The Best Robotic Pool Cleaners, According to Pool Professionals

Most modern robotic pool cleaners clean the pool’s floor, climb walls, and scrub the waterline, where sunscreen and grime tend to collect — they do much more than older pool cleaners, which focused almost exclusively on floors.

Removing floating leaves, bugs, and pollen is a separate task, handled by a dedicated robotic skimmer. These robots, typically cheaper than their floor-scrubbing counterparts, aim to remove floating debris before it has a chance to get the floor and walls dirty. (Surface cleaning is less essential because removing leaves and bugs with a net is simple, and even the best robots struggle to collect debris trapped in corners or above shallow steps.)

For aboveground pools, where the walls and floor are easier to clean manually, a surface skimmer may be the only robot you need. For deeper in-ground pools, however, a surface skimmer will likely need to be paired with a second robot, or can be added to assist an older-style pressure or suction-side cleaner that handles the floor and walls. Some manufacturers sell robot pairs: one that cleans the floor, walls, and waterline, and another dedicated to surface skimming.

The latest cleaning innovation? The latests premium all-in-one models can clean the floor, walls, waterline, and surface, though you’ll pay more for that convenience, and it may be faster to use a pair of robots, since they can take care of both jobs simultaneously.

You’ll find both corded and cordless pool robots, and the choice comes down to convenience, runtime, and budget.

Corded models can run as long as needed, making them a good choice for large pools or especially dirty water, as you might have under a leaf-dropping tree. They typically cost less than comparable cordless models with built-in rechargeable batteries. Most also include an external controller, often mounted on a storage caddy outside the pool, that handles power and basic controls. Additional settings are usually accessed through a companion app, and because the robot remains tethered, many corded models can be steered, using the app to a specific area for spot cleaning while they’re underwater. The tradeoff is the floating cable, which can tangle during cleaning, and can limit the size of the pool in which you can use the robot.

Cordless robots eliminate the cable, making them quick to deploy and easier to remove from the pool, although you’ll often need to retrieve them with a hook attached to a telescoping pole. Most run for about two to five hours per charge depending on the cleaning mode, which is enough to clean many residential pools, then might require three or more hours to recharge. Unlike robotic vacuums or robot lawn mowers, the vast majority of pool robots can’t return to a charging dock on their own. Once the cleaning cycle is finished, they typically have to be lifted out of the water and placed back on their charging base by hand. If you’re set on a pool robot with automatic parking and charging, you will want to look at something like theWybot S2.

Cordless models are limited by battery runtime, so you want a robot that can complete a cleaning cycle before the battery dies. For smaller pools, a model with about two hours of runtime is typically sufficient. Larger pools with a longest run of 40 feet or more may exceed the capability of many cordless robots, making a corded model a better choice.

The robots we recommend do offer onboard controls and a companion app for scheduling and settings, but most can’t be manually steered or adjusted once they’re underwater (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals don’t work underwater), so once it starts the cleaning cycle, you’ll have to catch it and fish it out if you want it to stop early.

Whether you’re looking for a corded or cordless model, manufacturers typically describe a pool robot’s capacity by the pool’s maximum length or total square footage.

With corded models, the cable length determines how far the robot can travel. A 50-foot cable is usually enough for smaller pools with a longest run of about 33 feet, while larger pools require longer cables. Generally, the longer the pool, the more the robot benefits from some sort of anti-tangle swivel built into the cord.

Most filter baskets hold three to four quarts of debris, while larger models hold five quarts or more, an advantage if your pool is surrounded by trees. Filter efficiency is measured in microns (μm). For perspective, a human hair is about 70 microns wide, fine beach sand measures 90 to 100 microns, and dead algae can be as small as two to 30 microns. The finer the filter, the smaller the particles it captures, though finer filters also clog more quickly and reduce water flow, which saps the robot’s performance.

Many pool robots use interchangeable filters for different cleaning jobs, and the ones that don’t come with two often offer a finer filter as an accessory. Coarse 100- to 200-micron filters are best for spring openings and large debris — sticks, leaves, and bugs — because they maintain strong water flow. Finer ten- to 50-micron filters excel at capturing dust, pollen, sand, and dead algae during routine cleaning. Plastic mesh is the most common filter material, though some manufacturers use pleated, fabriclike filters for finer filtration. In either case, the filters are removable, washable, and designed to be reused.

While you can still find pool robots that clean in a random pattern, this less-than-efficient navigation method is mostly limited to entry-level models. “The biggest jump I’ve seen is in navigation and mapping,” says White. “The smarter units cover the pool far more thoroughly than earlier generations, which used to miss spots or double back inefficiently.”

Mid-priced robots use gyroscopes and inertial measurement units, which track the robot’s position and orientation so it can cover more ground in less time. Higher-end models add sonar and acoustic sensors that bounce sound waves off walls, like a bat, to map the pool, improving navigation in complex shapes and reducing overlap. The latest models use LiDAR laser scanning, found in robot lawn mowers and high end robot vacuum cleaners, along with cameras to create detailed maps, identify debris, and reroute the bot to focus on dirtier areas instead of treating every part of the pool the same. These systems clean more efficiently, often finishing a cycle while using less battery power.

While today’s robots use smart navigation to get at more dirt and debris than older, simpler models, you may find yourself needing to take care of some things yourself. Robots can climb and clean steps and shallow sun shelves, but in my experience, those areas (which accumulate dirt — plant your foot on a step or shelf, and you’ll notice grit immediately, which isn’t the case on the floor in the deep end) don’t get cleaned as thoroughly as the flat pool floor. Pool steps can be difficult because they’re often narrower than the robot itself, making it hard to maintain traction and stability. Textured step surfaces can trap sand in the low spots where the brushes and suction struggle to reach. Shallow sun shelves may not provide enough water above them to allow robots that are designed to operate fully submerged to navigate effectively.

Fishing out a corded pool robot is pretty straightforward. You simply pull it to the pool’s edge using the power cable (as with any device, you’ll want to take care while doing this), and lift it out by grabbing the handle. Most mid-priced cordless models automatically park on the pool floor near a wall when their cleaning cycle ends. Then you use a pool pole with a hook attachment to snag the robot’s handle and pull it to the surface.

Depending on the model, it can briefly feel like you’re hoisting 35 to 40 pounds while the trapped water drains back into the pool. A step up in convenience is waterline parking, where the robot climbs the wall at the end of its cycle and clings to the tile line for ten to 15 minutes, giving you time to grab it by hand before it slips back to the bottom. The most premium models go a step further with surface parking, rising to the top of the pool like a submarine and floating until you’re ready to retrieve them.

You’ll want to make sure to take care of your robot by removing it from the water when it’s done and paying attention to its maintenance instructions — especially if you’re used to just leaving an older suction cleaner out there all season. “The materials of suction cleaners are typically plastic, which stands up to the pool-water chemistry much better,” says Austin Gardiner, CEO ofGL Pools. “A robotic cleaner has a controller, motherboard, or computer of some kind within it, as well as a motor built in, and these parts are much more expensive, and in a busy backyard with kids, dogs, guests, the risks of damage through poor handling can incur costs.”