BBC Gardeners World Magazine 2026-07-15T11:17:21.000Z https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/feed/atom Harry Duncton <![CDATA[The best robot lawn mowers for 2026, as tested by our experts]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-robotic-mowers/ 2026-07-15T11:17:21.000Z 2026-07-15T11:11:15.000Z

Jump to best robot mowers under £400

Jump to best robot mowers £400+

Increasingly popular with UK gardeners, robot lawn mowers are a welcome, hands-free alternative to traditional petrol and electric lawn mowers. Because a robot lawn mower is fully automatic, it can be a brilliant option for gardeners with mobility concerns, those away from home a lot, or those who simply find mowing a chore. Powered by rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, most mowers are guided by a boundary cable laid around the edge of the lawn, which helps the robotic lawn mower identify where to mow and to avoid flower beds, trees and other obstacles.

While we tested models from several different brands, note that all of them offer mowers of varying sizes, capabilities and features.

WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303. Image: Harry Duncton View Affiliate Playlist on the source website

Our best robot mowers to buy at a glance

Our 2 top-rated mowers, under £400

Our 5 top-rated mowers, £400+

Comparison table: best robot mowers

Our expertise

To help you find a robot lawn mower suitable for your garden, we tested a range of mowers for different size gardens, including gardens with slopes and a complex shape. Each mower is in use for weeks at a time to allow us to assess its battery capacity and cutting proficiency as well as ease of use. Each mower in our review has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to set up and ease of use, cutting performance, extra features and value for money. From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on robotic mowers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ lists.

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Our best robot mowers, under £400

LawnMaster OcuMow 16

Our best basic robot mower

RRP: £299.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: B&Q (£299.99), Argos (£300) and Currys (£299)

LawnMaster OcuMow 16

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I test robot lawnmowers for a living and, at first, I thought that this little machine was not going to impress. When other robots are becoming more complex, with in-depth phone apps to navigate and ever more complicated arrays of sensors, the LawnMaster OcuMow 16 seems quite plain. But I’m happy to say that I was wrong.

Set up and ease of use: There’s not much to set up on this mower. I charged the battery, plugged it into the back of the mower, and pressed “Auto Mow”. And that’s it. However, the type of lawn you have is important; it needs to have clearly defined borders such as a fence, wall, pathway or raised beds. You can’t tell the OcuMow 16 where the boundaries are; it relies on its sensors to find the lawn edge. So long as the lawn is well defined, it’s one of the easiest robot mowers to use. You don’t need to set a schedule, draw a map, or worry about setting up GPS antennae or Wi-Fi. It truly is “drop and go”.

Mower statistics: Designed for lawns up to 150 sq. metres and with a cutting height range of 20-60 mm, the LawnMaster OcuMow 16 is something a bit different to a lot of robot mowers available right now. It’s clever enough to avoid garden furniture and get on with the job, but it doesn’t come with the hassle of installing a charging station or the need for outside power. It uses three cutting blades underneath and is powered by a 24-volt, 4.0Ah battery. The battery also works in LawnMaster’s range of other garden power tools.

LawnMaster OcuMow 16. Image: Harry Duncton

Top features: The front of the orange-and-black body features a centrally mounted camera that scans the edge of the lawn. Either side of this camera is a pair of ultrasonic sensors that point upwards, “looking” for obstructions. They work remarkably well. During testing, it didn’t get stuck under a garden bench that has defeated more expensive robot mowers in the past. When it’s time to recharge the batteries, this mower doesn’t head home to a docking station, so you can avoid that part of the installation altogether. Instead, you simply open the flap on the back of the mower and pop the battery out. Just like a drill battery, you charge it for a couple of hours and put it back in. If there’s a particular spot on the lawn that needs attention, you can employ the spot cutting mode. Simply pick it up by the handle and place it where you want. Pressing the spot cut button on the top makes the OcuMow 16 spiral out from that spot. It’s a simple way to make sure that tricky spots get the attention they deserve.

It’s not like some premium robot lawn mowers that mow in stripes or even patterns. It mows in a straight line until the camera, sensor or bumper on the front detects the edge of the lawn or an obstacle. It then makes a turn and mows in a different direction. It’s not perfect, but over time, it hits the whole lawn. Overall, this little mower scratches an itch that other mowers just can’t reach. Sure, it can’t mow to a schedule, and you need to bend over to change the batteries yourself, but if you want a robot mower without the fuss, this one at this price is hard to beat.

RRP: £299.99
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: camera and sensors
Lawn area up to: 150 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 19°
Cutting height range: 20-60 mm
Warranty: 2 years

LawnMaster OcuMow AMB16-400

Our best budget self-charging robot mower

RRP: £399.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Lawnmaster (£399.99), Argos (£400) and Amazon (£399.99)

Lawnmaster OcuMow AMB 16

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I was excited to get my hands on the big brother to LawnMaster’s excellent OcuMow 16. And I wasn’t disappointed either. Small, nimble and with no app to faff about with, the AMB16 is a proper robot lawnmower that can recharge itself. It might not have all the special features of a premium robot, but at this price, it’s seriously hard to fault.

Setup and ease of use: This must be one of the easiest robot lawnmowers to set up, provided you have the right type of garden. It's quite literally “drop and go”. There’s no app to download or map to build; the AMB16 simply drives until it hits a border, then turns and goes in another direction. However, because the AMB16 relies mainly on cameras and ultrasonic sensors to navigate, you need well-defined borders to keep it on track. Luckily, LawnMaster include five metres of magnetic “no-go” strip that you can dig into or lay on the lawn to keep the robot out of flower beds or ponds. And, unlike the LawnMaster OcuMow 16, it has a charging station. I found the controls on top of the robot simple to use as well. You can set the daily working time from 4-10 hours, on send home, spiral cut or auto mow.

Mower statistics: Changing the mowing height from 20mm to 60mm is easy via a manual dial on the top. And as the name suggests, the AMB16 has a 16 cm cut width. It’s not particularly big, so it’s more suited to small gardens. The maximum cutting range of 400 sq. metres is another improvement over the cheaper OcuMow 16. And it’s capable enough to operate on uneven ground too: the aggressive tread on the tyres helps it tackle slopes up to 19°. To help keep the AMB16 safe, there’s a PIN lock and an alarm that sounds if it’s picked up. And picking it up is easy, as it weighs just over 6 kg. It’s a pint-sized but capable little robot that can recharge itself in 60 minutes.

LawnMaster OcuMow AMB 16_IRL_1

Top features: It’s the direct descendant of the excellent LawnMaster OcuMow 16, but with the added bonus of a charging station. Using the same single camera and dual ultrasonic sensors as the previous model, it does a good job of staying on the grass and out of the flower beds. But the rather astonishing thing about this robot is the price. At less than £400, it wipes the floor with any other robot mower for affordability. It might not have every bell and whistle, but it does the job well, charges itself, and still retains the simplicity that I liked about the OcuMow 16. This robot is ideally suited to simple gardens. You can’t programme in a map with corridors between mowing areas or anything like this; it mows on a random pattern only. This irregular mowing style is actually great for the grass, so long as you don’t mind a few tufts left behind. However, a handy feature of this robot is its spiral-cut function. If a spot on the lawn needs special attention, simply place the AMB16 down on the offending area. Pressing the spiral cut button sends the robot in concentric circles to make sure every blade is cut.

RRP: £399
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: camera and sensors
Lawn area up to: 400 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 19°
Cutting height range: 20-60 mm
Warranty: 2 years

Our best robot mowers, £400+

Ecovacs GOAT O600

Our best value robot mower for medium-sized lawns

RRP: £449

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£449), Ebay (£449) and Ecovacs (£449)

Ecovacs GOAT O600_BB

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Set up and ease of use: The Ecovacs GOAT O600 is the entry-level robot in the GOAT range. But that doesn’t stop it from packing in cutting-edge technology. It does everything you need, it looks good, and it’s keenly priced, too. For the money, I was really impressed by the onboard features and just how easy this robot lawnmower was to set up.

The way it moves around the garden might put some people off, though. It’s guided with great precision by an RTK station, a device that communicates with up to 45 positioning satellites. So I needed to put a pole in the ground. It’s not the best-looking thing, but it’s a necessary part of how this robot gets around. But honestly, for the price, it’s a small inconvenience to deal with. The design of the O600 is quite refreshing as well. It’s angular and minimal with a silver chassis and a sharp visor on the front. Not to everyone’s tastes, but it’s not as garish as some of the competition.

Mower statistics: While it might not have the off-road capabilities of a larger all-wheel drive robot, the GOAT O600 is small and nippy. It zips around the lawn when cutting, and measuring just 40cm across, it can get into tight spaces and down narrow pathways just 70cm wide. The cut width of just 19cm isn’t going to mow huge gardens quickly. But, rated for 600 sq. metres, it will still cut two-and-a-half tennis courts in a 24-hour period. It can cut for around 45 minutes on a single charge and takes about 80 minutes to recharge in the little dock.

It cuts the grass with four double-sided razor blades and uses a floating deck to avoid gouging tufts of grass. You can set up to four different lawn zones, which is plenty for most domestic homes. It has automatic cutting height adjustment from 30-80mm that’s set from the app, but you can’t change cut heights for different zones.

2048x1365Ecovacs_GOAT_IRL_1

Top Features: The default setting for mowing patterns is parallel lines, and I liked the fact that it changes the direction of the parallel lines each week. You can also select a chequered effect. Another useful thing about the Ecovacs app is that it can also control their other robots. So, instead of having a separate app for your robot vacuum cleaner, it’s all controlled from one place. A bit like the Mammotion Luba mini 2 AWD, you can dial in to the front camera via the app. It’s a good way to keep an eye on your garden from anywhere with an internet connection. You can even control it from your phone in “patrol” mode. The picture quality isn’t as good as the Luba's, but it’s still a nice feature to have.

Obstacle avoidance is effective, and it reacts quickly to objects on the lawn that are stationary or moving. And thanks to the rain sensor on top, it will avoid cutting the grass in the wet. But don’t worry about leaving it outside, as this robot lawnmower boasts IPX6 protection against water and dust. Overall, this is an impressive robot mower at an incredibly competitive price. It might not have LiDAR like the flagship Ecovacs O1200 or four-wheel drive capabilities, but for smaller, complex gardens, it’s pretty hard to beat.

RRP: £449
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: RTK and camera
Lawn area up to: 600 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 30-80mm
Warranty: 3 years

WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303E

Our best value robot mower for small lawns

RRP: £699.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Ebay (£699.99), Amazon (£699) and B&Q (£699)

WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Set up and ease of use: Getting this robot mower ready for its first cut is reasonably straightforward. I downloaded the Landroid app and paired it with my phone via a QR code on the inside of the battery port. Then I connected it to Wi-Fi, downloaded an update, and it was ready to locate the charging base. Setting up the lawn shape was simple. I used the auto-mapping function, letting the robot use its camera to find the edges of the lawn. It was surprisingly accurate on the first go. To make manual changes, you can always drive the mower around with your phone like a remote-control car.

The app is quite intuitive, and it’s easy to set schedules and edit the map. Whilst building the map of the lawn, it was easy to select “no go” areas for flower beds or wildflowers. Once I had defined the edges, the mower made a trial perimeter cut, then got to work on the bulk of the lawn. It mows in straight lines by default, and you can set the orientation of the lines via the app, depending on the shape of the lawn.

Mower statistics: Using three blades mounted on the cutting deck, the mowing heights range from 30-60 mm, which need to be adjusted manually via the robot. You can’t set different mowing heights for different lawns. The included 2.5Ah battery is fine for smaller lawns up to 300 sq. metres. But something I like is that you can simply swap it out for a larger capacity one to tackle larger spaces. The WR303E uses a standard WORX battery from across their range of tools. This is an advantage over other robot mowers that have fixed batteries. To navigate around the lawn, the WR303E uses a combination of satellite data and its AI-enhanced camera to detect obstructions and lawn edges.

The WORX Landroid Vision Cloud WR303

Top Features: The WR303E uses super-accurate RTK GPS to determine its location in the garden and combines this with data gathered by a camera mounted on the front. This means it can detect obstacles and lawn edges and even find its way under cover when the satellite signal is poor. And, unlike some robot mowers, I didn’t need to install an RTK antenna in the garden; it’s mounted on the robot instead. When the signal weakens due to overhead trees or other obstructions, it switches to its VSLAM camera system to guide itself. Obstacle avoidance works well enough, too; it didn’t get stuck, although it’s quite timid when dealing with bushy borders. The WR303E would rather not cut up to the edge if it thinks there’s something close by. It avoids getting stuck but leaves a few tufts at the edge of the lawn. Another useful set of features that are unfortunately not included are a night-working headlight, an anti-theft module and a useful-sounding Cut-to-Edge module that tackles boundaries. It’s a shame that they’re not included in the model I tested.

RRP: £699.99
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS and cameras
Lawn area up to: 300 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 17°
Cutting height range: 30-60mm
Warranty: 2 years

Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR Robot Lawnmower

Our best robot mower for easy set-up on big lawns

RRP: £1,099

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Navimow (£1,099) and Amazon (£1,099)

Our best robot mower for easy set up on big lawns: Segway Navimow i208LiDA

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

Making up just part of Navimow’s extensive and slightly confusing new line-up for 2026, the i208 LiDAR represents the ideal setup for medium-sized gardens up to 800 sq. metres of any shape and size. Boasting incredibly fast automapping and a powerful app, the only place the i208 lets itself down is on rough terrain. For that, you’d be better off with an all-wheel-drive robot.

Set up and ease of use: First impressions of this robot are great. It’s a sleek robot with easy controls and even a little LED screen to look at. The light ring around the circular section on the top changes colour and pulses gently to show the current mode. It’s all very impressive. Long gone are the days of fiddly boundary wires, unsightly antennae, or even mapping the garden yourself. I took the robot out of the box, charged it, connected to Wi-Fi, downloaded updates and then agreed to 'auto map'. The i208 drove a few metres into the middle of the lawn, and that was it.

The incredibly powerful solid-state LiDAR mapped the entire 100 square metre lawn almost instantly, then got straight to work. It’s an impressive leap forward for robot lawnmowers and makes it ideal for just about anyone to use. Editing the map was simple too as the LiDAR and AI-enhanced cameras build a real full colour map on the app that is easily edited by driving the mower like a remote-control car. It makes the process easy, and the robot followed the paths I made perfectly. The only downside of this mower that I can see is that the cutting deck underneath is mounted in the centre. This means that it can’t get right up to the edges of the lawn, and you still need to go around with a lawn trimmer.

Mower statistics: The standout feature of this robot lawnmower is how it sees the world around it. The powerful vision software can recognise hundreds of objects on the lawn, and laser range-finding hardware keeps it on track. Mowing from 20-70 mm and with six blades making up the 22cm cut width, it’s an efficient and very quiet robot too. Rated to just 59dB, the i208 could run at any time of the day or night without waking the neighbours. Setting the cutting heights from between 20 and 70mm can be done via the app, which means you can set different zones to different heights. Nice if you have a complicated garden with multiple lawns.

The downside of this mower is that it still relies on two-wheel drive to move itself around. The front shopping trolley-style wheels are not powered, so the aggressive rears do all the work. And this is where the Navimow lineup can get confusing. There are so many new types of robots that deciphering the fleet is a challenge. They do make an AWD robot as well as another one with a powered front wheel that are all better on slopes and uneven garden terrain.

Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR. Image: Harry Duncton

Top features: The standout feature on this particular Navimow robot is the LiDAR. Taking 200,000 precise laser measurements per second to build a map of the garden, it doesn’t need to wait for satellite reception, internet connectivity or even daylight at the bottom of the garden. It’s perfect for gardens with patchy reception without the need for a clumsy boundary wire. Obstacle avoidance is effective as well. The AI-assisted cameras on the front can recognise more than 200 objects across the lawn, and in practice, it routes neatly around obstructions before resuming its mowing pattern. And you don’t need to worry about security either. With inbuilt GPS tracking, lift sensors, a PIN code and geofence software, it’s rather hard to steal. Overall, the i208 LiDAR is ideal if your garden is flat but has plenty of obstructions that would confuse a lesser robot. Bear in mind that the 4G connectivity, which enables remote control and GPS tracking, is free, but only for the first year.

RRP: £1,099
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS, LiDAR and camera
Max lawn: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-70mm
Warranty: 3 years

Mammotion Luba mini 2 AWD 1000

Our best robot mower for bumpy or hilly ground

RRP: £1,399

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£1,399), Mammotion (£1,399), Mower Magic (£1,399)

Mammotion_Luba_mini_2_AWD BB

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

Setup and ease of use: There’s only one bit of assembly required before the Mammotion Luba mini 2 can get to work. The vision module that houses the triple camera array needs to be screwed on. All I needed to do was attach three cables and then do up four Torx screws with the included screwdriver. It took about five minutes and wasn’t hard. There are no fiddly boundary wires or RTK antenna to install either, which is always a bonus. After that, there was barely any set-up at all. Place the charging station, follow the onscreen instructions, and off it went. The auto mapping feature works really well, and making tweaks is easy by driving the robot like a remote-control car.

The setup makes it easy to define multiple lawns, no-go areas, channels and complex lawn shapes. You can set different mowing patterns and cutting heights for each lawn, and the schedules are simple to set up, too. Mammotion have fine-tuned the app to make setup and daily use as straightforward as possible. It’s great to see how much customisation is available, with voice control via Alexa and Google Home, plus upgraded obstacle avoidance and the ability to only charge during off-peak or free electricity hours.

Mower statistics: The model of Luba mini 2 AWD 1000 I tested out can cope with 1,000 sq. metres, but there’s a large capacity 1,500 sq. metres available too. The flagship in the Luba mini range is the version that boasts a 360° LiDAR sensor on top and a 1,500 sq. metres battery underneath. Designed for getting into tight corners, the mini’s cut width of 20 cm is modest. Although it can cope with up to 1,000 sq. metres, don’t expect it to cut all of that in one go. Depending on how long the grass is or how steep the lawn gets, you can expect to see it work for up to 85 minutes at once.

Where the Luba mini 2 really shines is on the hills. It will happily mow up to nearly 40° slopes, and I was really impressed by how well it tackles little steps and garden borders too. The inclusion of a second, smaller cutting disc mounted underneath the mini 2 is a leap forward. This dedicated side disc is about as good as you can get when it comes to edge cutting. The boundary cuts it performs are impressive. Obstacle avoidance is excellent, too. The three forward-looking high-definition cameras use AI to “see” the garden, looking for objects such as discarded toys and delicate flowers. It also guides the robot around and underneath trees when the satellite signal becomes poor.

You can select a cutting height via the app from 20-65mm and even mow different lawn areas at different heights. Weighing 15kg, it’s a solid robot that luckily has a pair of grippy handles on both sides for when you need to pick it up. To help stay in touch in the deepest depths of your garden, the Luba mini 2 has 4G connectivity. It means you can dial in, view the front camera and even control your robot wherever you are in the world.

2048x1365Mammotion_Luba_IRL_1 (1)

Top features: I was lucky enough to test the first version of this robot, the excellent Luba mini AWD. The second edition of this go-anywhere machine has now conquered the edges as well as the slopes. The Luba 2, just like the first version, has some of the best off-road capabilities of any mower I’ve tested. All four wheels are powered, meaning that it happily mows places that other two-wheel-drive mowers struggle with. The front omni wheels are a clever bit of engineering, allowing for nimble turns without complicated machinery, using clever lateral rollers.

Something I really like about Mammotion’s app is the inclusion of basic and advanced modes. If you’re not interested or uncomfortable with the deep, granular settings available, you can just turn them off. It’s ideal if you just want the Luba to get on with mowing with minimal fuss. But one of my personal favourite features is manual mowing mode. Even though the mini 2 does a great job on its own, driving it around and mowing the lawn yourself is a pleasure. It drives well, feels smooth, and it even lets you turn on the First Person View mode so you can drive while looking at your phone only.

Another huge feature that elevates the Luba mini 2 AWD is the “drop and mow” feature. It means you can take the robot to any patch of lawn and set it to work without setting up a map. Great for helping out neighbours or family, it uses its onboard cameras only to mow just about anywhere.

RRP: £1,399
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS & camera
Lawn area up to: 1,000 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 38°
Cutting height range: 20-65mm
Warranty: 3 years

Stihl iMOW 5

Our best robot mower with perimeter wire

RRP: £1,729

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from: Tools Today (£859)

Best Buy for performance: Stihl iMOW 5 robotic mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The iMow is the smallest in a new range of six robot mowers from Stihl that cover three sizes of larger garden. Together with the iMow 5, 6, and 7, there's also the iMow EVO range, which covers the same size lawns with the same features but also has mobile connectivity. When you purchase an iMow, you can choose to have it installed by a Stihl-approved dealer or install it yourself and purchase an additional installation kit.

Set up and ease of use: To cut down on waste, different-sized installation kits are available, and you can also buy bio pins, made from 100 per cent biodegradable material that gradually break down in the soil. Like many robot mowers, the iMow requires a boundary wire around the perimeter of the lawn and a guide wire through the middle of the lawn to help it find its way back to the docking station. The mower comes with a clear instruction booklet, plus I found helpful guides on the Stihl website, and laying the wires in our 1,250 sq. metre test garden took 3-4 hours. Once the wires are laid, I'd say it's easy to programme the mower via the My iMow app, as long as you’re comfortable with this kind of tech.

Mower statistics: Like many other robot mowers I've tested, the iMow has three free-swinging blades, and it cuts very well. The lawn was quite long before it was installed but with an impressively wide cutting height range of 20-60mm it didn’t struggle, and after a few days the whole lawn looked good with no tufts of uncut grass. Once you’ve laid the boundary wire, you can’t completely alter mowing zones. It cuts close to the edge, and if it comes across an obstacle, it gently bumps into it and then turns away.

Top features: The iMow also has a useful feature that helps it manoeuvre if it gets stuck, and it can cope with slopes of 22°. It also has an anti-theft alarm and a rain sensor feature, which you can adjust to interrupt or not start mowing if it’s raining. You can choose what degree of rain you want it to mow in, and when the sensor on the top of the mower dries, it automatically begins mowing. Not only that, it comes with a five-year warranty, and a host of accessories are available, including spare wire, pins and clips, and upgrade wheels for the EVO range to enable them to cut slopes of up to 31°. For the size of lawn it cuts, it's a reasonably priced mower that’s packed with excellent features and cuts very well.

RRP: £1,729
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: boundary & guide wires
Lawn area up to: 500 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 22°/31°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 5 years

Best of the rest

Although some models didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have great features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest.

Stiga A4 Automatic Robot Lawn Mower

RRP: £999

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£899)

Stiga A4 Automatic Robot Lawn Mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Set up and ease of use: During setup, the app instructed me, via email, to begin digital mapping. Rather than via the app, it asked me to use my laptop to define the lawn area. Overall, I found the Stiga Go app easy to use and quite intuitive, so it was a surprise to be asked to use a laptop instead. The trick that Stiga have up their sleeve though, is that you can use Google Maps’ satellite view to pre-draw the perimeter of your garden. If you have a large space to mow, it works well. 

