If you are looking for a comparison of Neato D3 vs Roomba 650 and want to come to a conclusion regarding which robotic vacuum cleaner you should buy to clean your house, you have landed on the right page. We have tested, researched, and reviewed both Neat Botvac D3 Connected and iRobot Roomba 650. There are definitely many differences between these two when compared.
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 physical difference between Neato Botvac D3 and iRobot Roomba 650 is the shape. Neato D3 doesn’t have a side brush while Roomba 650 has. The cleaning path of the D3 is wider than Roomba 650. Neato D3 can map your house and navigate in straight lines. Roomba 650, on the other hand, cannot map your house and navigates in random patterns. Neato D3 has better suction power, a bigger dirt bin, and a better battery. It also has wi-fi and voice control compatibility and a smartphone app while Roomba 650 doesn’t have these advanced features.
Related: Comparison of Neato D3 vs D5
Neato D3 vs Roomba 650 Compared
| Neato Botvac D3 | VS | Roomba 650 |
|---|---|---|
| 7.5 lbs | Weight | 7.9 lbs |
| 1000 PA | Suction Power | 600 PA |
| 12 inches | Cleaning Path Width | 7 inches |
| No | Side Brush | Yes |
| 64 dB | Noise Level | 61 dB |
| 700 ml | Dirt bin capacity | 400 ml |
| Yes | Mapping | No |
| Straight Lines | Navigation | Random Pattern |
| Yes | Multi floor | Yes |
| No | HEPA Filter | No |
| No | Washable Filter | No |
| Lithium-ion | Battery Type | NiMH |
| 3 hrs | Charging Time | 4 hrs |
| 60 min | Battery Runtime | 60 min |
| Yes | Recharge and Resume | No |
| Yes | Smartphone App | No |
| Yes | Wi-Fi Connectivity | No |
| Yes | Voice Control | No |
| Yes | Virtual wall/NoGo Lines | Yes |
All of these differences and some similarities are discussed in detail below.
Neat D3 VS Roomba 650
Design And Shape
The main physical difference between Neato D3 and Roomba 650 is the shape. The D3 has a signature D-shape that enables it to clean the edges and go into every nook and cranny without requiring a side brush.
One con of the D-shape is that it sometimes finds it difficult to make a 360-degree turn when it is stuck around furniture. Roomba 650 has no issue turning 360 degrees with its round shape.
Usability
Neato D3 comes with only one physical button on the main unit. You have to press it multiple times for different commands which sometimes becomes perplexing. It can also be controlled using its smartphone app.
Roomba 650 has different buttons available on the main unit for different operations. You can easily use those buttons to command it and schedule it.
Side Brush
Roomba 650 has a side brush to sweep debris from the edges and near the walls. Neato offers a side brush only in high-end Botvacs like D5, D6, and D7, and not in the D3 model. Its D shape enables it to clean edges which isn’t as efficient as it would be with a side brush.
Main Cleaning Brush
The main cleaning brush of both Neato D3 and Roomba 650 has a different shape. Both robotic vacuums use similar materials, hard bristles, and a rubber roller. The difference is that the Neato uses one combo brush that contains both the hard bristles and rubber roller. Roomba 650, on the other hand, uses 2 different brushes, one bristle brush, and one 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 combo brush makes it far easier to clean and untangle all the hair and fluff from it as compared to the Roomba 650 brush which is difficult to clean.
Cleaning Path Width
There is a huge difference in the width of the cleaning path of both robot vacs. The cleaning path of the Neato D3 is 12 inches wide while that of the Roomba 650 is only 7 inches wide. This difference enables the former to clean a larger area in less time.
Cleaning Performance
When it comes to cleaning performance, both robotic vacuum cleaners have almost the same performance.
Neato D3 can pick up medium to large debris with ease. Its D shape helps it clean the edges. When it comes to pet hair, the combo brush gets tangled with hair. But it is easier to clean it due to its shape.
Roomba 650 uses one side brush for edge cleaning, one bristle brush for agitating the carpets, and one rubber roller for extracting and picking up dust and debris.
With an extra side brush, Roomba 650 gets an edge in edge cleaning over Neato D3. This side brush will sweep all the debris from the edges and once the debris comes within its cleaning path, it sucks them all up.
The Roomba 650 brush will also get tangled with hair strands. But it comes with a cleaning tool, a brush cleaning comb, that you can use to clean all the hair from its brush.
Navigation And Mapping
Neato D3 has Laser Smart technology that uses an invisible laser to navigate around your house. Instead of bumping into obstacles and furniture, this laser helps it to navigate around them easily.
It can also map your house using laser technology. It moves in straight lines, making cleaning more efficient and less time-consuming.
This laser technology enables it to navigate around even in the dark, unlike other robotic vacuums that use a camera to navigate around and need lights to be on.
Roomba 650 on the other hand doesn’t have the ability to map your house. It uses an older iAdapt 2.0 technology and bumps into obstacles and furniture and changes its direction until it finds its way. It navigates in random patterns while cleaning thus taking more time and more battery power.
