The explosion of smartphones has changed the way we live.
Information was not easily available at our fingertips before at such breakneck speeds.
This device has virtually shrunk the world we live in now. It has affected the way people live.
Consumer electronics manufacturers have taken note of it and are now adding WiFi connectivity to their products.
Robotic vacuums are the latest devices to add WiFi connectivity and these are exciting times to be a consumer.
I am going to compare the different features of these cleaners to help you just in case you are looking for a standalone cleaner that has this feature. The great thing is that you don’t need to spend $500 for this and there are great deals out there.
Table of Contents
Specifications comparison
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Model | 
EcoVacs Depot N79 |
xiaomi robot vacuum cleaner |
Eufy Robovac 11c |
Neato BotVac D5 |
iRobot Roomba 980 |
| Battery Type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion | Li-Ion | Li-Ion | Nickel and cadmium |
| Shipping time | 5 hours. | Unavailable | 6 hours. | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| the show length | 100 minutes | 2.5 hours | 100 minutes | 90 minutes | 2 hours |
| Compatible with Alexa |  |
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multi room  |
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| self docking |
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| remote control | |
Application based | |
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| HEPA filter | |
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| Detecting cliff |
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| side brushes | |
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| Cleaning sessions per week |
7 | Unlimited | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| an offer | 13 inches | 13.58 inches | 13.8 inches | 12.6 inches | 13.8 inches |
| Height | 3.1 “ | 3.15 inches | 3.6 inches | 3.9 “ | 3.6 inches |
| Weight | 6.7 EGP | 8.4 pounds | 6.7 EGP | 7.5 pounds | 8.7 EGP |
| Guarantee | One year | One year | One year | One year | 2 years (click here for more details) |
| Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
How to choose a WiFi robot vacuum cleaner?
The biggest benefit of WiFi is the ability to access it even when you are not physically at home. It is this convenience that attracts a lot of consumers to robots like this.
Features and accompanying apps will vary. This will be the biggest differentiating factor besides price when narrowing down your options.
Let’s go through each point you have to go through in the selection process…
price – The first thing you need to decide is the amount of money you are willing to spend on this device. It’s really pointless to look at 10 different products if you can only buy 3 of them.
performance – Buying a robot vacuum that doesn’t clean well is really a waste of money. And to see how a particular brand is doing, check out reviews on both Amazon and YouTube if you can find it.
Application design – One of the most overlooked features (in my opinion) when choosing a wifi robot vacuum. You should check the stability and features of the program. The thing is that a feature-rich app will be less stable than a simple one, so you have to balance these two apps and see which features you will prioritize.
Height – One of the biggest advantages of having a robot that cleans your home is its ability to clean under furniture. That’s why you won’t see the Dyson 360 Eye on this list because it won’t fit anything under 5 inches.
Our pick: EcoVacs DEEBOT N79
Yes, there are more complex robotic vacuums. But when you talk about value for money, the EcoVacs DEEBOT N79 is hard to beat.
In terms of functionality and features, this is similar to Roomba 650 but more furniture-friendly.
Unlike the 650, this robot will not hit furniture hard. But it will perform well. The crazy part is that you can buy this for less than $200 on Amazon. The Roomba 650 will cost about $300 and does not come with any WiFi connection.
Application Features
The EcoVacs app is very simple. It has the same functions as the remote control. This means that you can access different cleaning modes, battery status, and the ability to control the robot’s guide through the arrow keys.
You can’t expect much in terms of sophistication. But when you think about the price this is a bargain.
top view
For a robot under $200, this product looks very good with its gray accents with black accents.
The design is straightforward with a single button in the center with the brand’s print underneath.
View from the bottom
Turn the robot over and you will see two side brushes and one robotic brush in the middle.
It is the same design that you will find in ILIFE A4S. The only difference will be the motorized brush. DeeBot uses a “double-V” type brush that has a squeegee and bristles.
This model doesn’t have any wipers – the newer N80 does but I’m not a big fan of multifunctional robots.
Wet wipe bots are still not able to catch up with the performance of the robot vacuum yet.
How does this work?
Even if this robot is cheaper than the Roomba 650, the performance is really great. And many consumers worked well on floors or carpets. It is very quiet and will not frighten any of your pets if you have any.
Don’t expect this to deep clean carpets but none of the robots available now have this capability. Yes, even the Dyson 360 Eye can’t.
minimum: EcoVacs really does have a winner here at the DEEBOT N79. It has features available in bots that are a few hundred dollars more expensive. You can get this for under $200 on Amazon and that’s a bargain.
Neato-Lite: Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Neato BotVac Connect will now cost around $700. And that’s a lot of money to pay for a vacuum, not to mention a robot vacuum.
What if I told you that you could buy something with similar features for half the price?
