The 9 Best Pool Cleaners of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall

Polaris Vac-Sweep Pressure Inground Pool Cleaner

$599 at Amazon View on Lesliespool.com View on Polarispool.com

Out of the more than 40 pool cleaners we've tested, the Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 Pressure-Side Inground Pool Cleaner impressed us the most with its overall easy set-up, low-maintenance design, and impressive cleaning capabilities. After over six months of testing, it effectively cleaned our pool, while requiring very little work on our part.

While this pressure-side pool cleaner lacks the sophistication of a robotic model, we found that it efficiently cleans a variety of debris, including leaves and pollen, off the floor and walls of our in-ground pool within three hours. It does require a booster pump (Polaris recommends the PB4-60 Booster pump).

We especially like the unique TailSweep design of this pool cleaner, which helps brush debris out of corners and ensures that the cleaner stays consistent in its cleaning path. The TailSweep is also highly effective at propelling the pool cleaner and helping it climb walls and sun benches.

Despite its lack of true navigational controls, we think the TailSweep design was effective enough that we couldn't really tell the difference. It never got stuck during six months of testing, so we never felt like we had to monitor it while it was working. The downside is that you won't know exactly when this pool cleaner is done, but we found it easy enough to glance at the pool and see which parts it has cleaned and which it hasn't.

We had some small hiccups removing this pool cleaner at first, but we don't think it was overly difficult. The issue is that you need to remove it by pulling on the hose, so you need to be very gentle to avoid accidentally disconnecting it. You can technically just leave it in the pool around the clock, but we never did that due to concerns about overworking the filtration system for no reason.

While we had our pool maintenance service install this cleaner, we noted that it only took a few minutes, so seasoned pool owners may be comfortable doing it without assistance. The only tricky part was removing the pressure tester to attach the hose to the intake valve.

_{Dimensions: 20 x 23 x 10 inches | Weight: 6.2 pounds | Type: Pressure-side | Pool Type: In-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floors, walls}

Best Robotic

Aiper Scuba S1 Pool Cleaner

$700 $580 at Amazon $680 at Walmart

As a cordless robot pool cleaner, the Aiper Scuba S1 offers the convenience of no hoses or cables. Its battery-powered operation keeps it running for hours without relying on your pool’s filtration system, and smart route planning ensures efficient cleaning cycles. After six months of testing, this cordless pool cleaner continues to impress us in every regard, including ease of use, cleaning prowess, and coverage.

We tested the Scuba S1 in a long lap pool with a bump out in the deep end, and it made short work of silt, dirt, leaves, and other debris on the pool floor, walls, and even the deep end seat. Watching it climb the walls and pop up out of the water was a treat, but the Scuba S1 wasn’t just putting on a show, it was really doing work. The intelligent pathfinding also helps it cover every inch of the pool, even if your pool has an irregular shape.

We used the Scuba S1 to clean our pool three times over about a month near the beginning of the swimming season, and the performance only got better each time. The first time we used it, it cleaned our 10-x40-foot pool in about two hours when it had to deal with a lot of silt and dirt (the pool was new at the time).

Subsequent cleanings took as little as 90 minutes despite leaves built up at the pool's top and bottom. As the weather heated up and pool use increased, we used the S1 twice a day to keep our pool sparkling clean. We were impressed with how well it held up under the increased cleaning schedule, showing no wear or tear, and always picking up debris without fail.

The only issue we ran into is that this is a very heavy pool cleaner, so getting out of the pool takes effort. It has a hook on the back that we were able to grab with a pool cleaning pole, but we had trouble lifting it out of the pool while waterlogged. We had to let it drain for a little while, and then we were able to wrestle it out of the pool.

The good thing is that the filter capacity is large enough that we never had to pull the cleaner out to empty the basket mid-cycle, and it also never gets stuck. The unit's weight only comes into play when the cleaning is done, and it’s time to put it away. It charges very quickly, too, which will come in handy if you have a pool that’s too large to clean on a single charge.

