Having a healthy, green lawn is a source of pride for many homeowners. Growing a lush lawn takes time, commitment and the proper equipment — things not all busy homeowners have. That’s where professional lawn care services come in. Lawn care companies can help homeowners achieve the ideal lawn.
Today’s Homeowner analyzed services, pricing and availability of many professional lawn care companies to determine our top pick. We found that robotic mowing and landscaping are on the rise. This research led to our thorough Robin Autopilot review.
Robin Autopilot is a robotic lawn mowing service, and a great option for homeowners, especially those who enjoy convenience services like grocery delivery.
Ultimately, because Robin Autopilot is only available in a dozen states nationwide, our top recommendation for professional lawn care is TruGreen, a lawn service provider known for its comprehensive variety of lawn care options, natural lawn products and discounts.
Our Preferred Lawn Care Companies
Today’s Homeowner recommends several lawn care companies to our readers. Below you’ll see our latest suggestions and their unique superlatives. You can also explore our review of the best lawn care services to find your ideal option.
Robin Autopilot Pros & Cons
The tabs below display some high-level pros and cons of Robin Autopilot. Consider these points as you read the rest of this review.
What Are Robin Autopilot’s Plan Options?
Robin Autopilot customers pay a set monthly fee based on their property size and level of service.
To accommodate various lawn care needs, Robin Autopilot offers three plans: Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each plan offers different services at different rates. All plans offer theft insurance for the lawn robot.
- Silver: This plan type includes a mower and regular maintenance.
- Gold: This plan features a mower and regular maintenance, plus edging and trimming (includes sidewalks, driveways, flower beds and around fence lines and trees).
- Platinum: In addition to all the equipment and services of Gold, this plan level includes bed weeding and shrub trimming.
What Are Robin Autopilot’s Other Offerings?
Mower Styles
There are three robot mower styles available (with several models in each category) for residential and commercial use, including sports turf management and corporate properties. Each mower can be scheduled to run during specific days and times, allowing homeowners the ability to control and prevent interactions between the mower and children, pets or irrigation systems. Plus, all Robin Autopilot robot mowers are very quiet, so you can even operate the mower at nighttime. With the Robin Autopilot app, users can monitor or make changes to the mowing schedule with just a few taps, whether the current schedule isn’t working out or the schedule needs to be adjusted during scheduled vacations, for example.
Safety Features
Safety is a crucial component for all Robin Autopilot robot mowers. Each robot mower has a built-in sensor to detect if they are going to bump into something (like a potted plant), and if the mower is picked up while in use, the blades stop in less than one second. To ensure curious children or pets don’t interfere with mower and receive any injuries as a result, each mower has a three-inch barrier to prevent fingers or toes from reaching any of the blades while operating. Additionally, the company has a patented auto-locking robot door for fences to keep pets securely fenced in. A built-in GPS assists in a rare incidence of theft.
Mower Maintenance
The Robin Autopilot team will manage maintenance for each robot mower, including changing the blades, fixing any wiring issues and preparing the mower for winter storage. During winter months, homeowners and commercial property owners have the option of pausing their service until the next growing season or, in some parts of the country, participating in the company’s free rye grass planting offerings.
Eco-friendly Features
Regular lawn equipment generates five percent of pollution in the United States and uses more than 17 million gallons of fuel are spilled each year from gassing lawn equipment. Robin Autopilot robots, however, are emissions-free and only use 11kw/H of electricity per month ? an excellent choice for eco-conscious consumers.
Where Is Robin Autopilot Available?
The first-full service landscaping service focused on robotic mowing, Robin Autopilot was founded in Europe around 2010, and by the spring of 2018, it had over a million robots servicing lawns across the continent.
Since then, the company has expanded to the United States, which opened its headquarters in Dallas, Texas and moved its headquarters to Cleveland, Ohio after being purchased by Fahey Group. The company currently operates locations in twelve states throughout the United States, though those states are not listed on the site. You can enter your zip code to see if you can get service in your area.
What Is the Cost of Robin Autopilot?
Rates for Robin Autopilot lawn care service vary based on location and service type. The Silver plan is the least expensive of the three plan offerings, while the Platinum plan provides several add-on lawn options to care for the entire landscape of your lawn or commercial property. Purchasing, maintaining and storing a robot mower costs more than hiring a professional service like Robin Autopilot to lease and maintain your robot mower.
Why Should I Choose Robin Autopilot?
Overall, Robin Autopilot does not have very many customer reviews online, and a majority of its reviews appear to be negative. On its Better Business Bureau (BBB) page, multiple consumers report that Robin Autopilot did not show for its scheduled mowing. The company is not accredited by the BBB and currently has an “F” rating through the BBB.
Consumers who did and didn’t enjoy the service said:
The Results
At Today’s Homeowner, we value environmental and climate-friendly products and services, knowledgeable and helpful lawn professionals and lawn care options for all budget types. While Robin Autopilot does offer eco-conscious products, friendly staff and plan options with varying prices, its lack of nationwide availability, lack of pest control and some landscaping services, and negative customer reviews mean it’s not our top choice for excellent lawn care service in the United States.
Our Recommended Provider: TruGreen
While Robin Autopilot is a solid choice for homeowners who want automated, eco-friendly lawn service, its lack of availability nationwide and its poor consumer ratings are some of the reasons we value TruGreen over Robin Autopilot as a top-tier professional lawn care service.
TruGreen, a company who has been in operation for almost 50 years, offers services and products that help homeowners and commercial property owners achieve and maintain a healthy, lush lawn throughout the year. The company provides personalized care at affordable rates, including options for pest control. Though the company doesn’t have locations in Alaska or Hawaii, its A+ rating with the BBB and its discount options make it our top pick for lawn care treatment services for consumers nationwide.
Methodology: How We Rank Lawn Care Companies
At Today’s Homeowner, we strive to bring you the most accurate information for your home improvement projects. Our lawn company ratings emphasize what matters most to you — a wide range of useful products with reliable service and impressive results.
Our ratings are based on publicly available information about each company, secret shopping via phone and internet, customer-review analysis, and discussions with lawn and landscaping specialists.
Each company can earn up to 100 points divided across five categories. We assess those point scores, then convert them to a five-star scale to determine rankings. We researched popular lawn care companies across the country to develop the following category breakdown:
- Plan Options (36 points): Lawn care companies earn the most points in this category if they offer a wide range of plans to fit various homeowner needs. Companies providing services like fertilization, aeration, seeding, and tree/shrub care will earn more points than providers with base-level plans.
- Additional Offerings (11 points): We score this category by evaluating additional offerings that enhance a company’s overall service selection. Companies that provide pest control services, organic lawn care products, and a la carte options score the highest in this category.
- Customer Service (25 points): We considered how far each company goes to ensure customers have convenient, intuitive access to products and services with contact forms, online chat features, and additional learning resources.
- State Availability (8 points): We factored each company’s state availability into its overall score. Companies with more locations and wider service areas score higher than those with limited availability.
- Trustworthiness (20 points): We score each company’s trustworthiness based on its Better Business Bureau accreditation and score, number of years in business, and Google Star ratings.
We monitor company data on an ongoing basis to keep rankings and information up to date.