Large garden robot mower. Best Cheap Robot Lawn Mowers (2023)

Best Robot Lawn Mowers on the Cheap (2023)

There aren’t a ton of cheap robot lawn mowers out there… yet.

The main reason why these robot lawn mowers are cheaper is that they are specifically designed for smaller lawns (-500 m²). And that means, as you can imagine, in contrast to a large lawn, it takes less effort for these little gardeners with wheels to handle a smaller and usually less complex of a lawn in terms of their requirements for performance, computing and battery power.

Regardless, there are quite a few gems out there on the cheap even for the bigger lawns. They just needed to be found.

Along with this Robot Lawn Mower Buying Guide (which I really suggest you quickly skim through), let’s have a closer look at those cheaper ones I’ve come across. See which you fancy more and check out the corresponding review.

Top 10 Actually Cheap Robot Lawn Mowers

Before you go any further, let’s be clear about a couple of things when it comes to cheap robot lawn mowers in general. Wouldn’t want you to make a bad decision.

The robot lawn mower market is still rather new and so the selection is somewhat limited (and somewhat high) even as of 2023.

The so-called “cheap” robot lawn mowers are essentially just lesser versions of the more expensive models with only real difference being how big of a lawn they’re wired to handle. That means buying an expensive robot lawn mower might be counterproductive in case of a smaller lawn where you can (and should) get away with buying the lower cost version instead! But hey, I’m not your mom…

TLDR: cheap is not bad, rather they are meant for smaller lawn sizes (–500 m²) and usually don’t have all the bells and whistles, is all.

#0 Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD

Just to make sure we’re talking CHEAP… Of course you can get yourself one of the most expensive robot mowers like the Husqvarna Automower 435X AWD or an equivalent that pack powerful features such as the ability to traverse around obstacles with no contact, climb steep (35°) inclines with all-wheel driving (AWD) along with a beast of a battery pack, GPS navigation system mapping out the entire lawn so it doesn’t mow randomly, and so much more, but the initial cost would be too much for my monthly salary to handle. And what if it got stolen, or something like that, with no way for me to prove it afterwards…

Something more affordable would be one of the iMOW robot mowers, my personal pick in 2023, or equivalent, but which can still be rather on the heavy side for the wallet compared to these cheap ones here…

My experience tells me it’s much nicer to get into the robot lawn mower game without spending a fortune!

#1 Husqvarna Automower 115H

Lawn size up to around 1600 m² (17222 ft²). Max incline: 17.5° (or 30%). Battery: rechargeable 18 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 60 minutes (avg). Charging time: 60 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 50-90 mm (or 2″ to 3.6″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 22 cm (or 8.7″). Noise level: up to 60 dB. Remote control: yes (Bluetooth, cellular, and manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#2 Gardena SILENO Minimo 250

Lawn size up to around 250 m² (2700 ft²). Max incline: 20° (or 35%). Battery: rechargeable 18 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 65 minutes (avg). Charging time: 60-75 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-45 mm (or 0.8″ to 1.8″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 16 cm (or 6.3″). Noise level: up to 57 dB. Remote control: yes (Bluetooth, cellular, and manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#3 Flymo EasiLife 500 GO

Lawn size up to around 500 m² (5382 ft²). Max incline: 15° (or 25%). Battery: rechargeable 18 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 70 minutes (avg). Charging time: 75 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-50 mm (or 0.8″ to 1.97″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 16 cm (or 6.3″). Noise level: up to 57 dB. Remote control: yes (Bluetooth, cellular, and manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#4 WORX Landroid M500 WR141E

Lawn size up to around 500 m² (5382 ft²). Max incline: 20° (or 35%). Battery: rechargeable 20 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 70 minutes (avg). Charging time: 70 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 30-60 mm (or 1.2″ to 2.4″). Cutting blades: cut to edge 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 18 cm (or 7.1″). Noise level: up to 67 dB. Remote control: yes (Bluetooth, cellular, and manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#5 Lawnmaster L12

Lawn size up to around 800 m² (8611 ft²). Max incline: 20° (or 35%). Battery: rechargeable 20 V 4.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 120 minutes (avg). Charging time: 100 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-60 mm (or 0.8″ to 2.4″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 18 cm (or 7.1″). Noise level: up to 62 dB. Remote control: no (only manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#6 Einhell FREELEXO 1200 LCD BT

Lawn size up to around 1200 m² (12917 ft²). Max incline: 20° (or 35%). Battery: rechargeable 18 V 5.2 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 100 minutes (avg). Charging time: 120 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-60 mm (or 0.8″ to 2.4″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 18 cm (or 7.1″). Noise level: up to 59.4 dB. Remote control: yes (Bluetooth, cellular, and a manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#7 Flymo EasiLife 400 Go

Lawn size up to around 400 m² (4306 ft²). Max incline: 15° (or 25%). Battery: rechargeable 18 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 70 minutes (avg). Charging time: 75 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-50 mm (or 0.8″ to 1.97″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 16 cm (or 6.3″). Noise level: up to 58 dB. Remote control: yes (Bluetooth, cellular, and manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#8 Lawnmaster L10

Lawn size up to around 400 m² (or 4306 ft²). Max incline: 20° (or 35%). Battery: rechargeable 20 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 40 minutes (avg). Charging time: 45 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-60 mm (or 0.79″ to 2.36″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 18 cm (or 7.08″). Noise level: up to 62 dB. Remote control: no (manual control panel only). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#9 Landxcape LX796

Lawn size up to around 400 m² (4306 ft²). Max incline: 15° (or 25%). Battery: rechargeable 20 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 30-60 minutes (avg). Charging time: 240 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-50 mm (or 0.8″ to 1.97″). Cutting blades: 3 razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 16 cm (or 6.3″). Noise level: up to 65 dB. Remote control: no (only manual control panel). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

#10 Landxcape LX799

Lawn size up to around 300 m² (or 3229 ft²). Max incline: 15° (or 25%). Battery: rechargeable 20 V 2.0 Ah lithium-ion. Operating time: 30-60 minutes (avg). Charging time: 240 minutes (avg). Cutting height: 20-50 mm (or 0.79″ to 1.97″). Cutting blades: 3 pivoting razor-like blades attached to a rotating disc. Cutting width: 16 cm (or 6.3″). Noise level: up to 65 dB. Remote control: no (manual control panel only). The package includes everything you need to set it up and the mower has all the essential mowing, safety, and security features (be ware: additional perimeter wire needed in case of a more complex yard layout).

Going Cheap – FAQ

What’s the Difference Between a Low-Cost and an Expensive Robot Lawn Mower?

Assuming we’re talking about at least normal quality robot mowers from reputable brands, in my research I’ve determined that the low-cost robot lawn mowers aren’t all that much different from the more expensive models in how and what they do.

The main difference between them is how large of a lawn they’re designed to cover, which means the requirements for performance, computing and battery power are lower and thus ones come out cheaper. However, the really really cheap ones that are not just lesser versions of the more expensive models do cut corners in how complex of a lawn they can handle in comparison (depth of slopes, narrowness of paths, etc). Additionally and naturally, those really cheap ones might have less options to configure because of that. As such, there might only be a few buttons which would allow you to, for example, stop the mower, send it to recharge, set a password and/or the amount of time it should mow per day. I’d argue that there’s actually beauty in simplicity as they end up being more robust and practical with no gimmicks driving up the price unnecessarily.

They are otherwise, both the cheap and more expensive robot lawn mowers, all very similar in that they mow autonomously by mulching grass in the designated area.

How Do Budget Robot Lawn Mowers Work?

they cut, ahem, mulch grass (there’s a difference between cutting and mulching) autonomously and the cheap ones usually in a random pattern… “Yeah, no shit,” you’d no doubt say to that. You probably already get the gist of how they work (and if not, check with this article on How Robot Mowers Work), and no, they won’t do your dishes.

The dishes in this analogy would be some of the edges of your lawn, the odd hard to reach patches of grass due to narrow paths, the other side of your fence unless you’ve dragged a perimeter wire there as well and manually brought the mower there for the time being, the weed among your flowerbeds, though it might do a number on your kids’ toys (“learning the hard way”), and so forth. Even the most sophisticated breeds of robot lawn mower wouldn’t do all the work for you in this day and age. And I wouldn’t really want them to do it all anyway, come to think of it (AI takeover).

IMPORTANT: Robot lawn mowers they are designed to work often. They are not like your manual mowers that you push around for an hour and call it a day. These things operate all day long in a cycle of mowing and charging, e.g mowing for 50 minutes, charging for 60 minutes (varies per model). The number of times a lot of people have returned their brand new robot mower saying it left patches of grass uncut after finishing that first cycle is baffling. Here’s to hoping you’re now informed enough to not become that person. ^^

How Should I Choose a Robot Lawn Mower?

Here I can only really give you very generic sounding advice even after leaving out the super obvious like your lawn size or slope angles which tend to directly reflect in a higher price. You can get more insights from this article: Robot Lawn Mower Buying Guide (link opens in a new tab).

• Anti-theft features – if you don’t have a fence and fear your new robot lawn mower getting stolen, look for one with configurable password, alarm, and maybe even a GPS system. Here’s an insightful story: “Had someone try to steal my auto mower” (link opens in a new tab, source: Reddit).
• Compatible spare parts – try to make sure those aren’t available to you only on the other side of the ocean in advance (spare blades, extra perimeter wire, battery pack, etc).
• Weatherproofness – if it’s constantly raining in your area throughout the year then you might want to double check how it’s designed against humidity feature-wise.
• Ease of use – for example, where is the cutting height dial located (with some mowers you ought to bring out your screwdriver and flip the thing to even just raise or lower the blades… others have a dial right next to the control panel as a simple knob), does the control panel have a screen or just buttons, is there maybe remote control option, etc.

What if My Lawn Size Is Bigger Than What’s Recommended for a Given Unit?

It won’t be the end of the world, but you might end up with patches of uncut grass, especially in times of faster growing grass.

It’ll still be cut for the most part with a patch of uncut grass being an exception if your lawn didn’t exceed the recommended lawn size by too much. I know in this example the lawn size is way bigger than what the cheap ones can handle, but let’s say your lawn was roughly 5000 m² and the mower was designed for 4000 m², it’ll still be mostly cut (source). Again, and in my case at least, it wouldn’t equate to the end of the world.

