Best lawn mower: 12 top buys for lawns large and small

The best lawn mower will help to keep your garden tidy and the grass looking fresh and green, but it will need to be the right size for your garden, easy for you to use, plus a suitable size for your available storage space.

Our selection of the best lawn mowers around includes both plug-in and cordless electric designs, petrol mowers, and a robot mower. There are models for gardens of all sizes and those for all budgets, too. Not sure what you need and the pros and cons of different types of mower? Scroll down and you’ll find our buyer’s guide to get you in the know.

So keep reading for our top picks. Already know you want the best cordless lawn mower? We have a buyer’s guide for that too.

The best lawn mower 2020

We've trawled through lawn mower reviews and even tested a few ourselves to bring you, what we think, are the best lawn mowers which you can buy today.

Keep scrolling to see our top buys for electric lawn mowers, petrol lawn mowers or robot lawn mowers which will suit all manner of gardens – big and small – and are offered to you at the best prices. 

The best electric lawn mowers

If you want to step away from a petrol mower, but not be inhibited by the battery running time, the Worx 40V Cordless Lawn Mower could be the one for you.

Two modes
The Worx 40V cordless can be used in Turbo or Eco Modes. Eco helps the battery last longer, yet Turbo mode adds a little more oomph and is noticeable over thicker grass. Working alongside these modes is Intellicut technology which adjusts the speed automatically with different grass conditions, so it keeps consistent cutting efficiency in dense grass.

Cutting power
The deck design of this mower will cut grass close to fencing/walls, leaving a smaller uncut grass area around the edges. It also has six cutting height settings which range from 20-70mm.

Power
It's powered by two, rechargeable 20V batteries simultaneously which provides extra power and runtime. Worx estimate you should get 30–35 minutes from one charge with them, which should be plenty enough for lawns of around 280m2. You can even share the battery with other tools in the Worx range.

Gardeningetc rating 5 out of 5 stars – head over to our Worx 40V Cordless Lawn Mower review for all the details. 

A close contender to our top spot, this Gtech lawn mower narrowly missed out on first place just because of that price tag of around £500. If you have the budget, then it is worth considering. 

Time saver
With a 1 hour charge time you’ll be ready to mow without too much hanging around with this model. Once you start, there’s up to 40 minutes of running time and, because the mower has a 50ltr grass box, you can cut down on emptying trips. It has a cutting width of 42cm, which means less passes before you’re done.

Cutting height
There’s a choice of cutting heights between 30 and 80mm in 10mm increments with this mower, giving you plenty of options.

Fold down
Limited room in the shed or garage to stow your mower? You’ll like the fact that you can fold this model down to tidy away.

The Bosch Rotak 370 Electric Cordless Push Lawn Mower has plenty of useful features for your money, and it’s comfortable to use. 

Light work
You will need to push this lawn mower, but it’s designed to deliver high torque to power it through the grass. It can cut right to the edges of walls and flowerbeds which will help you get your lawn care chores finished more quickly

Steel blade
The metal blades of this model will deliver a clean cut and a tidy finish. You can pick from six cutting heights from 20 to 70mm to suit.

Time spent
There’s no cable to worry about when you’re using this battery model and, although total charging time is 140 minutes, it’ll get to 80 per cent quickly.

If you want cord-free mowing for a small to medium sized garden and don’t want a bulky machine to store, check out the Flymo EasiStore 300Li 2 x 20v Cordless Rotary Lawnmower.

Stand tall
When it comes to tidying away, this mower’s a winner. It can be made vertical with the grassbox on top so it’s easy to slip into the shed, or you can just fold the handle down if that works better.

Different stripe
Love a striped lawn? Us, too, and this machine has an integrated rear roller to create the finish you’re after.

Smaller spaces
The mower’s best for small to medium gardens with a 30ltr grass box. You’ll find the box easy to empty when you come to it.

For a cordless lawn mower that’s up to the task of cutting a big lawn, look no further than the Greenworks G40LM41 Cordless Lawn Mower.  