To define lawn shapes, channels and no-go areas, I drove the mower around like a remote-controlled car. The robot then attempted the same path on its own. I liked this feature because it provided a trial run before agreeing to a mowing pattern. It’s just a shame that you can only set two different zones. Tucked inside the garage is the GPS receiver that guides the A4 around the lawn. And because Stiga have developed a clever guidance system that uses multiple satellites to map out the garden space, it should work even when there are overhanging trees.

However, the garage needs 120° of open air above it to work correctly, which I found tricky as it only comes with a 5m power cable. You can remove the GPS module and attach it to a wall or fence, but you'll need to buy an extra 15m extension cable and another power supply. Even though the test garden I used had a tricky shape, the mower still installed itself and cut the lawn well. It could find itself on the lawn, get back to the charging station and cope with reasonable undulations without getting stuck.

Top features: The mower features a pair of wheels at the back for the drive and another pair of shopping-trolley-type omnidirectional casters at the front. Four cutting blades, the height of which can be adjusted from 20-60mm via the app, are included. The mower can tackle lawns up to 400 sq. metres and slopes up to 24°. Once it gets mowing, it's incredibly quiet at just 57dB. It mows in 18cm-wide parallel lines across the grass, then finishes things up with a neat perimeter cut.

Several controls are under a flap on top of the mower body, and, for security, a tiny key needs to be in place before mowing. Lacking cameras to keep out of the way of obstacles, it gently bumps into objects left on the lawn and then mows around them. Overall, though, I'd say this is a solid robot mower. It doesn't have some of the advanced features of other mowers, but it's simple to install and leaves the grass well cut. It comes with a three-year warranty. 

RRP: £999
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS
Lawn area up to: 400 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 3 years

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STIGA A 6v

RRP: £999

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£999) and STIGA (£999)

Stiga_A_6_robot_mower_BOTR

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Something that stands out about this robot mower is that it’s not just designed in Italy, but built there, too – and that’s unusual in today’s world. Not a selling point per se, but a point of difference in a crowded market, for sure. And this mower’s European heritage is clear in its attractive, aerodynamic-looking design. Decked out in bright, sporty yellow, I think it’s a handsome robot that’s unashamedly easy on the eye.

Set up and ease of use: I found this robot rather easy to set up. After waiting for the various firmware and software updates to trickle in, I drove it around the perimeter of the test lawn like a remote-control car. I could have used the digital mapping feature to trace the lawn on a satellite picture with my finger, but I enjoy the driving experience. And it’s more accurate too.

Like most robot lawnmowers these days, you don’t need to get on your hands and knees to bury a boundary wire. Instead, it uses ultra-precise RTK GPS navigation to map out the garden and an AI-assisted camera on the front for obstacle avoidance. The A 6v doesn’t rely on an unsightly RTK antenna to guide itself around the garden either. It’s just the robot and a little charging station. Interestingly, it doesn’t need to connect to your home Wi-Fi network. It uses your phone as a hotspot when downloading software updates and an inbuilt 4G SIM card for its other data needs. You get a generous 10 years of connectivity included, so the robot works pretty much autonomously wherever there’s a decent phone signal.

Setting up a mowing schedule is as easy. The app suggests a reasonable mowing schedule, but it doesn’t take much effort to change it to what suits your garden. And I was very pleased to see that it encourages you to avoid mowing at night and in the early morning to avoid harming or scaring off wildlife. If you want, you can set up to ten distinct garden zones, complete with no-go areas and pathways between zones. There are also options to mow the lawn in three different patterns: parallel lines, a chequerboard, and a dense grid cut that attacks the lawn from all points of the compass.

Mower statistics: Built to mow gardens up to 600 sq. metres, it uses four little double-sided razors underneath to get the work done. It cuts an 18cm swathe and can drive up slopes up to 24°. And if you’re fastidious about your borders, you can even set it to perform two edge cuts, using its camera to look for blades of grass left behind. The A 6v performs well on the grass. I set it to mow at 30mm in a parallel line pattern and was impressed by how well it kept to its paths. Even without an RTK antenna looking for satellites, it didn’t get lost in the test garden.

It did get stuck in a couple of flower beds on its first trip out, but happily, it seemed to learn from its mistakes on its second and third scheduled mows. The obstacle avoidance works well and manages to avoid various objects left in its way. My only other gripe with this mower is that it drives rather slowly, and I couldn’t speed it up. However, it’s very quiet during use, so it shouldn’t attract any unwanted attention.

Stiga_A_6_robot_mower_IRL

Top features: You can change the cutting height from 20-60 mm directly from the app. Crucially, this enables you to cut parts of the garden nice and short while leaving sections long enough for wildflowers to flourish. And if you want, you can turn on a smart cut height feature that does it all for you. Something I also liked when I reviewed the A4 (STIGA’s previous robot) is the app, STIGA.GO. It’s clean and uncomplicated, with everything you need in just a few pages. I particularly like the satellite image it generates of the garden zone taken straight from Google Maps. This robot is really only suitable for flat gardens. Like other two-wheel-drive machines, if they get stuck in a hole or down a slope, they can’t get themselves out of it. It can certainly climb a slope of 24°, but if you want a more capable robot for a challenging garden, you need all-wheel drive.

This robot lawnmower isn’t exactly cheap, but it still manages to keep things locked behind a paywall. Want to mow more than ten zones and add 50 extra obstacles? It’ll cost you an extra £59. To keep itself safe, the A 6v will only work with the app it’s paired with. Good news, though: you can share the app with interested family members or friends. However, theft alert notifications are an extra purchase. Even with this drawback, I’m pleased with this robot lawnmower overall. It looks good, it’s easy to use, and it can even help you maintain a wildlife-friendly garden. It’s a solid choice for small to medium-sized gardens, so long as there aren’t too many ruts and holes to deal with.

RRP: £999
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: RTK GPS & AI-assisted camera
Lawn area up to: 600 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 3 years

Husqvarna Automower 308V

RRP: £1,249

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Husqvarna (£1,249), Mow With Us (£1,149) , Winchester Garden Machinery (£1,149)

Husqvarna 308

Reasons to buy:

 Reasons to avoid:

Setup and ease of use: Setting up the mowing area is straightforward enough. It comes with plenty of cable for positioning the charging station. As with many robot mowers I’ve tested, I traced the lawn's outline by driving the robot like a remote-control car. The app takes care of everything else. It’s easy to get the hang of, and I particularly like the satellite image of the garden on the map – it’s a nice touch. Setting up a schedule is a piece of cake, too. There’s an auto-scheduling feature that adapts the mowing and charging time to suit your lawn size. The only real downfall of this robot is its reliance on a stable Wi-Fi connection throughout the garden. It will work without it, but for that to happen, you’ll need to dig out your wallet and buy the RS1 EPOS system. This little module can sit on a pole or be attached to the wall of your house. It provides an impressive level of accuracy, but beware that you need to have it installed by an authorised Husqvarna dealer.

Mower statistics: The cutting deck slung underneath the 308V uses three double-sided razor-type blades to cut the grass. Husqvarna have added an aluminium skid plate below the deck that helps to avoid grass wrapping around the blades and affords extra motor protection. The 22cm cut width is wide enough to cope with small to medium-sized gardens. You can set the cutting height from 20-50mm, in increments of 5mm, which is great for dialling in a precise lawn height. Unfortunately, the 308V is manual height adjust, though, so you can’t set different heights for different lawn areas.

It can cut lawns up to 800 sq. metres in systematic cutting mode, and up to 500 sq. metres in irregular mowing mode. 'Systematic' mode includes stripes, checkerboard and triangular designs. They save a bit of battery and look good, but don’t always cut every blade of grass. Irregular mowing leaves a better finish but takes longer to complete. The internal battery provides up to 100 minutes of continuous operation and takes the same amount of time to recharge. It can climb decent slopes up to 22° as well, which is fine for most gardens.

We test mowers like the Husqvarna 308 in real gardens.

Top features: The Automower 308V is a leap forward for Husqvarna, mainly thanks to the AI-enhanced camera planted on the front of the robot. It adds obstacle avoidance, a feature missing from previous models. The thing I liked the best about this robot was just how smooth and incredibly quiet the mowing process became. None of the movements were jerky or unpredictable; even the slick little three-point turn made at the end of each pass was a pleasure to watch. But I don’t think these smooth movements are purely for show. Gliding around the lawn like this puts less wear on parts and should help to keep the 308V running for years without issue.

The quality of the cut left behind was excellent. I set it to mow in stripes, and it was clear that after just a few cuts the pattern was beginning to show. The mower followed its own tracks well, and besides leaving some tufts at the edges, it just got on with the job of mowing. For security, the robot uses a PIN lock, sensors that can tell if it’s been lifted, and a geofence that sounds an alarm if the mower leaves the boundaries of your garden. It’s just a few ways to keep this premium mower out of trouble. To summarise, this is a polished and refined robot lawnmower from one of the best names in the business. It cuts beautifully and boasts an intuitive app, but is let down by relying too much on an internet connection. You can get around it with the RS1 EPOS system, but it’ll cost you.

RRP: £1,249
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS and camera
Lawn area up to: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 22°
Cutting height range: 20-50mm
Warranty: 5 years

Segway Navimow X350E

RRP: £3,199

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Navimow (£2,699)

Segway Navimow X350e

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Segway Navimow is no stranger to the robot lawnmower market, and the latest addition to its fleet is the X3 series. This one, the X350e, is a heavy-duty machine designed to replace a ride-on lawnmower, as it can tackle huge lawns up to 5,000 sq. metres. Bristling with cameras on three sides and finding its precise location with an antenna, the X350e uses AI to map out your lawn and avoid various garden obstructions. It's an impressive-looking beast, a large grey and orange robot with a large screen on the top that shows the mowing status in animations.

Set up and ease of use: I thought the setup with the Segway Navimow was easy. After finding a place for the antenna to stick in the ground and connecting to WiFi, the rest can be done almost without user input. The AI-assisted mapping feature drives the mower about on its own to define lawn shapes, but I found it more fun driving it like a remote-control car instead. The drive comes from two large orange wheels with an aggressive tread pattern. The front two wheels are casters, similar to those found on a shopping trolley. This is common to most robot mowers, meaning that all the power is in the back, resulting in some wheel slip.

Mower statistics: Navimow has employed a traction control system to help this mower tackle slopes of up to 24°. It works pretty well, but the mower still wasn’t happy on slippery surfaces like wet paving stones and slope edges. Choosing mowing heights from 20-60mm, adding zones and paths between them, and even drawing pictures on your lawn are all controlled by the powerful app. It gives you plenty of options, such as changing the direction of mowing and even changing the cut height of each zone. And it’s incredibly quiet at just 54dB. I found the mower worked best on large, flat areas of grass. The wide cut and increased mowing speed made for fast work, but it avoided some weeds and patches of taller grass for some reason. The good thing is that you can use the manual mow feature to tidy up areas the robot misses. 

Unfortunately for a mower that boasts an AI-enhanced camera, you can’t dial into a live feed on your phone. It’s a missed opportunity to double the X350E up as a mobile home security system. Overall, though, Navimow have made another highly capable mower that does a great job on the lawn. However, for this price, I'd expect it to handle uneven gardens better without getting stuck. The Navimow X350E comes with a three-year warranty. 

RRP: £2,699
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS & camera (plus AI mapping)
Lawn area up to: 5,000 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 3 years

Cobra Mowbot 800

RRP: £663.99

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Mowers Online (£749.99)

Cobra Mowbot 800 robotic mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A straightforward robot mower that can tackle decent-sized lawns, the Cobra Mowbot 800 is ideal for low-effort lawncare. All you need to do is install the boundary wire and press go — either on the machine or via the basic “Robot Mower” app. It can maintain a lawn up to 800 sq. metres, has a cutting width of 18cm, cuts grass from 20-60mm high, and the wheels can deal with slopes up to 20°.

One of the best things about this mower, in my opinion, is that it’s nice and quiet, running at just 66dB maximum. It won’t wake you up if you set the mowing schedule earlier than your alarm clock, and if you want to add some flair to your robot, there are several fun covers that you can purchase separately. It comes with a two-year warranty.

RRP: £663.99
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: boundary wire
Lawn area up to: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 20°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Warranty: 2 years

EGO AURA-R2

RRP: £1,799

Our rating: 3.8 out of 5

Available from: The Green Reaper (£1,799), Winchester Garden Machinery (£1,798), Cheap Mowers (£1,798.99)

EGO AURA_R2_BOTR

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Setup and ease of use: EGO’s second-generation robot lawnmower, the AURA-R2, is a mighty machine that’s capable of cutting huge swathes of grass in one go. Setting up for the first mow took a while. After spending a long time downloading updates and a couple of false starts, I mapped the lawn by driving the R2 around like a remote-control car. It’s a shame that a premium-priced robot like this doesn’t feature an auto-mapping function.

Mower statistics: This model, the RMR1500E, pushes EGO’s impressive battery technology to the limit, with a maximum cut size of 1,500 sq. metres. The massive rear wheels provide plenty of grip on uneven terrain. It’s rated for slopes up to 26°, and it does well for a two-wheel-drive robot. You can also clean it with a pressure washer thanks to IP66 protection against dust and water. The three blades on the automatic cutting deck can be adjusted from 20 to 90mm, and they cut at a width of 24cm. It’s great to see a robot with such a wide range of cutting heights. It means you can cut up to 20 individual lawn zones to suit their use, from a short ornamental lawn to a much longer meadow across your garden.

2048x1365EGO_Aura_R2_IRL_2

Top features: The AURA-R2 works best on large lawns. It’s not just the robot’s big battery, but the precision of the parallel lines it cuts. It makes full use of its super-precise RTK guidance system to cut neat stripes on each lawn zone, and it changes the direction of these lines each week to avoid making ruts in the lawn. Plus, it’s all controlled from the EGO Connect app. Compatible with both Android and iOS, you can set schedules, edit maps, and even control other EGO products from one place. For navigation, the robot relies on an RTK antenna that you need to place on a wall or at the top of a pole (for an extra £59). It’s not ugly, but some other manufacturers have already got rid of them in favour of a receiver on the robot itself. It also has Wi-Fi and built-in 4G connectivity to keep in touch with the app wherever you are in the world.

Having a big robot lawnmower is not always a benefit, however. It might not suit every garden, as the R2 requires a 1-metre-wide gap for access. My test garden has a few tight corners and a narrow pathway that caused the R2 to get stuck more than once. And that leads on to where the AURA-R2 struggled. The robot uses AI-enhanced cameras to guide itself around and avoid obstacles, but it’s not a perfect system. The R2 recognises lots of things, but some smaller objects slipped through and ended up under the robot. When it does recognise an object, the R2 takes a wide detour around it. And if it bumps into something like a wall or the leg of a chair, the blades stop. It makes sense from a safety perspective, but it takes a few seconds for the blades to restart, leaving patches of grass uncut until the next session. Happily, these are all things that can be fixed with software updates, so I hope the R2 improves as it upgrades.

RRP: £1,799
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: RTK & cameras
Lawn area up to: 1,500 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 26°
Cutting height range: 20-90mm
Warranty: 3 years (mower), 2 years (battery)

To compare these robot models against other types of mowers, see our reviews of the best cordless lawn mowers, the best electric mowers and the best push mowers.

What are the benefits of a robot lawn mower?

Buying a robot lawn mower has several benefits over more traditional petrol or electric models.

These benefits include:

How to choose the best robot lawn mower

How much do basic models cost, and are they for me?

Robot mowers used to be something of a luxury item, but these days the most basic models can be found at prices similar to those of a mid-range cordless mower. For example, the cheapest ‘drop and mow’ style machines can be had for just £300.

However, the drawback of these entry-level machines, which are in reality something of a hybrid between a robot mower and a standard cordless mower with a removable battery, is that they’re usually only suitable for small lawns. Also, every time the lawn needs cutting, you have to get the mower out of the shed, charge up or slot in the removable battery, and put it down on the lawn – and then pick it up and put it away again afterwards.

Because the capacity of rechargeable batteries declines over time, if you’re buying a ‘drop and mow’ machine, make sure it can cover your whole lawn on one charge with plenty of power to spare.

How much do more automated models cost, and are they a better choice?

If you have a bigger lawn, or just want something that will keep your lawn neat without the hassle of the ‘drop and mow’ models, then prices are more likely to start from around £400, and go up to ‘usedsmall- car’ levels of £3,000 to £4,500 for premium models designed for very large lawns. The big benefit with these models is that they’re self-charging, with their own docking station, and will mow large lawns on an ongoing basis without any intervention from you. They’re also generally better at avoiding objects and coping with tricky terrain.

What features should I look out for?

Innovation happens fast in the world of robot mowers, and a lot has changed over the past few years. For example, not long ago, nearly all robot mowers needed boundary wires, but now, newer models are dispensing with these in favour of other technologies that are much more user-friendly.

With the budget-end ‘drop and mow’ machines, guidance is via a special camera that uses AI to recognise if there is grass in front of it, steering itself around like a sheep absent-mindedly munching its way across your lawn. One drawback of this is that you can reasonably expect this guidance system to work slightly less well in low light and on patchy lawns.

Going up the price scale, many of the best new machines use Real Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning. This is an evolution of GPS technology that allows the mower to know its own location to within just a few centimetres, rather than the 3-5m margin of error in old-style GPS systems.

With this system, it’s typically just a matter of first setting up the mower by ‘driving’ it around the edges of your lawn using your smartphone, rather like a To ensure you get the right robot mower for your budget and your garden, here are the key points to consider Robot lawn mowers range from about £300 for basic machines, up to about £4,500 for premium models remote-controlled car. With some models, the mower will even use AI to help with this part. Combined with an onboard camera to detect and avoid obstacles, RTK GPS is a big leap forward, meaning you can forget about the hassle of boundary wires altogether.

Finally, sophisticated LiDAR 3D-mapping technology, which was previously the preserve of self-driving cars and industries such as construction and mining, is now making its way into the world of robot mowers. This technology, used in tandem with cameras and GPS could, it’s claimed, open the door on all-but-infallible selfmapping robot mowing over very large, complicated garden layouts – but at a significant price tag.

What limitations should I bear in mind before buying?

Although robot lawn mowers are fully automatic once set up, most are more complex initially than traditional petrol, electric or cordless mowers.

Also, unless it’s a ‘drop and mow’ type model, a robot lawn mower requires an outside power source for the docking station. It’s also worth considering where you can put the docking station, as they usually have specific requirements. In most cases, it should be sited out of direct sun and on level ground, and have a clear area around it – typically 2m to the front and 1m to each side. This will restrict where you place it and could be tricky to accommodate in a small garden. RTK GPS models typically also need an antenna somewhere in the garden, ideally with clear sky above.

Assessing the layout of your lawn is also essential before purchasing a robot lawn mower. Some models can struggle with narrow strips of lawn, uneven ground and steep slopes. Generally, the larger and more challenging your lawn, the more likely it is that you’ll need a more expensive, feature-packed machine.

How to clean a robot lawn mower

Despite being fully automated, a robot lawn mower should still be checked, cleaned and serviced regularly.

How we tested robot lawn mowers

The BBC Gardeners' World Magazine reviews team tested a range of robot lawn mowers for several weeks in different gardens. Some were installed for us by dealers, while we installed the smaller mowers ourselves. They were programmed and left to work and were assessed according to the following criteria, with equal marks attributed to each:

For more information on our testing process, see How we review

Top tips for lawn care

Here are some top tips for keeping your lawn looking fresh and healthy:

If your lawn is young, ensure it’s well-watered, but be careful not to overwater as this will cause the grass to root shallowly. Use rainwater if possible, or grey water from your bath or washing-up bowl. Sprinklers are effective but use lots of mains water. Don’t worry if your lawn is established and goes brown; it will green up again after some rain.

Weed your lawn – keep an eye out for plantains and dandelions, which have wide, flat leaves, and can smother large areas. Remove with a hand trowel or daisy grubber. Avoid weedkiller if possible. Find out more about weeds.

Compacted ground can prevent grass from growing well and lead to bare patches or muddy spots. Relieve compaction and aerate the soil with a garden fork, pushing it about 10cm deep every 10cm, and gently rocking back and forth on the fork handle. Take a look at our pick of the best lawn aerators and the best scarifiers.

Edge your lawn for a neat finish; this satisfying job can be carried out with long-handled shears. It will also stop grass from growing in your borders. See our review of edging shears. You might also like to keep edges neat with a physical border. Take a look at our picks.

For more tips on keeping your lawn looking good, see our article on top lawn care tips.

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in July 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability

]]> Kay Maguire <![CDATA[Best electric lawn mowers in 2026 as tested by our expert team]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-electric-lawn-mowers/ 2026-07-13T10:44:39.000Z 2026-07-08T18:22:10.000Z

Jump to our 4 top-rated corded electric lawn mowers

Lawn mowers – if you've got a garden, chances are you need one, even if you don't really like gardening at all. So it's a big market, with a lot of different products in different categories available, from basic hand-push mowers all the way up to modern cordless lawn mowers and robotic lawn mowers.

Despite all this, bang in the middle of the market still lies the classic lawn mower type that perhaps most sheds still house an example of – the corded electric lawn mower. And no wonder – corded mowers are cheap, lightweight and easy to use, so they're absolutely perfect if you want to stay within budget and keep things simple.

But even though this category is not as big as it used to be, there's still a ton of choice, and ample opportunity to get this purchase wrong. So that's why we have created this rundown of the best corded electric lawn mowers available to buy today.

From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on corded electric lawn mowers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ list. Oliver Parsons

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Our best electric mowers to buy at a glance

Comparison table: best electric lawn mowers

In every review, we award outstanding products our coveted Best Buy award. To see these and the others we recommend, browse our pick of the best corded electric lawn mowers, below:

Our 4 best corded electric lawn mowers

1: TOP RATED: Webb Weer33 electric lawn mower

Our best budget electric mower for small gardens, under £100

RRP: £99.99

Our rating: 4.8/5

Available from: Amazon (£94.48), Robert Dyas (£99.99) and Tool Station (£94.48)

Best Buy all-round electric mower 2021: Webb Weer 33

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I was impressed by the superb design of this mower. It’s extremely easy to assemble and folds for storage with a comfortable foam handle that can be adjusted to various heights. There are five cutting heights to choose from ranging from 25-65mm, and a single lever enables easy adjustment. It has a cutting width of 33cm, and the black cable is 10m long, with cable tidy hooks to keep it wound up and in one place in storage. The fabric grass collection bag has a generous capacity of 35L, and the full indicator lets you know when it needs emptying.

The handle on this mower is easily unscrewed to fold in half over the body of the mower and if necessary, you can also slip the handles out of the deck to help it fold completely flat and squeeze into a tight storage space. The mower is relatively quiet, and it cut well, right up to the edges of my lawn. It’s also lightweight and comfortable to manoeuvre. My only quibble is the black mower cable, which could be a brighter colour so it'd be easier to see. For just £99.99 and with a warranty of two years, this is a great value mower. Kay Maguire

RRP: £99.99
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 8.8kg
Noise: 89dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 10m
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 35L

Read the full Webb Weer 33 review

Latest Deals

2: Mountfield Electress 38

Our best electric mower for large gardens

RRP: £159

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£159)

Best Buy budget mower 2023: Mountfield Electress 38

Reasons to buy: 

Reasons to avoid:

This sturdy electric mower felt really robust out in use on the lawn, and I liked its relatively wide cutting width of 38cm, which made for fewer passes up and down the lawn. I found it simple to put together, with three handle heights to suit different users, and it has a useful six heights of cut, from 25-75mm, which are easy to change with a single lever. It manoeuvred well around the lawn despite its weight and was pleasingly simple to use, producing a neat cut. It comes with a large grass collection box of 40L too, so you're not constantly emptying clippings on the compost heap.

When you've finished mowing, it's easy to store, with a handle that folds flat over the body of the mower, so it takes up very little room, and a detachable cable that can be hung up or stored in a drawer. It has such a long 15m cable that I was able to pack my extension lead away completely. Only its black colour and lack of cable safety clip let it down. Kay Maguire

RRP: £159
Cutting width: 38cm
Weight: 11kg
Noise: 95dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 15m
Cutting height range: 25-75mm
Grass box: 40L

Latest Prices

3: Cobra GTRM34 electric mower with rear roller

Our best electric mower for a stripy lawn

RRP: £122.99

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: Amazon (£114.99) and Just Lawnmowers (£106.99)

Best Buy for features in 2021: Cobra GTRM34

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

It's always a good start when a mower is as easy to put together as this one. Very little assembly is required, you just need to attach the handle with its easy-to-use clips and finish fixing the grass collector. The illustrated instructions are clear, but unfortunately, they haven't included a diagram. There's a very helpful, easy-to-follow video guide on the Cobra website that shows what to do.

This Cobra mower has a 34cm cutting width and a rear roller if you're on the lookout for those ever-desirable stripes. Although it's reasonably heavy and may be harder to lift and carry than some of the mowers in our test, I found it well-balanced, and it cuts and collects long grass very well. There's a choice of seven cutting heights, and it's easy to change them with a single lever on the deck. The handle has only one height, but I liked the cushioned padding, and it has a cable relief clip, which helps to keep the electric cable tucked out of the way.

The fabric grass bag has a capacity of 35L, which folds flat for easy storage. The mower itself also took up little storage space in the shed, double-folding down nicely, thanks to the two sets of easy-clip levers on the handle. Overall, it's easy to use and manoeuvre, cuts and picks up well and at just over £100, with a two-year warranty, it's excellent value for money. Kay Maguire

RRP: £122.99
Cutting width: 34cm
Weight: 13kg
Noise: 96dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 10m
Cutting height range: 20-75mm
Grass box: 35L

Read the full Cobra GTRM34 electric corded mower review

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4: Ryobi RLM13E 33S

Our best electric mower for small gardens, £100+

RRP: £119.95

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: OnBuy (£119.95) and B&Q (£119.95)

Best Buy for cable safety 2021: Ryobi RLM13E-33S

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The Ryobi corded electric mower has a 1300W engine, a cutting width of 33cm and a 10m long, orange cable. I found it simple to assemble, with clear instructions and no extra tools needed. Its handle folds for storage, the blade can be adjusted to a choice of heights, and, best of all, it was light to use. There are five cutting heights to choose from, ranging from 20-60mm, and these are easy to change with a simple lever. The foam handle feels comfortable, and a double drive lever gives you the choice of mowing with both hands or just one. The height of cut is simple to adjust, it cuts cleanly and well, and the grass combs on the deck allow it to cut right to the edge, so there’s no need to go back and tidy up the edges with a grass trimmer after mowing.

A mulching plug is supplied so you can shred the clippings and leave them on the lawn where they will break down, feeding the grass as they do. Otherwise, the fabric grass bag has a collecting capacity of 35L as well as a full indicator that flaps up when the bag is ready to empty. But I was most impressed by the convenient, effective cable relief clip, which keeps the cable tucked out of the way while you mow. At 9kg, this mower is easy and smooth to turn and manoeuvre around furniture and borders in the lawn. It comes with a three-year warranty, and we think it’s great value for money. Kay Maguire

RRP: £119.95
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 9.9kg
Noise: 89dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 8m
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Grass box: 35L

Read the full Ryobi RLM13E 33S review

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The best of the rest

Although this model didn't quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, it still has features that make it worth recommending.

Stihl RME 235 electric lawn mower

RRP: £179

Our rating: 4/5

Available from: Amazon (£196) and Just Lawnmowers (£159)

Latest Prices Stihl RME235 - BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

If you're after a solid, no-frills mower, this Stihl electric lawn mower does the basics very well. It takes 205 minutes to fully charge – one of the slowest charge times on test, but cuts approximately 250 square metres on a single charge. I found its design well thought-out with an adjustable, folding handle for storage and a handy cable relief clip. It features a cutting width of 46cm, which is one of the widest on test. It has five cutting heights from 25-65mm, and they're simple to change with a single lever. The grass box opens right up for easy emptying, and there's an indicator that lets you know when it's full.

This mower is intended to deal with larger lawns quickly rather than cutting smaller, more intricately shaped gardens. I loved the eco-mode that slows the blades down automatically when it’s tackling short grass, and speeds them up to cut longer lawns. The cut is clean, and the grass is sucked up into the grass box, leaving the lawn clear of cuttings – one of the great advantages of buying a rotary mower. It felt sturdy and moved smoothly across my grass, but I found the drive lever a bit uncomfortable and stiff. It also took me the longest to assemble out of all the mowers I tested. Kay Maguire

RRP: £179
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 13kg
Noise: 93dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 17m
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 30L

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Einhell GC-EM 1600/37 electric lawn mower

RRP: £136.95

Our rating: 4/5

Available from: Argos (£130) and Homebase (£99)

2048-1365Einhell_GC_EM_BOTR

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Forget having to check batteries, annoyingly slow chargers and high prices for lawn mowers. There’s still a strong use case for good old-corded mowers, and the Einhell GC-EM 1600/37 is an excellent example of how to do, most of it, right. While most garden power tools are now cord-free, some gardeners don’t want to navigate the hundreds of different batteries and their various chargers. This mower is a true plug and go machine. If you’ve got a plug socket nearby, you’re up and running in seconds.

As the name suggests, this mower takes its power from a 1,600W motor and cuts a handy 37cm wide swathe. Connecting the mower to the mains is a 10m bright red power cable. It’s quite a lot bigger than other more compact battery mowers I’ve tested before, with three handle heights to choose from and a big chunky handle section. At the handle end there’s a wide metal trigger that’s operable with either hand, as well as a big red safety switch on top to keep things safe. There’s no sign of a safety key like you’d find on a cordless battery powered mower, but it does include a clever cable strain relief hook. This should stop pulling on the base of the cable to avoid damaging the connection.

2048-1365Einhell_GC_EM_IRL_2

Choosing from a neat 20mm cut height in five steps up to an almost meadow-like 60mm is simple. The rather car-like height “shifter” handle is sprung, making choosing a height nice and easy. And weighing a shade under 11kg, carrying it around with the big handle on top isn’t too taxing. Setting this corded lawnmower up for its first cut did take me a little while though. Unlike a lot of budget friendly machines, I needed to install the wheels as well as the handle. The wheels are held in place by stiff hairpins that took quite a lot of force to get in place, then covered over by plastic hubcaps. Then I had to attach the bottom and tops sections of the handle to the chassis, and the carry handle to grass collection box. Again, it wasn’t difficult but might put off some users. It took me around 15 minutes to put the whole package together.

The 38L grass collection box is a semi-rigid one. These are my favourite because they fold down flat when not in use yet still manage to pack the grass in before needing to be emptied. 38L isn’t much, but when you’re tethered to a 10m cable, you can’t mow huge gardens anyway. Bear in mind that’s there’s no mulching plug, so you need to collect all the grass trimmings. Measuring 136cm in length, this is a surprisingly large piece of garden kit. Even though it comes in a small-ish package, I felt like I had to peer down at the front wheels because they seemed quite far away. On my first test cut, it was obviously quicker to get started as I didn’t need to charge up any batteries. But I soon found out my small back garden is big enough to run out of 10m power cable. It wasn’t a big deal. I simply dug out a 10m extension cable and got back to work. However, you’ll need to factor in this inconvenience if the far end of your lawn is any more than 10m from a power point. Happily, the motor didn’t struggle, even when I pushed it into long, thick grass and weeds. It didn’t even slow down, unlike some battery-powered mowers that bog down too easily.

Storing this mower away is easy enough. The handle folds down neatly, but it lacks dedicated cord storage. I would have expected to see a hook or cleat somewhere on the handle to coil the cable round. Instead, I coiled the cable and tied it with some garden twine. Not exactly elegant but it works. Also, this mower doesn’t stand up on its end, so takes up more floor space than necessary. Overall, I can’t find anything particularly wrong with the Einhell GC-EM. It cuts the lawn well and doesn’t get bogged down thanks to its constant supply of power. If you hate charging up batteries and have a small enough garden, this is a sensible investment. Harry Duncton

RRP: £136.95
Cutting width: 37cm
Weight: 10.75kg
Noise: 96dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 10m
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Grass box: 38L

How to choose an electric lawn mower

Not all budget electric mowers are basic machines. Consider the following points to help you choose the right electric mower for you:

Budget Mowers Buyer's Guide - video

Follow our tips on choosing a budget mower to find the right one for your garden.

How we test the best lawn mowers

When we test lawn mowers, we follow the whole process from start to finish without any shortcuts. We unpack the mower from the box, put it together following the instructions (sometimes these are clear as mud, sometimes not!), and then get started, cutting grass over a wide area.

We mow over rough grass, smoother grass, slopes and bumps – whatever is in our way – just as you would with your own mower. And after that, we also take notes on how easy the mower is to fold down and put away, because if a mower is annoying in that regard, you'll always hate using it.

Then, we score each model against these four criteria, with equal marks attributed to each one:

For more on our testing process across all the different gardening product categories, see How we review

Why you can trust BBC Gardeners' World Magazine reviews

As trained gardeners and seasoned users of all sorts of garden tools, Kay Maguire, I, and the rest of the team at BBC Gardeners' World Magazine have reviewed shedloads of lawn mowers literally over the years, using our trusted testing matrix to make sure we're giving balanced, fair judgments.

We test lawn mowers in varied, real-world conditions, cutting the sort of grass most of us actually have in our gardens. Because we're real-world gardeners with lots of experience, we know what to look out for and the sorts of things that will make all the difference once you're using a mower week in and week out.

We give each mower an at-a-glance list of pros and cons for clarity, and a rating out of five. We also don't share product reviews with manufacturers or retailers before they're published, and we don't accept payment in exchange for positive reviews either.

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in March 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

]]> Harry Duncton <![CDATA[The best lawn scarifiers to buy in 2026, as tested by our reviews experts]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/the-best-lawn-scarifiers-from-manual-to-mechanical-machines-2/ 2026-05-20T16:16:04.000Z 2026-05-20T16:15:30.000Z

Jump to our top-rated scarifiers

A soft, springy lawn might seem ideal when it comes to lounging around on hot, summer days or walking barefoot in the cool morning dew, but it’s also a sign that your lawn needs a bit of attention. A build-up of moss and lawn thatch in the grass is often the cause of this spongy feeling, which not only makes turf look patchy, but prevents water, nutrients and air from reaching the grass's root system. The result can be an unhealthy lawn, which has lost its vigour and struggles to withstand year-round wear and tear. However, all is not lost as the problem is easily tackled by a process called scarification, which means getting rid of the unwanted moss and thatch. This job is carried out in spring or autumn, and can be done manually with a rake or mechanically with a powered machine.

Our best lawn scarifiers to buy at a glance

Comparison table: best lawn scarifiers

View Affiliate Playlist on the source website

Jump to the best lawn scarifier:

Jump to lawn scarifier advice:

Our expertise

We reviewed a range of both manual and powered scarifiers, putting them through their paces to bring you a list of the best. Each review has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to ease of use, handling, performance, and value for money. Each scarifier has scored a minimum of 3.5 out of 5 stars, so you can buy with confidence. From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on scarifiers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ list.

Our top-rated lawn scarifiers

1: Darlac DP888 Lawn Scarifier

Our best wheeled manual scarifier

RRP: £44.99

Our rating: 4.8/5

Available from: Amazon (£37.90), Crocus (£44.99) and Mr Fothergills (£44.95)

Our best wheeled manual scarifier: Darlac DP888

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for wheeled manual performance, the Darlac DP888 Scarifier is an excellent choice if you’re up for scarifying your lawn by hand. Its adjustable handle is a great feature, extending from 97cm to 1.5m, and made from high-quality steel treated with anti-corrosion protection, so it’s lightweight but durable, and feels sturdy to use. The head is 32cm wide and features 11 sharp blades, which you can push into the turf at varying depths by raising or lowering the angle of the handle. It also has two wheels to help it move smoothly along the lawn. It comes with a 35-year guarantee. Kay Maguire

Read the full Darlac DP888 Scarifier review

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2: Greenman R1710 Scarifying Rake

Our best traditional lawn scarifying rake

RRP: £44.95

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: Amazon (£44.95) and Greenman (£44.95)

_Greenman R1710 Scarifying Rake

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A traditional style manual gardening tool, the Greenman scarifying rake features a handsome ash handle and stainless steel head. It oozes quality from tip to tip, is nicely balanced, and is comfortable to use, if a touch heavy. Although this scarifying rake looks traditional, it has a trick up its sleeve. It has pivoting tines that make the job of removing dead matter and aerating the soil that much easier. The reasonably sharp tines cut into the soil to help aerate the top few centimetres, which should stimulate more grass growth and prepare for over-seeding.

Like other scarifying rakes, I used a push-and-pull motion to dethatch my lawn after the winter. The idea is to remove moss and dead grass that builds up over the colder months. The hinge needed a touch of lubricating oil to stop it from squeaking out of the case, but otherwise it was ready to go. Measuring 155cm in length, it’s fine for taller gardeners, and weighing just over 1.4kg, it didn’t feel too heavy. However, it has more weight to it than a similar rake with an aluminium or carbon fibre shaft.

The ash handle sits in an 11cm socket that’s riveted into place. It feels sturdy and unlikely to break at this point any time soon. There’s no getting around the physical effort it takes to scarify a thick and mossy lawn with a manual tool, but the Greenman scarifying rake made it as easy as possible. It has an impressive 10-year warranty. Harry Duncton

3: WORX 36cm Scarifier and Aerator WG855E.9

Our best cordless scarifier and aerator

RRP: £229.99

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: Amazon (229.99)

Worx_WG855E _scarifier

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

If you want to improve the quality of your lawn without the back-breaking effort of doing it manually, the WORX 2-in-1 scarifier and aerator is a powerful and premium-priced machine that does the hard work for you.

Setting up: It feels like a quality piece of kit, with a sturdy handle and large front wheels that trundle happily across the grass. Setting up the scarifier was easy, just like a lawnmower. I attached the two handle sections, popped in two batteries, set the depth and got to work.

Because this is a two-in-one scarifier and aerator, it comes with a pair of removable “cartridges”. The scarifier cartridge uses hooked metal tines to remove thatch and moss from the grass, and the aerator cartridge has stainless steel blades to cut into the soil to allow air, water and nutrients to circulate. Changing the cartridges over is simple and tool-free. A butterfly bolt underneath releases the cartridge at one end, and it just pops out. It makes cleaning an easy task, too.

WORX 36cm Scarifier and Aerator WG855E

Scarifier/aerator stats: The WG855E.9 runs on two 20V batteries, making 40V of power. The version I tested came as “tool only”, so I used a pair of large capacity 4.0Ah batteries from another WORX machine on test. The cutting width is 36cm – plenty for a small to medium-sized garden. It weighs just over 10kg without batteries, which makes it easy to carry around. It runs at four different heights, controlled by a lever on the base of the machine. '+1' runs just above the surface, '0' at -3 mm, '-1' at -6 mm, and '-2' at -9 mm. I was impressed by how easily the scarifier brought up moss from the lawn, and just how much came out of it. The 40L collection box filled up in under a minute of scarifying, though, so I needed to dump it out regularly. A larger collection box would make things much easier.

Aerating the lawn was another task that the WG855E handled well. The 40V motor made light work of cutting into the turf and left clean furrows even at the lowest depth setting. Due to the amount of work that the machine must do, the batteries don’t last too long. I managed around 15 minutes of scarifying and around 10 when aerating from the 4.0Ah batteries on board. It’s fine for smaller spaces, but unless you have plenty of spare batteries, it will take a while to get a large garden both scarified and aerated. Overall, this is a robust scarifier and aerator combo that effortlessly improves the lawn. It’s ideal for smaller spaces, but if you have plenty of spare batteries, it will happily deal with larger ones. Harry Duncton

Best of the rest

Although these models didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have features that make them worth recommending.

Wolf Garten Multi-Change Roller Moss Removal Rake

RRP: £69.99

Our rating: 4.8/5

Available from: B&Q (£46.99) and Amazon (£30.93)

2048-1365-gw-WolfGarten_Scarifier

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Part of the Wolf Garten Multi-Change tool system, this manual scarifier is made from high-quality plastic and rust-proof aluminium, so it’s lightweight and easy to use. The blades are made from hardened steel, so they’ll stay sharp over their lifetime, and the head is 30cm wide. It’s a really effective tool with a smooth action, but it's best suited to small gardens because it doesn’t have a soft-grip handle, which can make it uncomfortable to use after a while, especially given that it's hard work to remove moss and thatch in this way. It comes with a 35-year warranty. Kay Maguire

Read the full Wolf Garten Multi-Change Roller Moss Removal Rake review

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Vonhaus 1800W 2-in-1 scarifier

RRP: £149.99

Our rating: 4.3/5

Available from: Amazon (£149.99), B&Q (149.99) and Vonhaus (£149.99)

2048-1364-gw-Vonhaus 1800W 2-in-1_Aerator_and_Scarifier(1)

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The Vonhaus 2-in-1 scarifier is a sturdy machine with a robust but lightweight plastic body, and it weighs 16.1kg. Powered with a 1800W motor, it’s a little noisy at 104dB, but it removes moss, thatch and other organic lawn debris very efficiently. It has two interchangeable drums to switch between aerating and scarifying modes and has a working width of 38cm. It has folding handles for easy storage, a dual start system for safety, and a built-in thermal cutout if it overheats. There are five depth settings, ranging from -12mm, -9mm, -3mm and +6mm, although we found the lowest setting made the lawn look quite ravaged.

At 60cm wide, it's one of the largest machines we tested, but it's still easy to manoeuvre and comes with a 10m cable. The generously-sized 55L collection bag is moderately efficient, but misses some debris as there is a gap between the box and the blades. It has a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

Review the full Vonhaus 2-in-1 Electric Scarifier review

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Cobra S3840V Cordless Lawn Scarifier

RRP: £360.99

Our score: 4/5

Available from: Sims Garden Machinery (£329)

2048-1364-gw-scarifiers-Cobra S3840V-Cordless-Lawn-Scarifier-&-Aerator

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The Cobra S3840V Cordless Lawn Scarifier is big, and the wheels are a little stiff, but it handles well and, at 92dB, it’s relatively quiet too. The 40V 5Ah battery charges quickly in just 90 minutes and offers 40 minutes of use. It's easy to use, with a comfortable, soft handle, and we love being able to see the charge indicator through the transparent window. The aerating blades slit well, neatly cutting through the soil and getting most of the moss and thatch.

However, the spring tine scarifying drum lifts moss and thatch, but catches a lot of living grass, no matter which of the five heights from -10mm to +5mm you choose. The instructions are also poor, so it took a while to get this tool working. At 38cm wide, it covers a large area, but its size makes this scarifier very bulky and difficult to store. Kay Maguire

Latest Deals

VonHaus 2-in-1 Cordless Scarifier & Aerator

RRP: £249.99

Our rating: 3.8/5

Available from: Amazon (£219.99), B&Q (£249.99) and Robert Dyas (£249.99)

Vonhaus scarifier

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

If you want to improve the quality of your lawn without the back-breaking effort of doing it manually, the VonHaus 2-in-1 Cordless Scarifier and Aerator is a capable and competitively priced machine that does the hard work for you.

Set up: Setting it up for first use is pretty straightforward. The handle comes in two pieces, and the scarifier cartridge is held in place with a small hex bolt. The manual leaves a little bit to the imagination, but it didn't take long to get the tool on the lawn. It feels well-made, except for the flimsy collection bag flap, which fell off on the first use. The handle comes with a comfortable soft grip and a large operating lever. The big wheels on the front and back help it to glide across the grass, and pulling it up and over obstacles is easy too.

Because this is a two-in-one scarifier and aerator, it comes with a pair of removable cartridges. The scarifier cartridge uses metal tines to remove thatch and moss from the grass, and the aerator cartridge has steel blades to cut into the soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to circulate. Changing the cartridges requires a hex key rather than the tool-free butterfly bolt you get on some rivals, which slows things down a little when you want to switch between tasks.

Vonhaus_scarifier_IRL_1

Scarifier/aerator stats: The VonHaus runs on two 20V batteries for a combined 40V output, and comes supplied with both batteries and a dual charger. So, unlike some cordless tools, there's nothing extra to buy. The working width is 38cm, suitable for small to medium gardens, and it has five depth settings ranging from -12 mm to +6 mm, which is a wider range than many competitors in this price bracket. The 45L collection box is a decent size, though in practice it fills up quickly when there's a good amount of thatch to shift.

VonHaus quotes a no-load runtime of 25 minutes from a full charge. Under real working conditions – pushing through grass and pulling up thatch – expect something closer to 15 minutes of scarifying before you need a break or a recharge. The dual charger brings both batteries back to full in about 2 hours.

Out on the lawn, the VonHaus impressed. It pulled up a satisfying amount of moss and dead grass with ease, gliding smoothly across the surface and handling well throughout. The five depth settings give you real flexibility – useful for a gentle early-season pass or a more aggressive renovation later in the year. The aerator did a clean job too, leaving neat, even slits in the turf rather than the rough tears you can get from cheaper machines. The collection box filling up quickly is probably the biggest frustration in practice. When the lawn has a good amount of thatch in it, you'll be stopping to empty it more often than you'd like.

Overall, this is a solid cordless scarifier and aerator that performs well on small to medium lawns. The lack of tool-free cartridge changes and the flimsy bag flap let it down slightly on the fit-and-finish front, and battery life under load is modest, so if you have a large garden, you'll want spare batteries to hand. But, for a straightforward seasonal lawn refresh, it gets the job done without fuss. Harry Duncton

Need to show your lawn some TLC? Take a look at our round-up of the best lawn aerators and expert tips on how to improve your lawn in 12 weeks. Looking for the best lawn mowers? Read our guides to the best cordless lawn mowers, the best robotic lawn mowers and the best electric lawn mowers. If you have a small lawn, our round-up of the best hand push mowers may prove helpful, and why not keep edges looking neat with our pick of the best lawn edging.

What is a lawn scarifier, and what does it do?

A scarifier is essentially a comb for your lawn – strong tines, on either a manual spring-tine rake or a rotating drum, pull through the grass, removing moss and organic debris, also known as lawn thatch. Scarifying is worth doing at least once a year – twice if you’re having to deal with a lot of moss, and the best scarifiers have different settings so you can adjust their height to avoid tearing up your lawn. However, depending on the extent of the moss invasion and debris, you may have to put up with seeing a bit of soil where larger clumps have been removed. If this is the case, simply sow some lawn seed in any areas of the lawn you’re concerned about.

