The best robot lawn mowers for 2026, as tested by our experts

• Jump to best mowers under £400
• Jump to best mowers £400+

Increasingly popular with UK gardeners, robot lawn mowers are a welcome, hands-free alternative to traditional petrol and electric lawn mowers. Because a robot lawn mower is fully automatic, it can be a brilliant option for gardeners with mobility concerns, those away from home a lot, or those who simply find mowing a chore. Powered by rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, most mowers are guided by a boundary cable laid around the edge of the lawn, which helps the robotic lawn mower identify where to mow and to avoid flower beds, trees and other obstacles.

While we tested models from several different brands, note that all of them offer mowers of varying sizes, capabilities and features.

Our best robot mowers to buy at a glance

Our 2 top-rated mowers, under £400

• 4.5/5 stars: Our best basic robot mower – LawnMaster OcuMow 16 RRP £299.99
• 4.5/5 stars: Our best budget self-charging robot mower – Lawnmaster OcuMow AMB 16-400 RRP £399.99

Our 3 top-rated mowers, £400+

• 4.5/5 stars: Our best value for money robot mower – WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303 RRP £699.99
• 4.5/5 stars: Our best robot mower for easy set-up on big lawns – Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR RRP £1,099
• 4.8/5 stars: Our best robot mower with perimeter wire – Stihl iMOW 5 RRP £1,729

Also recommended

• 4.3/5 stars: Our best budget robot mower for small gardens – Flymo EasiLife Go 500 RRP £689

Comparison table: best robot mowers

Jump to best robot mowers:

• Our best robot lawn mowers, under £400
• Our best robot lawn mowers, £400+

Jump to robot mower advice:

• How does a robot lawn mower work?
• What are the benefits of a robot lawn mower?
• How to choose the best robot lawn mower
• How to clean a robot lawn mower
• How we tested robot lawn mowers
• Top tips for lawn care

Our best robot mowers, under £400

LawnMaster OcuMow 16

Our best basic robot mower

RRP: £299.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: B&Q (£299.99), Argos (£300) and Currys (£299)

Reasons to buy:

• No outside power required
• Ultra-simple to use
• Small, light and easy to handle
• No WiFi, antenna or app needed

Reasons to avoid:

• Only works on lawns with clearly defined boundaries
• Practical only for very small lawns

I test robot lawnmowers for a living and, at first, I thought that this little machine was not going to impress. When other robots are becoming more complex, with in-depth phone apps to navigate and ever more complicated arrays of sensors, the LawnMaster OcuMow 16 seems quite plain. But I’m happy to say that I was wrong.

Set up and ease of use: There’s not much to set up on this mower. I charged the battery, plugged it into the back of the mower, and pressed “Auto Mow”. And that’s it. However, the type of lawn you have is important; it needs to have clearly defined borders such as a fence, wall, pathway or raised beds. You can’t tell the OcuMow 16 where the boundaries are; it relies on its sensors to find the lawn edge. So long as the lawn is well defined, it’s one of the easiest robot mowers to use. You don’t need to set a schedule, draw a map, or worry about setting up GPS antennae or Wi-Fi. It truly is “drop and go”.

Mower statistics: Designed for lawns up to 150 sq. metres and with a cutting height range of 20-60 mm, the LawnMaster OcuMow 16 is something a bit different to a lot of robot mowers available right now. It’s clever enough to avoid garden furniture and get on with the job, but it doesn’t come with the hassle of installing a charging station or the need for outside power. It uses three cutting blades underneath and is powered by a 24-volt, 4.0Ah battery. The battery also works in LawnMaster’s range of other garden power tools.

Top Features: The front of the orange-and-black body features a centrally mounted camera that scans the edge of the lawn. Either side of this camera is a pair of ultrasonic sensors that point upwards, “looking” for obstructions. They work remarkably well. During testing, it didn’t get stuck under a garden bench that has defeated more expensive robot mowers in the past. When it’s time to recharge the batteries, this mower doesn’t head home to a docking station, so you can avoid that part of the installation altogether. Instead, you simply open the flap on the back of the mower and pop the battery out. Just like a drill battery, you charge it for a couple of hours and put it back in. If there’s a particular spot on the lawn that needs attention, you can employ the spot cutting mode. Simply pick it up by the handle and place it where you want. Pressing the spot cut button on the top makes the OcuMow 16 spiral out from that spot. It’s a simple way to make sure that tricky spots get the attention they deserve.