Are the Cheaper Robot Lawn Mowers Safe?

Here’s the short version: NOT SAFE FOR PETS AND CHILDREN!

Here are some typical safety features (even the cheap ones tend have these):

• STOP button – it’s a manual highly visible red button which makes the mower stop in it’s tracks the moment it’s pushed
• collision detection – the mower comes to a full stop upon hitting something (though it might take a second for it to register the bump);
• lift and tilt sensors – the mower comes to a full stop when tilted or lifted (though, again, it might take a second for it to register the event);
• less powerful motor – they’re mainly designed to cut grass along with some odd branches at most (though this may wary across brands);
• low ground clearance – the space between the mower and the ground is narrow (say it did drive up your foot, it would likely trigger a tilt stop);
• clearance between chassis and blades – coupled with the latter, there’s also extra space between the edge of the mower and the blades;
• blades slice rather than cut through – when the pivoting razor-like blades come in contact with something hard, they slice rather than cut;
• blade exposure preventative plastic shield – a plastic shield around the blades that only let grass get in blades’ way (not all mowers have it).

For more info: Robot Lawn Mower Safety (link open in a new tab).

Is a Cheap Robot Lawn Mower Worth It?

It would feel very cliché for me to answer “yes” to this question for you. So instead I’ll say: “Probably.”

I mean, in my experience: money saved, timed saved.

The whole idea of a robot mower is that it would save you from the manual labor, right? Of course the downside would be the initial cost of buying one, which is slightly lessened by buying a cheap one, but then again the running costs would be pleasantly low afterwards. And then we’d only be left with the hassle of setting it up plus the maintenance (…and the worrying thought of it getting stolen, breaking down, or it running over your neighbor’s old and blind Tigger). Clearly there are pros and cons to everything.

And who knows, maybe you’re one of those people who love manually mowing their lawn, perhaps you’re simply just not aware of it yet.

What About the Running Costs?

As was mentioned earlier, the running costs are low, averaging out to about 50 per year overall (rough overestimate).

• Electricity – varies from mower to mower from 2.5 kWh to 34 kWh per month, costing roughly 2.
• Replacement battery pack – every 2 to 6 years the battery might wear out too much, replacement costing around 100.
• Replacement blades – it’s generally recommended to replace the blades twice per mowing season and 1 set of blades costs around 8.
• Extra boundary wire connectors – whatever comes with the package is usually never enough and a pet or what have you might chew on the wire that’s already there on top of that, so another payment of around 50 per 100 meters of wire whilst the connectors are sold similarly to the blades, in bulk, and priced about the same as the blade set.

PS! As is always the case, the numbers vary wildly depending on many things. In my case, the mowing season generally lasts for roughly 4 months only. The robot lawn mower usually mows for around 10 hours per day, half of the time charging at roughly 80 Wh (1000 W = 1 kW). That way it uses 12 kWh per month whilst electricity costs 0.13 kWh. That’s just 1.56 per month on electricity in my case. 4 months of mowing amounts to 6 on electricity fees in total. If that’s not low cost then I don’t know what is…

For more insights on costs, check this article (link opens in a new tab).

How Long Does a Cheap Robot Lawn Mower Last?

Given the initial cost, the low running cost means nothing if the mower went wheels up after just a couple of months. That’s how I’d think.

In my experience, these little gardeners tend to last a very long time if properly taken care of. I’m talking 10 years or more. Though, obviously, anything can happen in the meantime (flood, lightning, electrical malfunction, software bug, theft, tree falling accident, tornado, quick swim in the pond, severe case of overheating, shark attack, wait, what, and so on) and all of a sudden what would have been a decade becomes just a few years or even just months instead. Mine’s been going for 3 so far. My neighbors have had theirs for much longer.

Here’s a longer take on this topic: How Long Do Robot Mowers Last (link opens in a new tab).

Is It Hard to Install a Robot Lawn Mower?

It’s not hard, but it can be tedious.

You’re looking at installing the charging station, which is the easier part, where the only thing you ought to check beforehand is if you’ve got an outdoor power socket for it. the next thing is the installation of boundary (a.k.a perimeter) wire all around the area you want cut. The more complex the yard layout, as in flowerbeds and the like, the more time it will take to lay the wire around these things so that the mower wouldn’t go where it shouldn’t. There will be a lot of trial and error in the process when it comes to the perimeter wire unless things are well documented and the instructions clear enough (installation instructions manual is usually included in the package).

PS! Usually the package never includes enough perimeter wire to cover the entire lawn, especially if you had to take a little detour to exclude flowerbeds or the like from the mowing area [Psst! Essentially you could DIY the wire for much cheaper by buying a copper wire (only make sure it’s singular line and about the same in diameter as the original wire from the package) and using that. You could also just connect the DIY wire with the original and make it longer that way …But you didn’t hear that from me].

There are 2 ways to install the wire:

• using pegs – you’d lay the wire tightly against the ground and lock it down with pegs (over time the grass will grow over it making it all invisible);
• burying the wire – you’d cut a V-shaped mini ditch and place the wire in it (the robot mower will still sense it through the ground).

PS! Ideally you’d use the pegs first so as to see if everything works out over a few days or weeks. It’s easier to make adjustments to the installation this way, though you do run the risk of the mower cutting through the wire. Assuming the wire was not broken during that trial period and you’re happy with the results with no more adjustments needed for the layout, only then you might want to bury the wire (note that it’s not mandatory to bury the wire).

Is a Cheap Robot Lawn Mower Weatherproof?

All commercial robot lawn mowers along with their charging station and perimeter wire tend to be weatherproof by design (to a reasonable extent).

Robot lawn mower – given that these things work autonomously outdoors, they have to be weatherproof to some extent. They all have a shell that protects the more sensitive inner parts from weather elements, such as rain. The underside of the robot lawn mower is also fairly well covered leaving just the blades exposed. However, and obviously, the robot mower is not protected against extreme weather conditions, such as, in some cases, severe case of humidity, flat out flooding, overheating (plastic melting levels of heat), lightning, etc. Submerge your car in a pond and see if it comes out brand new with no negative effects down the line… You lucky bastard, you’ve found yourself beyond holy of a water (would it even be “water” anymore?). Just a reminder to practise some common sense.

Charging station – this one’s exposed to those same weather elements. I’d say flooding and severe case of overheating can do a number on it. I’ve left mine out for several snowy winters and it’s working fine (the waterline would have to reach the top of the charging station where the wires connect while electricity was running for it to break down).

Perimeter wire – boundary wire is exposed to corrosion much in the same way pipes are. That’s to say that the wire might actually outlive you unless you cut through it by accident, a rodent had a feast on it, or stuff like that. It’s safe to leave the wire out there even for winter.

PS! This all assumes you’re doing some maintenance from time to time and have set things up correctly to begin with (the instructions manual that comes with buying a robot mower tends to have ample information on that stuff).

How to Take Care of a Cheaper Robot Lawn Mower?

Relatively low maintenance:

• clean regularly;
• replace cutting blades when need be;
• replace rechargeable battery when it seems almost dead;
• install charging station in shaded area to protect the mower from the elements;
• don’t forget to unplug the power supply connected to the charging station you left outside for winter;
• when storing the robot mower, charge fully, turn off, clean, and place in dry indoor conditions, and avoid leaving in freezing temperature.

For deeper insights: Robot Lawn Mower Care Maintenance (link opens in a new tab).

How Much Noise Do Cheap Robot Lawn Mowers Make?

Most robot lawn mowers are said to operate at around 60dB or lower range (example).

60dB is most often referred to sound level a normal conversation would generate from a meter length which may sound loud depending on who you imagine is speaking. Like one of those toy cars that make a sound when you move their wheels. Something like that. Plus the whirling sound from blades slicing grass as they rotate.

Mine’s and my neighbors’ mowers you won’t hear them from further than few meters were you to walk by them. You really need to see them in order to connect the faint sound they make (the whirling and slicing of grass). If there was a hedge and the mower right next to you on the other side of it, you’d think you hear something coming from far away when in fact the mower making the sound is right next to you. That’s how “loud” they are.

Best robot lawn mowers 2023: Lawn maintenance made simple

The best robot lawn mowers are the future of lawn maintenance if you don’t like spending time doing it yourself. These Smart little bots are able to head out and cut your grass without you needing to lift a finger. That should keep your green spaces looking well cared for all year round.

Despite these robots still being a relatively new category in the mower world, they already come in many shapes and sizes. These are to suit the task required of them, meaning you’ll need to work out how large your cut area is before picking the ideal model to suit your needs. That could save you money up front as the largest model may not be needed.

Where, in traditional mowing, larger meant a wider cut area meaning fewer passes and a quicker cut. that’s less relevant here as the robot lawn mower will do all the work, so how long it takes it less of an issue. However, you may need to spend more on a model that can handle slopes if your area isn’t flat.

Lots of these robot lawn mowers are Smart, allowing you to control them with your phone, scheduling cuts, setting areas that are off limits. like flower borders. and getting alerts for any issues that may require your attention. Largely though, since these charge themselves, you can just leave them to it and enjoy the well maintained results.

While robot lawn mowers cut little and often to keep grass maintained, you may find you want a traditional mower too, in case your robot has the winter off and you miss that first cut in time before it gets long. In which case a look at the best cheap lawnmower deals could help. It’s also worth thinking thinking about borders, using the best lawn edgers and unwelcome guests where the best electric weed eaters can serve you. But for now read on to find the very best robot lawn mowers you can buy right now.

Husqvarna Automower 315X: Best robot lawn mower overall

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Reasons to avoid

The Husqvarna Automower 315X is our top pick of the best robot lawn mowers as its packed full of features. As you would expect from the Swedish manufacturer, this X-line model is loaded with all the features any robotic lawn mower could need. This includes a GPS tracking system, LED headlights, and its own app: Automower Connect. It also has voice control, a spot cutting mode, and anti-theft features.

The Husqvarna Automower 315X is one of the smallest in the brand’s X-line series. But its small size doesn’t mean it has a small capacity. It can cut large gardens up to 1,600m2, plus handle inclines of up to 40% – which is pretty steep!

