Ecovacs GOAT robot mowers

It mostly comes down to lawn size and how much open sky your garden has. Ecovacs currently sells three GOAT families in the UK, all wire-free and all managed through the ECOVACS HOME app.

• Small, shaded gardens: the Ecovacs GOAT O500 Panorama uses cameras and a 3D ToF sensor rather than satellites, so there is no RTK station to site. It is rated for 500 m², which is the limiting factor.
• Open lawns up to about 700 m²: the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) pair (O600 and O800) use an RTK station supplied in the box. They are usually the cheapest way into the range, but need a clear view of the sky.
• Larger or tree-lined lawns up to about 1,000 m²: the Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO uses LiDAR, needs no station and adds a built-in edge trimmer. It costs the most of the three.

A few things apply across the range. None of the current UK models has 4G, so there's no remote tracking if one is stolen. Slope ratings are 45% throughout, which rules out steep banks. The UK warranty is three years on the robot and two on the battery.

Ecovacs also sells larger A-series models elsewhere in Europe, but they aren't on sale in the UK, and some figures on Ecovacs' UK hub FAQ (such as a 45-minute charge) refer to them rather than to UK models. Every UK GOAT was listed as out of stock at the end of the 2026 season, so check availability before deciding. The Ecovacs brand page lists the full range.

GOAT is the robot mower range from Ecovacs, a Chinese company founded in 1998 and based in Suzhou, according to its UK about page. Ecovacs is better known for its robot vacuum cleaners; GOAT is its garden range.

In the UK, Ecovacs sells GOAT mowers through its UK online store, and support runs through its UK help site, which offers a contact form, a UK phone number and an email address. Ecovacs doesn't list a UK dealer network, so installation is a do-it-yourself job; the current models are designed for that, with no boundary wire to bury.

The UK warranty is three years on the robot and two years on the battery. Blades and other accessories aren't covered, and Ecovacs doesn't offer an extension for registering the mower. Ecovacs' UK support list names the Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO, the O600 RTK from the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) family and the Ecovacs GOAT O500 Panorama. The older Ecovacs GOAT G1 has been dropped from that list.

See the Ecovacs brand page for the full range.

Only at a clear discount and only if the kit is complete. The Ecovacs GOAT G1 is no longer sold new in the UK: its product page says it's sold out and points buyers to other GOAT models, and it has dropped off Ecovacs' UK mower hub and support model list. That last point is the one to weigh most, because help with faults and software may get harder to find as time passes.

Before handing over money, check:

• Both UWB beacons and their power supplies. The G1 positions itself with cameras plus two radio beacons placed around the garden, and it won't navigate as designed without them.
• The charging station and cables, plus the cellular module if the listing mentions 4G. That was an optional extra.
• Battery health. Ask how long a typical session lasts now, and when the mower was bought.
• Proof of purchase. Sold new, the G1 carried a warranty of 3 years on the robot, running from the original sale date, so any remaining cover depends on that receipt.

Also bear in mind the specifications. Ecovacs rated it for 800 m², but never published a maximum slope on its UK pages, and the cut height tops out at 60 mm.

Its last UK list price was £999, more than a new Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) costs, so a used G1 needs to be well below that to make sense. Our wire-free hub lists current alternatives.

The biggest change is how they find their way. The Ecovacs GOAT G1 combined cameras with two UWB radio beacons that you position and power around the garden. The Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) models use satellite positioning corrected by a single RTK station, backed by a camera. That swaps two beacons for one station, but it also means the newer mowers need a clear view of the sky.

Other differences from Ecovacs' spec pages:

• Cutting height: the G1 tops out at 60 mm; the O RTK models reach 80 mm.
• Weight: Ecovacs lists 23.2 kg for the G1, though that may include the station, against 10.4 kg–11 kg for the O RTK pair.
• Connectivity: the G1 had an optional cellular module; the O RTK models are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth only.

Both carry the same length of UK warranty when bought new.

Rain is fine; a full UK winter outdoors is best avoided. Ecovacs gives the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) an IPX6 rating, meaning it is protected against strong jets of water, and fits a rain sensor to detect when it starts raining. A garage isn't included, but Ecovacs sells one separately to keep leaves and direct sun off the mower.

Winter is a different matter. Grass barely grows once temperatures drop, and lithium batteries don't like being charged in freezing conditions. The usual advice is to clean the mower, charge the battery part-way, and store it somewhere dry and frost-free, such as a shed or garage, until spring. Ecovacs doesn't publish specific winter guidance for these models on the pages we checked, so follow the manual if it differs. Our winter storage guide covers what to do with the RTK station and charging base, and whether a garage is worth buying.

