Summary
Eufy 11S is the clear winner because it has better suction, more runtime, and less noise. While Roomba is a flagship brand that everyone recognizes, Roomba 675 can’t compete on the entry-level.
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Navigation
This will compare the two based on battery life and how well they navigate your home. Eufy wins this category easily.
The Eufy 11S battery lasts for several hours and only took about 1 hour and 40 minutes to clean my 1,000 sq ft floor before going back to the base. Max mode should give more suction, but I didn’t notice a major difference and it reduces the battery life to 1 hour. Eufy slows down around walls to avoid scuff marks on the base board, but it doesn’t always get as close to the edge as it could. Its slim design fits under most tables, beds, and couches.
Eufy has no problem finding its base. If it gets stuck, the vacuum will rock back and forth to escape. This can be good, but it can also be a waste of battery power if the vacuum can’t eventually get free. You must prep the cleaning around before the vacuum starts going, like picking up loose objects and cords. You can make barriers with everyday objects, or upgrade to the Eufy RoboVac 30C that includes magnetic boundary strips.
It isn’t as good around stairs as Roomba. Eufy 11S comes with four cleaning modes that you can change from the remote: edge clean, spot clean, run, or single room.
Roomba’s battery life is just 60 minutes. That wouldn’t be terrible if it could recharge between sessions, but it doesn’t always reach the base before dying. There are no customizable modes as it can only spot clean or use its algorithm to clean the whole room. Roomba claims to use the highly intelligent iAdapt Responsive Navigationalgorithm, but it takes routes that are just as dumb as Eufy’s.
When it detects dirt, Roomba shows a green light and goes over the area vigorously until it’s clean. It sounds like a great strategy, but due to Roomba’s short runtime, it’d pick up more debris if it just continued cleaning the entire floor rather than sticking to one spot. It bumps hard into walls and may cause scuff marks. Virtual Walls are available for keeping the Roomba out of certain rooms or areas, but only the 690 comes with these walls whereas the others from the 600 Series don’t. You can buy Virtual Walls individually for $40 each.
Navigation winner: Eufy
Suction
Once again, Eufy is the superior model by a big margin.
Eufy states their suction is 1,300pa and it shows. It outperforms Roomba on carpets and hard floors. It has BoostIQ that is supposed to make the vacuum more powerful on carpets. I didn’t see this working on medium or low carpets, but it still outperformed Roomba. I spilled rice and other debris and Eufy had no problem picking it up. Same with hard floors. The Eufy 11S was the best robot vacuum under $300 at picking up debris while on wood and hard floors.
Roomba, on the flip side, is the worst-performing budget robot vacuum. I can’t pinpoint if it’s low suction power, having a single brush, the inefficient dirt detection system, or another factor, but it just doesn’t work well. It often becomes obsessed with one area and forgets about the rest of the house.
When it comes to carpet, Eufy picks up 50% more than Roomba, according to my tests. It’s even worse on hard floors where Eufy picks up 2x more debris.
Suction winner: Eufy
Design
Eufy has a better design because Roomba is big, bulky, and loud.
The Eufy 11S is slim at 2.85 inches and comes in either white or black. It’s shiny, but also shows off fingerprints. The dust tray is both easy to access and has a large capacity. The remote has precise controls and options for spot and edge cleaning. You can also schedule cleanings. Eufy 11s is the quietest that I’ve tested. It won’t bother you if you’re watching TV or going about your life. However, the wheels sometimes squeak on hardwood.
The Roomba, by contrast, is bulk, heavy, and an inch taller than Eufy. This means it will often get stuck under small areas. You don’t get a remote, but there is an app. You shouldn’t have to use the app often, but this will help with scheduling. Not only is the dustbin difficult to empty, but it’s small too. Don’t worry, because the filters are ALSO hard to clean, making all maintenance difficult.
The Roomba is loud while running. I suggest running it when you leave for work rather than during time when you’re trying to relax. If that’s impossible, then you will definitely hear this vacuum as it cleans.
Design winner: Eufy
Software
Roomba’s app is amazing while Eufy doesn’t have an app.
Eufy only comes with a remote for control. That’s not a huge problem here as most apps only help with scheduling. Eufy allows you to schedule through the remote (as long as it’s in the same room). You can’t use smart assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant, but again the remote should be enough.
An uncommon issue is that the scheduling will either not work or will make the vacuum active at the wrong time. Eufy recommends removing the batteries to reset the clock. Also, make sure the remote and vacuum are close because the remote uses IR beams, not WiFi. Roomba 675 and 690 are better in this regard as they use WiFi scheduling. You’ll know the schedule is set once Roomba beeps.
Roomba 675 and 690 use WiFi and the app allows for individual scheduling every day of the week. Syncing the app and vacuum can be challenging at first, but you’ll only do it once. The app is amazing as it logs previous cleanings, shows filter and brush warnings, goes over the robot’s health and battery life, and scheduling is convenient. It also notifies when the cleaning is finished.
You’ll get firmware updates through the app, which means that new features and better algorithms might become available (not a guarantee, but a possibility). Both the 675 and 690 work with Google Home and Alexa. The voice commands are a little wordy, but useful.
Software winner: Roomba
Company
While I’m not fond of the Roomba 600 Series, Roomba’s brand has a better reputation than Eufy.
Anker owns the Eufy brand and they are known for making phone accessories and power banks. They make good products and have reliable customer service with quick and helpful responses. However, Eufy previously outsourced their design and manufacturing to Ecovacs. At one point, Ecovacs Deebot N79 and Eufy 11 (non-S) were both on the market and identical products. When Ecovacs decided to stop manufacturing for Eufy, Eufy decided to create its own inferior product (Eufy 11+). It wasn’t until Eufy 11s that they started making good vacuums again.
Roomba, on the other hand, is owned by iRobot and they produced the very first robot vacuum in 2002. They have been around for more than 18 years and they make Roomba to be repaired, not thrown away and forgotten. Replacement parts are very easy to access. They even have unique error codes to easily diagnose any problems.
Each Roomba 600 Series has the same body, but slightly different specs:
- Roomba 614 is the base model and lacks WiFi
- Roomba 650 and 652 also don’t have WiFi and have been discontinued
- Roomba 675 has WiFi and you can use the app or a smart assistant to scheduling cleanings
- Roomba 690 is the same as the 675 but with the addition of a virtual wall.
Company winner: Roomba
Final Thoughts
Roomba is an incredible brand with many great models and I love their app and how their company functions. That being said, their affordable Roomba 600 Series is subpar when it comes to performance and navigation. The win goes to Eufy 11S by a wide margin. With better navigation, battery power, suction, and more, the Eufy robot vacuum is superior.
