Best Battery Lawn Tool Brands
Buying tools on the same platform saves money and ensures you'll always have a charged battery on hand
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In the past decade, battery-powered lawn tools have all but become the norm. In multiple categories, including string trimmers and leaf blowers, they even outsell gas models. And for good reason, as we covered in "Is Now the Time to Switch to Electric Outdoor Tools?" Our tests confirm that battery lawn tools (also called cordless lawn tools) often match or beat the performance of gas models. They also start instantly, run pretty quietly, and have zero emissions at the source.
The catch: They sometimes cost more than gas models, so it’s a bigger initial investment, particularly for items like battery riding mowers and battery snow blowers. But making the switch to electric can pay off over time—how long that would take depends on the price of gas.
Best Battery Lawn Tool Brand Overall
Lots of electric tool brands make one or two products that perform well, but very few have mastered everything you’ll need to keep your lawn looking trimmed and proper. Ego consistently rises to the top of our ratings across categories for most of the outdoor power tools we test.
Best Professional Battery Lawn Tool Brand
These top-tier brands tend to use multiple lower-voltage batteries in their lawn tools instead of one bigger, higher-voltage one. They also have a much broader offering of products, including traditional cordless power tools, such as drills and impact drivers. That means you can use batteries interchangeably in a large range of items inside and outside your home. Of course, you’ll have to pay a premium for that luxury.
Best Budget Battery Lawn Tool Brand
This less expensive option offers solid performance for less than you’d pay for the top-rated suite from Ego, and without much compromise in performance.
How CR Tests Battery Lawn Tools
We test battery lawn tools both in our Yonkers, N.Y., facility and at a satellite facility in southern Florida. The latter allows us to test brand-new tools in one of the warmest parts of the country, ensuring that we have endless access to grass in winter and early spring so we can test the newest models the moment they hit the market.
For all battery lawn tools, we assess the ease of using controls, starting the tool, and handling. We also measure noise, both at the ear of the operator, and typically at distances designed to replicate how noisy each tool might sound to nearby neighbors. We also look at factors like the time to charge a battery and how long it lasts (either in time or tasks performed) compared with other models.
For lawnmowers, we cut identical swaths of grass in every cutting mode—bagging, mulching, and using the side discharge, to see how well models handle each task. We also assess how evenly each mower cuts.
For string trimmers, we test how evenly a model trims, and how effectively it edges along a walkway. We also use each model to cut through extra-tall grass and weeds to make sure it’s up to the task of clearing long-neglected areas of your yard.
For leaf blowers, we measure and time how effectively and quickly each blower can move a large pile, and how well it loosens leaves that are stuck or embedded in grass.
For chain saws, we cut slices through massive 6-inch-square wooden beams, taking particular note of how quickly the saws can cut, and how many cuts they can make on a single charge. We also size up key safety features.
