Compare Dolphin Robotic Pool Cleaners

The world of Dolphin robotic pool cleaners can be very confusing, but after today everything will make a little more sense.

Hey there, and welcome back to the Pool Nerd. I’m Justin, your resident pool aficionado. Today, we are diving into the world of Dolphin robotic pool cleaners from Maytronics. So let’s take a look at the best Dolphin pool robots and compare them to each other to help find which one you want for your swimming pool.

Compare Dolphin Pool Cleaners

Maytronics’ Dolphin robots are the most popular and most trusted line of robotic pool cleaners on the market, so today I’m going to take you through their lineup. From the best value robots to the top of the line, here are the robots you can expect to see. Rated some of the best robotic pool cleaners overall, Dolphin makes fantastic pool robots that stand the test of time like no other brand I've ever tested.

What if there’s a Dolphin robot that isn’t on this list? Well, let me give you how I broke down my list and what features to keep your eye out for so you can figure out where it goes on the list.

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3 Essential Features All Pool Robots Should Have

• NanoFiltration
• Waterline Cleaning
• No Restocking Fee (This one may surprise you, but it will make sense later.)

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NanoFiltration

Starting off with what is the most important feature of any pool robot: the filter. Your robot is only as good as the filter. What most pool companies won’t tell you is the difference between the standard filter and the NanoFilter. The pleated material of the NanoFilter gives the robot much more surface area than the standard filter. In fact, it’s about 3 times the surface area. The NanoFilter captures what your standard filter misses.

It is great for capturing even the smallest dirt, sand, pollen, algae, and pet dander. It will also reduce turbidity and help clear up cloudy water. The NanoFilter captures what the standard fine filter misses. It also captures larger debris like leaves, so it truly does it all. So make sure your robot has NanoFiltration when picking a robotic pool cleaner.

The difference between the two filters is another level. You don't realize it until you've owned them. It's quite frankly an option I wouldn't want to miss if I was buying a robotic pool cleaner. And neither should you.

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Waterline Cleaning

Moving to the second absolutely essential item—waterline cleaning. This is something you want to pay close attention to. The waterline, also called the scumline, affects the overall health of your pool. This is a common area for the growth of biofilm. As I have said in my other reviews, this is another feature you won’t just want, but you really need.

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No Restocking Fee

Finally, the third absolutely essential item to look for: no restocking fee. After testing nearly every robot on the market, there are a lot of restocking fees associated with robots. They usually start at around 15-20% and can be a huge expense and obstacle for making sure you get the right robot for your pool. So look for “No Restocking Fees” or look for a 30-day free trial, as I’ve found those to be the easiest to deal with.

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Key Features to Look For

As we move through these robots, I’ll be focusing on a few key features to make their differences and advantages clear.

In addition to the three main categories:

• NanoFilters
• Waterline Cleaning
• No Restocking Fee

I’ll also be covering several secondary features that can make or break your experience with a robotic pool cleaner. These include:

• Programmable Power Supply — the ability to set cleaning schedules or timers without needing to plug and unplug the robot.
• Anti-Tangle Swivel — prevents the cord from getting knotted, ensuring uninterrupted cleaning.
• Cleaning Cycle Time — how long each robot takes to complete a full clean.
• Warranty — how long you're protected and what it covers.
• Extra Features Worth Noting — any standout capabilities that go beyond the basics (like app control, dual scrubbing brushes, or quick water release systems).

By breaking things down feature by feature, you'll have a clear sense of which robot fits your needs—and which ones might not be worth your money.

So, let’s get started!

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Dolphin Premier

Starting off with one of the top Dolphin models and the robot I rated as the best robot for 2025, the Dolphin Premier. The Dolphin Premier model is a part of the exclusive ProLine which is made by Maytronics.

Both the Dolphin Premier and Dolphin Sigma will include Commercial Grade motors, which is a larger motor compared to the standard motors. It can clean pools up to 50ft from the floor to the waterline while filtering over 4500 GPH. The Premier includes true waterline cleaning, four filter options, a programmable power supply, a 3-hour cleaning cycle, an anti-tangle swivel, an optional remote, and a three-year warranty. As part of the Dolphin ProLine, there are never any restocking fees, plus ProLine sellers have a 30-day free trial program. This means you can easily exchange your robot with another unit until you find the right one.