The only issue we encountered with this unit's cleaning capabilities was that it doesn’t skim, so we still need to remove free-floating leaves manually (or wait for them to sink). However, it made short work of debris on the floor and walls and returned to its parking position after each cleaning like clockwork.

_{Dimensions: 15 x 8 x 17 inches | Weight: 26 pounds | Type: Robotic | Pool Type: In-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floor, walls}

Best Budget

Poolwhale Pool & Spa Vacuum

$23 at Amazon

Compared to other types of pool cleaners, this manual pool cleaner is the most budget-friendly while also being incredibly easy to use. It takes more manual effort than the Polaris Vac-Sweep 280, or a robotic pool cleaner, but we love how well it works for spot cleaning.

This pool cleaner doesn't quite have the same suction power as a standard pump pool vacuum that uses your pool filtration system, and we found the head too small to navigate a standard family pool efficiently, but we think it works well for quickly refreshing your pool between uses when you don't feel like hooking up a vacuum to your pump system.

The cleaner comes with a brush head and a mesh debris collection bag, and all you have to do is hook the vacuum up to a garden hose. When you turn on the water, the pressure from the hose creates a suction that pulls leaves and other debris into the bag. You can then use the included aluminum pole to guide the vacuum around the floor of your above-ground pool. The included pole is pretty short though, so we opted to switch to the longer pool pole we already had.

In addition to working with any standard pool pole, this cleaner fits any standard garden hose. We do recommend waiting to turn the hose on until after you've submerged the vacuum though, since it will spray water everywhere if you don't. We also found the filter bag was a little difficult to empty because it had to be hosed down to completely clear all the debris, compared to a basket that can be dumped and shaken clean like our best robotic pick.

Once you’re done cleaning, this vacuum and the pole disassemble easily, making them compact and storable. Despite a few design issues, we still recommend this pool cleaner as an affordable option that effectively cleans large and small debris.

_{Dimensions: 4.72 x 10.43 x 47.24 inches | Weight: 1.32 pounds | Type: Manual | Pool Type: Above-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floors}

Best Manual

Pool Blaster Max Cordless Pool Cleaner

$200 at Amazon $200 at Walmart View on Doheny.com

If you don’t mind pushing around a pool cleaner by hand, the Pool Blaster Max is a cordless, battery-powered option with a reasonable price. It takes more effort to use than our overall best recommendation, but it also costs about half as much.

We love that this rechargeable pool cleaner requires no hoses or cords, and its battery delivers up to an hour of runtime per charge—enough to clean even the largest pools. It has a 10.5-inch vacuum head for large areas, which also makes it easier to maneuver than traditional wider rolling vacuum heads. The head's arrow shape also allows it to easily navigate tricky areas like pool stairs and other hard-to-reach features. 

While we weren't initially impressed by this pool cleaner's design (it's constructed of cheap-feeling plastic and doesn't come with a pool pole) we were won over by its ability to handle both small and large debris. The plastic construction also held up very well over six months of use, with no malfunctions or broken components, so it's more robust than it seems at first glance.

We like that this cleaner includes a large debris capture chamber that can hold everything from dirt and sand to leaves, twigs, and acorns, and we never had to stop and empty it out. We do wish it was easier to clean though, since the filter requires some pressurized hosing to clean it out completely.

After several months of regular use, we can attest to this cleaner's consistent cleaning abilities. While it may not be ideal for deep cleaning an entire pool due to the amount of manual labor involved, we've enjoyed using it to touch up our pool between uses. It may not have smart features or clean independently like many of our favorite pool cleaners, but we think it's a great cordless option at a reasonable price.

_{Dimensions: 15.5 x 6.5 x 7.5 inches | Weight: 5.5 pounds | Type: Battery-powered | Pool Type: In-ground, above-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floors, stairs}

Best for Leaves

Hayward Navigator Pro Suction Pool Cleaner

$399 at Amazon $399 at Walmart $399 at Home Depot

If you’re looking for the convenience and effectiveness of a robotic pool cleaner without the high price, we recommend the Hayward Navigator Pro Pool Cleaner. We were especially impressed with the steering pattern it uses to effectively navigate pick up huge piles of leaves as it went even though it lacks the advanced technology of our best robotic pick.

