British gardens might be seeing more robot mowers these days, but most lawns are still tackled the traditional way: with a good, old fashioned lawn mower. Unlike their automated counterparts, the best lawnmowers lets you take control for a precise cut. Not to mention, they won’t cost you nearly as much.
Mowers come in all shapes and sizes, from basic models for small lawns to powerful petrol machines that can handle several acres. You’ll also find convenient cordless options and affordable hover mowers if you’re on a budget, plus features to consider like self-propulsion, adjustable cutting heights, and mulching plugs.
If you’re not sure what to look for, finding the right mower can be tricky. The garden equipment world is full of jargon and over-the-top claims about machines that can do it all. Without careful research, you could end up spending hundreds on a mower that isn’t suited to your lawn.
That’s why I’ve put dozens of mowers through their paces across a variety of lawns. After a full season of testing, I can confidently recommend these as the best lawn mowers for every type of garden.
The best lawnmowers for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Worx WG743E.1 lawnmower: £359, Amazon.co.uk
- Best with a roller – LawnMaster 48V cordless lawnmower, £242, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for a large lawn – Hyundai HYM 480 SPER, £459, Amazon.co.uk
- Best cordless – Kärcher LMO 18-36 lawnmower: £199.99, Amazon.co.uk
Read more: 9 best outdoor storage boxes to keep your garden tidy
How I tested
I tested each lawnmower over a number of weeks, paying attention to things like the cut (arguably the most important testing factor), manoeuvrability, storage, and any other extra features it offered. You can find my full testing criteria, and my my pick of the best lawnmowers down below.
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Worx WG743E.1 lawnmower
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Best: lawn mower overall
Weight: 13.9kg
Cutting width: 40cm
Grass bag volume: 45l
Cutting heights: 20mm to 80mm
Why we love it
- Good ergonomics
- Seven cutting heights
- Cut-to-edge function
This mower has good ergonomics and well-sized, easy-rolling wheels that give good traction even when going uphill. Seven cutting heights give you the ability to handle the first mow of the spring, when the grass is at its tallest, and keep it maintained through summer and autumn.
It features Worx’s cut-to-edge function, which I absolutely love. The deck design and off-centred blade get as close to your garden’s borders as possible, leaving you with less trimming and maintenance to do afterwards. More tech also adjusts the blade speed according to the length of the grass, which extends the life of the double batteries on board, which are already enough to be able to keep a medium-sized garden in check on just one charge.
A large cutting blade also keeps cutting time to a minimum, but considering the deck is 43cm, the mower doesn’t feel cumbersome, while the chassis is tough enough to withstand any collisions with tree trunks, hard borders and other permanent obstacles. I was left with an impressive professional finish in no time at all, and the mower stores upright, so it doesn’t take over your storage space.
Buy now £300, Diy.com
LawnMaster 48V cordless lawnmower
Best: lawn mower with a roller
Weight: 24.2kg
Cutting width: 41cm
Grass collection volume: 42l
Cutting heights: 22-72mm
Why we love it
- Good battery life
- Package includes two one-hour fast chargers
I found this mower swiftly dealt with the long grass of my first cut, but it truly shone with repeated use. It has a rear roller, which flattens the grass as it mows and leaves distinctive stripes. It will have even a small lawn with a sleek, professional cut that’s more like Wembley or Wimbledon than a back garden.
Meanwhile, a side comb does a good job of directing more grass towards the spinning blade, so you can mow close to the edges of your lawn. The on-board system adjusts the motor speed to the condition of the grass being cut, drawing more power from the batteries when dealing with thick grass and slowing down the motor speed when performing top-up trims where the blade encounters less resistance.
This gets the most out of the two 24V batteries, and gives you good runtime for larger lawns, and you can keep an eye on the charge level with an easy-read indicator on the handle. There are six cutting heights available, selected via a lever on top of the cutting deck.
The handle has two positions, and I found it made for easy wheeling around the lawn. Once the job’s done, the collapsible handle folds neatly around the machine, and it can be stowed upright. This is a brilliant mower, and only misses out on the top spot because it’s usually more expensive than the Worx WG743E.1. If you want a professional cut with a roller, this is the mower for you.
Buy now £279.99, Cleva-uk.com
Hyundai HYM 480 SPER lawnmower
Best: lawn mower for large lawns
Weight: 46kg
Cutting width: 48cm
Grass bag volume: 70l
Cutting heights: 25mm to 75mm
Why we love it
- Rear roller for professional striping
- Capacious 70l grass box
- Self-propelled for ease of use
If you’re blessed with a large lawn, this is your best option. It has a huge 48cm cutting width and self-propulsion, so it’s less effort to push it around a big garden. It performed superbly thanks to its five adjustable cutting heights and a rear roller that leaves behind an attractive, centre-court-style striping that’s bound to impress the neighbours.
