Roborock Robot vacuum comparison

Robots are becoming more and more popular in households. Roborock is a company that makes robots for cleaning your floors, but which robot should you pick? We’re going to do an overview of the different models available from Roborock so you can make a decision on which would fit best with your needs – S4, S5, Max2S6 pure or E25-E35!

Roborock is one of the top robot vacuum manufacturers. Their latest models are the Roborock S5 and the Roborock R7+. The question that many people ask themselves is which model they should purchase. That’s why we created this comparison article to help you make an informed decision.

We will not include Roborock XIAOWA and Lite C10 which I think are discontinued.

Navigation

Let us start by taking the look at the specs. Roborock S4, S5, S5 Max, S6, and S6 pure have lidar (laser) for navigation. The cheaper models such as E25 and E35 uses motion tracking sensors/ Gyroscopes for navigation. 

In lidar technology, there is a spinning invisible laser that maps out your house. The cheaper versions use optical motion-tracking sensors and gyroscope to accomplish a very similar thing. Note that they also clean in more or less straight lines and room by room. This navigation is still better than the random navigation that you typically see in the budget robot vacuums. 

The main difference between Gyro and lidar navigation is that Lidar is more accurate. Lidar can bounce off or see the obstacles in front of it and built a much better map. 

The better map also allows the more expensive lidar robots to have way more options in the app like no-go zones. 

Processor

The main brain of vacuum robots is its processor. The processor in the new generation of Roborock like S4, S5 max, S6 and S6 pure is bigger than previous versions. 

The bigger processor among other things makes them about 20% more efficient with their navigation. The efficiency also saves the battery life. 

Note that even though S5 doesn’t have a new chip, its navigation in terms of efficiency and coverage was really impressive. In fact other than newer robots with lidar technology, there are not many robots in the market that are comparable to S5 in terms of navigation. 

In other words, with the new generation, Roborock made something which was already good much better. 

Performance

In terms of cleaning ability, the Roborock vacuum robots are surprisingly similar across the board. They all have the same basic construction underneath. All of them are above average at picking up debris off the hard floor and carpets. 

The difference here is that the old and new generation uses different brushes. With the new generation, the brush roll has more bristles and is better in resisting hair tangles. There are also differences with the new side brushes as its construction is intended to make them last longer. 

Besides, both the new and old brushes are interchangeable so you buy whatever style you prefer separately and use them. 

Another difference that can affect cleaning performance is the suction and airflow power. Most of the Roborock robot vacuums have the same suction power except E25. Roborock E25 model has the suction power of 1800 pascals whereas others have 2000 pascals. 

This number just means that motor max potential is of 2000 pa. Note that various factors in the design or the programming can make the difference.

With various airflow and suction test, we notice some minor differences in the power level. 

Airflow – Max power

• E25: 17 CFA
• E35: 17 CFA
• S4: 19 CFA
• S5: 17 CFA
• S5 Max: 18 CFA
• S6 Pure: N/a
• S6: 15 CFA

In these results, the most powerful were S4 and S5 max. These small variances tended to prove themselves in other tests like the crevice pickup test and carpet deep clean test. 

The performance of all the Roborock robots was above average and similar to each other except the S6 model. 

The S6 was the first model from Roborock with all these next-generation features. I am sure if there were some software tweaks to decrease the power to get more battery life. But the point is that S6 was the only model whose performance was below average in various power tests. 

App Features

One of the things which makes the more expensive Roborock really good buy is its app. Their app is impressive and has useful features like no-go lines. 

With the app, you can draw lines or boxes on the map so keep the robot from going where you don’t want it to go. This feature with the Roborock app is extremely accurate and is very useful. 

Note that even the older S5 has this feature but E25 and E35 do not have this feature. 

The new generation like S4, S5 max, S6 and S6 pure has app features like room select. With this feature, after creating the map of your home, you can divide the map and name the room. This is useful because it gives you a whole lot of flexibility. You can tell the robot to clean certain rooms on different days at a certain time and also on different power levels.

The new generation of mopping robots also has no mop zones. The S5 max model even has the ability to control the water flow in the app. 

There is also the rumor that multi-floor mapping for multi-story homes will also release as an update soon. But there is no official word on this feature yet. 

Mop 

Many Roborock robot vacuums can also be converted to a mop by attaching the little tank with a washable mopping pad. The water then slowly saturates that pad and it can dry vacuum as it mops. 

All the models have a mop option except the S4 model. The S5 max has a mop upgrade in which there is an onboard water tank that can hold a lot more water. Although, the pad system still attaches in the same basic way. 

This new mop tank is also electric instead of gravity power. With this you can choose the water level you want using the app. 

In comparison with the old mop system, this is marginally better mop in terms of performance. 

Battery life

Most Roborock robot vacuums have 150 minutes of battery life in low-power mode. Except for the E25 which has 100 minutes and S6 with 180 minutes of battery life. 

• E25: 100 minutes
• E35: 150 minutes
• S4: 150 minutes
• S5: 150 minutes
• S5 Max: 150 minutes
• S6 Pure: 150 minutes
• S6: 180 minutes

Although the battery size of S6 is the same, it is just programmed differently in terms of power usage. 

Note that this 150 minutes battery life number is really good and it is rare to see these numbers in robot vacuums. 

All of them have a feature like recharge and a resume. With this feature, if the power runs low during big cleaning, it will stop and go back to the charging station. After recharging, it will resume cleaning where it left off. 

Bin size

The dustbin size of S5 and S6 is smaller at 480 ml. Other models have fairly large dustbin with a size of 640 ml.  

• E25: 640 ml
• E35: 640 ml
• S4: 640 ml
• S5: 480 ml
• S5 Max: 640 ml
• S6 Pure: 640 ml
• S6: 480 ml

For the noise level, all of them are pretty quiet especially in low power and quit mode. Even at high-power mode, most of them hover at 70 decibels. 

This number is better than average robot vacuums at that power. 

Conclusion

So which one these model do I recommend?

In the first category, which is best overall I will say S5 Max is my pick. It has everything which makes Roborock vacuums great. S5 max has a new mop system and all-new generation app features. This model has everything right and is cheaper than S6. 

For the best value category, I will pick the S4 model. It is consistently the most powerful in various tests. This is probably because of its exhaust design, which doesn’t have to make room for the mop. 

If you don’t care about having the mop attachment, I would recommend going with S4 for sure. 

Finally, classic S5 comes in the third category. Even though it is an older generation model, it is still better than some of the robot vacuums out there. Since it is an old model, there is also a chance that you can find it with a discount.