We were seriously impressed with how well this pool cleaner handled leaves due to the wing-and-skirt design. It's the best at handling leaves out of all the pool cleaners we've tested, but we were a little disappointed that it doesn't come with a leaf catcher. To avoid all those leaves ending up in your pool filter, we recommend picking up the Hayward W560 Leaf Canister.

We really put this cleaner through its paces in a pool that was newly opened for the season, so it was faced with tons of leaves and other debris. The cleaner made its way around the pool well enough, but we did find that it got caught on several piles of debris during our first testing day. On subsequent days, when there weren't any large piles of leaves, we did not experience any issues with it getting stuck.

It sucked the leaves up extremely well, even though it needed a little help clearing the big piles, so we think it's perfectly suited to pools that are surrounded by trees (just don't let the leaves pile up before running the pool cleaner). It has a large debris capacity too, so we never had to worry about it filling up before the end of a cycle.

We did struggle to initially assemble and attach this pool cleaner to our pool’s pump intake, but we've tested others that gave us more trouble. Once we had it attached, we didn't have any other difficulties and enjoyed our leaf-free pool.

_{Dimensions: 40.4 x 13.6 x 11.9 inches | Weight: 17.71 pounds | Type: Suction-side | Pool Type: In-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floor, sides}

Best for Above-Ground Pools

Aiper Scuba E1

$400 $360 at Amazon View on Aiper.com

If you want a simple, hands-free way of keeping your above-ground pool clean, we love the Aiper Scuba E1. We tested this robotic pool cleaner in our above-ground pool and were surprised by how easy it was to use—we just had to push the power button, drop it in our pool, and watch it go. We were also impressed by how well it cleared even fine debris from our pool, including small bugs and undissolved salt, particles so small that we couldn't see them from above.

While this cleaner is designed to clean the floors of an above-ground pool in a random (but throughout pattern), it can also clean flat in-ground pools as large as 1,100 square feet. At 17 pounds, we found it easy to lift into our pool, and we liked that it comes with a safety bumper, so it shouldn't scratch the pool liner.

It doesn't offer advanced navigation like our best robotic pick, smart capabilities, scheduling, or skim the surface, but we like that it's priced about $300 less than the Scuba S1 while still helping us maintain our above-ground pool almost effortlessly.

This cleaner does need an initial charge of four hours, but no complicated assembly or setup is required. We found that it took around two hours to clean our 12-x24-foot steel-frame vinyl pool before parking near the side of our pool (it doesn't otherwise indicate when the cycle is done). We love that it has a large filter located on top of the cleaner, so it's really easy to remove, and it's just as easy to clean. To clean the filter, we just had to rinse it lightly with a garden hose.

_{Dimensions: Not listed | Weight: Not listed | Type: Robotic | Pool Type: Above-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floors}

Best Suction Side

Zodiac MX8 Elite Suction Pool Cleaner

View on Target

We’ve tested a lot of suction side pool cleaners, and the Zodiac MX8 stood out due to its powerful scrubbing action, ability to climb the walls of our pool, and the easy quick connect hose system. We were especially impressed with how stable it was, never flipping over even when attempting to climb our curved steps (something that some other pool cleaners have struggled with).

We deployed the Zodiac MX8 in a large, irregularly shaped gunite pool that’s normally maintained by a robotic pool cleaner, and we didn’t notice any difference in the cleanliness of the pool over several weeks of use. It doesn’t scrub the waterline quite as well as our robot (or skim the surface at all), but we were impressed with how well it handled the floors and walls.

This pool cleaner is a little more expensive than our best automatic vacuum and best for leaves picks (both suction side models), but it scrubs, which neither of those do. They’re fine for sand, leaves, and other loose debris, but you’ll need to scrub manually, which we never had to do with this cleaner.

