When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more A good robot vacuum automates cleaning your home’s floors with minimal hassle and upkeep. I’ve tested over 30 top robot vacuums, and the Roomba i3+ EVO is the best at automating cleaning. The i3+ EVO comes with a self-emptying charging dock, avoids getting stuck, and cleans well.
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Editor’s note May 2024: iRobot has discontinued the Roomba i3+ EVO, though inventory can still be found at third-party sites. For the most up-to-date recommendations, see our guide to the best robot vacuums .
iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO (3550) Robot Vacuum
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Robot vacuums are colloquially called “Roombas” for a good reason. iRobot continues to innovate with its line of Roomba robot vacuums. I’ve tested more than 30 robovacs, and the Roomba i3+ EVO offers the best balance of performance, features, and value. iRobot recently renamed the i3+ by adding “EVO” to represent its improved mapping capabilities. You can now label rooms and schedule individual cleanings for them, but everything else about the vacuum is the same. Though it’s in the middle, price-wise, for a Roomba, the i3+ EVO cleans impressively well. Below, I go in depth on our testing to explain why it’s the top pick in our guide to the best robot vacuums .
Specs Roomba i3+ EVO Specs Robot vacuum size 13.34 x 13.26 x 3.63 inches Main brush length Two brushes, each 6.75 inches Dustbin capacity 380 milliliters, a little larger than a soda can Battery life (per manufacturer) 75 minutes Warranty One year parts and labor Features WiFi app connectivity (available for iOS and Android), works with Google Home and Alexa-enabled devices, scheduling Extras Auto-empty station, two disposable dust bags, extra air filter Setup
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The Roomba i3+ EVO comes in a big box, about the size of an end table. To set it up, you remove the packaging, attach the power cord to the dirt-disposal base, and plug it in. Place the vac on the charging base so the metal contacts on the bottom of the i3+ EVO are touching the base’s metal contacts. The robot comes with a partial charge, but iRobot recommends charging it for at least 3 hours before its first cleaning. While the Roomba charges, download the app. Connecting the Roomba to the app is effortless with the app’s step-by-step instructions. Just make sure you have good WiFi coverage. The whole setup process, including connecting to the app, took me about 10 minutes, faster than most models.
Review of the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO Robot Vacuum
The top image shows the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO Robot Vacuum cleaning up debris in our test area. Below are before and after pictures of how it performed.
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My favorite feature of the Roomba i3+ robot vacuum is the automatic dirt-disposal base. With most robot vacuums, I don’t don’t remember to empty the tiny dustbin. Consequently, it can’t do its job. With the Roomba’s base, I don’t need to empty the bin: The base does it automatically. It has a high-powered vacuum that sucks debris out of a hole in the bottom of the dustbin. The debris travels from the bottom of the base to a dust bag near the top. When the disposable bag is full (every two months or so), the app lets me know to change it. I haven’t found a robovac that doesn’t get stuck on cords, toys, or other household hazards. Yet, the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO rarely needed help during cleanings. It does an outstanding job of recognizing obstacles and not getting caught up on them, though it doesn’t have the high-tech obstacle avoidance found in more expensive models like the Roomba j7 . The Roomba i3+ EVO does better on carpeting than any robot vacuum I’ve tested. I laid out flour, coffee grounds, kitty litter, and pet hair on 18-inch-square sections of carpeting. I ran the vac for two cleaning cycles and compared before and after photos to estimate how much debris it picked up. The Roomba picked up virtually all of the grounds, litter, and hair and just left behind a little flour, a material that most vacs struggle with. I performed the same test on hardwood, and the i3+ EVO’s performance was almost as impressive. It picked up all of the grounds and hair but left behind about 5 percent of the litter and 10 percent of the flour. Robot vacuums struggle to clean corners, but the Roomba i3+ EVO’s corner cleaning was better than most. I sprinkled a teaspoon of flour fanning out 4 inches from the corner. Next, I ran the robovac through two cleaning cycles. I measured how close it got to the corner and compared before and after photos. The Roomba came within an inch of hardwood and carpeted corners, which is very good. It only picked up half the flour on carpeting, which is about average for the robot vacs we’ve tested. On the hardwood, it did much better, picking up 80 percent of the flour. The i3+ EVO’s cleaning is aided by dirt-detect capabilities that trigger the robot to perform multiple passes in areas where it senses excess debris. I noticed this feature at work during testing. The vac kept going back to the areas where I laid out debris. The iRobot app (available for iOS and Android ) is one of the most user-friendly apps I’ve tested, and iRobot is constantly improving it. This week, the company improved the i3+ EVO’s smart mapping capabilities. Once the i3+ EVO maps your cleaning area (this takes several cleaning cycles), you can use the app to clean specific rooms. Scheduling daily cleanings only took me a few seconds to set up.
