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Pool cleaner types, explained
Automatic pool cleaners come in three kinds, and only one is a robot in the sense of carrying its own motor and filter. The other two borrow power from your pool's pump system. That single difference drives what each costs to run, what it cleans, and what you have to install.
The short answer
- Suction-side cleaners plug into your skimmer or a suction port and run on your existing filter pump. They're the cheapest to buy, and they send debris to your pump basket or filter.
- Pressure-side cleaners run on water pushed back into the pool, and most need a dedicated booster pump. They collect debris in their own bag.
- Robotic cleaners have their own motor and filter and run on low voltage, plugged into a power supply or a battery. In the one study ENERGY STAR cites, the robot used by far the least energy.
| Suction-side | Pressure-side | Robotic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power source | Your filter pump's suction | Return-line pressure, usually a booster pump | Its own motor: corded power supply or battery |
| Where debris goes | Pump basket, skimmer basket, leaf canister or filter | The cleaner's own bag | The robot's own filter or basket |
| Extra equipment | None beyond your pump | Often a booster pump and dedicated line | An outlet with GFCI protection (corded) or a charger |
| Pump must run? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Energy per year (one study) | 1,675 kWh (a filter-pump-powered cleaner) | 2,989 kWh | 197 kWh |
Energy figures: a PG&E study cited by ENERGY STAR, comparing a cleaner powered by the filter pump, a booster-pump cleaner and a robotic cleaner. Your pool's figures will differ.
Suction-side cleaners
Hayward describes suction cleaners as using the water flow from your filtration system through a dedicated suction port or the skimmer. They wander the pool floor, and the debris they pick up goes into your leaf canister, skimmer basket or filter. That's why they're the most affordable option: there's no second motor. The costs show up elsewhere: your filter pump has to run while they clean, and their debris loads your filter, so you clean it more often.
Pressure-side cleaners
Pressure cleaners connect to a pressure port and are driven by water pumped back into the pool. Polaris says most of its pressure-side cleaners need a booster pump on a dedicated line. They catch debris in their own bag before it reaches your pump or filter, which keeps that load off your filter. The trade-off is energy: in the study ENERGY STAR cites, the booster-pump cleaner used the most power of the three.
Robotic cleaners
Robots work separately from your filtration system. Hayward says its robotic cleaners operate at low voltage, and they carry their own pump and filter. Because your main pump doesn't have to run, the robot in that study used about an eighth of the energy of the filter-pump-powered cleaner. Within robots there are two kinds:
- Corded: a floating cable runs to a power supply beside the pool. Unlimited run time, but the cord can tangle.
- Cordless: a rechargeable battery and no cord, with run time limited by the battery.
What a robot cleans varies by model. Some do the floor only, some floor and walls, some the waterline too, and a few skim the surface. Our cordless vs corded comparison covers the trade-offs in detail.
Electrical safety with corded robots
Maytronics' Dolphin manual sets three rules worth following for any corded robot:
- Plug the power supply into an outlet protected by a residual-current device, which in the US means a GFCI.
- Keep the power supply and caddy at least 3 m (10 ft) from the pool's edge while it runs.
- Take the robot out of the pool before anyone gets in the water.
Cordless robots have recall history of their own, mostly around batteries and chargers; see our safety page.
Which type fits your pool?
- Lowest purchase price, light debris: suction-side, if you don't mind running the pump and cleaning the filter more often.
- Heavy leaves, already have a booster pump: pressure-side.
- Lowest running cost, and walls or waterline on many models: robotic. Our pool guide compares the robots we cover with 3-year costs, and the System Builder matches one to your pool type and debris.
Related: robot batteries and storage · robot glossary.
Sources
- Hayward: pool cleaner types
- Polaris: booster pumps
- Polaris Vac-Sweep 280
- Pentair: inground pool cleaners
- ENERGY STAR: pool pumps (citing a PG&E study)
- Maytronics Dolphin user manual
All sources read October 12, 2026.
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