Two brands with opposite philosophies at this price. One publishes everything and one publishes almost nothing, and that turns out to be the whole comparison.
By Scooter M., Enthusiast - published September 2, 2026
We have not tested these machines. Everything here comes from published specifications, manufacturer manuals and retailer listings, all cited below. Prices last verified September 2, 2026.
How this is funded: if you buy through a link here we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which machines we recommend or what we say about them. Full disclosure.
Under $300, buy Roborock unless you specifically want a machine with no app. Roborock publishes 10,000Pa, fits LiDAR across its budget range, and is the only brand here with an anti-tangle side brush. Eufy's sub-$300 offering is the 11S MAX - the slimmest machine in the category at 2.85 inches, with no Wi-Fi, no map, and no published suction figure at all.
This is a comparison people search for constantly and it is usually answered with the brands' flagships, which is unhelpful. Roborock's $900 machine tells you nothing about its $250 one. What follows is scoped strictly to what each brand sells under the ceiling.
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Product
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Score
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Roborock Q10 S5+The only machine under $300 that maps with LiDAR and sees obstacles with structured light. Everything else here is navigating half-blind.
Both machines scored on the published rubric from How We Pick: suction 25%, navigation 25%, pet hair 20%, running cost 20%, setup 10%. Editorial judgments about published specifications, not test results.
Buy Roborock if
You want to compare on numbers. Roborock publishes suction, dock capacity, mop scrub rate and mop lift height, and every one of them can be checked against a competitor.
You have pets. The JawScrapers main brush plus a stated anti-tangle side brush is the most complete answer to hair wrap under $300.
Your floors have things on them. The Q10 S5+ is the only machine at this price with structured-light obstacle avoidance.
You have both hard floors and rugs. The 8 mm automatic mop lift means one machine handles both in one run.
Buy eufy if
You want a machine with no app, no account and no cloud service. The 11S MAX has no Wi-Fi at all. It cannot be broken by a firmware update and it cannot be orphaned by a discontinued service.
Your furniture clearance is the constraint. At 2.85 inches it is the slimmest machine on this site, and it will go under things nothing else here clears.
You are buying for someone who will never open an app. A remote and two buttons is not a limitation for that person, it is the specification.
Where each one wins on the specification sheet
Head to head on published figures
Roborock Q10 S5+
eufy 11S MAX
Published suction
10,000Pa
Not published
Navigation
LiDAR plus structured light
Infrared, no map
Height
Not published
2.85 in - slimmest here
Self-emptying
2.7 L bag, up to 70 days
None
Mopping
Sonic vibration, 3,000 scrubs/min
None
App
Full mapping, zones, scheduling
None - no Wi-Fi
Runtime
Not published
Up to 100 minutes
Every entry is read from the manufacturer's own listing. 'Not published' means the manufacturer does not state a figure, not that we could not find one.
Where neither of them does well
Neither publishes a body height you can rely on for the mapping machine. Roborock does not state the Q10 S5+'s height on its listing, which is a strange omission for a machine most people will want to run under furniture. eufy publishes 2.85 inches for the 11S MAX and it is genuinely excellent, but that machine has no map - so on this specific comparison you can have the measurement or the mapping, not both.
Neither will deep-clean carpet. That is not a brand failing, it is the physics of a battery-powered machine of a few pounds. Both maintain low pile well and both skim anything deeper.
Neither dock washes a mop pad. Roborock's dock empties the bin and nothing more; eufy has no dock at this price. If a self-washing mop is what you want under $250, it is the Lefant M3 and neither of these brands.
If you were going to buy the eufy for the price
Reconsider. At around $170 the 11S MAX costs more than the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac, which has real LiDAR mapping. On any measure except body height and the deliberate absence of an app, the mapped machine is the better buy. The 11S MAX is worth its price to one specific buyer, and it is not the price-sensitive one.
2.7 L bag, manufacturer states up to 70 daysSource: Manufacturer listing
Mopping
Sonic vibration mopping, up to 3,000 scrubs per minute, lifts up to 8 mm on carpetSource: Manufacturer listing
Carpet handling
Ultrasonic detection, raises the mop and increases suctionSource: Manufacturer listing
Anti-tangle
JawScrapers main brush plus anti-tangle side brushSource: Manufacturer listing
What it gets right
Structured-light obstacle avoidance is the single feature that separates a machine that finishes from one you rescue. Nothing else under $300 has it
A mop that lifts 8 mm means it can do hard floors and carpet in one run without wetting a rug
3,000 scrubs a minute is an actual scrubbing mechanism, not a damp pad
10,000Pa, dual anti-tangle brushes, multi-level maps - it gives up almost nothing to a $600 machine
What it gives up
The most expensive machine on this site, and it sits close to the ceiling
2.7 L bags are a recurring cost, and 70 days is mid-pack
The dock does not wash the mop - you rinse the pad yourself
2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, which is an annoyance on a mesh network
Our scoring
Suction9.0
Navigation9.0
Pet hair8.5
Running cost6.5
Setup8.0
Weights and the arithmetic behind the total are published on How we pick so you can recompute this yourself.
