This is the best window-cleaning robot yet – but also the most expensive
25/6/2026
Translation: Elicia Payne
Pictures: Lorenz Keller
Fast, quiet, and thorough: the Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni does a great job of my windows and even comes with a mop washer. But you’ll have to dig deep in your pocket for this kind of luxury.
What a beast – the box that the Winbot W3 Omni comes in is almost as big as the one for a robot vacuum cleaner. I’m surprised, most window cleaning robots fit in a small bag.
But Ecovac’s new top-of-the-line model really does have a base station that’s almost as big as those of its mopping and vacuuming counterparts. It weighs a whopping 13 kilogrammes. Unlike with robot vacuums, however, you have to lug the station and the robot from one set of windows to the next. It’s manageable, but weight-wise, it’s definitely at the upper limit – even for a fit adult.
A washing machine for the mop
The manufacturer’s hidden the biggest innovation in the base station. Specifically, a washing machine for the mops. With the other Winbot models, you have to dampen the fabric cover and wash it by hand or put it in the washing machine after cleaning. To clean all the windows one after another, I needed three or four covers each time.
With the Winbot W3 Omni, you can wash the mop right in the base station. With the push of a button, you open the door, place the mop inside, and then start one of two programmes. One programme is a quick one-minute rinse, which also serves as a substitute for dampening it under the tap. The other programme is a full wash cycle lasting one and a half minutes, which is recommended when the mop’s dirty.
The system works like a washing machine. Nozzles spray water onto the fabric at high pressure, and four brushes scrub away all the dirt. The machine wrings out excess water. Even without any detergent, the mops get clean – and have the right amount of moisture for cleaning the next window pane. It works perfectly.
The fresh water tank can hold around 1.1 litres. That’s enough for six full cycles – and therefore for the nine large windows in my apartment. The dirty water’s also collected in a tank and must be emptied, at the latest, after this number of wash cycles. It’s worth remembering, as with robot vacuums, dirty water starts to smell after a few days. So make sure you empty it once you’ve finished cleaning the windows.
The base station has two additional functions. Thanks to the built-in rechargeable battery, you can clean windows for about two hours even without a power connection. Many of the competing models have to be plugged in. In my case, the runtime’s more than enough for the entire apartment, including cleaning the mops. The system can be operated directly from the power supply at any time.
Plus, the station sits firmly on the floor, so you don’t need to use any additional fixtures. The power cable connected for the robot on the window is reinforced so that it also serves as a fall protection device.
More precise
The cleaning performance is slightly better than that of the manufacturer’s previous models. Three specific factors are the reason for this:
Attached mop: On the previous models, the mops are loose, so you have to attach them to the robot with Velcro fasteners. On the W3 Omni, the mop’s securely attached to a plastic frame. You attach it using a snap-on mechanism, which is faster and easier. This also improves the overall clean because there’s more pressure when it’s taut.
Edge brushes: The robot has small round brushes on one side that it presses against the window when cleaning along edges. This loosens the dirt and pushes it toward the centre, where the mop can wipe it away. I also really like how closely the Winbot follows the edge.
New navigation: The new Win-Slam 5.0 software is being used for the first time in this model. As a result, the W3 Omni cleans the windows efficiently and quickly. It manages to clean my sample window, which measures just over four square metres, in about six minutes. That’s one minute faster than the previous models – and therefore a new record.
Another plus is that the window-cleaning robot is now significantly quieter. The measured 71.5 decibels also set a new record. This makes the W3 Omni about ten decibels quieter than some devices from the previous generation. To the human ear, this means the volume has halved.
I don’t have high expectations when it comes to the cleaning performance. The robot sprays liquid onto the window and wipes over it with a mop. In other words, you can't expect it to do a better job than if you were cleaning by hand. The result’s not perfect but will do for me. Since I like to use the robot window cleaners not just once a year, but five or six times, the windows are generally quite clean.
When it comes to the details, the Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni is slightly more precise than its predecessors. It leaves fewer particles and streaks – like those from pollen – especially along the edges and in the corners. It’s not flawless, though but wouldn’t be if I did it by hand either. The robot struggles to remove stubborn dirt that’s really stuck to the window on the first clean. You have to clean these spots by hand or run the robot over them multiple times.
