Independent rankings
Cordless pool robots that surface on their own and park at the edge, so you never wade in to lift them out, ranked on automation above all else.
The chore was never the cleaning. It was wading in to lift a twelve-kilo robot off the floor of the deep end. The machines here surface by themselves and wait at the edge, and the best of them run on a schedule you set once. Only cordless robots that lift themselves out are listed.
10 / 12 models evaluated · Updated
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MOVA's flagship pool robot: skims the surface, cleans floor, walls, waterline, corners, steps and shallows with a 38,000 l/h pump, maps with an underwater laser, runs six hours a charge and parks at the surface.
MOVA's fine-debris pool robot: a 3 µm filter in a 3.5 l basket, camera navigation that recognises drains and steps, four hours a charge, schedules and poolside parking, rated for 180 m².
Beatbot's flagship without the self-cleaning station: it skims, cleans floor, walls and waterline, maps with an AI camera, doses a clarifier, parks above the water and charges on a dock.
Beatbot's flagship with a self-cleaning station: AstroRinse rinses the filter and empties a 22 l bin, while the robot skims, cleans floor, walls and waterline and parks at the surface.
The Sora that skims: twin JetPulse jets pull floating debris in for up to seven hours, then it cleans floor, walls and waterline on a 6,800 GPH pump with a 6 l basket and parks at the surface.
Beatbot's entry robot: floor, walls, waterline and shallow ledges from 35 cm on a 6,800 GPH pump, a 5 l basket, ultrasonic obstacle sensing, five hours a charge and waterline parking.
Dreame's better pool robot: floor, walls, waterline and tanning ledges up to 200 m², an 8,000 GPH pump, ultrasound and structured-light sensing and a LiFi remote that works under water.
The sensible Beatbot: floor, walls, waterline and shallow platforms from 20 cm of water on a 6,800 GPH pump with a 5 l basket, S-shaped paths, and it floats to the surface when done.
Dreame's plain Z1: floor, walls and waterline up to 180 m² on an 8,000 GPH pump, ultrasound and structured-light sensing and poolside parking, without the Pro's remote and ledge cleaning.
Cordless floor, wall and waterline cleaner on a 5,500 GPH pump with a 2 l basket and 16 sensors, rated for 300 m², that surfaces and parks at the edge when it is done or the battery runs low.
Surfacing at the edge saves the wade into the deep end; a dock takes on the next chore. What it does depends on the maker: it may charge the robot without a cable to plug in, and a station can go further and rinse the filter and empty the debris. The machines below come with a dock or station of their own, and each machine's page says what its maker claims for it.
MOVA press image
Beatbot press image
Beatbot press image