Dolphin, made by Maytronics, is arguably the biggest name in robotic pool cleaning. The Nautilus CC Plus, the flagship of the Dolphin line, hits the perfect sweet spot between price and cleaning performance. In addition to scrubbing and vacuuming the pool floor, this robot can climb and clean the walls. It can’t clean the waterline, unfortunately, but that’s the only notable drawback we could find.

The Nautilus CC Plus has a 60-foot power cable, making it ideal for pools up to 50 feet long, and it’s designed to safely navigate curves and corners without tipping over or getting stuck. The companion app allows you to set a schedule for the robot’s 2-hour cleaning cycle. Its removable filter can capture fine particles, including algae, so it’s a great all-around choice for tackling all types of dirt and debris that can muck up your pool.

The best robotic pool cleaners cost a pretty penny, but there are some worthwhile models out there for those on a budget. The Niya Sonar 30, while simple, offers a nice set of features for the price, making it our favorite value option on the market right now.

For starters, it’s cordless, so you don’t have to worry about a power cable getting twisted or tangled up. Secondly, and most impressively, it features sonar radar for navigation. Many cheap robotic pool cleaners lack any sort of complex navigation technology and simply chart a random course around the pool. It can also climb the walls and clean the waterline, which not all cleaners in this price range can do.

You do get what you pay for in some regards, however. There’s no built-in timer or scheduling function, so you’ll need to be at your pool to start the cleaning process. Although it’s cordless, its relatively short 2-hour run time makes it useful mostly for smaller pools. Cordless operation also may result in slightly less suction power than you might find with corded models.

You can still use a robotic cleaner for an above-ground pool, but you need one that’s safe for the softer lining. The Dolphin E10, another member of the Maytronics family, is our top recommendation for this. Its scrubbing action is effective yet gentle enough to avoid damaging the softer, less rigid lining of above-ground pools.

Given the nature of above-ground pools, robotic cleaners can’t climb and scrub the walls of the lining, and the Dolphin E10 is no exception to this rule. That said, it still does a great job sweeping and scrubbing the bottom, and its 1.5-hour cleaning cycle means you won’t have to wait long for it to finish. Just note that, like many cleaners in this price range, the E10 doesn’t offer any timers or scheduling features.

If you’re managing a smaller pool, our top pick is probably overkill for your needs. The Nautilus CC might be a better pick. It’s essentially a more budget-friendly version of the Nautilus CC Plus, offering much of the same functionality (including wall-cleaning) but without some of the bells and whistles of the pricier models.

The biggest drawback, in our opinion, is that the standard Nautilus CC lacks the app functionality and scheduling features of the Plus. It also can’t clean the waterline, but that’s a drawback it shares with its pricier sibling. On the other hand, the Nautilus CC is almost 10 pounds lighter than the Plus, yet delivers comparable suction and scrubbing power. It can also map your pool for navigation—a feature not always found on robot cleaners at this price.

Pool cleaners all have a maximum range. This range is limited by either the length of the power cable or the size of the internal battery. That means that even the best corded pool cleaner can have trouble with large pools, and many models will struggle with complicated design features like sharp curves, alcoves, stairs, and sundecks. If you have a big, complex swimming pool likely to trip up other robotic cleaners, the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro could be the answer.

The AquaSense 2 Pro is completely cordless, with no power cable to limit its range. However, its large internal battery provides up to 5 hours of runtime for floor, wall, and waterline cleaning, or up to 11 hours for skimming the water’s surface (yes, it can do that, too). This cordless robot can cover pools of up to nearly 3,900 square feet. It also boasts a bevy of smart features in a user-friendly app, including manual surface navigation and cycle scheduling.

The Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro isn’t just our top pick for larger pools; it easily ranks among the best and most feature-rich robotic pool cleaners money can buy. That quality comes at a price that can cause sticker shock, with the AquaSense 2 Pro ringing in at nearly $3,000. But if money’s no object, and you want the best automated cleaner for a large and complex pool, this one could be worth every penny.

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