Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: good value but with some compromises

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus two-minute review

I’ve generally been a fan of Ecovacs robot vacuums, so I was a little nonplussed testing the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus. It’s not a bad vacuum by any means – its 4 out of 5 rating here should make that clear. It’s just that it’s much more stripped-down than a lot of other options out there, whether from Ecovacs or otherwise.

Some of the compromises made to keep the price down mean that it's hard to recommend this as one of the best robot vacuums for those working with a limited budget. Now, its cleaning prowess is pretty good as is its mopping capability. And, the fact that you have to remove the mopping pad if you only want to vacuum , then put it back on if you want to both vacuum and mop, is par for the course for something in this price range.

However, its operation is on the louder side, the robot vacuum gets stuck exiting its base station if it’s too close to any furniture, and its vacuuming prowess is not ideal if you’re trying to clean up an actual mess (I’ll elaborate on that later).

Still, it does share some characteristics of the best vacuum cleaners in this form factor, such as a long battery life and smart home features through Google Assistant or Alexa. It’s not bad for the price, and, being an Ecovacs product, you’re certain to find it with a pretty decent discount sooner or later.

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus specs

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: price & availability

• List price: $649.99 / £499 / AU$999
• Available: US, UK, and Australia

If you’re new to the world of robot vacuums with mopping capabilities, the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus’ list price of $649.99 / £499 / AU$999 may seem expensive. However, if you look at some of the more fully featured models we’ve reviewed, it becomes clear fairly quickly that this is actually a pretty good price.

Realistically, you’re going to have to pay $500 / £500+ for anything with mopping functionality. For example, the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum and Mop has an almost identical form factor, including a similar clip-on mopping pad, and will set you back just a little more with an MSRP of $699 (about £559 / AU$1,054). That said, the Deebot N10 Plus has a much better battery life, although it runs a little louder.

If you want an example of a more fully-featured model to really get an idea of the Deebot N10 Plus’ value (or you’re considering splurging), take a look at the Narwal Freo X Ultra. It’s much pricier at $1,399.99 / AU$ 2,299 (about £1,110), but it has double the suction power, quieter operation, and a clean and dirty water reservoir in the base station. The base station auto-fills the robot vacuum's water tank as well as self-emptying its dustbin, and it'll also wash and dry the mopping pads. Also worth noting is the fact that the mopping pads retract so that it can just vacuum carpeting areas and then vacuum and mop hard flooring without having to swap anything out, unlike the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus.

If you want to stay in the Ecovacs family but want to opt for a more expensive model, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo is an impressive unit for $1,199.99 (about £950 / AU$1,800), but at the time of writing it's only available in the US.

• Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: design

• Has two side brushes and a brush roll that gets tangled in hair
• Mopping pad clips on
• Base station needs a good amount of clearance

The Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus, available only in all white, doesn’t really break any molds. The actual robot vacuum has two side brushes, which makes it much more effective at sweeping up debris at the edges of a room, an obvious improvement over the single side brush that a lot of models come with.

The brushroll underneath that actually picks everything up is easily accessible, thankfully, since it does collect hair easily and will need to be untangled regularly. That said, even when wrapped in hair, it still seems to get the job done.

Though this is a robot vacuum with mopping functionality, the Deebot N10 Plus requires a bit of manual labor that you won’t find on more expensive units. Not to make it sound like hard work because it’s not, but you have to clip on the mop pad when you want to utilize that feature, then you have to unclip it whenever you want to use it on carpeting. It will however avoid any kind of carpeting when the mop pad is in use. You also have to fill up the water reservoir in the vacuum itself regularly.

In fact, I learned that lesson the hard way when I originally set up the base station in a room with carpeting and the Deebot N10 Plus would get stuck on the carpet every time it tried to run. While it’s not that much work, this is not the set-it-and-forget-it type of robot vacuum. Of course, that’s to be expected at this price point when you add in mopping.

Speaking of the base station, it’s kind of cute in its petite, somewhat slim design. It has just enough room for a dust bag, since it does have a self-emptying capability. The only other thing worth mentioning is that the bottom plate that the robot vacuum sits on when at rest is at an angle.

And when you have the base station too close to a piece of furniture (a chair in my case), the robot vacuum will try to exit off to the side of that bottom plate instead of going straight back, which results in it getting stuck. It’s frustrating, but easily fixable if you give the base station a good amount of clearance on either side.

• Design score: 4 out of 5

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: performance

• Good for maintenance cleaning
• Vacuuming gets to the edges, mopping does not
• Runs a bit on the loud side

Most robot vacuums are great for keeping the daily buildup of dirt at bay, while not providing true deep cleaning. That’s certainly the case with the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus. You’re still going to need to deep clean from time to time, and you'll still need to grab a more traditional vacuum when dealing with unforeseen messes.

