I never thought robot lawn mowers were worth the hype, but these 3 smart machines convinced me that they're perfect for busy gardeners – and surprisingly easy to set up
I couldn't stop smiling!
If you’re thinking about making the switch to a robot lawn mower, it can be difficult to know where to start. Leading garden machinery brands are releasing more models than ever, so it’s tricky to track down the very best robot lawn mowers on the market.
I’ve seen robot mower popularity soar over the past few years, and I was asking all of the usual questions: What are robot lawn mowers? How do they work? Are they actually worth it? I’d learned plenty about robot lawn mowers on press trips last year, but I'd yet to get some hands-on experience in my own garden.
That’s why I set out to test some of the best robot lawn mowers on the market myself. I wasn’t sure they’d compete with the best lawn mowers, but oh boy, was I wrong.
The robot mowers in this guide blew me away. Below, you’ll find my notes on setup, ease of use, performance and design to help you choose the right robot lawn mower for you, your budget and your garden. It’s a very dynamic list – I’ll be updating it as I test more machines over the course of the year (Husqvarna and Segway are on the way!) – but these are the robot lawn mowers I rate highest right now.
Quick list
Best premium robot lawn mower
The Eufy E15 is worth the investment if you're looking for a sturdy machine with an intuitive app and extensive customisation. It provides an even cut, even on long grass, alongside top-notch obstacle avoidance and a really easy setup.
Best robot lawn mower for efficiency
If you're fond of a striped lawn, you'll love this one. The Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000 impressed with its efficient mapping and mowing ability, object avoidance, and a straightforward setup process.
Best budget robot lawn mower
The perfect introduction to robot lawn mowing, the Bosch VISIMOW boasts an easy three-button setup, an impressively even cut and a fraction of the price of other machines on the market.
The best robot lawn mowers I've tried and tested
Best premium robot lawn mower
Since Eufy tops our guide of the best robot vacuum cleaners, I had to give its garden counterpart, the Eufy E15 Robot Lawn Mower, a whirl.
It didn’t disappoint – I unboxed a solid machine with ultra-smart tech that provided a neat, intuitive cut. It's certainly on the pricier end, coming in at RRP £1499 (although I’ve seen a few good deals recently!) – but if you’re out to find one of the best robot lawn mowers on the market and want to invest in a premium model, this one stands as my current favourite.
Setup was simple: once I’d connected the garage roof to the base station (with just four screws!) and the charging station to the mains, I downloaded the Eufy app, made an account and connected my mower to the Wi-Fi. Once I’d charged the mower and completed the software update in-app, I simply had to click ‘Start’ to get the mower to map my lawn.
Mapping was great fun. I watched, wide-eyed, as the mower backed itself out of its charging port and onto my grass (it was like watching one of those space robots exploring Mars for the first time). The Eufy E15 uses pure vision FSD technology with high-precision cameras and intelligent AI algorithms for accurate mapping and obstacle avoidance via Wi-Fi or 4G, with no need for boundary wires or an RTK station like older robot mowers. On the app, I could see a map of my lawn taking shape with every square metre the Eufy E15 covered.
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Stepping stones splice the right-hand side of my lawn, and I wasn't convinced the mower would manage to map around them – but sure enough, eight tiny blobs appeared in a neat line on the green map on the app. All in all, it took about nine minutes for the Eufy E15 to map my lawn, which was really impressive. What made me really giggle like a child, though, was the fact that it returned to its garage when it was finished.
Once mapped, I started the first mow. The cut itself was smooth and methodical, providing an even finish across the main body of my lawn. The Eufy E15 actually gave my lawn its first cut of the year, which meant it had to tackle long grass – and because the maximum cutting height is 75mm, it tackled my 70mm-long grass with ease.
It didn’t quite reach the very outer edges of my lawn, though (but that’s often the case with regular lawn mowers, too, where you have to go back and straighten your lawn edges manually). It also missed some of the grass around my stepping stones on its first cut – but I then found a handy setting to toggle the edge cutting distance in the app, and the ability to set priority cut areas that the mower must mow, which covered most of the missed areas.
The only downside was the size and weight of the unit, which meant the accompanying garage was large, too. You’ll need a fair amount of space (72.7 x 48 x 45.2 cm) for it – and the box that the Eufy E15 and its accompanying base station came in was huge, too (and heavy enough to be a two-person job). It's also louder than other robot mowers I've tried – though still a lot quieter than regular electric and petrol lawn mowers.
Overall, the Eufy E15 Robot Lawn Mower was staggeringly impressive, with smart driving, responsive object avoidance and an even cut across my lawn. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a sturdy robot mower that's as fun as it is capable.
Best robot lawn mower for efficiency
I’ve heard nothing but good things about Mammotion – it's celebrated as the manufacturer of some of the best robot lawn mowers on the market – so when I had the chance to test the Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000 Robot Lawn Mower, I took it.
What I loved most about the Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000 was its efficiency. The mower mapped my lawn a lot faster than the Eufy E15, in just three minutes. The speed at which it charged around my lawn actually made me chuckle – it was definitely on a mission.
The setup was simple. Once I connected the charging station to power, app setup was just as straightforward as it was with the Eufy E15. In fact, I found the Mammotion app to be even more informative, with each step explained thoroughly as you get started.
The cut itself was breathtaking. The Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000 effortlessly striped my lawn (albeit with thin stripes, owing to the robot mower’s smaller size), and gave my grass an even finish at the desired cutting height (in this case, 50mm). You have to toggle the cutting height using the dial on the machine itself, rather than in the app, prior to starting the mow.