Suction Power
Neato D3 has superior suction power of 1000 PA which makes it pick up all kinds of debris with ease and outperforms Roomba 650 that only has 600 PA of suction power.
Wi-Fi Connectivity
Neato Botvac D3 Connected is a Wi-Fi-enabled vacuum cleaner. Roomba 650, on the other hand, doesn’t have Wi-Fi compatibility.
Smartphone App
Neato D3 also has a smartphone app that can be downloaded on your smartphone. You can control this robot vac through that app, you can schedule it, 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 the D3. You can update the software using the smartphone app. It can also be controlled through a smartwatch.
Since Roomba 650 is not a Wi-Fi-enabled vacuum cleaner, it doesn’t have any smartphone app. You can only control and schedule it from the buttons available on the main unit.
Voice Control
Neato Botvac D3 has a voice control feature. It is compatible with voice assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You can connect your it with the vice assistant through the smartphone app and control it through voice commands.
Roomba 650 is not compatible with voice control.
Dirt Bin Size
The dirt bin size of the two vacuum cleaners is also different. The Neato D3 has a dirt bin of 700 ml which is almost twice as large as that of the Roomba 650 which has a capacity of 400 ml. A bigger dirt bin means fewer rounds for you to empty the dirt bin.
Battery
Neato D3 has a Lithium-Ion battery that gives a runtime of around 60 minutes and takes around 4 hours to get fully charged. Roomba 650 uses an NiMH battery that also gives a runtime of around 60 minutes and a charging time of around 3.5-4 hours. So, despite having different kinds of batteries, both robot vacs give almost the same runtime and charging time.
Related: How to tell if a Roomba is charging?
Recharge And Resume
Neato D3 has a recharge and resume feature. This means that if the charging runs out in the middle of cleaning, it will return to its charging base, charge itself, and then return to cleaning from where it left off.
Roomba 650 doesn’t have this feature. It will return to its charging base once its battery runs out but since it doesn’t have a mapping feature, it doesn’t remember where it left cleaning. You will have to manually place it where it left the cleaning to complete the task.
Price Difference
After analyzing the differences between Neato D3 and Roomba 650, one can guess that there will surely be a difference in the price as well. Yes, the prices of both vacuum cleaners are different. Roomba 650 has a cheaper price as compared to Neato D3. But considering the extra features that Neato D3 has as, it surely justifies its price which is not that high as compared to Roomba 650.
Virtual Wall/NoGo Lines
Neato D3, when first launched, didn’t have NoGo Lines to define no-go areas. But with the recent software updates of Neato D3, you can draw NoGo Lines on the map around the areas from where you want to it out.
Roomba 650 comes with a virtual wall that you can place on the floor where you want it to ignore.
The NoGo Lines feature of the Neato D3 is far superior as compared to the Virtual Wall of Roomba 650. You can draw multiple NoGo Lines on the map from your smartphone to restrict robot vac from multiple areas. While with the Roomba 650, you can put the virtual wall only in one spot at a time.
Surface Recommendation
Both robotic vacuum cleaners are recommended to clean both hard floors and carpets/rugs. The bristle brush used in both Neato D3 and Roomba 650 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.
Filter
None of the robot vacs have a HEPA filter. Both use a standard filter which is not washable. This makes both of these vacuum cleaners less popular among people who suffer from asthma.
What's Included In The Box?
Roomba 650
- iRobot Roomba 650 vacuum cleaner
- Self-charging home base
- Charging cable
- Brush cleaning tool (1 comb)
- One extra filter
- Virtual wall
Neato D3
- Neato Botvac D3 Connected robot vacuum cleaner
- Integrated Charging Base
- Charging cable
- Standard filter
- Combo brush
Neato D3 Pros And Cons
Pros
- Efficient navigation in straight lines
- Better suction power
- 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
- Mapping
- Wider cleaning path
- Bigger dirt bin
Cons
- No side brush for edge cleaning
- No HEPA filter
- High maintenance cost
Roomba 650 Pros And Cons
Pros
- Side brush
- Lower maintenance cost
- Dirt detection sensors
- 3-step cleaning – agitate > brush > suck
Cons
- Less suction power
- No wi-fi connectivity
- No smartphone app
- No voice control compatibility
- Smaller dirt din
- No mapping
- No recharge and resume feature
- Navigation in random patterns
- Cleaning brush gets tangled with hair easily
- Not an ideal choice for big homes
Final Verdict
After analyzing all the differences between both the robot vacs, we can safely say that the Neato D3 is clearly superior to the Roomba 650.
Even if we ignore all other differences, the lack of Wi-Fi compatibility and the smartphone app kills the very concept of robotic vacuum cleaners which is a seamless cleaning experience.
With the Neato Botvac D3, you can control and command it by sitting on your couch through the smartphone app. To command Roomba 650, you can only use the buttons available on the vacuum cleaner.
If you can ignore these differences, you can very well buy Roomba 650 as it comes from the pioneers of robotic vacuum cleaners, the iRobot.
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