Roomba have been in the robot vacuum market for longer than almost anyone. They produced the first commercially successful robot vacuum back in 2002 and have since become almost synonymous with the small helpers.
With that much experience, it's no surprise Roombas are among the most advanced robots available, but this also comes at a premium price point. That's why, in my experience covering deals and sale events, I always recommend waiting until they're on offer. They're usually discounted regularly enough to be able to save $100s.
I'm Homes & Gardens' home tech editor and I test, review and write about vacuums for a living. Of all the best robot vacuums our product testing team has reviewed, Roombas often come out on top thanks to their strong suction power and deep mop cleaning so it'll be worth the spend, especially at these prices.
Where to shop for Roomba deals
I've deep-dived the Roomba deals you can currently find online so use these Quick Links to head straight there.
- iRobot: Shop the full range of deals
- Amazon: $100s worth of savings on Roombas
- Best Buy: Deals on new and old Roombas
- Lowe's: Save up on select Roombas
- Target: Deals on a wide selection of Roombas with up to $300 off
- Walmart: Limited offers, save on our best-tested Roombas
My Roomba deal tips and tricks
iRobot Roomba robot vacuums are expensive. Very expensive. So finding a good deal on them allows you to bring a new level of cleaning into your home for a more accessible cost. At full price, the best Roombas can cost upwards of $1,000, so it's natural to ask if you should ever buy a robot vacuum cleaner. But in my experienced view, I'd never recommend paying full price for one.
Roombas are on sale at various points throughout the year, so wait for the right time and their prices will become more accessible, as outlined below. Once a sale is live, whether it's on the iRobot Roomba website or any of the major retailers, there are a couple tricks to make sure you're getting the best deal.
Honey is a price comparison tool that works across many of the major retailers where we'd shop for Roombas. When viewing a product page, you can see comparisons for the same product across all other sites to know where you can get it cheapest. You can also see price history up to the past 120 days, which helps better understand pricing trends, and to know whether a retailer has bumped up the price before a sale to make the discount seem bigger.
CamelCamelCamel also shows pricing history but only for Amazon products (where most of the iRobot Roomba range can be found). Unlike Honey, you can see the entire price history since it was uploaded to Amazon, meaning you can find out whether the price is its lowest ever. This is also a helpful way to learn about pricing trends, and you can see what times in the year are best to invest in a Roomba.
What Roombas to look for in the sales
These are the best three iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaners that we've tested. All three of them genuinely wowed our testers with their cleaning abilities, as robot vacuums typically aren't able to offer this deep a clean.
Robot vacuums are generally best for light maintenance, rather than deep cleaning your floors. That's why it was so surprising to see that the Combo j9+ performed well on carpets, picking up debris and hair (although, like with any robot, there's always something big left behind that you'll have to pick up).
The Combo j9+ is also one of the best we've ever tested for hair wrap, using bumpy, silicone rollers to avoid anything getting tangled. On test, it was always able to pull hair out of carpets, which is rare. It also has a completely automatic mop that can give your hard floors a deep clean.
Read our full iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ review to learn more.
Before the Combo j9+ was released, the j7+ was our favorite robot vacuum cleaner. The iRobot Roomba j7+ is once again a fantastic option. It's tough on pet hair and made short work of a high-traffic area on our tester Jaclyn Turner's rug where her dog likes to sit and watch TV.
It goes further than this as it's great for pets more generally. The j7+ automatically recognizes dogs and cats, so it won't bump into them, but it also recognizes pet droppings, so it won't drive through them and make a mess. iRobot are so confident about this that they've introduced a Pets Owner Official Promise (P.O.O.P.), so if your Roomba ever failed to identify an accident they'll replace the unit for free.
Read our full iRobot Roomba j7+ review to learn more.
For sheer cleaning power alone, the s9+ is an excellent robot vacuum to choose, and one that's now a bit cheaper as it's a few years old. It's a simple robot vacuum, it doesn't have a mop, but it can give your carpets and hard floors a solid clean without you having to lift a finger.