It has a lot of great features, but what makes Premier special? Multi-Media. Practically every other robot has one, sometimes two filters included. But Premier has four options. It has the standard fine filter, the NanoFilter, an oversized leaf bag, and a disposable debris bag. Not to mention, it only takes a few seconds to quickly swap options. It is the only Dolphin robot with a leaf bag. The leaf bags are perfect for lots of leaves and debris, as they expand to fit more debris than any of the cartridges.

So if your pool is near trees or just gets a lot of larger debris, the Premier is the best-equipped robot to handle that challenge. Combined with the NanoFilter, it’s truly a great robot that offers a complete clean and a unique set of features. Its 3-year warranty is the longest available, giving you full protection on your pool's investment. To summarize, the Dolphin Premier has the 3 essential features I recommend: NanoFilters, waterline cleaning, and no restocking fee + even the additional longer 3-year warranty, making the Premier the first robot that is “Pool Nerd Approved.”

Dolphin Quantum

Next, with another unit from the ProLine, the Dolphin Quantum. The Quantum is a great value as it has all the essential features at a lower price. It can clean pools up to 50 feet in length, from the floor to the waterline. It has a standard fine filter basket, a massive NanoFilter basket, dual commercial-grade motors, a programmable power supply, a two-hour cleaning cycle, an anti-tangle swivel, and a 2-year warranty. Right away, we can see that the Quantum has all we are looking for in a high-end robot: waterline cleaning capability, the higher performance NanoFilter, and because it’s part of the ProLine, it will never have a restocking fee and will include a 30-day free trial. In my testing, the Quantum is an exceptional cleaner, especially at the waterline thanks to its PowerJet 3D Mobility. This little feature shoots water from the ports on the robot to help it adhere to your walls and waterline and move along. The massive 400 square inch NanoFilter is the largest NanoFilter available. This is perhaps the easiest to clean filter on the market, and because it’s a NanoFilter, it will help clear up cloudy pool water and reduce turbidity.

It has the largest NanoFilter and can hold a ton of leaves before it needs cleaning, allowing it to run for up to a week. The standard fine filter works great for larger particles, but if you struggle with cloudy water from time to time, the extra filtration offered by the NanoFilter will help to clear that up. To sum up, the Quantum has the largest NanoFilters, waterline cleaning, and no restocking fee from its sellers. In addition, it is the lowest priced of the ProLine models, giving us a huge thumbs up for the Quantum, meaning the Quantum is Pool Nerd Approved.

Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus

Following the Quantum is the Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus. The Nautilus CC Plus can cover the floors and walls of pools up to 40ft in length, but it will not clean your waterline. This robot includes the standard fine filter cartridges, a programmable power supply, a 2-hour cleaning cycle, an anti-tangle swivel, and a two-and-a-half-year warranty. The Nautilus CC Plus is a robot sold mostly on Amazon and it’s missing a few features. It cannot clean your waterline, does not have an ultrafine filter capable of removing small debris, and it also can only clean pools up to 40ft. Without these features, this Amazon unit falls short when compared to the other units. To top it off, this unit is usually subject to a restocking fee, sometimes up to 20%.

So if you're not sure which robot is best for you and you like to try a few, be extra careful with the CC Plus. Its price and Amazon reviews put it head-to-head with more full-featured robots, but its performance and feature set fall short of competing units. Just looking at this list of essential features, we can see that it falls short of our benchmark, as it lacks NanoFilters, Waterline Cleaning, and is usually subject to a restocking fee. So if you’re looking into the Nautilus CC Plus, make sure you read the fine print and consider what’s missing.

Dolphin Cayman

One of the best value robots you can get today is the Dolphin Cayman. A great alternative to the Nautilus CC Plus, as it has all the same basic features and cleaning performance, then adds an easy-to-clean oversized basket, and delivers all this at a lower cost. The Cayman cleans above-ground and in-ground pools, scrubs the floors and walls of your pool, includes the standard fine filter basket, a programmable power supply, a 2-hour cleaning cycle, and a two-year warranty. The programmable timer is once again nice to see here and adds extra value to the Cayman. With the built-in programmable timer, most users will only have to go outside once a week to clean and set its cleaning schedule. In my testing, the Cayman did a great job cleaning. It created an efficient route and scrubbed away any stuck-on debris. And to make the deal a little sweeter, the Cayman does not have a restocking fee & a 30-day free trial, which is great if you want to try it and not have to worry about hundreds of dollars if you needed the larger units. It even has an optional NanoFilter basket you can pick up. The Cayman still offers a solid value that gets the job done right at a lower cost. With the optional NanoFilter basket, no restocking fee, and a 30-day free trial available, it is definitely one of the best values you can get.

