ECOVACS Winbot comparison: W2 PRO Omni vs W2S Omni vs W2S PRO Omni vs W3 Omni

W2 PRO Omni vs W2S Omni vs W2S PRO Omni vs W3 Omni 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 not my verdict. Whether you want the cleanest corners or the least cleanup matters more than any single row.

The Winbot station lineup, explained

The easiest way to understand these four robots is as a ladder. Each one keeps everything the one before it has and adds one main thing.

The W2 PRO Omni sets the base: a square robot, a portable 6-in-1 station, WIN-SLAM 4.0✕WIN-SLAMECOVACS’ mapping system for window robots. The robot measures the pane first, then plans a back-and-forth route instead of wandering. navigation, about 110 minutes of battery and 12-stage safety with the rope tied to the station.

The W2S Omni adds a spinning TruEdge✕TruEdgeA small rotating scrubber at the robot’s edge that reaches into the strip along frames and corners, where a flat pad leaves a dirty line. scrubber, 8,000 Pa of rated suction, nozzles on both sides and five cleaning modes.

The W2S PRO Omni raises suction to 10,000 Pa, swaps the scrubber for four detachable TruEdge 2.0 brushes and puts a display on the station. The W3 Omni goes another way: the same 8,000 Pa and TruEdge scrubber as the W2S, but a station that washes its own pads, WIN-SLAM 5.0 and a 130-minute battery.

Our tip: Decide first whether your biggest annoyance is dirty corners or washing pads, because that single answer points you to either the W2S PRO Omni or the W3 Omni.

Design, stations and weight

All four robots are square crawlers that ride on a microfiber pad, and all four live in a tall station with a handle. From across the room they look like one family, which they are.

The stations are where they differ. The W2 PRO Omni kit weighs about 19 lb with the robot, light enough to carry upstairs with one hand.

The W2S Omni and W2S PRO Omni stations are heavier, and the W2S PRO Omni’s has a small display that shows battery and task, plus a cable reel and a suction cup for the floor. The W3 Omni kit is the heaviest at close to 27 lb, because its station carries clean and dirty water tanks for pad washing.

Station kit weight

Manufacturer figures where published, my own judgment where not.

The W3 Omni’s station is the heaviest because it washes the pads.

Setup and the first week

The W2 PRO Omni was the quickest to learn, with about 3 minutes of prep per session. The W2S Omni and W2S PRO Omni each took about 15 minutes the first time, mostly the ECOVACS HOME app and a firmware update.

The W3 Omni took the longest at about 20 minutes, because there are tanks to fill and the washing system to prime. After that, every robot settled at about 2 to 3 minutes per session.

In week one, the W2S PRO Omni scored highest at 7.8, while the W3 Omni scored lowest at 7.2 as I learned its routine. By week four that had flipped into two of the best scores of the test.

Our tip: Set the mode on the W2S PRO Omni’s station before you attach the robot, because changing it once the robot is on the glass means reaching up to a moving machine.

Suction and safety

I never had any of the four fall, and all four scored at least 9.0 for safety. The W2S PRO Omni scored highest at 9.4, followed by the W3 Omni at 9.3.

The W2S PRO Omni’s 10,000 ((Pa|Pa (pascals)|The unit for suction. A higher number means the robot presses itself to the glass harder, which helps on high or outside windows.)) of rated suction is the strongest here, and on a windy balcony it felt the most planted. The W2S Omni and W3 Omni are rated at 8,000 Pa, and ECOVACS does not publish a figure for the W2 PRO Omni.

All four hold on and return to their starting point when the battery runs low, and the W2S PRO Omni and W3 Omni both hold for 30 minutes or more while alerting you. For upstairs outside glass, any of them is a far safer choice than a ladder, which the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission links to more than 164,000 emergency room-treated injuries a year.

My safety scores

Scores out of 10 for grip, alerts and rope anchoring.

How well they clean

On everyday dirt, all four are excellent, and the scores sit within a few tenths of each other. Dust and pollen scored 9.0 on the W2 PRO Omni, 9.2 on the W2S Omni and W3 Omni and 9.4 on the W2S PRO Omni.

Fingerprints followed the same order: 8.8, 9.0, 9.2 and 9.0. In real life, you would struggle to tell them apart on a weekly-cleaned patio door.

The gap opens on months of outside grime. The W2S Omni and W2S PRO Omni both scored 8.0 in one Heavy-Duty✕Heavy-Duty modeThe most intensive mode on the W2S and W2S PRO Omni, with extra passes for glass that has gone months without a clean. pass, the W3 Omni scored 7.4 and the W2 PRO Omni only 6.2 in one pass, rising to 8.4 after a second pass with a fresh pad.