But all these amazing functions means the model carries a steep price tag. It’s worth noting that this is the most expensive model in our line-up, costing around 2,500. You can find some great other robotic lawn mowers for cheaper, but the price won’t include all the added extras you get with the Husqvarna Automower 315X, like the installation of the boundary wires or LED headlights.

MowRo RM24A: Best affordable robot lawn mower

Reasons to avoid

The MowRo RM24A is the cheapest lawn mower in this guide at 900 but handles the steep inclines (up to 30 degrees). It might not have all the fancy high-tech features other robotic lawn mowers come with, but it does ensure your lawn is consistently cut using its 48-hour cycle.

You could say safety is of the MowRo RM24A’s best features. It has three blades which are tucked away in a protective Mowing Blade Guard. This guard allows grass to pass through but protects against foreign objects. It also has a bump sensor and automatic safety sensors which means the MowRo will reverse and stop the blades if it comes into contact with anything other than grass.

Performance-wise, the MowRo RM24A robotic lawn mower takes 90 minutes to charge fully and can cut for two hours. You can also set a custom cutting height anywhere from 1 inch to 2.5 inches. If you have a medium-sized lawn with some slopes to it, this is the best robot lawn mower for you.

Worx WR153 Landroid Robotic Mower: Best robot lawn mower for large gardens

Reasons to avoid

The Worx WR153 is a great choice if you’ve got a medium or large-sized lawn. Thanks to its clever AIA intelligent navigation technology, this robot mower can cut narrow passageways with ease.

Because this robot mower is Smart-enabled, you’ll be able to set it to work via your phone using the app. The Worx WR153 doesn’t mow in straight lines, but instead, works its way across your grass using a zig-zag motion so that the grass is evened out and looks uniform.

Suitable for gardens up to half an acre, this Worx robot mower is also fitted with safety features which mean the blades stop if the mower is picked up or tilted off the floor. great for if you have animals or small children. One fault we did find with this mower, however, is that it’s not great for reaching right to the edges of the lawn.

GARDENA 15201-41 SILENO Minimo: Best quiet robot lawn mower

Reasons to avoid

One of the quietest robot lawnmowers on the market, the Gardena 15201-41 is great for those who spend ample time in their yard. It operates at 57dB which is quieter than their old model, and less than the noise level of a normal conversation. This new model also features the upgrade of a Bluetooth-controlled app, so you can now configure the settings and auto-schedule from your mobile phone. great if you want to adjust your lawn mower from the comfort of your couch. It’s worth noting, however, that this only works from a radius of up to 10m, so it can’t be controlled while on vacation.

It’s also versatile for use in all different weather conditions. It keeps mowing come rain or shine and can navigate slopes of up to 35 percent, so you can rest easy knowing that it won’t run into any problems. Collision settings also ensure that it avoids any furniture or toys, preventing damage to itself and your belongings. With a run time of 65 minutes and automatic charging, it can run with virtually no human assistance which is a win for keeping on top of your lawn with minimal effort.

Worx WR140 Landroid M 20V: Best robot lawn mower for small lawns

Reasons to avoid

If you are looking for the best robot lawn mower for small lawns that have narrow passageways, you’ll find it in the Worx WR140 Landroid M 20V. That’s because the small device comes with patented AIA technology. This tech enables it to manoeuvre around narrow passageways with a minimum width of 60cm.

This robot lawn mower also doesn’t cut grass in straight lines, but instead, cuts the grass in a zig-zag motion so that the lawn is nice and even. Because of this motion, Worx also claims it can cut your 30% faster than other robot mowers.

The Worx WR140 Landroid M 20V robot lawn mower is also ideal for cutting right up to the edge of flower beds and borders thanks to its 7-inch offset blade. This blade is positioned towards the side of the device meaning that there is less tidying up of the borders for you to do.

With a typical mow time of 50 minutes and a cutting capacity of up to 700m2), the Worx WR140 Landroid is a great option if you have a small lawn with a little incline to it.

How to choose a good robot lawn mower

First of all, you’ll want to factor in the area you want your robot lawn mower to tackle. Most devices can handle around 0.25 to 0.3 acres, ideal for small to medium size lawns. If you have a bigger plot you may want to consider one with an extended range. Our top pick can mow up to 0.4 acres.

Another consideration is whether you’ll need a mower that can handle inclines. This is important if you have a hilly yard as you’ll want one that can make light-work of slopes. Out of the mowers we reviewed, there was a range of between 22 and 30 degrees. The dealers we spoke to say they’ve seen some mowers handle bigger slopes, including up to 45 degrees.

With the best robot lawn mowers, a great perk is that you don’t need to remember to charge them. The mower will return to its base when it needs a top-up so you may not even notice. Even so, it’s worth considering the length of time to charge and how long the machine can run with a full battery. Our top picks last about an hour on a full charge and take slightly longer than that to recharge completely. While it may not have much impact on your experience, it gives you an indication of whether the machine is well designed.

Multi-zone capability

Looking to mow more than one space? You’ll need a mower with multi-zone capability. This applies if you want to mow a front lawn and back lawn that are not directly connected. The robot views these as separate zones so look out for one with multi-zone capabilities. This means you can program the mower to remember more than one set of boundaries. You’ll find that most multi-zone robot mowers can cover between two or four zones which should be sufficient for most households.

Looking for the ultimate convenience? You’ll want to choose a mower you can schedule to run on particular days at specific times. This saves you the faff of having to remember to set the robot lawn mower to work. Consider how you’ll want to program the device. With some robot lawn mowers, you do this from the base while you can set other models remotely over a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection.

Advanced features

While all robot lawn mowers offer convenience, some models have additional premium features that give them the edge over the competition. If you have a large yard, a model with GPS might be a good choice so you can track its progress. You could also easily trace the mower if it was stolen so there’s no need to worry about it.

If you want to take convenience to the next level, why not consider a robot lawn mower that you control via an app? Some models allow you to control, configure and monitor the robot remotely via a mobile app so the robot doesn’t even need to be in sight.

Another handy feature is rain-detection technology, ideal in a wetter climate. Thanks to this clever tech, the mower can tell when it’s too wet to mow. You can even find some models which are designed to continue mowing during a shower.

What warranties do robot lawn mowers come with?

Worried about reliability? You’ll want to prioritize a good warranty so you can put your mind at rest. The best robot lawn mowers are an investment so this is especially important as you’ll want it to last.

Our round-up includes models with a range of warranties. Typically, the more expensive models come with a better warranty, so there’s a trade-off between saving money and having peace of mind. In our review, the warranties range between one and five years. The length of the warranty can also give you a sense of whether the manufacturer considers the robot is built to last.

Which is the best robot lawn mower for small gardens?

If you have an outdoor space that’s on the smaller side you’re probably looking for a robot mower that’s more specialized in tidying up corners. If that is the case, then the model that you should primarily be looking at is the Gardena 4069 R80Li. This quiet, well-designed robot lawn mower is ideal for tackling the complexities of smaller spaces, as well as providing top-tier cutting results.

The Gardena 4069 R80Li is ideal for keeping on top of your smaller garden all on its own, with a sensor that can detect how quickly your lawn is growing and how frequently it needs a trim. It also only takes 50 minutes to charge up, meaning even if it can’t manage your whole garden in one session, it can easily be charged up before it’s sent out for another mow.

Do robot lawn mowers actually work?

The big question, when you’ve never tried one of these models, is do robot lawn mowers actually work? And the answer is largely yes, if you’re talking about keeping your grass looking trim. These will make short and low cuts regularly to keep your lawn looking consistent, like it’s always just been cut. Like all robots, you may need to come and help every now and then, perhaps to clear a blockage or pop the mower back on its charger if it got stuck.

The areas that you may not have thought about are cutting around the robot lawn mower’s limits. So along borders, or sharp edges, where the mower may not be able to gain access, you might be needed to trim edges using an edge cutter. The other instance, where you may need to mow manually, is at the start of the season where the robot has had its time off and the first cut may have been missed. This could leave the grass too long for the robot to tackle before getting back into its routine of keeping grass short and manageable.

The mower is limited by its width, as are all mowers, but can move in and out of spaces based on this. So if you have a large open space, it should be simple work. However, if you have lots of slopes and tighter spots, it may be more difficult for your robot lawn mower to move about. That said, many of the best robot lawn mowers can tackle most lawns making them a very capable option for those that want to save time by letting the bot do the manual work for them.

Complete Guide to the Best Robot Lawn Mowers in 2023

Maintaining a perfectly manicured lawn can be a time-consuming and challenging task for homeowners. However, thanks to advances in technology, we now have a smarter and more efficient way to keep our lawns looking neat and pristine: the robot lawn mower.

Robotic lawn mowers have been gaining popularity in recent years due to their convenience, ease of use, and the fact that they can save homeowners both time and money.

In this article, we will take a closer look at exactly what robot lawnmowers are and what to look for when picking the right one for your lawn. We’ll also share our picks for the 5 best robot lawn mowers in 2023 and explore their features and benefits that make them stand out from the rest.

Whether you are a tech-savvy homeowner or just looking for an easier way to maintain your lawn, this guide will help you make an informed decision when it comes to choosing the right robot lawn mower for your needs.

What are Robot Lawn Mowers?

Robot lawn mowers are self-contained, autonomous machines that mow your lawn without the need for human involvement. They can cover the entire yard on their own thanks to self-learning programming.

These machines are equipped with sensors and mapping technology that allow them to navigate and mow lawns on their own while avoiding obstacles and following predetermined mowing patterns.

Most versions include dedicated smartphone apps that make it simple to change settings and mowing schedules. After being programmed, these robots require minimal human supervision.

Robotic lawn mowers are kind of like Roombas, but for your lawn. Both Roombas and robot lawnmowers are classified as ‘autonomous robots.’ These are intelligent devices that can do tasks on their own without continuous human control.

These robots will not require constant monitoring or remote control once they have been set up and programmed.

How Do Robotic Lawn Mowers Work?

To use a robot lawn mower, the owner must first place border perimeter wire around the area to be mowed. Think of it as the electric wire fence that some people use to keep their dogs in.