High capacity
This mower can keep lawns of up to 600 square metres neat. It has a 50ltr grass box, a cutting width of 41cm, and the options for cutting heights run from 25 to 80mm.

Multi-use battery
This version doesn’t come with a battery because if you already have a Greenworks garden or workshop product with a 40V battery you can use that, and won’t end up buying the same thing twice. However, you’ll find the same mower on sale with a battery if you’re not already equipped.

Lawn care
There’s a mulching facility on this model, which means you can keep the lawn healthier, and you don’t have to dispose of clippings. But you can collect the grass if you prefer.

There’s no point in spending out on a big mower if your lawn’s on the diminutive side – the Argos Flymo Hover Vac 250 25cm Collect Lawnmower will do all you need.

Light work
The mower itself isn’t heavy at just 6.9kg, and the other big plus point is that it floats on air so it’s easy to use.

Plug in
This design has a cable that’s 10m long so you’ll have plenty of room to manoeuvre in a small garden. You don’t need to remember to charge a battery, either. The downside? You need to avoid the cable.

Lawn looks
There are only three cutting heights from 10 to 30mm, and you can’t get a stripe, but for a small garden this compact-to-store design will do the biz.

Packed a whole lot into your small or medium-sized garden? The Einhell GE-CM 18/30 Li Cordless Lawn Mower can work efficiently around the features.

Tricky corners
Easy to move and pretty light at 9.71kg, this mower also has large wheels that protect the grass and it will get up to edges a treat.

Chop and change
The battery is part of a system where one battery fits all the power tools, so you don’t end up with multiples. It takes two hours to charge.

Lawn options
There are just three cutting heights from 30 to 70mm available, which is less choice than other models offer, but may be all you need for lawn care.

The best petrol lawn mowers

Simply guide the Mountfield HP185  Lawn Mower round your garden. You can keep going for longer with this self-propelling model.

Smart finish
Whether you have long or short, damp or dry grass this lawn mower will make light work of slicing through even the toughest clumps for a neat appearance.

More grass
You can stop less with a generous 60ltr capacity grass box. It also comes with a mulching plug which finely cuts grass trimmings into a nitrogen-rich mulch which is then recycled back into the lawn as a natural fertiliser.

Made to last
A steel chassis makes this a robust mower that’s made to keep on cutting.

A petrol mower at a value price point, the Einhell GC-PM 40 S Self Propelled Petrol Lawnmower is a no-pushing-needed option. 

Lighten up
Petrol mowers can be weighty, but at 21.7kg, this model won’t prove awkward – plus you don’t need to push either because it’s self-propelling. 

Size matters
You can keep a big lawn neat with this model. It’s recommended for areas up to 1,000 sq m.

Grass catcher
The grass basket has a fill level indicator so you know when to stop and empty, plus it has two handles so the job’s easier.

Got some serious mowing to tackle? The Hyundai 196 cc Self Propelled Electric Push Button Start Petrol Lawn Mower is mower enough for the job.

Easy start
If you don’t like the idea of a pull start, this mower’s got your name on it. It has a push-button electric version although there is a recoil pull-start back up.

In control
The mower is self-propelled and you can choose from four speeds to get the pace you’re happy moving at.

Keep going
With a 70ltr grass box you can keep mowing without to-ing and fro-ing to empty. The petrol engine is designed for low fuel consumption, so you can keep going for longer on a single tank.

The best robot lawn mowers

You can relax – or more likely get on with some other essential task – and let the Flymo Cordless EasiLife 200 Robotic Lawn Mower mow for you.

Robo-gardener
This robot mower is suitable for lawns up to 200m2 – in other words, up to medium size. It can work on gradients up to 35 per cent. Before it can get to work, you’ll just have to position the charging station and set up the boundary wire that defines the cutting area.

Working practices
The mower adapts the cutting schedule automatically based on the lawn growth and weather conditions, and mows in an irregular pattern for full coverage and to avoid track marks. It mulches so you don’t have to worry about emptying a grass box. It takes itself back to the charging station as necessary, too.

Smart features
You can set the schedule from the keypad or via the EasiLife app. With the latter, you can access mower status and support information from your phone.

