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Roborock Q5 Review

A great all-around robot vacuum, affordable, and smart. A great option for pretty much everyone
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Roborock Q5 Review (We recommend the Roborock Q5 for most consumers.)
We recommend the Roborock Q5 for most consumers.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Price:  $430 List
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Manufacturer:   Roborock
By Jessica Riconscente and Kyle Hameister  ⋅  May 31, 2023
74
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#2 of 10
  • Navigation - 30% 7.8
  • Home Coverage - 20% 8.2
  • Carpet Cleaning - 15% 7.2
  • Hard Surface Cleaning - 15% 6.8
  • Pet Hair - 10% 6.0
  • Convenience - 10% 7.2

Our Verdict

The Roborock Q5 is one of the latest offerings from the respected brand Roborock, and one of our absolute favorites to date. There's nothing particularly flashy about the Q5; it just quietly performed well among the top robot vacuums we've tested in nearly every metric. The Q5 feels very polished, in the big and little things alike, making it one of our favorite vacuums overall. The layout generation of your home is accurate — it dances around furniture easily and lightly and respects virtual barriers. Plus, it picks up everyday messes almost perfectly. There's no object detection like you'll see on more expensive models, and powder-like messes (like flour) it's not the greatest with, but for the price tag here, you really can't go wrong. Our article on the best robot vacuums will show you how it fares versus competing products.
REASONS TO BUY
Advanced layout generation
Gentle on furniture
Full featured app
REASONS TO AVOID
Roller gets clogged with hair
Low clearance for large debris

Compare to Similar Products

 
roborock q5
This Product
Roborock Q5
Awards Editors' Choice Award
Best All Around Robot Vacuum
Best Buy Award
Best Bang for the Buck
   
Price $430 List$315 List
$199.00 at Amazon
$550 List
$359.98 at Amazon
$550 List
$355.41 at Amazon
$230 List
$229.99 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
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Bottom Line This is an advanced robot vacuum that's within reach for everyone in the marketThis model is a great option overall, competing with pricier options in most testsThe new standard for a smart, workhorse robot vacuumThis model puts the hurt on furniture and aimlessly bounces around your homeWith newer tech available at a similar price, we think you'd be better off looking elsewhere
Rating Categories Roborock Q5 Wyze Robot Vacuum Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO Eufy RoboVac 11S Slim
Navigation (30%)
7.8
7.8
7.0
4.6
3.0
Home Coverage (20%)
8.2
6.7
7.9
6.4
5.1
Carpet Cleaning (15%)
7.2
6.7
6.3
4.6
5.1
Hard Surface Cleaning (15%)
6.8
7.5
7.5
5.0
4.7
Pet Hair (10%)
6.0
4.0
4.0
5.0
5.0
Convenience (10%)
7.2
6.5
6.5
6.6
3.0
Specs Roborock Q5 Wyze Robot Vacuum Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO Eufy RoboVac 11S Slim
App Features Score Total 16 14 14 11 2
Pet Hair Captured 42.7% 25.3% 28.6% 34.0% 20.6%
Edging Performance 2.0 in 3.0 in 4.0 in 4.0 in 1.3 in
Manufacture Bin Capacity .47 L .55 L .4 L .53 L .6 L
Manufacture Station Capacity N/A N/A N/A 2.2 L No
Mopping No No Yes No No
Measured Diameter 13.8 in 13.5 in 13.5 in 13.3 in 12.5 in
Measured Height 3.8 in 3.6 in 4.0 in 3.8 in 2.8 in
Warranty 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited 1 year limited
Recharge & Resume Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Measured Brush Width 6.50 in 6.25 in 6.00 in 6.75 in 5.50 in
Multi-Room Navigation Yes Yes Yes Yes No
App Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Barrier Type Virtual Virtual Virtual None None

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Q5 scores well in most metrics we tested. Frankly, even if money were no object, we may well prefer it to the more expensive models in our lineup. Roborock has really dialed things in, and the new Q5 is the culmination of all its experience as an industry-leading vacuum creator.

Performance Comparison


The Roborock Q5 is a fantastic all-around performer.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Navigation


A robot vacuum's overall utility lives or dies with its navigation ability, which is why this metric is weighted highest among everything we test for, at 30% of the overall score. This is a strength of Roborock as a brand, and the Q5 is ranked among the best we've seen.


If your vacuum is consistently missing certain spots around furniture, ignoring no-go zones, or constantly overlaying its saved maps with a skewed floor plan, then what is meant to replace a household chore becomes a chore in and of itself. Luckily, the Roborock Q5 is one of the smarter vacuums out there for a variety of reasons.

roborock q5 - a screenshot of the roborock app, and the q5's coverage layout of a...
A screenshot of the Roborock app, and the Q5's coverage layout of a standard room.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

It's especially thorough around table and chair legs; with very few spots missed. The Q5 is noticeably gentle approaching and dancing around these features too. Even with lidar, many vacuums essentially ram everything they see as an obstacle, almost as a secondary confirmation that it's truly something to be navigated and not a plush dog toy or something that needs to be pushed aside. The Q5 was more graceful generally, and even better, we noticed that it constantly updates its map in real-time. You can watch on the app when someone walks across the room or moves a chair. The Q5 updates its plan immediately and changes course as needed.

The Roborock Q5 returning home to roost.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Roborock products seem to be better than average at returning to their dock once finished or recharging in the middle of a particularly large session. It hardly bumped into anything and found the obvious, most efficient route home.

