I Test Robot Vacuums For A Living, And This Ecovacs Performs As Well As Models Twice Its Price

I've tested robot vacuums in all price ranges, and if I were in the market for one, I'd go with a mid-range model. These robot vacuums typically range between $400 and $1,000, a decidedly affordable alternative to a flagship vacuum that costs $1,800 or $1,900.

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Because you're compromising on price, you can also expect to compromise on features. Some units, however, are rare unicorns in the market, with high-end features for a surprisingly affordable price. Such is the case with the new Ecovacs N20 Series and the Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni, which cost $450 and $800, respectively.

Ecovacs refers to these robot vacuums as "entry-level," but they're more mid-range in pricing than anything else. The features, however, align with more high-end models nearing the $2,000 mark.

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I've been testing the Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni for a couple of weeks, subjecting it to different kinds of obstacles and debris. It performs much better than you'd expect for an $800 robot vacuum and mop, with some caveats.

The Deebot N30 Omni features 10,000Pa suction power and a Zero Tangle brush roller that easily scoops up pet hair and debris. One of its two rotating mop pads can extend into corners, using Ecovacs' TruEdge Adaptive Edge mopping technology to thoroughly clean corners often missed by robot vacuums and mops.

The Omni station seems to perform as well as the Deebot X2 Omni (priced at $1,500 at launch). During a cleaning session, the robot periodically docks itself to wash its mop pads and then returns to continue cleaning. It also automatically empties its dustbin into a large dustbag inside the dock, which you only have to change every 75 days.

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This type of hands-free convenience typically costs over $1,000. You can expect some compromises with a lower price, and the N30 Omni is no exception, as I found when I subjected it to controlled and typical home environment testing.

In my controlled testing, I found that the Deebot N30 Omni was about 83% as effective at picking up all the debris on hard floors, a pretty decent performance for its price range. That means the robot can pick up most dust, pet hair, crumbs, or debris on your floors in a single cleaning session.

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The biggest drawback comes in this robot vacuum and mop's ability to avoid obstacles. The Deebot N30 doesn't feature top-of-the-line LiDAR sensors or AI-powered obstacle avoidance, but I wouldn't expect these in a robot in this price range.

This N30 robot vacuum was prone to getting its brush roller stuck on small obstacles, like socks and toys, strewn about the floor about 33% of the time. I did a test with pet waste, and it either pushed it or tried to vacuum it up half the time. Of course, if the pet waste were real, then the robot would have likely spread it all over my house, which would have been atrocious.

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High-end models feature more advanced obstacle avoidance, including additional pet waste avoidance features. Some, like the iRobot Roomba Combo J7+ and Dreame X40 Ultra, even use AI-powered visual recognition to discern what pet waste is and what a dust bunny is. You'll have to pay more for these extra obstacle avoidance features.

Although the robot creates a map of an area within a few minutes upon setup, I also found that it only stuck to its original map about 70% of the time. Other times, it skipped spots or didn't cover the entire floor area, leaving untouched lines between its paths. This is also common with many robot vacuums, even far more expensive ones. 

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Running it in my home, which isn't a controlled environment and is subject to a lot of activity from three kids and a dog, I found the robot performed similarly to the controlled testing. For example, it confirmed the obstacle avoidance shortcomings by getting stuck on an extension cord during its first cleaning after mapping.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni is a workhorse for homes with high dirt and pet hair, provided your pets are trained to go potty outside. The N30 features outstanding 10,000Pa suction that was effective against dust, pet hair, and cheerios in my home and kept my floors clean daily. It also features a long battery life, with a runtime of up to 320 minutes on a single charge.

The Deebot N30 Omni and N20 Omni are perfect for anyone looking to upgrade from an entry-level or budget robot vacuum. This is especially true if you don't have kids that leave stuff all over your home, or you don't mind getting your cords off the floor before a cleaning session.