Gardeningetc rating 4.5 out of 5 stars – head over to our Flymo Cordless EasiLife 200 Robotic Lawn Mower review for the full details. 

Another robot lawn mower option is this model from Worx. It is smaller than it looks but don't be fooled because it will keep your lawn well maintained, especially if you have an uncomplex garden.

Mowing tech
Designed to mow your lawn often, the Landroid has patented mowing AIA cutting technology which ensures that it can navigate and mow narrow spaces really easily. This one also comes with optional extras such as voice control, ACS obstacle control, anti-theft and digital fence which make the robot mower even more intelligent.

It also has a mulching function to maintain your garden which reuses the clippings to serve as a natural fertilizer.

Smart features
Controlled by an easy-to-use app, this robot lawnmower will mow your entire lawn with just the touch of a button and even set up a mowing schedule. The app is called Landroid which can be downloaded to your iPhone or Android device, and be used across your home Wi-Fi connection.

Gardeningetc rating 4 out of 5 stars – head over to our Worx Landroid M500 robot lawn mower review for the full details. 

How to buy the best lawn mower 2020

Petrol or electric: which is best?
You can pick between mowers powered by electricity, those that use petrol, and even lawnmowers you simply push yourself. Within the electric mower range, you’ll find both those that have a cable and cordless versions with a battery you’ll need to charge.

You can pick up a mower with a cable from a very low price point, while a cordless version with a battery on board is more costly. A mower with a cable has a limited range, of course, so check there’s sufficient length to get round the entire lawn. These don’t take up a lot of storage space.

Cordless mowers 
These designs aren’t limited by a cable. Pay attention to charge time and maximum battery life if you want one of these to ensure you’re happy with the numbers. Robot lawn mowers are a type of cordless mower – just one you don’t have to push.

Petrol mowers 
These will cope with big gardens, but there’s nothing to stop you having one for around 100 square metres and upwards. They are powerful and should help you get finished faster. Bear in mind that you’ll need to buy and store the petrol and oil and get one of these serviced.

What types of lawn mower are there?

You’ll find cylinder, rotary and hover mowers on offer. Cylinder mowers have a rotating set of blades that cut against a fixed blade. They’ll keep a small lawn looking neat and tidy. The vast majority of lawnmowers are rotary with a single horizontal blade on the bottom that rotates at speed. They’ll cope with grass of different lengths and uneven as well as flat lawns.

Hover mowers are different again, and hover on a cushion of air. They’re best used in small to medium gardens, but will cope successfully with uneven grass and slopes.

What about the grass box?

How many trips you make to empty the grass box will be determined by its capacity. If you don’t have much to mow that’s not an issue, but the bigger the garden, the more the grass box should hold.

You may want to go for a mower that mulches, cutting the clippings into finer pieces and then returning them to the lawn where they add nutrients.

Go for a mower without a grass box and no mulching feature and you’ll be raking up the grass at the end.

What about cutting width and height?

The wider the cutting width the mower offers the bigger the area it cuts in one go and hence the faster you’ll finish a mowing session. For a large lawn, go for 40cm and above; 30cm is fine for a small lawn; and between the two will work for a medium lawn.

Adjustable cutting heights are handy: they’ll allow you to set the height you want the grass to be when you’ve finished.

What other features should you look out for in the best lawn mower?

Don’t want to push the mower? Look out for a self-propelling mower. If you want stripes on your lawn, you need a mower with a rear roller. A foldable handle, meanwhile, will mean your mower demands less storage space.

What is the best lawn mower?

To recap... the best electric (cordless) lawn mower in our opinion is the Worx 40V Cordless Lawn Mower. It has a lot going for it being super easy to use,  compact and affordable. The mower is so good in fact we rated it 5 out of 5 stars in our review.

Prefer a petrol-powered mower? Then we can recommend the Mountfield HP185 125cc Petrol Lawnmower. Or, if you want someone (or something) else to mow the grass for you then it would be worth considering the Flymo Cordless EasiLife 200 Robotic Lawnmower.

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