The border wire tells the robotic lawn mower where it can and can’t go. This keeps it from cutting your flower beds or getting out of your lawn. This wire has a low voltage, which means it is safe for people and pets to touch.

It will take roughly half a day to set up the wires, although this time frame is variable based on the size, shape, and landscape of your property.

After the robot’s task is done, it will follow the border wire back to the charging dock. Robotic lawn mowers are battery-operated, and most can cut an average-sized lawn on a single charge.

The robots will need a charging station to charge their batteries, which will need to be plugged into a power outlet outside the house.

How Much Do Robot Lawn Mowers Cost?

The price of most versions is between 1,000 and 4,000, though we’ve included a more budget-friendly option under 1,000 as well in this article. This may seem pricey, especially for such a compact device, but the robot’s advanced technology necessitates this high price.

You may get a model for as little as 500 if you’re willing to give up some of the more advanced capabilities. As mentioned above, we’ve included the best budget-friendly robotic lawn mower in this article as well.

Robotic lawn mowers are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which typically last 2–3 hours or around 300 to 500 charges. The battery life will differ from one model to the other and may also be affected by how well you maintain the robot.

The typical cost to replace a battery is around 50. The cost of batteries varies by manufacturer, but in general, they shouldn’t cost more than fifty bucks.

You can avoid frequently buying new batteries by investing in a docking station. While most docks will run you around 100, some robotic lawnmowers actually have charging stations that are included in the base price.

Even though you can leave your robotic lawn mower and charging station outside, many people prefer to buy or build a small shelter, like a dog house, to provide shelter. However, instead of building or purchasing a pricey shelter, you may just keep the robot and its docking station in your garage.

Also, you must include the indirect cost of the electricity needed to charge your robot. Charging will cause you to use more electricity, which will cause your monthly electricity bill to go up.

Given the wide range of electricity costs across the country, it would be hard to provide a universal estimate for this additional cost. However, the average rechargeable robotic lawn mower only requires 3.5 watts, so the cost will not be excessive.

When you include the cost of annual maintenance, a robotic lawn mower should only cost about 25 in additional charges per year following your initial investment.

What to Look for When Buying a Robot Lawn Mower

Here are the top things to look for when buying a robot lawn mower:

Cutting Area

Before you buy a robot mower, you should measure the size of your lawn. This is, by far, the most important factor to consider when buying one.

Mowers that are less expensive typically cover less ground. Their batteries are smaller, their blades are narrower, and their guidewires are shorter. You can quickly exclude models from consideration if you discover that your lawn is too large for them.

Battery Life

Most people don’t give robot lawnmowers’ battery life much thought because they can charge themselves.

But, if you want a mower that gets more done at a given time of day or night, you will need a battery that lasts for a longer period of time. This will allow you to consolidate the daily mowing into fewer active sessions.

Interface

When it comes to controlling your Smart home devices, nothing beats being able to do it from the comfort of wherever you happen to be. Some robot lawnmowers do exactly that.

You can use your phone’s Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cellular connection to connect to them and look at statistics or send new commands. This technique can also quickly alert you to problems, like a blade stoppage or a theft attempt.

Some mowers only use an onboard control unit to operate. Even though it isn’t always necessary, the convenience of a phone app is something to think about when making a purchase.

Other Features

The mowers on this list all work in essentially the same way, but they each have their own special features. The WORX mowers are equipped with an offset blade that allows them to mow right up to the perimeter, reducing or eliminating the need for extra trimming.

Models with cellular connectivity use GPS tracking to track down mower thieves. This can also be useful when trying to recover a robot mower if it manages to escape your lawn and drive into bushes.

So, keep an eye out for other special features that might be helpful for your lawn.

Best Robot Lawn Mowers in 2023

As technology advances, robotic lawn mowers are becoming increasingly popular and efficient. There are many models on the market today, all offering different features that can make a big impact on your lawn. Here is a list of the 5 best robot lawn mowers in 2023:

Best Overall Robot Lawn Mower: Worx WR155 Landroid L

Maximum Area: 0.5 acres Cutting Width: 8 inches

If you want a perfectly manicured lawn, look no further than the Worx Landroid. The Landroid series has various models, but the WR155 is the clear standout. This small robot is powered by Worx’s 20V Power Share battery, which is removable and may be used in any of Worx’s electric tools.

The WR155 can cover lawns up to half an acre in size, making it ideal for nearly any suburban property. It has an 8-inch cutting deck with an automated raising and lowering blade disc to provide uniform cutting, even on uneven ground and difficult terrain.

What’s best is that it can also cut closer to boundary lines, fences, and walls than other robotic mowers since the cutting disc is offset to one side.

The Worx Landroid AI tracks the mower’s motions and directs its labor toward regions that aren’t being mowed, ensuring that it keeps a uniform cut. A discrete ground wire keeps it within the boundaries of your property. It automatically goes back to its charging bay when its battery runs out or it detects rain.

A user-friendly mobile app allows you to monitor and adjust your Landroid’s settings. You can connect via either a direct Bluetooth connection or your home Wi-Fi. If the Landroid leaves its designated area, you will be notified instantly by an anti-theft system.

If theft is a significant concern for you, consider the WR153 which is a Landroid with GPS tracking built in. The WR155 was our top pick because of its versatile battery, rock-solid dependability, and feature-rich software.

Plus, you could save some money if you have a smaller lawn. The popular Worx Landroid line of robotic mowers includes the S, M, and L models, which can take care of yards up to 1/8 acre, 1/4 acre, and 1/2 acre, respectively.

Best for Medium to Large Lawns: Husqvarna 430XH Automower

Maximum Area: 0.8 acres Cutting Width: 9.45 inches

While being more expensive, the 430XH covers the largest ground of any robotic mower, with an incredible 0.8 acres of area coverage. This intelligent little robot is backed by the Husqvarna brand and contains cutting-edge mowing technology.

The adjustable deck can cut up to 3.6 inches high. Three extremely sharp blades on a 9.45-inch mower deck produce a cut of professional grade. Plus, the battery can power the mower for a maximum of 145 minutes on a single 60-minute charge.

Three guide wires guard your grass against streaks generated by repeating the same route. Five remote starting points can be set up to make sure the area closest to the dock doesn’t get cut too much and to reach areas that can only be reached by a narrow path.

Husqvarna’s unique technology uses GPS to create a digital map of your lawn, which it then uses to cover the entire area.

You may access and program your mower using the Automower Connect app from a nearby Bluetooth connection or from anywhere in the world using a cellular uplink. You can even use your Amazon Alexa or Google Home system to control the mower.

The anti-theft system comes with a GPS tracker, an alarm, and a custom PIN that stops the system from working outside the boundary wire. When the mower detects abnormal activity, sophisticated lift and tilt sensors rapidly disable the blades to prevent damage.

Overall, the Husqvarna 430XH is one of the best robot lawn mowers money can buy, and you won’t be disappointed by its cutting-edge technology, advanced features, and large coverage area.

Best Quick Charging Lawn Mower: Husqvarna 115H Automower

Maximum Area: 0.25 acres Cutting Width: 8.5 inches

Robotic mowers require frequent charging for the best runtimes because they use either interchangeable or built-in batteries. Sadly, it also means that you might be forced to wait while your mower charges before it can continue mowing the grass.

The Husqvarna 115H offers one of the quickest charging times, with a fully charged battery in under an hour. This means you won’t need to spread out your mowing across multiple days to account for charging times. Plus, you can FOCUS on other outside tasks like edge trimming and weed picking while it quickly charges!

It’s a great robot mower for small to medium-sized lawns. The 115H can mow up to a quarter acre with its 8.5-inch cutting deck, and its lift and tilt sensors will disable the blades if the mower is elevated. This prevents pets, children, and adults from being injured if the mower becomes trapped on an object or flips over.

To prevent theft, your robot mower has an anti-theft alarm that can only be disarmed by a specified personal identification number (PIN). This means that thieves can’t just turn the alarm off and take your robot mower.

A rain sensor stops it from cutting grass when it’s wet, so it won’t get damaged. It comes with the same high-cut deck as the 450XH mentioned above and can make cuts up to 3.6 inches long. And it also works with the same Automower Connect app, making it simple and easy to use.

This Husqvarna Automower is different in a few key ways from its more expensive cousin. It lacks the cellular capability necessary for GPS-assisted mapping and theft tracking.

Best Robot Lawn Mower for Steep Hills: MowRo RM24 Robotic Lawn Mower

Maximum Area: 0.25 acres Cutting Width: 9.5 inches

The MowRo RM24 Robotic Lawn Mower is an easy choice for people with small to medium-sized yards and tight budgets. It has a 28V 4Ah lithium-ion battery that can run the efficient brushless motor for 2 hours on a single charge. The RM24 can mow up to a quarter acre, including steep slopes up to 30 degrees, on a set schedule every 48 hours or on demand.

It can work safely because it has sensors for rain, tilt, and impact. This means it can automatically avoid bad weather, steep slopes, and obstacles. The cutting height is manually adjustable between 1 and 2.5 inches.

The MowRo RM24 was one of the simplest robot mowers thanks to its intuitive onboard controls and dependable performance. It has a similar boundary wire and base station setup as the rest of the mowers on the list.

But it’s important to note that this robot lawn mower doesn’t come with Bluetooth connectivity and all operations are done using the onboard control panel, including setting up the schedules for mowing.

It’s a great robotic lawn mower that offers good value for money and is ideal for lawns with steep terrain.

Best Budget-Friendly Robot Lawn Mower: Gardena Sileno Minimo

Maximum Area: 5,400 sq. ft Cutting Width: 6.2 inches

A robot mower doesn’t have to cost a fortune for homeowners with smaller yards. The Gardena Sileno Minimo is intended for small suburban or urban lawns of up to 5,400 square feet.

The Sileno Minimo from Gardena is one of the quietest mowers on the market, and its compact size makes it ideal for tight places and intricate landscaping. Plus, the Bluetooth-enabled app makes it easy to set up and schedule.

The lithium-ion battery allows for 65 minutes of mowing time on a single charge. What’s best is that this mower is waterproof and will keep working regardless of the weather. A frost sensor checks the temperature of the ground, and when it gets cold enough, the robot goes to sleep for the winter.

