This semi inground pool buyers guide compares the two best models, and the only pools we think are worth a look. The Fox Ultimate, and the Aquasport 52. You can look at all the reviews online, nobody ever complained that one of these pools failed or was weak. I go to the Pool and Spa Shows every year, if something better comes along, I will sell it! These two pools also rank in the top 3 where I review of the best pools of 2026 – Available Here
If you’re the DIY type and want to know exactly how to bury one of these pools yourself — including real costs, what you can handle vs. what to hire out, and step-by-step process — read our complete DIY Inground Above Ground Pool Guide.
Compared to Traditional Inground Pools:
- Cost-Effective and Quicker Installation: A significant advantage is their lower cost and faster installation time.
- Reduced Excavation Concerns: You can install semi-inground pools at a shallower depth, minimizing concerns about hitting rock or ledge or the water table during excavation.
- Reduced Debris: Leaving the pool a foot or two above ground can help prevent leaves and other debris from blowing into the water.
- Better Design: The old inground pool paradigm is a rectangle pool with a shallow end and a slope to a deep end. But here’s what most people realize too late. The shallow end has only 3 feet of water, and the deep end is barely over your head. So, your standing in water up to your thighs, or you have to tread water. Don’t get me started on the dangers of the slope! Kids that cant swim can find themselves in water over their head real fast! Semi-inground pools are flat bottom with 4 feet of water. Which pool do you want to play volleyball in???
- We do have a similar pool to fox with 5 foot pool walls.
Compared to Above-Ground Pools:
- Adaptability for Sloping Yards: Semi-inground pools eliminate the need for retaining walls in sloping yards, as they can be installed to accommodate the natural grade.
- Improved Aesthetics and Durability: They offer a more aesthetically pleasing appearance and boast a longer lifespan due to the use of higher-quality materials, which also contributes to better resale value.
- Privacy & Safety: As a pool expert with over 40 years of experience this is what I hear the most: “I don’t want to be on stage for my neighbors”. Above-ground pools are four feet four inches tall, which, can make you feel a bit exposed if you build a deck. If you don’t build a deck you have to clime up a four foot plastic ladder to get in and out of the pool. Millions of people do it, the question is do you want to?
Semi-Inground Pool Package Cost
Click this link for a full Semi-Inground pool cost picture with installation, and what nobody tells you about.
Here are a few of the popular sizes available from both manufacturers. You can see the pool cost and the liner spread cost at the bottom of the table. The Fox Ultimate comes with an inground skimmer on any size, the Aquasport 52 would cost an extra $279.00.
Not included in the comparison chart below are the costs of; Pump, Filter, Stairs, and Shipping. There are to many types, sizes and options to compare them all now, I have other pages with more details about accessories.
Brochure Pages with Photo Gallery: Aquasport 52 | Fox Ultimate
| Size | Aquasport 52 | Fox Ultimate |
| 21 Round | $6,860.00 | $9,689.00 |
| 24 Round | $8,061.00 | $10,668.00 |
| 28 Round | Not Available | $12,273.00 |
| 15×30 | $9,920.00 | $13,531.00 |
| 17×32 | $11,819.00 | $14,307.00 |
| Liner Cost | $600-$800 (Included in prices) Upgrade to 20/20 mil for $900 or to 27/27 mil for $1600 | $1600-$2400 (20/20 mil Included in prices) Upgrade to 27/27 for $700 |
| Features | Aquasport 52 | Fox Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Salt System | Voids Warranty | Doesn’t Void Warranty |
| 8-foot In-wall step like inground | Not an option | Yes $3400 “optional” (see next line) |
| Drop-in step – like above ground | Yes – Recommend King Step by Merlin Industries (cost $725) | Yes – Recommend King Step by Merlin Industries (cost $725) |
| Wall type | 4 inch extruded aluminum panels | 14 Gauge ZAM Coated Steel panels in 2′, 4′, 6′, and 8 foot lengths |
| Coping | Aluminum Top plate like above ground pool – Coping can be added | 3-Options Available Trex wood top plate, or 4 inch coping for pouring cement, or just bead receiver for doing stone pavers |
| Heater | Can be added | Can be added |
| Round Sizes | 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 | 15, 18, 21, 24, 28 |
| Oval Sizes | 10×15, 10×18, 10×22, 12×18, 12×20, 12×24, 15×24, 15×30, 17×32 | 15×24, 15×30, 17×32 |
| Modified Rectangle Sizes | Not Available | 12×24, 14×30, 16×32, 18×36, 20×40 |
| Grecian Sizes | Not Available | 12×24, 14×30, 16×32, 18×36, 20×40 |
| Free Form – Modified Kidney Shape | Not Available | New For 2026 – Waiting for sizes |
In Massachusetts and want it built for you? MGK installs the Aquasport 52 and the Fox Ultimate, pulls the permit, and puts real 2026 invoices on the page: semi-inground pool installation in Massachusetts.
