Best Pool Vacuums of 2026: All Tested by CNET Experts
Wired or wireless
The Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus impressed us with its cleaning power and the anti-tangle cord performed as advertised.
There are benefits to having a corded robot vacuum, including not having to worry about the device recharging or the lithium battery losing speed over time. Corded pool robots are recommended to most pool owners because they are less prone to motor problems or malfunctions. Corded robots also don’t need to be removed from the pool and recharged after each use, unlike all the cordless models on our list except the Wybot S2 with solar charging station.
That said, cordless robots are ideal if your pool is not near a power source. Running a long extension cord across the yard, in areas prone to humidity, is not recommended in the long term.
Cordless vacuums work just as well as corded vacuums. We’ve been testing some of these wireless models for two years and haven’t noticed a decrease in battery life.
Suction power and battery life
If you choose a cordless model, consider battery life and suction power as well as the size of your pool. A larger pool requires a longer cleaning session, so it may be worth splurging on a more expensive model with longer run time and more power. Power is measured in gallons per hour, or gph, that the vacuum cleaner draws. Low-end models start at around 3,000 gph, with the best pool cleaners reaching around 7,000 or 8,000 gph.
Filter type
Most robotic pool cleaners filter large debris, but finer items require a nanofilter.
All robotic pool cleaners should catch large debris such as gravel and leaves. To filter out the finest debris and prevent your pool water from becoming cloudy, you will need a nanofilter. Your pool’s main pump and filter are meant to capture a lot of these finer substances, but a powerful robot with a nanofilter will help.
Pool type
The larger robotic pool vacuums we tested cleaned faster and had better suction than smaller models.
There are small pool robots designed for small above-ground and in-ground pools, and large robots designed to handle pools up to 40,000 gallons in a single cleaning cycle. Depending on the size of your pool and the amount of debris that regularly ends up in it, choose a robot that can clean it effectively and efficiently in a single cleaning cycle. This is especially important to consider with cordless robots, as they will need to be recharged between uses.
There are pool cleaners specifically designed for above ground pools. They are generally smaller and less powerful because they have less ground to cover. An above ground pool cleaner should also be lighter, as it is more difficult to remove from the pool after use.
Sides and stairs
Manually brushing your pool walls and stairs doesn’t require a lot of effort, so we didn’t weigh in on these cleaning methods as much as we did on cleaning the floors.
About half of the models we tested could clean the sides of the pool, and some even had modes for cleaning stairs. It’s a nice feature, but brushing debris from the steps or sides of your pool down to the floor, where it can be more easily cleaned by the robot, usually takes no more than a few minutes. For this reason, we rated the robot’s ability to clean sides and stairs less than its ability to clean the bottom of a swimming pool.
If you don’t want to do even a small brushing chore before activating your robot, choose a model with a side cleaning mode.
Cost and value
Beatbot’s AquaSense line offers premium features and long-lasting batteries, but with prices to match.
Reliable pool robots start at around $500 and go up to around $2,000. We found that robots between $700 and $1,200 were perfectly acceptable for cleaning a 25,000-gallon pool. Choose a robot above $1,200 and you’re mostly paying for special features that aren’t necessarily worth it.
For cordless robots, battery life was longer than more expensive models, but cleaning performance was often similar to cheaper vacuums.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misinterpreted suction power. This is measured in gallons per hour.
