The best Roombas in 2025: A buyers guide for Black Friday
In the evolving landscape of home cleaning technology, the Roomba brand, synonymous with robot vacuums, faces unprecedented challenges. While “Roomba” has become a household name, it is essential to remember that it refers specifically to the product line created by iRobot, rather than a generic term for all robot vacuums. In recent developments, iRobot’s financial struggles have raised concerns about the future of the Roomba, particularly after the company’s unprofitable year in 2025 and the collapse of its acquisition deal with Amazon. This turmoil has prompted iRobot to hastily revamp its Roomba lineup, a departure from its traditional August release schedule, indicating a desperate attempt to regain market relevance amid increasing competition from brands like Roborock and Shark.
Despite introducing innovative features, such as a mopping Roomba with spinning pads and a self-washing dock, the latest models have not been able to keep pace with competitors that have long offered superior technology at more competitive prices. Analysts suggest that while the 2025 Roombas are more affordable than previous iterations, they still do not provide the best value compared to alternatives. For consumers considering a purchase, particularly during the upcoming Black Friday sales, it is advised to shop wisely, as discounts on Roombas are expected to be significant. However, potential buyers should be cautious about paying full price for these models, as the market is flooded with options that may offer better performance and features for a similar or lower cost.
For those still intrigued by the Roomba brand, navigating the various models can be daunting. iRobot’s naming conventions—ranging from basic models like the Roomba 105 to more advanced iterations such as the Roomba Combo j9+—can confuse consumers. Understanding the distinctions between these models is crucial for making an informed purchase. Features such as self-emptying docks and mopping capabilities are denoted by specific terms, allowing buyers to identify the right Roomba for their needs. As the market continues to evolve, the question remains whether iRobot can reclaim its position as a leader in robotic cleaning, or if the Roomba will become a relic of the past, overshadowed by more innovative and cost-effective alternatives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7d9P_MrFbA
It might come as a surprise that “roomba”
isn’t
the universal term for a
robot vacuum
. It is, in fact, a capital “R” that denotes Roomba as a proper noun — just one brand — rather than a generic trademark. Roombas are robot vacuums made by iRobot, and looking for the best Roomba to buy is a much more specific task than assessing the
best robot vacuums to buy in general
, all brands included. But a recent announcement about
iRobot’s financial situation
hints that the Roomba may not be the Band-Aid or the Kleenex of robotic vacuum cleaners for much longer.
SEE ALSO:
How to make your robot vacuum work better: 3 setup tips to do right now
After an unprofitable 2025, it might be the end of an era for iRobot
Next year at this time, the question may not be which iRobot vacuum you should buy. It might be whether or not iRobot still makes vacuums at all.
Amazon and iRobot called it quits
with their pending acquisition back in 2024, and things have only gone downhill for iRobot from there. Soon after that, iRobot randomly overhauled the Roomba lineup in March 2025 — an interesting deviation from its usual release schedule, in which the biggest Roombas of the year typically come out in August. It felt like a last-ditch effort to keep the company afloat after
struggling to profit in 2024
.
More than 20 Roombas have come out since the first Roomba
hit homes in 2002
, but the newest wave of Roombas saw the ingenuity that made its predecessors stand out. As someone who tests robot vacuums for a living, I’ve been saying for a year now that
Roombas are struggling to stay relevant
in a sea of smarter, stronger, more fairly-priced robot vacs from the likes of
Roborock
and
iRobot’s biggest Google search competition, Shark
. Like sure, it’s great to finally see a mopping Roomba with spinning mopping pads or a Roomba self-washing and -drying mopping pad dock that’s relatively affordable. But the
best robot vacuum mop combos
from other brands have been on top of that for years.
Which robot vacuum should I buy on Black Friday?
If you’re still Roomba-curious after that warning, you should definitely aim to buy a Roomba on Black Friday. I’ll give iRobot credit for the surprising affordability of the 2025 Roombas, but I wouldn’t tell anyone to pay full price for one of them. Fortunately, most of the best Roombas have stayed on sale since October Prime Day, and are likely to drop even further in price this
Black Friday
season. Despite the botched acquisition with Amazon, Roomba deals consistently make up a solid portion of the best Black Friday robot vacuum deals at Amazon.
SEE ALSO:
My cats and I found the 8 best vacuums for pet owners, from powerful hair pickup to livestream cameras
But as long as the Roomba legacy is still on the market, the same old question remains: “Which Roomba is the best?” I’ve tested nearly every Roomba released since 2019, and I’m regularly updating this guide as I test the 2025 models
in my own apartment
. After comparing suction, pet hair pickup, mopping, smart mapping, small obstacle detection, and price, I chose the Roombas that offer the best value for different types of households.
How to tell the difference between the Roomba models
The
iRobot Roomba 105
. The
Roomba Combo i5+
. The
Roomba Combo j7+
(not to be confused with the Roomba j7). The arbitrary numbers and letters of the Roomba family tree are confusing at face value, but we can teach you.
When shopping for a Roomba, you’ll choose from what I call iRobot’s core lineup: the group of three to five Roomba series sold on iRobot’s website. Any Roomba whose title includes a letter and a number (like j9+ or i5) or the word Max is more advanced than a Roomba with just numbers in the title (like 105, 205, or 692) or just words (like Roomba Vac or Essential).
A plus sign (like j9+) denotes that the model comes with a self-emptying dock, and Roombas that
mop
will have “Combo” in the title. “Max” is a new Roomba term introduced with the
Roomba Combo 10 Max
— it refers to the ability of a hybrid Roomba to wash and dry its own mopping pad within the self-empty dock. On the other end of the spectrum, “Essential” means “most basic” in the Roomba family, meaning no smart mapping.
Other Roombas I’ve tested
I’ve tested several Roombas that are no longer main players in the Roomba guide for 2025. The
Roomba Combo j9+
doesn’t wash or dry its mopping pad, and is simply too expensive to be worth buying over its siblings like the
Roomba Combo 10 Max
,
Roomba Plus 505
. or
Roomba Max 705
. Plus, the j9’s increasing obsoleteness has pretty much halted its ability to get a noteworthy discount nowadays.
I have also removed any 600 series Roombas from this guide for a similar reason: They just can’t compete with the newer cheap Roombas that have stronger suction and smart mapping. When I tested the Roomba 694, it pissed me off more than it impressed. The
Roomba 694
and
Roomba 692
are hard to find in stock, anyway, and it’s rarely for less than the Roomba 105 (my new top pick for the best cheap Roomba).
