Top five best grass trimmers and lawn edgers

Jade Harding

In this article

The best grass trimmers can tidy the lawn edges easily and trim hard-to-reach grass without much hassle.

The worst we’ve tested leave straggly grass and stubborn weeds in the garden, suffer far too many line-feed jams, or have a battery that dies within minutes of starting the job.

We’ve pulled out our top five petrol, cordless and electric grass trimmers and lawn edgers from our tests in the table below. We also reveal the models that you’re better off avoiding.

Only logged-in Which? members can view our recommendations in the table below. If you're not yet a member, you can get instant access by joining Which?.

Best grass trimmers

84%

£259.00

Reviewed Apr 2017

This cordless grass trimmer is excellent at cutting down long grass and weeds, but also feels well balanced and easy to use. It has the power of a heavy-duty petrol grass trimmer, but with the advantage that it’s less noisy, vibrates far less and is much easier to start.

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83%

£71.99

Reviewed Apr 2014

This heavy-duty electric grass trimmer did a good job of cutting through weeds and tough grass. It's comfortable to use and the line feed works well. Despite being a corded machine, it's very powerful, so is no easier to control than a petrol model. With a little practice you may get a neat edge on your lawn, but we wouldn't recommend it for that task. If you don't mind using a corded machine for cutting long grass, it's a much cheaper alternative to a petrol grass trimmer.

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83%

£323.00

Reviewed Apr 2014

This is a great petrol grass trimmer, and the brushcutter head is extremely effective. It's comfortable to use and easily deals with tough job, such as heavy weeds and long grass. The bump feed on the grass trimmer head works well, so you won't lose your line. It's pricey, but should last you a long time.

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80%

£254.95

Reviewed Apr 2017

This model is powerful enough to cut long grass and weeds, but can still make a decent job of the more delicate task of edging your lawn, so we've classed it as a general-purpose strimmer. It’s expensive, at £238, but it’s worth considering if you want a versatile machine.

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73%

£49.00

Reviewed Apr 2014

This is another decent grass trimmer. It’s great for edging and deals with long, rough grass and weeds reasonably well. Perfect if you want a corded electric grass trimmer to use occasionally for short amounts of time.

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Not found the right product for you? Browse all our grass trimmer reviews.

Grass trimmers to avoid

The worst grass trimmers can leave you with messy lawn edges and an aching back. Here are two grass trimmer that we wouldn't recommend buying:

41%

£45.00

Reviewed Apr 2017

This corded electric grass trimmer struggles on all fronts. Although we didn’t expect it to do well on tough jobs, such as cutting long grass and weeds, it cut poorly on all our tasks and was uncomfortable to use. Choose another general-purpose grass trimmer for your lawn edging and garden tidying.

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38%

£30.00

Reviewed Apr 2013

This corded electric grass trimmer is very small, so you seem to be constantly bent over. It doesn't do a brilliant job and is only suitable for very small lawns.

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Useful features to look for when buying a grass trimmer

Here are three of the most useful features to look for when buying a new grass trimmer:

Rotating head - this lets you flip the cutting mechanism so you can cut vertically.
A wheel on the grass-trimmer head - this supports the weight of the grass trimmer and maintains a constant cutting height.
Telescopic shaft - a shaft handle that you can adjust to suit your height.

For more advice on choosing the best grass trimmer for you, head to our grass trimmers buying guide.

Why Which? grass trimmer reviews are better

Which? is independent and doesn't accept advertising or freebies, so you can trust our reviews to give you the full, honest and impartial truth about a product.

As part of our grass-trimmer tests, our experts cut short grass growing over the edge of paths, along a flower border, and against a fence. They also cut grass that has been allowed to grow to a height of 15cm, as well as tough weeds and vegetation. While cutting, our experts look for: