Best Electric Lawn Mowers: Cut Lawns and Costs With Battery-Powered Mowers

Battery-powered lawn mowers offer homeowners and landscapers a cleaner way to cut their grass, rivaling gas-powered lawn mowers in performance and cost. Here are our top picks for the best electric lawn mowers:

• EgoPower+ Self-Propelled Cordless Mower 

• Greenworks 40V Cordless Mower

• BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Corded Lawn Mower, String Trimmer & Edger

Best electric lawn mowers

EGO Power+ Self-Propelled Cordless Mower LM2102SP-A

EGO Power+ is one of the top brands in battery-powered equipment. This popular electric lawn mower comes with two 56-volt lithium-ion batteries that can run the mower for up to 65 minutes on a single charge. Its 21-inch cutting width is perfect for most lawns, and the self-propulsion makes it easy to check cutting the grass off your to-do list. 

It has overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon, coming in at 4.2 stars, but some reviews noted that it can be difficult to cut wet grass and although it has mulching functionality, some say it isn’t as efficient at it as a gas mower. 

Greenworks 40V Cordless Push Lawn Mower

At 37 pounds and a cutting width of 16 inches, the Greenworks 40V Cordless Push Lawn Mower is a compact but powerful mower. The 40V battery is protected by a 3-year warranty and offers a 45-minute runtime and 120-minute charge time. The battery pack is also compatible with other Greenworks products and tools. 

BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Corded Lawn Mower, String Trimmer & Edger

This mower from Black and Decker is great for those on a budget or with a smaller lawn. It’s just under 10 pounds with a 12-inch cutting width. Not only does it act as a lawn mower, but it’s also a string trimmer and edger, so you can achieve a perfectly manicured lawn with just one tool. 

You don’t have to worry about charging batteries with this one, simply plug it in and start cutting your grass. However, this does mean you’ll probably need an extension cord to get to every corner of your yard. 

Are electric lawnmowers any good?

Battery-powered electric mowers are now as good as gas-powered mowers since they can go anywhere other mowers can. Battery-powered mowers are becoming cost-competitive with gas mowers at the store, and have a much lower lifetime cost since they don’t require gas or oil to operate.

Electric lawnmowers offer the same set of features that gas-powered mowers do. They include grass-cutting height adjustments; grass clipping management, including mulching bagging options and side discharge; push mower, self-propelled, and riding mower options; and many conveniently fold down for storage. 

They offer advantages over gas-powered mowers, too. Chief among them are lower operating costs and less maintenance. They’re also quieter to operate, which means you’re more likely to hear kids playing around behind you when you’re mowing the lawn. They’re also easy to maneuver, as the motor and batteries for an electric mower are lighter than the gas and engine on a gas mower.

The overall use costs of an electric mower over 10 years, including maintenance and energy, are about $191. The overall use costs for a gas-powered mower including fuel and maintenance over 10 years are much higher, at $490.

How long do electric lawnmower batteries last?

Most mower battery packs have a cut time between 30 minutes and 60 minutes, which will allow a homeowner to mow between a half to a third of an acre or so. 

Depending on the voltage, and amp hours (Ah) offered by the battery, costs vary significantly as does the run time of the lawn mower. If you have a small lawn you won’t need a giant mower or battery. For a bigger lawn consider a mower with a higher voltage and higher Ah battery pack. If you want a self-propelled electric lawn mower you might need an even bigger battery.

A mower battery should have a five-year battery life. If replaced, it can extend the mower’s life to 10 or more years. 

Another thing to consider when purchasing a battery-powered lawn mower is whether you want it to be part of an ecosystem of electric tools. Companies like Ryobi, Stihl, DeWalt and Black & Decker offer electric lawnmowers and electrified tools like weed whackers and trimmers—or even drills and saws. These offer opportunities to share batteries and chargers among many pieces of equipment.