Types of lawn scarifiers: ways to scarify your lawn

There are four types of scarifiers, including manual and powered versions, and each has its own pros and cons. Some brands refer to their powered range as lawn rakers, which simply means a powered lawn rake with a plastic cylinder, lined with metal tines. 2-in-1 powered scarifiers, on the other hand, feature two interchangeable drums: one with scarifying tines to rake through the grass and remove thatch as well as organic debris, while the other has metal blades, which cut into the turf, creating shallow slits to aerate the soil surface. This helps air and water to move through this top layer of the soil and is also helpful if you’re feeding or sowing seed into your lawn.

However, if your lawn is struggling due to compaction or you have heavy clay soil, your lawn will benefit from deeper aeration, which is the process of opening up the soil by spiking it with long metal tines.

Which type of powered machine is best?

When it comes to choosing whether you go for an electric, cordless or petrol scarifier, consider the pros and cons associated with each type:

How to choose the best lawn scarifier

Once you’ve worked out which type of lawn scarifier will suit your needs, there are several key features to look out for:

How we tested lawn scarifiers

To see how well lawn scarifiers perform, the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Reviews team tested a range of models across a range of garden situations – removing moss, lawn thatch and other organic debris. Before we started, we checked for any wildlife in the grass and organic debris on the lawn surface. The lawn scarifiers were compared, and the following criteria were used to calculate the scores, with equal weight given to each:

For more information on our testing process, see How we Review

Lawn care tips

Scarifying your lawn is one of many jobs you can do to keep your lawn looking at its best. But what else can you do to keep your lawn in tip-top condition?

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in May 2026. We apologise if any information has changed since then.

]]> Harry Duncton <![CDATA[The best grass trimmers in 2026 - as tested by our experts]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-grass-trimmers/ 2026-05-20T11:41:05.000Z 2026-05-20T11:42:09.000Z

Jump to best grass trimmers

Grass trimmers are a great tool for tidying up straggly grass, as well as cutting areas a lawn mower can’t reach, such as path and flowerbed edges and around the base of trees. They can also help clear overgrowth if you’re starting a new garden, and trim vegetation on steep slopes.

If you've not used a grass trimmer before, it can be hard to know what type to buy. So we've been busy testing a range of models –  both corded and battery-powered – to give you the lowdown on our favourite grass trimmers. Before you buy, take a look at our buyer's guide below. It gives you advice on how to choose a grass trimmer, what key features to look out for, and which products are our top picks for 2026.

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Kate’s wildlife care

Our wildlife editor, Kate Bradbury, has some advice on using a grass trimmer responsibly. “Always​ check before you trim. Use a broom or rake to sweep the grass before you start, taking care to look out for small critters like frogs and slow worms, but also larger animals like hedgehogs. Hedgehogs frequently sleep in long grass during the day and can suffer terribly from trimmer injuries, so it pays to check before you trim.”

Kate Bradbury

Grass trimmers - Buyer's Guide

The best grass trimmers to buy at a glance

Comparison table: best grass trimmers

Our expertise Getting the best grass trimmer means ensuring it has the right features, weight and price for you. We've tested a range of cordless and corded grass trimmers, putting them through their paces across arange of grass and terrains, to help you find the right one for your garden. Each grass trimmer has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to assembly and storage, handling, performance and value for money. From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on grass trimmers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ list. 

Jump to best grass trimmers:

Jump to grass trimmer advice:

Best Buy grass trimmers

Stihl FSA 30 Grass Trimmer

Our best lightweight grass trimmer

RRP: £149 (kit)

Our rating: 4.8/5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£139)

Best Buy for those that lack strength: Stihl FSA

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This little grass trimmer is powered by the tiny Stihl AS battery, which charges in 70 minutes and has a run time of 19 minutes. It’s very easy to set up and use – just the handle and spacer bar need screwing on, and it has an adjustable handle and a telescopic shaft, so it’s simple to ensure this trimmer is comfortable to use for all users. The head can also be adjusted to four different angles, plus it rotates 90 degrees for trimming edges, although unlike other trimmers, it doesn’t have a lever to enable this with ease. This is a blade trimmer, so it cuts with two plastic polycut blades that are easy to click into place, but you can also use a line cartridge or feed cut length of line into the trimmer if you wish instead. Six spare blades are included with the trimmer and are stored neatly on the trimmer for when you need them.

Thanks to the small battery, this trimmer is really light, and although it doesn’t have the power that bigger, more substantial grass trimmers do, it performs surprisingly well. We think it’s ideal for trimming around trees and boundaries, and along the edges of beds and borders in small gardens. Once you’re finished trimming, it has an eyelet in the handle for hanging the trimmer up for storage.
The battery is interchangeable with other Stihl AS tools, including a hedge trimmer, powered pruners and a mini chainsaw, and it comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

Powerbase 550W Electric Grass Trimmer

Our best budget grass trimmer

RRP: £59

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: Homebase (49.99), The Range (49.99) and Wilko (£49.99)

undefined Best Buy budget grass trimmer: Powerbase 550W Electric Grass Trimmer

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This corded trimmer won a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for the best budget grass trimmer. A double line trimmer, it gives a fantastic cut, and thanks to its generous 30cm cutting width, tackles the job quickly and efficiently. It’s particularly good when edging due to wheels that help take the strain, so you can achieve a precise cut. The soft-grip loop handles on its telescopic shaft are comfortable, and there’s a helpful loop for tucking the cable away when you’re moving around. It has an automatic feed, and we love that there’s a storage compartment on the shaft for the spare spool, so it’s close at hand when it needs replacing.

However, gardeners with limited mobility should note that this grass trimmer weighs 3.1kg, which is over a kilo more than the lightest machine on test, the Gtech GT50, and it doesn’t come with a strap to help take the weight. The black power cable is only 10m, so you’ll need an extension cord if you plan to trim further from a power source, and it’s tricky to see it in the grass. It also requires some heft to move between the trimming and edging modes as the mechanism is stiff. That said, it’s good value, gives a great cut, and comes with a generous three-year warranty. Kay Maguire

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Stiga GT 500e Cordless Grass Trimmer

Our best grass trimmer for performance

RRP: £219 (kit)

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£189)

Best Buy for performance: Stiga GT 500e Battery Lawn Trimmer

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for performance, this trimmer has a generous 30cm cutting width, and the durable nylon double line automatic feed keeps working, so you don’t have to bump the line out. The head is easy to rotate for use as an edge trimmer, and the wheels help to support the weight of the body, ensuring it cuts at a consistent height. However, as it doesn’t come with a support strap, it’s eventually tiring to use.

It’s powered by a large 2Ah 48V lithium-ion battery, which, along with the charger, is sold separately, making this significantly more expensive than other models in the test. That said, after a fast 50-minute charge, it runs for 20 minutes, cutting powerfully and efficiently. It copes well with large patches of long grass, as well as hard-to-reach areas, and cuts lawn edges cleanly. Light indicators on the battery let you know how much time you have left to finish the job, the telescopic shaft separates into two for easy storage, and it comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

Latest Deals

Gtech Grass Trimmer GT50

Our best grass trimmer for ease of use

RRP: £149.99 (kit)

Our rating: 4.5/5

Available from: Amazon (£90.49), Gtech (£79.99) and Homebase (£149.99)

Best Buy for ease of use: Gtech Grass Trimmer GT50

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for ease of use, the Gtech grass trimmer GT50 is a well-designed tool. It includes a safety switch, an ergonomic harness, an adjustable loop handle, a swivel head to change from trimmer to edger, and easy-to-fit plastic blades. Weighing just 1.8kg, it’s the lightest in the group we tested, but has a relatively narrow 23cm cutting width, so it takes longer to cover ground than the Worx, with its generous 33cm head. On test it tackled long grass and thin woody weeds on uneven terrain, as well as leaving lawn edges looking neat.

However, you’ll need to plan ahead for trimming sessions as the 18V lithium-ion battery takes a lengthy four hours to charge to give 30 minutes of power, though there are helpful indicator lights on the battery to keep track of how much time you have left. As it includes a battery and charger, it’s comparatively cheaper than some other cordless trimmers, but the battery is only compatible with two other Gtech cordless tools, the HT50 hedge trimmer and SLM50 lawn mower , which doesn’t represent the best value for money. Other cordless systems have more battery-sharing tools available. It comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

Latest Deals

Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A

Our best grass trimmer for large areas

RRP: £199.99 (kit)

Our rating: 4.3/5

Available from: Husqvarna (£199.99)

Best Buy for large areas: Husqvarna Aspire T28-P4A

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This is a lightweight and powerful cordless grass trimmer with a telescopic shaft. Even with the large 4.0Ah battery installed, it weighs just 3kg. It comes in all cardboard packaging, and it’s easy to assemble too - a couple of screws attach the blade guard, and you’re ready to go. The battery charge time is a respectable 60 minutes and the run time a generous 50 minutes, which is almost the longest in our test. An auto-feed double line trimmer, it cuts beautifully through even thick grass, and with minimal vibration transmitted through to your hands. You can brace the end of the trimmer against your elbow on a rubberised section as well, which makes it particularly comfortable, even without a shoulder strap.

The loop handle is comfy enough to hold on to, but it’s a bit small, so you get less leverage for angled cutting. It comes with a handy storage hook that can be directly screwed into a shed wall or hung on the Husqvarna’s Storage Rail system, which is a great way to get it up off the floor and save some space. Both the battery and charger are compatible not only across the Husqvarna Aspire range but with the Power For All Alliance of cordless tools, which includes Flymo, Gardena and Bosch and will save you money if you invest in any of those tools in the future. It comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

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The best of the rest

Although some models didn't quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have great features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest on test.

Erbauer Brushless Cordless Grass Trimmer EGT18-Li - KIT

Price: £179.99

Our rating: 4/5

Available from: Screwfix (£119.99)

Erbauer brushless cordless grass trimmer EG18-Li-KIT

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Lightweight, capable and built for big gardens, the Erbauer EGT18 is a useful piece of kit. It didn’t take long to get up and running, and there are just a few screws to attach the shaft and blade guard. Supplied with a big 5.0Ah battery and a wide cutting capacity of 30cm, this double string auto-feed trimmer is well-suited to large patches of grass or awkward garden areas. You can comfortably trim a garden on a single charge, and you can charge it back to full within an hour as well, which is very efficient.

The large loop handle is comfortable and gives you extra leverage in tight corners, but it’s not designed for edging work. There’s a fair bit of vibration during use, and you’ll definitely need ear protection as it’s rather loud at 96dB. You can fold the shaft in half for storage, but you need to undo a bolt and not lose it in between jobs. It comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

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VonHaus F-Series Cordless Grass Trimmer

RRP: £34.99

Our rating: 4/5

Available from: B&Q (£39.99), Robert Dyas (£39.99) and Tesco (£39.99)

Vonhaus F-Series Cordless Grass Trimmer - BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Despite its narrow 21cm cutting width, this grass trimmer gives a good cut. The plastic blades tackle grass and slightly woody material well, and the 30-minute run time is one of the longest in our test. We like the storage feature under the handle for the included spare plastic blades, which are bright pink and easy to spot if they snap off into the grass. However, while it's efficient, this machine is the loudest on the test at 98dB, and the handles are uncomfortable too. It also takes an hour and a half to charge, which, though less than the four hours of the Gtech model, is much longer than the 45 minutes of the Makita DUR181RT and Mac Allister 18V LI 18V 280mm.

The 12V, 2.0Ah F-Series lithium-ion battery is compatible with just three other VonHaus tools - a hedge trimmer, garden saw, and handheld hedge and grass trimmer - which can save you money if you buy these in the future, but is limited compared to other cordless systems, such as the dozens of compatible tools in the Worx PowerShare cordless system. Crucially, this trimmer also has no edging function, so if you’re after neat lawn edges, you should look elsewhere. Because it’s just 12V, the battery is less powerful than others on test, but if you need to tidy up a small garden on a budget, it will do the job well, and comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

Latest Deals

VonHaus 36 Volt Cordless 2-in-1 Grass Trimmer & Brush Cutter

RRP: £124.99

Our rating: 3.5/5

Available from: Argos (£130), B&Q (£124.99) and Tesco (124.99)

VonHaus 36 Volt Cordless 2-in-1 Grass Trimmer & Brush Cutter

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

VonHaus have doubled up with this battery powered 2-in-1 brush cutter and grass trimmer. By switching over cutting heads, you can tackle heavy brush or delicate grass trimming, but it’s a bit of a fiddle.

Set up: Setup involved a little more guesswork than necessary. Unfortunately, the manual doesn’t go into much detail when it came to attaching the brush cutting or string trimming heads. It comes supplied with a couple of different washers to keep the heads on, but it wasn’t made obvious which one was which. Attaching the handles was a simple enough process, made easier by the inclusion of a small tool kit in the box. You get a T-handle spanner with a crosshead screwdriver on the end and a hex key that does up or undoes all the bolts on the brush cutter.

Brush cutting: I attached the three-bladed metal brush cutting attachment first, to clear some thick clumps of grass and woody vegetation from my new allotment site. The motor has a soft-start feature, which takes some of the shock from using it, but once it was up to speed the noise levels were high. It's supplied with a pair of 18V, 2.0Ah batteries, which slot in on both sides of the rear motor to help with balance. They have charge level indicators on them, and recharging is made easy thanks to a dual-port fast charger. You can top off both in just 60 minutes, which is just right in my opinion. I managed around 25 minutes of brush cutting before the batteries ran out of charge.

Something I liked was the shoulder strap on this cordless brush cutter. Adjusted properly, it took the trimmer’s 6kg weight off the hands and onto the shoulders. The quick release mechanism is a vital safety feature that’s always good to see too. The other thing this brush cutter lacks, however, is a variable speed trigger. It would be nice if you could moderate the speed to save battery life and keep noise levels down when necessary. But for the money, you get a capable cordless brush cutting tool.

At top speed, I felt vibration through the dual handles after using it for more than ten minutes at a time. After tightening down every bolt on the brush cutter, the vibrations reduced, but it was still a little uncomfortable to use for extended periods of time. And make sure you have enough space for storage. As comfortable as the “bike handle” style grip is, it takes up more space than a standard handle grass trimmer.

Vonhaus-GRASS-trimmer_IRL

Grass trimming: Then I swapped out the cutting head for the string trimmer. Featuring a spool of light duty 1.6mm wire and a bump feed mechanism, it was just right for bashing back the overgrown grass on the allotment borders. There was negligible vibration in this mode. The metal brush cutting attachment cuts a 25.5cm swathe, while the grass trimming attachment cuts a 34cm swathe.  Overall, this is a decent and budget-friendly option if you want plenty of cordless brush and grass cutting power. It could do with a better manual, and lacks a bit of refinement, but it gets the job done without breaking the bank. Harry Duncton

What's a grass trimmer used for?

Trimmers cut the long grass and weeds that a mower can’t reach. They’re great for cutting in tricky places, such as around the base of a tree, the corner of a lawn, or on steep slopes. Depending on their power and their blade material, they can also tackle woodier growth like ivy, brambles, and stinging nettles. Many grass trimmers can also be used to tidy up along the edges of a lawn by adjusting the angle of the cutting head.

For more lawn tool reviews, check out our reviews of the best lawn mowers, particularly our tests of the best cordless lawn mowers. For more cutting, trimming, or pruning help, see our reviews of the best garden shears, the best hedge trimmers, the best secateurs and the best loppers.

What are the different types of grass trimmer?

Can I use a trimmer to mow the lawn or trim hedges?

Hypothetically, you could use a trimmer to cut a lawn, but it would take a long time. Trimmers are much less efficient at this task than lawn mowers, and it’s more difficult to get an even cut. Trimmers aren’t designed to trim hedges, as their woody growth is too thick to be cut with plastic blades or nylon cord, and it would be very dangerous. Instead, use a hedge trimmer, or for more precise work, shears, a pruning saw, or pair of secateurs.

What are the key features to look out for?

Before you buy, think about the following :

How we tested grass trimmers

We tested a range of grass trimmers, putting them through their paces on lawn edges, sloped areas and big and small gardens. They were assessed according to the following criteria, with equal marks attributed to each:

For more information on our testing process, see How we review

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in May 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

]]> Harry Duncton <![CDATA[The 12 best cordless lawn mowers in 2026 – as tested and rated by our reviews experts]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-cordless-lawn-mowers/ 2026-07-14T15:09:07.000Z 2026-05-08T14:09:09.000Z

Jump to best mowers under £300

Jump to best mowers £300-500

Jump to best mowers £500+

Cordless mowers, once derided as weak, low-performance novelties, can do it all these days – some covering many hundreds of square metres in one charge, with plenty of power for when things get tough. Best of all, prices have really come within reach of the everyday gardener. Even my allotment association, once cynical about cordless mowers, has invested in two shiny models for hire… and the old petrol mowers have become the temperamental, tricky-to-start, high-maintenance poor relations.

But picking the right cordless mower for you can be tricky. That's why my colleagues and I at gardenersworld.com have pulled together this big list of the models available to buy in 2026 that we think really deserve a good look. We've tested them all thoroughly, and in strict accordance with our renowned testing matrix against these four critical factors: set up and storage; handling; mowing; and value for money.

Ryobi cordless mower on test. Image: Harry Duncton

Interested in other types of mower? Don't worry, we've also done thorough reviews of the best lawn mowers in general, the best robotic lawn mowers, the best electric lawn mowers and the best push mowers. We've loved testing these mowers, and we really do want to help you make the right choice for your needs – so read on, and happy shopping. Oliver Parsons

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Best cordless mowers to buy at a glance

Our 3 top-rated mowers, under £300

Our 4 top-rated mowers, £300-500

Also recommended, under £500

Our 2 top-rated mowers, £500+

Comparison table: best cordless mowers

Our expertise We reviewed the most popular cordless mowers on the market, putting them through their paces to bring you a list of the best. Each model has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to set up and storage; handling; mowing; and value for money. From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on cordless mowers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ list.

Ryobi cordless mower on test. Image: Harry Duncton

Jump to best mowers: 

Jump to mower-buying advice: 

Our best cordless mowers, under £300

Ryobi RLM18X33B50C

Our best lightweight cordless mower, under £300

RRP: £220

Our rating: 4.8

Available from: Ryobi (£219) and B&Q (£219)

Ryobi RLM18X33B50C

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

This little mower assembles in just five minutes. Weighing just over 8.5kg with the battery in place, it’s extremely light and portable, making it great for just about anyone to use. The handle boasts a superbly comfortable soft grip and dual triggers for left and right-handed gardeners. You can set three different handle heights for different-sized users, too.

Ryobi RLM18X33B50C

The 33cm cut width makes this an ideal mower for small lawns. And the 25-65mm cutting height adjustment, although a bit fiddly to change, means you can mow to a precise height during the growing season.

You can use the included 18V, 5.0Ah battery in more than 200 different tools in the Ryobi range. I mowed for just over 30 minutes before it ran out of power, which is plenty of time for a small or even medium-sized garden. The 35L grass box will need emptying a lot on a larger lawn, though – but then, this is a small mower, so that goes with the territory. It includes a mulching plug, a “full” indicator on the grass box, and a safety key. Harry Duncton

RRP: £220
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 8.5kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Mowing area: 225 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 35L with fill indicator
Warranty: 3 years

Webb Electric Cylinder Mower WEV2012RB4

Our best cordless cylinder lawn mower

RRP: £249.99

Our rating: 4.8

Available from: Webb (£249.99) and Mower Magic (£250)

Webb Cordless Cylinder WEV2012RB4_BB

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The thing about this mower is that it’s a precision instrument compared with a standard rotary lawnmower. If your goal is to create a precision cut, ultra-short lawn with crisp stripes, but you don’t want to mess around with an expensive petrol mower, this is marvellous mower. And it’s affordable, too.

Setup and ease of use: Rather than a basic rotary mower, this little cylinder mower takes a fair bit of work to get it ready for its first cut. It comes in a surprisingly small box, meaning that more assembly is required compared to other mowers. The handle comes in several pieces that need to be bolted together, and the manual isn’t quite as user friendly as some others I’ve tested out. It took around 20 minutes to attach the handle, adjust the angle and wrestle the little grass collection box into place. But before the first cut can begin, the cylinder needs to be levelled and adjusted. It’s not difficult, but takes a fair bit of crouching down. Each side of the cylinder can be moved up and down in tiny 0.5mm increments with little handles, and the cut height in a similar manner.

Mower statistics: It’s not designed for cutting down overgrown grass like a rotary mower. The way the blades work are more like scissors, with each curved blade on the cutting cylinder passing close to a fixed bed knife. Because this is a roller mower, don’t expect it to tackle grass longer than a few centimetres. Unlike a rotary mower that sucks grass up into the blades, this does the opposite. If the grass on your lawn is long, you’ll need to cut it down first before this mower creates the best results. The cut height can be adjusted between 13–23mm, and the dual rollers in front and behind the cylinder are designed to create crisp, clean stripes in the lawn. It’s powered by a 20V, 4.0Ah battery that should run for up to 60 minutes, an impressive amount of mowing for any type of lawn mower.

The constant cylinder speed that comes from the electric motor is what makes this little cylinder mower better than a manual version. Where manual mowers rely on your walking speed to adjust the cutting speed, this one runs at a stable pace however fast or slow you go. The small grass collection bag sits on the front of the mower and can hold up to 18L. It might be the only weak link on this mower because the material feels quite thin.

Webb cylinder IRL 1

Top features: The handle has eight height positions to choose from, so it’s suitable for almost anyone to use, and the handles are easy to hang on to. Because of its short length and good balance, it’s easy to manoeuvre around the garden as well. Something I really like about this mower is its clever mix of traditional and contemporary technology. It looks and feels like a classic cylinder mower, but it’s powered by a highly modern battery system. Forget smelly petrol, this mower is powered by Webb’s new battery that comes with a special feature.

It’s charged via USB-C, which makes it incredibly handy. Rather than using a proprietary system that fills up valuable space, you could charge the battery up wherever you like. In the car, beside the bed, or even using a power bank. And what’s even better is that it comes with a 65W fast charger with three ports on it. A standard USB-A, a USB-C1, and a USB -C2. As a bonus, you can super-fast charge your phone with the included USB-C to USB-C cable. Overall, this is a fantastic cylinder mower for the price. The rollers flatten the grass without adding too much weight, it can cut grass really short, and the battery gives plenty of power and working time. An excellent garden tool from Webb. Harry Duncton

RRP: £249.99
Cutting width: 30cm
Weight: 12.5kg
Type: electric cylinder mower
Charge time: 80 mins (1 battery), 160 mins (2 batteries)
Run time: 60 mins
Cutting height range: 13-23mm
Grass box: 18L
Warranty: 3 years (machine), 2 years (battery)

Einhell RASARRO 36/34

Our best cordless lawn mower for ease of use, under £300

RRP: £283.95

Our rating: 4.8

Available from: Amazon (£308.95) and Toolstation (£299.99)

Einhell RASARRO 36/34

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

Sporting a sturdy folding handle with three heights, ambidextrous controls, and a comfortable soft grip, the RASARRO arrives fully assembled straight from the box.