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Like the Eufy E15, the Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000 did miss parts of the grass around my stepping stones, as well as the outer perimeter of my lawn – but I’ve yet to try a robot lawn mower that gets it just right (and that’s where a cordless strimmer comes in handy!). There is the option to drive the mower around your lawn manually, though, which you control from your phone (it’s a bit like playing a video game), and I found that better for tackling the grass that lines my garden border. I just had to be careful that I didn’t accidentally drive the mower into my plants!
Obstacle avoidance was also really strong with the Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000. The mower uses a 360 LiDAR and Dual-Camera AI Vision (1080P), and every time I stood in front of the machine or threw small objects like my cap in front of it, the mower would stop at a moment’s notice, back up and continue away from the obstacle, which means it’s great for lawns with pets, toys and wildlife.
If you're looking for an efficient robot mower that's brilliant at its job yet perfect for beginners, this is the one to go for.
You can take £50 off the Mammotion YUKA Mini 2 1000 when you buy it from Mower Magic using this link.
Best budget robot lawn mower
The Bosch VISIMOW is by far the most straightforward, no-nonsense robot lawn mower I’ve tested. It provides an intuitive, even cut, and boasts an easy three-button setup, which makes it the best robot lawn mower for gardeners on a budget or who are completely new to robot mowing.
The mower uses a SmartVision camera with AI SpotMow, which allows it to locate exactly where your grass needs cutting. When I first set the mower off (it was literally a case of putting the battery in the machine and pressing three buttons), I was a little unsure of its random mowing pattern – it didn’t follow a methodical length-to-length approach like the other robot lawn mowers I’ve tested – but that’s exactly how SmartVision works. It travels around a lawn based on what it sees in front of it, monitoring for uncut grass, and it did a fantastic job of cutting my grass to a height of 40mm. It actually gave my lawn one of the neatest finishes I’ve seen with a robot lawn mower.
Stripes aside, of course – the random mowing pattern does mean that it won’t stripe your lawn like the Mammotion YUKA Mini 800, but if you’re willing to forgo the look, the VISIMOW’s thorough cut makes up for it.
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It’s also smaller than the other robot lawn mowers I’ve tested, which means it’s easier to store, and it has a convenient handle for carrying, too. Plus, you don’t have to worry about fixing a charging station into the ground, since it's battery powered. The battery sometimes comes as a bundle with the mower itself (or you can buy it separately – the battery powers a range of other power tools, too).
The Bosch VISIMOW doesn’t fall short on cutting heights, either – it covers a 20-60mm range, which is impressive for such a compact robot mower.
Obstacle avoidance wasn’t quite as strong with the VISIMOW – it would sometimes ‘boop’ the objects I placed in front of it last-minute before stopping. It never ran over them, though, so it was still pretty responsive.
The VISIMOW also cut my lawn at a much slower pace than the other robot lawn mowers I’ve tested – it took around an hour in total - but as the mower is suited to small gardens up to 100m² and it’s on the cheaper side, I’d say it’s a fair compromise. It also isn't accompanied by an app like the other robot lawn mowers on this list are, but for some, that takes away some of the fuss.
For those with a small garden looking for a quick, simple setup and an even cut, the Bosch VISIMOW is the best budget robot lawn mower I've tried.
Robot lawn mower | Max. lawn size | Cutting height range | Cutting width | Max. climbing ability | Weight | Noise level |
800m² | 25-75mm | 20.3cm | 40% (18°) | 12.5kg | 56dB | |
1000m² | 20-60mm | 19cm | 45% (24°) | 10.9kg | 55-60dB | |
100m² | 20-60mm | 16cm | 35% (19°) | 7.6kg (with battery) | 52dB |
How I tested
If you're wondering how we test robot lawn mowers at Ideal Home, the process is a thorough one – we put each machine through its paces, testing performance, ease of use, design and additional features, too.
I've tested each of the robot lawn mowers in this guide in my own 38m² garden, with a focus on the following areas:
- Unboxing: How protective and sustainable the packaging is, and how easy the boxed mower is to transport and unpack.
- Setup: How easy it is to connect the cables (or fit the battery), and how straightforward wi-fi and app connectivity is.
- Mapping: For models that map a lawn prior to mowing, how fast the process is and the accuracy of the final map.
- Performance: The precision of the robot's mowing ability and the final finish of the lawn. Where patches were missed, I finetuned the settings and evaluated the success of the second attempt. I also introduced a number of objects to the mower's path to assess its object avoidance skills.
- Maintenance: How easy it is to clean the robot lawn mowers after use, as well as ongoing maintenance such as software updates.
How robot lawn mowers work
Robot lawn mowers have evolved rapidly over the last five years, with technology shifting toward boundary wire-free installation.
When robot lawn mowers first entered the market, they required a boundary wire, which needed to be dug into the perimeter of the lawn so that the mower stayed within its bounds. That was quite a big deterrent for me and plenty of other gardeners I've spoken to – but in recent years, wireless robot lawn mowers have become mainstream.
For this guide, and for the convenience of you, the reader, I've only tested robot lawn mowers that don't require a boundary wire. Instead, these newer models rely on smart AI-assisted cameras to detect their surroundings and obstacles – sometimes using a random mowing pattern, like the Bosch VISIMOW or, in smarter machines, mapping the lawn via GPS.
It's this map that provides the robot mower with the information it needs to stay within your lawn's boundaries. An accompanying app allows you to view the map, start and schedule mows, toggle cutting settings and even designate specific mowing areas for some models.
The beauty of robot mowers with charging stations is that they work in the background, cutting grass little and often to maintain a neat appearance without you lifting a finger beyond initial setup, cleaning and occasional maintenance. For battery-operated robot mowers, you'll just need to remember to charge the battery.
That's my roundup of the best robot lawn mowers I've tested so far, but I'll be updating this guide as I try out more machines over the coming months.
