Best budget window robot: HIXZAP X1 PRO vs Tosima WA9C Pro vs WINBOT MINI 2

HIXZAP X1 PRO vs Tosima WA9C Pro vs WINBOT MINI 2 at a glance

Head to head

The best result in each row is marked, based on my testing and the manufacturer specs. Where robots tie, all are marked.

The tally is a guide, not my verdict. Your glass and whether you want an app matter more than any single row.

Three ways to build an affordable window robot

All three of these robots plug into the wall and tie to a safety rope, and all three keep a small battery that holds them on the glass if the power fails. That is where the similarities end.

The HIXZAP X1 PRO is a dual-pad robot✕Dual-pad robotA window robot with two round microfiber pads that spin against the glass. The spinning both scrubs and moves the robot.. Its two spinning pads scrub hard and walk it along an S-shaped path.

The Tosima WA9C Pro is a square robot with four nozzles and two route patterns, run entirely from a remote. The WINBOT MINI 2 is a compact square crawler✕Square crawlerA flat, square robot that drives on tracks with a pad underneath. The square shape reaches closer to straight edges than round pads. with four corner brushes and WIN-SLAM 4.0 navigation.

Our tip: Decide whether you want an app before anything else, because two of these three run entirely from a remote.

Size, build and what is in the box

The MINI 2 is the smallest and lightest, about 8.46 inches square, about 2 inches thick and about 2.8 lb. It fits a kitchen drawer.

The Tosima is about 8 by 8 by 3.5 inches and about 6 lb in its box. The X1 PRO is the largest, with two round pads side by side, and needs glass of at least about 12 by 12 inches.

The X1 PRO’s box was the most generous: 20 reusable pads, a remote, a safety cable and a water bottle. The Tosima includes four mops, spare nozzles and an unclogging needle kit. The MINI 2 includes a nylon rope rated to 1,600 N, pads and solution.

The Tosima runs entirely from a remote with voice prompts.

Setup and the first week

All three were ready in about 1 to 2 minutes per session. Fill the tank, fit the pads or mop, tie the rope, plug in and start.

Week one went clearly to the MINI 2, at 8.0. The X1 PRO scored 7.4 while I learned its remote, and the Tosima only 6.8 after hard tap water weakened one of its nozzles.

Each robot taught me one habit in week one: center both pads on the X1 PRO, use filtered water in the Tosima and wait for the steam to clear before the MINI 2 cleans a mirror.

Our tip: Use filtered or distilled water in all three from day one, because hard tap water clogged the Tosima’s nozzle within a week and cut the X1 PRO’s score from 8.6 to 6.8.

Grip and safety

This is the clearest split. The MINI 2 is rated at 8,000 Pa✕Pa, or pascalsThe unit for suction. A higher number means the robot presses itself to the glass harder., the X1 PRO up to 7,200 Pa and the Tosima 2,600 to 3,200 Pa.

None of them came off the glass in my testing. Safety scores followed the grip: 8.7 for the MINI 2, 8.3 for the X1 PRO and 7.6 for the Tosima.

All three hold on if the power fails. The X1 PRO and Tosima hold for about 25 minutes with sound alerts. The MINI 2 holds for 30 minutes or more and sends an alert to your phone.

Rated suction

Manufacturer figures.

My safety scores

Scores out of 10.

For upstairs outside glass, any of the three beats a ladder. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reported more than 164,000 emergency room-treated injuries a year related to ladders.

How well they clean

On everyday dirt, all three did well. The X1 PRO scored 8.8 on dust and pollen and 8.6 on fingerprints, the Tosima 8.6 and 8.4, and the MINI 2 9.0 on fingerprints on glass doors and 9.2 on a mirror with toothpaste spots.

Outside, the X1 PRO’s spinning pads were the strongest scrubbers. With strong spray and fresh pads, it scored 8.8 on pollen and dust, 7.4 on rain spots and 7.2 on years of grime after two passes.

The Tosima scored 8.4, 7.0 and 5.4 on road film outside, and the MINI 2 8.4 to 8.6 on pollen, 7.4 on rain spots and 5.8 on years of grime.

Cleaning scores

My overall cleaning scores out of 10.

