Best for:

The Segway Navimow is the best robot lawnmower for people with large yards. It’s relatively easy to set up and covers a huge area on a single charge. This model is definitely for people with larger lawns. Using a mower like this in an urban setting might be overkill. The mower was also the easiest with an RTK beacon to set up and use, which is a nice bonus. An RTK (or Real-Time Kinematic) beacon is a device that corrects a mower’s coordinates so it can get accuracy down to a centimeter. 

Why we recommend it: 

The Segway Navimow X390 is my favorite mower, by a slim margin over the much cheaper Eufy E15. The mower is small and fast with spiked wheels for easy driving. It smartly negotiates difficult terrain, which doesn’t sound like much. But not only does it climb hills well, but when it gets stuck, it uses a variety of techniques to get back underway. You can really tell that Segway put a lot of thought into how the mower can free itself.

The app is easy to use and set up. Adding to and editing the map is very straightforward. The one hiccup I had from a software perspective was getting the mower to mow the area I wanted it to when I accidentally assigned it to the wrong space. Convincing the mower to do something else was tricky. The initial cut the Segway makes left tufts of grass uncut, which was not the best. A second trip around the lawn largely corrected things, but I was hoping for better results on the first pass.

All that being said, the Segway quickly became my favorite mower of the pack. Yes, this particular model is by far the most expensive in the list at $5,000 full price, but Navimow sent its biggest mower. There are smaller mowers in the X series that should perform as well. The software is intuitive, the mower itself is attractive and I ran into the fewest issues when running it. It’s an easy recommendation.

Who shouldn’t get it: 

If there’s one large flaw with this mower it’s the camera system. My part of Illinois has a type of grass that can grow seeds and small leaves at the top of it (if it gets long enough). Dandelions are also problematic. The issue I ran into was the mower refused to mow those things half the time. I imagine the camera system might have mistaken them for plant beds, which is fair, but I don’t think it’s asking too much for my lawn mower to recognize, you know, lawn. If you have a smaller yard, you may also be better served by the Eufy E15 or Sunseeker X3 Plus.

CNET Score Breakdown

Score

8.5

June 2025: This best list is brand new with the Segway Navimow, Eufy E15, Sunseeker X3 Plus and the Husqvarna 410 iQ, tested through May and June 2025. 

The following two mowers lived in my backyard for all six weeks of my testing time, but never managed to mow a blade of grass, for a variety of reasons. They have potential, which is why they’re on this list, but they still have some things to work out.

Yarbo Lawn Mower

The Yarbo robot mower is an absolute clinic in overengineering. Every other mower on this list arrived at my house in a box that weighed between 40 and 60 pounds. Yarbo’s mower arrived in six separate boxes, two of which weighed over 100 pounds each. There’s a reason for all of this, and it comes back to Yarbo’s mission. Yarbo built a modular system that has a core component and add-on modules for different functions. One is a snow blower, one is a leaf blower and the one I received is a lawnmower.

The “core” module, which is what drives the other components, has rubberized tank treads lights around the perimeter, and by itself weighs around over 100 pounds. The mower module weighs another 50 to 60 pounds. If you want to push around snow, you need a heavy-duty build — I totally get that. But at the end of the day, according to Eric Dowd Golf and Mobile Solutions Expert (and no relation of mine, despite the last name)  at Automated Outdoor Solutions, the Yarbo mower is a commercial unit. It’s not really intended for residential use.

The reason I have it listed in this section is because I had an enormous amount of trouble getting a connection to satellites (this was something of a theme). First, I had trouble with the RTK beacon, but once that got resolved, the mower itself had trouble. I have a large tree in my backyard. I’m fairly sure I’m not the only person with a large tree in the backyard, so this is not ideal. I will continue to work with Yarbo to get things squared away.

Airseekers Tron

The most oddly-named and oddly designed mower on this list, the Airseekers Tron will run you $2,099. Most of the mowers on this list have two drive wheels and two omnidirectional wheels, like what you’d find on an office chair. The Airseekers Tron on the other hand has two drive wheels and two powered wheels in the front as well. But the wheels in front are canted inward. Rollers on the wheels allow the Tron to be — in theory — more maneuverable. This all looks good on paper. However, there were some issues.

First, the Airseekers Tron shipped with comically short cables for both the RTK beacon and the base station. By the time I assembled the beacon and ran the cable through the pipe that holds it up, there was about 4 feet of cable left. If you’re attaching the cable to the base station (more on that in a moment) that means the mower and the beacon need to be in the same space. That may be OK, depending on your space, but really it’s not OK.

To mitigate this, you can plug in the beacon separately, but that requires a separate cord and plug. Airseekers shipped me the unit with European plugs and an adapter for American plugs — a not-waterproof adapter, besides. Airseekers assured me that when the device ships internationally, there will be appropriate plugs on all the cables for each region. Mine is an early unit.

