Boundary wire or wire-free is the first decision when you buy a robot lawn mower, and it shapes everything else: what you pay, how long installation takes and which problems you'll be dealing with three years from now. There's no universal answer. Some gardens suit a perimeter wire perfectly; others turn it into a chore.
We compare the two families point by point, with a summary table and recommended models on each side, all listed on Amazon UK. This is based on manufacturer specs, Amazon listings and verified buyer reviews.
| Model | Best for | |
|---|---|---|
| Bosch Indego S+ 500 | Wired, 500 m², kit included | Check price |
| Gardena SILENO minimo 250 m² | Wired, small lawn | Check price |
| Flymo EasiLife 250 GO | Wired, small UK gardens | Check price |
| Segway Navimow i105E | Wire-free, open lawn | Check price |
| Worx Landroid Vision Cloud WR305E | Wire-free, 500 m² | Check price |
| ECOVACS GOAT A1600 LiDAR PRO | Wire-free, lots of trees | Check price |
The comparison in one table
| Boundary wire | Wire-free (RTK / LiDAR / vision) | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Lay and peg or bury the wire: a few hours to an afternoon | Map with your phone: minutes to an hour |
| Price for the same area | Lower | Higher, though the gap shrinks every year |
| Changing the garden layout | Move the wire | Edit the map in the app |
| Typical faults | Wire cut by a strimmer, scarifier, edging spade or moles | Signal loss, maps to redo, app dependency |
| Under trees and shade | Unaffected | RTK struggles; LiDAR and vision cope better |
| Mowing pattern | Usually random (Bosch LogiCut is an exception) | Usually planned parallel lines |
| Connection needed | Optional | Strongly recommended (essential for network RTK) |
Recommended models of each type
Three wired mowers for simple lawns, three wire-free for complicated ones.
1. Bosch Indego S+ 500
Who it's for: Regular lawns up to around 400 m² where you want a neat finish.
- Boundary wire (150 m of wire and 200 pegs included)
- For lawns up to 500 m²
- LogiCut: maps the lawn and mows in parallel lines
- 18V 2.5Ah POWER FOR ALL battery
- Handles passages down to 75 cm without a guide wire
- App, Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT
- Parallel-line mowing: tidy finish and less time on the lawn
- Battery fits the POWER FOR ALL tool range
- Full installation kit in the box
- Still needs a boundary wire
- 19 cm cutting width is narrow for its maximum area
2. Gardena SILENO minimo 250 m²
Who it's for: Small back gardens where a phone app over Bluetooth is all you need.
- Boundary wire
- For lawns up to 250 m² (about 2,700 sq ft)
- Programmed with Gardena's Bluetooth app
- UK-plug version on Amazon.co.uk
- Sized for the typical small back garden
- Set up from your phone, no garden Wi-Fi needed
- Gardena blades and spares are easy to find
- Bluetooth only: you control it when you're nearby
- Out of its depth above 250 m²
3. Flymo EasiLife 250 GO
Who it's for: Terraced and semi-detached gardens on a modest budget.
- Boundary wire
- For lawns up to 250 m²
- UK listing bundles a pack of nine spare blades
- Flymo is part of the Husqvarna group
- A household name in British gardens, with UK spares
- Sized for terraced and semi-detached gardens
- Quiet running, according to Flymo
- Boundary wire to lay
- Small capacity: not for lawns much over 200 m²
4. Segway Navimow i105E
Who it's for: Open lawns with good sky view.
- Wire-free
- RTK + vision (EFLS 2.0), centimetre-level accuracy
- Recommended for around 500 m² on the UK listing
- GNSS antenna kit included
- 140° camera recognising 20+ obstacle types
- AI-assisted mapping from your phone
- One of the most affordable wire-free mowers from an established brand
- Guided mapping by phone: no pegs, no wire
- Camera backs up navigation near trees and in passages
- Needs an antenna with a clear view of the sky
- Not built for big lawns
5. Worx Landroid Vision Cloud WR305E
Who it's for: Anyone wanting it up and running in minutes.
