We’ve spent hours researching pools from the most popular brands, evaluating ease of setup and maintenance, durability, and overall value. Our favorite, the Intex Rainbow Ring Inflatable Play Center, is an affordable option with features like a water slide, a built-in sprayer, and a ring toss game. Here are the best kiddie pools available online. For kids who are looking for a little more water action, there’s this bright, inflatable play center that will keep them busy for hours. It comes with a water slide, wading pool, ring toss game and a ball roller game, complete with balls and rings. It also comes with a water sprayer, which can be attached to a garden hose for extra wet fun. All of the added features that lead to hours of outdoor fun makes this pick our favorite. Also, there’s plenty of room for several kids to play at a time. Customers rave about this product and say it’s easy to set up and kids love it. One thing to note, this pick doesn’t come with a blower for inflation, so you’ll have to provide that yourself. The large pool comes with tons of positives, but also means you may have to allot a bit more time to setup. Price at time of publish: $60 Our tester loved the easy setup process. With just three steps, you can have it set up and ready to fill with water in just 30 minutes. It also comes in larger sizes if you want even more space for swimming. However, our tester did note that the large space required and access to a power sources makes this pick not for everyone. Price at time of publish: $167 — Angelica Leicht, Product Tester Your kid will enjoy this for years past as a nice place to sit back and relax. If you plan on hosting any barbecues you could even fill it with ice as an impromptu cooler. Price at time of publish: $46 This pick proves just big enough to sit and play, but light and portable enough to move around or take to the park, beach, or pool. It also comes with six plastic balls and a patch in case it springs a leak. Also, we give it bonus points for the adorable and inviting design. Price at time of publish: $74 This pool is sure to be the hit of the neighborhood. Just be aware that it has a 300-pound weight limit so you can’t have all the kids from the block on it. Price at time of publish: $380 Price at time of publish: $9 While you might not want to have this set up every day in your backyard, this is a great option to pull out for warm, sunny days when you need your kids to stay entertained for a few hours at a time. This also comes in handy for birthdays or other outdoor celebrations. Price at time of publish: $334 Price at time of publish: $9 Price at time of publish: $199
Durability
Inflatable kiddie pools often only last a season or two, as they’re prone to puncturing or tearing. However, this may be okay if you’re buying the pool for growing children, like toddlers and preschoolers, who will need a differently sized pool in a couple years anyways. Meanwhile, harder plastic kiddie pools can last at least a few years, but they’re more expensive. These types of kiddie pools are a good choice for elementary-schoolers and up who aren’t growing as fast.
Accessories
Many kiddie pools are nothing more than that: kiddie pools. However, there’s a wide world of kiddie pools with accessories galore, like sunshades, slides, and even climbing walls. If you’re looking for a kiddie pool with a little something extra, consider kiddie pools with these additional features. Just take note that you might be pressed to find hard plastic pools that come with these accessories, as most accessorized kiddie pools are inflatable.
Why Trust The Spruce?
This article was written by Julie Evans, a writer who has been researching home products for The Spruce since 2017. She has extensive experience covering products for children, including toys and gifts. For this article, Julie considered budget, a child’s age, and several additional features, like slides and umbrellas. Additional reporting was done by Julia Fields, a lifestyle writer for The Spruce and The Spruce Crafts, covering all things surrounding toys, gifts, crafts, and the holidays. When not in use, it’s also a good idea to cover your kiddie pool. This will help keep it cleaner and protect it from things like bugs and larger debris.
