Pardon the pun, however oh my, has the panorama shifted when it comes to robotic garden mowers. Five years in the past, after I first began protecting this good residence class, there have been simply two manufacturers to select from: Husqvarna and Worx. Today, there are dozen or so producers vying for the mantle of greatest robotic mower, albeit with various success.
Prices have come down dramatically, too. In the early days, you’d must spend at the very least a number of thousand {dollars} for probably the most primary machine. These days, you will discover fashions for smaller yards that value $1,000 or much less. And like robotic vacuums, robotic garden mowers have develop into extra subtle, with options reminiscent of onboard positioning to know the place they’re in your yard, cameras to identify obstacles, and even AI to recollect the difficult elements of your yard and the way to navigate them.
Our prime picks in robotic garden mowers
Segway Navimow i110N – Best budget-priced mower for very small lawns
Pros
- Best navigation know-how in its value class
- No line-of-sight requirement from the mower to the GPS antenna
- Outstanding slicing efficiency
- Handles frequent yard varieties and terrain with out points
Cons
- Front-wheel drive has hassle with steep slopes
- Inadequate cliff detection
Price When Reviewed:
$1,299.00
Best Prices Today:
$1,299
Who can buy the Segway Navimow i110?
First, allow us to clarify what we imply by “very small lawns.” In this case, we’re speaking a quarter-acre or much less. If you might have a postage stamp-sized garden, you most likely don’t want a robotic garden mower. In any occasion, the $1,300 Navimow i110n is the best choice in its value class. That mentioned, it is a rear-wheel drive mannequin that doesn’t pack sufficient energy to deal with steep slopes, so maintain that in thoughts in case your yard has steep grades.
Segway Navimow i110: Further issues
While the shortage of all-wheel drive held the Navimow i110n again in our exams, we have been very impressed with how the Navimow navigated our yard and alternated its slicing patterns with every mowing session. It additionally does it shortly; we may mow almost all of our quarter-acre lot in about 30 minutes.
While we had issues retaining the Navimow from falling off our parking-strip curb, that is extra of a detection difficulty with the imaginative and prescient and AI versus a deadly flaw. Since our preliminary evaluation, a number of firmware updates have been launched, together with a brand new firmware replace (model 2.2) that the corporate says is a reasonably important launch. So these issues is likely to be getting addressed.
Read our full
Segway Navimow i110N review
Eufy Lawnbot E18 – Best robotic mower for smaller lawns
Pros
- Straightforward setup and mapping
- Delivered a fair, thorough lower from the primary mow
- Obstacle detection is promising (though it nonetheless wants work)
Cons
- Somewhat underpowered for its measurement
- Rear-wheel drive solely
- Underwhelming efficiency on slopes
Price When Reviewed:
$1,599.99
Who can buy the Eufy Lawnbot E18?
This is a good, reasonably priced robotic garden mower for smaller, flatter yards as much as 0.3 acres, with slopes of not more than 18 levels. If you might have a smaller yard, take into account its stablemate, the Eufy Lawnbot E15, which may deal with as much as as much as 0.2 acres of garden (battery measurement is the one distinction between the 2 fashions). Both machines are smallish, rear-wheel drive mowers, however don’t let their measurement idiot you: They’re full of smarts. The Lawnbot E18 makes use of pc imaginative and prescient to map your yard after you direct it to the areas of your yard you need it to go, which is a a lot less complicated process than deploying a GPS antenna. I’ve a posh yard, and this mower accomplished its preliminary mapping shortly, even in areas with obstructed views and different obstacles. Once that was completed, it delivered a fair, thorough lower from the very first mow.
Eufy Lawnbot E18: Further issues
The Eufy Lawnbot E15 and E18 are each rebranded TerraMow fashions which have been accessible in Europe since mid-2024, so that they’ve been completely examined by shoppers on the opposite facet of the Atlantic. Both Lawnbot E-series mowers might sound small in comparison with a lot of the competitors—suburban and rural American yards are usually very massive—however you don’t must personal an acre or extra of turf to understand a top quality robotic garden mower. The Lawnbot E18 and E15 are each rear-wheel drive mowers, nonetheless, which explains their modest climbing efficiency.