Einhell RASARRO 36/34

This mower's 34cm cut width is narrow enough to get into tight spots, but it can still mow a small lawn quickly enough. And with a cutting height from 25-65mm in five precisely labelled heights, you can be as accurate as you like. The 30L grass box has a “full” indicator on it, too. This mower comes with a pair of 18V, 3.0Ah batteries that provide 30 minutes of mowing time. The versatile batteries work in hundreds of other Einhell tools, which is always a bonus. Weighing in at a little over 12kg, it’s not the lightest mower, but it makes up for it by being sturdily made from solid materials. Harry Duncton

RRP: £283.95
Cutting width: 34cm
Weight: 12kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 60 mins
Run time: 30 mins
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 30L with fill indicator
Warranty: 3 years

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Our best cordless mowers, £300-500

Husqvarna Aspire LC34-P4A

Our best lightweight cordless mower, £300-500

RRP: £349

Our rating: 4.9

Available from: Husqvarna (£349)

Best Buy for ease of use 2023: Husqvarna Aspire LC34P4A

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This lightweight 34cm mower is part of the new Husqvarna Aspire cordless range, which includes a hedge trimmer, pruner and leaf blower, and it's powered by an 18V POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE battery and charger. It's useful that these are interchangeable with tools in other leading brands such as Flymo, Gardena and Bosch, so if you also invest in tools in these ranges, you’ll only need to buy the bare tool and won’t have different batteries and chargers taking up space in the shed. Also, the two-year warranty on this mower is a good sign that the investment will last.

I found this mower great for small gardens for several reasons: the mower comes ready to go; there’s no assembly needed or handles to attach, and it folds down to a compact size when you’re finished, with a telescopic handle that folds completely flat over the body of the mower. It can then be stood up against a wall or hung up, and it even comes with a handy hook. The 30L grass bag also flattens down to take up very little room and can be hung on the mower. I liked the fact that the Aspire is so light, with a carry handle so that lifting it up steps or into other areas is easy, and it has an adjustable handle to suit different heights.

It’s comfortable and easy to manoeuvre around the garden and has just four cutting heights to choose from, ranging from 25-65mm, and they were easy to change with a single lever on the body of the mower. It cuts grass quietly and smoothly and has an automatic boost that increases blade speed when you’re mowing in tougher, longer areas, which works well. You can hear it kick in when you push the mower into longer grass, and unlike other cordless mowers that can cut out, it just carries on cutting the grass.

I also really liked being able to see the battery charge level while mowing, so I could gauge how much power there was left, and when the battery needed charging. Kay Maguire

RRP: £349
Cutting width: 34cm
Weight: 11.8kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 95 mins
Run time/Mow area: 500 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 30L
Warranty: 2 years

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COBRA MX4340VX

Our best push mower for larger gardens, £300-500

RRP: £329.99

Our rating: 4.8

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£299.99) and Lawn and Power (£329.99)

Our best push mower for larger gardens, £300-500 – COBRA MX4340VX

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Ideal for larger lawns, this COBRA boasts a 43cm cut width and 25-75mm height adjustment in five steps. Assembly took just a few minutes, and no tools were necessary. Compared with some of the lightweight mowers I have tested, this one is substantial at 14.5kg and feels built to last.

COBRA MX4340VX

Its 40V, 4.0Ah battery provides the power. There are three adjustable handle heights for different-sized gardeners, and although you can’t adjust the handle length, this mower makes up for it with a very comfortable, grippy handle.

This feels like a more premium mower than some of the competition. There’s a mulching plug, a huge 50L grass box with fill indicator, and a sprung height adjustment control. And although there’s no safety key, the handle folds down neatly for storage. Harry Duncton

RRP: £329.99
Cutting width: 43cm
Weight: 14.5kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 85 mins
Run time: 45 mins
Cutting height range: 25-75mm
Grass box: 50L with fill indicator
Warranty: 2 years

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Webb WEV20X2LM47SPB4X

Our best self-propelled cordless mower for easy charging, £300-500

RRP: £399.99

Our rating: 4.5

Available from: Homebase (£419.99) and B&Q (£399.99)

Webb 47 CM cordless mower WEV20X2LM47SPB4X_BB

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A hugely powerful yet easy to handle lawnmower that’s perfect for medium to large size lawns. You’ll love the powered rear wheels and the versatile USB-C batteries, but you’ll need to buy two more to get the full runtime from this big mower.

Setup and ease of use: A substantial mower like the Webb WEV20X2LM47SPB4X luckily came fully assembled. I found the best way to get it out of the huge box was to cut one end off and roll it out. And that was about it. I charged the batteries, plugged them in and got on with mowing. First off, the build quality feels solid and it doesn’t rattle or bend anywhere. The large wheels help it glide over uneven terrain and the brushless motor provides enough power to mow through thick, wet grass.

I found this mower to be well balanced and blessed with a very comfy foam-like grip. The secret weapon behind this mower’s smooth action is the adjustable self-propelled drive system though. The rear wheels are powered to help take the effort out of pushing the mower around, from slow up to a fast walking pace. It means you can match the motor speed to your natural mowing pace, although the batteries drain quickly at full speed.

To maximise battery life, the power assist can be turned off. It makes pushing a little harder, but it’s not a chore. You might even just want to use the powered wheels to help mowing up slopes or on uneven ground. There are three ways to mow with this hefty machine. Firstly, there’s the large capacity 65L grass collection box. Or for leaving the cuttings on the lawn, a mulching plug can be installed. And lastly, a side discharge chute can be attached to the side of the cutting deck. This allows for faster mowing and less clogging in long, wet grass.

Webb 47 CM cordless mower IRL 2

Mower stats: The substantial 40V output this mower uses comes from a pair of 20V batteries. Supplied with a pair of 4.0Ah batteries that work in series, they provide plenty of power for both the blade and the rear wheels. The only downside I can see with this mower is the relatively short runtime. With the two batteries installed I managed around 20 minutes of mowing with the drive engaged at low speed. That’s not enough for a large lawn, especially if you want to go faster. The battery life extends to 30 minutes without assist, but it’s too heavy to push around manually all the time.

However, if you look inside the battery compartment there’s space for four batteries. By adding two more, it solves any runtime issues. By fully loading up the battery compartment, this mower can run for long enough to tackle large gardens with the powered wheels engaged. You can select from 30-75mm cutting height in seven steps. The sprung handle on the side of the cutting deck makes changing heights simple. It’s a good range to work long grass down over time to a manageable height. Any shorter and the wide deck could get caught on mounds or undulations.

Top features: I like the little control panel found on the top of the handle. You can see the charge level on all four battery slots at a glance, control the speed with the drive lever, and emergency stop the mower with the red power button. One of the best new features from Webb’s X-Series is how you charge the batteries. Forget proprietary chargers, Webb have embraced USB-C charging. So versatile that you’ve probably got several at home already, it’s a simple solution but a gamechanger for powered garden tools.

And when you’re not recharging the 4.0Ah batteries with the included 65W three-port plug, you can super-fast charge your phone instead. And because they’re USB-C they work in both directions: each battery works like a portable power bank, perfect for charging your devices at the bottom of the garden. This might be a big and heavy mower, but it stores away as small as possible. When you’re finished mowing, it stands up on its end and takes up barely any space at all. The quick release levers on the handle lock it into place at two different working heights, or flat for storage. Harry Duncton

RRP: £399.99
Cutting width: 47cm
Weight: 25.5kg
Type: electric self-propelled mower
Charge time: 80 mins (1 battery), 160 mins (2 batteries)
Run time/Mow area: 30 mins
Cutting height range: 30-75mm
Grass box: 65L
Warranty: 3 years (machine), 2 years (battery)

Worx Nitro WG749E 40V 46cm

Our best self-propelled cordless mower under £500

RRP: £449.99

Our rating: 4.8

Available from: Amazon(£604.24)

Best Buy value self-propelled mower: Worx Nitro WG749E

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This easy-to-use mower needs no assembly and has a quick-release, collapsible handle, so it’s very simple to store, even in a packed shed. One thing that really helped when I was testing this machine is that it stands up vertically, with the handle folded over and the front wheels in the air – that meant it only took up about a third of the usual floor space in storage.

The Nitro requires two 20V, 4Ah PowerShare batteries, which give a 40-minute run time, and it was a relief that the battery power level is clearly visible while you mow – it's such an important thing when you're tackling a large area of grass. The batteries and the charger are also interchangeable with all other Worx PowerShare tools. It offers seven cutting heights, 20-80mm, which are easy to adjust with a simple lever. It also has a cutting width of 46cm, making it ideal for medium-sized lawns.

I liked the mower's simple speed control, plus it adjusts its cutting power according to grass length and conditions, which helps save on battery. It has a safety key and a 55L collection bag, so there's plenty of room for the cuttings, but there's also a mulching option, so you can choose to let the cuttings fall back on the lawn to feed the grass rather than worry about emptying the bag. Considering the wealth of features this mower offers, this is a great-value option. It also has a three-year warranty, plus two more years if registered. Kay Maguire

RRP: £449.99
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 28.7kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 40 mins
Cutting height range: 20-80mm
Grass box: 55L
Warranty: 5 years

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Also recommended, under £500

Greenworks GDG24LM33

Our best budget cordless mower for small gardens

RRP: £199.99 (with 2Ah battery)

Our rating: 4.5

Available from: Amazon (£117.99) and Greenworks (£129.99)

Best Buy budget cordless mower 2023: Greenworks-GDG24LM33

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I found this sturdy, great-value cordless mower easy to put together, well thought out, and simple to use – superbly suited to small gardens. Thanks to a padded handle, it's comfortable to push, although this could feel a little short for taller people, and it's light and easy to manoeuvre around trees and lawn edges.

There are five cutting heights to choose from, adjusted with the simple lift of a lever, and you can collect clippings in the 30L fabric grass bag or insert the mulching plug and leave them on the lawn to break down and feed the grass. It mowed well, helped in part by the specification of a long-lasting brushless motor, but it didn't like mowing very long grass. The battery cut out on me occasionally, but the decent runtime of 46 minutes made up for that a bit, and it charged in just two hours.

Plus, as part of the Greenworks 24V family, both the battery and charger are interchangeable with all the other tools in the range, saving you money if you invest in more Greenworks tools in the future. Kay Maguire

RRP: £199.99
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 9.5kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 280 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-70mm
Grass box: 30L
Warranty: 3 years

Latest Prices

Stihl RMA 235

Our best push mower for a quality cut

RRP: £184 (bare tool)

Our rating: 4.5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£174) and Stihl (£184)

Stihl RMA 235 (2)

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The RMA 235 is a robust and well-engineered lawnmower. Weighing in at 13kg with the battery in place, it’s not the lightest 33cm mower, but that weight adds to the feel of quality. With its compact size and 25-60 mm cutting height in five steps, it’s ideal for small to medium-sized lawns. The handle lacks a comfortable grip, but the excellent ergonomics make it well-balanced and easy to manoeuvre.

Our best push mower for a quality cut: Stihl RMA 235

Although it doesn’t include some features like a safety key or a height-adjustable handle, it makes up for it on the lawn. The motor is powerful, and the cut quality is excellent. The curved blade underneath leaves a pleasantly clean cut. There’s no mulching plug, but it works well with the flap down anyway. And there’s a “full” indicator on the 30L rigid plastic grass box.

The RMA 235 doesn’t come with the recommended AK20 battery, which runs at 36V, 4.0Ah, but buying one separately with the charger comes to just under £360. It ran for almost 25 minutes on a single charge, which is plenty for a small lawn. Harry Duncton

RRP: £184 (bare tool)
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 13kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 150-180 mins
Mow area: 300 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-60mm
Grass box: 30L with fill indicator
Warranty: 5 years

LawnMaster CLMF4841E

Our best push mower for stripes

RRP: £329.99

Our rating: 4.5

Available from: LawnMaster/Cleva (£329.99) and Amazon (£329.99)

Our best push mower for stripes, under £300 – LawnMaster CLMF4841E

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The LawnMaster CLMF4841E is a lot of mower for the money. The 42cm cut width makes it suitable for larger lawns. The height and length adjustable handle with a soft grip make it ideal for gardeners of all shapes and sizes.

The LawnMaster CLMF4841E

Weighing in at 14kg, it’s not the lightest, but the extra weight helps the onboard roller to create stripes in the lawn. Supplied with a pair of 24V batteries and a matching pair of chargers, it will run for 25 minutes, and the safety key keeps it safe when not in use. This mower is a little unusual at this price point for having selectable power settings. Choosing from 1-3 or on auto, you can opt to save battery or crank up the rpm and tackle long, thick grass if you want. The battery charge level indicator on the handle is also useful, as is the “full” indicator on the 42L grass box. And it even stands up on its end to save space in the shed. Harry Duncton

RRP: £329.99
Cutting width: 41cm
Weight: 14kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 60 mins
Run time: 25 mins
Cutting height range: 22-72mm
Grass box: 42L with fill indicator
Warranty: 2 years

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Best Buy cordless lawn mowers tested before 2023, under £500

Our best cordless mowers, £500+

Ego LM1702E-SP 42cm self-propelled mower (kit)

Our best user-friendly self-propelled cordless mower

RRP: £619

Our rating: 4.5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£559) and Mowers Online (£559)

Best Buy self-propelled mower for smaller lawns: Ego LM1702E-SP

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This well-thought-through mower requires no assembly out of the box, so I was able to get mowing almost as soon as it arrived. It has a quick-release, telescopic handle, which offers a bespoke handle height and also makes it very easy to fold down and store.

Once folded, it can also be stood up vertically, so it took up even less space in my storage area. It offers a wide choice of cutting heights, 20-80mm, and the wider-than-average 42cm cutting width makes it ideal for mid-sized gardens. It runs on a 56V battery, which can mow 300 sq. metres on a single charge, and is compatible with other Ego Power+ tools. The battery level is also clearly visible whilst you mow.

There's a handy safety key that can be stored away from the mower to ensure only the user can operate it. It's easy to operate and handle, with easy speed control, a 55L grass bag, and even headlights. It comes with a five-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £619
Cutting width: 42cm
Weight: 24kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 80 mins
Run time/Mow area: 30 mins
Cutting height range: 25-80mm
Grass box: 55L
Warranty: 5 years (tool), 3 years (battery)

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Stihl RMA 448 RV rear roller cordless mower

Our best self-propelled cordless lawn mower for stripes

RRP: £829

Our rating: 4.5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£759) and Lakeland Power Tools (£797.99)

Best Buy self-propelled mower for larger lawns: Stihl RMA 448 RV rear roller cordless mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This distinctive mower is ready to use straight out of the box; only the grass box needs assembly, and this was pretty tricky. The unusual one-sided mono handle makes it easy to access the grass box, which makes a big difference when you are tackling a large lawn and emptying the clippings often. The handle also adjusts in height very easily, and it can be folded flat over the mower, making it easier to store. When I folded the mower up, I was able to stand it vertically with its front wheels in the air, so it saved a lot of space – always a good feature.

It lacks a safety key but has other good features, including speed control and a mulching option that's as simple as a flick of a switch. It has a cutting width of 46cm and offers a wide range of five cutting heights, from 15-60mm, so you can get a neat, tight clip. This is particularly useful as this mower also has a rear roller to create beautiful stripes on the lawn. It requires a 36V, 5Ah battery, which gives you enough power to mow a lawn up to 340 sq. metres on a single charge, plus there's space for a spare battery, if you have one. It's also compatible with all Stihl AK cordless tools, saving you money if you invest in the future. It comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £829
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 30kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 150 mins
Run time/Mow area: 340 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 15-60mm
Grass box: 52L
Warranty: 5 years

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Best Buy cordless lawn mowers tested before 2023, £500+

The best of the rest

Although some models didn't quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest.

Stiga Collector 140e

RRP: £269

Our rating: 4.3

Available from: ManoMano (£239) and Just Lawnmowers (£239)

STIGA Collector 140e Kit

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A mower with a proud Italian bloodline, the STIGA Collector 140e Kit looks good and mows well too. Similar in design to the Mountfield Electress, it adds a couple of welcome extras like a comfortable grip and better fittings for the folding handle. It has a 38cm cut width and generous cutting height of 25-75 mm in five steps. The car-gearstick style cut height adjustment is handsome, and the soft grip handle and two handle height settings makes it comfortable to push around the lawn. It weighs a little over 11kg and the handle folds down for storage.

The power comes from two 20V, 4.0Ah batteries that provide around 25 minutes of runtime, more than enough time to fill the 40L grass collection box.  It’s about the right size grass box for a mower of this width. And it comes with a handy dual charger to juice up both batteries at once. This mower doesn’t boast a “full” indicator on the grass box or a mulching plug, but I found the motor is powerful enough to plough through long, damp grass without slowing down. It’s a solid little mower that comes with an impressive five-year warranty. Harry Duncton

RRP: £269
Cutting width: 38cm
Weight: 11kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 140 mins
Run time/Mow area: 25 mins
Cutting height range: 25-75mm
Grass box: 40L
Warranty: 5 years

Husqvarna LC 142iS self-propelled cordless lawn mower with battery and charger

RRP: £699

Our rating: 4.3

Available from: Husqvarna (£699)

Husqvarna LC 142iS

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This mower requires assembly on arrival, and I didn't find the instructions very clear. It's powered by a 36V Husqvarna system battery, which provides enough power to mow an area of 500 sq. metres. It has a 42cm cutting width and offers a range of seven heights of cut, from 25-75mm, which are simple to adjust. Overall, I found this mower easy to use, and it felt smooth and efficient when cutting; however, I'd have liked a speed control option as it feels a little slow, particularly on slopes. It comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £699
Cutting width: 42cm
Weight: 22.5kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Run time/Mow area: 100 mins
Cutting height range: 25-75mm
Grass box: 50L
Warranty: 2 years

Flymo EasiStore 340R KIT 2.0

RRP: £299 (kit)

Our rating: 4.3

Available from: Amazon (£216.60), Currys (£264) and Tooled-Up (£281.95)

2048x1365Flymo EasiStore 340R KIT 2_BOTR

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Setup and ease of use: Setting this cordless lawn mower up wasn’t too much of a chore. I did need to assemble the handle and its various bolts and levers, but it was the grass collection box that took the most time. The rigid box snaps together with various little tabs but getting them all to line up at once was a bit of a pain. However, once set up, this mower showed itself to be a highly capable machine with plenty of neat tricks up its sleeve. Starting with the big, comfy handle, it has safety levers on both sides for left or right-handed gardeners. In the middle of the handle is a little LED readout that displays the current charge level as well as a power button. You’ll need to keep an eye on the charge level too, as this version of the mower comes bundled with relatively small capacity batteries.

Mower stats: The 340R has a 34cm cut width which makes it well suited to small to medium size gardens. It’s a bit small for wide expanses of grass but means it can get into tight corners easily. The 35L grass box on the back is quite small, but features a handy full indicator that’s easy to see, unlike the dark one on the bigger UltraMow version. I found it nice and easy to manoeuvre, weighing just over 11kg with the batteries in place. Changing the cutting height from 20-60mm in five steps is easy with a little handle down by the front wheels. And inside the battery enclosure is a safety key for keeping it out of harm’s way. The only thing missing is a mulching plug.

I was really impressed by the power this little cordless lawnmower has. I mowed through plenty of long grass in my test garden and the blades didn’t bog down or stall. And if you like your lawn stripes, this is a pleasing little mower to play with. It’s not too noisy either, running at just under 90dB. I managed about 25 minutes of mowing before the batteries ran down. You get a pair of 18V, 2Ah batteries that work together to produce 36V of working power. Something I love about Flymo is that they have joined the impressive sounding POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE. This means that you can use the same batteries in a range of brands, including Bosch and Husqvarna. So rather than splashing out on expensive kits, you can buy the tool only.

2048x1365Flymo EasiStore 340R KIT 2_IRL

Top features: It lives up to its EasiStore name rather well. It stands up on its end for storage, something I think is essential for all good mowers. And it solves the problem of where to store the grass box as well. There’s a hook on the underside of the handle that neatly stores the grass box. Locking the handle into forward position means you can wheel it around like a wheeled suitcase as well, which is preferable to picking it up every time you want to move it.

Now for the thing that I didn’t enjoy so much. The brilliant batteries are slowed down by low-speed chargers. These tiny little trickle chargers don’t take up much space, but you’ll be waiting 90 minutes for them to reach 100%. Not ideal if you have more than 150 sq. metres to mow per gardening session. But overall, this is a brilliant little lightweight and easy to store mower. The dual batteries are powerful; they work in a whole range of other tools and it’s not too loud during use. My only criticism is that it comes with annoyingly slow chargers. Harry Duncton

RRP: £299 (kit)
Cutting width: 34cm
Weight: 11.32kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 90 mins
Run time: 25 mins
Cutting height range: 20-60mm
Grass box: 35L
Warranty: 2 years (can extend to 3 years)

Stiga Collector 48 S AE self-propelled cordless lawn mower kit

RRP: £445

Our rating: 4.3

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£399)

Stiga Collector 48 S AE Kit

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This mower was really simple to assemble, apart from the large 60L grass box, which needed a screwdriver and was fiddly. It has an impressively long-lasting steel deck, a cutting width of 46cm, and six cutting heights, from 22-65mm. It runs on a 48V battery, which is part of the Stiga ePower 48V System, and can cut 400 sq. metres in one charge.

Unfortunately, it takes a lengthy 220 minutes to charge. But I liked the fact that there's space on the mower for a spare battery if you have one, which is handy when you're stuck down the end of a long lawn with a flat battery in the main slot. It has an anti-scalping feature to help prevent lawn damage, but no speed control, so I found it a little slow. It comes with a generous five-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £445
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 25kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 220 mins
Run time/Mow area: 550 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 22-65mm
Grass box: 60L
Warranty: 5 years

Vonhaus 40V

RRP: £179.99

Our rating: 4

Available from: Argos (£180), B&Q (£179.99) and Robert Dyas (£189.99)

VonHaus_40V_

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A decent little mower for the money, this one is a good choice for small lawns. The 30L grass box fills up quickly, so the “full” indicator is an always useful, as is the mulching plug, which I almost always use. The handle folds down neatly, and although it doesn’t have a soft grip handle, it’s comfortable enough for most mowing sessions.

You can change both the handle height and length to five different settings, but it doesn’t get quite high enough if you’re on the tall side. The cut width is a smaller-lawn-happy 33cm, and the power comes from a single 40V, 4.0Ah battery that provides 25 minutes of work. Changing the cutting height from 25-65mm is achieved with a chunky handle.