It’s not like some premium robot lawn mowers that mow in stripes or even patterns. It mows in a straight line until the camera, sensor or bumper on the front detects the edge of the lawn or an obstacle. It then makes a turn and mows in a different direction. It’s not perfect, but over time, it hits the whole lawn. Overall, this little mower scratches an itch that other mowers just can’t reach. Sure, it can’t mow to a schedule, and you need to bend over to change the batteries yourself, but if you want a robot mower without the fuss, this one at this price is hard to beat.

RRP: £299.99
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: camera and sensors
Lawn area up to: 150 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 19°
Cutting height range: 20-60 mm
Warranty: 2 years

• Buy the LawnMaster OcuMow 16 from B&Q (£299.99), Argos (£300) and Currys (£299)

LawnMaster OcuMow AMB16-400

Our best budget self-charging robot mower

RRP: £399.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Lawnmaster (£399.99), Argos (£400) and Amazon (£399.99)

Reasons to buy:

• Simple to use
• Small, light and easy to handle
• Highly capable for the price

Reasons to avoid:

• Only works on lawns with clearly defined boundaries
• Limited extra features

I was excited to get my hands on the big brother to LawnMaster’s excellent OcuMow 16. And I wasn’t disappointed either. Small, nimble and with no app to faff about with, the AMB16 is a proper robot lawnmower that can recharge itself. It might not have all the special features of a premium robot, but at this price, it’s seriously hard to fault.

Setup and ease of use: This must be one of the easiest robot lawnmowers to set up, provided you have the right type of garden. It's quite literally “drop and go”. There’s no app to download or map to build; the AMB16 simply drives until it hits a border, then turns and goes in another direction. However, because the AMB16 relies mainly on cameras and ultrasonic sensors to navigate, you need well-defined borders to keep it on track. Luckily, LawnMaster include five metres of magnetic “no-go” strip that you can dig into or lay on the lawn to keep the robot out of flower beds or ponds. And, unlike the LawnMaster OcuMow 16, it has a charging station. I found the controls on top of the robot simple to use as well. You can set the daily working time from 4-10 hours, on send home, spiral cut or auto mow.

Mower statistics: Changing the mowing height from 20mm to 60mm is easy via a manual dial on the top. And as the name suggests, the AMB16 has a 16 cm cut width. It’s not particularly big, so it’s more suited to small gardens. The maximum cutting range of 400 sq. metres is another improvement over the cheaper OcuMow 16. And it’s capable enough to operate on uneven ground too: the aggressive tread on the tyres helps it tackle slopes up to 19°. To help keep the AMB16 safe, there’s a PIN lock and an alarm that sounds if it’s picked up. And picking it up is easy, as it weighs just over 6 kg. It’s a pint-sized but capable little robot that can recharge itself in 60 minutes.

Top features: It’s the direct descendant of the excellent LawnMaster OcuMow 16, but with the added bonus of a charging station. Using the same single camera and dual ultrasonic sensors as the previous model, it does a good job of staying on the grass and out of the flower beds. But the rather astonishing thing about this robot is the price. At less than £400, it wipes the floor with any other robot mower for affordability. It might not have every bell and whistle, but it does the job well, charges itself, and still retains the simplicity that I liked about the OcuMow 16. This robot is ideally suited to simple gardens. You can’t programme in a map with corridors between mowing areas or anything like this; it mows on a random pattern only. This irregular mowing style is actually great for the grass, so long as you don’t mind a few tufts left behind. However, a handy feature of this robot is its spiral-cut function. If a spot on the lawn needs special attention, simply place the AMB16 down on the offending area. Pressing the spiral cut button sends the robot in concentric circles to make sure every blade is cut.

RRP: £399
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: camera and sensors
Lawn area up to: 400 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 19°
Cutting height range: 20-60 mm
Warranty: 2 years

• Buy the LawnMaster OcuMow from Lawnmaster (£399.99), Argos (£400) and Amazon (£399.99)

Our best robot mowers, £400+

WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303E

Our best value for money robot mower

RRP: £699.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Ebay (£699.99), Amazon (£699) and B&Q (£699)

Reasons to buy:

• Easy setup on smartphone app
• Auto-mapping function.
• 2.5Ah battery can be swapped out for extra coverage

Reasons to avoid:

• Tends to leave tufts at lawn edges

Set up and ease of use: Getting this robot mower ready for its first cut is reasonably straightforward. I downloaded the Landroid app and paired it with my phone via a QR code on the inside of the battery port. Then I connected it to Wi-Fi, downloaded an update, and it was ready to locate the charging base. Setting up the lawn shape was simple. I used the auto-mapping function, letting the robot use its camera to find the edges of the lawn. It was surprisingly accurate on the first go. To make manual changes, you can always drive the mower around with your phone like a remote-control car.