Months of outside grime, one pass

My scores out of 10 on the same street-side windows.

Our tip: On neglected glass with the W3 Omni, run Intensive, let the station wash the pad, then run Fast, because a clean pad on the second pass made a clear difference.

Edges and corners

This is where the four robots separate most clearly. In the middle of the glass, all four scored between 9.4 and 9.6, so the center is a solved problem.

Along the frames, the W2S PRO Omni led at 9.2, the W2S Omni and W3 Omni scored 8.6 and the W2 PRO Omni 8.0 with its edge mode on. Inside corners were 8.4, 7.8, 7.6 and 6.2 from best to worst.

The W2S PRO Omni’s four TruEdge 2.0 felt brushes reach further into the corner than the single TruEdge scrubber on the W2S and W3, and it also scored 8.8 on frameless edges. The catch is that the brushes turn gray quickly on outside glass and need washing every few sessions.

Inside corners

My scores out of 10.

TruEdge 2.0 brushes gave the W2S PRO Omni the best corners of the four.

Pads, spray and pad washing

Three of these robots leave you with a dirty pad to rinse at the sink after every session. The W3 Omni does not, and that turned out to be the feature I missed most when I went back to the others.

Its Vortex Wash✕Vortex WashThe W3 Omni station’s pad-cleaning system. Sixteen high-pressure nozzles wash the pad in about a minute and send the dirty water to a separate tank. station cleans the pad with 16 high-pressure nozzles in about a minute. My hands-on cleanup dropped to about 1 minute per session, against about 4 to 5 minutes of rinsing on the other three and about 20 minutes per room by hand.

On the others, pad condition decided the result. On the W2S Omni, a damp, well wrung-out pad scored 9.0 on the same window where a soaking-wet pad scored 6.2 and a dry one 4.8.

Hands-on cleanup per session

My own timings.

Spray systems are similar across the range. The W2 PRO Omni uses three wide-angle nozzles, the W2S Omni and W2S PRO Omni have triple nozzles on both sides and the W3 Omni has three wide-angle nozzles.

The W2S PRO Omni’s visible 4.1 oz tank was a nice touch, because I could top it up before a big pane. ECOVACS rates one fill at up to 807 sq ft. The W2S Omni holds about 80 ml.

Our tip: Use the ECOVACS solution and filtered water where your tap water is hard, because the minerals that the U.S. Geological Survey counts as hard above 120 mg/L are what leave spots and clog nozzles.

Modes and controls

The W2 PRO Omni keeps it simple, with standard cleaning and an edge-focused mode. That simplicity helped it score 8.7 for ease of use.

The W2S Omni has Fast, Thorough, Deep, Heavy-Duty and Edge. The W2S PRO Omni adds Zone for a small patch, and you can set the mode right on its station display.

The W3 Omni uses Fast, Intensive, Zone and Manual, with extra options in the app. It scored the highest ease-of-use score of the four, 9.0, mostly because there was nothing to wash afterward.

Battery and power

All four run on the station’s battery or plugged in. The W2 PRO Omni, W2S Omni and W2S PRO Omni are rated for about 110 minutes, and the W3 Omni for up to 130.

In practice, 110 minutes covered every ground-floor window in my house with charge to spare. The W3 Omni’s extra 20 minutes got me through a full day of larger windows without plugging in once.

Plugged in, none of them has a time limit. I used that for a long run of glass doors in one go.

Rated battery

Manufacturer ratings.

Our tip: Charge the station fully the night before a big window day, because all four slow you down if you have to stop mid-session.

Noise, pets and family life

None of these robots is quiet. ECOVACS-class fans make a steady whoosh, and the W2S PRO Omni measured about 66 to 68 dB in my room, between normal conversation at about 60 dB and a vacuum at 75 to 80 dB.

The other three sounded much the same, roughly like a hair dryer on low. All four faded to a hum one room away.

With pets and children, the rope is the thing to manage. My cat sniffed the W3 Omni’s tether on day one, and I ran every rope along the wall from then on.

How loud is a window robot?

My reading for the W2S PRO Omni; others are typical reference levels.

Which windows and glass suit each

All four are happiest on big, flat, rectangular glass, and none likes arched or oddly shaped windows.

The W2S PRO Omni was the most versatile. It was excellent on frameless glass, very good on mirrors and glass railings, and good on shower doors once I descaled them by hand.

