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The Best Cordless Lawn Mowers

By The Consumer's Guide Research Team·Updated August 31, 2026

A cordless mower asks almost nothing of you. You pull the safety key, squeeze the bail, and it goes — no primer bulb, no pull cord, no stale fuel to drain before winter. It's quiet enough to mow early on a Saturday without your neighbors plotting against you, and quiet enough that you can hear a car coming up the driveway. Upkeep is mostly sharpening the blade once a season and keeping the deck clean. For a quarter-acre lot, the good ones cut as cleanly as the gas mower you're replacing.

The catch is the battery, and it's the same catch for every mower here. Runtime numbers assume a dry lawn at a middling cut height. Thick, damp grass can cut those numbers close to half. And once a pack is empty, you're waiting on a charger instead of topping off a tank. Batteries are also the expensive part of the system, so a spare isn't a small purchase. No cordless mower is silent, either. It's a higher, whinier sound than gas — just a lot less of it.

For lots up to about half an acre, the gap with gas has basically closed. A Consumer Reports survey found more than half of new mower buyers now choose battery-electric, up from about a third a few years earlier. What separates these models isn't raw power so much as how they handle hills, how they store, and whether a battery comes in the box. We think that the EGO Power+ LM2135SP is the best cordless lawn mower for most people, and that the Greenworks Pro 80V push mower is the one to buy if your lawn is flat and you already own 80V batteries.

At a glance

Product	Cut Width	Runtime	Price
EGO Power+ LM2135SP 21-Inch Select Cut LawnAlso consider	21-Inch	60 min	$1,028
Greenworks Pro 80V 21-Inch 80V Push LawnRunner-up	21-Inch	—	$999.99
Toro 60V MAX* 21 in. Recycler® PushAlso great	21 in	42 min	$365.58
EGO POWER+ Cordless Electric Lawn MowerTop pick	—	60 min	$1,048

How we picked

Cutting power. We looked for motors that published reviews and manufacturer specs put in the range of a 150cc-plus gas engine, since that's the threshold where thick or slightly damp grass stops bogging the blade. Brushless motors were a requirement.

Runtime per charge. We compared rated runtime against the battery capacity that actually ships in the box, because a 60-minute claim on a 7.5Ah pack means something very different from the same claim on a small one. Anything under about 40 minutes struggles on a third of an acre.

Push or self-propelled. Reviewer reports of user fatigue on grades above 10 percent pushed us toward self-propel for hilly yards. For flat lots, we weighted low weight and easy steering instead.

Battery platform. We favored batteries shared across a deep tool lineup, since a pack that also runs your trimmer, blower, and snow thrower is worth far more than one that only runs a mower.

Storage and deck. We wanted a 21-inch deck, 3-in-1 mulch-bag-discharge capability, and a fold-flat or vertical storage design, all of which are stated on the spec sheets and easy to verify.

Top pick

Gas-level cutting power, with a spare battery already included

EGO POWER+ Cordless Electric Lawn Mower

This is EGO's 21-inch Select Cut mower bundled with a 7.5Ah battery, a rapid charger, and an extra 5.0Ah pack. It's self-propelled, it swaps lower blades for mulching or bagging, and that second battery means a bigger lawn doesn't end with you standing around waiting.

$1,048fromAmazon

The cut is the reason to buy this one. The Select Cut system stacks an upper blade over an interchangeable lower blade, and you get three lower blades: mulching, high-lift bagging, and one tuned for longer runtime. EGO's own specifications put the mulching gain at up to 50 percent over a single-blade setup. In practice that means finer clippings that disappear into the lawn instead of sitting on top in rows.

The self-propel is the other reason. Touch Drive puts the drive control under your palm and the speed on a thumb dial, so you set your own walking pace instead of fighting the mower's. That matters on a slope. This Old House reviewers found self-propelled cordless mowers cut reported fatigue by 30 to 40 percent on grades steeper than 10 percent. If your yard has a hill you dread, this is the feature worth paying for.

The spare battery is what makes this bundle worth choosing over the plain mower. EGO rates the 7.5Ah pack at up to 60 minutes, and Popular Mechanics reported the LM2135SP finishing a third-acre plot with roughly a quarter of a charge left. Add the 5.0Ah pack and you've got margin for tall spring grass or a lawn you let go an extra week. EGO also publishes that its ARC Lithium cells hold 80 percent capacity after 1,500 charge cycles.

Both packs work with every other EGO 56V tool, which is the quiet argument for this platform. Buy a trimmer or a blower later and you're buying the bare tool. It's also genuinely neighborly: Tom's Guide measured the LM2135SP at 76 decibels at peak versus 94 for a comparable gas mower. On the decibel scale that's a large drop in perceived loudness, not a small one.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It's heavy, and the battery makes it heavier. On flat ground the self-propel hides that, but you'll feel it lifting the mower over a curb or turning it in a tight side yard. Storage takes a little planning, too, since this is a full-size 21-inch deck.

