Independent rankings
The pool robots that give up the least for the money, ranked on capability for the money spent against every other pool robot in the catalogue.
Value here is capability per unit of money, measured against every other machine in the catalogue rather than a price bracket we invented. A cabled floor cleaner at a third of the price is not a bargain if you still brush the walls every weekend.
12 / 12 models evaluated · Updated
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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Beatbot's first robot: floor, walls and waterline on a 5,500 GPH pump with ultrasonic mapping, a 2 l basket, a 150 μm filter and a 210 m² rating, but no surface parking.
A cordless floor cleaner for small flat-bottomed pools up to 80 m²: two motors, 5,700 l/h, two brushes, a 1.7 l basket with a 180 μm filter, 120 minutes a charge and auto-park when the battery runs low.
Value on this page is measured against the whole catalogue rather than against a price bracket, so a flagship can top the list. The group below asks the other question: which machines have a price recorded for this edition under a set limit in its currency, the lower end of what a pool robot costs here. It is computed from the prices we read from the shops each night and changes with them, and a machine priced only in another market is left out. What a lower price gives up, whether the walls and the waterline, the lift-out at the end of a run or a finer filter, is in the specification on each machine's page.
MOVA press image
Beatbot press image
Dreame press image
Dreame press image
Beatbot press image