If you are looking for a mid-range robotic vacuum cleaner that comes with some high-tech features like Wi-Fi connectivity, smartphone app, voice control, etc. you must have stumbled across Neato Botvac D3 Connected and D5 Connected. Both belong to the Connected D Series of Neato robotic vacuum cleaners. This article compares Neato D3 vs D5 and looks at the differences and similarities between both models.
If you are in a hurry, have a look at a quick, concise comparison below, followed by a detailed overview of all the differences and similarities, pros and cons, and what’s included in the box for both robot vacs.
The main differences between the Neato D3 and D5 are the side brush, multiple floor plans, filter quality, battery runtime, and remote control.
Neato D3 doesn’t have a side brush while D5 has one. The D5 can store multiple floor maps of your house in its memory. The third difference is the battery runtime that the D5 has better than the D3. the Neato D5 has an ultra-performance filter as compared to D3’s standard filter. Lastly, the D5 comes with physical remote control.
Neato D3 vs D5 Compared
| Neato Botvac D3 | VS | Neato Botvac D5 |
|---|---|---|
| No | Side Brush | Yes |
| No | Multiple Floor Maps | Yes |
| 60 min | Battery Runtime | 90 min |
| 3 hrs | Charging Time | 4-5 hrs |
| Lithium-ion | Battery Type | Lithium-ion |
| 7.5 lbs | Weight | 8 lbs |
| 1000 PA | Suction Power | 1000 PA |
| 12 inches | Cleaning Path Width | 12 inches |
| 64 dB | Noise Level | 64 dB |
| 700 ml | Dirt bin capacity | 700 ml |
| Straight Lines | Navigation | Straight Lines |
| Yes | Multi floor | Yes |
| No | HEPA Filter | No |
| No | Washable Filter | No |
| Yes | Recharge and Resume | Yes |
| Yes | Smartphone App | Yes |
| Yes | Wi-Fi Connectivity | Yes |
| Yes | Voice Control | Yes |
| Yes | Virtual wall/NoGo Lines | Yes |
All of these differences and similarities are discussed in detail below.
Neato D3 vs D5
All the differences and similarities are listed below in detail:
Differences
Side Brush
Neato D3 doesn’t have a side brush. It does edge cleaning only through its D-shaped design.
The D5 model, along with having a D shape, has a side brush as well. This gives it an added advantage when it comes to edge cleaning. The D shape helps it reach the edges better than round-shaped robotic vacuum cleaners, like Roomba, and the side brush sweeps all the debris that is further away from its cleaning path.
This D shape and a side brush are a lethal combination for edge cleaning. It helps clean every nook and cranny in your house which are the most vulnerable to the accumulation of debris and pet hair.
Multiple Floor Maps
Both Neato D3 and D5 create maps of your house and store them in their memory. The difference between the D3 and D5 is that the Neato D3 only creates one map of your house while the D5 creates multiple floor maps.
This feature helps D5 to clean a specific area in your house.
Filter
None of the Neato D3 or the D5 has a HEPA filter. But there is still a difference between the filter quality of both.
Neato D3 uses a standard filter that might leave some fine dust particles in the air.
The D5 has an ultra-performance filter. This is not as high performance as a HEPA filter but still does a pretty good job of trapping all the dust particles.
Battery
The D3 model has a Lithium-Ion battery that gives a runtime of around 60 minutes and takes about 3 hours to get fully charged.
The D5, on the other hand, has a better, high-performance lithium-ion battery that gives a maximum runtime of around 90 minutes and a charging time of about 4-5 hrs.
If you have a larger area to clean, the 30 extra minutes of cleaning that D5 offers really helps.
Edge Cleaning
When it comes to edge and near the walls cleaning, the Neato D5 has an edge over D3 because of the side brush. The side brush combined with the D shape makes a lethal combination for picking up dust, debris, and pet hair from baseboards, near the wall, and all the nook and cranny of your house.
Neato D3 doesn’t have a side brush. So, the edge cleaning is not as good as compared to the D5.
Price Difference
Considering the difference in some of the features, and better performance, the price difference between Neato D3 and D5 is obvious. The D5 has a bit higher price as compared to the D3 model.
Similarities Between D3 and D5
Recharge And Resume
Neato D3 and D5 both have a recharge and resume feature. This means that if the charging runs out in the middle of cleaning, both robot vacs will return to their charging base, charge themselves, and then return to cleaning from where they left off.
Both will recharge and resume twice during one cleaning cycle.
Usability
Both the D3 and D5 have the same user interface on the main cleaning units. Both have only one physical button on. You have to press it multiple times for different commands which sometimes becomes perplexing.
Neato D5 comes with physical remote control. So, if you don’t have Wi-Fi connectivity or a voice assistant in your house, you can still control it with remote control. The D3 is not compatible with physical remote control.
Surface Recommendation
Both robotic vacuum cleaners are recommended to clean both hard floors and carpets/rugs. The bristle brush used in them agitates the carpet pile and deep cleans low to medium-pile carpets easily. While the rubber roller picks up dust and debris from carpets and hard floors.
