Welcome to Vacuum Wars, where we are taking an in-depth look at two of the most advanced robot vacuum mop combos on the market: the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra and the Dreame X40 Master. Both of these “plumbots” boast plumbing-integrated water refill and drainage systems, so that we don’t have to refill clean water tanks or empty dirty water tanks, ultimately bringing us closer to fully automated floor care. We bought both of these models and over the past few weeks, we’ve tested both of them extensively. Let’s dive into the results and see which one came out on top.
The Dreame X40 Master is a high-end robot vacuum and mop combo equipped with advanced automatic refilling and draining capabilities via an 8-in-1 hands-free base station that connects to the home’s plumbing. This multifunctional hub streamlines maintenance by managing water, self-cleaning, self-drying, and self-emptying tasks. Designed with a sleek, low-profile build at just 11 inches tall, the base station is crafted to blend seamlessly into modern home environments. In our in-studio evaluations, the X40 Master delivered excellent overall performance, particularly standing out in navigation efficiency and battery life. See additional info
Price as of Amazon price as of February 17, 2025
Auto Empty Station: Self Empties Debris | Washes Mop Pad | Washes Mop Pad with Hot Water | Dries Mop Pad | Dries Mops Pad with Heated Air| Self Cleaning | Dirty Water Sensor | Plumbing Option
Mopping: Lifts Mop Pads on Carpets | Extending Mop Pad for Hard to Reach Areas | Can Leave Pads at Base while Vacuuming
Hardware: Auto Extending Side Brush for Hard to Reach Areas | 22mm Threshold Crossing
Performance: Carpet Boost Settings
Mapping / Navigation: Multi Level Maps | Virtual Barriers and No Go Zones
Obstacle Avoidance: 120 Objects Recognized
Pet Features: Live Video Monitoring | Pet Checkup or Similar
Scores | Dreame X40 Master | Average Robot Vacuum Tested |
---|---|---|
Vacuum Wars Overall | 4.69 | 3.40 |
Features | 4.45 | 4.01 |
Mopping Performance | 4.75 | 4.01 |
Obstacle Avoidance | 4.69 | 3.30 |
Pet | 3.98 | 3.60 |
Navigation | 4.55 | 3.26 |
Battery | 4.37 | 2.70 |
Performance | 4.19 | 3.40 |
Official Battery Life: 198 Minutes | Navigation Type: Spinning Lidar |
Official Suction Power: 12000 Pa | Dust Bin Size: 350ml |
Obstacle Avoidance Type: Single Camera & 3D Structured Light | Objects Recognized: 120 |
Multi Level Maps: Y | Virtual Barriers: Y |
Detergent Capacity: Unknown | Disposable Bag: 3.2L |
The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is an advanced robot vacuum mop combo featuring the upgraded RockDock Ultra docking station, which uniquely offers an automated refill and drainage system not available in other versions. The dock empties the dustbin, washes and dries the mop pad with hot water and air, refills the water tank, and includes an auto detergent dispenser—minimizing manual maintenance. It provides 10,000 Pa suction, a VibraRise 3.0 mopping system with dual lifting pads to avoid wetting carpets, and a FlexiArm side brush for edge cleaning. Intelligent navigation uses PreciSense LiDAR and a front camera for Reactive 3D Obstacle Avoidance, enabling pet care features like targeted cleaning, monitoring, and video calls via the app. See additional info
Price as of Amazon price as of February 17, 2025
Auto Empty Station: Self Empties Debris | Washes Mop Pad | Washes Mop Pad with Hot Water | Dries Mop Pad | Dries Mops Pad with Heated Air| Self Cleaning | Dirty Water Sensor | Plumbing Option
Mopping: Lifts Mop Pads on Carpets | Extending Mop Pad for Hard to Reach Areas
Hardware: Auto Extending Side Brush for Hard to Reach Areas | 20mm Threshold Crossing
Performance: Carpet Boost Settings
Mapping / Navigation: Multi Level Maps | Virtual Barriers and No Go Zones
Obstacle Avoidance: 73 Objects Recognized
Pet Features: Live Video Monitoring | Pet Checkup or Similar
Controls: Virtual Assistant Options
Scores | Roborock S8 MaxV Plumbot | Average Robot Vacuum Tested |
---|---|---|
Vacuum Wars Overall | 4.42 | 3.40 |
Features | 4.68 | 4.01 |
Mopping Performance | 5.16 | 4.01 |
Obstacle Avoidance | 3.41 | 3.30 |
Pet | 3.75 | 3.60 |
Navigation | 3.75 | 3.26 |
Battery | 2.86 | 2.70 |
Performance | 3.46 | 3.40 |
Official Battery Life: 180 Minutes | Navigation Type: Spinning Lidar |
Official Suction Power: 10000 Pa | Dust Bin Size: 470ml |
Obstacle Avoidance Type: 3D Structured light & Single Camera | Objects Recognized: 73 |
Multi Level Maps: Y | Virtual Barriers: Y |
Detergent Capacity: 580ml | Disposable Bag: 2.5L |
Hardware and Suction
Looking first at their hardware, the Dreame X40 Master uses a single roller while the Roborock features a dual brush roller system. Both have automatically extending side brushes, which we found to actually improve corner coverage.