Dolphin Triton PS, Advantage Ultra, Proteus DX4, and Dolphin E30

Diving into the next set are the Triton PS, Advantage Ultra, Proteus DX4, and Dolphin E30. All of these units fall into the same category, as they have the exact matching features and specs. These robots can clean pools up to 40ft from the floor to the waterline. They include the standard fine filter basket, a programmable power supply, a 2-hour cleaning cycle, an anti-tangle swivel, and a two-year warranty. These robots still fall short without a NanoFilter to remove small debris. In addition, they’re subject to a restocking fee on every site I reviewed.

Let’s dive in deeper. First, it only includes the standard fine filter, so you won’t be able to clear up cloudy water or capture the small debris that passes through the standard filter. And secondly, these robots often come with a hidden restocking fee. In my testing, they do a good job throughout the pool, even at the waterline. The problem is without a NanoFilter, a lot of the debris and contaminants pass right through. NanoFilters are much more effective against small debris like algae, pollen, and even pet dander.

To sum up, these robots have great pool coverage with waterline cleaning, but there’s no ultrafine filter or NanoFilter and they’re typically subject to a restocking fee. They end up falling short of the expectations set by other units, especially compared to ProLine robots that always have waterline cleaning, NanoFilters, and no restocking fee.

Dolphin Nautilus CC

Next up is the Dolphin Nautilus CC, the baby brother to the Nautilus CC Plus. The Nautilus CC is another high-volume unit sold mostly on Amazon. It’s designed for above-ground and small in-ground pools up to 33ft. It can clean the floor and walls of your pool, includes the standard filter basket, a programmable power supply, a 2-hour cleaning cycle, and a two-year warranty. At this price point, you will not find an anti-tangle swivel, waterline cleaning, or a NanoFilter. The Nautilus CC often comes with a restocking fee, which means that if anything goes wrong, you’ll be out a few hundred dollars, even if it is still in warranty. While this doesn’t affect the robot directly, it is a concern for me because when I spend a lot of money on a pool robot, I want to know if something goes wrong I can return it. So, while the Nautilus CC is a good robot, its potential restocking fee, lack of NanoFiltration, and lack of waterline cleaning may leave you wanting a more full-featured model.

Dolphin Nautilus CC Pro

The next robot is also part of the Nautilus CC line, and that is the Nautilus CC Pro. The Pro is the slightly more expensive version of the CC Plus that can now clean from the floor to the waterline of pools up to 50ft. It includes the standard fine filter basket, a 2-hour cleaning cycle, an anti-tangle swivel, and a two-year warranty. It filters 4000 GPH, which is less than the top-tier models, which may be the reason it doesn’t offer the NanoFilter. The waterline cleaning is the big upgrade over the basic CC Plus. While it does have waterline cleaning, the lack of a NanoFilter and the potential restocking fee will push this unit further down the rankings.

Dolphin Sigma

Coming in as one of Dolphin’s most advanced robots ever and the top ProLine robot: the Dolphin Sigma. The Sigma is designed to clean pools up to 50ft, produces over 4500 GPH, and can scrub everything from the floor to the waterline thanks to the Triple Commercial Grade Motors and Gyroscope. The triple grade motors and Gyroscope are identical to the hardware found in the Dolphin commercial line of robots. Those units are generally well over the $2,000 mark. The Sigma includes both NanoFilters for the smallest debris and a standard filter set, a Wi-Fi connected power supply, a 2-hour adjustable cleaning cycle, an anti-tangle swivel, the myDolphin Plus App, and a three-year warranty. The Sigma even has a gyroscope to help it navigate your pool. This gyroscope has been a massive help to navigating the pool, especially at the waterline. Units with gyroscopes will have split tracks, allowing it to turn in place like a tank. The Sigma is probably the most efficient cleaner I have seen in my pool. Not to mention, the gyroscope and dual stabilizers work together to help the Sigma stay at and scrub the waterline clean. The app connectivity is a welcome addition. You can connect and clean from anywhere, set the Advanced Weekly Timer and have it run on certain days, which is a feature not found on all Dolphin robots with the app. You can even remote drive the unit and read stats on gallons filtered, total pool coverage, and more. As a part of the ProLine, Sigma doesn’t have a restocking fee and even has a 30-day free trial program. It’s just an all-around great robot, and the best I have tested so far. With included NanoFilters, Waterline Cleaning, and no restocking fee, the Dolphin Sigma is “Pool Nerd Approved.”