When vacuuming, for instance, the Deebot N10 Plus does a great job of keeping the floor clean, picking up dander and hair. As mentioned above, hair does get tangled in the brush roll, so you’ll have to clean that out from time to time. However, I didn’t find that that affected its ability to suction up debris.

I did also test this robot vacuum with a bunch of cereal and, while it managed to suck up a good amount of it, it didn’t get it all, seemingly not detecting that there was still debris on the floor. It did, at least, get edges.

Mopping is pretty good with its single mop pad that vibrates on the floor as it moves along, but again, you’re not going to get a deep clean – models I’ve tested with spinning mop pads seem to get a little deeper (they’re also twice the price usually). But it’s good enough. However, the mop pad, being in a static position, isn’t able to get to the edges of rooms the way the side brushes are.

Be aware that you’re going to have to wash the mop pad every now and then as there’s no automatic cleaning on hand. Also of note is the fact that it runs a little bit on the loud side, registering around 65dB at full power.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: app

• Straightforward in setup and use
• Accurately maps and can save maps for multiple floors
• Limited partitioning can be an issue for open floor plans

Whether it’s going through the setup or just running the Deebot N10 Plus remotely, the Ecovacs app is fairly straightforward to use. There are a small amount of additional settings you can work with, such as adjusting when it self-empties into the base station, or creating a schedule.

It’s worth noting that, unlike most apps I’ve used for robot vacuums, adjusting cleaning modes is hidden behind a “cleaning preference” button instead of being right on the front page. However, once you’ve pulled that page up, it follows the same format.

Since I tend to get stuck on mapping features with these apps, I want to dig into that a little bit. Not only does the robot do a good job of mapping out the space, but the app will automatically break up what’s been mapped into rooms. On top of that, you can save different maps so that you can use the Deebot N10 Plus on different floors without having to remap when you move it.

Merging and dividing rooms in the app is easy, though it suffers from using a line tool for dividing, meaning that you’re limited in how much you can partition what it considers to be a single space. That can be an issue with those with open floor plans.

• App score: 4.5 out of 5

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: battery life

• Can last up to 300 minutes
• Still plenty of battery life on highest settings

The battery life on hand here is pretty impressive as it lasts between 200 to 300 minutes (or three and a half to five hours) depending on the intensity of the cleaning mode and whether it’s also mopping. Since the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus uses a static mop pad for the mopping functionality, it doesn’t even seem to impact the battery life all that much.

Since it does have such a long battery life, it does take a while to charge back up: about six and a half hours. That can be a pain if you find yourself in a similar situation as I have, where the robot vacuum gets stuck on an area rug with tassels and runs down the battery trying to escape / waiting for rescue. That said, when I was faced with that situation, it still had some juice left unlike other robot vacuums that I’ve found in similar situations (and they all get stuck on tassels, too).

• Battery score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus?

Buy it if…

You have limited funds

When it comes to robot vacuums with mopping ability, the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus is about as affordable as it gets without going with an older generation model.

You want a robot vacuum that you can use on multiple floors

Since it can save multiple maps, you can use it on multiple floors without having to remap – a nice feature to have on hand.

You want something to just keep the daily dirt at bay

While not quite on par with the best robot vacuums in deep cleaning prowess, it's good for preventing dirt from building up on a day-to-day basis.

Don’t buy it if…

You want to set it and forget it

Yes, you can schedule cleanings and it has auto-empty. But, you have to remove the mop pad if you want it to go over carpeting and add it back on for mopping, not to mention you have to regularly fill the water reservoir on the robot vacuum itself.

You have a cramped space

While the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus’ base station is small, it needs a good amount of clearance to operate properly, otherwise you’ll be dealing with a robot vacuum that routinely gets stuck in its own base station.

Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus review: also consider

Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1

While the Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 may have disappointing battery life – it is an older model, after all –  it vacuums and mops very well. Of course, you do have to switch out the backplate when you want to vacuum your carpets. But it is a bit quieter in operation compared with the Deebot N10 Plus.

Read our full Shark AI Ultra 2-in-1 review

Narwal Freo X Ultra

The Narwal Freo X Ultra is among the pricier robot vacuums out there, but it’s absolutely packed with features including the ability to be used as a remote drone / security camera. It also comes with a fairly striking base station that could be its own conversation piece. It’s not the best at mopping the edges of a room, but it’s pretty powerful in its cleaning performance otherwise.

Read our full Narwal Freo X Ultra review

How I tested the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus

To test the Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus, I used it for a couple of weeks to vacuum and mop the hardwood floors and carpeting in my house. I focused on how well the vacuum cleaned the edges of a room as well as around obstacles, not to mention pick up different sized debris. I also tested the features listed in the app, most notably the mapping.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2024