Best Robotic Pool Cleaners for Above Ground Pools

A pool vacuum is essential for any above-ground swimming pool. Whether you've wanting to upgrade an old-fashion pressure-side pool sweep or a proud new owner of an above-ground pool, finding the right equipment can be hard - especially when it comes to world of robotic pool cleaners. With so many models, brands, and categories to choose from, our pool experts are here to help. If you want 1-on-1 support, chat or call one of our in-house pool experts by visiting our contact page. So let's dive into above-ground pool cleaners, what to look for, and which is best for your above ground swimming pool.

Why use an Pool Robot in an Above‑Ground Pool?
A robotic pool cleaner can automate a lot of your cleaning in a swimming pool. Whether it is vacuuming leaves, scrubbing the floor or walls, or simply filtering the pool water, a pool robot can do it all. Acting as a secondary filter to your pool, a pool robot with NanoFiltration™ can even help you clear up cloudy or green pool water. So let's dive into the 3 key things and the nice-to-have features to look for in an above-ground pool robot.

3 Essential Features for Above-Ground Robots

Filtration: One of the biggest things to look for in a pool robot is its filtration. The difference between the standard filters vs NanoFilters is astonishing. Avaliable only in Dolphin Max-Series™ and Dolphin ProLine™ models, the NanoFilters™ are essential as they capture more than the standard filters found in earlier Gen-1 Robots.
Motors: In most above-ground pool cleaners, the robots are equipped with cheap motors that can barely vacuum the pool. With the better performing robots having dual motors, these robots can vacuum and scrub your pool with power. Avoid any robot with under 4000 GPH of suction power, as in our testing, we found that these robots performed poorly to units with stronger motors.
Active Scrubbing: Moving at over twice the speed of the unit, Active Scrubbing allows the cleaner to actively scrub your pool floors. What you see in most lower-end pool robots is the unit not having a brush and the cleaner simply runs over the debris hoping to grab it. That is not the case with Active Scrubbing, as the pool robot becomes more than a vacuum, but a true pool cleaner.

The Nice to Have Features

Weekly Timer: A weekly timer allows you to schedule the robot to run on a daily basis. This allows the robot to clean your above-ground pool at set intervals. It is only avaliable on select, higher-end units, such as the Dolphin Cayman that we cover. But, it is well worth it if you don't want to have to restart or charge the unit every day.
Wall Climbing: Not all robots are created equally. Wall Climbing allows the robot to climb and scale your pool's walls. This allows your robot to clean some of the dirtest parts of your pool. While most above-ground pool owners won't need this, it can help keep your pool brush in the shed, as the robot will help clean the walls for you.
MaxBin™: This easy-to-clean filter bin is larger than previous generations of Dolphin cleaners. To clean the MaxBin™, simply just drop the tab and rinse - it's that easy.

Best Overall: Dolphin Escape

There are a lot of above‑ground pool cleaners to choose from, but only one cleaner is the flagship above-ground models from Maytronics. The Dolphin Escape is the best overall above-ground pool cleaner. With an affordable price tag, HyperBrush™, MaxBin™, and more, the Escape is our top choice and checks all our essential boxes plus a few more at a great price.

Dolphin Escape MaxBin — Dolphin Escape's MaxBin™

With dual DC motors, the Escape filters over 4000 GPH in your pool. With a HyperBrush™, the active scrubbing helps dislodge any debris and vacuum it into the MaxBin™. These features allow the Escape to be one of the best performing automated pool vacuums for above-ground pools. With optional NanoFiltration, the Escape can be upgraded to clean even deeper. Free with purchase at Poolbots when you add the Escape NanoFilter panels to your cart and use code: DEEPCLEAN23

NanoFilters™ capture fine dirt and debris that passes through the standard filters

Equipped with SmartNav 2.0™, the Escape is apart of the Dolphin Max-Series which have the MaxBin™, HyperBrush™ Active Scrubbing, and optional NanoFiltration. See for yourself why the Escape is rated the best above-ground cleaner and take part of our risk-free 30 day trial here at Poolbots.

Dolphin Escape

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Pros

Best for above-ground or smaller in-ground pools
Free NanoFilters™ at Poolbots with code: DEEPCLEAN23
Complete Floor Coverage
HyperBrush™
Risk-Free 30 Day Trial
No Restocking Fee
2 Year Warranty

Cons

No Wall Climbing or Waterline Cleaning
No Weekly Timer

Best Splurge: Dolphin Cayman

The Dolphin Cayman is one of the best options if you want to splurge and get the best of the best. With more feautres, such as the Weekly Timer and Wall Climbing, it has all our nice-to-have features and a little more. Equipped with everything you need and more, the Dolphin Cayman truly is an automatic pool cleaner.

Dolphin Cayman Wall Climbing — The Dolphin Cayman

Equipped with the MaxBin™ and optional NanoFilters, the Cayman expands on the Escape's pool coverage as it cleans the walls. Often the direst part of your pool, the Dolphin Cayman cleans this area exceptionally. This helps you leave the pool brush in the shed, as the Cayman takes over and does the work for you.

