Looking into the world of robot vacuums, but don’t know where to start? I’m here to tell you that the Ecovacs Deebot N20 could be one of the best robot vacuums for beginners.

The level of control over cleaning from the app is great, and the home mapping feature makes staying on top of cleaning a breeze. The side sweep bristles also ensure nothing is missed during cleaning. Not to mention it’s a decently affordable option, so perfect for anyone who’s new to robot vacuums.

But keep in mind that it’s not self-emptying, so takes some maintenance, and the mopping function isn’t very good. To find out more, keep reading this full Ecovacs Deebot N20 review.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Specs

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Price & availability

The Ecovacs Deebot N20 is available for $199 at Amazon U.S. and for £179 at Amazon U.K. and can be purchased in black or white, so you can pick the best color to suit your home interior. It’s a great budget option where some robot vacuums can cost over $1,000.

The N20 doesn’t come with a self-emptying chamber, which is part of the reason it is such a cheap option. For a model that can empty itself, you’ll be looking at a higher price, closer to the $219 of the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Max Plus — and this is one of the cheaper models. A more high-end model, like the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop, will cost you $999, but this version essentially takes care of itself by refilling with water and self-emptying.

But if you don’t have the space for an emptying chamber and would prefer a small dock, you could also look at the Roborock Q7 M5 robot vacuum cleaner and mop for $299, which offers a wider variety of cleaning settings and has a suction power of 10,000Pa — higher than the Deebot N20.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Design

The Ecovacs Deebot N20 looks pretty much like every other robot vacuum I’ve seen. There’s not much that separates this style of vacuum in terms of looks, since they have to be pretty small to reach all the areas of your home. The circular design measures 13.9 x 13.8 x 3.8 inches, so it’s pretty small, but I still think the N20 is very sleek-looking.

I tested the white colorway of the vacuum, which has a matte finish, but it also comes in black. I prefer the white as I think it brightens up the home a little.

There’s a cover on the top of the vacuum that pops off to expose the QR code for the specific device, the Wi-Fi connection button, and the collection bin. The collection bin (which I’ll discuss in detail later on) has a capacity of 0.40L, so I emptied it after every use, but since this vacuum isn’t self-emptying, I would be doing this anyway, so it’s no added hardship for me. But this is a personal preference, so if you don’t want that hassle, it would be worth looking at the Shark PowerDetect 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop that can pretty much take care of itself.

While the top of the device is plain, the underside is more exciting. The first thing you’ll notice is the rotating bristles. These sweep out from under the vacuum and kick up bits of dust and dirt into the line of the main floor head that sucks up the debris. This is very effective, as although a small area around the perimeter of the room is unreachable by the vacuum, this makes it less of an issue.

The rotor bush has Anti-Tangle technology, but this doesn’t stop hair from getting stuck around it. However, it was easier to remove than the Dyson Ball Animal I normally use around the house. The roller on the N20 has 21º flat and outward rotating angles of bristles that have comb teeth, which get into the carpet to pick up things like pet hair.

The 0.22L water tank sits at the back of the robot, and the mop attaches to the underside. The mop doesn’t move by itself, like in other models, like the Roborock Saros 10R, which has rotating mop pads for a deeper clean.

The rugged wheels make light work of the carpeted and hardwood floors. They have no issues moving from different pile carpets and getting over the edges of obstacles. They also easily rotate to the vacuum can reposition, which is shown off when it sets itself back into its docking station.

Since the docking station is so small, it doesn’t take up much room and just needs to be placed against the wall. But be wary that it can’t be moved, as the robot vacuum will know where it is from mapping. Also, the robot can sometimes have a hard time parking if it’s placed on a carpeted floor, so it’s best positioned on hard flooring.

The robot vacuum can be controlled through the companion app (which I’ll get into later) or by the three buttons on top. Here, you can start a cleaning cycle, send it to charge, or spot clean. The buttons on the front are a great way to control the device if you’re not using the app, and they don’t look cluttered either.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: App & Smart Home

Apart from the constantly clean floors, the Ecovacs Home app has been the best part about using this vacuum. I paired the Deebot N20 by using the Wi-Fi button under the hood, and this took a few tries. After the fourth try, I was ready to give up, but when I closed and reopened the app, it was miraculously connected. Not sure how that happened, but I’ll take it.