The app is quite intuitive, and it’s easy to set schedules and edit the map. Whilst building the map of the lawn, it was easy to select “no go” areas for flower beds or wildflowers. Once I had defined the edges, the mower made a trial perimeter cut, then got to work on the bulk of the lawn. It mows in straight lines by default, and you can set the orientation of the lines via the app, depending on the shape of the lawn.

Mower statistics: Using three blades mounted on the cutting deck, the mowing heights range from 30-60 mm, which need to be adjusted manually via the robot. You can’t set different mowing heights for different lawns. The included 2.5Ah battery is fine for smaller lawns up to 300 sq. metres. But something I like is that you can simply swap it out for a larger capacity one to tackle larger spaces. The WR303E uses a standard WORX battery from across their range of tools. This is an advantage over other robot mowers that have fixed batteries. To navigate around the lawn, the WR303E uses a combination of satellite data and its AI-enhanced camera to detect obstructions and lawn edges.

Top Features: The WR303E uses super-accurate RTK GPS to determine its location in the garden and combines this with data gathered by a camera mounted on the front. This means it can detect obstacles and lawn edges and even find its way under cover when the satellite signal is poor. And, unlike some robot mowers, I didn’t need to install an RTK antenna in the garden; it’s mounted on the robot instead. When the signal weakens due to overhead trees or other obstructions, it switches to its VSLAM camera system to guide itself. Obstacle avoidance works well enough, too; it didn’t get stuck, although it’s quite timid when dealing with bushy borders. The WR303E would rather not cut up to the edge if it thinks there’s something close by. It avoids getting stuck but leaves a few tufts at the edge of the lawn. Another useful set of features that are unfortunately not included are a night-working headlight, an anti-theft module and a useful-sounding Cut-to-Edge module that tackles boundaries. It’s a shame that they’re not included in the model I tested.

RRP: £699.99
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS and cameras
Lawn area up to: 300 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 17°
Cutting height range: 30-60 mm
Warranty: 2 years

• Buy the WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303 from Ebay (£699.99), Amazon (£699) and B&Q (£699)

Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR Robot Lawnmower

Our best robot mower for easy set up on big lawns

RRP: £1,099

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Navimow (£1,099) and Amazon (£1,099)

Reasons to buy

• Effortless automapping thanks to LiDAR technology
• Works seamlessly under trees and with poor satellite signal
• Powerful app with full colour mapping

Reasons to avoid

• Not as capable on slopes as AWD robots
• Centrally mounted cutting deck can’t reach borders
• Aggressive rear wheels can tear soft grass on uneven terrain

Making up just part of Navimow’s extensive and slightly confusing new line-up for 2026, the i208 LiDAR represents the ideal setup for medium-sized gardens up to 800 sq. metres of any shape and size. Boasting incredibly fast automapping and a powerful app, the only place the i208 lets itself down is on rough terrain. For that, you’d be better off with an all-wheel-drive robot.

Set up and ease of use: First impressions of this robot are great. It’s a sleek robot with easy controls and even a little LED screen to look at. The light ring around the circular section on the top changes colour and pulses gently to show the current mode. It’s all very impressive. Long gone are the days of fiddly boundary wires, unsightly antennae, or even mapping the garden yourself. I took the robot out of the box, charged it, connected to Wi-Fi, downloaded updates and then agreed to 'auto map'. The i208 drove a few metres into the middle of the lawn, and that was it.

The incredibly powerful solid-state LiDAR mapped the entire 100 square metre lawn almost instantly, then got straight to work. It’s an impressive leap forward for robot lawnmowers and makes it ideal for just about anyone to use. Editing the map was simple too as the LiDAR and AI-enhanced cameras build a real full colour map on the app that is easily edited by driving the mower like a remote-control car. It makes the process easy, and the robot followed the paths I made perfectly. The only downside of this mower that I can see is that the cutting deck underneath is mounted in the centre. This means that it can’t get right up to the edges of the lawn, and you still need to go around with a lawn trimmer.

Mower statistics: The standout feature of this robot lawnmower is how it sees the world around it. The powerful vision software can recognise hundreds of objects on the lawn, and laser range-finding hardware keeps it on track. Mowing from 20-70 mm and with six blades making up the 22cm cut width, it’s an efficient and very quiet robot too. Rated to just 59dB, the i208 could run at any time of the day or night without waking the neighbours. Setting the cutting heights from between 20 and 70mm can be done via the app, which means you can set different zones to different heights. Nice if you have a complicated garden with multiple lawns.

The downside of this mower is that it still relies on two-wheel drive to move itself around. The front shopping trolley-style wheels are not powered, so the aggressive rears do all the work. And this is where the Navimow lineup can get confusing. There are so many new types of robots that deciphering the fleet is a challenge. They do make an AWD robot as well as another one with a powered front wheel that are all better on slopes and uneven garden terrain.

