This Is the Best Robot Vacuum Under $500 for Prime Day
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I confess that until last month, I held the very haughty opinion that most robot vacuums under $700 weren't worth buying. I'd tested so many of them and been disappointed. Parts broke or didn't work well in concert to get dirt off the ground. The mops were a disaster. I spent so much time unclogging them or rescuing them from under the couch or diagnosing error codes that it wasn't saving me any time.
But last month, I finally installed my first robot vacuum from Eureka—the J15 Pro Ultra. Honestly, I didn't expect much because traditional vacuum companies that get into the robot space don't tend to "robot" very well. But the J15 Pro Ultra was plucky as hell. It didn't have a beautiful tower or a sleek design. But what it had, worked. After a few days, I realized I hadn't rescued it once, and my floors were surprisingly clean. Over the next few weeks, as it dutifully cleaned the carpet, rugs, tile, and wood floors, the J15 Pro Ultra became one of my top picks.
The J15 Pro Ultra comes right now with a $935 price tag, but the J15 Ultra—a younger sibling to the Pro Ultra—has almost every feature and is a smidge under $500 for Prime Day. The Ultra has the same size dust container in the robot, the tower holds the same amount of clean water, the Ultra and Pro use the same battery and the robot is exactly the same size. In fact, the Ultra has more suction power, at 19000Pa vs 16000Pa in the Pro Ultra.
In fact, the only thing that the Pro Ultra has that the cheaper model doesn't is mop lifting. But it has better carpet recognition, which should mitigate that issue. The robot will leave the mops behind if you ask it to vacuum the rugs or carpet. The Ultra still uses hot water to wash the mop. In short, this is basically the same vacuum/mop I fell in love with.
The app for the Eureka is blissfully straightforward and organized. The type is large and easy to read, and the app is devoid of advertising, with lots of white space.
The J15 uses a silicone roller equipped with tiny razors to cut through pet and human hair, and I found it highly effective. This prevents hair from getting wrapped around the roller. Dual spinning mop heads did a respectable job on the floor, exerting the right amount of pressure on tile and hardwood.
Finally, part of the reason this model works so well is the giant spinning sweep at the front, which worked hard to get debris in the path of the rollers.
$500 is nothing to sneeze at, still. But this model is normally over $700, so it's a chance to get a flagship, premium model at a cheaper price point.
Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, and Home Depot have Prime Day competition sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.
Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale begins at midnight on July 8 and will include deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.
Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale, “Black Friday in July,” runs through Sunday, July 13 and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.
Home Depot extended its 4th of July sale through at least July 9, competing with some amazing deals of its own. It’s an especially good option if you’re looking for power tools, appliances, or outdoor equipment.