This is the most expensive setup here by a wide margin, and the extra battery ships separately from the mower, so the two boxes may not land the same day. A few owners have also reported the discharge cover breaking early. Nothing that stops the mower, but it's a plastic part on a machine that otherwise feels solid.

Runner-up

More torque and less weight, if you don't mind pushing it

Greenworks Pro 80V 21-Inch 80V Push Lawn

Greenworks sells this 80V, 21-inch mower as a bare tool, so it's for people who already own the batteries. The brushless motor is the strongest here on paper, and at 57 pounds it's the easiest of these mowers to shove around a flat yard.

$999.99fromAmazon

The 80V brushless motor is the headline. Greenworks rates it as equivalent to a 160cc gas engine, and Bob Vila's thick-grass comparisons put its blade torque in that same range. Smart Cut speeds the blade up automatically when it hits a dense patch, which is the part you actually notice — the mower doesn't sag halfway through a clump of tall fescue and then need a second pass.

It's a push mower, and for the right yard that's an advantage, not a compromise. At 57 pounds, it's light enough that self-propel would mostly be dead weight. Owners with flat quarter-acre lots consistently say it's easy to steer and quick to turn at the fence line. On anything steeper than a gentle rise, though, you'll want the EGO instead.

The 3-in-1 deck covers mulching, rear bagging, and side discharge, so you're not buying a kit later when you decide to bag in the fall and mulch the rest of the year. It also folds for vertical storage, which Greenworks says frees up as much as 70 percent of the floor space a mower normally eats in a garage. If you park a car in there, that's not a small thing.

Owner feedback on this one skews strongly positive, and the recurring theme is relief — people who spent years coaxing a gas mower to start each spring, done with the ritual. The complaints that show up are about runtime on small battery packs, not about the mower's ability to cut.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It ships as a bare tool. No battery, no charger. If you don't already have Greenworks 80V gear, the real cost of getting this mowing is much higher than the listing suggests, and it stops being the sensible choice.

The Greenworks 80V lineup is smaller than EGO's, so the ecosystem argument is weaker. And with no self-propel, a steep or long yard will wear you out faster than it would on the top pick.

Also great

A mulching push mower for a flat lawn and a crowded garage

Toro 60V MAX* 21 in. Recycler® Push

Toro put its long-running Recycler cutting deck on a 60V battery, and mulching is where it shines — clippings come out fine enough to vanish into the turf. It's another bare tool, so plan on buying a Flex-Force battery and charger separately.

$365.58fromAmazon

The Recycler deck has been Toro's mulching design for decades, and it carries over well. Grass gets recirculated under the deck and cut again before it drops, so you end up feeding the lawn instead of hauling bags to the curb. If you mulch by default and only bag occasionally, this is the deck built for how you mow.

Storage is the other reason to pick it. Toro's Recycler 60V line folds to stand upright, and Family Handyman describes that design as cutting the mower's garage footprint to about nine inches of depth — roughly a 70 percent saving over parking it flat. In a garage that already holds bikes, a workbench, and a car, that's the difference between owning this mower and tripping over it.

The battery works across more than 75 Flex-Force tools, including snow blowers, so a single pack can cover both ends of the year. Toro rates the mower at up to a third of an acre in 42 minutes on a full charge, and the 3-phase brushless motor adjusts output to the grass it's cutting rather than running flat out the whole time.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

Height adjustment is a 2-point system, not the single-lever, six-position setup on better mowers. It's quicker than adjusting each wheel, but you get less precision when you want to drop a half-inch for a late-season cut.

Bagging is the weak spot. Owners report the mulching blade leaves visible rows when they switch to the bag, and some end up buying a high-lift blade to fix it. Runtime complaints also come up from people who paired it with a small pack, which is the risk with any bare-tool mower — the battery you choose decides how good the mower feels.

The research

Who this is for

This guide is for homeowners with roughly a quarter to a half acre who are ready to stop buying gas cans. If your lawn is flat and small, a push model saves you money and weight. If you've got a slope, a long run, or knees that already complain, go self-propelled and don't look back. And if you already own batteries from one of these brands, that's the single biggest factor — matching your existing platform usually beats every spec on the page.

Skip cordless if your lot runs much past half an acre without a second battery, or if you mow overgrown, weedy ground where a gas mower's ability to just keep running matters more than quiet. This guide covers walk-behind cordless mowers with 21-inch decks only. Riding mowers, robot mowers, corded electric mowers, and reel mowers are out of scope, and so are the accessories and bare batteries that share these brand names.

How we picked

We compared manufacturer specifications, published reviews, and recurring themes in owner feedback across the mowers here. Cutting power: brushless motors rated near or above a 150cc gas engine, so thick grass doesn't stall the blade. Runtime: rated minutes weighed against the battery capacity that actually ships, since claims assume a dry lawn. Drive: self-propel for slopes and long runs, low weight for flat yards. Battery platform: packs shared across a deep tool lineup, because that's where the long-term value hides. Deck and storage: a 21-inch cut, 3-in-1 mulching and bagging, and a fold-up design that doesn't swallow your garage.