Looks great, doesn’t it?
Xiaomi is the brainchild of the MI Ecosystem in China. It basically uses the same features as Neato but with a better implementation.
Inside the robot are microprocessors that process all the information that the robot gets from 12 different sensors.
It has a SLAM algorithm to help it navigate – the same technology found in Waymo. It is used by high-end robots such as the Dyson 360, Neato BotVac and the latest Roomba 980.
So this robot is as smart as it comes.
Application Features
One of my favorite features of this bot is the app. The MI Home app is one of the most feature-rich apps out there right now. Check out these screenshots…
While the Neato or iRobot app will only allow you to schedule daily cleaning once, the MI Home app allows unlimited scheduling. This means that you can ask this robot to clean your house once, twice, three times and more.
Apart from that, you can trigger the cleaning status of the bot in real time. You will see the exact location of the bot in relation to the map, battery status, and even the size of the area it is cleaning. All this is updated in real time.
Of its competitors, only the Dyson 360 Eye has this feature and this one costs less than $300! This bot costs just under $300 (if you use coupon code “XIAOMIVAC” or “XMIVCHK”) – the same price as the Roomba 650!
top view
Even if this bot is “Neato-lite” Xiaomi on their account did not use the same look. Instead, they opted for the circular shape with one side brush. The color is another difference as it comes in white. What I don’t like about it is that it’s easy to stain. The dirt basket is loaded from the top.
View from the bottom
On the button you will see brush one side with a combo brush. This brush isn’t as wide as the Neato but it still worked well in my tests.
How it works
This robot is very efficient when it comes to cleaning thanks to its SLAM algorithm and laser-guided sensor, cleaning a small area of 23 square meters in just 23 minutes.
Make sure to update the app to get this feature as the bot lacks accuracy out of the box.
Watch this video to see how it works…
You will see that it will go around the room twice – first around the edges and then the middle. He picked up 67 grams of dirt out of 71 scattered on the ground.
Keep in mind that this isn’t the usual mess you’ll clean up but it’s good to know that it can handle these kinds of messes.
minimum: Priced at under $300 (currently), this bot is a bargain for the features you’ll get. It’s basically a Neato tour with a better app that will also clean up.
Another budget option: Eufy RoboVac 11c
Another under-the-radar robot vacuum will be the Eufy RoboVac 11c. It’s basically the same bot as the RoboVac 11 but with WiFi and Alexa compatibility.
In terms of features, this robot is just like our top pick DEEBOT N79. But the cost of this robot is less than $ 300, which is why it took third place.
If you look closely at DEEBOT and RoboVac, they both have the exact same build – from the dirt basket, main whisk bar and side brush. I think these two come from the same factory in China.
The big difference is that this works with Alexa while DEEBOT only has WiFi.
top view
Image source – the-gadgeteer.com
In terms of size and configuration, these two robots are similar with a single button in the middle. The power switch on both products is also located in the same area next to the robot (right side).
View from the bottom
Image source – the-gadgeteer.com
If you look at Eufy and DEEBOT side by side without looking at the label, you will think that these two products are the same. I think these two products have the same motor, side brush and combo brush but with different brands.
Even the design of the remote control is the same.
How it works?
To give you a glimpse of how this bot performs, watch this video…
If you look at the amount of dirt it’s a lot. And RoboVac was able to capture most of them. The side brushes kicked up some dirt but that’s the only downside I see from the dual brush system. The robot picked up most of the dirt as it cycled through the room.
It’s not as smart as Xiaomi and at the same price, so it’s down to number 3 in our ranking.
minimum: Between Eufy and EcoVacs I would choose the latter because it is cheaper. But if you need something Alexa compatible, I won’t discourage you from buying this one.
Value for money Neato: Neato BotVac D5
There is no doubt that Neato is one of the pioneers in the robotics vacuum industry. They were the first to use laser-guided technology with a more efficient, predictable cleaning pattern than Roomba when the first generation of robots appeared.
The problem with buying a BotVac Connected is the price. This best robot will cost $700. Sure, it’s cheaper than the Roomba but there’s still a lot to pay for a vacuum cleaner that won’t clean as deeply.
That’s why we chose to recommend the BotVac D5 because it will have roughly the same performance but cost less than $300.
Application Features
The BotVac D5 app is very simple – it allows you to schedule and order cleaning even if you are not at home. But it lacks advanced features found only in the flagship BotVac Connected such as access to special cleaning modes, Alexa voice commands, and real-time bot tracking.
But remember that BotVac costs about $150.
top view
The main difference between this and the design of the BotVac Connected is the lack of a screen on the top right. The screen is for the scheduling feature of the robot, but since there is an app that also has this feature, the difference is negligible.