Read our full
Eufy Lawnbot E18 review
Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD – Best robotic mower for mid-sized lawns
Pros
- Best nighttime mowing expertise of any mower we’ve examined
- Quality, even lower
- Handles slender passages with ease
Cons
- Frustrating mapping and app expertise
- Too low profile for sharp slope transitions
Price When Reviewed:
$2399.99
Best Prices Today:
$2,299.99
Who can buy the Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD?
If you might be shocked by the excessive value of all-wheel drive robotic mowers (sometimes a number of thousand of {dollars}), the Orion X7 is available in on the decrease finish of that vary: $2,400. But the lower high quality and functionality of this mower is nearly as good as different mowers that we’ve examined which can be double the worth. It’s AI works nice.
Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD: Further issues
While the mapping setup of the Orion X7 was suboptimal, we have been actually stunned by its imaginative and prescient and AI capabilities as soon as the mower was working; they labored as marketed—even at night time. The Orion X7’s obstacle-avoidance efficiency was one of the best of any robotic mower we’ve examined up to now.
Better but, it appeared to recollect the place these obstacles have been throughout a session, not like different mowers we’ve examined that may return to the identical spot and make the identical errors. The twin floating slicing plates provide you with a easy stage yard even when it’s not completely flat. If Sunseeker can repair the usability points in its app, we’ll rank the Orion X7 greater.
Read our full
Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD review
Segway Navimow X350 – Best robotic mower for bigger lawns
Pros
- Excellent navigation and impediment avoidance, day or night time
- Automatically alternates its slicing path
- Capable of dealing with very massive yards
Cons
- Exhibits a bent for unpredictable habits on slopes
- No onboard rain sensor
Price When Reviewed:
$3,499.00
Best Prices Today:
Who can buy the Segway Navimow X350?
The Segway Navimow X350’s pace, mixed with its 10-inch slicing radius, will make fast work of lawns as much as 1.5 acres, and it’ll optimize the map it makes of your property in order that it turns into extra environment friendly over time. It’s additionally one of many quietest mowers I’ve examined, which may enable it to function at night time should you so select. I’ll point out two drawbacks I encountered in my evaluation: First, the mower doesn’t have an onboard rain sensor, so that you’ll must control the climate. Second, it is a massive mower and it generally had problem navigating tight spots in my yard.
Segway Navimow X350: Further issues
The Segway Navimow X350 boasts a 10-inch wheelbase and a proprietary traction management system and onboard AI that helps it climb as much as 27-degree slopes, although it makes use of rear-wheel drive. It navigates utilizing GPS monitoring, which may additionally provide help to get well the mower ought to it ever be stolen. This mower will go away your garden trying professionally groomed, due to its means to mechanically alternate its slicing path.
Read our full
Segway Navimow X350 review
Mowrator S1 AWD – Best non-autonomous robotic garden mower
Pros
- 21-inch slicing radius
- Highly maneuverable
- Outstanding distant management
- Riding-mower construct and lower high quality
Cons
- Very heavy (120 kilos)
- Disappointing autonomous impediment avoidance
Price When Reviewed:
$3,399 (throughout producer’s “Summer Sale”)
Best Prices Today:
$3,599.10
Who can buy the Mowrator S1?
We see the Mowrator as excellent for many who take pleasure in mowing their grass, however don’t look after the bodily exertion—particularly in the summertime warmth. We examined the Mowrator throughout a record-breaking warmth wave right here within the japanese U.S. and appreciated the actual fact we didn’t should sweat it out to get our yard completed. We couldn’t say the identical about our neighbors.
Mowrator S1: Further issues
The Mowrator S1 robotic mower is in a category of its personal, because it’s not fully autonomous. Instead, you management it with a distant—very similar to one you’d use with an aerial drone or an RC automotive. The extent of its automation is cruise management, which solely permits the mower to maneuver in a straight line, and rudimentary impediment avoidance. We included it on this record as a result of every little thing else about this mower is top-notch.
