One of the first questions we get from councils, golf courses, and grounds contractors considering autonomous mowing is straightforward: how much does it actually cost? The answer depends on the size of the site, the terrain, and the level of navigation technology required, but here’s a practical breakdown to help you budget.
Commercial robotic mowers are priced very differently from the residential models sold in garden stores. Where a small backyard robot mower might cost a few thousand dollars, commercial-grade machines built for golf courses, sports fields, airfields, and large properties sit in a different category entirely, reflecting their build quality, cutting capacity, and navigation systems.
Several factors affect the price. The main ones are the size of the area the mower needs to cover each day, the type of navigation it uses (RTK, LiDAR, and Vision systems cost more than simple wire-guided systems but handle far larger and more complex sites), obstacle detection capability, and how much site setup and RTK base station installation is required.
At Commercial Bots, our current lineup ranges from around $24,450 to just over $50,000 plus GST, depending on the model and its capacity. The FRX sits at the entry end for smaller commercial sites. The FJD Titan sits in the middle at $38,692 plus GST, and our most popular model, the RM21 (also known as the Rough Ranger), comes in at $44,460 plus GST. The RCM01, built for premium cylinder-cut turf like golf greens, sits at the top of the range.
It’s worth thinking about cost the same way you would any piece of grounds equipment: not just the upfront price, but what it replaces. Traditional mowing carries ongoing costs in fuel, labour, equipment maintenance, downtime, and transport, all of which add up week after week. Autonomous mowing shifts most of that into a single upfront investment. On our own sites, we’ve seen estimated savings of up to $619 per mowing day, with electricity costs as low as $1.30 a day to run the mower itself.
Because every site is different, the right way to get an accurate number for your property is a proper assessment rather than a generic quote. As an official New Zealand distributor for FJDynamics, we offer a one-week free trial to selected customers, so you can see exactly how the numbers work out on your own turf before committing.
If you’re weighing up whether autonomous mowing makes sense for your site, get in touch and we’ll walk you through which model fits your budget and your grounds.