View from the bottom
When you flip it over, the BotVac Connected and the D5 are pretty much the same. There is one side brush and a really wide combo brush that provides an excellent cleaning path.
How it works?
When you combine the laser-guided sensor, a wide combo brush, and a single-sided brush, this along with Xiaomi is the most efficient robot on this list. These two will clean rooms faster than Roomba, Eufy, or EcoVacs.
You will see that it moves in a methodical manner and will circle the area several times. CNET says it never does the same as BotVac Connected when cleaning pet hair. But if you don’t have pets or don’t need any of the advanced features, save yourself a $$ and go with this one.
minimum: The Neato BotVac D5 is a good alternative to the best connected devices as it is around $150 cheaper. Unfortunately this is not compatible with Alexa. You will also not be able to access any of the advanced features in the BotVac Connected app. It won’t work well on pet hair, but if that’s not a concern, go ahead and buy it.
Most Expensive: iRobot Roomba 980
Last on this list is the best performing robot on the carpet and one of the bestselling robots on Amazon.
The main reason for this will be performance. The counterspin rubber suction system does a really good job of pulling up dirt stuck on the carpet compared to a bristle brush.
However, it won’t be as efficient as Neato or Xiaomi and costs less than $300 heavily weighing it down.
One of the big improvements that iRobot has made with the Roomba 980 is how it is navigated.
Prior to the introduction of the 900 Series, all Roomba robots used a series of infrared sensors that resulted in a robot traveling in a random direction after hitting an object.
The first generation Roomba brooms had a bad habit of bumping into things hard. This resulted in a better cleaning robot but it scratched the furniture. iRobot brought back this aggressive behavior in the newer 800 series but the cleaning pattern was still ineffective.
When the 900 series came out, it was the first time iRobot had completely changed navigation. Instead of relying solely on infrared sensors, they added a top-mounted camera, an electronic chip, and the same software found inside the Google car that drives.
Below the robot are acoustic sensors that detect the amount of dirt. So this robot will focus on the areas with more dirt. This feature is one reason why it performs better on the carpet than the other robots on this list.
a program
Unlike the Xiaomi and Neato BotVac app which have real-time updates of the bot’s location, the iRobot app is very simple in terms of features.
You will have access to the scheduling and cleaning modes. It also shows real time battery status but this is the only real time update you will get. There are no maps or anything fancy inside.
It’s Alexa compatible, so that’s good news for people who have this device.
top view
Image source – Engadget.com
As for the shape, the iRobot retains the same shape and dimensions as the older generation Roombas. The main difference will be the layout of the buttons. There is also a lens on top – this is the camera that the robot uses for navigation.
The robot helps locate it in relation to the room. The disadvantage of using the camera is that it needs lighting to function. So when you leave it in a pitch-black room, it may not work well.
View from the bottom
Image source – CNET
You will clearly see that this robot uses a different type of beater bar. Instead of the traditional design that uses bristles, the iRobot used two rubber extractors that literally pull out dirt. When you look closely at the design, these are “teeth” that intertwine with each other and provide the necessary excitement on the carpet.
How does this work?
Watch this video to get a glimpse of how this robot navigates and performs on hardwood…
Of the 100 grams of fine powder scattered, the Roomba 980 was able to capture 98 grams. This is impressive.
Another thing you’ll notice in the video – a huge improvement in how the Roomba navigates compared to the older 800 or 600 series.
It has a much more predictable and efficient pattern.
minimum: The Roomba has come a long way since it was first introduced to the market a few decades ago. This better bot has WiFi, a new Li-ion battery, better navigation and is now Alexa compatible but the app could use some improvements. Not the cheapest but if you want a good robot and don’t mind spending $900, this is a great option.
to finish
As proven in the above list, you don’t need to spend $500 to get access to a good performing WiFi enabled robot vacuum. The EcoVacs DEEBOT N79 got our vote because of the price. It is the cheapest robot vacuum cleaner with WiFi that cleans very well.
If you want something smarter but don’t because of the price, the Xiaomi robotic vacuum cleaner is a great choice. They are now offering this great deal for a limited time so if you are thinking of buying this one, now is the time.
It has the best app in my opinion when it comes to features. Not only because it has real-time updates, you can schedule it multiple times each day.
Next in line is the Eufy RoboVac 11c. It’s the cheapest Alexa-compatible bot on the list here. In terms of product features and performance, this is similar to EcoVacs. It’s because of the price and if you don’t need Alexa compatibility, stick with EcoVacs.
I put it because of the price and the Roomba 980 in the last two spots of this list because these robots are very expensive. But these two work just as well as any robotic vacuum. If you are willing to spend over $700 on these two, I won’t stop you but the above 3 bots provide better value for money.
If you have any questions about these bots or suggestions, please comment below. I would love to hear from you.