When it comes to driving the mower — to map a space. for example — I ran into trouble. The mower would veer off in odd directions. It seemed like the front wheels weren’t functioning as designed. I’ve been working closely with Airseekers support, and the company has been responsive to the issues I ran into, but as of the time this article was published, the mower hasn’t accomplished the one job it has.

The main thing to remember when buying a robot lawn mower is that your lawn care days are not done. Eric Dowd from Automated Outdoor Solutions pointed out that most of the company’s residential customers still had a bunch of work to do, even after the mower was done doing its thing. Grass trimming along the edges is a big one — in Chicago we call it “weed whacking”.

As with a traditional mower, there’s always some grass left over that the blades can’t reach because of the chassis. You’ll still need to do that with a weed whacker (sometimes referred to as a weed eater or string trimmer). Plus, as mentioned, if you have any narrow paths of grass, you’ll likely have to cut those manually with the same trimmer or a traditional lawn mower. 

Here are some other things to keep in mind when picking the best robot lawn mower to buy: 

1. Yard size compatibility (square footage ranges): Consider whether the mower is designed for larger or smaller lawns. A small yard is typically under 5,000 square feet, which is the case for me. A medium yard is usually between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet. Finally, large yards are 10,000 square feet or more, though this will vary according to urban or suburban areas. Some robot mowers are best for urban settings or medium-sized yards, while others are suited for large areas. Your mower should be able to efficiently and effectively cover your entire lawn without running out of battery or taking an excessive amount of time.
2. Navigation technology (boundary wires, GPS, vision systems): Determine what navigation system the mower uses. Options include GPS with RTK beacons for precise location accuracy, vision sensors that use cameras to map and navigate, or boundary wires that define the mowing area. GPS coverage can also be a factor, especially in urban settings with potential signal obstructions.
3. Cutting performance on different grass types: Understand if the mower can handle different grass types and conditions. Thicker grass or variations in grass length can affect mower performance. Some mowers may struggle with dense or tall grass, while others are designed for more challenging lawns.
4. Cutting width: This refers to the width of the area the mower cuts in a single pass. A slimmer cutting radius might mean the mower needs to make more passes to cover the same area. Our best overall, the Segway Navimow X390 has a cutting width of 9 inches, while the Sunseeker has 8 inches. 
5. Slope handling capabilities (maximum degree): Evaluate if the mower can climb hills and handle uneven terrain. Some mowers are better at navigating difficult terrain than others, with varying degrees of slope they can manage. Ensure the mower can handle any slopes or inclines in your yard.
6. Battery life and charging time: Consider how long the mower can run on a single charge and how long it takes to recharge. This impacts how efficiently the mower can cover your lawn and how long it will take to complete a mowing cycle. All the robot mowers we tested came with docking stations. The Yarbo mower included a wireless charging pad and didn’t require contacts. The remaining all have slots that allow you to charge them. 
7. Weather resistance (rain sensing, IP rating): Determine if the mower can operate in different weather conditions, including rain. Some mowers may have features to delay mowing if it’s raining, while others are designed to be fully waterproof. Check the IP rating for water resistance level.
8. Obstacle detection and avoidance: Evaluate how the mower avoids obstacles, such as trees, garden beds and other objects in the yard. Options include vision sensors that identify objects, radar modules that detect obstacles or bump sensors that trigger a change in direction upon contact.
9. Noise level (decibels): Consider the mower’s noise level, especially if you have close neighbors or prefer a quiet environment. Different models produce varying levels of noise, so check the decibel rating.
10. Smart features and app control: Almost all robot lawn mowers have smart features and app control for scheduling, mapping and other functions. This can include remote control, scheduling mowing times, creating virtual boundaries and receiving notifications.

Robot lawn mowers of yore started off using a boundary wire to determine where it could and could not go, and they were problematic. The boundary wire had to make a complete, unbroken circle. And if anything happened to the wire, you had problems. These days, robot mowers work via GPS, but it’s GPS with a little bit extra in an RTK beacon. Scott Porteous, head of robotics for Husqvarna broke it down for me.

GPS navigation 

GPS today is accurate down to a few feet. That’s fine when you’re navigating in your car, or looking for Tupperware in the woods, but it’s not good for things like property lines. The Real-Time Kinematic beacon also communicates with GPS satellites to provide a fixed location on Earth that the satellites know about. In essence, the RTK beacon tells the satellites, “I’m always here.” Meanwhile, the mower drives around, and the beacon tells the mower that the satellites think it’s 5 feet to the north, so the mower should take the location that GPS is reading and adjust it accordingly. This allows robot mowers to get accuracy down to the centimeter.