Top features: The standout feature on this particular Navimow robot is the LiDAR. Taking 200,000 precise laser measurements per second to build a map of the garden, it doesn’t need to wait for satellite reception, internet connectivity or even daylight at the bottom of the garden. It’s perfect for gardens with patchy reception without the need for a clumsy boundary wire. Obstacle avoidance is effective as well. The AI-assisted cameras on the front can recognise more than 200 objects across the lawn, and in practice, it routes neatly around obstructions before resuming its mowing pattern. And you don’t need to worry about security either. With inbuilt GPS tracking, lift sensors, a PIN code and geofence software, it’s rather hard to steal. Overall, the i208 LiDAR is ideal if your garden is flat but has plenty of obstructions that would confuse a lesser robot. Bear in mind that the 4G connectivity, which enables remote control and GPS tracking, is free, but only for the first year.

RRP: £1,099
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS, LiDAR and camera
Max lawn: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-70 mm
Warranty: 3 years

• Buy the Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR Robot Lawnmower Navimow (£1,099) and Amazon (£1,099)

Stihl iMOW 5

Our best robot mower with perimeter wire

RRP: £1,729

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from: STIHL-approved dealers

Reasons to buy:

• Easy to set up on the app
• Wide range of cutting heights and cuts longer grass well
• Quiet
• Rain sensor, anti-stuck and 22° slope capacity
• Long warranty

Reasons to avoid:

• Need to be tech/app savvy
• No mobile connectivity for the price
• Installation kit sold separately

The iMow is the smallest in a new range of six robot mowers from Stihl that cover three sizes of larger garden. Together with the iMow 5, 6, and 7, there's also the iMow EVO range, which covers the same size lawns with the same features but also has mobile connectivity. When you purchase an iMow, you can choose to have it installed by a Stihl-approved dealer or install it yourself and purchase an additional installation kit.

Set up and ease of use: To cut down on waste, different-sized installation kits are available, and you can also buy bio pins, made from 100 per cent biodegradable material that gradually break down in the soil. Like many robot mowers, the iMow requires a boundary wire around the perimeter of the lawn and a guide wire through the middle of the lawn to help it find its way back to the docking station. The mower comes with a clear instruction booklet, plus I found helpful guides on the Stihl website, and laying the wires in our 1,250 sq. metre test garden took 3-4 hours. Once the wires are laid, I'd say it's easy to programme the mower via the My iMow app, as long as you’re comfortable with this kind of tech.

Mower statistics: Like many other robot mowers I've tested, the iMow has three free-swinging blades, and it cuts very well. The lawn was quite long before it was installed but with an impressively wide cutting height range of 20-60mm it didn’t struggle, and after a few days the whole lawn looked good with no tufts of uncut grass. Once you’ve laid the boundary wire, you can’t completely alter mowing zones. It cuts close to the edge, and if it comes across an obstacle, it gently bumps into it and then turns away.

Top features: The iMow also has a useful feature that helps it manoeuvre if it gets stuck, and it can cope with slopes of 22°. It also has an anti-theft alarm and a rain sensor feature, which you can adjust to interrupt or not start mowing if it’s raining. You can choose what degree of rain you want it to mow in, and when the sensor on the top of the mower dries, it automatically begins mowing. Not only that, it comes with a five-year warranty, and a host of accessories are available, including spare wire, pins and clips, and upgrade wheels for the EVO range to enable them to cut slopes of up to 31°. For the size of lawn it cuts, it's a reasonably priced mower that’s packed with excellent features and cuts very well.

RRP: £1,729
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: boundary & guide wires
Lawn area up to: 500 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 22°/31°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 5 years

• Buy the Stihl iMOW 5 robot mower from STIHL-approved dealers

Also recommended

Flymo EasiLife Go 500

Our best budget robot mower for small gardens

RRP: £689

Our rating: 4.3 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£450), AO (£477) and Currys (£450)

Reasons to buy:

• Incredibly quiet
• Small and easy to move around
• Plenty of boundary cable and spare connectors
• Spot mowing function for problem areas
• Affordable robot mower for smaller gardens

Reasons to avoid:

• Installing the guide wire correctly can be tricky
• Lacks screen
• Changing mowing height isn’t quick
• Setting multiple mowing zones takes a while

Set up and ease of use: In my opinion, this compact yet capable little robot lawnmower is an ideal choice for small to medium-sized gardens. With more than half a century of experience in the garden, Flymo know a thing or two about mowing, and their EasiLife Go 500 is marvellously small and lightweight. It uses three pivoting blades for an even cut, and there's an online video to help with installation. You should watch it before you start, as the mower needs both a boundary wire and a guide wire pegged down. I found this a bit tricky, but it's easier if you plan ahead.