One thing we do have to mention is that it did not do well in our poo-avoidance test. Very few robot vacuums do, but if you're a pet owner that sees a lot of accidents, this is a critical point to be aware of. Our Play-Doh analog was not detected at all — the Q5 pushed right through without a care in the world.

roborock q5 - the roborock q5 is especially great at navigating around furniture.
The Roborock Q5 is especially great at navigating around furniture.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Home Coverage


The Q5's layout algorithm is one of the more consistent we've tested in hitting those little nooks and crannies that are easy to miss. As with most robot vacuums, it starts with a perimeter sweep of each room, then hits the interior with a sweep of parallel lines. The Q5's map is accurate, and once it has a map saved, it will run through the space confidently. It'll even speed up where it knows there's a wide open space. It's multi-level map-saving feature was pretty reliable as well. It automatically detects what room it's in, so the Q5 shouldn't need babysitting beyond its first training on each floor.


Virtual barriers and no-go zones on the app were easy to set up, intuitive, and effective. We never saw it drift over a barrier. Another subtle feature that we loved was that the rectangle zones could be rotated. Setting a specific angle to match a unique floor cutout is an obvious function to build in, but it is not common among the Q5's competitors.

The Q5 attacks a space with parallel line passes.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Single room and spot cleaning modes were also effective. Hitting edges in these modes were surprisingly hit or miss, but overall we can't complain as its coverage is similarly great as in the full floor mode.

roborock q5 - the q5 getting right along an edge to pick up some spilled oatmeal.
The Q5 getting right along an edge to pick up some spilled oatmeal.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Carpet Cleaning


Carpet, especially high-pile fluffy carpet, is often the nemesis of an otherwise successful robot vacuum. Not so with the Roborock Q5. It received top scores among all vacuums tested.


We tested rice, oatmeal, mini-wheats, and flour on both short and high pile carpeting. Performance is always better on short pile carpet, but the fluffy stuff is where many vacuums just can't cut it. On both carpets, the Q5 picked up at or above 95% of our standard-sized debris (rice and oatmeal), as measured by weight. Though, with the flour, we had to take multiple passes.

Setting up a test to evaluate a vacuums ability to pull pet hair out of carpet.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Other than the flour tests, the only thing we weren't thrilled about was that the rotating arm tended to fling the larger items (namely: mini-wheats) around instead of corralling them. Though when all was said and done, the stats did not lie: this is one of the best carpet-performing robot vacuums we've put through our rigorous tests.

The Q5 did a fantastic job of clearing the rice from our test carpets.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Hard Surface Cleaning


Performance-wise, hardwood, tile, and linoleum are usually a robot vacuum's best surfaces. They're designed for the proper clearance on hard surfaces, and like the carpet tests, the Q5 was near-perfect with picking up rice and oatmeal. Some mini-wheats were handled just fine, but some were just big enough to be pushed around instead of sucked up. It's not unexpected, but some options do this better than the Q5, so we have to mention it.


Again though, flour was the poor performer here. Noticeable streaks were left in the center of each pass, and a clear pattern shows where the side-arm attempts to sweep enthusiastically towards the center rollers.

roborock q5 - streaks and patterns left behind from a flour spill. the q5...
Streaks and patterns left behind from a flour spill. The Q5 performed beautifully otherwise on hard surfaces.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente

Pet Hair


Like flour, pet hair cleaning was just OK with the Q5. It picked up 43% of our test amount, but you can set up the programming to attack a space with a cross-hatch pattern to help unstuck some more embedded hairs in the carpet from another angle. Still, you'll want to run the Q5 more often than usual for shedding season.


Another thing to be aware of is that the roller in this model gets really clogged with that hair. Some vacuums, like Roomba's lineup, have rubber fin-only rollers, which this doesn't happen with. We like the Q5 a lot, but if you have some longer-haired companions running around, be ready to clean out the roller more frequently.

roborock q5 - the roller is prone to getting clogged with hair.
The roller is prone to getting clogged with hair.
Credit: Jessica Riconscente


Convenience


Some higher end models have what we call a “tower” — an advanced dock that will clean out a vacuum's on-board debris catch, so you only have to empty it every few months or so. We tested the Q5 base model, with just a charging dock, and we think that the 0.47L capacity bin is quite good for an option in this price range. There is an option to upgrade to a tower dock for a couple extra hundred bucks, dubbed the Q5+. It's up to you to decide if that extra is worth it, and it may well be.


Where the Q5 really shines is through the features available in the app. There are all the standard components like no-go zone programming and spot cleans. But Roborock did get fancy in a few more nuanced options. You can set different suction settings for different rooms (for example, to run quietly down a hallway at night when you're sleeping). The multi-story memory is also worth mentioning; this isn't especially common and can be finicky in other brands. You can also set up your schedules to run a space up to three times in a row (i.e., with a pet hair disaster zone).

We really liked the 3D map feature as well. This isn't something we've seen before, and it helps in finding a lost or trapped unit or in setting up barriers where a traditional blueprint layout may be confusing.

The Q5 makes 3D maps of your home.
Credit: Abriah Wofford

Should You Buy the Roborock Q5?


We think the Q5 is the bees knees. It's one of the best options from Roborock. That makes this offering a really good value, and we think it's appropriate for almost every type of consumer out there.

What Other Robot Vacuum Should You Consider?


The Q5 is a great all-around vacuum that won't break the bank. But we like iRobot's Roomba lineup of vacuums for pet owners just a bit better, specifically the iRobot Roomba J7+. Those rollers don't need to be cleaned out often, and it picks up pet hair like a boss. The absolute top-of-the-line option we've had the pleasure of running through its paces is the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra which hits the wallet way harder. Still, this is a stellar option if you need object recognition to avoid your child's socks or pet's occasional accidents. On the other end of things, we think the Wyze Robot Vacuum is an incredible value — it's cheaper than the Q5 here, but still performs well, so be sure to check that review as well before making any final decisions!

Jessica Riconscente and Kyle Hameister