The verdict: WYBOT for the best published filtration under $500, Aiper for everything above and below that band.
Where they genuinely overlap
Both brands fight hardest in the $300-600 range, and both publish usable figures there, which makes the comparison unusually tractable.
| Around this price | WYBOT | Aiper |
|---|
| $130-150 | Nothing | Scuba SE — 90 min, 860 sq ft, floor only |
| $330-400 | B1 (quad brushes, climbs), C1 (160 min) | Seagull Pro (150 min, 1,600 sq ft, climbs) |
| $500 | C2 — 10 micron, 2,152 sq ft per cycle | Nothing directly comparable |
| $550-630 | C2 Vision (camera, waterline) | Scuba S1 (1,600 sq ft, waterline), S1 Pro |
| $800-900 | S2 Vision (camera, 8-in-1) | Obsidian — 3 micron, 180 min, dock |
| $1,000+ | S2 Solar variants | Scuba X1, X1 Pro Max (8,500 GPH, 3 micron) |
WYBOT’s one standout spec
The C2’s dual filter: a 10-micron fine layer behind a 180-micron coarse layer, at around $500. That is the best published fine-filtration figure in its price band by a wide margin, and the staged design is the correct architecture — the coarse layer keeps leaf litter off the fine mesh so the fine mesh keeps flowing.
If your debris is fine and your budget is $500, the C2 is the machine, and the sand and silt roundup explains why.
Aiper’s advantages
Range
Aiper has a credible product at $130, at $400, at $600, at $800 and at $1,600. WYBOT starts at about $335 and its top end is less convincing per dollar. If your pool is small and your budget is tight, or your pool is large and your budget is not, Aiper has something and WYBOT may not.
Finest filtration available
3 micron on the Obsidian and X1 Pro Max. WYBOT’s best published figure is 10 micron. Both are genuinely fine; 3 is finer.
Parts and batteries
Both brands have third-party support, which is a point in favor of both and unusual at this price level. Replacement packs exist for the Aiper Scuba S1 (8 Ah, ~$80) and the WYBOT C1 (6 Ah, ~$69); chargers are $10-17 for either. Aiper’s aftermarket is broader — filter cloths for four different models, side flaps, chassis clips — reflecting longer time in market. The battery section lists what exists.
Charging docks
Aiper has them on two models. WYBOT does not offer one, and it is the feature that most changes day-to-day ownership.
WYBOT’s disclosure problem
Worth stating plainly: WYBOT publishes a micron figure on the C2 and on essentially nothing else. The S2 Vision, B1 and C1 listings describe filtration qualitatively. Aiper is not perfect here either — the Scuba S1 and V3 publish no micron figure — but it does publish on its two flagships. For a buyer trying to compare filtration, this matters, and we mark every unpublished figure as unpublished rather than filling it in.
Who should buy which
- $500 budget, fine debris → WYBOT C2.
- $350 budget, want wall climbing → WYBOT B1.
- Under $200 → Aiper Scuba SE. WYBOT has nothing here.
- $800 budget, want the best machine → Aiper Obsidian.
- Freeform pool on a budget → WYBOT C2 Vision or Aiper Scuba V3, both camera-navigated.
- Want a charging dock → Aiper, by elimination.
