10 best robot lawnmowers – tested for performance and price

Flying cars might still be a fantasy far in the future, but one futuristic gadget has quietly arrived in our gardens: the robot lawn mower. The best robot lawnmowers will cut your grass while you put your feet up. No sweat, no noise, and no need to wrestle with a traditional mower.

However, these clever garden gadgets have some big drawbacks. Many robot mowers work using a boundary wire placed around your lawn, but this is a lot of work to install. There are more and more robot machines that navigate by camera or GPS. This makes setup a lot simpler, as the machine only needs an antenna or reference (RTK) station to navigate.

But if you’ve ever shopped for a robot lawnmower, you’ll know that the biggest issue is the high price point. These robots are much more expensive than traditional mowers, and prices for the top models often start at £1500.

So, are they worth it? I put a range of models to the test to see which ones truly perform as promised, and which are actually worth the money.

How I tested

I tested a range of robot lawnmowers in my garden, as well as on other lawns to assess how they handled different conditions – gardens ranged in size from around 1/8th of an acre all the way up to large gardens of a couple of acres. Each had the usual obstacles to navigate – paths, ponds, and garden furniture.

I set up each mower per its instructions, laying metres of boundary wire and establishing satellite connections. After that, I paid close attention to the following:

• Ease of use: A robot lawnmower’s main purpose is to make your life easier, so I analysed how easy each one was to use. I also watched out for any quirks that might be off-putting, for example, the mower going off-piste and cutting through the boundary wire, meaning I’d have to lay it again.
• Navigation of each machine: I assessed how precise and organised its mowing patterns were, and how well each one navigated the different gardens.
• Quality and connectivity of apps: I considered whether they were easy to use and if they gave me total control over cutting heights, schedules, and cutting zones. All the mowers that made my final edit passed the test and enabled me to get them mowing even when I was miles away.
• Overall finish: Crucially, I compared the finish results. I compared photos of the lawns and assessed neatness and whether the robot lawnmowers missed any patches of grass.

Why you can trust IndyBest reviews

Jon Axworthy has been a feature writer since 1996 and has been contributing reviews to IndyBest since 2017. With a particular focus on outdoor gear and garden tech, Jon has hands-on experience with everything from grass strimmers and traditional mowers, the latest generation of robot lawnmowers and the best gas BBQs for summer, solidifying his status as a garden tech expert.

The best robot lawnmowers for 2025 are:

• Best overall – LawnMaster OcuMow 18 MX: £499.99, Cleva.co.uk
• Best budget buy – Yard Force easymow 260B: £399.99, Yardforce.eu
• Best professional – Mammotion Luba mini AWD 800: £1,499, Amazon.co.uk