Roomba E5 vs 675: Which Roomba is Best?

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Roomba is constantly making newer robot vacuums at varying price levels. For many, the Roomba 675 is the best all-around vacuum as it has all the features you need at a comfortable price. However, some people want a stronger model like the upgraded Roomba E5. We’re going to compare Roomba E5 vs 675 to see which is best overall. Will our Roomba E5 review show that it’s worth the extra cost, or is the Roomba 675 better for your needs?

We’re going to compare iRobot Roomba 675 vs E5 based on navigation, hard floors, carpets, battery life, and software before showing you which is the winner. Read on to see who gets the crown.

iRobot Roomba E5	iRobot Roomba 675

Navigation

There are several big differences between iRobot Roomba E5 vs 675 and one of them is navigation. While both are good at navigation, the E5 Roomba has tremendous upgrades that make the 675 look like a toy. The 675 navigates primarily by softly bumping around to find the boundaries. This is fine for simple floor plans, but it could be difficult if you have tight corners or multiple rooms for the vacuum to traverse.

Our Roomba E5 review found that this model has an onboard computer designed to help it navigate. Not only does this allow it to better find its way around your home, but you can also use virtual walls to block it from accessing certain areas of the room.

While our Roomba 675 vs E5 review found that the E5 is superior with navigation, these vacuums do have some similarities that are worth noting. They both have dirt sensors, drop sensors if there is a drop in elevation, and beacon boundary markers.

Both are good, and you probably won’t notice a huge difference in studio apartments or other simple floor plans, but the iRobot E5 really shows its muscles as it navigates effortlessly throughout multiple rooms.

Roomba E5 vs 675: Hard Floors

Both the Roomba 675 and Roomba E5 are able to vacuum up pet hair, small dirt particles, and larger particles such as food and larger messes. Hard floors would include anything like wood, laminate, and so on.

Surprisingly enough, while it’s a close call, our Roomba E5 versus Roomba 675 review found that the 675 actually does somewhat better on hard floors. It’s nearly identical when it comes to pet hair or particles when both vacuums are completely empty.

However, when the vacuums are partially full, the 675 keeps up similar performance while the E5 begins to drop. The E5 will still vacuum up particles, but the 675 does a much better job in this regard.

While we suggest that you continue onto the carpet section before writing off the E5, it’s surprising to see that the 675 won this category. It’s the more affordable robot vacuum of the two, but that’s why we do these vacuum comparisons. You never know which is better.

Roomba 675 vs E5: Carpets

Most homes have a combination of hard floor and carpet, so it’s important to consider this. Not only that, but you have to consider whether you have small or thick carpets as robot vacuums sometimes struggle with thicker carpets.

Performance with pet hair is roughly equal between the two. Regardless of which carpet you have, they both are able to pick up pet hair with ease. They also have similar performance when it comes to larger particles.

However, it’s those small, pesky particles that get caught between the fibers that make the difference. Roomba 675 struggles to get smaller particles in carpets, but Rooma E5 picks up the slack and is significantly better here. The margin widens if both vacuums are partially full. E5 keeps up with similar performance while 675 really drops in power.

While they are fairly similar with carpet, the Roomba E5 is better overall, especially with small particles. The 675 isn’t bad, but it loses this battle.

iRobot Roomba E5	iRobot Roomba 675

Battery Life

How long can your robot vacuum clean without having to recharge? While the vacuum should return to the charging base before the battery dies (there are times it needs some help), a longer battery life means that it can clean more before recharging. You also want to consider the recharge time. Longer recharge times means that it will take longer for the vacuum to finish cleaning.

Both of these vacuums use a similar Lithium Li-Ion battery and they last around 90 minutes. That’s pretty good and it should be able to do a lot of cleaning in that time. While the battery life is similar, the recharge time is significantly different.

Our Roomba 675 review found that it takes around 180 minutes to fully recharge. Our Roomba E5 review found that it only needs 120 minutes to recharge. That means it can get back to work 60 minutes before the 675. You can probably imagine how much faster it can clean a whole house.

If you have a small floor plan, then it can probably finish before needing to recharge. But, if you want it to clean a whole house, then the Roomba E5 is clearly the winner here.

Software and Features

Every automated vacuum has a variety of features like sensors, enhanced navigation, scheduling, and so on. Sometimes this category makes or breaks a certain vacuum, so you want to pay attention here. However, we can say that Roomba is a solid brand and all their vacuums are good. But, which one is better?

When it comes to the software itself, both are similar. They both feature Alexa support for voice commands, have Android and Apple apps, and are IFTTT compatible to make routines and add other features. The iRobot app is honestly one of the best vacuum apps available. The Roomba app gives you information about the vacuum like battery life, error codes, and it even notifies you when the vacuum is done cleaning.

While the app allows you to create schedules for both, the scheduling is somewhat different between them. The 675 only allows for weekly scheduling while the E5 allows for more robust scheduling. If your schedule is constantly changing, then the E5 is much better in this regard.

While the software is similar between them, there are significant differences in terms of sensors and filters. The 675 offers variable suction so that it effortlessly goes from hard floor to carpet. The E5 offers variable suction along with a HEPA filter, full bin sensor, and carpet height adjustment (which explains the better carpet performance).

We have to give the win to Roomba E5 for its enhanced features. Not only that, but while they both use the same app, the E5 has better software overall and functions both faster and better. However, the 675 is a good vacuum as well and the better price point might make it more attractive to some buyers.

What’s the Difference Between Roomba E5 and 675?

There are three major differences between the iRobot 675 and E5. The Roomba E5 is clearly an upgraded version with better features, hardware, and power. The first major difference is navigation. While the 675 still uses the old bumper method of navigating around, the E5 has an onboard navigational computer that allows it to quickly go to the right spot.

The scheduling is another major difference. If you have a consistent schedule, then you probably won’t notice a difference, but those with variable schedules will prefer the E5 since it allows for more scheduling options.

The third big difference is the brushroll. The 675 uses a bristle brushroll that does well, as we explained in the hard floor and carpet sections, but it usually doesn’t last as long and performance does diminish on carpets. The E5 uses a rubber brushroll that lasts longer and has more consistent performance between hard floors and carpets.

iRobot Roomba E5	iRobot Roomba 675

Final Thoughts

So, who wins in the Roomba E5 versus 675 battle? If price doesn’t matter and you want the strongest, most feature-rich vacuum, then the Roomba E5 is the clear winner. While it didn’t do quite as well on hard floors, the performance was almost the same, plus it does better on carpet, is significantly better with navigation, has better features, more robust software, and is the clear winner.

If price is a factor, then the competition is a little more nuanced. We still suggest the Roomba E5 because it has better features and can better clean a whole house. But, if you have a small floor plan, then the 675 should have all the features you need at a more comfortable price.