Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni vs iRobot Roomba Combo j7+

Get ready for a comparison of two top-of-the-line robot vacuums: the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni and the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+. These two robot vacuums are in a similar price range and have similar specs and features, making them a natural fit for a head-to-head competition. 

We put them both through a huge amount of tests over several weeks, and below, we’ll compare all the results and see which one came out on top. 

Features

Our newly revamped testing regiment has dramatically changed how we look at robot vacuum features, and now includes over 40 different categories that we score.

At the time of writing, high-end robot vacuums competing with these models include the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra and the Roborock S7 models it took flagship status from.

When comparing the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni vs iRobot Roomba Combo j7+, the list of features is pretty long. Since both of these robot vacuums are top-of-the-line robots, they have many of the same advanced features. Some examples are:

• Smart navigation, meaning that they make a map of your house, using LiDAR in the case of the Deebot X1 Omni and VSLAM in the case of the Roomba Combo j7+. In both cases, they navigate more or less the same way each time.
• Auto-empty dustbins, so they can return to their charging dock and automatically empty the contents of their dustbin into an included bag. 
• Obstacle avoidance sensors in the front, which help them to avoid household items that other robots miss.
• Mopping capability using pressurized mopping pads to clean wet and dried-on stains.
• A number of similar advanced app features like room select and no-go zones.

Roomba Advantages

The Roomba picked up a few points in the features category because its mop pad automatically lifts up when it encounters carpet. This allows the Roomba to vacuum and mop in the same run, which is a plus for any home that has a good mix of carpet and hard floors. 

With the Deebot, you would essentially have to run it twice: once without the mopping pads attached for vacuuming and once with them attached for mopping. If you have 100% hard floors in your house, this wouldn’t matter because the Deebot can vacuum and mop hard floors at the same time. 

The Roomba also has dirt detect and dual brush rollers, both of which help it with carpets, as well as the light on the obstacle avoidance camera. The Deebot has neither of these.

Deebot Advantages

On the other hand, the Deebot X1 Omni has a lot of things that the Roomba Combo j7+ doesn’t. For example, it automatically cleans its mopping pads, automatically dries the mopping pads, and automatically empties and refills its mop tank, which makes it a much more automated system. The Deebot X1 Omni is also the only one to have dual side brushes, live video monitoring, and a built-in virtual assistant. 

So at the end of this features category, we have the Deebot X1 Omni winning 81-66.

Performance

Moving on to the performance category, which is where we take into account a lot of bench tests that we do in the studio, like airflow and suction tests, but also a variety of pickup and mopping tests as well. 

Suction, airflow and debris tests

Here, the Deebot seemed to have more raw power when it came to things like suction and airflow. It also did better than the Roomba with the crevice pickup test.

However, the Roomba did better with carpet-related tests like our deep clean test, where it got one of the best scores ever – 89.1, and the Deebot scored only a little above average at 78.

When it came to picking up surface debris on both hard floors and carpets, which is arguably the main job of a robot vacuum, both of these robots were incredibly good. They picked up everything from fine to extra-large debris on both surface types with no noticeable differences between them.

Mopping comparison

Though they used entirely different methods, a pressurized mop plate for the Roomba Combo j7+ and two spinning brushes on the Deebot X1 Omni, they both did incredibly well with mopping up not just wet stains but stuck-on stains like grape juice and V8 juice as well.

In the performance category, the Roomba’s good carpet performance and the Deebot’s  good power numbers sort of canceled each other out, and it was almost a tie here, with the Deebot having only a slight edge over the Roomba.

Navigation

After giving each vacuum several test runs, for our navigation tests we have them clean a standardized floor plan in different modes and with different power settings where applicable.

Mapping

First, we tested how many minutes it takes them to make a map of the floor plan, and while they were both relatively fast, the Deebot, with its LiDAR sensor, was able to create a map a little quicker than the Roomba.

In the main navigation test, we found that the Deebot covered more area but at around the same total run time as the Roomba, giving the Deebot a slightly higher square meter per minute rating, at least with regular vacuuming.

Vacuuming and Mopping Times

But when it came to vacuuming and mopping, the Roomba was the clear winner, as it only took 49 minutes to vacuum and mop in just one run. The Deebot’s minimum time to vacuum and mop the house was 56 minutes because we have two large rugs, so it needed two separate runs.

Battery Efficiency

We also found that they were very similar in terms of their average battery efficiency, which we measure by minutes per percentage point, but the Ecovacs was calculated to be able to cover slightly more area per charge, around 131 square meters per charge compared to 124 on the Roomba. But take these numbers with a grain of salt since there are a lot of factors at play here.

Obstacle Avoidance

We also test their obstacle avoidance sensors as part of our new navigation tests, which we do by running them in four different runs for cords, clothing, toys, and novelty pet waste with three obstacles per test. Here, it was a tie at nine points each, which are the best scores we have seen so far, with both of them beating the Roborock S7 MaxV and Dreametech L10, for example.

They aren’t perfect, though; a perfect score here would be 12, but they both seem to be better than their competitors. So the navigation category totals were 94 to 87, with the Ecovacs gaining more ground here.

Verdict

After adding up all the scores and adjusting them to fit in a 1 to 100 scale, we have the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni winning over the Roomba Combo j7+ – 91 to 86, but that comes with a huge disclaimer: if your house has a pretty good mixture of hard floors and carpets, or if it has mostly carpets, then the Roomba would probably be our first choice.

However, the Ecovacs was still just about as impressive as it gets with its power, performance, and its long list of advanced features, including its auto mopping system.

Specs

	Deebot X1 OMNI	Roomba Combo j7+
Manufacturer	Ecovacs	iRobot
Type	Vacuum & Mop	Vacuum & Mop
Navigation	LiDAR	LiDAR
Obstacle Avoidance	Yes	Yes
Object Recognition	Yes	Yes
Map Storage	Multiple	Multiple
Room Cleaning	Yes	Yes
No-Go Zones/Virtual Walls	Yes	Yes
Max Cleaning Time	260 min	–
Auto Empty	Yes	Yes
Mop Pad Maintenance	Yes	No
Water Tank Refill	Yes	No
Amazon Alexa	No	Yes
Google Assistant	No	Yes
Voice Control	Yes	Yes
Where to Buy	Amazon	Amazon