How much does a robot mower cost to buy and run?

The short answer

Buying a robot mower costs anything from under £200 to over £6,000. Across our catalogue, published RRPs start at £149.99 for the Parkside 20V and go up to the Stiga A 140v, rated for 14,000 m², at £5,699. Most people with an ordinary UK garden will spend somewhere between about £600 and £2,500.

Running a robot mower is cheap. For most models, electricity costs a few pounds to the low tens of pounds a year, and replacement blades are the main regular cost. Some connected models add an optional or required data plan after a free period. Our running-costs calculator works out a yearly figure for a specific model.

What decides the purchase price

Price mostly tracks four things:

1. Rated area. Bigger batteries, wider cuts and stronger motors cost more. The same model often comes in several sizes a few hundred pounds apart.
2. Navigation. Perimeter-wire mowers are usually the cheapest for a given lawn size. Wire-free models using RTK, cameras or LiDAR generally cost more, though the gap has narrowed. See perimeter wire vs wire-free.
3. Slope and drive. All-wheel-drive mowers that handle steep banks sit at the top of the market. See robot mowers on slopes.
4. Brand, support and warranty. Dealer-supported brands with long warranties often cost more than online-only brands with similar specs.

Rough price bands

These bands are a guide to what's typical, not hard rules:

• Under £600: mostly wired mowers for small, simple lawns, plus a few basic camera-guided models. Expect bump-only obstacle detection, modest slope ratings and simple apps.
• £600 to £1,200: entry-level wire-free mowers for small to medium gardens, alongside mid-range wired models.
• £1,200 to £2,500: larger wire-free models, compact all-wheel-drive mowers and premium wired mowers.
• Over £2,500: big-garden and estate mowers, heavy-duty all-wheel drive, and dealer-installed ranges.

One-off extras to budget for

• Installation. Wired mowers come with a kit of wire and pegs sized for an average lawn; a big or complicated garden may need more. Some brands, including Honda and Kress, sell mainly through dealers who can install the mower for a fee. Ask for a quote before you buy. Our installation guide covers doing it yourself.
• Power. The charging station needs mains power near the lawn. If you don't have a suitable outdoor socket, an electrician will need to fit one; see the installation guide.
• A base station or reference station. Some RTK mowers include one. Network RTK models don't need one if the mobile or Wi-Fi signal reaches the whole lawn, but brands sell one as a fallback where it doesn't. See network RTK and 4G.
• A garage or cover. Optional, and a few mowers include one. See do you need a robot mower garage?
• Spare blades. Many owners buy a pack at the same time as the mower.

Running costs

Electricity

Robot mower batteries are small, so charging costs little. Here's an illustrative example using our calculator's default assumptions:

• A mower with a 90 Wh battery, charging once a day for a 32-week season (roughly March to October).
• 85% charging efficiency, so each charge draws about 0.11 kWh from the wall.
• A charging station that draws about 2 W on standby all year.
• Electricity at 25p per kWh. The real figure depends on your tariff; Ofgem publishes the current energy price cap, which sets the maximum unit rate for most default tariffs.

That comes to about 24 kWh for charging plus about 17 kWh of standby, around 41 kWh a year, or roughly £10. A mower on a smaller lawn that charges twice a week would use about 24 kWh, roughly £6. Notice how much of that is standby: for small lawns, the station's idle draw can cost more than the mowing. Some owners switch the station off over winter.

Bigger mowers with larger batteries cost more to charge, but even large-garden machines rarely reach more than a few tens of pounds a year.

Blades

Blades are the main consumable. Most mowers use small pivoting razor blades that manufacturers suggest changing every few weeks to every few months in the season, more often on big lawns or if the mower hits twigs and stones. Packs are inexpensive, but prices vary by brand, and some models use larger fixed blades or discs that cost more. See our blade guide and blade accessories.

Data plans and subscriptions

Most robot mowers don't need a subscription to mow. The ones to check are mowers with built-in 4G:

• Many include a free data period. Mammotion, for example, lists 36 months for the LUBA 3 AWD, and Stiga lists 120 months for its A v range.
• After that, a paid plan is usually optional and adds remote control, live tracking and anti-theft alerts.
• A few models list a subscription as required after the free period. Stiga's A 4 and A 8 include 24 months and then need a paid plan, and Sunseeker lists a subscription as required for its Gen 2 models such as the Sunseeker X3.

Our network RTK and 4G guide explains what you lose if you let a plan lapse.

Servicing and warranty conditions

Most mowers need only cleaning and blade changes. Some brands tie longer warranties to paid dealer servicing. Honda's five-year domestic warranty on the Honda Miimo HRM range depends on dealer registration and servicing to its schedule, and Stiga offers up to five years on some models if they're registered and serviced annually by an authorised dealer. Servicing prices aren't published, so ask your dealer and add them to your yearly costs.

Batteries and repairs

Lithium-ion batteries lose capacity over the years. Manufacturers don't generally publish a battery lifespan, and battery warranties are often shorter than the mower's. Before buying, check that a replacement battery is sold for the model and roughly what it costs. Wired mowers can also need wire repairs if the loop is cut by an edging spade, scarifier or moles; repair connectors are cheap.

A worked five-year example

Say you buy a mid-range wire-free mower for a 600 m² lawn. Over five years you'd pay:

• the purchase price, once;
• electricity of perhaps £30 to £50 in total at the assumptions above;
• several packs of blades a year;
• a data plan after the free period, if you want remote features (or if the model requires one);
• possibly a replacement battery near the end of that period.

For most mowers, the purchase price makes up the large majority of the five-year cost. That's why choosing the right size and navigation type matters more than chasing small differences in running costs.

How to spend less

• Don't oversize. Choose a rated area about 20% bigger than your lawn, not double. Measure with our lawn size tool.
• Consider wire. For a simple, flat lawn with good access, a wired mower can do the same job for less.
• Look at last season's model. When a successor launches, the outgoing model is often discounted. Our model pages flag discontinued models and their replacements.
• Watch for deals. Robot mower prices move around spring and autumn sales. Our deals page only flags genuine drops against each retailer's own price history.
• Register for the extended warranty where offered. Several brands add a year for free if you register within a set time.

When you've got a budget in mind, our mower finder narrows the field, and our best-of pages cover budget mowers and mowers under £1,000.