If you have a lawn that’s under 2,700 square feet, it’s worth checking out this other Gardena model that’ll help save even more money!

Other Lawn Guides from Planet Natural:

The Best Robot Lawn Mowers (Comparison And Review)

So you’re thinking about buying a robot lawn mower but are unsure which model to buy.

I was in your situation when I first started learning about robot lawn mowers. With so many models available, confusing specifications and model names that seem to make no sense, you might need a bit of help.

Good News: This article will help you to identify the best robot lawn mower models on the market today, as well as explain the main features that you should consider.

The recommendations in this article are the result of hundreds of hours of research and real world testing, and tens of thousands of hours of real world use, from myself and a number of contributors to this website. I feel that each recommendation provides the best performance for the price in each lawn size category.

The First Thing To Consider Is The Size Of Your Lawn

The size of your lawn is one of the most important factors when choosing a robot lawn mower, so I have divided my recommendations into 7 different lawn size categories. Once you have worked out how big your lawn is, you can FOCUS on the models that are most suited for this size of lawn.

5 Best Robot Lawn Mowers You Can Buy In 2023

The first section of this article provides my recommendation for the best robot lawn mower at each lawn size category. I then go into detail about all the main features and provide a comparison between different robot lawn mowers. Hopefully this will help you determine what the best robot lawn mower is for your particular circumstances.

Lets Get Started: Here are my choices for best robot lawn mower of 2019.

Best for lawns up to 400m² – Flymo 1200R

The Flymo 1200R is suitable for lawns of up to 400 m² and has an excellent balance of features for a really competitive price. For those with a smaller garden, who don’t want to spend more than is necessary on a robot lawn mower, I think that this is the best robot lawn mower for you.

The Flymo brand is owned by Husqvarna, one of the giants in the world of robot lawn mowers. As a result, it is very similar to the Husqvarna 105, which can manage lawns of up to 600m², but costs twice the price. I have personally used the Flymo 1200R for two years and have been delighted with it. It’s usually one of the best value robot lawn mowers and I’d highly recommend it. Check out the customer reviews of the Flymo 1200R on Amazon and see the current price.

It lacks Smart features and doesn’t do as good a job on your edges as some other brands, but the core functionality is excellent at an unbeatable price. Read my full review of the Flymo 1200R here.

Best For Lawns Between 400m² and 600m² – McCulloch ROB R600

The McCulloch ROB R600 is designed for slightly larger lawns, and follows on closely from my last recommendation. It is able to manage lawns of up to 600 m², and has great core functionality to manage your lawn really well without any human intervention. The McCulloch brand is also owned by Husqvarna and you can see a lot of similarities between this model and both the Flymo 1200R and Husqvarna 105.

Where the McCulloch ROB R600 wins is on the balance between cost and features. Again, it is targeted at the more cost-conscious buyer, but if you are looking for an excellent robot lawn mower at a very reasonable price, then you cannot go wrong here. Check the current price of the McCulloch ROB R600.

Spares, repairs and customer service are also excellent due to McCulloch being part of a larger company. For lawns of this size, I think the Husvarna 105 offers no better performance for a lot more money. Other competitors such as the Robomow RX series are quite expensive and have a few critical flaws, and the Worx models struggle to compete on price and performance.

There are a number of other brands in what is a fairly crowded segment of the market, but I don’t think the McCulloch ROB R600 can be beaten at present. There is also an R1000 model that can manage lawns of up to 1000 m² which is a solid choice also. Click here for a full review of the McCulloch ROB R600.

Best For Lawns Between 600m² and 1000m² – Robomow RC304u

For slightly larger lawns, I think the Robomow RC models are an excellent package, and the RC304u in particular, hits a sweet spot for price and performance. For a fairly competitive price, you get access to some of the great features that Robomow have in their mid-range robot lawn mowers.

The Turbomow feature makes longer grass effortless and the Smart features are both functional and great fun. The edge mode does a much better job of edge cutting than other competitors. The Robomow RC304u has a wider cutting diameter than most other robot lawn mowers in this price range, reducing the time it takes to cut your lawn. The negative of this is that it has higher power consumption and shorter working time per charge.

The Robomow RC304u is also a fair bit louder during operation than many of the competitors in this category. The Husqvarna 310 and the McCulloch ROB R1000 are both worthy competitors in this segment, but the combination of features of the Robomow RC304u make it the best robot lawn mower if your garden is between 600m² and 1000m². I have written a full review and installation guide for the Robomow RC304u here.

Best For Lawns Between 1000m² and 1500m² – WORX WR153E L1500

Worx have a lot of robot lawn mowers available for smaller gardens and they are all reasonably good, but it is not until we get to the models designed for slightly larger gardens where I feel they can compete on both features and price. The WORX WR153E L1500 matches the performance of the Robomow robot lawn mowers, but does so with quieter operation and at a cheaper price.

The main competition is the Robomow RC308u and the Husqvarna 315. I was particularly impressed with the navigational ability of the WORX WR153E L1500. Worx have a patented AIA artificial intelligence system which improves the efficiency with which your lawn is cut, and improves its ability to pass through narrow stretches of your lawn.

Choosing the best robot lawn mower for this size of lawn was tough as there is great competition, but the WORX WR153E L1500 comes out on top. Check the current price of the WORX WR153E L1500 and read customer reviews on Amazon.

Best For Lawns Between 1500m² and 2500m² – Robomow RS615 Pro X

For lawns above 1500m², most manufacturers are starting to throw everything they’ve got into their models to compete with the competition. The Robomow RS Royal line of robot lawn mowers is pretty impressive all round. It has one of the widest cutting decks of any robot lawn mower, ensuring very fast and efficient cutting of your lawn.

At this size of garden, we have another entrant, the John Deere Tango E5, which is another excellent product, but just can’t quite match the superb performance of the Robomow RS615 Pro X.

For lawns of between 1500m² and 4000m², I think Robomow have the best robot lawn mower offering, and are able to produce it at a very competitive price.

Best For Lawns Between 2500m² and 4000m² – Robomow RS625 Pro

The Robomow RS625 Pro is essentially an upgraded version of the previous recommendation. It does a brilliant job of maintaining your lawn in a freshly cut state with no human intervention. The cutting system of the RS range uses a pair of counter rotating, solid blades which are able to handle anything that it thrown at them.

Slope performance of the Robomow RS line-up is a slight chink in the armour, as they can only manage a slope angle of 20 degrees, versus the 25 degrees of the very best performer, the Honda Miimo 3000. The extensive dealer network, parts availability and accessible customer support help to give the Robomow models the edge.

I surprised myself a little when I didn’t pick any Husqvarna robot lawnmowers in my top choices, as they are one of the major companies in the sector. Their robot lawn mowers are excellent and you couldn’t fail to be happy with any of their products.

For larger gardens, if the pricing was equal, it would be a very tough call to pick the best robot lawn mower between Husqvarna and Robomow. For now, though, I would definitely give the Robomow offerings the nod. Click here to find read more about the Robomow RS625 Pro – Full review.

Best For Lawns Larger Than 4000m² – Ambrogio L250i Elite S Plus

In the biggest lawn size category, I have chosen a model from Ambrogio. This was essentially a three horse race between the Husqvarna 450X, the Robomow RS 635 Pro SX and the Ambrogio L250i Elite S Plus. Ambrogio have a number of models available for smaller gardens, including one for very tiny lawns which is the only model available that does not require installation of a perimeter wire.

However, Ambrogio’s larger models are where they really shine. They also have models that can manage much larger areas of grass, including the L400 elite, which can manage up to 30 000m2 and can work for 11 hours at a time. The performance and features of Ambrogio’s larger models are really impressive, and certainly for any lawn over 5000m2, I would struggle to recommend anything else.

With a lawn capability of up to 5000m2, the Ambrogio L250i Elite S Plus will do a brilliant job. It has the longest cutting time of any of its competitors and the navigational ability is excellent.

Our Experience

We have spent hundreds of hours testing and researching robot lawn mowers and have thousands of hours of real-world use. We have spoken to all the major manufacturers to gain a complete understanding of the robot lawn mower market.

We do not discuss every robot lawn mower for sale in this article. If a model is not mentioned, its because it did not meet our shortlist of candidates to consider for our top recommendation. I don’t believe that you will find a more complete resource online to help you research robot lawn mowers.

Who Should Get A Robot Lawn Mower

Robot lawn mowers are still regarded as a niche choice for lawn care. They have been available for domestic use for over 20 years, and for commercial use for even longer. The technology has developed slowly and steadily and the cost has slowly reduced.

The market for robot lawn mowers is increasing rapidly and is forecast to grow at between 17-20% per year between 2018 and 2025. As a result, I think that robot lawn mowers are now becoming a mainstream option for lawn maintenance.

Robot lawn mowers are best suited to people who live in a property with a lawn in one or two main sections. The more fragmented your lawn, the less benefit you will get from purchasing a robot lawn mower. Robot lawn mowers can now manage lawns of considerable complexity and they generally have good ability to manage slopes.

There are two main downsides of robot lawn mowers. Firstly, they require installation of a perimeter wire and this can take several hours if you have a large and complicated garden. Secondly, even the best robot lawn mower will not cut the edges of your lawn perfectly.

There are some models that do a really good job and will be able to manage the edges of some gardens. However, for most people, you will have some edge maintenance to do. If you do not want to have any input in caring for or maintaining your lawn, you may want to stick with a gardener for a while yet.

Best Robot Lawn Mower of 2023 | The 5 Best Robot Mowers Review

How We Picked

When considering the best robot lawn mower to pick for each size of lawn, I wanted to pick the model with the best overall performance at maintaining a lawn. However, I wanted to ensure that each pick represented good value for money. There are many models available that compete very closely on features, but there can be a considerable difference in pricing. For this reason, pricing had more of an impact on my choices than I thought it would.

Where I feel a robot lawn mower model is sufficiently better than the competition to justify a higher price, I have included it.

How Good Are Robot Lawnmowers?

