Independent rankings

Best robot pool cleaners for walls and the waterline

Pool robots that climb the walls and scrub the tide mark, which is the part of the pool everyone actually looks at.

The floor is the easy part. Algae takes hold on the walls, and the greasy line at the waterline is what a guest notices from the deck. Only machines that climb and scrub both are listed, and coverage carries forty per cent of the score.

3 / 3 models evaluated

Weighted for this ranking

Coverage
40%
Navigation
16%
Power
12%
Filtration
12%
Automation
8%
Value
4%
Ease of Use
4%
Reliability
4%
How we score
  1. Best Overall
    #1
    MOVA Diver A10MOVA press image

    Four hours on a charge, a 3-micron filter and AI vision that recognises drains and steps — the fine-debris pick, with the parking-at-the-edge trick included.

    Coverage
    80
    Filtration
    81
    Navigation
    86
    Automation
    66
    AI VisionFloor · Walls · WaterlineCordlessLifts itself out
  2. #2
    Beatbot

    Sora 30

    The sensible Beatbot: floor, walls, waterline and shallow platforms, a five-litre basket, S-shaped paths, and it floats to the surface when done — for under $700.

    Coverage
    80
    Filtration
    61
    Navigation
    73
    Automation
    52
    UltrasonicFloor · Walls · WaterlineCordlessLifts itself out
  3. #3
    Beatbot AquaSense 2Beatbot press image

    Cordless floor, wall and waterline cleaner that parks itself at the surface when it is done — the first pool robot you never wade in for.

    Coverage
    80
    Filtration
    38
    Navigation
    73
    Automation
    52
    UltrasonicFloor · Walls · WaterlineCordlessLifts itself out