The Hyundai has a very reliable electric start that avoids the tug of war that can happen with a starting cable. The self-propulsion is smooth, making it easy to find the right pace, and it also makes up for the hefty 46kg weight of the machine. There are even a couple of cup holders, if you need some light refreshment while you work. Add to this a cavernous grass box, and you have a machine that will take all the effort out of keeping on top of a large lawn.
The only issues with this mower are the usual disadvantages of a petrol mower. It’s expensive, storing petrol can be a faff, and maintaining small engine parts can be time-consuming. It’s loud and throws off fairly noxious exhaust. That said, if you have a large lawn, there’s nothing better.
Buy now £459, Amazon.co.uk
Kaercher LMO 18-36 lawnmower
Best: cordless lawn mower
Weight: 13.3kg
Cutting width: 36cm
Grass bag volume: 45l
Cutting heights: 30mm to 70mm
Why we love it
- 25 minutes of mowing time
- Chassis design gets close to walls and fences
If you want to cut the cord and go with a battery model, this is a good entry-level option. It’s a good choice for a small to medium plot, with 25 minutes of mowing on a fully charged battery. The 36cm cutting width can be set to work at four different heights and can be adjusted to mow and mulch, or simply mow into the 45l collection bag.
The results were good for the price bracket, and the chassis design meant I could mow close to the edge, next to walls and fences. Very lightweight to push around, it also has a sturdy carry handle on top to help with lifting and moving, with the handles folding down for space-saving convenience. The box also includes a 5AH battery and a fast charger.
Buy now £199.99, Amazon.co.uk
Husqvarna Aspire LC34 P4A lawnmower
Best: lawn mower for storage
Weight: 11.8kg
Cutting width: 34cm
Grass bag volume: 30l
Cutting heights: 20mm to 60mm
Why we love it
- Compact and easy to store
- Can be stowed vertically on a wall
Lawnmowers are among the bulkiest pieces of landscaping kit, but this walk-behind from Husqvarna’s aspire range is ideal for those with minimal storage space. For a compact mower, it has a good cutting width, and the blades worked well to leave a clean, sharp cut. When you’re happy with the results, you can store the mower vertically on a wall, thanks to the hook hanger, which is one of the standout features of all the machines in the aspire range.
There’s also excellent operating and lifting ergonomics and, combined with its light weight, the Aspire can be effortlessly manoeuvred into the tightest spots as well as carried to and from its working area.
Buy now £222, Redbanduk.co.uk
Ego LM1702E-SP lawnmower
Best: lawn mower for mulching
Weight: 26kg
Cutting width: 42cm
Grass bag volume: 55l
Cutting heights: 20mm to 80mm
Why we love it
- Tackles long grass well
- Long-lasting battery
- Variable speed fingertip dial
Take note
- Expensive
This self-propelled mower has a good 42cm cutting width, and I had no issues with scalping or tufts. It’s also great at handling long grass. You get total control over the machine via an innovative variable speed fingertip dial, so you can speed up when mowing larger expanses of lawn or slow down when manoeuvring around trees or other obstacles, so it never feels like the lawnmower is getting away from you.
There is a choice of seven cutting heights, and the large grass box was easy to empty thanks to some well-placed handles. If you’d rather detach the grass box, there is also a mulching option. There’s good ergonomics throughout the machine, too, with an easy handle height adjustment, and it was one of the easiest machines to operate on test, thanks to the robust but lightweight polypropylene deck.
The Ego Power+ battery and chargers are superior performers and give you plenty of power for medium-sized garden cutting on a super-fast charge. The drawback is that it’s pretty expensive for a lawnmower.
Buy now £559, Egopowerplus.co.uk
EGO LM2236E-SP
Best: Lawnmower for hilly gardens
Weight: 31kg
Cutting width: 55cm
Grass bag volume: 85l
Cutting heights: 25-105mm
Why we love it
- Good battery life
- Great performance
- Small storage footprint
Take note
- Expensive
This is a beast of a mower, so it’s a good job it’s self-propelled, moving smoothly along according to the drive speed you set via a twisting throttle on the handlebar. This made for easy mowing on the flat, but it performed well as I headed for sloped sections, taking itself up a steep incline with no slippage at all.