Other cordless lawn mowers worth considering

If you need a leaf blower too: The EGO Power+ LM2135SP 21-Inch Select Cut Lawn ($1,028) — This is the same LM2135SP mower, bundled with EGO's LB6504 blower and a 5.0Ah battery instead of a spare mower pack. The blower hits 650 CFM on its turbo setting and runs up to about 90 minutes, and the battery drops straight into the mower when you need it there. You give up the dedicated spare that makes our top pick good for bigger lawns — you're now sharing packs between two tools. But if your fall routine is mow, then blow the driveway, this covers both jobs on one platform.

The competition

What follows the picks is shaped by what the research surfaced and what was actually available, not by everything sold. Several well-regarded cordless mowers — Milwaukee's M18 FUEL 21-inch, DeWalt's FlexVolt walk-behind, Ryobi's 40V HP self-propelled, and Kobalt's 80V mower — came up repeatedly in published reviews, but the listings matching those searches turned out to be other tools and batteries from those brands rather than the mowers themselves. Those are noted below as excluded. If you're committed to one of those platforms, it's worth checking whether the mower is available through the brand's own retailer.

Battery care and storage

Batteries last longest when you stop treating them like gas tanks. Don't leave a pack on the charger all season, and don't store one fully drained — somewhere in the middle is kindest to the cells. Bring them inside over winter, since a freezing garage shortens their life and a hot one is worse. EGO publishes that its ARC Lithium cells keep 80 percent of capacity after 1,500 cycles, and that number assumes reasonable handling. The mower itself needs less. Rinse or scrape the underside of the deck when clippings cake up, sharpen the blade once a season, and pull the safety key before you tip it over. That's genuinely the whole routine.

Questions we get

How long does a battery lawn mower last on a single charge?

Most 56V to 80V mowers with a large pack run 30 to 60 minutes. EGO rates the LM2135SP at up to 60 minutes on its 7.5Ah battery, and Toro rates the Recycler at a third of an acre in 42 minutes. Treat those as best-case numbers for dry grass at a normal cut height. Wet or overgrown grass can cut runtime close to half.

Can a cordless mower fully replace a gas mower?

For lots up to about half an acre, yes. The torque on an 80V or 56V brushless motor is comparable to a 150cc to 160cc gas engine, and the cut quality is a wash. Where gas still wins is unlimited runtime and brute force through neglected, weedy growth. If you regularly mow a full acre or knock down knee-high grass, gas is still the easier tool.

What voltage do I need — 40V, 60V, or 80V?

Voltage roughly tracks torque, and amp-hours track runtime, so you want both. For a typical quarter-acre suburban lawn, 56V or 60V with a large pack is plenty. Step up to 80V if your grass is thick, established, or often damp when you cut it. Honestly, though, which platform your other tools use should carry more weight than the number itself.

Do I really need a self-propelled mower?

It depends on your terrain, not your yard size alone. On flat ground under a third of an acre, a light push mower is simpler and cheaper. Once you're on grades above 10 percent, self-propel makes a real difference — This Old House reviewers reported 30 to 40 percent less fatigue on that kind of slope. If you're on the fence and your lawn has hills, get it.

How do these handle wet or thick grass?

Better than they used to, but expect a hit. Higher-voltage brushless motors with load sensing, like Greenworks' Smart Cut or Toro's RunSmart, speed the blade up when they meet resistance instead of bogging. The trade is runtime, which drops noticeably in damp grass. Raise your cut height and take narrower passes and you'll get through it fine.

Can I use my existing drill batteries in a mower?

Only within the same brand and voltage system. An EGO 56V pack runs any EGO 56V tool, and a Toro Flex-Force battery runs more than 75 Toro tools including snow blowers. But nothing crosses brands, and lower-voltage packs from a drill kit generally won't power a full-size mower. That's why picking a platform matters more than picking a single mower.

Why you should trust us

For this guide:

We read published reviews from Popular Mechanics, Tom's Guide, Bob Vila, This Old House, and Family Handyman alongside each manufacturer's own specification sheets.
We compared rated runtime, deck width, weight, height adjustment, and battery compatibility across every listing in this guide.
We read through owner feedback for recurring themes, particularly complaints about bagging quality, real-world runtime, and bare-tool listings that arrive without a battery.
We read owner reviews on every listing, weighted toward the critical ones, because that is where the recurring failures show up.
We have a systematic way of automatically fetching the latest prices, so the numbers on this page stay current.
This is a research-focused guide, so the team may not own every product listed — though we often do own the top winners, which gives us extra context for the recommendations.
We don't accept free products, and the retailer commission never changes which product we recommend.