In terms of suction power, the Dreame X40 Master leads with 12,000 Pascals compared to the Roborock’s 10,000 Pascals, so it was no surprise in our suction and airflow tests that the Dreame X40 offers more raw power.
Vacuuming
When cleaning hard floors and carpets, both models excelled in picking up various sizes of debris without any issues.
However, in our Carpet Deep Clean test, which we test by embedding sand in carpets and weighing their dustbins after a timed run, the Dreame outperformed the Roborock, removing more embedded sand in our tests.
Additionally, the Dreame’s single roller resisted pet hair tangles better than Roborock’s dual rollers, with only 26% of hair caught compared to Roborock’s 59%.
Mopping Features and Performance
These robot vacuums use very different hardware to mop floors: The Roborock uses VibraRise technology with a vibrating single mop pad, while the Dreame employs dual spinning mop pads.
They both also have edge-mopping capabilities with extending mop pads. The Dreame’s auto-extending mop pad provided better coverage, even reaching under doors and furniture.
Both models also allow water dispensing control via their apps.
In our dried-on stain tests, the Dreame slightly edged out the Roborock with a score of 92 versus 88, though with the margin of error, that margin was negligible.
However, what really sets these mopping systems apart are their fully featured charging docks. Both mopping systems stand out with fully featured charging docks that handle nearly every aspect of cleaning and maintenance:
- Recharge the robots
- Empty dustbins into a disposable bag
- Automatically wash and dry mop pads
- Refill onboard water tanks
- Use hot water to wash pads and hot air to dry them
- Dirty water sensors with self-cleaning options
Plumbing Integration
Compared to most robot vacuums, the big distinction with these two robot vacuums is that they both come with tubing and plumbing connections so that you can connect them to your house’s plumbing system. They both come with a remarkably similar three-way diverter valve and roughly the same amount of tubing, so there wasn’t much difference in terms of what was included.
There are many ways to connect these to your home’s plumbing, but the simplest option is to place them near a sink or toilet. Alternatively, you could build a custom cabinet or similar enclosure. While the installation is relatively straightforward, having some basic plumbing know-how is helpful—if you’re unsure, it’s best to ask someone handy for assistance.
Dock Size Differences
One thing to note is that the Dreame’s dock is quite a bit longer than the Roborock’s dock, and depending on where you want to put it, it could easily stick out too far if it’s not built into a custom cabinet or something similar. The Roborock dock is shorter and taller and would look more normal just against a wall.
Obstacle Avoidance
Both have front-mounted obstacle avoidance cameras and structured light sensors to recognize and avoid objects. While the Roborock got a respectable, average score in our obstacle avoidance tests, the Dreame was significantly better, earning one of the higher scores we’ve seen.
In fact, the Dreame has also been programmed to recognize a higher number of objects—120, compared to only 73 on the Roborock. If obstacle avoidance is important to you, the Dreame X40 Master is definitely better.
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra | Dreame X40 Ultra | Average Robot Vacuum Tested at Vacuum Wars | |
Obstacle Avoidance Score | 16 | 22 | 17 |
Objects Recognized | 73 | 120 | N/A |
⭐ Related: See how we test robot vacuum mops.
Battery Life
We found the Dreame X40 Master to have better battery life overall, even though they have similar official numbers on low power. In our tests—which we run on all of their power settings—the X40 Master was more efficient and had a much higher square-foot-per-charge estimation. While both of their battery scores were above average, the Dreame X40 was better.
Battery Scores
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra | Dreame X40 Ultra | Average Robot Vacuum Tested at Vacuum Wars | |
Official Battery Life Minutes (Low Power) | 180 | 189 | 154 |
Battery Efficiency Minutes per % | 1.66 | 3.44 | 1.36 |
Square Foot Per Charge (Estimated) | 1489 | 2591 | 1007 |
Navigation
They both navigate around the house in a similar way, using a top-mounted LiDAR sensor to map and move around. They both have multi-level mapping, fast mapping, and in our navigation and coverage tests, they were both amazing at efficiently covering the space without getting stuck—though the Dreame X40 Master ended up with a higher navigation score as well.
Apps and Software
Both brands have what I consider some of the best apps in the business, with seemingly every possible advanced software feature you can find on a robot vacuum. They both maintain excellent app ratings on the app stores.
The main difference is that the Dreame doesn’t have a built-in virtual voice assistant, whereas the Roborock does. However, the Dreame can still be used with Amazon Alexa and similar devices.
Final Verdict
Which one is better? After adding up all the scores, the Dreame X40 Master (Amazon Link) beat out the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra (Amazon Link) by a significant margin. However, both of their final Vacuum Wars scores were above average. As of the time of writing, the Dreame X40 Master is currently ranking #4 on our Vacuum Wars Top 20 list with 4.5 stars, while the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is in 11th place with 4 stars.
Update 1/27/25: The Dreame X40 Master is currently ranking 2nd with 4.7 stars, while the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is now 8th with 4.4 stars.