Surface Cleaning Performance
When it comes to surface cleaning, both robotic vacuum cleaners have almost the same performance. Both are recommended for all types of surfaces, hardwood, tile, marble, vinyl, and carpets/rugs.
Both the Neato D3 and D5 use the combo brush to extract and suck up all the dust and debris – cereals, pet hair, sand – from both hard floors and carpets.
When it comes to pet hair, the combo brush of both the robotic vacuums gets tangled with hair. But it is easier to clean them due to their shape.
With a height of 3.9 inches, both the Neato D3 and D5 can easily go under your furniture and clean around without getting stuck.
Spot Cleaning
Both models have spot-cleaning features. If you want to clean a specific area instead of the whole room or house, just pick it up and place it on the spot you want it to clean. Neato D3 or D5 will spot-clean the area of 7×7 and return to its charging dock once finished.
Design And Shape
Both models belong to the same D Series of Neato robot vacuums. They both have the same D shape design. This increases the reach of both robot vacs in the corners, edges, and along the wall. Most of the debris and pet hair tend to accumulate in the edges and corners. So, Neato D3 and D5, with the D shape, can clean them out.
One con of the D-shape is that the Neato robotic vacuums sometimes find it difficult to make a 360-degree turn when they are around furniture, unlike round-shaped robotic vacuum cleaners like Roomba, which can easily turn around.
Core Cleaning Brush
The main cleaning brush of both Neato D3 and D5 has the same shape. Both robotic vacuum cleaners use one combo brush consisting of similar material, hard bristles, and a rubber roller.
The cleaning technique is the same for both vacuums. The bristle brush agitates the carpets while the rubber roller picks up the dust and debris from the floors.
When it comes to cleaning the brush, the design of the Neato D3 and D5 combo brush makes it easy to clean and untangle all the hair and fluff from it.
Cleaning Path Width
Since both vacs use the same combo brush, both have the same cleaning path width of 12 inches. This enables them to clean a larger area in less time.
Navigation
Both the Neato D3 and D5 have Laser Smart technology. Through this technology, both robotic vacuums use an invisible laser to navigate around your house. Instead of bumping into obstacles and furniture, this laser helps Neato robotic vacuums navigate around them without bumping.
They move in straight lines, making cleaning more efficient and less time-consuming.
This laser technology also enables Neato D3 and D5 to navigate around your house even in the dark, unlike other robotic vacuums that use a camera to navigate around and need lights to be on for proper navigation.
NoGo Lines
Neato D3, when first launched, didn’t have NoGo Lines to define restricted areas. But with the recent software updates of Neato D3, using the smartphone app, you can draw NoGo Lines on the map around the areas you want to restrain cleaning.
Similar is the case with the D5 which comes with a built-in NoGo Line feature in its smartphone app.
You can draw multiple NoGo lines from the smartphone app for both robot vacs and restrict them from going near cables or pet food pots etc.
Wi-Fi Connectivity
Both the Neato Botvac D3 Connected and D5 Connected are Wi-Fi-enabled vacuum cleaners. With Wi-Fi connectivity comes other smart features like a smartphone app and voice control.
Smartphone App
Both models have a smartphone app that can be downloaded on your smartphone. You can control both robotic vacuums through that app, you can schedule them, set cleaning preferences, and watch which area has been cleaned and which area is still remaining.
Neato keeps updating the software of its robotic vacuums. The same is the case with D3 and D5. You can update the software using the smartphone app.
Voice Control
Both Neato Botvac D3 and D5 have a voice control feature. Both are compatible with voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You can connect them with the voice assistant through the smartphone app and control it through voice commands.
What's In The Box
Neato D3
- Neato Botvac D3 Connected robot vacuum cleaner
- Integrated Charging Base
- Charging cable
- Standard filter
- Combo brush
Neato D5
- Neato Botvac D5 Connected robot vacuum cleaner
- Integrated Charging Base
- Charging cable
- Standard filter
- Combo brush
Neato D3 Pros and Cons
Pros
- Efficient navigation in straight lines
- NoGo Lines to mark restricted areas through a mobile app
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Smartphone App
- Voice Control Compatibility
- Easy to clean combo brush
- Recharge and resume feature
- Wider cleaning path
Cons
- No side brush for edge cleaning
- No HEPA filter
- Less battery runtime
- Only one floor map
Neato D5 Pros and Cons
Pros
- Side brush
- Better battery runtime
- Better filter quality
- Efficient navigation in straight lines
- NoGo Lines to mark restricted areas through a mobile app
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- Smartphone App
- Voice Control Compatibility
- Easy to clean combo brush
- Recharge and resume feature
- Multiple floor maps
- Wider cleaning path
Cons
- No HEPA filter
Final Verdict
If we talk about differences in features, Neato D5 is a clear winner in this comparison. It has multiple floor maps, a side brush, better filter quality, and a better battery performance than the Neato D3. Also, if you have a bit larger area to clean, the D5, with its better battery runtime and multiple floor maps features, should be the better choice for you.
Having said that, if you have a smaller area to clean and you don’t bother that much about the edge cleaning, you can still buy the Neato D3 and save some bucks.
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