Dreame D9 vs 360 S7 Pro

Great minds think alike, LAP. I had just finished doing exactly that when I saw your message. :)

Here's a comparison between the raw stats for the 360 S9 and the S5 Max: https://versopo.com/en/360-s9-vs-roborock-s5-max. of course it doesn't take into account some of the subteties that you pointed out.

Thanks!
Julie

Julie,
Following are some reviews comparing models. Roborock S5 Max consistently is at top of the class.
360 S6 vs. Roborock S5 Max [Is 360 Better Than Roborock?]
Dreame D9 vs. Roborock S4 Max vs. S5 Max [Is Dreame Better Than Roborock?]

As with battery power, the suction is dependent on implementation. For instance, even though the D9 has 5200mAH battery, same as the Roborock S5 Max, in reviews I've seen the S5 Max lasting longer. As for suction, one of the important parameters is how much can it actually pick up. The S5 Max is definitely better than the D9 even though they both have similar 2000 Pa suction, I believe.

Also I had considered a refurb S5 Max but given that the S5 Max comes on sale often enough to be in the $439 range on slickdeals, I would rather go with new. Slickdeals, roborock s5 max search

Your house is much larger than my 890 sq ft condo with simple hardwood floors and no pets. Multimap support is not yet supported in the Dreametech D9. Plus I cannot talk about the quality of carpet cleaning nor hairball pickup. So I agree with you and would spend the extra on a battle tested solution. I was new to good quality robovacs but now I'm convinced, any future robovac that I do purchase will have LIDAR mapping.

I have not had to deal with Dreame support yet but I can imagine it's a bit light right now. For me, the D9 is an excellent entry point into LIDAR mapping robovac with mopping. So far.... Verdict is still out on longevity.

Interesting sidenote, after I returned my Roborock E4, Roborock support followed up and offered me a new Roborock S5 Max for $400. I asked if I could get it for $350 as I only wanted to spend max $300 for a robovac. They said they could not as it was the lowest price they have ever given. As the $400 was still significantly higher than the $285 I paid for my Dreametech and not that much off from the average slickdeal sale of $430, I decided to pass.

Julie,
If you are considering the S9, I would probably wait for a good deal on Roborock S5 Max. Consistently the best performer with same features as the S9/D9. Plus there are just a ton of third party accessories for the S5 Max. I use slickdeals. S5 Max will drop to around the $430 range often enough that I would just wait.

As my apartment is only 890 sqft and hardwood, I don't need to replace my accessories too often. I'm hoping third-party and growing popularity of the D9 will bring down prices. As for software, Natalie mentioned the S9 was more polished than the D9 but Dreametech uses the same software as Roborock Mi Home which is pretty good.

Hi Lap,
The Roborock S5 Max is a good option, I didn't mention it since it's more expensive than the S9 and D9, but it's a good deal if you can find it for $430. Roborock is already a well-known brand, so the S5 Max is a bit more expensive than some less known competitors with similar features (like the 360 S9 or Dreame D9).

Agree, within a year there should be much more affordable accessories for the D9 from third-party sellers. For example, you can already find accessories for the previous Dreame model (F9) for a pretty good price on Aliexpress. Actually, the Dreame D9 has the same roller brush and side brush as the Dreame F9 (or the Xiaomi Mijia 1C which is also made by Dreame for Xiaomi). I just compared the brushes, they are identical and interchangeable. Only the filter is not interchangeable.

Thanks Natalie for the tip on Aliexpress and the F9. Will keep it in my notes when I need to upgrade. I also sometimes find eBay a good source for 3rd party add-ons.

If not for my bad experience with the E4 and the much higher price of the S5 Max, I might have waited for a deal on the S5 Max or even gone refurbished to get one.

Lap,

The E4 was also one of the robots I tried, and I also didn't like it. It had trouble finding its charger, and for a robot without Lidar it was quite tall. It tried to get under a piece of furniture that didn't have quite enough clearance, and got itself all scufffed up. It was kind of ugly. Also, the package didn't include a cleaning tool, which is very important to me because I have three cats (two of them long-haired), and their fur is wrapped around the brush every time I use a vacuum. It's a small thing, but it seemed very ungenerous, as those cleaning tools are hard to find by themselves, and that immediately gave me a bad impression of Roborock. Anyhow, I do have some degree of bias agains Roborock because of the E4. I would try the S5 Max, but only if I could return it easily and without cost. :)

Thanks Julie for your experiences. The E4 really checked all the boxes for me when I was looking to buy a robovac with mop capabilities. But it goes to show that implementation can fall short of expectations. So when I went with the Dreametech, I watched a lot more YouTube videos. This can give a better real world look at the products.

