Best Pool Vacuums 2023

Having a pool at your home is a luxury, but it does come with a fair amount of required upkeep. You’re going to need to perform regular maintenance to ensure that it stays in prime condition for years to come—and the best pool vacuums are the easiest way to get that done. Designed to suck up dirt and debris from the water and surfaces, these devices make the cleaning process a little less labor-intensive, extending the life of your personal swimming hole in the process. In 2023, our top pick for most households is the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus for its smart navigation and ease of use, but there are plenty of other great vacuums on this list.

Designed to quickly suck up debris, the best pool vacuums are bound to make your cleaning process ... [+] less labor-intensive and more intuitive. Here are our top picks.

If you’re new to pool ownership, know this: A quality pool vacuum is downright essential to having a good swimming experience. “All pools need to be vacuumed,” confirms JustAnswer pool and spa expert Randy Huckstadt. “The process of vacuuming keeps chemicals working their best. Vacuuming is necessary to pick up the dirt and debris that has found its way to the pool bottom.” But which type of pool vacuum is right for you? Before you start shopping, “consider the type and size of your pool,” offers Mallory Micetich, home expert at Angi. “For example, automatic and robotic pool cleaners [often] need a pool with a circulating filtration pump and are a more popular choice for in-ground pools.” The size of your pool, too, is going to be an important factor. “If you have a smaller pool, you can probably get away with a manual option,” adds Micetich. To save you the time and headache of sorting through hundreds of vacuums, we’ve rounded up the best pool vacuums currently on the market, ahead.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Robot | Pool size: Up to 50 feet in length | Weight: 19 pounds | Additional features: Top-load filter, anti-tangle swivel

Our top pick for more pool owners, the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus is a powerful set-it-and-forget-it machine that can get the job done in two hours or less. Thanks to its CleverClean smart navigation system, this robot vacuum won’t miss a single spot on pool’s floor or walls, while its dual-brush capabilities can lift even the most stubborn dirt and gunk. Operating it couldn’t be more straightforward: All you have to do it plug it in and drop it in the pool. (It has a 60-foot tangle-free cable.) Plus, this robotic cleaner is easy to clean and maintain, owing to its top-load filters.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Manual | Pool size: Up to 30 feet in length | Weight: 12 pounds | Additional features: Attaches to existing filtration system, no electricity needed

As long as you’re willing to use a little muscle power, you don’t need to spend a bundle to get your pool clean. Case in point: The Amazon-bestselling Xtremepower Premium vacuum, a manual cleaner for less than $100. While you have to push it around your pool at an ideal rate of eight to 12 feet per minute to operate it, it can service pools up to 30 feet in length. To use it, simply hook it up to your existing filtration system, plop the vacuum head and hose in the pool and get to work. Though this vacuum isn’t intended to clean stairs, most pool vacuums aren’t. Overall, it’s a cinch to maneuver.

The Home Depot

Vacuum type: Robot | Pool size: Up to 60 feet in length | Weight: 21 pounds | Additional features: Controllable by app or Alexa, blows debris off stairs

While vacuuming your pool is never going to be fun, the Polaris 9650iQ Sport makes the process feel like less of a chore. This vacuum is smart-enabled, allowing you to control and monitor the action on your phone via the Polaris app or Alexa. The vacuum features four-wheel drive to handily climb walls up to the waterline, and thanks to its generous 70-foot cable, this machine can cover a lot of territory. Meanwhile, a rear water cleaning stream helps blow dirt and debris off stairs and out of tight corners—a feature most other vacuums don’t have. When it’s time to empty the canister, take advantage of the vacuum’s easy-lift removal system that dispels water, making for comfortable lifting.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Robot | Pool size: Up to 33 feet in length | Weight: 13.8 pounds | Additional features: Top-load filter, high-speed scrubber

The Dolphin Explorer E20 is similar to the brand’s massively popular Nautilus Plus CC. While this more affordable version covers slightly less territory (pools up to 33 feet long), it has many of the perks of the Nautilus Plus CC (it can clean your pool in two hours or less). Plus, you can program it to run on one of three regular cleaning schedules: every day, every other day or every third day. To operate the robot cleaner, simply plug it in and drop it into the pool. When the job is done, a quick-release button empties out water while retaining all the gunk.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Suction-side | Pool size: Up to 30 feet in length | Weight: 1 pound | Additional features: One moving part, 36-fin cleaning disc