The initial setup was more time consuming than a robotic pool cleaner, but the hoses snapped together more easily than other suction side cleaners. Each hose inserts easily into the next with a twist-lock mechanism for easy assembly and disassembly, but we were able to store it in a deck box without taking the hoses apart.

Like any suction side pool cleaner, the Zodiac MX8 connects to your pool pump and filter instead of having a power cord or battery. That’s why we recommend using this with a leaf catcher like the Zodiac Cyclonic Leaf Catcher Canister to keep leaves from clogging up your pool filter. We wish it came with a leaf catcher, but that was really our only complaint since it worked so well otherwise.

Best Automatic Pool Vacuum

Hayward The PoolCleaner Suction Cleaner

$449 at Amazon $449 at Walmart $449 at Target

If you’re tired of cleaning your pool with a manual vacuum, we think you’ll love how the Hayward PoolCleaner speeds up your pool maintenance routine. It’s very lightweight and easy to handle, since it connects to your pool pump and filter (and doesn’t have any built-in filtration or debris collection).

It's one of our favorite suction side models, with its simple yet effective operation that includes self-steering to provide excellent cleaning coverage (even in tough-to-reach areas like corners). We also found it easy to get in and out of the pool.

We used the PoolCleaner for several weeks in a 26-x32-foot in-ground gunite pool that sees a lot of sand and bugs accumulate, along with loose plant leaves. We couldn't tell when the cleaning cycle was done, so we just let it run until we couldn’t see any debris.

We had some trouble connecting the tube sections at first because they were so stiff, but that was a one-time headache that we quickly forgot as the PoolCleaner maneuvered around effortlessly, vacuuming up debris from every corner of our pool. We tested this model once before and had some issues with corners, but it reached every part of our pool during our most recent test.

While we did notice the PoolCleaner trying to climb the walls a bit, it never left the pool floor. It doesn’t scrub either (our best suction side pick does both), but it’s perfect for automatically vacuuming up sand, leaves, and other debris from the bottom of the pool.

_{Dimensions: 40.4 x 13.6 x 11.9 inches | Weight: 12 pounds | Type: Suction-side | Pool Type: In-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floors, walls}

Best for Sand

Zodiac Baracuda G3 Suction Pool Cleaner

$349 at Amazon $349 at Walmart View on Lesliespool.com

Despite a very rocky start testing this model (twice!), we are thoroughly satisfied with its performance and think it's an excellent pick if you deal with a lot of sand in your pool. It excels at picking up gritty debris from water treatments and random sediment that’s always a pain to capture from the bottom of a pool.

While this pool cleaner doesn’t have a specific guided path while cleaning, it does manage to find its way to every crevice and corner around our pool. It even climbs the walls! We also love that the 36-fin disc prevents it from getting stuck on lights or filters around the pool as well. 

This pool cleaner didn’t initially impress us when we originally tested it, but we liked the design and decided to re-test it in a different pool. Initially, we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to use this pool cleaner at all because the setup was so difficult—a roadblock we had experienced originally as well. However, with some persistence and patience, we assembled this cleaner and got it into the pool.

The most frustrating part about this pool cleaner was the lack of a proper instruction manual, which we had to find online. The initial setup took about an hour and a half, but once we got the hang of it throughout our testing period, we were able to hook up this pool cleaner in about 20 minutes. You'll save yourself some headache if you look up the manual ahead of time and familiarize yourself with the process.

If you have a pool at a house near a beach or a lake, we think this pool cleaner would be a great option for keeping grit off the bottom of your pool. It does have some quirks though, like it’s recommended to keep the hose flat and out of direct sunlight, so we had to build a rack on our pool fence to hang it up for proper drainage.

We also recommend backwashing your pump after a few uses of this pool cleaner to ensure the pump filter has a chance to properly rinse. With all of that said, we still think this pool cleaner is a reasonable purchase for any pool owner who doesn’t encounter large debris as often.  

_{Dimensions: Not listed | Weight: 17.66 pounds | Type: Suction-side | Pool Type: In-ground | Cleaning Coverage: Floor, sides}