The number of robovacs is so overwhelming that I almost had the inclination to buy multiple versions through Amazon and return the ones that I did not like. Not sure what Amazon's policy is on that but it would seem to be an abuse.

As it turns out, I've returned so many robovacs to Amazon (it will be 5 after I return the Dreame) that I might as well have done that. Of course, I didn't buy each one with the intention to return it, and I bought them sequentially rather than all at once. Amazon makes it so easy to return things, as long as they're Prime. I think that's why it practically owns half the world!

Hi Julie,
According to Amazon Q&A, the only differences between the S7 and S7 Pro are increased suction and reduced noise. I checked a few sites and looks like it has the same 3,200 mAh battery.

Yes, the 360 S9 is a high-end model, one of the best considering all the features. I think you meant the Roborock S6 MaxV which has a front camera for object recognition. The Roborock S7 was presented in January, but not available on the market yet, it's going to be a quite expensive model ($650) since it has an ultrasonic (vibrating) mopping and can automatically lift the mopping pad when carpet detected. The 360 S9 has all the features of the Roborock S6 MaxV, except for the front camera. The front camera of the S6 MaxV allows it to see cables, socks, pet poop, and avoid them when cleaning, but it also makes it $200 more expensive than the 360 S9. I like that the 360 S9 has a sensor inside the water tank and the robot reports when the water tank is empty. It's pretty convenient and I haven't seen such an option in other high-end robot vacuums.

Not sure if a review about smartrobotreviews placed somewhere on another site will help other users much but the suggestion much appreciated :) I meant a post about robot vacuums, you can create it right on this site, on the forum section. No matter it was a positive or negative experience, feedback, some problems you encountered, it might be useful for other users who will search for this robot and find this website.

Hi Natalie,

I will certainly write a review. I've tested a few different vacuums, so I can report on my experience.

In my post above, I actually meant the Roborock S5 Max. If you could by an S5 Max for around the same price as a 360 D9, which would you buy? (I'm asking because Roborock is listing refurbished S5 Max's on Amazon.) How would you compare them?

Thanks!

Sorry, Natalie, I'm mixing up all my model numbers! I meant 360 S9 vs. Roborock S5 Max. At least I think that's what I mean. :)

Hi Julie, after reading everything I see you have decided to go for the 360 S9 or Roborock S5 Max. Good choice on both btw. To me, it's a bit challenging to decide between the two as both are the best in their class.
The S9 alerts when the water tank is empty while with the Roborock S5 Max, you can customize cleaning modes for every room. Its water tank is also bigger which means it can cover a larger area. The dustbin of the S5 Max is slightly bigger as well.
The S9 includes a remote control which is rare for a Lidar-guided robot. It's handy when you don't want to use the app as much.
As to navigation, I didn't see too much of a difference when testing and I don't think you would on a daily basis.
I have emailed 360 a few times and never got a response, I assume I might email them to the wrong address too. With Roborock I have always received a response in a few hours. But I hear on Facebook 360 response much better.

All in all what I always say is if you are going to run the robot every other day, you would not notice a difference between your robot and one you could potentially get.
Both have a large battery and would be able to cover your house. Both also have a cleaning brush with detachable side tips which is good for your cats' hair.

I do hope it wasn't very confusing tho and you would be happy with your purchase no matter what you decided to go for.

Thanks much, Natalie. My understanding is also that the S9 is quieter than the S5 Max, that the battery lasts longer, and that the suction is a little better. On the other side, I like the S5 Max's larger dust bins and water tanks, of course, and the ability to customize cleaning modes for different rooms. Also, if I'm not mistaken, the S5 Max is a little shorter, so can get under more furniture. But back on the 360 side, alerts when the water tank is empty is a really great feature.

I read a Reddit thread where people were complaining that the brush on the S5 Max (and other Roborock models) sometimes stops spinning on carpet, and also that they got a lot of error messages that required attention.

I'm surprised you've found 360's support unresponsive. I've been communicating with their support on Amazon, and they've been extremely responsive. I've had a running conversation with a woman who has answered me many times tonight, and also on several other nights. Do you want me to ask her how you can communicate with her?

At this moment I'm inclined towards the S9. I found it on Office Depot's website for $359, but 360 support via Amazon said it would not come with a warranty from 360 if purchased trhough Office Depot. Oh well, I guess it was too good to be true.