A 21-inch slicing radius is a half-foot bigger than most robotic mowers, and a conventional mower blade versus the razor blades on most different fashions offers a using mower high quality lower that has to this point not been matched by every other mower we examined. And the maneuverability and all-wheel drive mixed with a wonderful distant management make mowing the grass enjoyable.
Read our full
Mowrator S1 AWD review
Other notable robotic garden mowers we’ve examined
The Husqvarna Automower 435X ($1,799 road) is among the few robotic garden mowers we’ve examined that relies on a boundary wire to maintain from transferring off your garden and into your flowerbeds, the driveway, or different locations you don’t need it to go. On the upside, it’s a beefy machine with all-wheel drive that may deal with lawns as much as 0.9 acres. The Mammotion Yuka 1500 robotic mower had loads of progressive options once we reviewed it, however that innovation got here with some tough edges that dampened our enthusiasm for the machine. Likewise with the Dreame Roboticmower A1, which exhibited poor impediment avoidance in our real-world testing.
How we check robotic garden mowers
We check robotic mowers in as near real-world conditions as doable: this contains working them throughout the day and at night time and in various climate situations. We’ll sometimes lower a garden an inch or two greater than regular earlier than a check to assist decide the lower high quality and the mower’s means to function in taller-than-average grass.
We’ll additionally put momentary obstacles within the yard to guage the mower’s collision-avoidance capabilities. If the mower has AI onboard, we’ll observe whether or not it remembers everlasting obstacles.
Why it is best to belief TechHive for robotic garden mower opinions and shopping for recommendation
TechHive is a part of PCWorld, a trusted authority on fashionable know-how since 1983. TechHive itself has been protecting know-how for the house since 2012, and it’s a subject we’re really obsessed with. Each of the robotic garden mowers really helpful right here have been completely examined in real-world situations in our personal yards.
Who curated this text?
Hi, I’m Michael Brown, TechHive’s Executive Editor, and I oversee all robotic garden mower protection on PCWorld. I earned a BA in Multimedia Journalism in 1994, however I labored as a contract tech reporter and writer beginning within the mid-1980s. I’ve specialised in good residence know-how since 2012. To date, I’ve assigned all of TechHive’s robotic garden mower to veteran journalist and TechHive contributor Ed Oswald, who runs the Robomower Revolution YouTube channel. Ed has been testing and writing about robotic garden mowers since 2020.
While there are numerous options to search for in a robotic mower, a few of which might be primarily based in your private desire, these 5 components are an important to contemplate to make sure trouble- and frustration-free operations.
Run time and most yard measurement
This one appears apparent, however many will look to the most cost effective mower that may deal with the dimensions of their yard. That’s not the best method. What it is best to do as a substitute is go for a mannequin with a most yard measurement of at the very least 1.5 to 2 instances the acreage of your yard.
Our causes for this are twofold: First, the utmost yard measurement is the quantity your robotic mower can deal with in a single day, together with time for charging. If you choose a mannequin with a most yard measurement near the dimensions of your yard, the mower might want to run 24/7 to maintain up.
Secondly, shopping for a larger-capacity mower prevents purchaser’s regret later, do you have to transfer to a bigger residence. There isn’t any such factor as a robotic mower that’s too massive for a property, however you can find yourself with a robotic mower that’s too small in your yard. Another profit is complete run time, as a bigger mower received’t must return to its base station and charger as ceaselessly.
Cut high quality
Cut high quality has a lot to do with how the slicing plate is ready up, and the strategies used for slicing. Some fashions use a blade that’s formed bread tag. We’ve discovered this model sometimes doesn’t lower effectively—or final very lengthy.
Rectangular blades are higher, because the whole facet cuts your grass regardless of which method it’s oriented on the plate. This model of blade additionally lasts longer, which implies you’ll want to vary it out much less throughout every mowing season.
The slicing technique can be vital. We favor robotic mowers that observe straight traces and paths and alternate slicing instructions throughout every mowing session. Some cheaper boundary-wire mowers mow in a random sample inside the boundary, which early within the season can go away your yard trying such as you’ve forgotten the way to mow.
