A lot of Roombas are on sale this Cyber Monday, but only a few are worth your cash

Pro tip: At these prices, don't settle for a Roomba without "clean by room" smart mapping.
By Leah Stodart  on 
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Roomba j7 robot vacuum positioned on blue and green backdrop
I've crowned the Roomba Combo j5+ as the best Roomba value when it's on sale, and it is. Credit: iRobot / Mashable composite

UPDATE: Nov. 28, 2024, 5:46 p.m. EST This story has been updated with the current best Black Friday Roomba deals at Amazon as well as iRobot's website, including several budget-friendly mopping and smart mapping options.

A quick look at the best Black Friday Roomba deals

Best standalone Roomba deal
iRobot Roomba Combo j5
$299.99 (save $230)
iRobot Roomba Combo j5+ robot vacuum, water tank, and smartphone with green iRobot screen

Best self-emptying Roomba deal
iRobot Roomba Combo i5+
$299 (save $250.99)

So many robot vacuums go on sale for Black Friday that decision fatigue is imminent — unless you're specifically set on a Roomba, that is.

Roombas do tend to run slightly more expensive than competitors with the same features, so November is a wise time to buy one — Black Friday has been known to trigger new record-breaking discounts on several Roomba models. In terms of where that happens, Amazon is the best place to find a Roomba on sale despite the flop of the acquisition of iRobot by Amazon (though iRobot's own website has good options, too). Because iRobot doesn't debut new models for the year at CES in January like many other big robot vacuum brands do, you can also be confident that the Roombas on sale during Black Friday won't be phased out in a month or two.

So yeah, there are quite a few Roombas on sale for Black Friday — mainly at Amazon's Black Friday sale, with a few other deals scattered at iRobot's website (and a few matched deals at Target and Best Buy). But while most of those deals look good in terms of the percentage off that you're getting, many of them just aren't worthwhile when you consider the features you're securing, especially when taking into the bigger list of robot vacuum deals from other brands this Black Friday.

For instance, the base-tier Roomba Vac Essential being on sale for $149 sounds great until you realize that this Roomba doesn't have smart mapping, which means it can't clean specific rooms on command. When robot vacuums that do have smart mapping like the Shark IQ Ultra or Eufy L50 are on sale for $148 and $159, respectively this Black Friday, that particular Roomba Vac deal is far less exciting.

This doesn't mean there aren't any Roomba deals that I think are worth it this Black Friday. The i series and j series Roombas under $500 that are currently live are stellar — multiple models are nearly 50% off, with both self-emptying and mopping being optional depending on your needs. (As you get into the more expensive j series Roombas, the deals start to become less appealing. Premium robot vacuums from other brands simply do more than something like the Roomba Combo j9+ for less money.) For a deeper dive into these features, check out my guide that unpacks the differences between the main Roombas.

This story will be updated any time a new noteworthy Roomba deal drops between now and the end of Cyber Week. While you can be pretty certain that the Roombas on sale now are at their Black Friday pricing, Amazon or iRobot could very well drop completely new Roomba deals over the next few days — I'll keep you posted. Note: Any deal marked with a 🔥 has dropped to a record-low price at Amazon.

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Best early Black Friday Roomba deal

iRobot Roomba Combo i5
$299.00 at Amazon
$549.99 Save $250.99

Why we like it

This nearly 50% discount on the Roomba Combo j5+ already looks great on its face, but it's an even sweeter deal when compared to the current sale price on the cheapest self-emptying Roomba, the Roomba Vac 2. For $249.99, the ultrabasic Roomba Vac 2 doesn't mop and can't smart map your house. For $299 — just $50 more — the Roomba Combo i5+ can mop and can smart map to clean specific rooms in your home on command. If $300 is your budget cap for a new robot vacuum, spending that extra $50 is a no-brainer.

The only downside to choosing the Combo i5+ over the more advanced Combo j5+, which is also at an amazing sale price of $399 for Black Friday, is that the i series Roombas don't have the small obstacle avoidance technology that helps dodge things on the floor like charging cords or pet waste. However, if your home is already pretty tidy as it is, or you're down to deal with tidying up ahead of vacuuming, the Combo i5+ is a total steal at this price.

Other Roomba deals at Amazon

Other Roomba deals at iRobot.com

Leah Stodart
Leah Stodart
Senior Shopping Reporter

Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.

The robot vacuum beat in particular has cemented itself as Leah's main ~thing~ across the past few years. Since 2019, her expertise has been perpetually bolstered by the meticulous eye she keeps on robot vacuum deals and new releases, but more importantly, her hands-on experience with more than 25 robot vacuums tested in her own home. (This number has probably gone up by the time you're reading this.) That at-home testing is standardized through Mashable's robot testing guide — a granular scoring rubric for assessing all aspects of owning and using a robot vacuum on the daily — that Leah created herself.

Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she's not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she's almost definitely watching a horror movie, "RuPaul's Drag Race," or "The Office." You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].

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