I contacted the company via email but I am very glad to hear you had a great experience with 360. Go for the S9, it is a truly great robot vacuum, the app is intuitive, is not buggy, never crashed in my experience even tho I used the 360 S6 for two years. And that alert of an empty water tank is convenient, I have never had a chance to test a robot that would do so. For the price, you would not find a better cleaner (except for the S5 Max that is equal to the S9 IMHO). And yes, I found all 360 robots quieter than most models on the market which is a pro to me as I can't stand noisy machines.

Thanks, Natalie. I really need to take the plunge and just do it. There are so many different models available, and the more I investigate one model, the more I find out about others. Someone on Reddit mentioned getting a Deebot T8 with auto trash bin emptying and a camera for object avoidance, and the price wasn't much higher than the current price of the 360 S9. That must have been a special deal, as the price is much higher now.

I did ask Jane from 360 Support how you can contact her, so I'll tell you what she says when I hear back from her.

Hi Natalie,

I wanted to let you know that I got an email address from Jane at 360 support. It is: zh-service@360.cn. She said you can contact 360 support there.

Warm wishes,
Juile

Thank you, Julie, really appreciate how thoughtful you are with me :)

It's nothing compared to how thoughtful you've been in answering all my questions!

I'll write a review after I map my house with the 360 S9 I just received, and learn how to use it. :)

Nice! Looking forward to it :)

Hi Natalie,
I kinda fell into the rabbit hole concerning the tech specs. :} After more research, this is my findings. The 360 S9, Dreame D9, Roborock S5 Max are all very similar in specs, almost to the point of being copies. S9/D9 appear to be mimicking S5 Max. The S5 Max is by far the most highly touted machine in the higher priced categories. It consistently ranks in the best performance across multiple categories. Trying to get over my bad experience with Roborock, I seriously considered getting the S5 Max, as reviews have shown it has better climbing (2cm), than the E4. I'm in the NYC area. The current discounted final Amazon prices for the 3 machines are,
S9 ($530-$130=$400)
D9 ($297-$30=$267)
S5 Max ($500)

As you mentioned, the D9 build quality isn't as good. I remembered reading the post by Jake who looked at the PCB quality of the D9 vs S5 Max, S5 Max clearly shined. Also the D9 multimap software is expected in March. But considering your review showing the D9 > S7 Pro ($390-$100=$290), in terms of performance and features, I decided to give the D9 a try. Amazon has strong 4.3/5.0 reviews. My first robovac, iLife A4s ($140), was basic, but had really good reviews and was good enough for my 890 sq ft condo with hardwood floors. Given my pretty basic setup, I can't justify spending 3x price for the S9/S5 Max.

I will update with my experience with the D9. If it's really bad, I may just opt for the S5 Max as now the price difference between the S5 Max and S9 is not enough to waste more time. Amazon has certified refurbs for the S5 Max costing $420 but deal forum Slickdeals, new S5 Max will be discounted to $430 range fairly often.

I received the D9 today. I was really impressed at the packaging. Very high quality. Very well thought out.
Performance was great. LIDAR mapping is really the way to go. Very accurate depiction of my apartment. I'm glad I ended up with a laser mapping robot. The E4 "map" was very strange, did not look at all like my apartment.

It was able to climb the bathroom doorway. Much like my old A4s, it didn't go over it on the first attempt but more like the 3rd attempt. D9 did stop on a shag carpet in my bathroom but it's fairly thick and the A4s would always get snagged in it. D9 for some reason can go over it but then once it's on tile, it will stop and say there were hairs in the brush. I didn't see any hairs. But anyway I really like the climbing ability on the D9, there appears to be an extra kick to get it over humps.

The D9 complete the mapping of my apartment without any other stops. Next steps are to try no-go zones and the mopping attachment. I really like how efficient it was in cleaning my apartment.

Hi, Lap sorry for not responding this weekend. My first robovac was also the ILIFE V7, I loved this thing even tho it wasn't as good as most robots nowadays. For the price of $267, the D9 is a really great choice, probably the best on the market so congrats on the purchase. Compared to the Roborock E4, the D9 is a huge step up. I only hope it will receive updates as often as the Roborock S series do.

Anyways if you have questions or want to share more of your experience of the D9 feel free to do so :)

Thanks Natalie.

I've had a chance to use the no-mop zone and mopping feature. Both worked really well. I continue to be impressed by what this robot vacuum can do.

I got my entire apartment mapped out. Pretty cool!

Hi Natalie,

I've been reading this thread with great interest, as I am trying to decide between the Dreame D9 and the 360 S7 Pro. I see that you said you would probably go for the Dreame D9 because of the electronic water tank. I do have one concern about the Dreame, which is that it's accessories seem to be considerably more expensive than the 360 D7's accessories. From what I can tell, 360 has an accessory kit on Amazon for the D7 Pro for $15.99, which contains 1 side brush, 1 main brush, 10 disposable cleaning cloths and 6 water tank filters. (Is that the only filter, or does one have to buy other filters?)