Who it is for: A mixed-floor home with pets, clutter and rugs - the situation every other machine here handles by giving something up.
Skip it if: your floors are entirely hard and entirely tidy. Structured-light avoidance and an 8 mm mop lift are what you are paying the premium for, and a bare hard-floor flat uses neither.
10,000Pa, a self-emptying dock, and the only anti-tangle system here that treats the side brush as part of the problem.
Published specifications
Suction
10,000Pa HyperForceSource: Manufacturer listing
Navigation
PreciSense LiDAR with real-time mappingSource: Manufacturer listing
Self-emptying
2.7 L sealed bag, manufacturer states 7 to 9 weeksSource: Manufacturer listing
Anti-tangle
JawScrapers main brush plus a stated 0% hair-tangling side brushSource: Manufacturer listing
Mopping
Vacuum and mop in one pass, 3 water flow settingsSource: Manufacturer listing
What it gets right
Both brushes are designed against tangling. Every other anti-tangle claim here covers only the main brush, and the side brush is where long hair actually wraps
10,000Pa published, matching machines at three times the price
Roborock's app is the most capable in this group after iRobot's, and its maps survive furniture moves
Vacuums and mops in a single pass rather than two runs
What it gives up
2.7 L and 7 to 9 weeks is a shorter interval than the Tikom L8000 Plus manages
No structured-light obstacle avoidance at this price - that is the Q10's feature
Sealed bags are a recurring cost
The mop still cannot be washed by the dock
Our scoring
Suction9.0
Navigation8.5
Pet hair8.5
Running cost6.5
Setup8.0
Weights and the arithmetic behind the total are published on How we pick so you can recompute this yourself.
Who it is for: A shedding dog or a long-haired cat, on any floor type.
Skip it if: your home is cluttered at floor level. LiDAR maps walls, not socks and charging cables, and without obstacle avoidance this machine will eventually eat one.
No Wi-Fi, no app, no account. A remote control and two buttons. For a specific kind of buyer that is the feature, not the limitation.
Published specifications
Suction
Not published on this listingSource: eufy states BoostIQ adjustment but no Pa figure for this ASIN
Navigation
Infrared obstacle sensing and drop sensors, no mappingSource: Manufacturer listing
Runtime
Up to 100 minutes on hardwoodSource: Manufacturer listing
Height
2.85 inSource: Manufacturer listing
Connectivity
None. No Wi-Fi and no app supportSource: Manufacturer listing
Brush
Single side brushSource: Manufacturer listing
What it gets right
2.85 inches is the slimmest machine in this entire field - it goes under furniture nothing else here clears
No app means no account, no firmware update that breaks it, and no cloud service to be discontinued
BoostIQ raises suction within 1.5 seconds when it meets carpet, without you asking
Tempered glass top, which after two years of being kicked under a sofa is not nothing
What it gives up
eufy publishes no Pa rating on this listing, so its headline capability is unrankable
No app also means no scheduling from your phone, no map, no room selection, no history
100 minutes is the shortest runtime here
A single side brush covers edges more slowly than a dual-brush machine
Our scoring
Suction5.5
Navigation3.0
Pet hair6.0
Running cost8.5
Setup9.0
Weights and the arithmetic behind the total are published on How we pick so you can recompute this yourself.
Who it is for: A small hard-floor home, or anybody buying for someone who will never open an app.
Skip it if: you want to start a clean from work, or you want a cleaning history. This machine deliberately does not connect to anything, and no update will change that.
Questions people actually ask
+−Is eufy or Roborock better?
Under $300, Roborock - it publishes higher suction, fits LiDAR across its budget range, and its anti-tangle system covers both brushes rather than just the main one. Eufy's advantage in this tier is the 11S MAX, which is the slimmest machine here and the only one that works with no app at all.
+−Is eufy vs Roborock different at higher prices?
Very likely, and this comparison deliberately does not address it. A brand's $900 machine is a different platform from its $250 one, often from a different factory, so flagship comparisons tell you almost nothing about what to buy at this price.
+−Which is better for pet hair, eufy or Roborock?
Roborock. Its JawScrapers main brush plus a stated anti-tangle side brush is the most complete published answer to hair wrap under $300, and the side brush is where long hair wraps worst.
+−Why does eufy not publish a suction figure for the 11S MAX?
We do not know, and we will not guess. The listing describes BoostIQ suction adjustment without stating a Pascal rating. On a specification-led ranking that means we score it as unverified rather than assuming a number.
+−Is the eufy 11S MAX worth it over a cheaper mapped machine?
Only if you actively want a machine with no app, no account and no cloud dependency. At around $170 it costs more than the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac, which has genuine LiDAR mapping - so on every measure except body height and deliberate simplicity, the mapped machine is the better buy.
Sources
Every specification quoted above was read off one of these documents on the date shown. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, this site says "Not published" rather than estimating it.