Dolphin Explorer E70, Dolphin M600, and Dolphin Active 60

Next, the Dolphin Explorer E70, Dolphin M600, and Dolphin Active 60. With waterline cleaning, three motors, anti-tangle swivel, ultrafine filter, these units are great at covering your pool. These units have the 4500 GPH flow rate like Dolphin Sigma and Premier, which helps filter and clean your pool. They also have a weekly timer that you can set and forget, like the other units.

We found that almost all sellers for these robots have restocking fees, which is very disappointing. We did find that Poolbots does offer the Explorer E70 with a free 30-day trial and no restocking fee, but most other companies will charge a hefty restocking fee. They’re an amazing cleaner, but the price tag is also more than 30% higher than the Dolphin Sigma for the same performance. They’re a solid robot if you want to shell out the money, but you are paying more to get the same cleaning performance you could have found in the Dolphin Sigma. To summarize, they have waterline cleaning, but may have a restocking fee and don’t have a NanoFilter. You’re better off purchasing the Dolphin Sigma, which gives the same cleaning performance and app at a lower cost.

Dolphin Liberty 200

Lastly, the new kid on the block, the cordless Dolphin Liberty 200. Compared to other models, the Liberty is one of Dolphin’s only cordless models. It has a 2-year warranty, a top-loading filter basket, and pool floor and wall coverage. It misses the mark in two categories: it does not have waterline cleaning and it does not include ultrafine or NanoFilters. The battery seems great on paper, but the daily charging before and after every clean gets old after a few days. Unlike the other cleaners with a weekly timer where they will run daily, the Liberty doesn’t have that. You must take it out to the pool, run it, retrieve it from the pool, then charge it every single day – which becomes a huge hassle when compared to leaving it in the pool for a week and cleaning the filters once a week. Without a NanoFilter, no waterline cleaning, and even a possible restocking fee, you may want to look into corded robots – especially at this price point. We’re hoping that future robots can deliver both cordless, waterline, and NanoFiltration. Until battery technology catches up, we’re recommending corded units for most pool owners.

Summary

So there you have it, my breakdown of all the in-ground Dolphin robots! Hopefully, this list will help you compare and rank options according to your priorities. To summarize, here are my picks, which you can find without a restocking fee and a 30-day free trial:

• Best robot under $800: The Dolphin Cayman. With a budget-friendly price, programmable weekly timer, and an optional NanoFilter, it sets the bar and gets the job done.

• Best overall value: The Dolphin Quantum. With an included oversized NanoFilter basket, Waterline Cleaning, Weekly Timer, and No Restocking Fee, it sets the bar for what an automatic pool robot should be.

• Best for Leaves: The Dolphin Premier. Its dual commercial-grade motors, Multimedia, NanoFilters, weekly timer, and more set it above. Its leaf bag is exclusive to the Premier, meaning you cannot find it anywhere else. So if you have a lot of leaves, this is the unit you want.

• Most advanced: The Dolphin Sigma. No doubt, the unit with Triple Commercial Grade motors, gyroscope, smartphone app, 3-year warranty, and NanoFilters, the Sigma delivers the power and performance one would expect in a commercial pool robot.

Be sure to check out my full reviews to learn more about all of the robots covered today.

If you want to keep nerding out over your pool, be sure to hit that subscribe button to keep learning how to make pool maintenance way easier. Head on over to thepoolnerd.com to view my comparison page and see all the differences between the many robotic pool cleaners out there. Until then, enjoy that pool and check back soon for more pool maintenance tips and insight.

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