Meanwhile, here is what I have for the Dreame D9 accessories: they sell a disposable mop (20 pack) for $19.99, a main roller brush for 12.99, a side brush for 12.99, wet mopping pads (2) for $14.99, and a main roller brush cover for $14.99.

It seems to me that the Dreame accessories are a lot more expensive. I don't know how often each needs to be replaced, and, by extension, what the accessories for Dreame would cost annually compared to those for 360.

Can you comment on this? And do you have any other observations comparing these two? How about customer service and support?

Your website is such an amazing facility! I wish I had seen it when I first started looking for a robot vacuum (I've already tried and returned four of them!) :)

Hi Julie,
I'm happy to hear the website is helpful for you. Yeah, right now it's not so easy to find cheap accessories for the D9. I hope there will be more accessories on the market soon from third-party sellers.
Besides the water tank filters in the 360 accessory kit, you should replace the air filter (it should be included in the kit too, isn't it?). Since the Dreame uses an electronically controlled water tank, there are no water filters in the tank, so you only need the air filter. Not sure who has better customer service though.

Overall, feels like the 360 app is a bit more polished and user-friendly. 360 company makes robot vacuums for a few years already, Dreame is a new startup (backed by Xiaomi) so they probably need a bit more time to polish the app and the robot's software.

Hi Natalie,

Wow, thanks for your fast response! You and your website are quite amazing. :)

I've been having email conversations with both Dreametech support and 360 support. My first observation is that the woman who has been answering my emails from 360 is wonderful. She signs with her name, she answers quickly, and she's extremely friendly and helpful. By comparison, Dreametech support has been slower (although acceptably fast), signs with their company name (until, that is, I asked the support person to be friendlier and tell me who I was talking to!). In her first answers to me glossed over my quesitons and didn't answer them. The support has been acceptable (but not amazing like 360's).

I did get links from Dreame for the following accessories:

Replacement Filter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDS3FQ1?ref=myi_title_dp ;

Disposable mop: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDTS6QW?ref=myi_title_dp ;

Main Brush: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDSC5VZ?ref=myi_title_dp ;

Wet Mopping Pad: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDSMR47?ref=myi_title_dp

Main Roller Brush Cover: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDS8BY2?ref=myi_title_dp

Side Brush: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDVNSD6?ref=myi_title_dp

The support person Dreametech would give me a discount on supplies, but hasn't told me what they would cost. I've asked, and hopefully will get an answer.

So, I like the Dreame's electronic (and larger) water tank. And does the D9 battery still have an advantage over the 360 S7 Pro? Are there any other advantages?

On the other hand, I'm uneasy about the availability and cost of Dreame's supplies.

Would you still choose the Dreame over the 360 S7 Pro?

By the way, if there's anything I can do to help you guys, such as writing a review, just let me know. You provide such a valuable service!

Nice experiment with both customer services :)

Choosing one is challenging, each has its own advantages. Considering better customer support and cheaper accessories, the 360 S7 looks like a better choice. The Dreame accessories look quite expensive. On the other hand, I prefer the electronic water tank over the gravity controlled water tank. The electronic water tank doesn't leak when the robot charging while the gravity-controlled water tank must be removed shortly after mopping. The electronic water tank allows adjusting the water flow in the app and doesn't require replacing water filters. Also, the S7 water tank is too small even for my 70 sq. meters (750 sq. ft) apartment so I need to refill it with water as it mops. The 360 S7 battery is not enough to clean my apartment on max power mode, however, I mostly choose standard mode since I don't have carpets. If you have carpets, it's recommended to use higher power settings for better cleaning.

The Dreame D9 has a larger battery (5,200 mAh vs. 3,200 mAh) and can work longer so it can clean a larger house on higher suction mode compared to the 360 S7. Both have recharge & resume function which means they will continue cleaning after recharging if not finished the job on one charge. However, I find it much more convenient when the robot finishing the job on one charge.

Did you consider the 360 S9? Compared to the S7, the S9 comes with a larger water tank, electric water control, an ultrasonic front sensor for better object avoidance, a remote control (in addition to the app), and a larger battery. The S9 is more expensive than the 360 S7, but also better in every way. Right now, there is a $110 coupon code on Amazon, so you can get it for $420.

It would be very nice if you post your review on this forum. Any content related to robot vacuums or sharing your own experience with robot vacuums are highly welcomed here and will be useful for other readers.