iRobot Roomba 105 Vac
iRobot's entry machine, and the first cheap one with real LiDAR — but it keeps the bristle brush, which is the wrong brush for a shedding household.
Best for
The cheapest Roomba that maps
#ad how we are funded · price as of September 14, 2026
Disclosure — some links on this page go to Amazon, and we earn a commission if you buy through them. It costs you nothing extra and it does not change what we recommend or in what order. The full disclosure.
iRobot publishes 4 of the 6 specifications we track for this model and states nothing about the other 2. Everything below is quoted from iRobot’s own material, with the page it came from linked on each row. We have not handled this machine.
The 105 Vac is the interesting one in iRobot's range for a reason that has nothing to do with cleaning: it is where LiDAR arrived at the bottom of the price list. Real laser mapping, three saved maps and navigation in the dark used to be flagship features, and on this machine they are entry-level ones. For a buyer who wants the Roomba app and a robot that does not bounce off the walls, that is the whole argument.
The brush is where it stops being interesting. iRobot fits a Multi-Surface bristle brush here, not the dual rubber brushes it puts on the Max range, and bristles are the construction that winds long hair into a collar. If nothing in your house sheds, that does not matter. If a dog does, it matters more than anything else on the spec sheet — and iRobot makes no anti-tangle claim for this model at all.
The suction entry is the other thing worth reading carefully. iRobot states seventy times more power-lifting suction without ever saying seventy times what, so there is no figure here to compare with anybody's Pa number, including iRobot's own 30,000 Pa claim on the Max 715. A multiple is a marketing unit, not a specification.
The published spec sheet
- Stated suction
- Not stated as a figureiRobot states "70X more power-lifting suction" without saying 70 times what. A multiple with no baseline cannot be compared with anyone's Pa figure, including iRobot's own.Source: iRobot Roomba 105 Vac product page — cleaning system (retrieved 2026-09-13)
- Max climb height
- Not publishedNot stated on iRobot's product page.
- Mop lift
- Not publishedVacuum-only trim. There is no mop to lift.
- Main brush
- Multi-Surface bristle brush with an Edge-Sweeping brushiRobot's own description. Note that this is the bristle design, not the dual rubber brushes it fits to the Max range.Source: iRobot Roomba 105 Vac product page — 3-Stage Cleaning (retrieved 2026-09-13)
- Navigation
- ClearView LiDAR, stated to build up to 3 maps and clean in neat rowsiRobot states mapping takes about ten minutes and that it navigates in the dark.Source: iRobot Roomba 105 Vac product page — navigation and mapping (retrieved 2026-09-13)
- Dock
- AutoEmpty dock, stated at up to 75 daysSource: iRobot Roomba 105 Vac product page — dustbin and dock (retrieved 2026-09-13)
What the sheet says it does well, and what it does not
Strengths
- ClearView LiDAR at the bottom of the range, so it maps and works in the dark
- AutoEmpty dock stated at up to 75 days
- iRobot states it builds up to three maps, which covers a two-story house
Limits
- Bristle main brush, not rubber — the wrong construction for pet hair
- No suction figure at all: iRobot states a multiple, not a number
- No mop, no threshold figure and no published body height
Who it is for
Someone who wants the Roomba name and app, on hard floors and low carpet, without paying flagship money.
Who should skip it
You have a dog or a long-haired human. The bristle brush winds hair into a collar and there is no anti-tangle claim anywhere on iRobot's page for it.
We name it as the pick to skip on 2 pages, for reasons specific to what those pages are about:
- Best robot vacuums for pet hair — It is the cheapest Roomba that maps properly, and for a hard-floor home with nothing shedding in it that is a genuinely good buy. For pet hair it is the wrong machine, because iRobot fits it a Multi-Surface bristle brush rather than the dual rubber brushes it puts on the Max range — and makes no anti-tangle claim for it anywhere. Bristles are the construction that winds hair into a solid collar around the roller. Buying the 105 for a shedding house means choosing, on purpose, the brush that has the problem.
- Shark vs Roomba — If you are cross-shopping Shark and Roomba you are probably looking at pet hair, and this is the one machine in either brand's current line-up that is actively wrong for it. iRobot fits it a Multi-Surface bristle brush — the construction that winds hair into a collar — and makes no anti-tangle claim for it anywhere. It is a fine cheap mapping robot for a hard-floor home with nothing shedding in it, and the wrong purchase for the reason most people run this comparison.
Where we recommend it
How we assessed this
By reading what iRobot publishes and recording it with its source. We have never owned, handled or measured this machine, and nothing above is written as though we had. Where the manufacturer publishes nothing, the row says so rather than borrowing a number from somewhere else. The full method is on how we pick, and if a figure here does not match the page it links to, tell us and we will correct it with a date.
What the spec sheet does not tell you
2 of the figures we track are absent from iRobot’s own material for this model. That is worth knowing before you buy, because each of them answers a question somebody eventually asks:
- Max climb height — Not stated on iRobot's product page.
- Mop lift — Vacuum-only trim. There is no mop to lift.
We could fill those in from a review site or an estimate. We do not, because a number we cannot source is worth less than an honest blank, and the pattern of what each maker will and will not state is one of the more useful things on this site.
Questions people actually ask
+ Does iRobot publish a threshold climb height for the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac?
No. Not stated on iRobot's product page. We record that as not published rather than borrowing a figure from a review site — see the climb table for the models that do state one.
+ What suction does the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac have?
iRobot states Not stated as a figure. iRobot states "70X more power-lifting suction" without saying 70 times what. A multiple with no baseline cannot be compared with anyone's Pa figure, including iRobot's own. Remember that pascal ratings are not standardized between manufacturers, so that figure ranks this model within iRobot's own range and does not compare across brands — the full explanation.
+ Is the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac good for pet hair?
Its main brush is described as multi-surface bristle brush with an edge-sweeping brush, which is the specification that matters most in a hair-heavy house — more than suction. The brush comparison sets out what each design does.
+ Can the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac mop over carpet?
Vacuum-only trim. There is no mop to lift. Without a figure you cannot check it against your carpet, which is why we rank models that publish one above models that do not. Mop lift compared.
+ Who should skip the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac?
You have a dog or a long-haired human. The bristle brush winds hair into a collar and there is no anti-tangle claim anywhere on iRobot's page for it.
#ad how we are funded · price as of September 14, 2026