In this app, you can control the vacuum by directing it into particular rooms with the mapping feature, asking it to avoid certain areas, or sending it back to the charging dock. You can even adjust the suction power if you need to conserve battery or adjust the water flow for mopping. These are useful depending on how deep a clean you want.

I was able to set up a schedule for the Deebot, so it only operates during the day. You can also set it up to work as part of your smart home with Alexa or Google Assistant.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Mapping

The first thing I did when testing the Ecovacs Deebot N20 is use the mapping feature. I was expecting this to take a while to map the downstairs area of my home, but it took less than 10 minutes. After the mapping process, I had a bird's-eye view of my home on the app, including accurate room separation with boundary lines.

You can watch the vacuum moving around on the map and track the path to make sure it’s covering all areas. After cleaning, it sometimes struggles to find the dock a few times, despite it not being moved. When looking online for reasons this could be happening, I found that sometimes carpet can give the wheels a hard time with alignment, so the dock is best used on hard flooring. To solve this, all I had to do was pick the N20 and place it on the doc manually, but if this needs to happen, it will ask for help by speaking or through an app notification.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Vacuum performance

I was impressed by the Ecovacs Deebot N20 as it made light work of picking up pet hair, dog kibble, and dust. As a dog owner, sometimes cluttered floors with pawprints are inevitable. My dog, in particular, likes to make even more of a mess when he eats his food by leaving a few pieces of kibble on the floor in case he gets peckish later on. But the N20 means that no matter how much doggy debris there is, it’s always cleaned up.

The cleaning process is completely effortless… for me. Some other robot vacuums don’t reach the edges of the room, meaning you have to follow up the cleaning with a handheld vacuum around the edges of the room. But the sweeping bristles on the N20 do a great job of getting dust and debris away from the baseboards for a more thorough clean.

Since the vacuum only has a suction power of 8000Pa, I changed the settings so that it would move around the selected areas with two passes. While the floor looked clean after the first pass, the second pass sealed the deal, and even the smallest debris was picked up. If you want something more reliable with one pass, you can look at the Roborock Saros 10R, which has a suction power of 22000Pa.

But the N20 isn’t self-emptying like other vacuums, so the 0.40L dust bin needs to be regularly emptied. With that said, though, it’s bigger than the Roborock’s, which is only 0.27L. But if you want a robot vacuum that’s going to look after itself a bit more, it’s worth looking at a self-emptying device such as the TP-Link Tapo RV30 Max Plus ($219). This has an external bin capacity of three litres.

The only annoyance I had with the N20 was that the vent at the top of the vacuum would blow debris away from the suction part as it turned corners. This was especially an issue with things like hair and dust. While the vacuum would eventually get these pieces with the rotating bristles, it was annoying to watch.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Mopping performance

The Ecovacs Deebot N20 has a 0.22L clean water tank and uses the “OZMO” mopping system, which essentially means that it vacuums and mops simultaneously. The detachable mop drags behind while the front picks up the debris. It was able to wipe up spills on the floor, but unfortunately, it still left muddy paw prints behind after two passes.

While it’s a nice addition to have, the mopping feature isn’t that great. As I mentioned in the design section, the mop pad doesn’t have any movement to scrub stains or do any sort of deep cleaning. It works in the same way as the Roborock Q7 M5, in that it can remove surface levels of dirt or mop up spills, but that’s about it. If you have more hard flooring in your home and are looking for something to mop better, look at the Roborock Saros 10R, which has two rotating mop pads that can do a slightly better job of cleaning floors.

Ultimately, if you want sparkling floors after mopping, you’ll need to look at something like the Dreame H15 Pro Heat ($899) that can really lift dirt and leave floors sparkling. But that, of course, defeats the object of a robot doing it for you.

Ecovacs Deebot N20 review: Verdict

The Ecovacs Deebot N20 is a reliable budget option that is great for daily maintenance vacuuming, especially for pet owners who deal with fur and stray kibble. If you’re looking for a reliable robot vacuum but don’t want a self-emptying station taking up space, this could be the one for you.

However, the basic mopping function holds it back, and it’s worth noting that there are other, more powerful options out there, like the Roborock Saros 10R. But with that said, the N20 is a fantastic choice that offers great value for money.

The app control and accurate mapping make this vacuum a winner for carpeted and hardwood floors, as the rugged wheels have no issues dealing with changes in terrain. If you’re looking for a cheap introduction to the world of robot vacuum, then look no further.