Aiper vs Dolphin

The cord is the whole comparison

Every other difference between these two brands follows from one decision. Dolphin's robots take mains power through a floating cable and a deck-side power supply. Aiper's run on internal batteries and charge out of the water.

That decides runtime, weight, what wears out, what the robot can do when it finishes, and what you are left with in year four.

Filtration: where Aiper wins outright

The specification that decides whether a pool looks clear rather than merely leaf-free is the filter's micron rating, and most of this category does not publish one.

Aiper publishes 3 micron on the Scuba V3's MicroMesh filter - the finest figure of any robot on this site, and finer than a DE filter's usual 5. Dolphin describes the Nautilus CC Plus as having ultra-fine filter panels and publishes no micron figure at all.

If your complaint is haze rather than debris, that is a real difference and it favors Aiper. If your complaint is leaves and grit, both brands catch them and the number stops mattering.

Runtime, coverage and the battery question

A corded robot has no runtime figure because it does not need one. An Aiper's cycle ends when the battery does, which is why Aiper publishes runtime and Dolphin does not.

Aiper states 270 minutes on the Scuba S1, and rates the Seagull SE for above-ground pools up to 860 sq ft alongside 1,320 GPH of suction and 100 minutes. Those are checkable figures - a 24 ft round pool is about 452 sq ft, so the SE covers it with a wide margin.

The battery is also the thing that ages. Lithium cells lose capacity over cycles regardless of care, and neither brand publishes a replacement path for the pack. A corded Dolphin has no equivalent failure: in year five it draws the same power it drew in year one. That is the strongest argument for the cord, and it is on how long do robotic pool cleaners last.

Pool size and shape

• In-ground up to 50 ft. Dolphin rates the Nautilus CC Plus for pools to 50 ft, and the cord length is the constraint that matters - a robot fighting a taut cable wastes its cycle.
• Above-ground. Both brands build for it: Dolphin's Nautilus AG is purpose-built with no wall climbing, and Aiper's Seagull SE publishes an 860 sq ft rating. A cordless unit avoids trailing a cable over a soft-sided wall.
• No outlet nearby. This settles it for Aiper. A corded robot needs a GFCI outlet within reach of the deck supply, and an extension cord is not an acceptable answer around a pool.
• Complex shapes and steps. Neither brand publishes mapping data. Wall and waterline claims are the closest available proxy, and the CC Plus states both.

What each brand publishes

Neither brand publishes everything. Aiper prints the numbers a buyer can check; Dolphin prints a pool-length rating and relies on a reputation for longevity that no listing can demonstrate.

The picks

Top pick - In-ground pools up to 50 ft

Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus Wi-Fi Robotic Pool Vacuum

The corded default. Mains power means runtime is not a specification you have to think about.

The published figure

Corded, wall-climbing with waterline scrubbing, ultra-fine top-load filter cartridges

A corded robot has no battery to degrade and no runtime ceiling. That single fact removes the constraint every cordless unit on this page is designed around.

Wall climbing and waterline scrubbing are the two features that separate a robot from a floor vacuum, because the waterline is where the oily scum line forms and no floor-only unit touches it.

The cable is the cost: it tangles, and you have to lift a wet robot with a cord attached out of the pool.

What it does well

• No runtime limit and no battery to degrade
• Climbs walls and scrubs the waterline, not just the floor
• Top-load filter cartridges, which are the easiest kind to empty

What it costs you

• Cable tangling on pools with a lot of steps and features
• Heavier to lift out than a cordless unit

Skip it if your pool has no convenient power outlet, or you want to drop a cleaner in and walk away without managing a cord.

$898.99 - View on Amazon

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Pick 2 - The finest published filtration

Aiper Scuba V3 AI Vision Cordless Robotic Pool Cleaner

A published 3 micron filter, which is the finest figure any robot on this site states and finer than most DE filters.

The published figure

3 micron MicroMesh filter, smart waterline parking, wireless charging dock, floor/wall/waterline cleaning

3 micron is a genuinely unusual claim in this category. Most robots publish 180 micron or nothing at all, and 180 micron catches leaves while letting silt, pollen and fine dead algae straight back into the pool.

If your complaint is that the pool is leaf-free and still hazy, this is the specification that addresses it - and it is the same argument as choosing a DE filter over sand.

The cost is maintenance. A 3 micron filter fills faster than a coarse one by definition, because it is now catching material that used to pass through.

What it does well

• 3 micron published filtration, the finest of any robot on this site
• Wireless charging dock, so no cable to seat by hand
• Waterline parking as well as waterline cleaning

What it costs you

• Fine filtration means noticeably more frequent filter cleaning
• No published coverage-area figure, so sizing against your pool is guesswork

Skip it if your pool only ever collects leaves. You would be paying for filtration you never use and cleaning it more often.

