When it comes to robot vacuums, two names dominate the conversation: iRobot Roomba and Roborock. Roomba invented the category back in 2002 and has been refining the formula ever since. Roborock, a younger company founded in 2014 by veterans from Baidu, Tencent, and Microsoft, has rapidly closed the gap and now offers some of the most advanced robot vacuums on the market. I spent weeks testing both brands to determine which one truly delivers the better automated cleaning experience.
Design and Build Quality
The Roomba Combo 10 Max and Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra represent each company’s flagship offerings, and the design philosophies couldn’t be more different.
The Roomba features iRobot’s signature circular design with a distinctive black and beige color scheme. It’s well-built with premium materials, and the Clean Base automatic dirt disposal is remarkably compact compared to some competitors. The top-mounted camera for obstacle avoidance gives it a purposeful look, and the physical buttons for spot clean and home are refreshingly straightforward.
Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra takes a more aggressive approach to aesthetics with its angular design and matte black finish. The docking station is substantially larger. it houses dual water tanks for clean and dirty water, plus an automatic detergent dispenser. This means the Roborock can refill its water tank and empty its dust bin autonomously, something the Roomba can’t match without manual intervention.
The most significant design difference lies in their mopping systems. The Roomba Combo 10 Max uses a motorized mopping pad that physically lifts away from carpets when it detects them. This clever mechanism prevents your carpets from getting wet. a common problem with robot vacuum-mop hybrids. Roborock’s approach involves a vibrating mop pad that lifts approximately 20mm when transitioning to carpet, though our testing revealed it occasionally left plush carpets slightly damp.
Specifications
| Specification | Roomba Combo 10 Max | Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Suction Power | 10,000 Pa | 10,000 Pa |
| Battery Life | Up to 120 minutes | Up to 180 minutes |
| Navigation | AI-powered camera + LiDAR | LiDAR + RGB camera |
| Self-Empty Base | Yes | Yes |
| Water Tank | Single (manual refill) | Dual (auto refill) |
| Mop Lift Height | 12mm | 20mm |
Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance
This is where Roborock pulls ahead decisively. The S8 MaxV Ultra uses a combination of LiDAR scanning and an RGB camera with AI object recognition. In our tests, it navigated around phone chargers, cables, pet waste, and even socks with remarkable precision. The robot literally stopped inches from obstacles, recalculated its path, and continued cleaning without missing a beat.
Roomba’s system uses PrecisionVision navigation with a front-mounted camera. It’s good. definitely better than older Roomba models. but it occasionally bumped into smaller obstacles like charging cables. The Roomba also took longer to map our test home, requiring three complete cleaning cycles before it had a fully optimized route.
What impressed us most about Roborock was its ability to clean every inch of the floor space. In our obstacle course tests using long-exposure photography with glow sticks, Roborock consistently covered 100% of the test area while navigating around obstacles. The Roomba, by contrast, left noticeable gaps near furniture legs and in corners.
The mapping experience through each company’s app was also different. Roborock’s app allows you to set specific cleaning zones, define no-go areas with remarkable precision, and even choose between vacuum-only, mop-only, or vacuum-and-mop modes for each room. Roomba’s app is more limited. you can set virtual barriers and room dividers, but the granularity isn’t as fine.
Cleaning Performance
Let’s be clear: both robots clean exceptionally well on hard floors. The differences become apparent on carpets and when tackling specific types of debris.
On hardwood and tile, both robots picked up 98-100% of our test debris (a mix of flour, rice, and pet hair). The suction power of 10,000 Pa on both machines is more than sufficient for daily maintenance cleaning.
On low-pile carpet, the Roomba Combo 10 Max impressed us with its 97.62% pickup rate for black rice and nearly perfect performance on sand. Roborock’s results were slightly lower at 96.97% for rice and 59.57% for sand on low-pile carpet.
The gap widened on mid-pile carpet. Roomba maintained strong performance with 96.21% rice pickup and 59.86% sand pickup. Roborock dropped to 95.96% for rice and 57.45% for sand. still good, but measurably behind.
However, where Roborock claws back ground is in overall coverage. Because it navigates more efficiently and avoids obstacles better, it often cleaned more floor area in the same time frame, compensating for slightly lower per-pass pickup rates.
The mopping performance told a different story. Roborock’s sonic vibration mopping system actually scrubs floors. moving back and forth rapidly to lift dried stains. Roomba’s mopping is more of a light wipe. In our coffee stain tests, Roborock removed 85% of dried stains while Roomba managed only 60%. Roborock also offers hot water mopping (140°F) on the S8 MaxV Ultra, which helps dissolve greasy residues more effectively.
Smart Features and Self-Sufficiency
Here’s where Roborock really separates itself from the competition. The S8 MaxV Ultra’s docking station does it all: it empties the dust bin, refills the clean water tank, empties the dirty water, dispenses detergent automatically, and even hot-air dries the mop pad to prevent mold and mildew.
Roomba’s Clean Base handles dust emptying competently, but you’re still responsible for filling the water tank and cleaning the mopping pad manually. For a premium product at $1,400, this feels like a compromise.
Both robots integrate with smart home ecosystems. They work with Google Home and Amazon Alexa for voice control. Roborock adds Apple HomeKit support, which is a nice bonus for iOS users. Neither integrates with IFTTT in particularly meaningful ways, but that’s a minor quibble.
The companion apps are both solid, though Roboreck’s is more feature-rich. You can view cleaning history with detailed maps, set up custom cleaning schedules for specific rooms, adjust suction and mop water levels, and even enable remote monitoring through the robot’s camera to check on pets or see what’s happening at home.
Battery Life and Runtime
Roborock claims 180 minutes of runtime; Roomba claims 120 minutes. In our real-world testing with mixed surfaces and obstacle avoidance enabled, Roborock lasted 150 minutes compared to Roomba’s 95 minutes.
For most homes, either robot can complete a full cleaning cycle on a single charge. But if you have a larger home (2,500+ square feet), Roborock’s longer battery life means it’s more likely to finish the job without returning to base mid-cleaning.
Both robots automatically return to their docks when battery is low, recharge, and resume cleaning where they left off. This feature works reliably on both platforms.
Price and Value
The Roomba Combo 10 Max retails for $1,400, while the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra runs $1,800. However, both are frequently on sale. Roomba drops to around $1,000 and Roborock to around $1,100.
At full price, Roborock is harder to justify. But at sale prices, the additional features. particularly the self-refilling water system and superior obstacle avoidance. make it the better value. You simply get more automation and less hands-on maintenance.
The Verdict
The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra earns our recommendation as the better choice for most households. Here’s why:
The superior navigation system means it actually cleans more floor area without getting stuck or missing spots. The self-sustaining docking station dramatically reduces the maintenance burden. you can go weeks without touching the robot. The mopping performance is meaningfully better, and the longer battery life handles larger homes more effectively.
That said, Roomba isn’t obsolete. If you have mostly hard floors with minimal carpets, the Roomba Combo 10 Max remains an excellent choice. Its superior carpet cleaning performance gives it an edge for carpeted homes, and iRobot’s decades of refinement show in the reliability of its core vacuuming functionality.
But for the majority of households seeking the most capable robot vacuum-mop hybrid, Roborock’s comprehensive feature set and innovative design make it the winner. The future of home cleaning is increasingly autonomous, and Roborock is leading that charge.