Vonhaus 40V on test in a real garden. Image: Harry Duncton

I appreciated the light weight of just over 11kg; it makes it easy to store and move around the garden. On the downside, this extremely cheap mower lacks the premium feel of some others. It was easy to manoeuvre this mower around the lawn, but the motor bogged down when pushing into longer, damp grass. For regular maintenance mowing it would be ideal, though. Harry Duncton

Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 11.5kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 60 mins
Run time/Mow area: 25 mins
Cutting height range: 25–65mm
Grass box: 30L with fill indicator
Warranty: 2 years

Mountfield Electress 38Li

RRP: £269

Our rating: 4

Available from: Amazon (£214.97) and Tesco (£179)

Mountfield_Electress_38Li_Kit

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This handsome little mower looks great with a curved body and racing-car inspired cut height adjustment handle. It feels premium and well balanced; however, it lacks a grip on the folding handle. The handle folds down for storage, but it’s held together by annoying butterfly bolts that don’t want to stay on. Fuelled by a pair of 20V, 4.0Ah batteries, there’s plenty of power when pushing through long grass. And when it comes to recharging, the dual charger handles both batteries at once.

2048_1365_Mountfield_Electress_38Li

The 38cm cut width makes it ideal for smaller lawns while the 25-75mm cutting heights in six steps mean you can dial in a precise lawn height. Weighing a little over 11kg, it’s light enough to carry around, but doesn’t stand up for storage. It ran for almost 25 minutes of mowing before needing a recharge, while the semi-rigid grass collection box picks up 40 litres at a time. There’s no “full” indicator or a mulching plug included, but it performs well on the grass, and I found the quality of cut to be clean and tidy. Harry Duncton

RRP: £269
Cutting width: 38cm
Weight: 11kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 140 mins
Run time/Mow area: 25 mins
Cutting height range: 25–75mm
Grass box: 40L
Warranty: 5 years

Greenworks 24V+24V 46cm SP self-propelled cordless lawn mower

RRP: £479.99

Our rating: 4

Available from: Amazon (£409.99) and On Buy (£479.99)

Greenworks 24V+24V lawn mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This mower took me a while to put together and is not as easy as some to store, as in order to fold the handle flat, you need to unscrew it almost completely. It also felt heavy and lacked a carry handle, making it difficult to get up steps or in and out of the shed. It has a cutting width of 46cm and offers seven cutting heights, from 25-80mm, which are easy to change, and a 55L collection bag. There's also the option to mulch the clippings or choose side discharge, which I found useful.

It requires two Greenworks 24V system batteries, which give enough power to cover an area of 480 sq. metres. It has a speed control, and, although it's slow, it felt comfortable to handle and was quiet to use. It's definitely good value for the features, and comes with a three-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £479.99
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 27.5kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 53 mins
Run time/Mow area: 480 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-80mm
Grass box: 55L
Warranty: 3 years

VonHaus 18V Mini Cordless Lawn Mower

RRP: £134.99

Our rating: 4

Available from: Amazon (£124.99) and Vonhaus (£129.99)

Vonhaus_mini_mower-BOTR

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

If you’re short of storage space and you don’t have acres of lawn to mow, VonHaus have come up with a small but mighty solution. Lightweight and easy to handle, it’s ideal for gardeners with mobility issues.

Setup and ease of use: I was happy to find that the VonHaus mini cordless lawn mower comes almost ready to go, straight from the box. Apart from screwing on the handle and charging the batteries, there’s no assembly at all. This mower is radically different to most rotary mowers. Although over miniature mowers exist, this one feels like a proper mower, just shrunk down in size. What feels different is how you handle it. It’s more like using a hoover than a traditional mower.

There are a pair of large wheels on the front that take the weight, and two smaller wheels hidden underneath that control the cutting height. Because of the large front wheels, it can’t mow quite up to the edge of a wall or fence, but it gets close enough. To help reduce size, there’s no grass collection box to contend with. This is a mulching mower that leaves the grass cuttings behind on the lawn. And if you mow often enough, you don’t need to worry about collecting anyway. Although lightweight and manoeuvrable, I didn’t find it very comfortable to use. The handle has an automatic cut off feature when it’s raised to the upright position which kept turning it off when in tight spaces. This might be because I’m over six feet tall, so for slightly smaller gardeners it shouldn’t cause the same issue.

Vonhaus-mini-mower_IRL

Mower stats: This pint sized cordless mower is small but surprisingly mighty. It runs on VonHaus’s 18V battery system and is supplied with a 4.0Ah battery. It provides plenty of mowing power and up to 30 minutes of working time. Seeing as this mower is designed for small spaces, that’s more than enough run time. And you’ll want to make sure you mow everything in one go because it takes two hours to fully recharge the battery. It’s a bit on the slow side compared with other mower brands.

The cut width of 21cm isn’t going to mow a football pitch, but it’s ideal for tight corners and in-between bushes and shrubs. There are even three cutting heights to choose from between 25, 35 and 48mm. As you might expect, this mini mower doesn’t weigh too much either. At just a little under 5kg, it’s in reach of most gardeners and is easy to carry up steps or over low walls. But even though it’s light it still makes plenty of power. The little blade whips around at 6,000rpm and doesn’t stop too easily, even in longer grass.

Top features: The most obvious bonus of a mini mower is its size. If you have limited storage space or can’t cope with a big, heavy mower for your small lawn, this is an ideal solution. If, for example, your lawn is up several steps or you have an awkward patch of grass that’s hard to get to, this little mower will fill in the gaps for you. I like that even though this mower is tiny, it has a large and comfortable handle to hold on to. It makes it ideal for gardeners with limited mobility and allows for full control with just one hand.

The tiny little mowing blade underneath has two cutting edges. Compared with other micro mowers that rely on a single blade, this one should offer higher efficiency of cut. And the quality of cut is good too. Each blade cuts neatly through grass leaves without tearing. Another feature that will keep your neighbours happy is the lack of harsh noise this mower makes. Rated at 86dB, it’s not too loud and shouldn’t disturb them too much. And something this mower has that others lack is a safety key. Stowed away in the battery compartment, it won’t work unless the key is installed. This should keep small hands and curious children out of trouble. Harry Duncton

RRP: £134.99
Cutting width: 21cm
Weight: 4.9kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 30 mins
Cutting height range: 25, 35 and 48mm
Grass box: mulching mower
Warranty: 2 years

WORX WG745E 40 Volt Lawn Mower

RRP: £359.99 (kit)

Our rating: 4

Available from: Amazon (£359.99) and B&Q (£359.99)

Worx WG745E NITRO cordless lawn mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A big and powerful dual battery mower, the WORX WG745E is a solid replacement for a petrol mower. It’s built to last, but lacks a few features; however, it just about lives up to its hefty price tag.

Setup and ease of use: Getting the WG745E ready for its first cut isn’t a huge chore. All I needed to do was attach the handle, charge the batteries and get to work. I particularly like the comfy, foam-like handle. It’s easy to grip onto and helps to reduce any vibrations sent up from the motor. Happily, the brushless motor on board doesn’t produce much vibration anyway. This mower is designed to make short work of larger lawns. It’s quite well balanced between the handle and motor end, but its wide cut width and long length make it hard to get into tight corners and between shrubs. The batteries live inside an enclosure that keeps them free of dirt and grass clippings, but it lacks a safety key. Designed to keep curious fingers away from a powerful tool like this, it’s a shame that it hasn’t been included.

The batteries both have charge level indicators on them, and down near the battery compartment is another one to test the overall charge level. It’s not visible all the time, but much easier than taking both out to check how much juice is left. When it comes to storing the mower away, it just about stands on its end. The problem is that it uses the nice soft grip handle as a support, which will probably get damaged over time.

Mower stats: This brushless lawn mower has an impressive range of cutting heights from 25–80mm in six stages. The 41cm cut width makes it ideal for medium to large gardens, but you do lose a bit of manoeuvrability. Weighing 15.3kg with both batteries installed, it’s not the lightest mower I’ve tested, so carrying it up steps or over obstacles could be an issue for some gardeners. Something that does work in its favour, though, is the height-adjustable handle. By loosening the lower handle, you can choose between three working heights to suit gardeners of different sizes.

There are two ways to deal with grass clippings left behind. The first is via the 50L grass collection bag. It has a rigid top and fabric underneath and comes with a handy grass box full indicator flap as well. The collection box folds flat for storage. Secondly, if you want to drop the cuttings back into the lawn, it comes with a mulching plug that replaces the bag. I was impressed with how long this mower cuts for before needing a charge. It can mow for up to 45 minutes on a single charge, provided the grass isn’t damp or too long. That’s plenty of time to mow up to 600 sq. metres.

Another bonus is the dual-battery charger included with the pair of 20V, 4.0Ah batteries. It means you can charge them both at the same time, but be prepared for some downtime, as a full charge takes 2 hours. And bear in mind that to make this mower run, it needs both batteries installed to make the 40V working power.

WORX_WG745E_40_Volt_Lawnmower_IRL

Top features: A real positive feature of this lawn mower is the wide range of cut heights available. Easy to change with the big sprung handle, you can drop the height of your grass gradually to avoid shocking it. The highest setting of 80mm is generous, while the lowest setting of 25mm will leave the lawn looking neat and tidy. WORX has put a lot of thought into making the WG745E as energy-efficient as possible. To counter the heavy weight, the brushless motor squeezes every bit of power out of the included batteries.

Coupled with a variable speed motor that detects grass resistance, the mower changes blade speed to avoid using too much battery power. When pushing through damp or thick grass, the mower speeds up, but not for too long. And because this mower comes with a pair of large-capacity 4.0Ah batteries, you can add them to your collection. WORX make a vast range of DIY and garden tools that all work on the same battery platform, so this is a good investment for someone starting or building a WORX tool collection. Harry Duncton

RRP: £359.99 (kit)
Cutting width: 41cm
Weight: 15.3kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 45 mins
Cutting height range: 25-80 mm
Grass box: 50L
Warranty: 5 years

Greenworks MO48L422‑01

RRP: £294.99

Our rating: 4

Available from: B&Q (£289.99) and Tooled-Up (£289.95)

Greenworks MO48L422-01

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This is a mighty mower that sits well on medium-sized lawns but might not be ideal for a tiny garden. The generous 41cm cut width means you can mow in fewer passes, but it’s not the most manoeuvrable of mowers on our list. One of my favourite things about this mower is on the handle, with its ambidextrous controls.

Greenworks MO48L422-01 on test. Image: Harry Duncton

Set-up took less than 10 minutes as half of the handle is already attached, and it comes with almost all the features you’d want on a mower like this. There’s a mulching plug and a “full” indicator on top of the 40L grass box. The only thing missing is a safety key inside the battery compartment. Inside the compartment, the mower is powered by a pair of beefy 24V, 4.0Ah batteries. The power is impressive and I managed to mow for around 40 minutes before needing to recharge.

Changing the cut heights is made easy as the deck is spring- loaded. Pressing the green button on top of the deck unlocks the deck where you can choose from 30-80mm in six steps. Harry Duncton

RRP: £294.99
Cutting width: 41cm
Weight: 15.5kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 40 mins
Cutting height range: 30–80mm
Grass box: 40L with fill indicator
Warranty: 3 years (mower), 2 years (battery)

Flymo 36V UltraMow Duo 460

RRP: £449.99 (kit)

Our rating: 3.8

Available from: from Amazon (£297.80), Currys (£409) and Wickes (£450)

2048x1365Flymo UltraMow Duo 460_BOTR

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Setup and ease of use: Setting up for the first mow was simple. All I needed was a Philips screwdriver to connect the handle to the telescopic shaft. This infinitely adjustable handle also makes it comfortable for users of all heights.

Mower stats: A sleek, black lawnmower that looks muscular and aerodynamic, Flymo have gone for a futuristic finish in their flagship mower, the 36V UltraMow Duo 460. Cutting a 46cm swathe, it’s just right for medium gardens up to 375 sq. metres with a pair of 2.5Ah batteries included. You can change the cut height setting from 25-65mm in five steps with a little button on top of the mower body. And the grass collection box holds 50L of clippings. There’s a handy full level indicator on top of it, but because it’s a black flap on a black background, it’s not the easiest to see.

The rear wheels are huge – measuring 25cm in diameter. However, the front wheels are tiny. Pushing the mower through long grass was a bit of a chore and a few sticks and leaves got stuck in the plastic surrounding the mini front wheels. Another thing that doesn’t quite add up is the size of the batteries included with this mower. A big, capable 36V mower is necessarily power hungry, especially when it needs to spin two separate blades.

So, I’m not sure if this version supplied with small 2.5Ah batteries is such a good idea. I was only able to mow for around 20 minutes before needing to recharge. Luckily, I had a pair of big 4Ah batteries to hand and managed a good 40 minutes of mowing with those on board. I recommend splashing out on the other kit with a pair of 4Ah batteries for maximum mowing capabilities. The batteries live inside a compartment on the chassis with a flap to cover them. They slide in with a clunk, next to the big grey safety key that disables the mower when not in use. It’s good to see a fast charger included, but only one is included. It means that once the 20 minutes of mowing is up, you’ll be charging for two hours before getting back out onto the lawn.

I don’t want to detract from the brilliance of the POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE though. Flymo have teamed up with the likes of Bosch and Husqvarna to share battery technology. It means that the same battery in this mower can be used in hundreds of other tools. Buying into this is a clever investment for all sorts of gardeners.

2048x1365Flymo UltraMow Duo 460_IRL_1

Top features: This a cordless lawnmower with a big benefit hidden underneath its chassis. Instead of a single rotary blade, it uses a pair of smaller blades. These smaller blades reach almost to the very edge of the lawnmower, meaning less grass is left behind at the base of fences and walls. It also promises to create a strong vacuum under the blades, pulling grass up for an even cut, a bit like a barber’s comb. The smaller blades rotate more quickly, providing a finer mulch than a single rotary blade can.

The angular handle gives you plenty of different ways to hold this mower, and the charge level indicator shows battery the battery life left. Oddly, it doesn’t stay on during mowing and only shines for a few seconds after starting up the mower. To check, I needed to stop and start the mower again. There’s a little boost button on the handle to help when the grass gets thick. It increases the rpm for a few seconds to ensure no grass is left uncut. A useful feature if you’re blessed with patches of stubborn weeds and thick grasses.

Something that Flymo have done right across their range of cordless lawn mowers is folding down for storage. The handle locks into place, which is great for pulling the mower around like a wheeled suitcase. Weighing just over 16kg, it’s useful when pulling up steps or out of the shed. And, because it stands up on its end, it takes up minimal floor space. When it was time to empty out the collection bag, the opening is a bit too narrow. Grass became easily clogged in this section and the extra “tongue” at the entrance is only held on by plastic clips. This fell off a couple of times when emptying the bag, so I’m not sure if I’d keep it for long.

Overall, this is a powerful and innovative cordless lawnmower from Flymo. It had enough torque to push through thick grass and weeds, especially with the turbo button engaged. The tiny front wheels struggled a bit on uneven grass though and the pair of 2.5Ah batteries just didn’t power it for long enough. If you upgrade to the kit with a pair of 4Ah batteries, this is a handy mower, but it really should be at this price. Harry Duncton

RRP: £449.99 (kit)
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 16.7kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 60 mins (per battery in rapid charger)
Mowing area: 375 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 50L
Warranty: 2 years (can extend to 3 years)

Flymo 36V EasiHover 300

RRP: £299.99 (kit)

Our rating: 3.5

Available from: Argos (£300), Currys (£299) and Wickes (£300)

2048x1365Flymo 36V EasiHover 300_BOTR

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

A radically different but still familiar type of lawnmower, the Flymo EasiHover 300 is a capable, lightweight and easy to use garden power tool. It’s the first cordless collector hover mower they’ve produced. It works well in some areas, but struggles in others.

Setup and ease of use: Before mowing, I needed to attach the handle to the chassis. It was easy enough but bear in mind you need a Philips head screwdriver to complete the job. The handle is comfortable, features an ambidextrous safety trigger, and telescopes in and out. It makes it ideal for gardeners of any height.

Changing the cutting height is nowhere near as easy as a standard wheeled mower. Rather than simply moving a handle, you need to remove the blade assemble and add spacers to the underside of the mower. It comes with a special wrench tool, but it’s not a job I’d like to do often. It’s fine if you only ever cut to one height anyway.

2048x1365Flymo 36V EasiHover 300_IRL

Mower stats: I was really impressed by how light the mower is. Weighing just under 10kg with both batteries in place is quite a feat. Compared with a wheeled version, it’s remarkably easy to pick up and carry around. And what makes it even easier is the inclusion of a little roller underneath. Hover mowers have one distinct advantage over their wheeled rivals. Once switched on, the curtain of air underneath makes pulling and pushing effortless. Flymo recommend not strafing side to side as it interferes with grass collection, but it still works if you need to get into a tight spot.

It’s an ideal cordless mower for anyone with mobility issues, and the hover action even works on slopes. It’s a clever alternative to a self-propelled lawnmower with a 20L grass collection basket that pops out of the mower chassis. It doesn’t quite cut to the edges as the hover skirt is wider than on wheeled mowers. One drawback of the hover action, in my test garden at least, is the dust that flies out all over the place. If you have nice soil that retains moisture it’s not a problem, but the fine dusty topsoil on my test lawn went everywhere.

Powered by a pair of big 4Ah batteries, the EasiHover 300 is a power-hungry piece of kit. It needs these mighty batteries to keep it off the ground during mowing. I managed around 15 minutes of mowing before the batteries were completely drained. It will cut up to 100 sq. metres, which isn’t a particularly large lawn, but the real problem starts with recharging. You get two high capacity 4Ah batteries, which is great, but they’re supplied with annoyingly slow trickle chargers. They can take up the three hours to recharge, which is not great. Faster chargers are available, but you’d need to buy them separately.

Top features: On the plus side, there’s a huge advantage of choosing this mower. The POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE means that the included 18V batteries work in tools from Bosch, Gardena, Husqvarna and more. It’s a great thing knowing that you can buy into a massive range of tools with just one battery type. And when it’s time to stow the EasiHover 300 away, Flymo have thankfully designed this mower so that it stands up on its end. It makes storage a lot easier, and you can lock the handle in place for pulling it around, a bit like a wheeled suitcase. Harry Duncton

RRP: £299.99 (kit)
Cutting width: 30cm
Weight: 9.7kg
Type: hover cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time: 15 mins
Cutting height range: 10-30mm
Grass box: 20L (vacuum-powered collection)
Warranty: 2 years (can extend to 3 years)

Other best of the rest cordless lawn mowers, tested before 2025

What are the benefits of a cordless lawn mower?

There are a variety of benefits to buying a cordless lawn mower in comparison to the more traditional petrol or electric models, including:

How to choose the best cordless lawn mower

Testing the fold on a lawn mower. Kay Maguire; Imagine

Your budget and the size of your lawn will be pivotal in deciding which brand and model of cordless lawn mower best suits your needs. Think about the following points before you buy:

How long will the batteries last?

Changing the battery on a cordless lawn mower. Kay Maguire; Imagine

How long the battery lasts on a single charge depends on the model, the terrain and mowing conditions on the day and some mowers have an eco or power saving mode to help extend the battery life. A battery can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over two hours to charge, although lithium-ion batteries can be used when partly charged if you're in a rush. Always check the charge time, too, as these can also vary widely. Many brands have fast chargers, which are usually available separately but can cut the waiting time down considerably and are useful if you need to get back to the job quickly.

Lithium-ion batteries typically last between three and five years (or 500 charges) before they need replacing. Always check with the manufacturer if they will take back their batteries for recycling rather than putting them into landfill.

How does the weather affect your lawn’s growth rate?

Different weather conditions will speed, slow, or even stop grass growth, and therefore, how often you need to mow. Find out how it works here:

Hot, dry weather
During hot and dry spells, in which the daytime temperature is consistently at 25°C or above, grass growth tends to slow down significantly. The lack of moisture and high temperatures dry out the soil, making it difficult for grass to absorb the water it needs. Lawns may turn brown and become dormant, conserving energy until conditions improve. Don’t worry, though. The roots will still be perfectly healthy and will put on strong growth as soon as the rain comes back and temperatures decline. Mowing is required less often during these periods; you may find that this period of time extends to several weeks.

Warm, wet weather
When the weather is warm and wet, with daytime temperatures around 18 to 24°C, grass can grow very quickly. Warm temperatures combined with regular rainfall create ideal conditions for rapid growth. Lawns often need to be mown more frequently, sometimes as often as twice a week, to keep them looking neat and healthy. Don’t try to cut more off each time with infrequent mowing – this will stress the machine and your lawn, and lead to clumpier, patchier growth.

Dry, cold weather
In dry, cold conditions, with daytime temperatures lower than 8 °C, grass growth slows dramatically. Low temperatures put grass into a state of dormancy, and the lack of rain means the soil is often too dry to support new growth. Lawns will require little to no mowing during these periods.

Wet, cold weather
Wet, cold weather also slows grass growth. While the soil remains moist, low temperatures prevent the grass from actively growing. The ground may become waterlogged, making mowing difficult and risking damage to the lawn and your mower. If you do need to mow during a period such as this, wait until a dry afternoon when the grass is dry enough to be cut and collected without clogging up the mower.

Top tips for mowing your lawn

Checking the cutting deck on a lawn mower

  1. Mow when it’s dry. If you mow when the ground is sodden it can lead to compaction, the mower will smear and rut the soil and wet grass clippings will clump and smother your lawn
  2. Remove any obstacles. Make sure furniture is moved off the lawn to make it easier to mow, and check for any items in the lawn that could damage the blades
  3. Adjust the cutting height of your mower and aim to only reduce the lawn height one-third every time you mow
  4. Start around the edge so you can clearly see how much lawn needs mowing. Then mow up and down in straight lines, overlapping slightly, to achieve a neat finish
  5. Empty the clippings bag regularly so material doesn’t build up around the mower blades. You can compost them or deposit them in small piles around the garden, such as at the back of borders, to help earthworms. To compost your grass clippings, see our review of the best compost bins
  6. For a neat finish, re-cut your lawn edges each spring with a half-moon tool and trim overhanging grass after mowing with edging shears. To keep edges looking neat, browse our pick of the best strimmers, garden shears, and lawn edging

If your lawn needs a bit more attention, our experts have tested a range of the best manual and powered aerators and scarifiers. And if you're thinking about somewhere to store your new mower, our comprehensive guide to choosing the best garden shed will be helpful.

Why you can trust Gardeners' World reviews

As trained gardeners and seasoned users of all sorts of garden tools, Kay Maguire, myself, and the rest of the team at BBC Gardeners' World Magazine reviewed literally shedloads of lawn mowers over the years, using our trusted testing matrix to make sure we're giving balanced, fair judgements.

We test lawn mowers in varied, real-world conditions, cutting the sort of grass most of us actually have in our gardens. Because we're real-world gardeners with lots of experience, we know what to look out for and the sorts of things that will make all the difference once you're using a mower week in and week out. We don't share product reviews with manufacturers or retailers before they're published, and we don't accept payment in exchange for positive reviews, either.
Oliver Parsons, gardenersworld.com

How we test the best cordless lawn mowers

When we test cordless mowers, we follow the whole process from start to finish without any shortcuts. We unpack the mower from the box, put it together following the instructions (sometimes these are clear as mud, sometimes not!), and then get started, cutting grass over a wide area.

We mow over rough grass, smoother grass, slopes and bumps – whatever is in our way – just as you would with your own mower. And after that, we also take notes on how easy the mower is to fold down and put away, because if a mower is annoying in that regard, you'll always hate using it.

