Explainer · Researched

Robot vacuum running costs in Australia

The sticker price is only part of it. Bags, brushes, filters and mop pads wear out, and docks that wash mops with hot water use power. Here are genuine-part prices from the brands' Australian stores, the replacement intervals in the manuals, and what that adds up to. Prices checked 11 October 2026.

By Domestic Robot · Editor: Christian Ganaban · Updated 14 October 2026

Researched, not testedThis guide is based on manufacturer information, Australian retailer listings and independent sources, all linked below. We haven't used these robots ourselves yet.

Quick answer

Budget roughly $250–$550 a year for genuine consumables on a self-emptying robot with a mop-washing dock. Replace every part exactly as often as the manual says and a Roborock Qrevo can pass $800; a robot you don't mop with costs about $200–$350. As an example, Ecovacs's half-year kit for the Deebot X8 Pro Omni was $215.20 on sale (normally $268.90), or about $430–$540 a year if you buy two. Charging the robot itself costs only a few dollars a year in electricity. The heating in hot-water mop-washing docks uses more, but we couldn't find a verified per-wash energy figure. Dust bags and mop pads are the parts you'll buy most often.

Genuine parts prices (11 October 2026)

Brand / model	Part	Price (AUD)	Replace (manufacturer guidance)
Roborock (Qrevo, Saros families)	Dust bags	$39.90 for 5	About 7 weeks per bag (Roborock's figure for Qrevo)
Roborock	Side brushes	$39.99 for 2	Every 3–6 months
Roborock	Main brush	$79.90	Every 6–12 months
Roborock (Qrevo)	Washable filters	$39.90 for 2	Every 6–12 months
Roborock (Qrevo Edge, Curv)	Rotating mop cloths	$39.90 for 2	Every 1–3 months
Roborock	Floor cleaner	$39.90 for 480 ml	As used
Dreame (X40, X50, L40s families)	Dust bags (3 L)	$39.95 for 3	Up to 60 days per bag (Dreame's lab figure)
Dreame (X40, X50 Ultra)	Side brushes	$44.95 for 2	Dreame says 6–12 months for brushes and filters
Dreame X50 Ultra / L40s Ultra	Accessories kit	$249.95	1 main brush, 2 side brushes, 2 filters, 2 bags, 3 pairs of mop pads
Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni	Quarterly kit	$87.20 (sale; was $108.90)	Main brush, 2 side brushes, 3 filters, 3 bags, 2 roller mops
Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni	Half-year kit	$215.20 (sale; was $268.90)	Double the quarterly kit plus 2 × 1 L cleaning solution

Prices from Roborock Store ANZ, Dreame AU and Ecovacs AU, regular price unless marked as a sale. Roborock's 3-pack bags and Dreame's 3 L bags were sold out on our check date. Intervals are from Roborock's Qrevo manuals, an Ecovacs Deebot manual and Dreame's own guidance; heavier use, pets and sand shorten them.

What a year costs: a worked example

Take a Roborock Qrevo-family robot and follow the manual's intervals using genuine parts from the Roborock store:

Part	Per year	Cost
Dust bags	About 7–8 bags	$60–$70
Side brushes	2–4	$40–$80
Main brush	1–2	$80–$160
Filters	1–2	$20–$40
Mop cloths (pairs)	4–12	$160–$480
Total		About $360–$830

Mop cloths dominate, and the manual's 1–3 month interval is cautious; many owners replace them when they're visibly worn. Leave mop cloths at the slow end and the same robot costs closer to $250–$400 a year. A robot without a mop, or one you rarely mop with, costs about $200–$350 a year on the same intervals.

This is our arithmetic from the prices above, not a figure from Roborock.

Electricity

Charging the robot is cheap. A typical battery holds about 75 Wh (for example the 14.4 V, 5,200 mAh pack in Roborock's Qrevo 2 Pro), so a full charge every day is roughly 27 kWh a year. At 30–40 c/kWh, a typical range for Australian residential usage rates in 2026, that's about $8–$11 a year.

The dock is the bigger user. Ecovacs's Deebot X8 Pro Omni station is rated at 1,650 W while heating mop-wash water and 650 W while emptying the robot, and hot-air drying runs for two hours by default. Those are short bursts, so the cost depends on how often you mop, but if you want to cut it, use a shorter drying time or a lower wash temperature in the app. We couldn't find a manufacturer's per-cycle energy figure for any dock.

Batteries: the big one-off

Manufacturers say a robot's lithium-ion battery lasts about 2–3 years before runtime noticeably drops (Roborock, iRobot), or 400–500 charge cycles (Dreame). Genuine batteries were easy to price for eufy ($89.95 for X8-series and L50/L60 batteries at eufy AU) but we couldn't find genuine batteries on Roborock's or Dreame's Australian stores. Ask the retailer or the brand's service agent before you buy. More in how long do robot vacuums last.

How to spend less

Buy kits, not single parts. Ecovacs's kits work out cheaper per part than buying individually, especially on sale.
Wash before you replace. Rinse washable filters and mop cloths and cut hair off brushes; replace them when they're worn, not on a calendar.
Third-party parts are cheaper but riskier. Generic bags and brushes are widely sold. Fit varies, and a part that damages the robot may complicate a warranty claim.
Check parts before you buy the robot. Popular models from Roborock, Dreame and Ecovacs have genuine parts on their Australian stores. A cheap robot from a brand with no local parts store can cost more over its life.
Don't run the mop every day if your floors don't need it. Most of the consumable cost is mopping.

Still deciding whether a robot is worth it? See are robot vacuums worth it in Australia, or compare total costs across our under $500 and under $1,000 picks.

For what to clean and when, see our robot vacuum maintenance guide.

Pets fill dust bags faster, so running costs climb. Our best robot vacuums for pet hair favours big dock bags and tangle-resistant brushes.

Common questions

How much does a robot vacuum cost to run per year in Australia?

For a self-emptying robot with a mop-washing dock, roughly $250–$550 a year in genuine consumables depending on how often you replace mop pads, plus a few dollars of electricity for charging. Hot-water mop washing adds some electricity on top.

How often do you replace robot vacuum brushes and filters?

Roborock's manuals say side brushes every 3–6 months, the main brush and filter every 6–12 months, and mop cloths every 1–3 months. Ecovacs and eufy give similar intervals.

How long does a robot vacuum dust bag last?

Brands claim about 7 weeks (Roborock Qrevo) to 60 days (Dreame 3 L bag), and up to 100 days for the Dreame X50 Ultra's 3.2 L bag. Pet hair and sand fill bags faster.

Are third-party robot vacuum parts OK?

They're cheaper and often fine for bags and side brushes, but fit and quality vary. If a non-genuine part causes damage, the manufacturer may not cover it.

Sources

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