This robot vacuum and mop performs as well as some top models – but at half the price

I’ve tested robot vacuums at all price points, and if I were in the market for one, I’d choose a mid-range model. These robot vacuums typically range in price from $400 to $1,000, an affordable alternative to a high-priced top-of-the-line vacuum. $1,800 or $1,900.

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Because you’re compromising on price, you can also expect to compromise on features. However, some units are rare unicorns on the market, with premium features at surprisingly affordable prices. Such is the case with the new Ecovacs N20 series and Ecovacs Deebot N30 OmniPriced at 550 USD and 800 USD respectively.

Ecovacs calls these robot vacuums “entry-level,” but they’re more mid-range in price than anything else. However, these features are in line with many higher-end models that cost closer to $2,000.

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I tested the Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni for several weeks, exposing it to a variety of obstacles and debris. It works much better than you’d expect for an $800 robot vacuum and mop, with a few caveats.

The Deebot N30 Omni has 10,000Pa suction power and a Zero Tangle brush roller that easily picks 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 that robot vacuums and mops often miss.

The Omni station seems to work as well Deebot X2 Omni (priced at $1,500 at launch). During the cleaning process, the robot periodically docks itself to wash the mop pad and then returns to continue cleaning. It also automatically empties the trash into a large dust bag inside the dock that you only have to change every 75 days.

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

In my controlled testing, I found that the Deebot N30 Omni was about 83% efficient at picking up all debris on hard floors, which is pretty good performance for its price range. That means the robot can pick up most of the dust, pet hair, crumbs or debris on your floors in just one cleaning pass.

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The biggest limitation lies in the ability of this vacuum cleaner and mop robot to avoid obstacles. The Deebot N30 doesn’t have a class-leading LiDAR sensor or AI-powered obstacle avoidance, but I wouldn’t expect these from a robot in this price range.

This N30 robot vacuum tends to get its brush rollers stuck on small obstacles, like socks and toys, scattered on the floor about 33% of the time. I did a test with pet waste and it pushed it or tried to suck it up half the time. Of course, if pet waste were real, robots would probably spread it all over my house, which would be terrible.

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Premium models have more advanced obstacle avoidance, including additional features that avoid pet waste. Some, like Combo iRobot Roomba J7+ And Dreame X40 Ultraeven uses AI-powered image recognition to distinguish between pet waste and dust bunnies. You’ll have to pay more for these additional obstacle avoidance features.

While the robot creates a map of an area within minutes of setup, I also found that it only stuck to the original map about 70% of the time. Other times, it skips points or doesn’t cover the entire floor area, leaving straight lines intact between its paths. This is also common with many robot vacuums, even much more expensive ones.

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Running it in my home, which is not a controlled environment and subjected to a lot of activity from three kids and a dog, I found the robot performed similarly to the controlled test. For example, it confirmed shortcomings in obstacle avoidance due to getting caught in an extension cord during the first cleaning after mapping.

ZDNET Buying Tips

the Ecovacs Deebot N30 Omni is a good choice for homes with a lot of dirt and pet hair, as long as your pet is trained to eliminate outside. The N30 has an outstanding 10,000Pa suction power, effectively fights dust, pet hair and antiques in my home and keeps my floors clean every day. It also has a long battery life, with up to 320 minutes of runtime on a single charge.

The Deebot N30 Omni and N20 Omni are the perfect choice for anyone looking to upgrade from an entry-level or budget robot vacuum. This is especially true if you don’t have small children who throw things around the house or you don’t mind removing electrical cords from the floor before cleaning.