Only where it can drive over the border. Where the lawn meets a flush patio, path or mowing strip, the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) can run its wheels onto the hard surface and cut to the very edge. Against a fence, wall or raised bed it can't do that, and Ecovacs' own comparison table shows roughly 9 cm of grass left uncut.

Neither the O600 nor the O800 has a string trimmer, so plan on a quick pass with a strimmer or edging shears along those boundaries. A common fix is to lay a strip of flush paving or edging along fences so a robot can cut right to them; that's a one-off job that saves repeated strimming.

If tidy edges without extra work are a priority, Ecovacs' Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO adds a built-in trimmer, though it costs more and has no RTK.

As far as Ecovacs' published material goes, no to both. None of Ecovacs' UK pages mention a subscription for the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK), and there is nothing that would obviously need one: the mowers have no cellular hardware, and the RTK station in the box talks directly to the mower, so there's no network RTK service to pay for. Ecovacs hasn't stated outright that no fee will ever apply, so treat this as a reasonable inference.

Wi-Fi is needed for the ECOVACS HOME app to reach the mower when you're away from it; setup and mapping also use Bluetooth. Ecovacs' UK FAQ says basic mowing can run without Wi-Fi using the on-board controls, which helps if your router doesn't reach the garden. You'd still want a signal for schedule changes, map edits and software updates.

For most lawns over about 450 m², or any garden with toys and furniture on the grass, the O800 is the safer choice. The O600 makes sense only for smaller, tidy lawns where the lower price matters most. Both sit in the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) family, share the same body and RTK station, and differ in four ways.

• Rated area: 600 m² for the O600 against 800 m² for the O800, according to Ecovacs.
• Cut width: 190 mm on the O600 and 220 mm on the O800, so the larger model covers more ground per pass.
• Battery: 45 Wh against 72 Wh. The O600 charges faster (Ecovacs quotes about 55 minutes, while its O800 figures conflict), but it stores far less energy.
• Obstacle detection: the O600 relies on an AI camera alone. The O800 adds a 3D ToF sensor, which measures distance and should help with low or awkwardly shaped obstacles.

The rest is identical on paper: a 45% slope rating, heights from 30 mm to 80 mm, a 70 cm minimum passage and the same warranty.

Current prices are £449 for the O600 and £699 for the O800, and the O800 has been listed well below its RRP, which narrows the gap. One more point: Ecovacs UK names only the O800 as compatible with its RTK extension cable, power supply and wall mount, so check before you plan a tricky station position for an O600.

Put it somewhere with the widest possible view of open sky and within reach of mains power. The Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) mowers work out their position from satellite signals, and the RTK station supplied in the box sends them corrections that tighten that position to within a few centimetres. If the station itself has a poor view of the sky, the whole system suffers.

In practice that means:

• away from tall trees, high hedges and the walls of the house, which block or reflect satellite signals;
• high enough to clear nearby fences, which is why RTK stations are often fixed to a wall, shed roof or post rather than left at ground level;
• somewhere it won't be knocked, mown into or moved, because shifting the station can throw out the mapped boundary.

The station needs its own power, separate from the charging station. Ecovacs UK sells a 10 m RTK cable, a power supply and a wall mount, but lists them for the O800 RTK and other models, not the O600, so O600 owners should confirm compatibility with Ecovacs before relying on them.

Where the mower itself runs matters too. Ecovacs pairs RTK with a camera (plus a 3D ToF sensor on the O800), but it doesn't say the mower keeps working without an RTK fix. Narrow side returns and lawns under dense canopy are the places most likely to cause trouble. Our installation guide walks through choosing a spot, and the RTK stations page covers mounts and cables.

Ecovacs rates the Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO for slopes up to 45%, which it also gives as 24 degrees. A 45% slope rises 45 cm for every metre travelled horizontally, so that covers most gently rolling UK lawns and moderate banks, but not steep terraces or embankments.

Treat the rating as a best-case figure. Wet grass, moss and loose soil all reduce grip, so a mower that manages a bank in dry June may struggle on the same bank in October. If your steepest section is close to the limit, a model with a higher rating gives you more margin. Ecovacs doesn't say which wheels are driven on this model.

Measure before you buy: our slopes guide explains how to check a gradient with a spirit level and a tape measure, and how percentages convert to degrees.

On paper, yes: a shaded, enclosed garden is the kind of plot the Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO was designed for. It doesn't use satellite positioning at all. A rotating LiDAR scanner measures the distance to fixed things around the lawn, such as walls, fences, tree trunks and the house, and the mower works out its position by matching what it sees against the map it built during setup. Ecovacs backs this up with a 3D ToF sensor and an AI camera for spotting obstacles.