Our tip: Clean neglected windows by hand once, then keep them up with a weekly robot run, because none of these budget robots is a restorer.

Edges and corners

Corners split the three by design. The Tosima’s square body drove right into them and scored 7.6. The MINI 2’s four corner brushes scored 7.4.

The X1 PRO’s round pads cannot reach into a square corner, so they left curved patches and scored 4.2, and 4.0 on mirror corners.

Along the frames, the MINI 2 led at 8.4, the Tosima 8.2 and the X1 PRO 7.2. In the center of the glass, the X1 PRO and MINI 2 both scored 9.0 and the Tosima 8.8.

Corners

My scores out of 10.

The MINI 2’s corner brushes and the Tosima’s square body both reached well into corners.

Our tip: Wipe the X1 PRO’s corners while the glass is still damp, because the curved patches came off in about 15 seconds a window.

Spray, tanks and water

Spray volume mattered more than I expected. On the X1 PRO, light spray inside scored 8.8 and strong spray outside 8.6, but strong spray on clean inside glass left streaks. The Tosima behaved the same way, with regular spray inside at 8.6 and large spray outside at 8.2.

The MINI 2 has no setting to get wrong. Its ultrasonic mist, with droplets as small as 10 microns, wet the glass evenly with no drips, which I scored 9.2.

Water was the other lesson. The U.S. Geological Survey classes water above 120 mg/L of calcium carbonate as hard, and those minerals clog fine nozzles and leave spots.

Spray setting on clean inside glass

My scores out of 10.

Our tip: Use light or regular spray indoors and strong or large spray outdoors on the X1 PRO and Tosima, because too much water on clean glass streaks.

Controls, routes and modes

Two of these robots never ask for your phone. The X1 PRO’s remote handles spray strength, full and spot cleaning and manual steering. The Tosima’s remote picks N or Z routes, spray volume and six modes, with voice prompts in several languages.

The MINI 2 uses ECOVACS’ app for Fast, Thorough, Deep, Spot and Edge Clean, and you can steer it by Bluetooth at close range.

The Tosima’s routes are worth learning. N runs vertical lanes for tall windows, Z runs horizontal lanes for wide ones, and matching them to the glass made it quicker.

Pads, mops and swirls

The X1 PRO’s spinning pads need the most attention. A fresh pair left clear glass, but after two windows I saw slight swirls and after four visible ones. With 20 pads in the box, swapping every two windows was easy.

The Tosima’s mops lasted about three windows indoors and two outdoors. A folded mop edge left stripes along the route, so I fitted each one flat.

The MINI 2’s pad holds up to 15 g of moisture and presses with about 14 N. A 2-minute rinse after each session was all it needed.

Our tip: Fit the Tosima’s mop flat with no folded edges, because a fold left a stripe along every lane.

Mirrors, shower glass and kitchens

For bathrooms, the MINI 2 was the clear pick. It scored 9.2 on a mirror and 7.4 on shower soap film, and its small size made mirrors quick.

The Tosima scored 9.0 on a mirror with 7.8 in the corners, and 6.8 on soap film. The X1 PRO scored 9.0 in the center of a mirror but only 4.0 in its corners, and 6.8 on soap film.

In the kitchen, the X1 PRO was best on grease film at 8.2 to 8.4, and the Tosima scored 7.2.

Our tip: Let the bathroom steam clear before running any of the three, because a fogged mirror makes every pad slide and streak.

Noise, pets and family life

The MINI 2 measured about 65 dB in my room, between normal conversation at about 60 dB and a vacuum at 75 to 80 dB. The Tosima sounded similar, and its voice prompts carried over the fan.

The X1 PRO was the noisiest and least refined, with a steady fan and pad sound.

All three have two lines on the floor, the power cord and the rope, so I ran both along the wall and away from pets. My cat watched the X1 PRO’s spinning pads for a day, then lost interest.

How loud is it?

My reading for the MINI 2; others are typical reference levels.

A cleaning day with each

In week four, I gave each robot a typical job.

The X1 PRO did a whole house in about 40 minutes of my own time, with light spray indoors, strong outdoors and pads swapped every two windows. A balcony, both sides, took about 30 minutes.

