Black Friday robot vacuum deal showdown: Roomba vs. Shark

I have a Roomba vacuum, and I really do not like it. If I had a sledgehammer readily available, I would come down on that little jerk with the wrath of Thor himself. 

My Roomba never did anything to me personally, no, but I’m so damn tired of its asshole tendency to dive-bomb into my walls, aimlessly wander around in the same three-foot radius indefinitely, and wedge itself under my couch while blaring out an error message that I now hear in my nightmares. And after all that, my carpet still has crap in it. Cool!

OK, maybe I’m ranting. But I’m sensitive, and my Roomba hurt my feelings. 

In “reality,” it’s honestly not that bad. I don’t have to vacuum like I used to because my semi-annoying robot helper has it covered. My regret isn’t in that I bought one, but that I paid so much for it.

The larger point: Do you need to get a super expensive Roomba vacuum just because it’s the most recognizable brand? (We’ve now reached the point where every robot vacuum is a “Roomba,” like calling all tissues “Kleenex.”)

SEE ALSO: These are the best robot vacuums

Nope, you don’t. If anything, the much cheaper Shark robot vacuum, which is nearly identical to its Roomba counterpart, is the better deal. Plus, they’re both going to be on sale for Black Friday this year — so if you’re going to pull the trigger on one, that’ll be the time. Go with the Shark (unless you’re buying a fancy Dyson stick vacuum or something instead).

The Shark IQ vacuum with “self-emptying” tech (which extends the time between having to clean out the device’s main collection basket) and a mapping camera that memorizes the layout of your home can be picked up for $449 on the manufacturer’s website, whereas the comparable Roomba i7 is a full $250 more on their site. Why pay so much more for basically the same quality?

So who has the best deals on the Shark this Black Friday?

This Black Friday, you’ll be able to find the Shark Ion R75 at Walmart for $149 (compared to the Roomba at $179), the Shark R76 for $179.99 at Target (Roomba will be $199.99), and the Shark RV750 for $179.99 at Macy’s (where Roomba is… nowhere to be found), according to a few different ad scans. Seems like iRobot is really just banking on that Roomba name, considering they aren’t even trying to compete with Shark’s prices. 

Shark vs. Roomba

Both robot vacuums have companion apps that can be used to command them and schedule sessions, both support Alexa smart speakers, and both feature about the same cleaning power as the other (which isn’t all that powerful, anyway). The only real difference that separates the two is the price, and it’s a pretty wide gap ($70) to bridge.

Thanks to some insight from the BestBlackFriday.com team, we can safely say that, pretty much as a rule, Shark products are going to cost less than their Roomba equivalents — even those models on the higher end of the price spectrum. 

Shark Ion is the clear winner in the Black Friday robot vacuum battle royale, but only on the basis of price. Regardless of what unit you buy, it’ll probably end up pissing you off no matter what, and it’ll probably end up running over your big toe once in a while. But, it may be a worthy sacrifice if you’re just desperate to not get off the couch and clean, like me.

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