iRobot Roomba j9+ vs Roomba 105 Vac
Quick take: The Roomba 105 Vac costs $169 less.
Which one to buy
Long-haired pets were the reason to choose the Roomba j9+, which is now discontinued; iRobot's successor is the Roomba Max 715 Vac + AutoEmpty Dock at $500. Its owners call the dual rubber extractors the gold standard for pet hair, never tangling and easy to pop out. The Roomba 105 Vac is the opposite story: testing found it removed only 29% of flattened pet hair against an 81% average, and 7-inch strands wrapped its brushroll at about twice the typical rate. The j9+ also has camera-based obstacle avoidance that owners say reliably skips pet waste, cables and shoes, backed by iRobot's pet-waste guarantee, while 105 Vac owners say it has no true obstacle avoidance and needs a tidy floor.
Without pets, the 105 Vac makes a strong case for itself. It maps with LiDAR, remembers up to three floors, and its AutoEmpty bags are rated for about 75 days. Testing put its carpet pickup above average at 82% of embedded sand, and owners call it the cheapest way into a self-emptying Roomba with real mapping and a simple, unpaywalled app. The j9+'s camera needs ambient light, which its owners say makes it slower and leaves dark rooms poorly covered, and some features need a subscription.
Battery and height also differ. The j9+ is rated at 120 minutes, which owners say covers about 1500 sq ft, while the 105 Vac covers roughly 630 sq ft per charge in testing. The j9+ is 3.4 inches tall against the 105 Vac's 4.09, so it gets under more furniture.
The j9+ was the pick for shedding pets, especially long-haired ones, or a larger home, but with it discontinued, look at the Max 715 Vac + AutoEmpty Dock instead.
iRobot Roomba j9+
The one to get if you have long-haired pets, want obstacle avoidance and a pet-waste guarantee, or need more coverage per charge, and you'll keep rooms lit when it runs; now discontinued, with the Roomba Max 715 Vac + AutoEmpty Dock as its successor.
Roomba 105 Vac
Best if your home has no long-haired pets and mostly hard floors, and you want LiDAR mapping and a self-empty dock.
| Spec | iRobot Roomba j9+ | Roomba 105 Vac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$449 | ~$280 |
| Type | Robot Vacuum | Robot Vacuum |
| Suction | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Battery | 120 min | — |
| Navigation | Camera | LiDAR |
| Filtration | — | — |
| Cordless | Yes | Yes |
| Bagged | — | — |
| Noise | 65 dB | — |
| Dustbin | 400 ml | — |
| Water tank | — | — |
| Self-empty dock | Yes | Yes |
| Auto mop washing | No | No |
| Hot water washing | No | No |
| Obstacle avoidance | Yes | Yes |
| Carpet detection | Yes | No |
| Auto mop lifting | No | No |
| Multi-floor mapping | Yes | Yes |
| App control | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions | 13.7 x 13.7 x 3.4 in | 13.23 x 13.19 x 4.09 in |
| Weight | 8.98 lbs | 6.24 lbs |
| Warranty | 1 year | 1 year |
Pros & cons
iRobot Roomba j9+
- ✓Exceptional carpet cleaning — dual rubber extractors are best-in-class for pet hair
- ✓P.O.O.P. guarantee replaces the robot if it runs over pet waste
- ✓Excellent smart home integration with Alexa, Google Home, and Siri
- ✓iRobot OS learns your cleaning habits and suggests schedules
- ✓Clean Base auto-empty system is reliable and relatively compact
- ✗No mop function at this price feels like a miss compared to competitors
- ✗Camera navigation is slower and less efficient than LiDAR
- ✗120-minute battery limits coverage to about 1500 sq ft per run
- ✗iRobot subscription pushes premium features behind a paywall
Roomba 105 Vac
- ✓Real ClearView LiDAR mapping, not gyroscope
- ✓AutoEmpty dock rated for 75 days between bag changes
- ✓Remembers up to 3 floor maps
- ✓Maps a 1,000 sq ft space in about 10 minutes
- ✓Meaningfully cheaper than iRobot's j-series or Max-series self-empty vacuums
- ✗No carpet detection
- ✗Vacuum only - the 105 Combo is the mopping version at a higher price
- ✗iRobot doesn't publish suction power, noise level, or dustbin capacity
- ✗"70x more suction than the 600 series" is a marketing comparison, not a measurable spec
iRobot Roomba j9+ vs Roomba 105 Vac: common questions
Is the Roomba j9+ a better pick than the 105 Vac for a dog owner?▾
With a long-haired or heavy-shedding dog, yes. j9+ owners say its rubber extractors never tangle, while testing found the 105 Vac picked up only 29% of flattened pet hair and tangled badly with long strands. Short-haired pets narrow the gap, and the j9+ is now discontinued.
Does the Roomba 105 Vac navigate better than the j9+?▾
In one sense, yes. Its LiDAR maps quickly and doesn't need light, while j9+ owners describe camera navigation that is slower and struggles in dark rooms. But the j9+ avoids obstacles far better, and 105 Vac owners say cables and socks must be cleared first.
Which covers more floor on a charge?▾
The j9+. Its owners say a 120-minute run covers about 1500 sq ft, while testing found the 105 Vac covers roughly 630 sq ft per charge, well below average. Larger homes may see the 105 Vac return to recharge mid-clean.