The Tosima cleaned six glass areas on one floor in about 25 minutes of my time, with mops swapped twice and the tank refilled once. The MINI 2 settled into a weekly bathroom routine of about 2 minutes of effort.

Cleaning and maintaining them

The X1 PRO needs pads rinsed or machine-washed on a gentle cycle without fabric softener, and a 15-second corner wipe per window.

The Tosima needs its mops rinsed, its tank emptied after every session and a few seconds of clean water run through before storage, so minerals do not block the nozzles.

The MINI 2 needs a 2-minute pad rinse and a weekly check of its corner brushes.

Our tip: Empty the Tosima’s tank after every session, because water left inside leaves mineral deposits that block the nozzles.

Mistakes to avoid

Budget robots are less forgiving of bad habits, so these matter.

My four weeks, week by week

Week one: inside glass. The MINI 2 scored 8.0, the X1 PRO 7.4 and the Tosima 6.8 after a nozzle clogged.

Week two: outside and upstairs glass. The X1 PRO reached 8.2 with its cable anchored and backup tested, the MINI 2 8.4 on a shower screen and the Tosima 7.8 once I switched to filtered water.

Week three: the X1 PRO scored 7.8 on a full house day, the Tosima 8.2 with clean corners and the MINI 2 8.2 on outside patio doors.

Week four: routine use. The MINI 2 finished at 8.8, the Tosima at 8.4 and the X1 PRO at 8.2.

Week four satisfaction

My weekly scores out of 10.

Real-life scenarios

These are the moments during testing where one robot clearly pulled ahead.

For big glass, the X1 PRO’s spinning pads scrubbed hardest.

Is a budget robot worth it over cleaning by hand?

For me, yes, but only for regular upkeep. By hand, a room of windows took about 20 minutes. With any of these robots, my own time was a couple of minutes of setup and 2 to 3 minutes of rinsing.

The real win was safety on upstairs outside glass, which all three cleaned from inside the room with the rope anchored.

The limit is neglected glass. All three scored 5.4 to 7.2 on months or years of grime, so give dirty windows one hand clean first, then let the robot keep them that way.

Hands-on time per session

My own timings.

Our tip: Clean outside glass on an overcast morning, because hot direct sun dried the mist too fast on all three robots.

My scorecard

These are my own scores out of 10, from my single reviews of each robot after four weeks of daily use.

Overall scores

My overall editorial scores out of 10.

The MINI 2 wins every category except corners, where the Tosima’s square body edged it. The X1 PRO and Tosima tie overall, for very different jobs: big glass and scrubbing for the X1 PRO, rectangular windows and corners for the Tosima.

Which one should you buy?

Start with your glass and your app preference.

For most people, the WINBOT MINI 2 is the best budget window robot. If you clean big doors and outside glass, the HIXZAP X1 PRO scrubs hardest. If you want no app and clean rectangular windows, the Tosima WA9C Pro reaches deepest into corners.

For head-to-head versions, see my Tosima WA9C Pro vs HIXZAP X1 PRO, Tosima vs ECOVACS Winbot and HIXZAP vs ECOVACS Winbot comparisons.

Living with them long term

All three need pads or mops rinsed and filtered water. The X1 PRO adds pad rotation, the Tosima tank emptying and the MINI 2 a weekly corner-brush check.

What I would change: round-pad corners on the X1 PRO, more suction on the Tosima and a battery option on the MINI 2.

For rectangular windows with a remote, the Tosima is a solid pick.

HIXZAP X1 PRO vs Tosima WA9C Pro vs WINBOT MINI 2 specifications

From manufacturer specifications and my own testing.

How I tested and compared them

I used each robot as my main window cleaner for four weeks, on mirrors, shower glass, kitchen windows, sliding doors, balcony glass and outside windows. A second HouseholdMe tester shared the robots, and we wrote the notes together.

I scored all three on similar glass, tested spray settings and water types, cut the power mid-run on each and timed every setup, session and cleanup.

I then checked my notes against the manufacturers’ specifications and owner documentation.

• Cleaning: dust, fingerprints, rain spots and months of outside grime.
• Edges: frames, inside corners and frameless edges.
• Safety: suction hold, power-loss behavior and the safety rope.
• Ownership: setup, pads, refills, storage and noise.