$899.99 - View on Amazon

$949.99 · 5% off

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Pick 3 - Longest published runtime

Aiper Scuba S1 Robotic Pool Cleaner

The longest published runtime in this roundup, which is the specification that decides whether a cordless unit finishes a large pool in one charge.

The published figure

Up to 270 minutes in Eco mode and up to 180 in Auto, Floor, Wall and Scheduled; floor, wall, waterline and shallow areas above 12 in; 180 plus 3 micron dual filtration

Runtime is the whole cordless argument. A 90-minute unit in a large pool means two cycles and a recharge between them, which is not what anyone buys a robot for.

270 minutes in Eco mode is at the top of the published range across the brands here. Compare it against your pool's area, not against other robots in the abstract.

Cordless means the battery is the wear part. Every cordless robot on this page will need a battery before it needs anything else.

What it does well

• 270 minutes in Eco mode is the longest published runtime of the cordless units here
• Covers floor, walls and waterline rather than floor only
• No cord to tangle or lift

What it costs you

• Battery is a consumable with a finite cycle life
• Recharge time between cycles on very large pools

Skip it if you have mains power at the pool edge and no cord objection — a corded unit removes the runtime question entirely.

$529.99 - View on Amazon

$699.99 · 24% off

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Pick 4 - The cheapest way into a real robot

Dolphin Nautilus CC Robotic Pool Vacuum

The entry point to the Dolphin line, without the app and without the finer filtration, and still a genuine climbing robot.

The published figure

Corded, wall-climbing scrubber brush, top-load filter

The difference between this and the CC Plus is app control and filter fineness, not the drive system or the climbing.

For a simple rectangular pool with no steps to negotiate and no interest in scheduling from a phone, that difference is worth less than the price gap.

Corded, so the same runtime advantage and the same cable nuisance as its more expensive sibling.

What it does well

• Climbs walls, which floor-only cleaners at this price do not
• No battery to degrade
• Top-load filter access

What it costs you

• No app scheduling
• Coarser filtration than the Plus

Skip it if you want scheduling or fine-silt filtration. Those are exactly what the price step buys.

$699.00 - View on Amazon

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Pick 5 - Above-ground pools

Aiper Seagull SE Cordless Robotic Pool Vacuum

Publishes suction, runtime and a coverage area together, which is the full sizing check most of this category makes impossible.

The published figure

1,320 GPH suction, 100 minute runtime, rated by the maker for above-ground pools up to 860 sq ft

860 sq ft is a real number you can check. A 24 ft round above-ground pool has about 452 sq ft of floor, so this covers it with a wide margin - and that is the arithmetic a coverage figure exists to let you do.

1,320 GPH is the suction figure. It is lower than the in-ground models in the range, which is appropriate: an above-ground pool is a flat floor with no walls to climb and no deep end to work.

100 minutes is short by in-ground standards and ample for the area it is rated to.

What it does well

• Suction, runtime and coverage area all published together
• Sized and priced for the pool it is actually for
• Self-parking, so retrieval is not a chore

What it costs you

• Does not climb walls, by design
• Wrong machine for an in-ground pool of any size

Skip it if you own an in-ground pool. You would be giving up wall and waterline cleaning entirely.

$149.99 - View on Amazon

$179.99 · 17% off

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Pick 6 - Above-ground pools

Dolphin Nautilus AG Robotic Pool Vacuum, above ground

Built for above-ground pools specifically, which matters because a wall-climbing robot on a soft-sided pool is the wrong tool.

The published figure

Purpose-built for above-ground pools, active scrubber brush, top-load filter

Above-ground pools have flat floors, shallow uniform depth and walls that a climbing robot has no business climbing. A unit designed for them is simpler and cheaper for good reasons.

Buying an in-ground robot for an above-ground pool means paying for climbing you cannot use and, on a soft-sided pool, do not want.

Top-load filter access is the same convenience as the rest of the Dolphin line.

What it does well

• Designed around the actual geometry of an above-ground pool
• Cheaper than the in-ground units for the same brand quality
• No battery to degrade

What it costs you

• Will not climb walls, by design
• Corded

Skip it if you own an in-ground pool — you would be giving up the wall and waterline cleaning.

$568.00 - View on Amazon

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Which one to buy

• Buy Dolphin if the pool is in-ground, an outlet is within reach, and the robot will run several times a week for years. No battery to degrade is the long game.
• Buy Aiper if the pool is above-ground, there is no convenient outlet, or a cable in the water is the thing you dislike most.
• Buy the Aiper Scuba V3 specifically if the water is hazy rather than dirty. 3 micron is the finest published figure here and nothing from Dolphin answers it with a number.
• Buy neither if your real problem is floating leaves. That is a surface skimmer's job - best robotic pool skimmer covers those.

What we could not verify

Dolphin's filtration in microns, suction figures for either brand's in-ground models, and battery replacement availability and cost for the Aiper range. Longevity claims for both brands are reputation rather than published specification, and this site does not trade in reputation.