Mower statistics: The cutting height ranges from 20-50mm, and the wheels can cope with slopes up to 14° and a slightly bumpy terrain, but I found it much happier on flat lawns. Due to the small cutting width of just 16cm, it’s only really suitable for small gardens up to 500 sq. metres.

Top features: Unlike some mowers, instead of an LED screen, you get five buttons on the top of the mower that control all the basic functions. For everything else, there’s the Flymo EasiLife app. It’s simple enough to programme and cuts regular-shaped lawns with ease. It mows in a random pattern, so every patch of grass is cut eventually, but there’s a handy spot-mowing function if any are missed. You can also set the mower to cut different sections of your garden, including narrow passageways, although this is a bit fiddly to master. It’s one of the more affordable mowers that I tested and comes with a two-year warranty.

RRP: £689
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: boundary & guide wires
Lawn area up to: 500 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 14°
Cutting height range: 20-50mm
Warranty: 2 years

• Buy the Flymo EasiLife Go 500 from Amazon (£450), AO (£477) and Currys (£450)

Best of the rest

Although some models didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have great features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest.

Stiga A4 Automatic Robot Lawn Mower

RRP: £999

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£899)

Reasons to buy:

• Reasonably priced mower
• Very quiet operation
• Intuitive in-app setup

Reasons to avoid:

• No camera technology for obstacle avoidance
• Lots of open space is required directly above the garage
• Short power cable

Set up and ease of use: During setup, the app instructed me, via email, to begin digital mapping. Rather than via the app, it asked me to use my laptop to define the lawn area. Overall, I found the Stiga Go app easy to use and quite intuitive, so it was a surprise to be asked to use a laptop instead. The trick that Stiga have up their sleeve though, is that you can use Google Maps’ satellite view to pre-draw the perimeter of your garden. If you have a large space to mow, it works well.

To define lawn shapes, channels and no-go areas, I drove the mower around like a remote-controlled car. The robot then attempted the same path on its own. I liked this feature because it provided a trial run before agreeing to a mowing pattern. It’s just a shame that you can only set two different zones. Tucked inside the garage is the GPS receiver that guides the A4 around the lawn. And because Stiga have developed a clever guidance system that uses multiple satellites to map out the garden space, it should work even when there are overhanging trees.

However, the garage needs 120° of open air above it to work correctly, which I found tricky as it only comes with a 5m power cable. You can remove the GPS module and attach it to a wall or fence, but you'll need to buy an extra 15m extension cable and another power supply. Even though the test garden I used had a tricky shape, the mower still installed itself and cut the lawn well. It could find itself on the lawn, get back to the charging station and cope with reasonable undulations without getting stuck.

Top features: The mower features a pair of wheels at the back for the drive and another pair of shopping-trolley-type omnidirectional casters at the front. Four cutting blades, the height of which can be adjusted from 20-60mm via the app, are included. The mower can tackle lawns up to 400 sq. metres and slopes up to 24°. Once it gets mowing, it's incredibly quiet at just 57dB. It mows in 18cm-wide parallel lines across the grass, then finishes things up with a neat perimeter cut.

Several controls are under a flap on top of the mower body, and, for security, a tiny key needs to be in place before mowing. Lacking cameras to keep out of the way of obstacles, it gently bumps into objects left on the lawn and then mows around them. Overall, though, I'd say this is a solid robot mower. It doesn't have some of the advanced features of other mowers, but it's simple to install and leaves the grass well cut. It comes with a three-year warranty.

RRP: £999
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS
Lawn area up to: 400 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 3 years

• Buy the Stiga A4 Automatic Robot Lawn Mower from Amazon (£899)

Husqvarna Automower 308V

RRP: £1,249

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Husqvarna (£1,249), Mow With Us (£1,149) , Winchester Garden Machinery (£1,149)

Reasons to buy:

• Excellent build quality and made with premium materials
• Customisable mowing patterns for efficiency and look
• Smooth cutting that leaves an excellent finish

Reasons to avoid:

• Additional sat nav kit needed unless the entire lawn is covered by WiFi
• Manual cutting height adjustment
• No auto-mapping feature

Setup and ease of use: Setting up the mowing area is straightforward enough. It comes with plenty of cable for positioning the charging station. As with many robot mowers I’ve tested, I traced the lawn's outline by driving the robot like a remote-control car. The app takes care of everything else. It’s easy to get the hang of, and I particularly like the satellite image of the garden on the map – it’s a nice touch. Setting up a schedule is a piece of cake, too. There’s an auto-scheduling feature that adapts the mowing and charging time to suit your lawn size. The only real downfall of this robot is its reliance on a stable Wi-Fi connection throughout the garden. It will work without it, but for that to happen, you’ll need to dig out your wallet and buy the RS1 EPOS system. This little module can sit on a pole or be attached to the wall of your house. It provides an impressive level of accuracy, but beware that you need to have it installed by an authorised Husqvarna dealer.