Designed to tackle small and medium debris, suction-side pool cleaners rely on your pool's filter system to run and are ideal for those in the market for something budget-friendly. Right now, your best option is the Zodiac G3, which features a 36-fin disc head that securely sticks to the floor, walls and steps of your pool; additionally, its wheel deflector helps it move around tight corners. To use the Zodiac G3, simply attach its hose to your existing filtration system and let it get to work.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Pressure-side | Pool size: Varies | Weight: 6.2 pounds | Additional features: Debris bag, dual jets

If you’re in the market for something that can remove larger debris, pressure-side pool vacuums connect to your pool's pump—and this option from Polaris adds on the power of double jets to clean your pool in three hours or less. Featuring a unique filter bag that captures debris of all sizes before they make their way into your pool’s filter or pump basket, the Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 can be used in in-ground pools of all shapes and sizes. This agile vacuum can even squeeze into tight corners where gunk tends to lurk.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Manual | Pool size: Varies | Weight: 5.5 pounds | Additional features: Cord- and hose-free

If you prefer to clean your pool by hand, the Water Tech Pool Blaster is an economical option that’s free of cords and hoses. The machine works a lot like a stick vacuum: Simply charge it up before use, then manually run it along the surfaces of your pool, including the steps. A high-capacity debris chamber helps trap larger particles the vacuum picks up while the filter bag can be cleaned and reused. While the vacuum does require a little more work than a robotic version, it’s great choice for cleaning smaller pools. And unless you take it into a large pool, it’s unlikely to die on you: The vacuum has enough power to last for about an hour of cleaning before needing a recharge.

Amazon

Vacuum type: Suction-side | Pool size: Up to 6 feet deep | Weight: 15 pounds | Additional features: Deflector wheel, one moving part

Above-ground pools don’t require exactly the same upkeep as their in-ground counterparts. That said, you still need a top-notch vacuum like the Zodiac Ranger, which is designed to tackle above-ground pools up to 6 feet deep. The vacuum has just one moving part to help it work quickly and quietly while a deflector wheel keeps it from getting caught on steps and stairs. A self-adjusting flow control valve helps this vacuum perform its best. Just attach it to your skimmer and let it get to work.

To determine the best pool vacuums you can buy right now, we spoke to two pool experts to get their insight on the category and the most important factors to consider while shopping. We then identified the top pool vacuums on the market, analyzing all the models based on type, construction, weight and additional features. Reviews from real pool owners were also factored in to get a better sense of how these vacuums perform in the real world.

Whether it’s your first time buying a pool vacuum or it’s been a minute since you last purchased one, it’s understandable if you’re having a hard time identifying the ideal model for you and your pool. To help make the process a little easier, consider these key factors while you weigh your options.

Unlike their land counterparts, pool vacuums generally don’t need a direct power source to operate, meaning you don’t plug them into an electrical outlet. (Now that would be a health hazard.) Rather, many pool cleaners operate via a hose connection to the pool pump. However, some cleaners like the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus run without without a pump, instead relying on their own built-in filtration system. And then, there are the manual options like the Water Tech Pool Blaster, which run on battery charge and man power. If you opt for one of these cord- and hose-free models, just remember you need to charge it before use.

Pool vacuums can be divided into two main camps: manual and suction. The former, as the name implies, don’t run autonomously; instead, you need to push manual pool vacuums around your walls and floors, ensuring you hit every spot. While these models do require more work on your end, they also tend to be significantly less expensive than robotic pool vacuums. To operate the latter, all you have to do is hook up the vacuum to your pool’s pump or filter, and it does all the work without your guidance. These vacuums are easy to set up (you typically just hook them to a hose and drop them in) but again, they can carry high price tags.

Within the automatic pool vacuum cleaner category, you might see models labeled as “pressure-side” and “suction-side.” In short, the former use suction from your pool’s filtration system to move around the pool, whereas the latter are powered by pressure from your pool’s pump. (Also, pressure-side models store debris in vacuum bags; with suction-side models, the pool’s filter captures the debris.) Which type is right for you? While both types are effective, pressure-side vacuums tend to be more powerful and therefore more effective at capturing large debris like leaves. If you only have small debris in your pool, a more affordable suction-side might be better suited to your needs.

If you own a pool, you’re used to dealing with debris on a regular basis, either in the form of grass, leaves, twigs or dead bugs. Pool vacuums typically state what size debris they can handle, with some explicitly noting that they’re designed for small or medium-sized debris. If your pool is situated near trees, make sure your vacuum can handle leaves. And if you’re not particularly concerned about larger items landing in your water, you should be just fine with a vacuum designed for small to medium debris.