GPS coverage

Another thing to consider is your general GPS coverage. If you live out in the suburbs, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find a spot in your yard to set up a base station and RTK beacon. If you live in the city, that might be challenging. Also, wherever you set up your mower, you’ll probably need to be within Wi-Fi range for the mower to operate properly. A mower like the Yarbo actually gets an ethernet cable that runs to a router. If you decide to go with the Yarbo, that’s something you’ll need to do.

Cutting width

Robot mowers have a lot of difficulty with narrow paths. The reason for this is due to those blades and its overall construction. For example, the Segway mower’s chassis is 20.5 inches with a cutting width of 9 inches. The Sunseeker, one of the smaller bots, has a 14-inch width accompanied by a cutting width of 8 inches. This is not conducive to cutting narrow paths. Even if the body of the mower fits there, it can’t get the right angle to cut all the grass. Mostly, they just wiggle back and forth, which doesn’t do a heck of a lot.

Camera systems

Most mowers have camera systems that allow them to avoid obstacles and navigate. Eufy relies on that camera system, so much so that it can’t operate at night at all. Other mowers have the ability to turn off nighttime mowing because obstacle detection is a lot worse for obvious reasons.

Scheduling

All of the mowers have scheduling abilities, so the mower only runs when you want it to. Some of the mowers even take weather into account — if it’s raining when it’s time to mow, it delays the mowing. It’s important to remember that consistent mowing times are crucial to the proper operation of the mowers so the grass won’t get too long for it to handle.

Human oversight 

Finally, it’s important to remember that robot mowers are exactly that — robots. A human can look at a patch of grass and know exactly how to move through it. Robots, not so much. It can be frustrating to watch a mower make its way through a lawn and just skip past a piece of grass.  

If you don’t obsessively watch the mower (like I had to in order to review them), you might come back after it runs a cycle and see patches that it skipped, which can also be frustrating. As a human, you might have to do some tidying up after a robot mower, but it’ll be significantly less work than doing the whole thing yourself.

My backyard is a wonderful minefield of obstacles and grades that embodies just about any condition you might have in a yard. I have a trampoline that none of the mowers seemed to be able to navigate (the supporting pipes on the ground couldn’t be climbed over). My tree is large and has roots sticking out of the ground. I have dogs who were curious about their new robot friends creeping back and forth across the lawn. I also have a fair amount of landscaping and some narrow paths that none of the mowers did a good job of cutting.

My front yard is much more straightforward except that neither of my neighbors have a boundary between their property line and mine, so I had to rely on GPS and the RTK beacon to test. I found them to be accurate enough. I programmed one of the mowers to also cut my elderly neighbor’s yard (not the colorful one, the other one), which he appreciated. This is why you don’t mess with the tech reviewer.

During my testing time, temperatures varied wildly from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to up over 90 degrees — welcome to the midwest. We also had a few rainstorms, including one torrential downpour that didn’t kill any of the bots, so that’s a plus.

After every mower did its thing, I waited several days for the grass to grow back to test the next one, however I didn’t wait too long because — again — maintenance, not mowing. I put these mowers through their paces for the past six weeks, but I anticipate some long-term testing will be necessary. We plan to keep this list updated with more mowers as they’re released, or even mowers we didn’t get to this time around, so be sure to check back.

The most obvious difference between a robot mower and traditional mowers is in the fact that robot mowers mow by themselves. This is going to be a long-term investment in getting your time back. Plus, as I told my wife, “Sure the robot mower takes longer than our 18-year-old son to mow the lawn, but you only have to ask it once to do it.”

Beyond that, a robot mower starts itself, mows by itself, parks itself and charges itself. It’s a true “set it and forget it” tool. The cost savings in frustration alone is almost worth it.

Speaking of which, there’s a huge cost difference between a traditional mower and a robot mower. A traditional push mower will cost a few hundred dollars. Our cheapest robot mower is $1,399. So there is a big gap there.

The other consideration is that a robot mower isn’t designed to mow a lawn, per se; it’s designed to maintain a lawn. All of the robot mowers I tested recommended that you cut your lawn first before implementing the robot. Once you do, the robot can mow two or three times per week and keep your lawn where you want it.

Robot lawnmowers aren’t hard to set up, but they may require tools and some advanced planning on your part. You’ll need power, a clear view of the sky and the ability to run wires to all the components. Like anything automated, setting it up is the tricky part, but the long-term payoff is worth it.

Robot lawnmowers are largely self-sufficient devices that run when you tell them to, charge themselves and don’t require supervision most of the time. Maintenance comes in the winter when you need to store them. It’s a good idea to replace the blade, too. Beyond that, they’re pretty easy.

Boundaries and obstacles are handled through a combination of GPS, visual sensors, radar and app controls. Once you set the boundaries, you can also set “no-go zones” which the mower will avoid. Other obstacles are detected with onboard sensors that generally keep the mower out of trouble.