It’s one of the roughest and toughest machines on test, with a polycarbonate cutting deck that can take the hits. A lot of the performance is down to the excellent EGO battery platform, which will enable you to tame a sizeable lawn on a single charge, thanks, in part, to the machine’s huge 55cm deck. I couldn’t fault the quality of the finish, particularly because you can mulch or collect grass, or select a combination of the two, which gave the best result.
I wasn’t entirely sure why the machine comes with two powerful LED headlights until I realised that they help you cut under the shade of trees.
Finally, even though it’s a big machine, it has one of the smallest storage footprints on test, as it utilises a collapsible grass collection bag, a quick release handle that can be reduced to the size of the deck, and it can be stored upright. However, like the other Ego model above, it’s very expensive. It’s a great option for big, hilly gardens, but it will cost you.
Buy now £1199, Egopowerplus.co.uk
Flymo hover vac 250
Best: hover lawnmower
Weight: 6.9kg
Cutting width: 25cm
Grass bag volume: 15l
Cutting heights: 1cm to 3cm
Why we love it
- Easy mowing
Take note
- Only three cutting heights
Mains-powered with a 10m power cable, this was one of the best hover mowers I tested, because the hover function was instant and it maintained the cushion of air throughout cutting, without any drop-offs in performance.
Well designed, with the grass box sitting underneath the motor housing, the machine is very compact, adding to its suitability for smaller areas of lawn.
I never had a problem changing the cutting height, although this isn’t automatic, and you have to use spacers to alter the blade height, which some users might find a bit of a hassle. However, the blade cut cleanly, the grass collection was efficient, and the overall ergonomics were good. The machine can also fold flat, and, because it’s lightweight, it can be hung on the wall of a storage space. If you want an inexpensive hover mower, this is the one.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon.co.uk
Stihl RMA 443
Best: lawn mower for medium-sized lawns
Weight: 21kg
Cutting width: 41cm
Grass box volume: 55l
Cutting heights: 25-75mm
Why we love it
- Excellent finish
- Quiet operation
Take note
- Static grass box
This is a cordless machine with good ergonomics, a height-adjustable handle, wheels large enough in diameter that they will roll easily around a flat lawn, and a nicely designed deck that cuts to edges and around trees and shrubs.
If you bump the mower during garden duties, the polymer housing will soak up any impact. Stihl’s centrally placed cutting height adjuster is one of the easiest to operate, and I never had to wrestle with it to make an adjustment. The mower also left behind a very sharp cut, with excellent grass collection (very little was left behind).
This is all backed up with Stihl’s proven AK system battery platform. I’ve always found it long-lasting and reliable, making this a very good option if you have a big lawn to tackle. When the job’s done, a well-positioned carry handle makes the mower easy to move by hand, if necessary, and the handlebar folds over the entire cutting deck to reduce the amount of storage space necessary.
Buy now £469.99, Sam-turner.co.uk
Stiga combi 340e kit
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Best: Compact lawn mower
Weight: 14kg
Cutting width: 38cm
Grass bag volume: 50l
Cutting heights: 25-75mm
Why we love it
- Great value
Take note
- A bit noisy for early weekend morning cuts
This hand-propelled unit is very easy to push around, thanks to two large, easy-rolling back wheels and plenty of adjustability in the handle, so you can achieve a comfortable position, according to your height.
One of the stand-out features of this mower is the design of the cutting deck. The snubbed nose added to the overall manoeuvrability of the machine, making it easy to cut a tricky garden with awkward trees close to a fence. The cutting height adjuster was a little stiff to begin with, but after a few cuts, the mechanism loosened up, and I had no trouble adjusting between the six heights on offer.
Buy now £319, Stiga.com
Your questions about lawnmowers answered
What is the best lawnmower?
There’s a lot to consider when you invest in a lawnmower, but the WG743E.1 by Worx gets everything right, enabling you to take a lawn from neglected to nurtured in no time at all. It has a decent cutting width and seven cutting heights. It’s lightweight and manoeuvrable, and has excellent battery life. It comes at a fair price, too, and it has been my favourite mower for years.
he truly lawn-obsessed should opt for the LawnMaster 48V cordless lawnmower, as its roller makes for a perfect stripy lawn.
How I tested
I’ve tested a range of lawnmowers on all shapes and sizes of lawn. After weeks of walking up and down in straight lines, these are the machines that made the cut. During testing, I had strict criteria:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Jon Axworthy has been a feature writer since 1996 and has been contributing reviews to IndyBest since 2017. He specialises in the outdoors and has tried and tested myriad products, from grass strimmers to cordless drills and much more, offering his honest opinions to help you find the best tools for the job at hand.
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