Mower statistics: The cutting deck slung underneath the 308V uses three double-sided razor-type blades to cut the grass. Husqvarna have added an aluminium skid plate below the deck that helps to avoid grass wrapping around the blades and affords extra motor protection. The 22cm cut width is wide enough to cope with small to medium-sized gardens. You can set the cutting height from 20-50mm, in increments of 5mm, which is great for dialling in a precise lawn height. Unfortunately, the 308V is manual height adjust, though, so you can’t set different heights for different lawn areas.

It can cut lawns up to 800 sq. metres in systematic cutting mode, and up to 500 sq. metres in irregular mowing mode. 'Systematic' mode includes stripes, checkerboard and triangular designs. They save a bit of battery and look good, but don’t always cut every blade of grass. Irregular mowing leaves a better finish but takes longer to complete. The internal battery provides up to 100 minutes of continuous operation and takes the same amount of time to recharge. It can climb decent slopes up to 22° as well, which is fine for most gardens.

Top features: The Automower 308V is a leap forward for Husqvarna, mainly thanks to the AI-enhanced camera planted on the front of the robot. It adds obstacle avoidance, a feature missing from previous models. The thing I liked the best about this robot was just how smooth and incredibly quiet the mowing process became. None of the movements were jerky or unpredictable; even the slick little three-point turn made at the end of each pass was a pleasure to watch. But I don’t think these smooth movements are purely for show. Gliding around the lawn like this puts less wear on parts and should help to keep the 308V running for years without issue.

The quality of the cut left behind was excellent. I set it to mow in stripes, and it was clear that after just a few cuts the pattern was beginning to show. The mower followed its own tracks well, and besides leaving some tufts at the edges, it just got on with the job of mowing. For security, the robot uses a PIN lock, sensors that can tell if it’s been lifted, and a geofence that sounds an alarm if the mower leaves the boundaries of your garden. It’s just a few ways to keep this premium mower out of trouble. To summarise, this is a polished and refined robot lawnmower from one of the best names in the business. It cuts beautifully and boasts an intuitive app, but is let down by relying too much on an internet connection. You can get around it with the RS1 EPOS system, but it’ll cost you.

RRP: £1,249
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS and camera
Lawn area up to: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 22°
Cutting height range: 20-50 mm
Warranty: 5 years

• Buy the Husqvarna Automower 308V from Husqvarna (£1,249), Mow With Us (£1,149) , Winchester Garden Machinery (£1,149)

Segway Navimow X350e

RRP: £3,199

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Navimow (£2,699)

Reasons to buy:

• Mows lawns up to 5,000 sq. metres
• Six cutting blades and a 21cm-wide cut
• Easy setup with lots of customisation available
• Mowing performance improves over time

Reasons to avoid:

• Expensive investment
• No first-person video option
• Struggles with some all-terrain challenges
• The orange plastic bumper is easily marked

Segway Navimow is no stranger to the robot lawnmower market, and the latest addition to its fleet is the X3 series. This one, the X350e, is a heavy-duty machine designed to replace a ride-on lawnmower, as it can tackle huge lawns up to 5,000 sq. metres. Bristling with cameras on three sides and finding its precise location with an antenna, the X350e uses AI to map out your lawn and avoid various garden obstructions. It's an impressive-looking beast, a large grey and orange robot with a large screen on the top that shows the mowing status in animations.

Set up and ease of use: I thought the setup with the Segway Navimow was easy. After finding a place for the antenna to stick in the ground and connecting to WiFi, the rest can be done almost without user input. The AI-assisted mapping feature drives the mower about on its own to define lawn shapes, but I found it more fun driving it like a remote-control car instead. The drive comes from two large orange wheels with an aggressive tread pattern. Unlike the Mammotion Luba AWD, the front two wheels are casters, similar to those found on a shopping trolley. This is common to most robot mowers, meaning that all the power is in the back, resulting in some wheel slip.