Semi-Inground Pool Installation Cost
Aquasport 52
Rough numbers for those just looking for rough numbers. Excavation, Installation, Plumbing and set up, for the Aquasport 52, but not including; water, permits, electrical service, patio, fencing, backfill, trucking away excavated material, or landscaping, you’re looking at a range of $5,300.00 – $10,500.00 depending on size. The highest price would be for the oval 17×32 with a vermiculite hard bottom.
Fox Ultimate
To excavate, install, plumb, and set up the Fox Ultimate, your looking at $8800.00 – $20,000.00. of course the 20k would be for the 20×40 with a vermiculite hard bottom. Add another $1500.00 for labor if you want the 8 foot In-wall step installed as well. That’s Just $35,500.00 for a massive 20×40 foot rectangle swimming pool.
Watch: Semi Inground Pools Compared
This is a video I did back in 2018 that compares a few semi inground pools including the Radiant Pool/Optimum Pools
Installing an Aquasport 52 Semi-Inground or Fully Inground
The image above: Is a sweaty amateur selfie of me getting ready to back-fill a 17x32x52 Aquasport 52 installed semi-inground pool
I could have easily dug a little deeper and installed this Aquasport 52 pool completely as an inground.
To install this pool completely inground you only need a couple different wall panels, an inground skimmer, and an inground pump which are now all available in a package. Build a Custom Package
The Admiral’s Walk Can Go in the Ground Too
The Admirals walk is generally thought of as an on ground pool, but you can bury this pool with no concerns. We don’t recommend going this deep in the ground if your yard is not fenced in. At this depth the fence is to easy to climb.
This is a great pool to put into the ground a foot or two. The deck and fence add such great value and having it in the ground a couple feet, makes you less visible to your neighbors. There’s always one creepy neighbor.
Other Semi Inground Pools I Don’t Recommend for Cold Winters
Radiant Pools
I would not install this pool in areas of the country where lakes and ponds freeze over during the winter. The reason is obvious in this picture.
Radiant pools are attractive and are one of only three Above ground swimming pool models that can be installed entirely inground, or semi inground. So they must be included in an article like this one. However, their design has been knocked off by a more significant manufacturer (Wilbar). Wilbar calls it the Optimum and a few other names.
The new Optimum is the product of over five years of development, and while you would be hard pressed to see the difference. The new Optimum is a more environmentally friendly design, making it a better pool than the Radiant in my opinion.
The Radiant Pool is the only pool with a built in wall step like an inground pool. Nice feature, but cost an extra 3k for the step, added installation, and delivery. Also, it makes changing the pool liner tougher and more expensive.
SIDE NOTE: Aquasport Pools used to sell the same step (neither company manufactures the step). But they got away from it due to leaks and failures from poor installations.
Wilbar Pools Maker Of the Optimum & Oasis/Intrepid Semi-Inground Pool Models
Mentioned earlier, Wibar manufactures the Optimum, but they also make a pool called the Oasis/Intrepid. The Oasis/Intrepid models are a semi inground pool with a maximum installation depth of 36 inches. The other pools can go fully inground.
Oasis/Intrepid Pool – Semi-Inground Pool
The Oasis is an excellent pool, and it has a solid pool wall. Certainly better than any rolled wall (1 piece coil) pool. The Oasis is made of good aluminum panels that lock into each other like the Aquasport 52, just slightly wider panels. The Oasis ranks as my number three pick for semi inground pools in states with cold winters.
The wall is thinner than the Aquasport 52, and the hardware is tiny sheet metal screws compared to hardware as fat as your index finger for the Aquasport 52. The cost is about as much, but if the Aquasport 52 didn’t exist I would buy the Fox and then the Intrepid next for partial inground installations.
Optimum Pools – Wilbar Pool
Optimum Pools have an insulated pool wall like the Radiant. The Optimum uses nontoxic environmentally friendly adhesives to adhere their aluminum alloy acrylic coated skins. The Expanded Polystyrene foam core has an R-value as high as 10. The R-value supposedly helps to maintain water temps 5-10 degrees warmer than standard above ground pools, but would you insulate a house with no roof? I think it is more of a marketing ploy.
These are sturdy swimming pools like the Radiant, but recommend installing in frost-free geographic locations. Also not a good idea to install in areas with acidic soil. The aluminum skins are thin and prone to oxidizing quickly.
Semi Inground Pools Ideas
There are a lot of reasons to go with a semi above ground pool. Pools that are usually marketed as above ground pools, but are capable of being partially, or wholly installed inground. These are some reasons below.
Semi Inground Pool Deck Options
Decks cost less, as they do not require as much material for framing. Meaning it’s cheaper to build a pool-deck for a wall height of 27 inches, than a wall height of 52 inches.
