I'm a professional robot vacuum reviewer, and this is the best Prime Day robot vacuum deal
As one of Mashable's senior shopping reporters (but more importantly, the resident robot vacuum expert), I'll be the first one to tell you that there are way too many robot vacuums on sale for Prime Day.
A ton of the models on sale this year have been under my roof at some point. I have at least three in my apartment at any given time, relying on them for my every day cleaning, comparing them to others I've used, and writing about the experience. My knowledge also extends to price points — I could probably rattle off the MSRP and record-low sale price for any given 2023 or 2024 model from sheer memory. I love being normal.
So naturally, I was subconsciously scanning the long list of Prime Day options for the one or two deals that could be crowned the absolute best bang for your buck — the deals I'd tell a friend or family member about if they asked which robot vacuum they should get. Spoiler alert: It's not a Roomba.
If you're also in the market for a robot vacuum this Prime Day and are experiencing decision fatigue, I got you.
My favorite Prime Day robot vacuum deal
Why I like it
The very best Roomba might be at its best sale price yet, but it's still not the best robot vacuum deal during Prime Day. There are simply other robot vacuums that can do more for less money — namely the Eufy X10 Pro Omni, which is sitting beside me as I type this.
Of the robot vacuums announced at CES 2024 in January, I was most excited to try the Eufy X10 Pro Omni. Not because it does anything particularly unique on its own, but because it took a stab at self-washing and self-drying mopping pads at a price point much lower than any other CES release that offers this feature
Back to the Roomba Combo j9+ comparison: Both have pretty powerful suction, recognize objects like phone chargers, empty themselves, and mop with force. But after mopping, only the Eufy X10 Pro will self-wash and dry its own mopping pads, prepping it to scrub the next floor with a clean slate. Having tested both in my apartment, not having to deal with soggy mopping pads made me subconsciously reach to open the Eufy app over the iRobot one for pretty much every task.
In terms of actual cleaning, the X10 Pro Omni is just about as meticulous as you could ask for. 8,000 Pa suction power isn't far from the most powerful suction power on the market, and is especially powerful for a robot vacuum under $1,000. I also appreciated Eufy's decision to arm the X10 Pro Omni with dual spinning mopping pads rather than a single stationary cloth. I trust that active scrubbing more, and can visibly see the performance on dusty cat paw prints by the litter box, shoe prints by the door, and dried mystery splatters by the kitchen counter.
A cheaper honorable mention
If you're laughing manically at the thought of spending more than $500 on a robot vacuum, I also have a stellar budget pick for you.
The Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 is the most advanced of Shark's latest line and it impressed me way more than I thought it would. It gets where it needs to go via accurate smart mapping and did a solid enough job of vacuuming and mopping that I wasn't constantly grabbing my Dyson for touchups. This thoroughness can mostly be attributed to Shark's Matrix mode: a cleaning mode that triggers the vacuum to go over a desired spot (with heightened scrubbing or suction power) multiple times from different angles, upping the likelihood of picking up hair or debris that couldn't quite be grabbed on the first pass.
While this model does self-empty, it's no full-fledged self-cleaning station, so you do have to rinse the mopping pads and let them dry before clicking them on for another mopping run. However, this Shark pick still gets credit for nailing the holy trinity that is smart mapping, self-emptying, and mopping on a budget — less than $400 on Prime Day.