Mower statistics: Navimow has employed a traction control system to help this mower tackle slopes of up to 24°. It works pretty well, but the mower still wasn’t happy on slippery surfaces like wet paving stones and slope edges. Choosing mowing heights from 20-60mm, adding zones and paths between them, and even drawing pictures on your lawn are all controlled by the powerful app. It gives you plenty of options, such as changing the direction of mowing and even changing the cut height of each zone. And it’s incredibly quiet at just 54dB. I found the mower worked best on large, flat areas of grass. The wide cut and increased mowing speed made for fast work, but it avoided some weeds and patches of taller grass for some reason. The good thing is that you can use the manual mow feature to tidy up areas the robot misses.

Unfortunately for a mower that boasts an AI-enhanced camera, you can’t dial into a live feed on your phone. It’s a missed opportunity to double the X350e up as a mobile home security system. Overall, though, Navimow have made another highly capable mower that does a great job on the lawn. However, for this price, I'd expect it to handle uneven gardens better without getting stuck. The Navimow X350e comes with a three-year warranty.

RRP: £3,199
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS & camera (plus AI mapping)
Lawn area up to: 5,000 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 3 years

• Buy the Segway Navimow X350e from Navimow (£2,699)

Cobra Mowbot 800

RRP: £663.99

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Mowers Online (£749.99)

Reasons to buy:

• Simple install with minimal tools
• Basic but easy-to-use app
• A generous amount of boundary wire is included
• Wide range of cutting heights

Reasons to avoid:

• Only two cutting blades
• Multi-area lawn is complicated to set up
• No spot mowing feature for trouble spots

A straightforward robot mower that can tackle decent-sized lawns, the Cobra Mowbot 800 is ideal for low-effort lawncare. All you need to do is install the boundary wire and press go — either on the machine or via the basic “Robot Mower” app. It can maintain a lawn up to 800 sq. metres, has a cutting width of 18cm, cuts grass from 20-60mm high, and the wheels can deal with slopes up to 20°.

One of the best things about this mower, in my opinion, is that it’s nice and quiet, running at just 66dB maximum. It won’t wake you up if you set the mowing schedule earlier than your alarm clock, and if you want to add some flair to your robot, there are several fun covers that you can purchase separately. It comes with a two-year warranty.

RRP: £663.99
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: boundary wire
Lawn area up to: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 20°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 2 years

• Buy the Cobra Mowbot 800 from Mowers Online (£749.99)

To compare these robot models against other types of mowers, see our reviews of the best cordless lawn mowers, the best electric mowers and the best push mowers.

How does a robot lawn mower work?

Robot lawn mowers are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and designed to cut the grass regularly, little and often, so the lawn always looks neat. Clippings are mulched back onto the grass, feeding the lawn, and there are no grass piles to deal with or collection bags to empty.

Most robot lawn mowers operate by detecting the perimeter via sensors or a boundary wire. The latter is laid out around the edge of the lawn — as well as any obstacles such as trees or island flower beds — to tell the lawn mower to stay within that area. When the mower senses the boundary wire, it will change direction to avoid leaving the lawn. Many robotic lawn mowers have collision sensors, so if they bump into an object, they will automatically turn around and head off in another direction.

Some models mow randomly, eventually covering the entire lawn before returning to the docking station. Others use a more sophisticated GPS system that allows you to programme specific paths. Robot mowers are programmed with a pin pad on the front of the mower, but many models can also be controlled via an app, which allows you to monitor the mower's progress, schedule cutting times and let you know when servicing, etc, is required, easily and remotely. Once the mower has finished mowing, or if the battery is running low, the lawn mower will automatically return to its docking station, connect, and recharge.

These fully automatic mowers can save you hours of mowing time throughout the spring and summer, are great fun to watch and are emission-free. However, they are expensive, require an outside power source and careful installation, may not be appropriate for every style of garden and will not create stripes.

What are the benefits of a robot lawn mower?

Buying a robot lawn mower has several benefits over more traditional petrol or electric models.

These benefits include:

• Less work for you: Once installed and programmed, the robot mower will automatically cut the grass according to your specific schedule. The lawn will always look tidy, and the mower will return to its dock on its own when it needs recharging

• Zero emissions: Unlike petrol mowers, they emit no emissions because they’re powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery

• Quiet: The lack of an engine also makes the mowers incredibly quiet

How to choose the best robot lawn mower

Price and size ranges for robot lawn mowers

Robot lawn mowers are expensive, especially when compared to cordless or electric lawn mowers. Prices start around £600 with premium models for large gardens costing anything from £3,000 up.

Most brands include a range of mowers to suit gardens of different sizes, from small 400m² lawns up to large gardens and estates up to 5,000m² in size and beyond.

