Robot mowers for lawns under trees: which fit and why
Botsize ran every robot mower in its dataset through the sizer for a 1,000 m² lawn. The verdicts below follow your region, and each card shows the numbers behind its verdict.
Updated
Results for buyers in the EU
The lawn behind this page
Your lawn
1,000 m²10,760 sq ft
Shape
typical, × 1.35
Mowing hours
any time, × 1.0
Rating it needs
1,350 m²14,530 sq ft
Steepest slope
15% (8.5°)a clear pass needs a rating of 20% or more
Sky over the lawn
heavy covera warning for models that steer by satellite alone, a note for the ones a camera or LiDAR helps, never a failure
Change these numbers in the sizer, or read how the shape and hours factors work in the methodology. They are rules of thumb.
Of the 48 mowers sold in the EU: 24 fit, 11 are tight and 13 do not fit.
Closest fitSTIHL iMOW 5 EVOLimit 1,500 m²
Lowest price that fits€1,199STIHL iMOW 5 EVO, as of October 2026
The 13 that fit and steer without satellite positioning
In the sizer's order: closest fit first. Each figure is the maker's own; the area limit is the one the sizer compares.
The 13 that fit and steer without satellite positioning
This page ranks the 48 mowers in the Botsize dataset that are sold in the EU. Prices are the maker's list price, or the price its page showed that month (sometimes a sale price), with the month we read it.
To work out your own lawn size, the lawn area calculator adds up the shapes of your garden.
Choosing a mower for a lawn under trees
With heavy cover chosen, the sizer warns on every model that steers by satellite positioning alone, with no camera, LiDAR or wire: satellite positioning needs open sky. Satellite models with a camera or LiDAR get a milder note instead. Neither removes the model, because only you can judge how much sky your trees leave.
GPS.gov names trees and buildings among the things that block satellite signals (GPS.gov). Under a closed canopy a satellite mower tracks fewer satellites and its position can drift. Models that steer by LiDAR or a camera, or along a boundary wire, do not depend on the sky, and satellite models that add a camera or LiDAR have a second sensor to work with.
Walk the lawn and note how much of it sits under canopy, and where the mower has to pass close to a wall. If a satellite model still appeals, plan the antenna spot from the maker's rules: the antenna and sky view guide quotes two of them.
Questions about lawns under trees
Why do some models carry a sky warning?
They steer by satellite positioning alone. Under heavy cover they have no camera, LiDAR or wire to fall back on.
Which navigation suits a shaded lawn?
Boundary wire, LiDAR and camera models do not depend on the sky. Satellite models with a camera or LiDAR have a second sensor. Satellite only models need the open sky that heavy cover takes away.