Roomba e5 vs. e6

In the market for a budget-friendly Roomba that has up-to-date hardware and modern specs, but a basic interface? Enter the Roomba e5 and Roomba e6 robot vacuums.

These two robot vacuums are quite similar so let’s hit the highlights and see what you need to know about these robots.

What’s Different?

From a high level, the main differences between these two robot vacuums come down to two (relatively) minor specs.

1. Color: The Roomba e5 has an all-black body style while the Roomba e6 has a black and tan body.
2. Tools: The Roomba e6 comes with an extra filter as well as two virtual walls. Most versions of the e5 do not come with a virtual wall and only one filter (may vary based on the retailer.)

What’s the Same?

Aside from the minor differences listed above, these two Roomba robots are nearly identical. They have the same:

• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Battery Capacity: 1,800 mAh
• Navigation: iAdapt 1.0
• Brushroll: Rubberized; dual
• Size: 13.3″DIA x 3.4″H
• Wifi Connectivity: Yes

Design

The design of both of these Roombas is based on a round body style with simple controls on top and wifi connectivity for wireless access.

Buttons on the top are for:

• Clean: starts or stops a cleaning cycle
• Home: immediately sends the robot back to the charging station
• Spot: cleans small areas in a circular pattern to treat small spots

Under each of these vacuums is the same setup. It has the centrally located dual rubberized brushrolls. The brushroll sits between the two larger wheels and captures debris as the robot rolls over it.

RELATED: Looking for a Roomba with an edge-to-edge brushroll? Check out the Roomba S9+.

Below the brushroll is the spinning side brush, which is located to the side of the vacuum. This little tool is designed to capture debris along corners and edges and pull them into the cleaning path of the central brushrolls.

Edge sensors at the perimeter of both the e5 and e6 keeps each Roomba from driving over edges, stairs, or other lofted spaces.

Wireless Control

When comparing the Roomba e5 vs. Roomba e6 wireless connectivity is a big deal. Robot vacuums with this feature can be paired with the iRobot Home app and you can control the Roomba from anywhere.

Both the e5 and e5 have wireless control.

Navigation

These two Roombas have the iAdapt 1.0 navigation system which uses a bump-and-continue approach to zig-zag their way around the room.

More advanced Roombas, like the Roomba 960, uses the iAdapt 2.0 navigation, and the most advanced Roombas, like the Roomba i7, uses iAdapt 3.0 navigation.

Newer versions of the iAdapt technology promotes cleaning cycles with straighter lines and obstacle detection.

That being said, navigation does not always translate equally to cleaning performance, as suction, brushroll style, and run time are also factors to consider.

Run Time

Both Rooms have a run time of 90 minutes.

More advanced Roombas offer Recharge & Resume, which drives the robot back to the charging station in the middle of cleaning to juice up and resume cleaning. But these two Roombas do not have this feature for extended run time.

How big is the e5 vs. e6?

Both the Roomba e5 vs. e6 are the same size vacuums. For exact specs, they are:

• Diameter: 13.3″ wide
• Height: 3.6″ tall
• Weight: 7.2 lbs

What comes in the box?

NOTE: If you have the Roomba e5 already, but want to add a virtual wall, you can purchase a standalone unit here.

Is the Roomba e5 or e6 better?

The Roomba e6 comes with more tools and features than the e5 for the same price. For example, the e6 includes two filters, whereas the Roomba e5 has just one filter. 

The e6 version also comes with two virtual walls. The Roomba e5 doesn’t include a virtual wall, but you can purchase a standalone virtual wall separately.

Cleaning Performance

When we’re looking at cleaning performance, again, there’s a lot of overlap. What are some of the main factors that effect cleaning performance?

• Navigation
• Suction power
• Run time
• Brushroll

With both the Roomba e5 and e6, all four of these factors are identical so you can expect cleaning performance to be basically identical also.

While we haven’t been able to test out the e6 in person, we did run our full range of cleaning tests on the Roomba e5, and here’s what we found.

For the most complete performance testing, we tested against four different debris on three different floor types.

• Debris includes: cereal, rice, kitty litter, and sugar
• Flooring types include: hardwoods, low pile carpet, high pile carpet

Hardwood Floor Cleaning

Cleaning hardwoods was a flawless performance, where the e5 was able to collect 100% of all debris types we tested.

Low Pile Carpet Cleaning

Similar to hardwoods, performance on low pile carpet was also exceptional. The e5 was able to collect basically 100% of all debris types (99% for sugar).

High Pile Carpet Cleaning

Finally, we tested on high pile carpet and results continued to be consistently good—100% for cereal, kitty litter, and rice… 98% for sugar.

Final Verdict: For a robot vacuum, especially one at the price point of the e5, these results are exceptional and we could expect the same performance out of the e6.

Setup & Usability

Setup is straight forward…basically.

Unbox it, plug it in, setup the app, press clean button. That’s it.

Periodically you’ll need to clean out filters and the dust bin, and replace filters a few times a year. If you have long hair pets or humans in your home you also may need to occasionally cut hair away from the brushroll.

Beyond that, there is virtually no maintenance.

Roomba e5 vs. e6: What’s the better value?

Strictly looking at value, the Roomba e6 is the winner here. Although it is only offered through a few direct retailers, it comes with more tools than the e6 for basically the same price.

Since all the other specs are virtually the same, that small difference is enough to edge out the e5.

That being said, if you don’t have access to a retailer for the e6, the value of the Roomba e5 plus a standalone virtual wall could be better simply in terms of convenience.

Side-by-Side Specifications

Questions?

Still not sure if you should buy the e5 or e6? Let us know your questions in the comments down below.