There are no perfect robot lawn mowers yet, so our recommendations are of the best robot lawn mower available currently at each lawn size category. The main drawbacks are the installation process and the limited ability to fully maintain the edges of a lawn. Edge cutting ability is improving with every new model, but there has been very little sign of a solution to the perimeter wire issue. There is only one robot lawn mower currently available that does not use a perimeter wire to navigate around a lawn. This is the Ambrogio L60 Deluxe.

Whilst the Ambrogio L60 Deluxe is to be applauded for trying something new, the drawbacks mean that I cannot recommend it. The main negatives are that it will only work on lawns with very specific lawn characteristics, and it will not charge automatically.

You need to charge it manually and then it will work for up to 2 hours, before stopping when it runs out of battery. It is only suitable for lawns of up to 200m². There are much better alternatives from a range of companies and for a small lawn of less than 200 m2, the time to install a perimeter wire would be very short indeed.

Things You Should Think About When Considering A Robot Lawn Mower

The next section of this article will discuss all the major features and aspects of robot lawn mowers which you should think about before making a purchase. It’s better to think now, and choose a suitable model, than to purchase something that is less suitable for your needs.

Installation Process

The installation of almost all robot lawn mowers is a fairly time consuming process. This is due to the need to install a perimeter wire around the border of your lawn and any obstacles within your lawn, such as flower beds or ponds. There is only one robot lawn mower currently available to buy that does not require the installation of a perimeter wire. This is the Ambrogio L60 Deluxe. However, it has some major drawbacks and you need to be very sure that it will work on your particular lawn setup before deciding to purchase it.

Thankfully, installation of a robot lawn mower only has to be done once, and after it is done you can look forward to effortless lawn maintenance from your robot lawn mower. The main things to think about with the installation process of a robot lawn mower are as follows;

Access To A Power Supply

You must be able to run a low voltage power cable from the charging station to a suitable power source. If you have an outside power source, this will need to be within the range of the supplied power cable. Alternatively, it is usually possible to buy longer power cables from your supplier.

If you do not have an external power socket, it may be practical to run a cable from an inside power socket. I have seen people run the power cable through a ventilation duct to access an internal power source quite successfully. Alternatively, it may be an opportunity to get an external power socket installed. The best location for an external power socket is within the garden itself, rather than attached to the external wall of your house. The reason for this is that the power cable will not have to cross any path or patio on the way to your lawn.

Charging Station Location

Most manufacturers provide guidance about where to install the robot lawn mower charging station. Note that most manufacturers advise installing the charging station on the edge of your lawn, not on a path or patio. This was something that initially took me by surprise when I first purchased a robot lawn mower. I originally planned to install the charging station next to the external wall of my house, where my external power socket is. After realising my mistake, I installed the charging station on the edge of my lawn and ran the power cable across a short section of path to the power socket and used a rubber cable management strip to keep the cable from being a tripping hazard.

In a subsequent installation, I was able to ensure that a power socket was installed at the edge of a flower bed next to my lawn. This ensured that the cable from the charging station was right next to the power socket and there was no cable getting in the way.

There is very little difference between the individual manufacturers and models in terms of the charging station location advice. You must have 1-2 metres of flat grass in front of the charging station to ensure that the robot lawn mower will be able to enter and exit from the station without any problems. You should place the charging station on a flat section of grass to minimise the risk of the robot lawn mower losing traction when it is entering or exiting the charging station.

If your lawn has a major slope, you should put the charging station on the lower level. This will ensure that when the robot lawn mower returns to the charging station in a low battery state, that it is able to reach the charging station without any problems.

Perimeter Wire Installation

The majority of the installation time will be spent placing and securing the perimeter wire. This wire will carry a low voltage electromagnetic signal which the robot lawn mower will use to detect the edge of the lawn. The perimeter wire can either be pegged to the ground or buried several centimetres under your lawn. Installation of the perimeter wire is fairly standard across all manufacturers and models, with only minor variations. The distance that the perimeter wire should be installed from the edge of your lawndoes vary a little from manufacturer to manufacturer. It also usually varies depending on what your lawn borders with. Typically the perimeter wire is installed slightly further from the edge of your lawn when it meets a fence or wall, and much closer to the edge of the lawn where it meets a path or patio.

Guide Wire Installation

In addition to a perimeter wire, some brands of robot lawn mower also require the installation of a guide wire. This is a wire that runs up the middle of your garden and assists your robot lawnmower in locating the far side of your lawn and to access difficult to reach areas. It also assists the robot lawn mower in finding it’s way back to the charging station.

There are several brands of robot lawn mower that do not require the installation of a guide wire. Two examples, Robomow and Worx, use the perimeter wire to assist with navigation back to the charging station instead. As a result, the installation of robot lawn mowers from these manufacturers tends to take a little less time.

Initial Start Up And Calibration

I think all the major manufacturers do a good job of guiding you through the first start up and calibration process. Most models guide you through this process via the control panel and provide fairly clear supporting documentation in the manual. I was particularly impressed with Robomow in this regard, who have an excellent YouTube channel with videos that provide great guidance in the installation and initial start-up process.

Cutting Height

Most robot lawn mowers have good options to adjust the cutting height of the blades. Many models are able to cut your grass to a length of between 20 and 60mm. A number of models do you offer lower and higher cutting heights. If you prefer your lawn to grow longer, which is common with warm weather grass varieties, you may want to look at models such as the John Deere tango E5, which has a maximum cutting height of 102mm.

At the lower end of the cutting height scale, the R obomow RC range has a minimum cutting height of 15 mm. For the vast majority of people, any robot lawn mower will meet your requirements for cutting height, but if you like a particularly short or long lawn, it is worth looking at this feature closely to make sure that your chosen machine will meet your requirements.

Cutting Width

As a robot lawn mower moves across your lawn, the width of the strip of grass that will be cut depends on the width of the cutting blades. There is considerable variation in cutting width and it will impact how long it takes for your lawn to be cut. There are pros and cons of having a wider cutting mechanism in your robot lawn mower. Wider cutting mechanisms will get the job done quicker, but they are typically less power efficient and more noisy.

I look at this feature as a trade off between noise and working time. You can opt for a model that will produce more noise during operation, but that takes a shorter time to cut your lawn and spends more time in its docking station. This type of model is less likely to get in your way whenever you are trying to enjoy your garden. However, while it is working, it may impact the peace and quiet of your garden.

The alternative is to have a model with a narrow cutting mechanism that makes very little noise but spends more time cutting your lawn. You will typically see this type of model moving around your garden more frequently, but it will be less intrusive.

Personally, I would rather have a quieter robot lawn mower. I can schedule the robot lawn mower to cut my lawn while I am at work or at night so the time it takes to cut my lawn is irrelevant.

Models such as the Flymo 1200R and Husqvarna 105 have a cutting width at the lower end of the spectrum, at 17cm, but are also some of the quietest during operation. Compare this with the Robomow RS Royal 625 Pro, which has a massive 56cm cutting width, but is also one of the loudest models while working.

Robot Lawnmower Battery Type

I think that it is important to opt for a robot lawn mower that uses a lithium ion battery for power. There are still a few models available that use old lead acid batteries. Lead acid batteries are cheaper than lithium ion batteries, but the advantages stop there.

Lead acid batteries have less power density, meaning that a lead acid battery of the same capacity as a lithium ion battery is much larger and heavier. They also last for fewer charge cycles and take a lot longer to charge than lithium ion batteries. A typical model using a lead acid battery will take 16-20 hours to charge versus about an hour for a lithium ion battery.

Another important point is that the capacity of a lead acid battery reduces faster over time than a lithium ion battery, and the degradation in charge capacity at higher temperatures is worse than lithium ion batteries.

Lithium-Ion batteries, have all of the advantages that lead acid batteries do not. They have higher energy density, longer life, faster charging and lighter weight. The cost of lithium ion batteries is decreasing slowly over time and the power density is increasing, leading to more affordable batteries with longer working time.

I think it is essential to pick a model that uses lithium ion battery technology, as the advantages far outweigh the higher cost.

Operational Time

The operational time of a robot lawn mower depends on a number of factors. Larger, heavier robot lawn mowers, with solid, individually rotating cutting blades, will have greater power requirements. Models can compensate for this by including a larger battery, but this will tend to increase the cost of the machine.

You cannot discuss operational time without mentioning the volume of grass that is cut per unit time. As mentioned previously, machines with larger blades and a wider cutting diameter will typically cut your lawn faster than those with a narrower cutting diameter. The main consideration is that the model that you are choosing will be able to maintain your grass in a well cut state and has a good balance of cutting rate, battery size and operational time.

You will also need to bear in mind that obstacles such as flower beds, ponds and garden furniture, as well as steep hills and long grass will increase the power consumption of your robot lawn mower. The operational time of a robot lawn mower can vary from as little as 45 minutes for the Robomow RC304u, up to 270 minutes for the Husqvarna 450X and 420 minutes for the Ambrogio L250i Elite S.

Edge Cutting Ability

There are no robot lawn mowers currently available that will perfectly cut the edges of every lawn. If your lawn is bordered completely by a path or a patio, it is likely that most robot lawn mowers will be able to cut right up to the edge of your lawn and you will not have any maintenance of the edges to do. However, if there are sections of your lawn which are next to obstacles such as walls, fences, flower beds, or drops, it is unlikely that a robot lawn mower will not cut the edges perfectly.

There is some variation in the edge cutting ability of different robot lawn mowers, and this may be a factor in your purchasing decision. Typically, the best models for edge cutting are those from Worx and Robomow. Models for both these companies have more advanced edge cutting capability and can come pretty close to getting your edges fully cut. However, even the very best robot lawn mowers will still struggle to cut your grass right up to the edge of a fence or a wall. For this reason, if you are going to buy a robot lawn mower you do need to accept that you will need to maintain the edges of your lawn to some degree, or be content to have untidy edges.

I think the worst scenario would be to purchase a robot lawn mower without realising this limitation as it could lead to disappointment. If you are fully informed before making your purchase, I have no doubt that you will see the limitations in edge performance as a minor inconvenience rather than a deal breaker.

My own robot lawn mower cuts to the edge of my lawn perfectly where it meets my patio and path, and leaves a small strip of uncut grass of between 5 to 10 cm in diameter next to flower beds. I have to use an lawn strimmer around the edges approximately every 3 to 4 weeks to keep these looking neat. It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to do and is a minor inconvenience compared to having to do all the work myself with a traditional lawn mower.

