Robot vacuums have come a long way from the clunky, underpowered yet overpriced gimmicks they once were. These days, even budget models can do a pretty decent job of navigating your home and slurping up that day-to-day mess. But finding one that doesn’t feel like a compromise still takes a bit of digging, especially if you’re not looking to splurge too much.
That’s where Roborock’s latest entry-range robot vac and mop – the Q7 M5 – comes in. Despite a rather confusing name, this no-nonsense robot cleaner has been designed to focus on the basics, but do them well. There’s no fancy docking station, but it does offer up some serious suction alongside detailed mapping navigation and just enough smart features to keep the average user happy – and all at a price that won’t break the bank.
I’ve been using it for the past few weeks in a house with carpets and hard floors, giving it the kind of every day challenges most homes will throw at it. Here’s how it held up.
(Image credit: Lee Bell)
ROBOROCK Q7 M5 REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The Roborock Q7 M5 launched in April 2025 and is available now in both the UK and US priced at £239.99 / $299.99.
The version I tested is the standard Q7 M5, which comes with a compact, charge-only dock. You can also opt for the Q7 M5+ with an auto-empty dock or the Q7 M5 Max+ with an even smarter dock that refills the water tank as well. These aren’t widely available in the UK but are sold in the US, priced at $429.99 and $599.99 respectively.
Even at full price, the Q7 M5 sits in the budget bracket. For what it delivers, that pricing is extremely reasonable, especially when compared to rivals like the Eufy Clean X9 Pro or even the Switchbot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+ Pro.
Even if you can’t catch it on offer, it’s still one of the best-value bots on the market right now.
(Image credit: Lee Bell)
ROBOROCK Q7 M5 REVIEW: DESIGN
The Roborock Q7 M5 definitely doesn’t stand out in the crowded robot vac market. It boasts the typical round shape these devices have with a raised LiDAR puck on top and a glossy black finish that does love to attract dust and fingerprints. Besides that, there’s not much else to say. It’s built well, though, which is the main thing, feeling sturdy and solid with no flimsy parts.
Flip it over and you’ll find a chunky roller brush, a fixed side brush and thick, spring-mounted wheels with deep treads. These beefy rims help it clear door thresholds and uneven floors surprisingly well – much better than other bots at this price. This is thanks to its springy suspension, which really helps give the Q7 M5 a bit of bounce when it needs it.
The dustbin and water tank are tucked into a single unit on the side and pull out easily when you’re ready to empty them. They’re easy to clean, too. The mop, on the other hand, is a simple D-shaped pad that clips onto the back – not the most secure attachment I’ve ever seen on a device like this, but at least it didn’t fall off during testing. What’s more, the pad can be removed and chucked in the washing machine, which is handy.
As for the included dock, it’s a small, no-frills charging base that tucks neatly away in places it can’t be found, like under furniture, etc. Since it’s just two metal prongs built into a plastic block, it does look like it shouldn’t work, but – thankfully – it does. If you don’t need auto-emptying, you’ll find this nice and compact. Just be prepared to empty the onboard dustbin every few runs.
The Q7 M5 isn’t a flashy-looking robot, but its design is functional, well-built and well laid out, especially for a budget machine.
(Image credit: Lee Bell)
ROBOROCK Q7 M5 REVIEW: PERFORMANCE
Before I get onto the performance of the Q7 M5, I’d like to mention how difficult I found the setup. The app took about five attempts for me to connect to the bot and even then, the process getting there was gruelling. The on-screen directions are simple but don’t always make sense, for example, when connecting to the robot vac’s own Wi-Fi network, the setup instructions said to wait for the device to say the reset was successful before continuing, but this never happened and I advanced to the next stage only to realise I didn’t need to wait after all.
When I finally got it to vacuum, however, the Q7 M5 worked impressively well for the most part. It boasts up to 10,000Pa of suction, which is way more powerful than most mid-range bots, and that translated well in real-world use. It sucked up pet hair, crumbs and debris from both carpet and hard floors without a hitch, hoovering up most spilled crumbs with very little left behind.
The Q7 M5 sports five suction levels: Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, Max and MAX+. Even on Turbo, it cleared most messes in one go. MAX+ mode is louder but powerful, perhaps best for those times when you’ve been away and not vacuumed in a while.
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Mopping, unfortunately, is less impressive. The fixed mop pad drags along the floor, and while it did manage to lift a dried ketchup smear after a couple of passes, it left floors wetter than I’d like. There’s no mop-lift feature either, so if the robot goes from hard floors onto carpet while mopping, your carpet is going to get damp. You can disable water flow in the app, but it’s not ideal.
Navigation is where the Q7 M5 shines, though. Using LiDAR, it builds accurate maps of your home and rarely gets lost or stuck. It tackled stairs confidently without falling down over the edge (thanks to good cliff sensors) and, on average, it handles narrow gaps and furniture easily. That said, object avoidance is hit and miss – it often ploughed right into things left on the floor like books or socks.
When it comes to battery life, this is pretty decent considering the Q7 M5’s price point. Roborock doesn’t quote a specific runtime, but I found it could clean a medium-sized floor on one charge without issue. It also returns to base automatically to re-juice when needed.
(Image credit: Lee Bell)
ROBOROCK Q7 M5 REVIEW: APP AND FEATURES
(Image credit: Lee Bell)
Roborock’s app is normally excellent, and it’s still decent here, but I did experience a few bugs. Besides from the setup process, which I’ve already moaned about, I found that room names disappeared, custom zones wouldn’t save, and some text on buttons would get cut off. While these are small issues that should be fixable with updates, they were still irksome to say the least.
Aside from that, the app is easy to use on the whole. You can adjust suction, water flow, choose cleaning modes, view cleaning history, and draw no-go zones all from one place. It’s all very straightforward once the map is set up.
Another plus here is that you can switch off the mop function in the app without physically removing the pad, which is a nice touch, and something that isn’t always doable on budget bots.
(Image credit: Lee Bell)
ROBOROCK Q7 M5 REVIEW: VERDICT
If you’re on a budget and want a reliable robot vacuum that prioritises strong suction and smart navigation over flashy extras, the Roborock Q7 M5 is a top pick. It vacuums well, maps your home with surprising accuracy, and handles thresholds and different floor types like a champ.
It’s not perfect, however, and the mopping is basic and leaves floors a bit wet. The lack of mop-lift means carpets are also a risk unless you manually disable it. Object avoidance and edge cleaning could also be better, too.
When you weigh up the features for the price, though, the value is undeniable. For smaller homes or second-floor coverage, this is probably one of the best budget robot vacuums out there right now.