Our tester was never disappointed by the remaining dirt left behind by the vacuum. It doesn't get stuck or lodged while navigating across your home, and it can even maneuver cables and light furniture to cover every part of the floor.
Read our full iRobot Roomba s9+ review to learn more.
What's a good price for a Roomba?
Robot vacuum cleaners from any brand aren't cheap, but iRobot's are particularly pricey. They were one of the first companies in the world to produce robot vacuums, and their longstanding legacy and engineering experience has led them to make some of the best on the market.
But that doesn't mean you can only buy expensive models. As they've been around for years, it's easy to grab a deal on an older robot vacuum that's $100s cheaper than their new releases.
On the iRobot website, there are even dedicated sections for the price ranges you can explore ($299.99 and below, $300 to $599.99, and $600+). Anything below $300 will be a basic package, most likely a robot vacuum by itself with no mop or cleaning base.
The best Roombas are around the $1,000 mark (scroll up for our personal recommendations). Here, you're paying for the best of the best: powerful suction even on carpets, quick-drying mopping, self-cleaning, advanced home mapping, no hair wrap in the brushrolls and much more.
The more affordable models will sacrifice some of these features, most likely the suction power. This is an acceptable loss if your home is mostly hard floors (as the suction isn't as powerful), but if you have any carpets, this won't be a smart move. You'll still be spending $100s on a robot vacuum that you'll likely be cleaning up after on a regular basis.
But losing out on home mapping, self-cleaning or a cleaning station can be a great way to save money, and can give you similar cleaning power for around $400 to $600 as opposed to the whopping $1,000+ for the full package.
When is the best time to shop for a Roomba deal?
Naturally, the best times to shop for a Roomba deal is during a major sale event like Black Friday (end of November), Cyber Monday (first Monday in December) or Amazon Prime Day (usually July and October). This is when you'll see the best selection of robot vacuums on offer and also the biggest discounts. In general, the September to January period is the ideal time to buy new appliances as brands are releasing new products and thus clearing old stock at lower prices.
If you look on CamelCamelCamel at the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, for example, you'll see that the lowest price on Amazon in the past year was during both Prime Days and the run-up to Black Friday.
Prime Day Roomba deals
Amazon's Prime Days in (usually in July and October) always bring in a generous number of discounts on Roomba robot vacuums. Almost every Roomba is available on Amazon, so when they launch site-wide sales, many of the iRobot range gets included.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Roomba deals
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale events are both excellent times to shop for a new robot vacuum cleaner. It's one of the rare times a year when these highly-expensive machines are discounted, often by hundreds of dollars. I see this every year in my deals coverage.
After Christmas and New Year's Day Roomba deals
If you're lucky enough to have enough money spare after Christmas to splash out on a robot vacuum cleaner, you're in luck. As sales are so low during this period, so are the prices, and you can bring in the new year with a whole new cleaning routine.
FAQs
Are Roombas worth it?
Our in-depth tests mean it's hard for us to fall for gimmicks and brand names, so I mean it when I say that iRobot produces innovative, effective vacuums – some of the best in the market. Roombas have become a household icon and that status is entirely justified.
Roombas do a brilliant job of cleaning hard floors and carpets. They're simple to use, and you can even control them with your smartphone. Automatic cleaning cycles mean you can to set them to run while you're at work or in bed, so you can guarantee clean floors without lifting a finger.
This of course comes with a cost. Roombas are at the pricier end of the market. However, their effective and automated features make them worth the price tag. What's more, Black Friday and end-of-year Roomba sales mean that you can save a lot of money while still guaranteeing you're spending your money on quality.
Can a Roomba handle stairs?
While a Roomba can't clean stairs, as they run on wheels, there's no danger of it falling down them. Every Roomba series has Cliff Detect sensors that keep it from driving over the edge of landings and steps.
Next, delve into the best Dyson alternatives for excellence on a budget.
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