Ability To Cut Longer Grass

Robot lawn mowers are designed to keep your grass looking freshly cut at all times. However, when you first get a robot lawn mower, your grass may not be freshly cut and might be quite long and unkempt. Similarly, after you bring your lawn mower out after winter maintenance, there may already be significant growth on your lawn. You should really get a robot lawn mower that will be able to manage longer grass so that you’re not left having to use a conventional lawn mower at any time.

Personally, I didn’t want my old conventional lawn mower cluttering up my garage, so I got rid of it. As a result, it would be a problem if my robot lawn mower could not manage long grass.

Thankfully, most robot lawn mowers will manage grass up to 10 to 15 cm in length. Some of them will take considerably longer to get through this grass than they normally would to maintain a well cut lawn.

As robot lawn mowers mulch the clippings, longer grass will result in significant clumping of the cuttings on top of the grass. After a few days of the robot lawn mower working, these clippings will be broken up and distributed into the lawn and should disappear from view. Alternatively, if they are particularly unsightly they could be raked up and disposed of.

Models from Robomow such as the RC Stylish and RS Royal ranges have a turbomow feature to allow them to cut through grass of any length. This increases the power and RPM of the blades and slows the robot lawn mower down, so that it slowly powers through any areas of long grass. I have found this to be an excellent feature, and have encountered no problems with any length of grass. If you are particularly concerned about the ability of a robot lawn mower to get through long grass, you should probably consider those with more heavy-duty cutting systems.

Mulching

Robot lawn mowers do not collect the clippings from your lawn. This would be technically very challenging due to the need to dispose of the clippings when the collector was full. Instead, robot lawn mowers mulch the clippings, cutting them into very fine pieces and returning them to the grass. The clippings are sufficiently fine that they fall into the lawn, rather than sitting on top of it in piles. Grass clippings are more than 80% water, so they decrease in volume rapidly as they dry out. The clippings slowly break down and the nutrients within them are returned to the soil. This provides source of nutrients for the growing grass, reducing the need to fertilise your lawn and leading to a healthier, greener lawn.

Before I owned a robot lawn mower, I used to fertilise my lawn approximately four times per year. This led to my lawn looking great, but only for 4-6 weeks, as I would remove the clippings after each cut, taking all the nutrients out of the soil. I now fertilise my lawn at the start of the growing season, and my mower cuts a little every day, returning all the nutrients to the soil, ensuring that my lawn stays green and healthy all the way through the growing season.

Cutting Technology And Blade Type

Robot lawn mowers usually have one of two types of cutting blade.

Models with a narrower cutting diameter tend to use low power cutting motors and blades compared to those models with a wider cutting diameter. Models from Husqvarna, Flymo, Gardena and Worx, for example, use a number of very tiny blades that are mounted onto a rotating disc. The blades are able to spin freely and have sufficient power to cut the grass but when they meet something more substantial they will retract backwards. This results in a robot lawn mower that will do less damage to any small objects that are left on your lawn.

This type of cutting technology is designed to cleanly cut the blades of grass, minimising the stress to the individual plants, enabling them to recover as quickly as possible after they have been cut. As a result, this type of blade will need replaced every 2-3 months to keep them sharp and effective. The blades are normally very reasonably priced and buying in bulk online is usually the most cost effective option.

This type of cutting technology also has an advantage in terms of safety. If you were to come into contact with the blades of one of these models, the injury that you would sustain would be much less severe than if you came into contact with a model that used solid blades.

Secondly, there are mowers, such as those made by Robomow, which use one or two more substantial cutting blades, which look not dissimilar to the blades found on conventional lawnmowers. Due to their size and sturdier build construction, they typically need replaced less frequently, and are able to cut a wider strip of grass as the mower moves.

There are several negative aspects to this type of cutting blade. They use more power in operation and are typically louder than models that use smaller blades. They can also cause more damage to items inadvertently left on the grass.

For me, I much prefer a robot lawn mower that is as as quiet as possible, so I tend to prefer the models that use multiple cutting blades on a rotating disc. However, some manufacturers that produce models with more powerful, noiser cutting blades, such as Robomow and Ambrogio, produce really good robot lawn mowers, and sometimes the trade off is worth it.

Robot Lawn Mower Noise Level

Whichever robot lawn mower you choose, it will be considerably quieter than a conventional lawn mower. There are numerous factors that contribute to this.

Most people will be able to cut their lawn within 1 to 2 hours with a conventional lawn mower, depending on the size of the lawn. It doesn’t really matter if a conventional lawn mower is loud, because it is only an operation for a short period of time. However, due to the fact that robot lawn mowers are designed to keep your lawn in a freshly cut state all the time, and they work much slower than a conventional lawnmower, they will be an operation for much longer periods of time. For this reason, it is essential for a robot lawn mower to be as quiet as possible and cause minimal disturbance to the peace of your garden.

If robot lawn mowers where as loud as conventional lawn mowers, and I had to endure the noise for hours at a time, I wouldn’t even consider buying a robot lawn mower. Thankfully, most robot lawn mowers operate at between 58 and 65 dB in operation, with even the loudest models producing little more than 70 dB. My own robot lawn mower produces 58 dB in operation. Apparently, this is the same volume as two people holding a conversation. To be honest, whenever I am in the garden, I can barely hear my robot lawn mower when it is more than 10 to 15 feet away. Even when it is right next to me, it is really quiet and does not disturb the peace of the garden in anyway.

Other models that use more heavy-duty cutting mechanisms and have higher powered motors will produce a fair bit more noise than this. Robot lawn mowers from Robomow can produce noise of between 68 and 74 dB. According to a decibel equivalency chart that I looked at, this is approximately the same volume as a vacuum cleaner. While certainly much more noticeable, I would subjectively consider that a vacuum cleaner is a fair bit more noisy than the majority of the robomow robotic lawn mowers. This may have something to do with the fact that you use a vacuum cleaner inside and a robot lawn mower outside, which may change the characteristics of the sound produced. Either way, even the noisiest model on the market will only produce about one quarter of the subjective noise of a conventional lawn mower.

The key takeaway point here is that if you are someone who has a small garden or spend a lot of time in your garden, and wants to get a quiet robot lawn mower, I would strongly recommend that you choose a model that uses a multi blade system, and is rated at between 58-65 decibels. You won’t be disappointed.

Safety Features

Robot lawn mowers have been developed from the ground up with a range of comprehensive safety features. It would be very difficult to convince the general public that an autonomous robot with sharp spinning blades was a good idea unless they could prove that the safety features were comprehensive. Despite looking exhaustively for accident statistics and contacting a number of robot lawn mower manufacturers, I have been told by a number of sources that there are no confirmed reports of any injuries from a domestic robot lawn mower requiring treatment in an emergency department. This contrasts with conventional lawn mowers, which result in 80 000 emergency department attendances in the United States per year and 6000 emergency department attendances in the United Kingdom per year.

I honestly don’t know if the issue is the quality of the data that is being collected, or if there have actually been no accidents associated with robot lawn mowers. What I do know, however, is that robot lawn mowers are dramatically safer than conventional lawn mowers due to a number of factors.

Robot lawn mowers work autonomously. There is no need for a human to be anywhere near the blades of a robot lawn mower while it is in operation. Although not strictly a safety feature, this is undoubtedly a big reason why robot lawn mowers have such an exemplary safety record.

All robot lawn mowers are fitted with lift, tilt and obstruction sensors. If a robot lawnmower encounters an obstruction, it will stop, reverse, turn and move in a different direction. If a robot lawn mower encounters an obstruction that it gets stuck on, the robot lawn mower will stop functioning immediately. If anything causes the the wheels of the robot lawn mower to be lifted from the surface of the lawn or the machine to be tilted beyond a set angle, this will trigger the cutting blades to stop instantly.

This means that if a human or a pet comes into contact with a robot lawn mower, either intentionally or accidentally, the blades will stop turning before they are able to get close enough to the cutting blades to be at risk of an injury.

Another reassuring point is that robot lawn mowers use blades which are much smaller and have a lower power than conventional lawn mowers. For this reason, contact with the blades of a robot lawn mower is likely to lead to a much less severe injury.

Most robot lawn mowers have very little ground clearance. This means that an inquisitive child or pet would struggle to reach under a robot lawn mower in operation to come into contact with the cutting blades without first triggering the left or tilt sensors. It will not, however, protect small items that are left on your lawn. My father recently left a section of garden hose on his lawn and his robot lawn mower drove over the top of it, causing some damage to the hose, which required the section of hose to be replaced.

Despite the safety features of robot lawn mowers, it is still necessary to take precautions around children and pets. I generally try to schedule my robot lawn mower to work at times that I know my children will not be using the garden, such as when they are at nursery or school, or in the evenings after they have gone to bed. However, if they are in the garden while the robot lawn mower is working, I am generally happy for it to continue working as long as I am constantly supervising them. if I am not able to continually supervise them in the garden, I am able to send the robot lawn mower back to its charging station with just a few button presses and can then restart the machine once my children have gone inside.

Collision Sensors

Robot lawn mowers move very slowly across your grass, so when they collide with a solid obstacle, there is no risk of damage to either the machine or the obstacle. Robot lawn mowers have a range of collision sensors to both detect and avoid obstacles.

Basic or more value orientated models rely on physical contact with obstacles to trigger them to change direction. Some robot lawn mowers use a floating shell chassis which physically moves when the machine encounters an obstacle. This triggers a Hall Effect sensor which detects the shell movement and is able to trigger the robot lawn mower to stop and move away.

Other sensors that are used to detect obstructions include accelerometers and wheel speed sensors. Both of these are able to detect sudden changes in movement speed, which will trigger the robot lawn mower to stop and move in a different direction.

advanced models incorporate SONAR or LIDAR, to detect the proximity of the robot lawn mower to solid obstacles which might impede its progress. Some robot lawn mowers are able to change direction based on this information to avoid the obstacle in the first place.

As there is significant crossover between self driving cars and robot lawn mowers, I would be hopeful that some of the technology that is being developed for self-driving cars, such as visual obstacle detection, will be integrated into the future robot lawn mowers. this would lead to better avoidance of obstacles and more efficient navigation of your lawn.