- Wire-free
- For lawns up to 500 m²
- Cloud RTK + V-SLAM vision: no RTK base station to put up
- AI obstacle avoidance (hoses, toys, tools)
- Charging station can sit in shade
- Removable 20V PowerShare battery
- No wire and no base station: very quick to set up
- Network RTK plus vision for shady corners
- Battery shared with Worx 20V garden tools
- 500 m² maximum
- Needs a connection for the Cloud RTK correction
6. ECOVACS GOAT A1600 LiDAR PRO
Who it's for: Large gardens with trees.
- Wire-free, no RTK base station
- Dual LiDAR + AI vision, 2 cm accuracy (Ecovacs figure)
- Rated for 1,600 m² (about 17,200 sq ft)
- Slopes up to 50%, obstacles up to 4 cm
- TruEdge string trimmer for lawn edges
- Cutting height 3-9 cm, set in the app
- Doesn't rely on satellites: ideal under trees and beside tall houses
- Trims edges, the weak spot of almost every robot
- Set-up in around 15 minutes, according to Ecovacs
- Trimmer line is one more consumable
- More mower than you need for under 500 m²
When the wire is still the best choice
The boundary wire is mature, unexciting technology, and that's a virtue. Choose it if:
- Your lawn is one piece, a regular shape and without many beds.
- Big trees or a tall house block the sky and you don't want to pay for LiDAR.
- Budget is your main criterion.
- You have no reliable Wi-Fi or mobile signal at the bottom of the garden.
A detail few people mention: wire pegged down firmly or buried a few centimetres deep lasts many years. Most breaks come from pushing something into the ground or scarifying in spring; if you note the wire's route (a photo before the grass grows over it is enough), faults drop dramatically. Moles can be a nuisance in some areas; burying the wire slightly deeper helps.
When wire-free is worth paying for
- The lawn has several areas separated by paths, a drive or the house.
- There are lots of obstacles: beds, specimen trees, a trampoline, which all need wire islands on a wired robot.
- You change the layout often (a veg patch, a paddling pool in summer).
- You want striped mowing and zones mown at different frequencies.
- You simply don't want to spend an afternoon hammering in pegs.
Within wire-free, the type of navigation matters more than the brand. We explain it in RTK vs LiDAR vs vision.
The real five-year cost
Beyond the purchase price, add up:
- Blades: the same on both types; swapped several times a season.
- Battery: degrades with charge cycles; replaceable on most branded models of either type.
- Wire repairs: wired models only. A splice kit is cheap; finding the break takes time.
- Connected services: some wire-free models charge for tracking or extra features. Check what the purchase includes.
Simple lawn and tight budget: wire. Complex lawn or several areas: wire-free. Lots of trees: wire-free with LiDAR or vision, never RTK alone.
A middle way: wired with smart mapping
Some wired mowers now build a map. The Bosch Indego S+ 500 learns the lawn's layout and mows in lines, and Gardena's smart range adds zones and protected areas in the app while the outer boundary is still marked by wire. It's a good option if you want the reliability of a wire with some of the convenience of a wire-free app.
Browse robot lawn mowers on Amazon →
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a wired robot mower to wire-free?
Generally not. Some brands sell modules (GPS on certain Worx models, for example) that improve navigation or tracking, but the mower still needs the wire as its boundary. If you want wire-free, buy a mower designed for it.
Do I have to bury the boundary wire?
No. It can be pegged on the surface and the grass covers it within a few weeks. Burying it a few centimetres protects it better from scarifiers, edging spades and moles.
What happens if the boundary wire gets cut?
The mower stops and alerts you. You find the break, by eye or with a wire break detector, and join it with waterproof connectors. It's a simple repair, but finding the exact spot can take a while.
Do wire-free robot mowers work without internet?
Models using RTK with their own antenna, LiDAR or vision can usually mow offline once set up, though you lose remote control and updates. Network RTK models need a connection to receive their position correction.
Which type cuts the lawn better?
Cut quality depends on mowing frequency and sharp blades. Wire-free mowers usually work in planned lines, which looks tidier and finishes sooner; wired ones often mow randomly, which still gives an even result over a few days.