Not quite thought–through
It’s a shame Ecovacs didn’t succeed with new features in more areas. I noticed some disadvantages during testing. For one, there’s no room for the robot in the base station because of the washing machine. When you want to move it or store it away, you have to hang it on the fold-out hinge on the exterior. It doesn’t look particularly secure and almost improvised.
To remove the mop frame, I have to use my thumbs and index fingers to pull on the four levers on the corners of the device. In other words, I need both hands so I have to put the robot down somewhere. As a workaround, I manage to do it with one hand by first unfastening one side, then the other. But there’s always the risk that the frame will suddenly come loose and fall on the floor. In everyday life, a one-handed mechanism would be much more practical.
The Winbot can be started via the app, directly using the button on the robot, or via buttons on the base station. The washing machine can be operated via the app or using the buttons on the control panel. A small screen can help with that. That’s necessary, too, because it’s way too complicated to operate. Instead of just pressing buttons for the most important functions, you have to click my way through menu structures, and you end up in the wrong place every now and then.
It’s also a shame that, despite the high price tag, the manufacturer only includes one mop. So after cleaning one pane, you still have to wait a minute or a minute and a half before you can continue. It’d be more practical to have two mops to work with. You could put one on the robot to clean the window and one in the base station for a wash. According to Ecovacs, this works fine. But you have to buy a second mop for 45 francs or 55 euros.
Glass roofs, gaps and extreme situations
The cleaning robots tend to be designed for standard framed windows. Time and again, the Community has asked whether the models can be used on skylights, sunroom windows or balcony windows.
The W3 Omni is also designed to handle sloped skylights – according to the manufacturer, it can handle overhangs with an incline of up to 45 degrees and even flat surfaces with an incline of up to 90 degrees. But how does it perform on glass roofs? I’m determined to find out so I conducted a few extreme tests.
Obstacles: If a window has a cat flap or a hinge, the robot navigates around these obstacles. There aren’t any issues with this on the first attempt. However, as soon as the obstacles aren’t rectangular, it can no longer clean the edges thoroughly.
Uneven surfaces: Windows painted with window paint are difficult to clean. The robot also reacts sensitively to it and recognises it as an obstacle – because the thick paint is slightly raised. Other robots go over it, but the W3 Omni doesn’t. This prevents anything getting damaged – but not every inch of the window is cleaned either.
Frameless glass: The robot moves right up to the edge, but realises it can no longer generate enough suction pressure and corrects its course. Cleaning frameless window panes isn’t an issue.
Tiles: The Ecovacs clearly needs more suction power to grip to my large bathroom tiles. Still, it automatically adjusts and can easily clean tiled walls as well, ignoring grout and joints.
Gaps: When there are two panes with three millimetre gaps between them, the robot slows down. It recognises it as an edge and only cleans up to the gap. You just have to move it to the next pane to clean it.
Glass roofs: Since I don’t have a sunroom – or a glass table, for that matter – I laid a large mirror flat across two chairs. The robot easily cleans the entire surface from above. But if you hang it underneath, it sticks, but doesn’t work. It beeps, and a warning appears on the display stating that the device doesn’t work when held upside down.
Although the W3 Omni is quite sensitive to uneven surfaces, it can clean a wide variety of surfaces, both with and without edges. However, it can only clean glass roofs from above, not from below – though the manufacturer doesn’t claim it can do that anyway.
In a nutshell
The best window cleaning robot I’ve tested so far
Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni is so close to getting the full five stars. It cleans windows a little more thoroughly than the competition (and those from the same brand). It’s also quieter and quicker. You can clean the mops directly in the base station – almost like in a washing machine, which is really practical.
The problem with this is that the station’s heavy and cumbersome – and increases the price of the window cleaning robot. It was also clear from the test that it could be easier to operate. Plus, there’s no replacement mop to efficiently clean one window after another.
Pro
- Quick and fast
- Best cleaning performance
- Mops can be washed in the base station
- Practical mop assembly
Contra
- Expensive
- Big and heavy base station
- Complicated to use
Lorenz Keller
Senior Editor
Lorenz.Keller@digitecgalaxus.chGadgets are my passion - whether you need them for the home office, for the household, for sport and pleasure or for the smart home. Or, of course, for the big hobby next to the family, namely fishing.
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