Slope Ability

Robot lawn mowers have a number of adaptations which make them good for managing steep slopes. However, they are also built with power efficiency in mind, and a powerful motor which could manage a very steep slope, would be redundant for the vast majority of owners. Therefore, there is quite a range in slope ability between different robot lawn mower models, as manufacturers have targeted their mowers to different users.

At the low end of the spectrum, entry level models from Robomow such as the RX12U, can only manage a slope angle of up to 8.5 degrees, which is way below what other entry level models can handle. At the high end, the top performer is the Honda Miimo 3000 at a slope angle of 25 degrees. High end models tend to bunch together at a slope angle performance of between 20 to 24 degrees.

I think that slope performance is one of the more important things to consider before making a purchase of a robot lawn mower. It would be really disappointing to order a new machine only to discover that there was part of your lawn that it just couldn’t manage.

For people with relatively flat lawns you will have no issues, but for those people who do have significance slopes in their lawn, I would recommend doing a rough estimate of the slope angle or gradient before deciding what model to buy. The slope angle of your garden can be calculated very easily by measuring the rise and run of a section of the slope and calculating the slope angle or gradient from this. I have written a short article which explains exactly how to calculate this.

Cost Of Robot Lawn Mowers

Nobody likes spending more money than they have to on home appliances. I’m certainly a very cost conscious shopper, and am no different when looking to buy the best robot lawn mower for my money.

Robot lawn mowers have historically been quite expensive, but have been steadily falling over the last 20 years. This has been due to the maturation of the technology used, and the increase in the volume of units sold. With the market for robot lawn mowers forecast to grow by between 17 to 20% per year over the next 5 years, I think it is a safe bet to assume that will continue to fall for some time to come.

Entry level robot lawn mowers can be purchased for between £450 and £700, and models for larger gardens such as the Husqvarna 450X can cost up to £3,000. When you compare this to a conventional lawn mower, it can sometimes even work out cheaper to opt for a robot lawn mower. When you also consider the additional free time that you gain due to not having to maintain your lawn, this makes robot lawn mowers even more appealing. Robot lawn mowers also have fewer mechanical parts in comparison to conventional lawn mowers. This results in lower servicing and maintenance costs and it is important to factor this into your calculations.

I would certainly argue that the best robot lawn mower for most people will be one which meets their needs while providing value for money.

In my situation, before I made the switch to a robot lawn mower, the conventional lawn mower that I used was a Hayter R53S. This currently retails for £600, and yet the first robot lawn mower that I owned was the Flymo 1200r, which now retails for less than £600 from a lot of retailers.

Some people have already dispensed with maintaining their own lawn and employ a gardener to do this for them. If I was to employ a gardener in my area to cut my grass, this would cost approximately £25. The growing season runs from April to September, so if I have my grass cut by a gardener on a weekly basis throughout the growing season this would cost me £575 per year to maintain my lawn. For people in this situation, the payback time for a robot lawn mower could be less than one year. You could buy the best robot lawn mower on the market and the payback time would still only be a few years. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that, as there are other significant benefits of having a gardener, and it may be hard to give these up.

Multi Zone Capability

If your lawn area is divided into more than one section, you need to make sure that the robot lawn mower that you choose will be able to manage this. Most models will be able to manage a lawn that is split into two sections, but capabilities beyond this will vary from model to model.

There are multiple solutions to ensure that a robot lawn mower will be able to independently move between sections of lawn to cut them both. Even in scenarios where this is not physically possible, you will still be able to set up both sections of lawn for it to work on and manually transport the robot lawn mower between lawn sections as desired.

The best robot lawn mower solution may be to buy two! If you have two or more sections of lawn, is to treat them completely independently. Robot lawn mowers that can manage small lawns are very reasonable in price and will often be half-price or less compared to models that can manage double the lawn area.

It may be a better solution, and more economical, to get one robot lawn mower for each section of lawn. My father has employed this strategy extremely well and he has one robot lawn mower for his front garden and one robot lawn mower for his back garden. They both work completely autonomously, and this saves him from having to lift the robot lawn mower from the front lawn to the back lawn as required.

Settings Customisation

Regardless of which robot lawn mower you choose, you will be able to adjust the cutting schedule. You will be able to choose which days, and for how long each day the robotic lawn mower works. You will also be able to adjust the cutting height of the blades.

Some models have other features such as rain sensors, edge cutting mode or increased power modes. These can all be toggled off or on as desired. Basic models will enable adjustment of the settings on the physical keypad on the machine. advanced models with integrated connectivity such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, will enable you to adjust the settings via a smartphone or tablet app.

Smart Features

The best robot lawn mower doesn’t necessarily have to have any Smart functionality. Smart features of robot lawn mowers are largely superfluous to the core functionality of the machine. They allow you to remotely connect to the robot lawn mower via bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or GSM and either receive information or adjust the settings on your machine.

For robot lawn mowers that are suitable for small gardens, you will need to pay a significant premium to get Smart features, and I would debate whether it is worth paying this. Once you get up to the mid-range and higher end models, Smart features become more standard. It is certainly very handy to adjust the mowing schedule of your robot lawn mower from the comfort of your house, but it really isn’t usually necessary.

One feature that I enjoyed the most was the ability to manually drive the robot lawn mower via a smartphone app. I think Robomow do this particularly well and it is great fun to drive around your garden looking for patches of grass that need a little extra attention.

Robot Lawn Mower Security

Robot lawn mowers are fairly high ticket items and they spend most of the time in your garden. As a result, you would imagine that they would become a target for thieves. thankfully, the theft statistics of robot lawn mowers are very low. I think this is because the manufacturers of robot lawn mowers have focused on developing security measures which disincentivize criminals from targeting them.

Robot lawn mowers all come with a PIN code feature and alarm as standard. The PIN code is set in this control panel and the frequency that the machine will request the PIN code can be adjusted to suit your individual needs. One option is to set the machine so that the PIN code must be entered every time the machine is stopped. This would mean that any time the machine is lifted or the control panel is accessed, you must first enter the PIN code to do anything. This would include adjusting any of the settings, but also restarting the machine to return to work. This means that if a robot lawnmower is stolen, the criminal cannot use it without knowing the PIN code. You can also set the machine to ask for the PIN code only after a certain number of days if you live in a safer neighbourhood.

You can also set an optional or alarm, which can generally be set to go off if the PIN code is requested but is not inputted within a specific amount of time. The other option is to have the alarm go off whenever the robot lawn mower goes outside of the working area.

Some robot lawn mower models are uniquely paired to the charging base that they are supplied with. Therefore, even if a thief was able to steal your robot lawn mower and reset the PIN code, it would not work with a different charging base.

At the more expensive end of the market, robot lawn mowers often have additional connectivity, which will enable the machine to send you notification if the machine has moved outside of the working area, which may alert you to a theft.

For those models with GPS integration, you will be able to track the location of your robot lawn mower in real time. Therefore, if you receive notification that your robot lawn mower has moved outside of the working area, you can instantly know whether it has been stolen or whether it has just had an error. There have been a number of reports where an owner has reported a theft of a robot lawn mower, and been able to direct the police, via the GPS information to apprehend the criminal.

Although thieves may not be aware of the individual security features of robot lawn mowers,It does not take long for word of mouth to spread and for people to know that robot lawn mowers are not a good target for theft.This is likely to explain the fairly low theft statistics for robot lawn mowers.

Generally, robot lawn mowers are covered under your home insurance policy. Nevertheless, if you do make a robot lawn mower purchase, I would advise contacting your home insurance provider to let them know, so that you can be sure that it is covered in the event of a theft.

Robot Lawn Mower Environmental Credentials

Robot lawn mowers are a more environmentally friendly option than conventional petrol powered lawn mowers. Some of them can be amazingly power efficient. The first robot lawn mower that I owned used only 30 Watts of power during operation. Although it would cut my grass quite frequently, it would use as little as four kilowatt hours of electricity per month and cost less than £10 per year to run.

Obviously, it would be more environmentally friendly if I turned my lawn into a wildflower meadow, but in terms of an option to have a neat and well maintained lawn, I think that robot lawn mowers are one of the most environmentally friendly ways of doing this.

There is a fair bit of difference in the power use between different robot lawn mowers. Those with more powerful cutting blades and larger motors will use substantially more electricity than other models. If you are trying to minimise your environmental impact significantly this is an area to consider carefully.

Robot Lawn Mower Improvements I Want To See

Whilst I think that robot lawn mowers have now got to a point where they are a viable option for the majority of mainstream consumers, there are still a number of drawbacks and compromises which I would love to see improved over the next few years.

The biggest improvement that I want to see in future robot lawn mower models is a solution to the perimeter wire problem. Although the installation of a robot lawn mower only takes a few hours, perimeter wire installation will provide a massive barrier to a lot of people and limit the rate of growth of the robot lawn mower market.

Advances in autonomous navigation are moving forward at breakneck speed due to advances in robotics, AI and computing. Self-driving cars and robotic automation present such a massive opportunity to business and society as a whole, that there is major investment in this field from a wide range of businesses, governments and organisations. Development by robot lawn mower companies, along with integration of generalised robotics, AI and computing advances will lead to robot lawn mowers without perimeter wire over the next few years.

It is interesting that the technology for navigating without perimeter wire already exists today. The only problem is that it requires a number of different technologies to make it work properly that are expensive and require considerable computational power. As a result of this, the cost of integrating it into a robot lawn mower is not currently economically viable, and it would lead to an increased risk of malfunction or failure of the device due to its increased complexity. These problems will be sorted in time as the technology matures, becomes more reliable and decreases in price.

The other major improvement that I want to see in future robot lawn mowers is the ability to cut edges properly. Great progress has been made over the last few years and there are now a number of models that get very close to perfectly cutting the edges of most lawns. However, for the majority of people, there is no current robot lawn mower that does not require any edge maintenance. This is another factor deterring some people from making the switch from a conventional lawn mower to a robot lawn mower.

I know that all of the major robot lawn mower manufacturers are working hard to develop ways to solve this problem, so I have confidence that edge cutting ability will continue to improve with each new model to the market.