How we research and score pool robots
The sources we use, the eight criteria behind every score, and what our ratings can and cannot tell you.
Our goal is to tell you which robotic pool cleaner fits your pool, with evidence you can check yourself.
What our research is, and is not
We are a research site, not a test lab. We do not claim hands-on testing we have not done. When we describe how a robot performs, we say where that information comes from.
Our sources
- The maker's own documents: manuals, spec sheets, product pages, warranty terms and support articles.
- Independent measurements: published lab tests and measurements from reputable reviewers, cited by name.
- Owner experience: patterns in what owners report on forums, Reddit, Facebook groups and YouTube. We quote owners only briefly, credit them and link the original post, and we look for problems that many people report, not single complaints.
- Safety and recall information from regulators where it exists.
Each specification on PoolRobots is stored with a link to its source. When a maker does not publish a number, we show "Not published" instead of guessing.
How scores work
Every robot gets a score from 0 to 10 for each of these criteria. The overall rating is the weighted average of the criteria we could score:
| Criterion | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning performance | 25% | Suction, brushes, filtration and how owners rate debris pickup on floors, walls and the waterline. |
| Coverage | 15% | Which surfaces it cleans and the largest pool size the maker supports. |
| Battery and power | 10% | Rated runtime, charging time and, for corded models, cable length. |
| Navigation | 10% | How it plans its route, avoids getting stuck and handles steps, slopes and shapes. |
| Ease of use | 10% | Weight, retrieval from the pool, app and controls. |
| Maintenance | 5% | How easy the filter is to empty and clean, and the cost of replacement parts. |
| Reliability | 10% | Warranty length and recurring failures reported by owners. |
| Value | 15% | What it offers for its usual price compared with similar models. |
Scores compare robots with each other at the time we publish them. As new models arrive, the same robot can drop in a list without getting worse.
Keeping it current
We review our main pages regularly and when a model, price or firmware changes. The "Updated" date on an article shows the last real content change, not a cosmetic edit.
Corrections
If you spot an error, please tell us. We fix confirmed mistakes promptly and note significant corrections on the page.