Robot lawn mower features

Beyond being fully automatic, the additional features on the best robot lawn mowers vary depending on the model. They can include weather sensors, GPS navigation and smart connectivity, which is increasingly popular and useful for making the mower easier to programme wherever you are. Readily available as an app on your mobile phone, you can adjust the schedule and set up your phone without having to bend over the mower’s PIN board, but you can also check on your robot lawn mower while you’re away, track it if it’s stolen and see when it needs servicing. Good security is essential when paying for a machine in this price range, and all mowers have security features as standard. Some simply require a PIN code to start the mower, while others have lift sensors, alarms and a GPS tracker.

The latest innovation in the robot mower world is the arrival of a number of mowers that cut without the need for a boundary wire. Although some mowers could already do this, they were primarily for very large open lawns or small gardens with particular types of boundary, such as paving or raised beds. Now there are mowers that can identify exactly where they are, with the help of pinpoint positioning via GPS or are able to identify grass as well as other obstacles to work out where to mow. We are currently testing some of these new mowers, so keep checking this page for updates and our latest reviews.

Robot lawn mower requirements

Although they're fully automatic, once set up, robot lawn mowers are more complex initially than traditional petrol, electric or cordless mowers. A robot lawn mower requires an outside power source to connect to the docking station, and this ideally needs to be positioned out of direct sunlight and level. Most also need a clear area around them — typically two metres to the front and a metre each side, which can limit where you place the docking station, especially in a small garden. Accessing the layout is also essential before purchasing a robot lawn mower. Some models can struggle with narrow passages, uneven ground and steep slopes.

Finally, they need installation, and the boundary wire and sometimes a guide wire too, laid. You can either do this yourself, which takes time or get a dealer to do it for you, which is usually an additional cost, although some models include installation by a dealer in the price. They will assess your lawn, lay your boundary wire for you and show you how to programme and operate the keypad. If you're installing the mower yourself, take care to follow the instructions precisely for the robot lawn mower to run correctly.

How to clean a robot lawn mower

Despite being fully automated, a robot lawn mower should still be checked, cleaned and serviced regularly.

• To clean, make sure the machine is switched off and turn it over to check the blades for damage. Clean the chassis and blades with a brush or a garden hose if the dirt is more stubborn
• Grass may need removing from the wheels, and give the body a wipe down with a damp cloth
• Blades should be able to pivot freely, and damaged blades should be replaced. All blades should be replaced at the same time to ensure a balanced cut
• A service each year is encouraged so that dealers can update software. They will also clean and replace any worn parts, including batteries

How we tested robot lawn mowers

The BBC Gardeners' World Magazine reviews team tested a range of robot lawn mowers for several weeks in different gardens. Some were installed for us by dealers, while we installed the smaller mowers ourselves. They were programmed and left to work and were assessed according to the following criteria, with equal marks attributed to each:

• Set up and ease of use: Looked at installation and programming, including the need for a guide wire as well as a boundary wire, smart connectivity capacity and how easy it is to connect to the app.
• Cutting performance: Assessed how well it cuts the grass: the efficiency of cut and the neatness of the finish, its ability to evenly spread the cuttings and its ability to handle rough and damp grass. Also looked at run time, charge time, and noise
• Features: Focused on how well the mower could cope with obstacles or handle slopes, the number of zones you can programme it to mow, rain or temperature sensors, security features, etc.
• Value for money: Considered all of the above, along with the length of warranty and price, including installation cost where applicable

For more information on our testing process, see How we review

Top tips for lawn care

Here are some top tips for keeping your lawn looking fresh and healthy:

If your lawn is young, ensure it’s well-watered, but be careful not to overwater as this will cause the grass to root shallowly. Use rainwater if possible, or grey water from your bath or washing-up bowl. Sprinklers are effective but use lots of mains water. Don’t worry if your lawn is established and goes brown; it will green up again after some rain.

Weed your lawn – keep an eye out for plantains and dandelions, which have wide, flat leaves, and can smother large areas. Remove with a hand trowel or daisy grubber. Avoid weedkiller if possible. Find out more about weeds.

Compacted ground can prevent grass from growing well and lead to bare patches or muddy spots. Relieve compaction and aerate the soil with a garden fork, pushing it about 10cm deep every 10cm, and gently rocking back and forth on the fork handle. Take a look at our pick of the best lawn aerators and the best scarifiers.

Edge your lawn for a neat finish; this satisfying job can be carried out with long-handled shears. It will also stop grass from growing in your borders. See our review of edging shears. You might also like to keep edges neat with a physical border. Take a look at our picks.

For more tips on keeping your lawn looking good, see our article on top lawn care tips.

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, freelance powered tools tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, freelance garden writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com, and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

This review was last updated in April 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability