dirt Detect feature, which uses sensors to find the dirtiest areas of your floor so that it could concentrate on giving those spots a more thorough cleaning. The Roomba 614 includes all the common features that you can find on all Roombas. It uses the iAdapt navigation technology, which utilizes sensors to help it find its way around your floors, avoiding collisions, getting under furniture, and avoiding falling off stairs. It also uses a lithium-ion battery, guaranteeing run times of up to 60 minutes on a single charge. The Roomba 614 also has the ability to find its way back to the charging dock when the battery runs low.
At its price, the Roomba 614 can clean better than most of the competing robot vacuums in its price range. However, it does come with a few sacrifices. For one, you will be relying on old technologies. The Roomba 614 has the same technologies you can find on other Series 600 robots, which started coming out on the market around five years ago. But still, it is a Roomba and it can clean efficiently. Perhaps the biggest sacrifice that you would see in the Roomba 614 is that it does not connect to your Wi-Fi network. This means there is no way for you to start, pause or resume cleaning runs remotely, or when you are out of the house. You would need to press the CLEAN button on the device itself. It is also not possible to control your Roomba 614 with voice commands.
- 3-Stage Cleaning system loosens, lifts, and suctions dirt, dust, and hair from hard floors and carpet.
- Dual Multi-Surface Brushes work together to grab dust, dirt, and large debris. The Auto-Adjust cleaning head automatically adapts its height to effectively clean both carpets and hard floors.
- Patented Dirt Detect sensors alert Roomba to work harder on concentrated areas of dirt, such as high-traffic zones of your home.
- Full suite of sensors intelligently navigate the robot under and around objects and under furniture to help thoroughly clean your floors.
- Edge-Sweeping Brush is specially designed at a 27-degree angle to sweep debris away from edges and corners.
It is hard to imagine how people were able to handle robot vacuums that do not have smart and remote controls now that these features are available. Still, the Roomba 614 does present a good alternative for those who are looking for a capable robot vacuum that does not put too much burden on their budgets. Or for those people who are looking to buy a Roomba for smaller spaces, as well as those who do not care about Wi-Fi connected robots.
Best value Roomba: Roomba 890
Full Review: My Roomba 890 Review
When it comes to value for money, you do not just look at the price, but also at the features and functionalities that you get from that particular product. If you are looking for a Roomba that gives you great features without costing too much, then you should check out the Roomba 890.
- Capacity volume - .62 liter. Power-Lifting Suction delivers 5X the suction* for improved pick-up performance
- Premium 3-Stage Cleaning System loosens, lifts, and suctions dirt, dust, and pet hair
- Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes instantly adjust and flex to stay in constant contact with floors
- Patented Dirt Detect sensors alert Roomba to work harder on concentrated areas of dirt, such as high-traffic zones of your home
- Clean and schedule from anywhere with the iRobot HOME App; compatible with Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant
The $500 Roomba 890 uses iAdapt navigation technology combined with the more powerful Aeroforce cleaning technology. In short, it applies the same kind of cleaning system that you would find on more expensive Roomba Series 900 models. The Roomba 890’s AeroForce cleaning technologies replace the main brush with debris extractors. Instead, they use rubber debris extractors that break down dirt and debris, making it easier for the powerful suction to send these into the dustbin. The debris extractor is also brushless, which eliminates hair tangles.
Aside from the debris extractor, the Roomba 890 also uses a better filter. The high-efficiency filter you find in the 890 traps 99% of pollens, particles, and allergens that are 10 microns or bigger. This means that compared to the Roomba 614 and the Roomba 690, you can breathe cleaner air with the Roomba 890.
The Roomba 890 retains the side brushes that you see on earlier models, but the suction is much more powerful. Compared to the Roomba 614, the Roomba 890 delivers five times more suction power.
The Roomba 890 connects to your Wi-Fi network and, using the free Home app, you can start cleaning runs whether you are at home or halfway across the world. If you are at home and if you have Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, you can keep your smartphone away. Instead, you can use voice commands to have the Roomba 890 start cleaning. You can also use the mobile app to create cleaning schedules. The full bin indicator would tell you when it is time to empty out the dustbin.
Moreover, the 890’s lithium-ion battery gives it enough power to clean for an hour before automatically going back to the charging dock.
Needless to say, the Roomba 890 has the same cleaning system as the more expensive Roomba 960 and Roomba 980, and it has Wi-Fi connectivity features.
You may not have the full range of smart features, you cannot set your own cleaning preferences, and you are using older navigation system, but the Roomba 890 delivers the very efficient clean that you can expect from more expensive robot vacuums.
The Best Overall Performance: Roomba 980
Full Review: My Roomba 980 Review
iRobot makes it a point to always come up with something new, so it is not surprising that its Roomba continues to dominate the robot vacuum space. The company is always introducing new technologies that would make each new release exciting. It also has a good track record at adopting new technologies from other robot vacuums. If a competing robot vacuum comes out with groundbreaking technologies, you can expect iRobot to come out with the same offering not long after.
As such, Roombas are always at the forefront of technology.
Right now, the most full-featured Roomba is the Roomba 980.
The Roomba 980 has the iAdapt2.0 navigation technology and the AeroForce cleaning technology, both of which are the latest technologies for Roomba vacuums. The Roomba 980 also has a range of optical and acoustic sensors that allows it to find the dirtiest parts of your floor so that it knows where to go and what cleaning pattern to use. It also has an onboard camera that it uses to create a map of your home as well as for it to know its current location. You can see this map on the Clean Map Reports on the mobile app, giving you visual confirmation that the Roomba 980 has covered your entire floor.
It also has entire-level cleaning functionality in that it will find its way back to the charging dock and then resume cleaning where it left off once the batteries are fully charged. Speaking of batteries, the Roomba 980 has an extra long run time. A single charge can give it enough power to clean for up to two hours, which is double the run time for the Roomba 614 and the Roomba 890.
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Furthermore, the Roomba 980 connects to your Wi-Fi network so that you could control it using your smartphone. You can also do more nifty stuff with the mobile app, such as see the Clean Map Reports detailing where your robot vacuum has cleaned, as well as set the custom clean preferences such as activating the final edge clean, the power settings, and the number of cleaning passes that the Roomba 980 should make. You can also use voice commands to operate this robot vacuum.
If you have carpets that need extra cleaning, you can turn on the carpet boost mode, which will double the robot vacuum’s suction power so that your vacuums get a deeper clean. Compared to the Roomba 614, the Roomba 980 delivers 10 times more vacuuming power when the carpet boost is activated.
The Roomba 980 also has the full bin action control. It does not only notify you when the dustbin is already full, you can also tell the robot whether you want it to pause cleaning immediately or to continue cleaning until it is done before you empty out the dustbin.
The Roomba 980 is perfect for people with very large homes and those who like all the top-notch features that it offers. Apart from delivering the most efficient clean even on carpeted floors, the Roomba 980 also gives you more convenience by completing a cleaning run on its own. All you have to do is to start or schedule a cleaning session and then forget about it. You also get a finer grain of control as to how it cleans your home.
The “in-betweens” – Other Roombas to Consider
What makes iRobot the company to beat when it comes to robot vacuums is not just their ability to come out with Roombas that have the latest technologies or that have the right combination of price and features. The company also tries to come up with a Roomba model for everybody.
For instance, the Roomba 690 is a good choice for those people who are contented with the level of cleaning and the features that the Roomba 614 offers but would like the ability to remotely control their robot vacuums, or use voice commands to operate it.
Meanwhile, the Roomba 960 would be a good choice for those who like the bells and whistles they see on the Roomba 980 but are turned off by the $900 price tag. The Roomba 960 delivers most of the features you see on the Roomba 980 except for the carpet boost feature. The Roomba 960 also has a shorter runtime than the Roomba 980, delivering only up to 75 minutes of cleaning on a single charge. That is effectively 45 minutes less than the Roomba 980’s maximum running time of two hours.
Other Roomba Reviews
To go deeper, dig into these reviews on various Roomba models:
- Roomba 960 Review
- Roomba 870 (877) Review
- Roomba 860 Review
- Roomba 690 Review
- Roomba 650 (652) Review
Other Robot Vacs to Consider
Of course, you can check out my round-up of the top Roomba alternatives, but I also update this list yearly with my top picks (regardless of brand).
Roomba Model Comparison in 2018
In case you are curious about the other Roomba models that I have not mentioned, below you will find a comprehensive interactive quiz that takes all of the robots on the market and goes through the latest 900 series vacuum.
As you can see, price changes pretty dramatically with the 800 series, but you can find some great deals in the 600-700 series, depending on your needs. For first time robot vacuum buyers, you can’t go “wrong” with any of these, but you do get marginally better reliability from the latest models.
| Roomba 614 | Roomba 690 | Roomba 890 | Roomba 960 | Roomba 980 | |
| Cleans All Floor Types | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Patented 3-Stage Cleaning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Navigation technology | iAdapt | iAdapt | iAdapt | iAdapt 2.0 | iAdapt 2.0 |
| Vacuuming technology | Aerovac | Aerovac | Aeroforce | Aeroforce | Aeroforce |
| Lithium-ion battery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max. runtime (minutes) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 75 | 120 |
| Self-Charging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dirt Detect | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Connected | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Debris extractors | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tangle-Free Rollers | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| High-Efficiency Filter | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Room Cleaning | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Recharge and Resume | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Clean Map™ Reports | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Cleaning Preferences | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Visual localization & mapping | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Edge cleaning mode | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Entire level cleaning | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Full bin action control | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in camera | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Deeper Cleaning on Carpets | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Carpet boost | No | No | No | No | Yes |
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