Smart mowers are an expensive alternative to old-fashioned yard work, but they're finally good enough to consider if you'd rather sip an iced tea and watch a robot tame your lawn.
Best for Regular Lawns TerraMow V1000 Read more $1,099 Amazon
Best for Challenging Lawns Mammotion Luba 3 AWD Read more $2,399 Amazon
Best Budget Robot Mower Anthbot M9 Read more $969 $769 (21% off) Amazon
Best Remote-Control Mower Mowrator S1 Read more $3,999 Amazon
Lawn care is a monotonous, thankless task. Who wants to mow the lawn when you could be lollygagging in a hammock with a cold drink, watching a robot do it for you? That's right: no one. Robot lawn mowers were once the preserve of the wealthy, and yes, they can still be on the pricey side. But they're getting cheaper and better all the time.
I've tested a handful of the best robot lawn mowers over the past three years , and after comparing a fresh crop this mowing season, I'm delighted to tell you that robot mowers are actually good now . I've got some recommendations, honorable mentions, and a list of robot mowers you should avoid. Read on for everything you need to know about lawn-tending bots.
Updated September 2026: I added mowers from Roborock, Segway, Eufy, and Sunseeker, added information about night mowing to the FAQ, and updated prices.
Photograph: Simon Hill Photograph: Simon Hill Photograph: Simon Hill Photograph: Simon Hill Save to wishlist TerraMow
The TerraMow V1000 is a little more compact than some of the other robot mowers I've tested, and it comes with a covered charging station (something that often costs extra with rivals). There's no need for wire or even an RTK antenna, because it works with a triple AI camera system, GPS, and 4G. The setup is a breeze, with impressive automatic mapping that quickly marks out your lawn in the app. You often have to remotely control mowers to map out your lawn, but I didn't even have to edit the map, and this is the best automatic mapping I've seen from a robot mower.
This mower is perfect for a modest, flat rectangular lawn. It can deal with gradients up to 18 degrees, and you can set up multiple mowing zones with routes between and no-go zones. It's surprisingly good at navigating regular paths and moving between zones. I also love the spot-mow option, which enables you to place it on any lawn and simply cut in rows using the AI vision camera (no need for mapping). Provided the lawn is fairly straightforward, it does a great, neat job. This feature is handy for front or side lawns, or even lending it to a neighbor.
Mowing performance is impressive too. The TerraMow V1000 does a neat and tidy job of mowing in lines up and down my lawn. It cut all the way to the edge where there was a path border but left the customary strip on the sides with walls, plants, and other obstacles. The obstacle avoidance is excellent, and it had no issues avoiding a football and the thin legs of a badminton net. After setting the schedule, the TerraMow V1000 finished the mow and always successfully returned to the charging station.
On the downside, the app has some messy translation and grammar, and I encountered some oddities, such as when creating my lawn map, it named it "map 3" for some reason, even after I renamed it manually. It could use a touch of polish, but functionally, I had no issues starting or stopping a mow manually. Firmware updates took a long time but completed successfully. The mower doesn't work at night, because it relies on cameras and AI for navigation, and the front wheel isn't great on gravel or very uneven ground. You get one year of 4G service free, and it costs $19 a year after that.
Photograph: Simon Hill Photograph: Simon Hill Photograph: Simon Hill Photograph: Simon Hill Save to wishlist Mammotion
The Mammotion Luba 3 AWD can handle relatively rough terrain and steep slopes, and it combines three technologies (GPS, lidar, and AI vision) to ensure it can cut larger lawns even where there might be tree cover or other awkward spots. It's big and heavy and requires some putting together, so it's not the easiest to set up, but there's no need for wire or an antenna (an RTK antenna is an optional extra for folks who lack Wi-Fi or 4G coverage in their backyard). Mammotion provides a generous three years of 4G service, and each additional year costs $50 .
This mower boasts quiet operation and efficient pathfinding. Because it's wide, with two spinning discs underneath, you can get wide strips, and the finish is perhaps the best I've seen. The obstacle avoidance is solid, and it does a decent job around the edges. I also appreciate the manual mowing option, enabling you to cut any problem areas with remote app control. You can set multiple zones and tweak sensitivity for obstacles, which is handy if you're a dog owner worried about mess. It also has a cool "drop mow" feature that lets you drop it on an unmapped area; handy if you want to loan it to a neighbor. It works well, but you can expect a bit of a border. The all-wheel drive ensures it can handle bumpy terrain and inclines. The wheel design is also great at avoiding ripping up grass, which can happen with mowers sporting big spiky wheels.
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via Wired.
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