Frequently Asked Questions

How many Roomba models are there and which one should I buy?

There are about 47 model numbers, but they fall into three categories: budget (600/700/900 series, i1), sweet spot (i3+/i4+, j7+), and overkill (s9+, j9+, Combo j9+). For most homes with kids and pets, the sweet spot models like the i3+ or j7+ are best.

What’s the difference between random navigation and smart mapping?

Random navigation bounces off furniture and takes longer to clean, while smart mapping learns your floor plan and cleans efficiently. For a home with toys, pet bowls, and kids, you want smart navigation.

Is the self-emptying base worth it on a Roomba?

Yes, absolutely worth it if you don’t want to empty the bin every single day. The base station sucks dirt into a bag, so you only need to change the bag every few weeks.

Which Roomba is best for homes with kids and pets?

The j7+ is best because it has obstacle avoidance that can tell the difference between a cable and a toy, saving you from the vacuum eating headphone cords. The i3+ is a good cheaper alternative with smart mapping and self-emptying.

The Roomba Problem: Why There’s 47 and Which One to Buy

If you’ve ever stood in front of the robot vacuum aisle—or worse, scrolled through Amazon for an hour—you know exactly what I mean. There are so many Roombas now that even Sparkles, my seven-year-old, looked at the lineup and said, “Dad, are they all named Roomba? That’s confusing.” She’s not wrong. i3, j7, s9, 960, 980, Combo j9+, i7+… it’s a mess of letters and numbers that makes sense to nobody outside of iRobot’s marketing team. But here’s the truth: you don’t need to understand all 47 models. You need to understand the three that actually matter for a home with kids and pets.

I’ve owned—and broken—more Roombas than I care to admit. We’ve had the cheap model that bounced off furniture like a drunk pinball. We’ve had the fancy one that cost as much as a used car. And after all that trial and error (and several calls to customer support while trying to untangle a strand of hair from a brush roll), I’ve figured out which one you should actually buy. Let me save you the headache.

Key Specs That Actually Matter

Before I get into the recommendations, here’s what separates the good Roombas from the overpriced ones, stripped of the jargon:

  • Navigation: Random bump-and-turn (old tech, avoid) vs. smart mapping (learns your floor plan). For a house with toys, pet bowls, and kids, you want smart navigation. Period.
  • Self-emptying: A base station that sucks dirt into a bag. Absolutely worth it if you don’t want to empty the bin every single day. More on this below.
  • Mopping: Some newer models have a built-in mop pad that drags across the floor. It’s okay for light maintenance, but don’t expect to replace a real mop.
  • Pet/hair handling: All newer Roombas have rubber brushes instead of bristles. This matters when your dog’s undercoat looks like a tumbleweed convention.
  • AI and obstacle avoidance: Top-end models can identify cables, socks, and even—if you’re lucky—that pet accident your child didn’t tell you about.

Who Each Model Is For

I’ve grouped the mass of Roombas into three categories based on what you actually need. Yes, there are 47 model numbers, but they fall into these buckets:

  • The Budget Saver (Roomba 600/700/900 series, new i1): You want a robot vacuum but you don’t want to spend more than $250. These use random navigation. Sparkles named ours “Bumper-Bot” because it literally bounced off everything. It eventually covers the room, but it takes forever and misses spots. Good for a small apartment with no pets and no kids leaving shoes everywhere.
  • The Sweet Spot (Roomba i3+/i4+, j7+): This is where 90% of parents should land. Smart navigation, self-emptying base, pet-friendly brushes. The i3+ is the cheapest with smart mapping and a self-empty bin. The j7+ adds obstacle avoidance—it can tell the difference between a cable and a toy. For homes with kids, this feature alone saves you from the heart attack of the vacuum eating a headphone cord.
  • The Overkill (Roomba s9+, j9+, Combo j9+): These are the top-of-the-line models with D-shape design for corners, more suction, and mopping. The s9+ is for carpet-heavy homes with lots of corners. The Combo j9+ has a mop that can retract. They work great, but you’re paying for features you likely don’t need. Unless you have wall-to-wall carpet and a small fortune to burn, skip these.

Pros and Cons (The Real Talk)

Pros of any Roomba (vs. cheaper brands):

  • Excellent parts availability—you can still buy replacement batteries and brushes for a 5-year-old model.
  • Strong suction on carpets (especially the i and s series).
  • Smart mapping that actually works—you can tell it to just clean the kitchen after dinner.
  • Self-emptying base is quiet and holds up to 60 days of dirt.

Cons of any Roomba:

  • Price—even the i3+ is regularly $400+. Cheaper brands like Roborock offer similar features for less.
  • Mopping is an afterthought on most models. The built-in pad just drags a damp cloth; don’t expect scrubbing.
  • App can be finicky. Sometimes the map gets confused. I’ve had to remap once after a software update.
  • The j7+ obstacle avoidance isn’t perfect—it’ll still eat a shoelace if it’s dangling just right.

My Specific Experience with the Roomba i3+

This is the one I recommend to every parent who asks. We have a long-haired cat (sheds like a cotton factory), a dog that tracks mud inside, and a seven-year-old who drops crumbs like a human confetti cannon. The i3+ handles it all. It maps your home in a single run—Sparkles was fascinated watching it draw the floor plan on my phone. The self-emptying base is the real hero: I empty the bag every few weeks instead of scraping hair off a brush every morning. Is it perfect? No. It still bumps into the cat’s water bowl if I forget to put a no-go zone in the app. And it can’t handle deep shag carpet. But for daily maintenance cleaning, it keeps our floors looking respectable even when we’re too tired to push a stick vacuum.

The Verdict: Which One to Buy

If you have kids and pets and you’re staring at that list of 47 models, stop. Buy the Roomba i3+. It’s the cheapest model that includes both smart navigation and a self-emptying base. That combination is the secret to a robot vacuum that actually gets used daily. If you can stretch your budget and you’re paranoid about the vacuum eating cables or—god forbid—a pet accident, go for the j7+ (now called the j7+ or j7). It’s the same vacuum with a camera that avoids obstacles. Sparkles named ours “The Looker” because it stares at the mess before deciding to go around it.

Don’t buy any Roomba without smart mapping. Don’t buy any Roomba without a self-emptying base unless you love emptying tiny bins. And please don’t spend $1,000 on the Combo j9+ unless you genuinely need mopping and have a house bigger than mine. The i3+ is the sweet spot. It’s the “dad answer” to the Roomba problem: practical, affordable, and it works. If you get one, just don’t let your kid name it “Bumper-Bot.” Trust me on that.