Robot vacuum marketing is organised around one number: suction, quoted in pascals. Model names climb from 8,000 Pa to 36,000 Pa and prices climb alongside them, which invites an obvious assumption — that you are buying suction.
So I tested it. On 27 July 2026 I read every product card on Roborock's US store front page and recorded three things per model: the manufacturer's list price, the price actually charged that day, and the published suction figure. Twelve SKUs, one brand, one storefront, one day. Using a single brand controls for brand premium and channel margin, which is exactly what makes the ratios comparable. The obvious limitation is that it is a snapshot of one catalog, and Pa figures are vendor-reported and not measured under a common standard — I am comparing what buyers are told, not what a lab would find.
The catalog, as priced that day
| Model | List price | Price charged | Discount | Suction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q7 L5 | $249.99 | $139.99 | 44% | 8,000 Pa |
| Q7 M5 | $299.99 | $179.99 | 40% | 10,000 Pa |
| Q7 M5+ | $429.99 | $249.99 | 42% | 10,000 Pa |
| Q10 S5+ | $549.99 | $329.99 | 40% | 10,000 Pa |
| QV 35A | $649.99 | $399.99 | 38% | 8,000 Pa |
| Qrevo S5V | $899.99 | $499.99 | 44% | 12,000 Pa |
| Qrevo CurvX | $1,499.99 | $799.99 | 47% | — |
| Saros 10R | $1,599.99 | $899.99 | 44% | — |
| Qrevo Curv 2 Flow | $999.99 | $999.99 | 0% | 20,000 Pa |
| Saros Z70 | $2,599.99 | $999.99 | 62% | 22,000 Pa |
| Saros 10 | $1,599.99 | $1,299.99 | 19% | 22,000 Pa |
| Saros 20 | $1,599.99 | $1,599.99 | 0% | 36,000 Pa |
Suction figures are taken from each model's own product page or product card. Two models did not publish a Pa figure in either place, so they are left blank rather than filled in from third-party listings.
Dollars per 1,000 Pa
| Model | At list | At price charged |
|---|---|---|
| Q7 L5 | $31.25 | $17.50 |
| Q7 M5 | $30.00 | $18.00 |
| Q7 M5+ | $43.00 | $25.00 |
| Q10 S5+ | $55.00 | $33.00 |
| Qrevo S5V | $75.00 | $41.67 |
| QV 35A | $81.25 | $50.00 |
| Saros 20 | $44.44 | $44.44 |
| Qrevo Curv 2 Flow | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Saros 10 | $72.73 | $59.09 |
| Saros Z70 | $118.18 | $45.45 |
The curve is not monotonic, and that is the finding. The cheapest suction in the catalog is the $139.99 entry model at $17.50 per 1,000 Pa. The most expensive is the flagship with a mechanical arm, at $118.18 per 1,000 Pa at list. But the single highest-suction machine in the lineup — 36,000 Pa, the strongest number Roborock publishes — comes in at $44.44 per 1,000 Pa, cheaper per unit of suction than a mid-range $649.99 model at $81.25.
Run that comparison directly and it stops being abstract. The $649.99 mid-range model has 8,000 Pa. The $549.99 model one rung below it has 10,000 Pa. You pay $100 more for 2,000 Pa less. What the more expensive machine adds is an all-in-one station that empties, washes and refills itself.
Our reading: above roughly $500, suction is not the product. It is effectively free — a stronger motor is a cheap bill-of-materials line — and it is used as the number on the box. The money above that line goes to the dock and to autonomy: hot-water mop washing, hot-air drying, self-emptying, chassis lift systems that climb thresholds, solid-state navigation, and in one case a mechanical arm that picks up socks.
The second finding: list price is close to fiction
Ten of twelve models were discounted that day. Across the whole catalog, $12,979.88 of list price was selling for $8,399.88 — 35% off, $4,580 removed. Among the discounted ten, the average markdown was 42%, and the flagship with the mechanical arm was 62% off, down from $2,599.99 to $999.99.
The two exceptions matter: the only models selling at full list were the two newest, the 36,000 Pa flagship and the newest roller-mop model. Everything older carried a standing discount.
That pattern has a practical consequence. At list prices, the arm-equipped flagship looks like a $2,599.99 halo product two-and-a-half times the price of a $999.99 mop specialist. At the prices actually charged that day, they cost exactly the same — $999.99 each — and the buyer's question changes completely, from "can I afford the flagship" to "do I want an arm or a better mop for the same money."
We have been caught by this ourselves. An earlier GrabaRobot price guide recorded a $1,299.99 promotional price as though it were the MSRP for a model whose true list was $1,599.99; we corrected it publicly in our flagship robot vacuum face-off. Today that same model sells for $899.99. Any single captured number for this category is a timestamp, not a price.
What this means when you buy
Stop shopping on pascals. Above about $500 the suction figure is a marketing axis, not a value axis, and the honest question is which dock chores you want automated: emptying the bin, washing the mop in hot water, drying it so it does not smell, refilling clean water. Those are the features the price ladder actually tracks.
Set a budget, then buy the oldest model that has the dock features you want, because age is what predicts the discount. Never plan around list price on anything but a current-season flagship — 42% off was the norm here, not an event. And if two machines land at the same street price, compare capabilities rather than the list prices they came down from.
For how the four major brands compare head to head, see our 2026 flagship face-off, and for what the marketing language around AI features actually means, our analysis of AI robot vacuum claims. Browse current models on our cleaning robot category page.
Sources
- Roborock US store — robot vacuum catalog (list prices, prices charged and product-card specifications, read 27 July 2026)
- Roborock Saros 20 product page (36,000 Pa)
- Roborock Saros 10 product page (22,000 Pa)
- Roborock Saros Z70 product page (22,000 Pa)
- Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow product page (20,000 Pa)
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*All prices and specifications read directly from the manufacturer's US storefront on 27 July 2026. Suction figures are vendor-published and not independently measured. Prices change frequently; treat every figure here as dated.*