App performance
Most robotic mowers have plenty of additional performance that can assist you customise how your garden is maintained. This means you’ll spend plenty of time of their apps. While some robotic mower apps try and squeeze each doable function into the app, now we have discovered most often it’s pointless and cluttering. The greatest mower apps have clear interfaces, together with clear directions (and generally movies) to get you on top of things on vital performance.
Collision and impediment avoidance
Early robotic mowers used bumper sensors to detect obstacles. That’s now not the case, and one of the best robotic mowers use applied sciences like cameras, LiDAR, and onboard AI to detect obstacles. Opt for one in all these fashions and also you’ll spend loads much less time getting your mower out of locations it shouldn’t have gone into.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence is a current addition to robotic mowers, and it makes boundary wire-free fashions way more dependable. With AI, your mower “learns” the quirks of your explicit yard over time, optimizing its mowing session accordingly.
One phrase of warning, nonetheless: not all robotic mower AI is created equal. Some mowers appeared to not keep in mind obstacles or locations the place they’ve ceaselessly gotten caught. AI is a comparatively new addition to robotic mowing, and a few producers’ claims don’t match actuality. Fortunately, that is an upgradeable factor—it resides in firmware—so this class of mower will enhance with time.
FAQ
Frequently requested questions on robotic garden mowers
How do robotic mowers work?
Robot mowers are available one in all two flavors, some a boundary wire to maintain the mower in examine, whereas others depend on GPS satellites and onboard imaginative and prescient capabilities leveraging AI to assist the mower make each a visible and location-based map of your yard. If you want to learn extra about this matter, read our in-depth guide.
Which sort of robotic mower ought to I get?
Boundary wire robotic mowers are far cheaper, because the mower wants fewer sensors and fewer mind energy to make sure correct operation. But should you go that route, we strongly suggest hiring an expert to bury the boundary wire, so that you’re not continually tripping over it. That will improve the ultimate value of your mower—by as a lot as a number of hundred {dollars} if it’s not already factored into the mower’s value—nevertheless it’s value it.
You also needs to bear in mind that boundary wires have finite lengths, maxing out at 1,000 to 2,500 ft, relying on the mannequin and the standard of the wire. This received’t be a difficulty for many suburban and concrete properties, however you would possibly want a couple of mower for a big property.
For this and different causes, we sometimes suggest boundary wire-free mowers, as they’re a lot simpler to arrange and don’t require an expert; it’s why all our greatest prime picks—save one—are boundary wire-free fashions.
Why are robotic garden mowers so costly?
It relies on the way you take a look at it. If you evaluate a robotic mower to a conventional push mower, even a self-propelled one, robotic mowers are significantly costlier. Many robotic mowers, nonetheless, are competitively priced compared to using mowers, which supply a lot much less in the best way of labor financial savings.
Is the lower high quality of a robotic mower nearly as good that of a conventional mower?
You use a robotic mower the best way it’s designed for use and its lower high quality might be each bit nearly as good as a standard mower’s. Unlike a push or using mower, a robotic mower is designed to run a number of instances per week, slicing a small portion of your grass every time. Some even alternate the path of lower with every successive mowing session, which can forestall it from leaving traces in your grass from the mower’s wheels from passing over the identical patch of grass every time.
What upkeep is required of a robotic mower?
Maintaining your robotic mower just isn’t troublesome, and it’s not all that totally different from conventional mowers—besides you received’t want to watch and periodically engine oil; robotic mowers use electrical motors. You’ll need to usually clear gathered grass clippings and different particles from the underside of the mower. You’ll additionally need to maintain it out of the weather as a lot as doable when it’s not in use. The plastic our bodies of those mowers will slowly fade over time because the solar’s ultraviolet rays trigger plastic to degrade and discolor.
The most vital distinction has to do with slicing blades. Where typical motors have thick blades that want sharpening at the very least as soon as a season, most robotic mowers use what appear like razor blades to chop your grass. As you would possibly anticipate, you’ll most likely want to exchange them at the very least twice each mowing season. Fortunately, the blades aren’t costly, and also you would possibly discover that third-party blades are even cheaper, though they won’t final as lengthy the OEM variations.