The W3 Omni was excellent on large windows and sliding doors, and it is the robot I would give to someone who pays for regular window cleaning. The W2S Omni handled a glass office partition with small joins very well, and the W2 PRO Omni was excellent on floor-to-ceiling glass.

Our tip: Descale shower glass by hand before the first robot run, because none of these robots removes limescale on its own.

Is each upgrade worth it?

From the W2 PRO Omni to the W2S Omni, the upgrade is TruEdge. It raised my inside-corner score from 6.2 to 7.6 and made outside grime a one-pass job. If corners bother you, it is worth it.

From the W2S Omni to the W2S PRO Omni, you get 10,000 Pa, TruEdge 2.0, a station display and Zone mode. Corners rose to 8.4 and safety to 9.4. For high glass, frameless glass and mirrors, it is worth it.

From the W2S Omni to the W3 Omni, you get automatic pad washing and 20 more minutes of battery, but no extra cleaning power. It is worth it if you clean often and hate the sink.

A whole-house day with each

In week four, I gave each robot the same job: inside and outside of the ground floor, the balcony doors and the upstairs windows I can reach from inside.

The W2 PRO Omni took about 45 minutes of my own time, including evening prep and rinsing pads, and needed second passes on the neglected street side. The W2S PRO Omni took about 15 minutes of hands-on time over about 70 minutes of robot time on the ground floor, with one second pass on the dirtiest window.

The W3 Omni was the easiest day of all. I moved the station, clipped the robot on and let the station wash the pad between windows, and my cleanup at the end was emptying one tank.

Cleaning and maintaining them

The W2 PRO Omni, W2S Omni and W2S PRO Omni share the same routine: rinse the pads, wipe the sensors after outside glass and check the rope. The W2S PRO Omni adds washing its four edge brushes every few sessions.

The W3 Omni swaps pad rinsing for tank care. I rinsed the dirty-water tank right after each session, because leaving dirty water in the station starts to smell within a day or two.

ECOVACS suggests replacing W3 pads about every 30 cycles. In my use, that stretched to about 40 for light indoor dust and fell to about 20 on very dirty outside glass.

W3 Omni pad life by use

My estimates from pad condition over four weeks.

Our tip: Rinse the W3 Omni’s dirty-water tank as soon as you finish, because standing dirty water is the one thing that makes that station unpleasant.

Mistakes to avoid

Most poor results I had came from habits, not hardware, and they apply across the range.

My four weeks, week by week

Week one was about learning the robots on inside glass. The W2S PRO Omni started strongest at 7.8, and the W3 Omni lowest at 7.2.

Week two moved outside. The W2S Omni and W3 Omni both reached 8.4, the W2S PRO Omni 8.6 and the W2 PRO Omni 8.2.

Week three brought dirty and unusual glass. The W2 PRO Omni dipped to 8.0 while the other three climbed to between 8.7 and 8.8.

Week four was routine use, and the final order matched the overall scores: W2S PRO Omni 9.1, W3 Omni 9.0, W2S Omni 8.9 and W2 PRO Omni 8.6.

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 regularly cleaned big glass, the W2 PRO Omni is still a strong choice.

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 W2S PRO Omni wins because it is the strongest cleaner where it matters most, in corners and on high glass. The W3 Omni is a whisker behind and the easiest to live with. The W2S Omni and W2 PRO Omni are good robots that ask a little more of you.

Which one should you buy?

Start with the one thing that annoys you most about window cleaning.

If it is dirty corners and high glass, buy the W2S PRO Omni. If it is the sink full of grimy pads, buy the W3 Omni. If you want clean edges and a battery station without the extras, the W2S Omni is the sweet spot, and the W2 PRO Omni remains a very good robot for big, regularly cleaned windows.

For head-to-head versions of this lineup, see my W2 PRO Omni vs W2S Omni, W2S Omni vs W3 Omni and W2S Omni vs W2S PRO Omni comparisons.

Living with them long term

The three hand-rinse robots need pads washed after every session and the rope checked regularly. The W3 Omni needs its dirty tank emptied and new pads about every 30 cycles.

What I would change: pad washing on every station, lighter stations for multi-story homes and no parking mark on the W3 Omni.

If you hate rinsing pads, the W3 Omni is the one to get.

W2 PRO Omni vs W2S Omni vs W2S PRO Omni vs W3 Omni 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 inside windows, sliding doors, balcony glass, mirrors and neglected street-side windows. A second HouseholdMe tester shared the robots, and we wrote the notes together.

I scored all four on the same windows with the same solution, and timed every setup, session and cleanup.

I then checked my notes against ECOVACS’ 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.