Before and after photos demonstrating how well the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO Robot Vacuum did cleaning in hardwood corners.
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The iRobot app also offers personalized cleaning suggestions based on your behaviors and the season. For instance, it may suggest running your i3+ EVO more often to pick up pollen and other irritants during allergy season. The app also notifies you when it’s time to perform scheduled maintenance, such as cleaning or replacing the filter, replacing the brushes, or switching out the disposable dust bags. You can order all of the items through the app.
Cons to consider The iRobot app doesn’t let you set no-go zones for the i3+ EVO . This is frustrating because no-go zones are available when using higher-end models, such as the s9+ or i7+ . For $31 each, you can get virtual wall barriers . The Roomba i3+ EVO is loud and only has one suction mode, so you can’t choose a quieter setting. From 12 inches away, my sound meter registered 68 decibels, a little softer than city traffic.
What are your alternatives? I’ve tested over 30 models, and our robot vacuum guide gives recommendations for specific use-cases. The Roomba i3+ EVO is my top overall pick, but you might consider the Roomba s9+ if you want to be able to set no-go zones in the iRobot app. The s9+ was our top performer on hardwood. Unfortunately, it costs twice as much as the i3+ EVO. For a quiet, budget solution, the sub-$200 eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 15C Max is an excellent choice. It did a good job on hardwood and carpeting, fits into small spaces, and doesn’t get stuck easily. However, it doesn’t have an auto-empty base or no-go zone settings.
The bottom line
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For $500, you won’t find a better robot vacuum than the iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO . Its overall cleaning performance was better than any other robot vacuum on the market. The automatic dirt disposal base and ability to avoid getting stuck make floor cleaning more automatic than other models. If you’re going to buy a robot vacuum, get this model. Pros: Outstanding carpet cleaning, great hardwood cleaning, doesn’t easily get stuck, automatically empties its dustbin, easy-to-use app Cons: Can’t set no-go zones, loud operation
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James Brains
Senior Reporter, Business Insider Reviews
James Brains is a home and kitchen reporter and product expert with over seven years of experience in service journalism. He is passionate about providing helpful buying advice to readers based on extensive testing. Experience As a Senior Reporter for Business Insider’s Reviews team, James focuses on testing home and kitchen products. He uses his hands-on experience to write in-depth reviews and buying guides, tackling everything from air fryers and toaster ovens to air conditioners and vacuums. Before joining Business Insider in 2021, James worked as a freelance writer and ran Brains Report, his personal product review site. In addition to home and kitchen products, James also has a background in writing about tech, health, and fitness. Why you can trust James James uses his background in experimental psychology to develop objective tests and review methodologies for all the products he evaluates. He’s tested over 100 mattresses to write our guide to the best mattresses, even touring a mattress manufacturing facility to further enrich his expertise. Seeing how mattresses are constructed has provided key insights into what to look for and what materials and features are best for certain sleepers. James believes high-quality sleep is worth a premium, and he’s passionate about helping readers get a better night’s sleep — but he’ll always help you find a good deal on a mattress in the process. He is always on call to find the best mattress, bedding, and vaccum deals (among others) on any given day, but especially during big sale days like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Expertise Mattresses and sleep products Kitchen appliances and cookware Heating and cooling products Vacuums Education James holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State. He lives in Lansing, Michigan, with his wife, two kids, and a kitty. When he’s not testing a new mattress or air fryer, James enjoys running the Facebook foodie group Lansing Foodies. The group has over 70,000 followers and puts on an annual Olive Burger Festival.
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