Then, we score each model against these four criteria, with equal marks attributed to each one:

For more on our testing process across all the different gardening product categories, see How we review

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in May 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

]]> Kay Maguire <![CDATA[The best lawn aerators in 2026, as tested by our expert team]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-lawn-aerators/ 2026-05-19T14:31:51.000Z 2026-03-12T10:07:06.000Z

Jump to our 3 top-rated aerators

A lush, green lawn is a source of pride and joy for many gardeners, but as the focal point for gatherings with friends and family, it can suffer from overuse and too much wear and tear. Terrific turf needs a good lawn care regimen to achieve it, and while regular mowing and watering will take you so far, there are a couple of additional tasks for you to do on your to-do list, which will help keep your lawn in tip-top condition.

Regardless of how often you cut your lawn, over time, the soil underneath the turf becomes compacted, while above ground, a thick, impenetrable layer of thatch and organic debris develops around the roots. This undesirable combination prevents air, water, and nutrients from reaching the root system, ultimately weakening its growth and leaving the plant susceptible to pests and diseases.

Scarifying your lawn will help remove thatch and debris, but if you need to relieve compacted soil underneath the turf, it's best to aerate it. Aeration is the process of making air holes in the lawn to create ventilation. In small lawns, a simple garden fork can be used to push holes into the ground, but you can also buy manual aerators, either solid or hollow-tined, which require the same effort as a fork. However, if you have a lot of lawn and not much time, other types of aerators are probably the best option. Whether you’re pushing a roller covered in spikes or using a powered machine, these aerators are a labour-saving version of the trusty garden fork, mechanically making a series of holes in the lawn.

Our 3 best aerators to buy at a glance

View Affiliate Playlist on the source website

Comparison table: best lawn aerators

Our expertise

We reviewed the most popular aerators on the market, putting them through their paces to bring you a list of the best aerators, both manual and powered. Each model has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to ease of use, handling, performance, and value for money.  From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on lawn aerators that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ list.

Jump to the best aerators:

Jump to aerator advice:

Our 3 top-rated lawn aerators

1: Stihl RLA 240 cordless lawn scarifier and aerator

Our best combination aerator for safety

RRP: £229 (bare tool)

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5 

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£209 bare tool)

Our best combination aerator for safety: Stihl RLA 240 Cordless Lawn Scarifier and Aerator

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for safety, this combination machine is powered by a 36V, 4.8Ah battery. It takes 205 minutes to charge, but is easy to plug in and has a helpful charge indicator, although this is faint in daylight. The battery also has great safety features – it won’t work without a safety key, and there’s a lock on the powerbar for an effective dead-man switch. It lasts long enough to cover a 250sq. metre lawn, about the size of a tennis court. Thanks to smooth, high-quality wheels, it feels lightweight and easy to manoeuvre, which is surprising given that it weighs 15kg.

Powerful aerating blades cut through the top layer of soil well, to help improve lawn health, rather than relieve compacted soil or open the structure of heavy clay and, in doing so, also tackle most of the thatch and moss in the lawn. The scarifying drum attachment was effective on moss, too, though not as efficiently with thatch. Although this machine struggles with inclines, catching on the surface and shutting itself off if your lawn isn't level, this isn’t too much of a problem, because you can easily adjust the heights from +7.5mm to -9.5mm to avoid this problem. The automatic shutdown is also a great safety feature.

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2: Greenkey Rolling lawn aerator

Our best lawn aerator for manual aerating

RRP: £49.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£36.95), B&Q (£39.99) and Crocus (£57.99)

Our best lawn aerator for manual aerating: Greenkey Manual Lawn Aerator

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for manual aerating, the Greenkey Rolling lawn aerator is basic but does the job well. Lightweight with sturdy spikes, it’s just the tool if your small lawn needs aeration. Made from aluminium and plastic, it’s lightweight but feels substantial and features a T-bar grip as well as an adjustable shaft to suit different height users. The drum is 30cm wide, which covers a lawn quickly and easily, and there are 30 x 4.5cm spikes to ensure deep, even aeration. It comes with a two-year warranty.

Read the full Greenkey Rolling Lawn Aerator review

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3: Kent & Stowe stainless steel 4 prong lawn aerator

Our best aerator for manual hollow-tined aerating

RRP: £39.99

Our rating: 4.3 out of 5

Available from: Marshalls Garden (£36.99)

Our best aerator for manual hollow-tined aerating: Kent & Stowe Lawn Aerator 4 Prong

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

Awarded a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for manual hollow tined aerating, this simple aerator from Kent & Stowe works well. The smooth, FSC-grade ash handle is comfortable, lightweight and doesn’t rub, even after using it for a while. The handle runs into a single-riveted steel socket above wide steel treads, and these treads are great for striking and pushing into soil. However, the 9cm stainless steel tines don't go in smoothly every time, despite being pointed. Its best feature is that it produces good, solid plugs of soil that are great for breaking down and reusing as topsoil.

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Best of the rest

Although this model didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, it still had features that made it worth recommending.

Cobra S3840V Cordless scarifier and aerator

RRP: £360.99

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£329.99 kit) and Sims Garden Machinery (£329 kit)

Cobra S3840V Cordless scarifier and aerator

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The Cobra S3840V Cordless scarifier and aerator handles well. It’s big and the wheels are prone to being a little stiff, but it’s lightweight and has a soft-grip handle, which makes it comfortable to use. At 92dB, it’s relatively quiet, too. The 40V 5Ah battery charges quickly in just 90 minutes and lasts for 40 minutes. The machine itself is easy to use, and we loved being able to see the charge indicator through the transparent window.

The aeration blades and spring tine scarifying drum can be set at five heights, which range from -10mm to +5mm. Unfortunately, the instructions are poor, so it takes a while to get this machine up and running. On the plus side, at 38cm wide, it covers a large area of lawn, reducing how long you spend on the job, but its size makes this combination machine very bulky and difficult to store.

Latest Prices

Time to show your lawn some TLC? Check out our round-up of the best lawn scarifiers and expert tips on how to improve your lawn in 12 weeks. You can also keep edges looking neat with our pick of the best lawn edging.

In addition to aerators and scarifiers, we've tested a range of lawn mowers, including the best cordless lawn mowers, the best robotic lawn mowers, the best electric lawn mowers and the best grass trimmers. For those with small lawns, our guide to the best hand push mowers will be helpful.

What is a lawn aerator, and what does it do?

Aerating your lawn is part of a spring and autumn lawn care regime, and there are two different methods of aerating your lawn:

Types of lawn aerators: the different ways to aerate your lawn

There are four types of aerators, each with its own pros and cons:

Which type of powered machine is best? When it comes to choosing whether you go for an electric, cordless or petrol aerator, consider the pros and cons that are associated with each type:

How to choose the best lawn aerator

Depending on the type of aerator you’re going to choose, there are several key features to look for:

How to get the perfect lawn

It’s not just aerating that will improve the quality of your lawn; look at our other tips below:

How we tested lawn aerators

To see how well lawn aerators perform, the GW reviews team tested a range of models across a range of garden situations – creating holes and slits in different turf and ground conditions. Before we started, we checked for any wildlife in the grass and organic debris on the lawn surface. The lawn aerators were compared, and the following criteria used to calculate the scores, with equal weight given to each:

For more information on our testing process, see How we review

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in March 2026.

]]> Harry Duncton <![CDATA[11 of the best lawn mowers in 2026, as tested and rated by our reviews experts]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-lawn-mowers/ 2026-05-19T14:29:22.000Z 2026-02-09T10:56:39.000Z

Jump to our top 2 cordless lawn mowers

Jump to our top 2 electric corded lawn mowers

Jump to our top 2 hand push lawn mowers

Jump to our top 2 robot lawn mowers

Your lawn mower – it's the ONE purchase that pretty much everyone with a garden needs to make. But buying the wrong one for your needs can be a big, expensive mistake. Not only is there a bewildering set of categories, from ultra-modern self-propelled cordless lawn mowers to basic hand-push mowers, there are also loads of different features on offer within each category – some of which you'll find essential, and some of which you'll find get in the way of getting the mowing done on a Saturday morning. Other big things to consider are the cutting width, the range of cutting heights, how it folds down, and the overall weight, which is massively important if yours will be lifted in and out of a shed.

So that's why my colleagues and I – and especially my predecessor on the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine reviews desk, Kay Maguire – have created this one, huge central page of the best lawn mowers available to buy right now. It contains the top picks of our award-winning Best Buy mowers from our lawn mower test categories, including the best cordless mowers, the best electric, the best robotic mowers and the best hand-push mowers, all tested by our experts. 

From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on lawn mowers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ lists.

Oliver Parsons, GardenersWorld.com

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Our best mowers to buy at a glance:

Our 2 top-rated cordless mowers

Also recommended: cordless mowers

Our 2 top-rated corded electric mowers

Our 2 top-rated hand-push mowers

Our 2 top-rated robot mowers

Comparison table: best lawn mowers

Jump to:

Best cordless mowers

TOP-RATED: Husqvarna Aspire LC34-P4A

Our best lightweight cordless mower

RRP: £349

Our rating: 4.9 out of 5

Available from: Husqvarna (£349)

Best Buy for ease of use 2023: Husqvarna Aspire LC34P4A

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This lightweight 34cm mower is part of the new Husqvarna Aspire cordless range, which includes a hedge trimmer, pruner and leaf blower, and it's powered by an 18V POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE battery and charger. It's useful that these are interchangeable with tools in other leading brands such as Flymo, Gardena and Bosch, so if you also invest in tools in these ranges, you’ll only need to buy the bare tool and won’t have different batteries and chargers taking up space in the shed. Also, the two-year warranty on this mower is a good sign that the investment will last.

I found this mower great for small gardens for several reasons: the mower comes ready to go; there’s no assembly needed or handles to attach, and it folds down to a compact size when you’re finished, with a telescopic handle that folds completely flat over the body of the mower. It can then be stood up against a wall or hung up, and it even comes with a handy hook.

The 30-litre grass bag also flattens down to take up very little room and can be hung on the mower. I liked the fact that the Aspire is so light, with a carry handle so that lifting it up steps or into other areas is easy, and it has an adjustable handle to suit different heights.

It’s comfortable and easy to manoeuvre around the garden and has just four cutting heights to choose from, ranging from 25-65mm, and they were easy to change with a single lever on the body of the mower. It cuts grass quietly and smoothly and has an automatic boost that increases blade speed when you’re mowing in tougher, longer areas, which works well. You can hear it kick in when you push the mower into longer grass, and unlike other cordless mowers that can cut out, it just carries on cutting the grass.

I also really liked being able to see the battery charge level while mowing, so I could gauge how much power there was left, and when the battery needed charging. Kay Maguire

RRP: £349
Cutting width: 34cm
Weight: 11.8kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 95 mins
Run time/Mow area: 500 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 30 litres

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Worx Nitro WG749E 40V 46cm

Our best self-propelled cordless mower under £500

RRP: £449.99

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£604.24)

Best Buy value self-propelled mower: Worx Nitro WG749E

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This easy-to-use mower needs no assembly and has a quick-release, collapsible handle, so it’s very simple to store, even in a packed shed. One thing that really helped when I was testing this machine is that it stands up vertically, with the handle folded over and the front wheels in the air – that meant it only took up about a third of the usual floor space in storage.

The Nitro requires two 20V 4Ah PowerShare batteries, which give a 40-minute run time, and it was a relief that the battery power level is clearly visible while you mow – it's such an important thing when you're tackling a large area of grass. The batteries and the charger are also interchangeable with all other Worx PowerShare tools.

It offers seven cutting heights, 20-80mm, which are easy to adjust with a simple lever. It also has a cutting width of 46cm, making it ideal for medium-sized lawns.

I liked the mower's simple speed control, plus it adjusts its cutting power according to grass length and conditions, which helps save on battery. It has a safety key and a 55-litre collection bag, so there's plenty of room for the cuttings, but there's also a mulching option, so you can choose to let the cuttings fall back on the lawn to feed the grass rather than worry about emptying the bag.

Considering the wealth of features this mower offers, this is a great-value option. It also has a three-year warranty, plus two more years if registered. Kay Maguire

RRP: £449.99
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 28.7kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 40 mins
Cutting height range: 20-80mm
Grass box: 55 litres

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Also recommended: cordless mowers

Greenworks GDG24LM33

Our best budget cordless mower for small gardens

RRP: £149.99 (bare tool)

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£117.99)

Best Buy budget cordless mower 2023: Greenworks-GDG24LM33

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I found this sturdy, great-value cordless mower easy to put together, well thought out, and simple to use – superbly suited to small gardens. Thanks to a padded handle, it's comfortable to push, although this could feel a little short for taller people, and it's light and easy to manoeuvre around trees and lawn edges.

There are five cutting heights to choose from, adjusted with the simple lift of a lever, and you can collect clippings in the 30-litre fabric grass bag or insert the mulching plug and leave them on the lawn to break down and feed the grass.

It mowed well, helped in part by the specification of a long-lasting brushless motor, but it didn't like mowing very long grass. The battery cut out on me occasionally, but the decent runtime of 46 minutes made up for that a bit, and it charged in just two hours.

Plus, as part of the Greenworks 24V family, both the battery and charger are interchangeable with all the other tools in the range, saving you money if you invest in more Greenworks tools in the future. Kay Maguire

RRP: £199.99
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 9.5kg
Type: push cordless
Charge time: 120 mins
Run time/Mow area: 280 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 25-70mm
Grass box: 30 litres

Latest Prices

Ego LM1702E-SP 42cm self-propelled mower (kit)

Our best user-friendly self-propelled cordless mower

RRP: £619 (kit)

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£559) and Mowers Online (£559)

Best Buy self-propelled mower for smaller lawns: Ego LM1702E-SP

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This well-thought-through mower requires no assembly out of the box, so I was able to get mowing almost as soon as it arrived. It has a quick-release, telescopic handle, which offers a bespoke handle height and also makes it very easy to fold down and store.

Once folded, it can also be stood up vertically, so it took up even less space in my storage area. It offers a wide choice of cutting heights, 20-80mm, and the wider-than-average 42cm cutting width makes it ideal for mid-sized gardens. It runs on a 56V battery, which can mow 300 sq. metres on a single charge, and is compatible with other Ego Power+ tools. The battery level is also clearly visible whilst you mow.

There's a handy safety key that can be stored away from the mower to ensure only the user can operate it. It's easy to operate and handle, with easy speed control, a 55-litre grass bag, and even headlights. It comes with a five-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £619
Cutting width: 42cm
Weight: 24kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Run time/Mow area: 30 mins
Cutting height range: 25-80mm
Grass box: 55 litres

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Stihl RMA 448 RV rear roller cordless mower

Our best self-propelled cordless lawn mower for stripes

RRP: £829 (bare tool)

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Just Lawnmowers (£759) and Lakeland Power Tools (£797.99)

Best Buy self-propelled mower for larger lawns: Stihl RMA 448 RV rear roller cordless mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

This distinctive mower is ready to use straight out of the box; only the grass box needs assembly, and this was pretty tricky. The unusual one-sided mono handle makes it easy to access the grass box, which makes a big difference when you are tackling a large lawn and emptying the clippings often.

The handle also adjusts in height very easily, and it can be folded flat over the mower, making it easier to store. When I folded the mower up, I was able to stand it vertically with its front wheels in the air, so it saved a lot of space – always a good feature.

It lacks a safety key but has other good features, including speed control and a mulching option that's as simple as a flick of a switch. It has a cutting width of 46cm and offers a wide range of five cutting heights, from 15-60mm, so you can get a neat, tight clip. This is particularly useful as this mower also has a rear roller to create beautiful stripes on the lawn.

It requires a 36V 5Ah battery, which gives you enough power to mow a lawn up to 340 sq. metres on a single charge, plus there's space for a spare battery, if you have one. It's also compatible with all Stihl AK cordless tools, saving you money if you invest in the future. It comes with a two-year warranty. Kay Maguire

RRP: £829
Cutting width: 46cm
Weight: 30kg
Type: self-propelled cordless
Run time/Mow area: 340 sq. metres
Cutting height range: 15-60mm
Grass box: 52 litres

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Best electric corded mowers

TOP-RATED: Webb Weer33 electric lawn mower

Our best budget electric mower for small gardens, under £100

RRP: £99.99

Our rating: 4.8/5

Available from: Amazon (£94.48), Robert Dyas (£99.99) and Tool Station (£94.48)

Best Buy all-round electric mower 2021: Webb Weer 33

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I was impressed by the superb design of this mower. It’s extremely easy to assemble and folds for storage with a comfortable foam handle that can be adjusted to various heights. There are five cutting heights to choose from, and a single lever enables easy adjustment. The grass collection bag has a generous capacity of 35 litres, and the full indicator lets you know when it needs emptying. The mower is relatively quiet, and it cut well, right up to the edges of my lawn. It’s also lightweight and comfortable to manoeuvre.

My only quibble is the black mower cable, which could be a brighter colour so it'd be easier to see. For just £99.99, this is a great value mower. Kay Maguire

RRP: £99.99
Cutting width: 33cm
Weight: 8.8kg
Noise: 89dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 10m
Cutting height range: 25-65mm
Grass box: 35 litres

Read the full Webb Weer 33 review

Latest Deals

Mountfield Electress 38

Our best electric mower for large gardens

RRP: £269

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£159)

Best Buy budget mower 2023: Mountfield Electress 38

Reasons to buy: 

Reasons to avoid:

This sturdy electric mower felt really robust out in use on the lawn, and I liked its relatively wide cutting width of 38cm, which made for fewer passes up and down the lawn. I found it simple to put together, with three handle heights to suit different users, and it has a useful six heights of cut, from 25-75mm, which are easy to change with a single lever. It manoeuvred well around the lawn despite its weight, and was pleasingly simple to use, producing a neat cut. It comes with a large grass collection box of 40 litres too, so you're not constantly emptying clippings on the compost heap.

When you've finished mowing, it's easy to store, with a handle that folds flat over the body of the mower, so it takes up very little room, and a detachable cable that can be hung up or stored in a drawer. It has such a long 15m cable that I was able to pack my extension lead away completely. Only its black colour and lack of cable safety clip let it down. Kay Maguire

RRP: £159
Cutting width: 38cm
Weight: 11kg
Noise: 95dB
Type: corded electric
Cable length: 15m
Cutting height range: 25-75mm
Grass box: 40 litres

Latest Prices

Best hand-push mowers

TOP-RATED: Webb 30cm Autoset sidewheel

Our budget push mower

RRP: £89.99

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£88.99) and Robert Dyas (£89.99)

Latest Deals Best Buy budget push mower in 2023: Webb 30cm Autoset sidewheel push mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

I found this simple hand push mower easy to put together and use, thanks to rubber grip handles, even when pushing over longer grass. It has six-cylinder blades with four cutting heights that are easy to change. The mower cuts from 40mm right down to 10mm, so it gave me a precise, neat clip, but it also cut longer grass well. It's quiet, copes with even bumpy ground easily, and the 17-litre front collector was the best at collecting clippings in our test. Kay Maguire

RRP: £89.99
Cutting width: 3ocm
Weight: 9.1kg
Type: push mower
Cutting height range: 10-40mm
Grass box: 17 litres

Latest Deals

Gardena Comfort Hand Cylinder 400C

Our best push mower all round

RRP: £140.95

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Amazon (£164.99) and Tooled Up (£140.99)

Best Buy push mower all round in 2022: Gardena Comfort Hand Cylinder 400C

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

While there is more to assemble with the Gardena push mower, I found the instructions for putting it together clear to understand. The shaped handle was comfortable to use and folds down simply for easy storage. I was impressed with the four easy-to-adjust cutting heights displayed on a clearly visible scale. The grass collector has a 49-litre capacity but is sold separately. This mower is guaranteed for two years. Kay Maguire

Read the full Gardena push mower review

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Best robotic mowers

Stihl iMOW 5

Our best robot mower with perimeter wire

RRP: £1,729

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from: Tools Today (£859)

Best Buy for performance: Stihl iMOW 5 robotic mower

Reasons to buy:

Reasons to avoid:

The iMow is the smallest in a new range of six robot mowers from Stihl that cover three sizes of larger garden. Together with the iMow 5, 6, and 7, there's also the iMow EVO range, which covers the same size lawns with the same features but also has mobile connectivity. When you purchase an iMow, you can choose to have it installed by a Stihl-approved dealer or install it yourself and purchase an additional installation kit.

Set up and ease of use: To cut down on waste, different-sized installation kits are available, and you can also buy bio pins, made from 100 per cent biodegradable material that gradually break down in the soil. Like many robot mowers, the iMow requires a boundary wire around the perimeter of the lawn and a guide wire through the middle of the lawn to help it find its way back to the docking station. The mower comes with a clear instruction booklet, plus I found helpful guides on the Stihl website, and laying the wires in our 1,250 sq. metre test garden took 3-4 hours. Once the wires are laid, I'd say it's easy to programme the mower via the My iMow app, as long as you’re comfortable with this kind of tech.

Mower statistics: Like many other robot mowers I've tested, the iMow has three free-swinging blades, and it cuts very well. The lawn was quite long before it was installed but with an impressively wide cutting height range of 20-60mm it didn’t struggle, and after a few days the whole lawn looked good with no tufts of uncut grass. Unlike the Husqvarna Automower, once you’ve laid the boundary wire, you can’t completely alter mowing zones. It cuts close to the edge, and if it comes across an obstacle, it gently bumps into it and then turns away.

Top features: The iMow also has a useful feature that helps it manoeuvre if it gets stuck, and it can cope with slopes of 22°. It also has an anti-theft alarm and a rain sensor feature, which you can adjust to interrupt or not start mowing if it’s raining. You can choose what degree of rain you want it to mow in, and when the sensor on the top of the mower dries, it automatically begins mowing. Not only that, it comes with a five-year warranty, and a host of accessories are available, including spare wire, pins and clips, and upgrade wheels for the EVO range to enable them to cut slopes of up to 31°. For the size of lawn it cuts, it's a reasonably priced mower that’s packed with excellent features and cuts very well. Harry Duncton

RRP: £1,729
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: boundary & guide wires
Lawn area up to: 500 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 22°/31°
Cutting height range: 20-60mm

Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR Robot Lawnmower

Our best robot mower for easy set up on big lawns

RRP: £1,099

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from: Navimow (£1,099) and Amazon (£1,099)

Our best robot mower for easy set up on big lawns: Segway Navimow i208LiDA

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

Making up just part of Navimow’s extensive and slightly confusing new line-up for 2026, the i208 LiDAR represents the ideal setup for medium-sized gardens up to 800 sq. metres of any shape and size. Boasting incredibly fast automapping and a powerful app, the only place the i208 lets itself down is on rough terrain. For that, you’d be better off with an all-wheel-drive robot.

Set up and ease of use: First impressions of this robot are great. It’s a sleek robot with easy controls and even a little LED screen to look at. The light ring around the circular section on the top changes colour and pulses gently to show the current mode. It’s all very impressive. Long gone are the days of fiddly boundary wires, unsightly antennae, or even mapping the garden yourself. I took the robot out of the box, charged it, connected to Wi-Fi, downloaded updates and then agreed to 'auto map'. The i208 drove a few metres into the middle of the lawn, and that was it.

