Narwal Freo Z10 review: the best for less MSRP $1,100.00 Score Details “The Narwal Freo Z10 takes all the best features of the Freo Z Ultra, then drops its price by $400 -- making it one of the best robot vacuums of 2025.” Pros Unique side brush design Excellent mopping performance 120-day base station emptying Anti-tangle vacuum system Cons Competitors have more suction Lacks self-cleaning of Freo Z Ultra Table of Contents Table of Contents An affordable Freo Z Ultra Daily cleanings, obstacle navigation, and automated maintenance Verdict Narwal is one of the most popular robot vacuum manufacturers, having sold around 2 million units since its inception in 2016. Products like the Narwal Freo Z Ultra and Freo X Ultra offer innovative features not found on much of the competition — but instead of reinventing the wheel with the new Freo Z10, Narwal is taking its predecessor’s best features and bundling them into an affordable new footprint. Recommended Videos To be clear, the Freo Z10 isn’t an entry-level model. And it’s not exactly cheap. But $1,100 is an excellent price for everything offered by the latest Narwal robot vacuum. Along with incredible mopping skills, you’re getting a powerful base station that handles most maintenance, 15,000Pa of suction, and cool design tweaks that prevent tangles. A few corners had to be cut to hit the new price — but if you’re seeking a premium robot vacuum that saves you hundreds of dollars and frees up your time, the Narwal Freo Z10 is hard to beat. Related Narwal Comparisons between the old Freo Z Ultra and the new Freo Z10 are difficult to avoid. The Freo Z Ultra is still the flagship of the Narwal lineup, as it features a unique baseboard cleaning system for a superior clean and an electrolyzed water system that aids in sterilizing its base station. But beyond that, there’s a lot of common ground between the two. Shared features include a 2.5L dustbin for up to 120 days of automated dust removal, a mop that can lift 12mm when traveling on carpet, tri-laser structure light obstacle detection, and support for Alexa, Google, and Siri voice assistants. Better yet, you’ll get an extra 3,000 Pa of suction on the Z10 compared to the Z Ultra — a big win despite its lower price. Jon Bitner / Digital Trends There are a few other differences between the two robots — including different dirt detection systems and mopping systems — but nothing that makes too big of an impact on daily performance. The Z10 picks up new MopExtend & Corner Reverse features for improved mopping, but mopping pressure drops from 12N on the Z Ultra to just 8N on the Z10. Still, testing showed the Freo Z10 to be a workhorse when tackling hard floors, removing dried stains and soaking up spills with ease. It’s even fun to watch the robot work, as it wiggles its way across your floors, twisting to better reach corners and clear up difficult messes. It’s a similar story for carpet cleanings. Low pile carpets are the best fit for the Freo Z10, as 12mm mop lifting isn’t quite enough for super plush floors. And while 15,000 Pa is great for a Narwal robot vacuum, it lags behind some of the competition that’s now pushing 20,000 Pa. Narwal At the end of the day, the point of a robot vacuum is to provide you with a clean house without much manual input. In that regard, the Narwal Freo Z10 is a success. Though its base station isn’t quite as sophisticated as the premium Freo Z Ultra, it still handles all the self-maintenance tasks you’d expect for a product over $1,000. For one, the dustbin is large enough to hold up to 120 days of debris. That’s a huge win over the competition, which usually only lasts a few months. The Z10 also benefits from adaptive hot water mop washing, hot air drying, auto-detergent dispensing, and a cleaning cycle that washes out the base station after the mops have been dealt with (ensuring no gunk is left lingering in the base). Dirty water is then transferred to a dirty water reservoir, while clean water is siphoned from a clean water reservoir. These will need to be filled and emptied on a regular basis, but the frequency depends on how often you run the device and how big your home is. If you only run it a few times a week and live in a small studio or cozy home, expect to go weeks without any manual input. Jon Bitner / Digital Trends The base station is a big selling point for the Freo Z10, but the robot itself might be even more enticing. An array of sensors can recognize objects as low as 1cm in height, can clean within 5mm of walls and furniture, and can generate a map of new spaces in less than 10 minutes. You can also optimize its performance using the Narwal mobile app. However, I’ve found its onboard AI to be highly accurate — so instead of tinkering with settings, I simply let it decide what power settings were required to tackle the current dirt level in my home. Compared to some other robot vacuums I’ve tested, the Narwal Freo Z10 works pretty fast. It’s often finished with cleanings around 10 minutes ahead of products like the Roborock Saros 10 — though the Saros 10 certainly offers a deeper clean (which is expected, given its hefty price tag). But for a product right around $1,000, the Narwal is near the top of its class. Its vacuum also excels at eliminating tangles. Along with a unique main brush design, its side brushes are collapsible — so if they get tangled, the two prongs will collapse together, pivot toward the main brush, and automatically remove the tangle. Like pretty much all robot vacuums, the Narwal Freo Z10 still has trouble navigating around cables, cords, and other small objects. I never had to rescue the robot from getting stuck on furniture — thanks to its accurate sensors — but I found myself detangling cables from its main brush more than a few times. So if you have an office with charging cables lurking under your desk, be sure to set a Restricted Zone or pick them up before starting your cleaning cycle. The Narwal Freo Z10 takes the best features of Narwal’s previous releases, cuts the fluff, and gives you a price tag that’s a bit easier on the wallet. It’s still not cheap, but for a fully automated clean that doesn’t skimp on premium features, this is the robot to get. There’s plenty of competition on the market nowadays, but the Freo Z10 holds its own with a sleek design, great mapping technology, intelligent onboard AI, and a mopping setup that rivals the flagship Freo Z Ultra. If you’re seeking a robot vacuum around $1,000, the Freo Z10 is an easy recommendation. Editors’ Recommendations