Can Robotic Mowing Services Like TurfBot Replace Traditional Lawn Crews?
We’ve long explored the use of robotic mowers like the Husqvarna Automower to take care of residential landscaping tasks on a homeowner level. Now, however, TurfBot has launched the first (that we’re aware of in the U.S.) franchised robotic lawn mowing service. The company promises to offer turnkey lawn mowing services—featuring a robotic mower for the grass cutting portion—to qualified homeowners. Can companies like this truly provide reliable and affordable robotic mowing as a service?
Robotic Lawn Mowing Services: The Big Deal
Clearly, the big news here is the concept of a company installing and maintaining robotic mowers for the purposes of keeping your lawn mowed and serviced. TurfBot—available in about 11 US states so far (see below)—combines the robotic mower service with traditional landscaping to take care of trimming, edging, and blowing as well.
To pull this off, a company would need to provide a monthly service fee that covered installing a robotic mower as well as optional maintenance and/or additional services. Presumably (and confirmed by TurfBot), the robotic mower would “live” at the residential home for the duration of the contract (or mowing season).
Installers would take care of laying any guidewires as well as programming the mowers for particular zones and schedules. Customers would need to have access to the app for mower notification and control—but so would the installer in order to ensure everything was functioning properly. In the case of TurfBot, this includes monthly maintenance visits from a technician.
Currently, TurfBot Provides Lawn Mowing Services in the Following States:
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Ohio
- Texas
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
TurfBot also plans to expand into as many as 10 more markets in 2023.
“We don’t do anything without rigorous testing, and we’ve been testing this concept for several years now. Our goal was to ensure our franchisees could be successful doing this…that is of the utmost importance to us. We wanted to build a sustainable model for the future.”
Jennifer Lemcke, CEO of TurfBot
What to Look for If You Book a Service Like this
We expect more and more services like this to come online. Given the difficulties with labor shortages, anything that can reduce labor costs brings a potential benefit to landscaping business owners. With that said, you want to consider the following when booking a robotic lawnmowing service:
- Can the mower handle the complexity of your yard?
- What is the procedure for a “stuck” mower? Who’s responsibility is it to ensure the mower is operating properly at all times?
- Does the monthly maintenance include changing the mower blades as needed?
- What additional costs are associated with additional services (string trimming, edging, blowing, etc)?
- What are the contract cancellation terms (if you sell the house, lose your job, etc)?
- Who covers the costs in the event of theft? Does the company provide GPS tracking of their mowers for recovery?
- Do your upfront amortized costs (which cover installation and hardware) drop over time?
- How quickly will they guarantee a replacement in the event of hardware failure?
How Much Will Robotic Lawn Mowing Services Cost?
Right now, we don’t know exactly what the TurfBot service costs since they provide custom quotes based on yard size and complexity. We have seen some pricing online indicating the service could start around $145/month for properties up to 1/4-acre in size. Adding trimming, edging, and blowing to that would presumably raise the monthly price further. An annual subscription is required. We assume annual pricing would differ between states that have winter months and those that have lawns requiring year-round mowing.
We also found the following pricing online from a company called Canopy Lawn Care, Inc. in North Carolina. It doesn’t include additional services.
| Property Size | Monthly Price |
|---|---|
| 2,500 Sq. Ft. of Lawn (~1/4 acre lot) | $249 |
| 5,000 Sq. Ft. of Lawn (~1/2 acre lot) | $279 |
| 7,500 Sq. Ft. of Lawn (~3/4 acre lot) | $309 |
| 10,000 Sq. Ft. of Lawn (~1 acre lot) | $399 |
| 15,000 Sq. Ft. of Lawn (over 1 acres) | $489 |
Final Thoughts
Ideally, your first year would have a higher rate since you more or less need to amortize the installation costs over time. We’d hate to see those fees amortized “forever” and longer service contracts could potentially lower your monthly rate. As more companies come on board with robotic lawn mowing services, we’d expect pricing to drop overall. Reliability and consistency should also increase as technology improves. For now, we’ll wait and see if the service takes off here in the United States and spurs additional interest and competition.
For more information, visit the TurfBot website .