The incredibly powerful solid-state LiDAR mapped the entire 100 square metre lawn almost instantly, then got straight to work. It’s an impressive leap forward for robot lawnmowers and makes it ideal for just about anyone to use. Editing the map was simple too as the LiDAR and AI-enhanced cameras build a real full colour map on the app that is easily edited by driving the mower like a remote-control car. It makes the process easy, and the robot followed the paths I made perfectly. The only downside of this mower that I can see is that the cutting deck underneath is mounted in the centre. This means that it can’t get right up to the edges of the lawn, and you still need to go around with a lawn trimmer.

Mower statistics: The standout feature of this robot lawnmower is how it sees the world around it. The powerful vision software can recognise hundreds of objects on the lawn, and laser range-finding hardware keeps it on track. Mowing from 20-70 mm and with six blades making up the 22cm cut width, it’s an efficient and very quiet robot too. Rated to just 59dB, the i208 could run at any time of the day or night without waking the neighbours. Setting the cutting heights from between 20 and 70mm can be done via the app, which means you can set different zones to different heights. Nice if you have a complicated garden with multiple lawns.

The downside of this mower is that it still relies on two-wheel drive to move itself around. The front shopping trolley-style wheels are not powered, so the aggressive rears do all the work. And this is where the Navimow lineup can get confusing. There are so many new types of robots that deciphering the fleet is a challenge. They do make an AWD robot as well as another one with a powered front wheel that are all better on slopes and uneven garden terrain.

Top features: The standout feature on this particular Navimow robot is the LiDAR. Taking 200,000 precise laser measurements per second to build a map of the garden, it doesn’t need to wait for satellite reception, internet connectivity or even daylight at the bottom of the garden. It’s perfect for gardens with patchy reception without the need for a clumsy boundary wire. Obstacle avoidance is effective as well. The AI-assisted cameras on the front can recognise more than 200 objects across the lawn, and in practice, it routes neatly around obstructions before resuming its mowing pattern. And you don’t need to worry about security either. With inbuilt GPS tracking, lift sensors, a PIN code and geofence software, it’s rather hard to steal. Overall, the i208 LiDAR is ideal if your garden is flat but has plenty of obstructions that would confuse a lesser robot. Bear in mind that the 4G connectivity, which enables remote control and GPS tracking, is free, but only for the first year.

RRP: £1,099
Type: robot mower
Guidance system: GPS, LiDAR and camera
Max lawn: 800 sq. metres
Slopes up to: 24°
Cutting height range: 20-70 mm
Warranty: 3 years

Mower types explained

Struggling to work out what type of mower you need? Here's our guide to the four main types on offer.

Powerful petrol lawn mowers are also available, but they tend to be loud and heavy and are less environmentally friendly. They also need an annual maintenance check-up and a supply of petrol and oil.

Why you can trust BBC Gardeners' World Magazine reviews

As trained gardeners and seasoned users of all sorts of garden tools, Kay Maguire, myself, and the rest of the team at BBC Gardeners' World Magazine have reviewed literally shedloads of lawn mowers over the years, using our trusted testing matrix to make sure we're giving balanced, fair judgements.

We test lawn mowers in varied, real-world conditions, cutting the sort of grass most of us actually have in our gardens. Because we're real-world gardeners with lots of experience, we know what to look out for and the sorts of things that will make all the difference once you're using a mower week in and week out.

We give each mower an at-a-glance list of pros and cons for clarity, and a rating out of five. We also don't share product reviews with manufacturers or retailers before they're published, and we don't accept payment in exchange for positive reviews, either.

Oliver Parsons, gardenersworld.com

How we test the best lawn mowers

When we test lawn mowers, we follow the whole process from start to finish without any shortcuts. We unpack the mower from the box, put it together following the instructions (sometimes these are clear as mud, sometimes not!), and then get started, cutting grass over a wide area.

We mow over rough grass, smoother grass, slopes and bumps – whatever is in our way – just as you would with your own mower. And after that, we also take notes on how easy the mower is to fold down and put away, because if a mower is annoying in that regard, you'll always hate using it.

Then, we score each model against these four criteria, with equal marks attributed to each one:

For more on our testing process across all the different gardening product categories, see How we review

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in March 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

]]> BBC Gardeners World Magazine <![CDATA[The best hand push mowers in 2026, as tested by our reviews experts]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/best-push-mowers/ 2026-05-11T18:29:54.000Z 2026-01-05T15:45:53.000Z If you're looking for a straightforward lawn trim, then a traditional hand push mower could be the garden tool for you. With no battery, fuel or electricity to worry about, manual lawn mowers are also a more environmentally-friendly option.

These pedestrian-powered machines are pushed along the lawn, and the cylinder blades rotate to trim the grass as you move. They do require a little more push power than automatic mowers, and walking briskly will give a better cut, so you’ll get a workout and burn calories each time you mow. So, although a push mower isn’t for every garden, they’re best for small to medium-sized (up to 250m²) lawns on flat ground with few bumps. The exercise will help keep you fit, and they're generally much more of a budget option compared to their high-tech counterparts. They’re also kind to your neighbours, as they’re much quieter than powered mowers.

Cylinder mowers generally give a smoother, sharper finish than rotary mowers, and their rear roller creates elegant stripes. Usually small, they’re easy to store and light enough to manoeuvre around the garden.

View Affiliate Playlist on the source website

Best Buy hand push lawn mowers at a glance

Jump to:

Our expertise

To help you find the right hand push mower, we tested a range of these traditional machines. Everymower has a detailed list of pros and cons for clarity and has been rated according to setting up and storage, ease of handling, performance and value for money. From 2026, you’ll only see newly awarded Best Buy badges on push lawn mowers that score 4.5 out of 5 or higher. Anything rated 3.5 or above will still feature in our ‘Best of the rest’ list.

In every review, we award outstanding products our coveted Best Buy award. To see these and the others we recommend, browse our pick of the best cordless lawn mowers, below.

Best Buy hand push lawn mowers

Webb 30cm Autoset sidewheel

RRP: £99.99

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from Amazon

Best Buy budget push mower in 2023: Webb 30cm Autoset sidewheel push mower

Pros

Cons

Easy to put together and use, this simple hand push mower is comfortable, thanks to rubber grip handles, even when pushing over longer grass. It has six cylinder blades offering four cutting heights that are easy to change. The mower cuts from 40mm right down to 10mm, so it gives a precise, neat clip but also cuts longer grass well. It's quiet, copes with even bumpy ground easily, and the 17-litre front collector was the best at collecting clippings in our test. We gave it a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for the best budget push mower in 2023.

Buy Webb 30cm Autoset sidewheel push mower from Amazon, B&Q and Robert Dyas

Latest Deals

Gardena Comfort Hand Cylinder 400C

RRP: £174.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from Amazon

Best Buy push mower all round in 2022: Gardena Comfort Hand Cylinder 400C

Pros

Cons

While there is more to assemble with the Gardena push mower, our tests found the instructions for putting it together clear to understand. The shaped handle was comfortable to use and folds down simply for easy storage. Our experts were impressed with the four easy-to-adjust cutting heights displayed on a clearly visible scale. The grass collector has a 49-litre capacity but is sold separately. This mower is guaranteed for two years, and we gave this a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for the best push mower all round in 2022.

Read the full Gardena push mower review

Buy the Gardena Comfort Hand Cylinder 400C from Amazon and Tooled Up

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Cobra HM381

RRP: £65.99

Our rating: 4.5 out of 5

Available from Amazon

Best Buy value push mower in 2022: Cobra HM381 push mower

Pros

Cons

We awarded this a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for the best value push mower in 2022, and found it easy to put together with clear instructions. It's compact and lightweight, making it easy to push and operate, and the handle is padded for extra comfort. There are four cutting heights ranging from 13-38mm, which can be simply adjusted, and a 26-litre grass collector is included. It comes with a two-year warranty.

Read the full Cobra HM381 push mower review

Buy Cobra HM381 from Amazon and Ebay

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Webb WEH18

RRP: £159.99

Our rating: 4.5 out 5

Available from B&Q

Best Buy for performance: Webb WEH18 push mower

Pros

Cons

Awarded a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy as the best for performance, this traditional cylinder mower design has a solid, heavy rear roller and a 22-litre collection box. The instructions for assembling it are clear, and it's light, easy to manoeuvre and quiet to use. There’s a generous choice of nine cutting heights, which are easily adjusted and range from 25-76mm, which is the highest in our test and ensures it handles long grass well.  The front-loading grass collector on this model collects clippings well, and it comes with a warranty of two years.

Read the full Webb push mower review

Buy Webb WEH18 push mower from Amazon, B&Q and Robert Dyas

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The best of the rest

Although some models didn't quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest on test.

Bosch AHM 38 G

RRP: £74.99

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from Argos

undefined Bosch-AHM-38-G

Pros

Cons

This push mower cuts very well, but is a little fiddly to put together. With five cylinder blades, a choice of three cutting heights across a broad range of 15-50mm, and a cutting width of 38cm, it tackled all the grass in our test, even cutting longer grass to a neat, clipped finish. The upturned handle design is comfortable and easy to push, although we would prefer a padded grip to ease the stress of pushing. It folds in half, or you can hang it up for storage. It’s also easy to change the height of cut, with a simple blade adjustment. Like most of the others in our test, the grass collector spilt clippings, but if you cut often enough, you could leave these on the lawn to break down as a mulch. It comes with a two-year warranty, three if registered.

Buy Bosch AHM 38G from Amazon, Argos and Currys

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Flymo H400

RRP: £134.99 (without grass bag)

Our rating: 4.3 out of 5

Available from Amazon

Flymo H400

Pros

Cons

Easy to put together with just the handle needing attaching, this push mower is comfortable to push and hold, with rubber grip, bike-style handles, and large wheels to help it manoeuvre around the lawn. However, it’s awkward to lift up steps and into the shed if you need to, and is best hung up out of the way in storage as the handle won’t fold down. It has a wide 40cm cutting width, five cylinder blades and a choice of four easy-to-change cutting heights from 12-38mm, and it cut all the grass in our test smoothly and well. Our main criticism with this mower is the grass bag, which isn't included like all the other mowers in our test. Also, despite the grass bag having a large collection capacity of 45 litres, it is hard to assemble and then fails to work, collecting hardly any clippings.  The mower comes with a two-year warranty.

Buy Flymo H400 from Amazon and OnBuy

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Husqvarna HiCut 64

RRP: £139.99

Our rating: 4.25 out of 5

Available from Amazon

Husqvarna HiCut 64 push

Pros

Cons

This Husqvarna hand mower requires more assembly than most, and tools are required. In addition, our testers found that the instructions could have been clearer. However, the mower is comfortable to use with a handy, flexible handle height, and it's a quick and efficient mower. Testers weren’t keen on the height-of-cut adjuster. The grass collector has a large capacity of 45 litres, but it's sold separately and doesn’t collect all the clippings, especially when it's windy. It comes with a one-year warranty, but if you register, this is extended to two years.

Buy Husqvarna HiCut 64 push from Amazon

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Einhell GE-HM 38 S-F

RRP: £79.95

Our rating: 4.25 out of 5

Available from Amazon

Einhell GE-HM38 push mower

Pros

Cons

Our expert testers liked that the handle on this manual lawn mower had a choice of two heights and that it was padded for extra comfort while in use. Clear instructions are included, and assembling the model is relatively simple. There are four cutting heights to choose from, which can be easily swapped using a lever. The grass collector is included and has a 26-litre capacity. It's guaranteed for two years.

Buy Einhell GE-HM 38 S-F from Amazon and B&Q

Latest Deals

If you're not sure which type of lawn mower is best for you, take a look at our reviews of the best electric lawn mowers and the best cordless lawn mowers.

How to choose a push mower

Before you choose a push mower, think about the following:

Have you got the right lawn?
Cylinder mowers need an even surface for the scissor action of the blades to work well, so your lawn must be fairly bump-free and 250m² or below. Simpler shapes are easier, unless you opt for a compact model with a smaller cutting width that can be manoeuvred more easily around trees, island beds and under shrubs.

Do you like mowing the lawn?
Hand push mowers take more effort than powered mowers, but they are easier to push if the grass isn’t too long. Cylinder mowers work best on fairly short grass and will struggle or not cut long grass at all. So you need to cut regularly or choose a mower with a high height of cut to let you catch up if you miss a mow now and then.

Can you look after your mower?
Cylinder blades need regular checking and adjusting to ensure a precise cut and prevent the mower chewing the grass rather than cutting it. Adjustment isn’t difficult, but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re not mechanically minded.

Do you need a grass collector?
Most mowers come with one, but some are sold separately, and nearly all the grass collectors in our test failed to catch clippings well, particularly when windy. Although front collectors work best, they block your view. If you’re happy to mow regularly (twice a week in the growing season), you may not need one at all and can simply let the short clippings fall down onto the grass and act as a mulch.

Do you have storage?
These mowers must be kept indoors to prevent the blades from rusting, so if storage space is tight, choose a model that's light enough to hang up or has folding handles.

Tips on using a push mower

How we tested push mowers

All the mowers in our test are cylinder-type, with blades and a rear roller. Each mower was unpacked, assembled and tested on a flat, circular lawn and on a sloping, less even, shaped lawn to see how well they performed. They were assessed according to the following criteria, with equal marks attributed to each:

For more information on our testing process, see How We review

Push mowers explained

Handle Ideally adjustable to suit your height. Padding makes it more comfortable when pushing the mower.

Cutting width The greater the cutting width, the more grass it will cut in one go. But wider mowers can also be heavy.

Grass collector A mesh bag or solid plastic container, attached to either the front or rear. A higher capacity means fewer trips to the compost heap.

Cutting bar Works together with the cylinder blades to trap and slice the grass. Can be adjusted to ensure an even cut.

Cylinder blades Usually five sharp carbon steel blades that pass across the cutting bar to slice through the grass with a precise scissor action.

Rear roller Flattens the grass as you mow to give a professional, striped finish to the lawn.

Height-of-cut adjuster Determines the grass cutting height, usually according to set heights on a defined scale or infinitely by eye.

Adjusting the blades

The gap, or clearance, between the blades and the cutting bar must be right – too wide and the cut will be rough and uneven, too narrow and it will be noisy and hard to push the mower. To check, turn the mower over, insert a strip of paper between the bar and blades and slowly turn the cylinder wheel. Check both sides and if the paper hasn’t cut evenly, adjust the clearance bolts with a spanner or Allen key.

Meet our testing panel

Oliver Parsons, Strategic Projects Editor
Oliver is a gardener and magazine journalist of 20 years’ experience. He trained as a professional horticulturalist at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and has also worked for Gardening Which?, as a freelance gardener and with the gardening team at Down House in Kent. He is now Strategic Projects Editor at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and GardenersWorld.com, heading up our reviews desk, Apple News output and weekly newsletter.

Kay Maguire, Magazines Editor
Kay trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been writing and making films about gardening ever since. She has written for websites and magazines, including The Garden and Amateur Gardening, was Horticultural Editor on BBC Gardeners' World Magazine for five years, and has also written several books on a range of gardening topics from growing house plants to making the most of a small space. After several years as Reviews Editor, building up our reviews section into a leading resource for UK gardeners, she has now become Magazines Editor for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, responsible for all print output.

Harry Duncton, Freelance Powered Tools Tester
Harry has a wealth of experience, from being a language teacher to a tree surgeon, and has built this into a career writing about all things DIY and gardening. A passionate believer in self-reliance, his aim is to inspire others to give it a go themselves and not worry about making a few mistakes along the way. A regular contributor to popular DIY blogs and a recent addition to the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine team, he loves tracking down the best new tools and writing about them.

Sue Fisher, Freelance Garden Writer
Sue’s extensive horticultural career spans over 40 years, starting with a decade in the garden centre and nursery industry before developing into an accomplished gardening writer, designer and speaker. Sue writes regularly for BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, GardenersWorld.com and Garden Answers magazine. She has written 10 books on subjects including container gardening, plants for small gardens and designing with colour, and she has co-authored other books with some of the biggest names in gardening.

Emma Crawforth, Horticulture Editor
Emma holds the Kew Diploma in Horticulture and has been working in horticulture for 18 years, including roles in public gardens, a plant nursery supplying plants for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and a training college for young horticulturists. She looks after an ornamental, fruit and veg garden at home and regularly undertakes trips to see plants growing in their natural habitats. She is the author of the Kew Publications book, Things to Do with Plants.

Jane Moore, Freelance Garden Writer
In a horticultural career spanning 30 years, Jane has been a head gardener at a Benedictine Abbey, a writer for national gardening magazines and newspapers, a researcher on BBC gardening programmes and a TV presenter on BBC Gardeners’ World. Among her many accolades are a Chelsea Flower Show medal, several awards from the Garden Media Guild and her books are published worldwide. She has spent 30 years working as a hands-on head gardener, using tools on a daily basis.

This review was last updated in January 2026. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

]]> Harry Duncton <![CDATA[Flymo EasiLife Go 500 review]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/flymo-easilife-go-500-review/ 2026-01-08T11:51:05.000Z 2023-11-24T14:23:08.000Z

Buy the EasiLife Go 500 from Currys

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How is the EasiLife Go 500 robotic mower installed?

You either peg in or dig in a boundary wire to define the lawn size and shape, leaving a gap on the edges where there are hard borders or walls. Make sure to watch the installation videos online before you start as although there’s plenty of useful information in the manual, some important points feel a bit buried in the fine print. The EasiLife Go uses a separate guide wire that sends the mower to distant lawn areas and helps it get back to the docking station once it’s finished mowing. This guide wire needs to connect to the boundary wire at some point, so you need to leave some slack where you want to make the connection. You’ll need to cut the boundary wire to splice in the guide wire, and unless you plan ahead, it’s a tight fit. Connecting the couplers to rejoin the boundary cable can be a bit tricky and requires a decent set of pliers to avoid making a mess. It’s annoying, but if you plan ahead when laying your wires, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Securing the boundary cables to the rear of the charging base uses small plastic connectors that also require the use of a decent pair of pliers. You need to judge the cable lengths correctly to avoid loose wires on the outside of the base. Again, if you take your time during the cable installation phase, it’s not too bad.

Is the EasiLife Go 500 robotic mower easy to programme?

There are five buttons arranged on the top of the mower that can control most of the basic functions. The LED lights display the status of the mower, but it’s not immediately obvious. You need to consult the manual to work out what the flashing and solid lights mean.
The app is basic but easy to understand. You can programme schedules and read error data, but don’t expect advanced functions like edge cutting or an easy way to define multiple lawn areas.
You can program multiple start points along the boundary cable as well. It takes a bit of fiddling around with percentages, but you can set the mower to cut different sections of your garden, including narrow passageways that might otherwise be missed out.

How well does the EasiLife Go 500 robotic mower cut?

Something that stood out during testing was how quiet the mower runs. It operates at just 58dB when cutting, so you won’t wake up your neighbours if you set it to cut early in the morning.
The mowing program is random. Once the robot hits a boundary, it performs a turn and mows at a right angle. This should ensure that every piece of grass is cut, eventually, and at different angles to avoid lines and streaks.

What features does the EasiLife Go 500 robotic mower have?

For the price the mower has a number of features. You can change the cutting height on this mower, but it’s not as simple as some others. Instead of turning a dial or pressing a button in the app, you need to remove the blade disc and reinstall it using a hex key. It’s not a big job, but it’s a lot of effort for a simple adjustment. There's a spot cutting mode for troublesome areas - you just pick up the mower and place it in the area that needs attention, then activate spot cutting mode. The mower spirals out from where you put it down. You can also set the mower to cut in multiple zones as well with the 'Lawn Coverage' function. Using the guide wire to reach the far corners of your garden, you can tell the mower to stop and work on a particular section using percentages. For example, tell the mower to stop at 50% and it will travel halfway along the guide wire before spot cutting there. It takes a bit of trial and error but it’s a useful function. The mower is also capable of measuring outside conditions and changing the automatic mowing schedule to suit seasonal grass growth, and a 'FrostSense' setting ensures the mower stays in the charging dock when the temperatures drop too low. Finally, it also comes with some useful spare connectors, should you damage the boundary cable or want to install another guide wire.

Is the EasiLife Go 500 robotic mower good value for money?

The EasiLife Go is one of the more affordable robotic mowers on the market, but it still cuts the grass well. It’s small, doesn’t weigh much, but can still tackle light slopes and slightly uneven terrain. If you have a smaller garden and you don’t mind installing a guide cable alongside boundary cables, it’s an excellent choice.

Are there other models available?

The range of EasiLife Go mowers include:
EasiLife Go 200 - Cuts up to 200 m²
EasiLife Go 250 - Cuts up to 250 m²

There’s also a range of EasiLife mowers that have a small LED screen on them for more complex “in mower” controls. They also still use an app:

EasiLife 200 - Cuts up to 200 m²
EasiLife 350 - Cuts up to 350 m²
EasiLife 500 - Cuts up to 500 m²
EasiLife 800 - Cuts up to 800 m²

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This review was last updated in November 2023. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

]]> Kay Maguire <![CDATA[Powerbase 40V Cordless Lawnmower review]]> https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/lawn-care/powerbase-40v-cordless-lawnmower-review/ 2024-12-03T16:42:34.000Z 2022-08-30T16:54:11.000Z Buy the Powerbase 40V Cordless Lawnmower from Homebase

Latest Deals

What are the main features of the Powerbase 40V Cordless Lawnmower?

With a cutting width of 34cm and the choice of five cutting heights from 25-75mm, this mower is ideal for small to medium gardens. It has both front and side combs plus a rear roller, and the fabric grass bag has a collection capacity of 35 litres and a full indicator. The two 20v batteries take 120 minutes to fully charge and have a run time of 30 minutes, long enough to cover the cutting of a 200m2 lawn.

What’s the Powerbase 40V Cordless Lawnmower like to use?

This is a well thought out mower that has been designed with ease in mind. There's a wide choice of cutting heights, which are simply adjusted with a large lever and the combs on the front and sides of the mower help it cut to the edge and right up against walls and fences, so there's no need to go round with a strimmer after cutting. A rear roller gives those much desired stripes to the lawn but this mower feels quite large and bulky, despite its narrow cutting width and it's less easy to manoeuvre around tight corners and beds and garden furniture than some of the other, similar sized mowers in our test.

Is the Powerbase 40V Cordless Lawnmower easy to store?

This mower is very easy to store and ideal for storing in a corner of a shed or where space is limited.The fabric grass bag folds flat, and quick release fixings help the handle double fold quickly, so that both sit snugly over the body of the mower without taking up any room. It also has a carry handle on the body that makes it easy to lift  up steps and in and out of storage.

Is the Powerbase 40V Cordless Lawnmower good value for money?

At the budget end of our cordless mowers test, this mower has a host of features and the battery and charger are included in the price. It comes with a three year warranty but unlike most of the mowers in our review it's not part of a brand battery system so there's no money saving incentive if you were to buy other cordless tools from Homebase. We think it's good value for money.

Not the right cordless mower for you? We’ve tested other brands in our round up of the best cordless lawnmowers. For help finding other cordless tools see out guides to the best  strimmers and best hedge trimmers and read our buyer's guide to the best cordless garden tools.

This review was last updated in August 2022. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability.

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