That matters because RTK mowers, including Ecovacs' own GOAT O RTK models, need a clear view of the sky. Overhanging branches, high hedges and the side of a house can block or bounce the signal, which is a well-known limitation of satellite-guided mowers in UK gardens.

LiDAR has its own weak spot, though. A large, open lawn with little nearby to measure against gives the scanner less to work with, so this model suits busy, bordered gardens better than a bare paddock.If most of your lawn is wide open with the nearest fence far away, an RTK model may be the better fit.

There is no RTK station and no boundary wire to install, only the charging station. Ecovacs rates it for slopes up to 45% and passages of 80 cm, though Ecovacs' own footnote says the passage figure is a lab result. Our RTK vs vision vs LiDAR guide sets out the trade-offs between the three approaches.

It has a dedicated edge trimmer, which is rare at this price, so it should cut down on hand-strimming, though Ecovacs doesn't claim it removes the job entirely. Alongside the main 220 mm blade disc, the Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO carries a small automatic string trimmer that Ecovacs calls TruEdge. The spec data gives the trimmer an 18 cm working width, and its job is to reach the grass along borders that the blade disc can't get close to.

That is the main difference from the cheaper GOAT O RTK and O500 Panorama. Those models can cut right to the edge only where they can drive onto a flush border such as paving, and Ecovacs' own comparison table shows about 9 cm left along walls and raised edges. We class the O1200's edge cutting as full for that reason, but that rests on Ecovacs' description rather than independent results.

There are two things to budget for. First, the trimmer line wears, and Ecovacs UK sells a replacement trimmer kit separately; see our blades and consumables guide. Second, noise: the manual lists 61 dB(A) for mowing but 81 dB(A) with the trimmer running, a much bigger jump than the numbers suggest because the decibel scale is logarithmic. If neighbours are close, schedule edge passes for the middle of the day.

Expect to keep a hand tool for awkward corners, steps and anything the mower can't safely approach, such as pond edges.

It should be. Ecovacs rates the Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO for 1,200 m², and a lawn of 1,000 m² or less leaves sensible headroom for obstacles, narrow sections and slower growth in spring and autumn.

Ecovacs doesn't publish a mowing time per charge for this model, which makes it harder to judge than rivals that do. It does list a 96.2 Wh battery and, in the UK manual, a 70-minute charge. The UK GOAT hub FAQ mentions a 45-minute charge, but that figure belongs to the A3000 LiDAR PRO, which isn't sold here.

Rated area assumes the mower works through the week, so don't expect it to finish 1,200 m² in one session. Measure your lawn with our lawn size tool before you choose.

No. The Ecovacs GOAT O1200 LiDAR PRO has no cellular connection and no GPS tracker. Its manual lists only Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and Ecovacs UK doesn't sell a 4G module for it, so once it leaves the range of your home network the app can't tell you where it is.

What it does have is a PIN lock, which stops a thief from operating it without the code, and it is tied to your ECOVACS HOME account. Those make it less useful to steal, but they don't help you get it back.

If theft is a real worry where you live, practical measures matter more: keep the charging station out of sight from the road, lock side gates, record the serial number, and check that your home insurance covers garden equipment. Our theft and security guide covers these, along with the mowers that do offer 4G tracking.

Ecovacs doesn't publish a clear answer, and there are good reasons not to plan on it. The Ecovacs GOAT O500 Panorama finds its way with panoramic cameras fused with a 3D ToF sensor, with no RTK. The ToF sensor emits its own light to measure distance, but the cameras depend on being able to see the lawn, and camera-based systems in general are less reliable in dusk, darkness and heavy shade.

The stronger reason is wildlife. Hedgehogs are active from dusk until dawn, and robot mowers running at night are one of the risks conservation groups warn about. Setting the schedule for daylight hours, and avoiding early mornings when hedgehogs may still be out, is sensible with any robot mower. Our hedgehog guide links to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society's advice.

A daytime schedule shouldn't bother neighbours much either: Ecovacs lists a measured sound power of 57 dB(A).

It can be, but only if your garden gives an RTK mower problems. The Ecovacs GOAT O500 Panorama is rated for 500 m² and has an RRP of £799, which is a lot per square metre. Ecovacs' own O800 RTK covers more lawn with the same 220 mm cut and has been listed for less.

What the Panorama buys you is the lack of an RTK station. It navigates with cameras and a 3D ToF sensor, so a small garden boxed in by the house, fences and trees, where satellite signal is patchy, is where it earns its price. It is also simpler to set up: place the charging station, connect the app and map the lawn.

If your lawn is open to the sky, the Ecovacs GOAT O RTK (O600 RTK / O800 RTK) is the better-value route. Either way, check the current price, which is £799.