100% Larger Bin. 200% Easier to Clean.

The Weekly Timer is probably our favorite addition to the Dolphin Cayman. With the ability to schedule cleaning cycles, the Cayman can automatically run once a day - allowing the Escape to be a true automatic pool cleaner. The addition of the wall climbing and weekly timer is well worth it in our opinion, as we found ourselves using this feature way more than we thought we would.

Lastly, the Dolphin Cayman has NanoFilter capability. This upgrade allows the Dolphin Cayman to capture debris other pool cleaners miss. Free with purchase at Poolbots when you add the Cayman NanoFilter panels to your cart and use code: DEEPCLEAN23. If you want to splurge and enjoy features that enchance the pool cleaner owning experince, this is the pool robot for you.

Dolphin Cayman

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Pros

MaxBin™
Weekly Timer
Free NanoFilters™ at Poolbots with code: DEEPCLEAN23
Wall Climbing
Risk-Free 30 Day Trial
No Restocking Fee
2 Year Warranty

Cons

No Waterline Cleaning

Best Under $500: Dolphin E10

It can't get more simple. The Dolphin E10 is a great budget option for above-ground swimming pool owners. Apart of the Dolphin Explorer lineup, the E10 is the entry-level pool cleaner. While it lacks all the bells and whistles found in other models on our list, if you're wanting to save money, it is a good alternative.

The Dolphin E10 is equipped with dual motors that also boast over 4000 GPH. With a spinning scrubbing brush, the E10 actively vacuums dirt, debris, and larger leaves into its filter bin. With a basic on/off switch, you need to start it daily - but it couldn't be more simple. Our pool experts loved how simple, yet effective the E10 was at cleaner larger debris. However, it did struggle with smaller debris and clearing up cloudy pool water, as it lacks any NanoFilter™ capability. So, if you struggle with smaller debris like sand, dirt, algae, it may be worth the upgrade to the Dolphin Escape or Dolphin Cayman, which both have NanoFilter compatibility.

While the Dolphin Escape has the MaxBin™, HyperBrush™, and optional NanoFilter™ (Free currently with purchase at Poolbots), it is a league above in terms of cleaning performance. Be weary of a hidden-restocking fee when shopping from other places as well, such as Amazon or other Authorized Dealers. So make sure to check their terms and conditions before you buy. Here at Poolbots, we never charge this fee. So if you want to try the Dolphin E10 in your pool, we offer a risk-free trial for 30 days!

Dolphin E10

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Pros

Active Scrubbing
Complete Floor Coverage
Risk-Free 30 Day Trial at Poolbots
No Restocking Fee at Poolbots
2 Year Warranty

Cons

No NanoFilters™
No Wall Climbing or Waterline Cleaning
No Weekly Timer
Restocking Fee at Other Select Dealers

Best Cordless: Dolphin Liberty 200

If you want a cordless pool robot, the Dolphin Liberty 200 is the best option for an above-ground pool. The Liberty 200 is essentially a cordless Dolphin Cayman that costs a few hundred dollars more, with less features. While this cleaner performs great in the water, there are a few drawbacks that you may want to consider when looking for an above-ground cleaner.

Dolphin Liberty 200 Filter Basket — Dolphin Liberty 200 Cordless

The cordless aspect of this cleaner means you have to charge it after every single cycle. Which can be a pain. Rather than the other cleaners on our list which can either autostart via a programmable timer or rerun the cycle by pressing start, the Liberty 200 does not have that luxury. It requires a few hours of charging before it can be used again, which we thought was a pain when we dropped it in our pool.

However, the Liberty 200 is a fantastic solution if you need a cordless robotic pool cleaner. It by far is the best out there, but we wanted to share the drawbacks we found during testing. Once the battery tech is there and it can run for a week at a time, this cleaner would be a perfect solution. It's more powerful than most cordless pool cleaners, but cannot compete with the corded models.

Dolphin Liberty 200

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Pros

Cordless Design
Wall Climbing
Risk-Free 30 Day Trial at Poolbots
No Restocking Fee at Poolbots
2 Year Warranty

Cons

No Waterline Cleaning
Shorter Battry Life
Need to Charge After Every Cycle
Weaker Power in Comparison to Corded Models
No NanoFilters™
Restocking Fee at Other Select Dealers

Best Robot for Intex Pools

Once again, our pick for intex pools is the Dolphin Escape. The Escape is an ideal choice for Intex pools, known for its exceptional cleaning performance and user-friendly features. Its lightweight design and HyperBrush™ make it perfect for Intex pools, which often have softer pool linings that require gentle yet effective cleaning.

Dolphin Escape Above Ground Pool Robot — The Dolphin Escape

The Dolphin Escape's SmartNav 2.0™ ensures comprehensive coverage of the entire pool, no matter what shape it is. Whether you have a circle, oval, or rectangle pool, the Dolphin Escape has you covered. With efficient DC motors, the Escape is energy-efficient, but effective. Moreover, the optional NanoFilter™ upgrade captures even the smallest debris, leaving your Intex pool sparkling clean.