If you install your pool entirely in the ground, you can pour a cement patio like an inground pool, or make one out of patio pavers.
We have an Aquasport Pools dealer on Long Island NY that installs 60 of these a year completely inground with patio pavers.
Also, you get more privacy with a shorter deck, as you are not up on a stage for display to your neighbors as with a 52-inch high swimming pool completely on ground.
Fencing
Most local and state code requires a 4-foot barrier to entry. Fenced in yards may need to install alarms on doors that lead to the backyard to meet building code. Yards without fences in or only partially fenced, will either have to fence in the yard, or install a fence around the pool.
The budget-friendly option is of course to just fence in the pool. Some people who have their entire yard fenced in will also install a fence around the swimming pool, for extra safety.
We had just our pool fenced in, and made a rule after a close call… Anyone who can’t swim has to wear a flotation device when inside the pool-fence (even with adult supervision).
Landscaping and Design
Your design options are endless with a semi inground pool. You can go with a deck all the way around, you can install decking just on one side and landscape the back of the pool with flowers, or rocks, you can build a waterfall or even plant grass.
A real popular option lately, are deck jets. Just a couple jets that shoot water up like a water fountain, and land in the pool. When the pool is not in use, you have a backyard water feature. For the more adventurous, and those with slightly deeper pockets, you can make the shooting water light up with different colors. There is nothing like a lit up pool in the backyard at night, with a couple lit up streams of water arching into the pool.
Frequently asked Questions
Can I install a semi-inground pool in a slope or uneven yard?
Yes, that’s is a great benefit, You can save the cost of a retaining wall and fill to level the area, and invest it into a stronger pool. Plus, you can make the top part of the pool near the house like an inground pool without the inground pool cost.
What kind of backfill do you use for a semi-inground pool?
Most people wrap the wall in a thick plastic and backfill with 3/8 or 3/4 crushed stone. You can use whatever you want, but if you plan to build a patio with cement or paver stones you cant use what you excavated as it will settle. I use 3/8 pointy crushed stone for backfill on inground pools, fiberglass pools, all pools.
Can a semi-inground pool be transformed into an inground pool.
Yes, as long as you have an inground type skimmer and return. When a pool liner gets replaced on an above ground pool, you have to remove the skimmer and return wall plumbing. With inground pools you don’t have to, you just remove the faceplates. that’s why you can bury inground skimmers.
Can you bury a cheap rolled wall pool?
Of course you can (I wouldn’t), Doughboy pools has been doing it for years, here the catch, you have to backfill with a cement slurry once the pool is filled with water, so the wall doesn’t cave in down the road, plus it adds thousands of dollars to the project. Do you really want to do 5-20k patio and landscaping around a pool wall that cheap? Nowadays it’s tough if not impossible to even get a permit for that type of install.
Why don’t you sell or Mention the Radiant or Optimum pools?
You need to read my Radiant reviews and see the pictures and videos I took, This is not opinion, it’s first hand experience. Plus I would never insulate the walls of a house with no roof.
Why does the Fox Ultimate cost so much more to install?
It takes a lot more labor, but also because the Fox Ultimate requires a cement collar be poured around the entire bottom of the pool wall. A cement collar is required for all inground and semi-inground pools EXCEPT the Aquasport 52, and that cement cost about 2k.
Do you have any pictures or images of these pools?
Yes! We have included gallery’s at the bottom of the brochure pages: Aquasport 52 | Fox Ultimate. All of these images are from our builds or that of our DIY customers.
How much does it cost to bury a semi-inground pool yourself?
For a DIY installation with hired excavation, you’re looking at $15,000–$25,000 total depending on size, patio work, and equipment choices. I broke down every line item in our DIY Inground Above Ground Pool cost guide.
Michael Kern – Owner | Certified Pool Operator (CPO)
Mike Kern is the owner of MGK Pools Inc and a Certified Pool Operator (CPO) with over 40 years in the pool industry. He holds a Massachusetts Contractor License #191300 with zero complaints. Mike has personally installed thousands of pools across New England and ships pools nationwide as an authorized Aquasport Pools LLC (Buster Crabbe) dealer.
Still Researching? Here’s What Past Buyers Say.
No pressure, no salespeople — just real customers who were once right where you are now.
Mike was incredibly responsive to all my questions and very upfront and honest throughout the process. If you’re considering a pool, reach out to Mike — he’ll make sure you get exactly what you need without any pushy upselling.
Mike has been 1000% from the beginning — walking me through the buying process and making recommendations for my setup. I purchased 2½ years ago and he’s still helping me to this day. I recommend MGK every chance I get.
Highly recommend MGK Pools! Mike is super responsive to requests and always easy to communicate with. He offers great pricing and genuinely cares about getting you the right pool for your situation.