Best Strimmers and Brush Cutters: 10 Ranked, and the Specs That Don't Match

This is the most-reviewed tool in the list: 2,695 ratings at 4.6, and 17th in Amazon's Grass Trimmers category. Its figures are also the least confusing here — a 950 W motor, a 37 cm cutting width on line, 23 cm on the metal blade, and a quoted 9,000 RPM. Among strimmers and brush cutters, that pairing of a wide line cut and a narrow blade cut covers tidy edges and stubborn growth with one machine.

The combi head is the practical part. You swap between the supplied 37 cm line and the blade without changing tools, which is why it copes with overgrown ground as well as lawn edges. The handle and belt adjust, so the 5.3 kg sits on your shoulder and hip rather than in your hands. It is corded, which means no runtime limit and no battery to charge — but there is a mains lead to work around.

That said, do not buy it if your garden is far from a socket, or if you work on steep banks. At 5.3 kg, carried by hand with no wheel or harness frame, it gets heavy. It also arrives needing assembly. One oddity before you order: the specification field says '1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included)' on a corded machine. Ignore it — this brushcutter runs off the mains.

Second on review volume and second overall: 2,954 ratings at 4.3, a brushless motor with electronic speed control and a quoted 6,300 RPM. The listed weight is 6.5 kg, the heaviest in this guide. Its own listing disagrees with itself, though — the highlight claims a 25.5 cm cutting width while the specification table says 30 cm.

In practice the Agillo is built for rough ground: a 3-tooth metal blade, a bump-feed line spool, a spindle lock for changing the cutter set, and a twin handle that adjusts to the user. The straight shaft splits in two for the car boot, and a wall bracket is included. It runs on Einhell's 36V Power X-Change batteries, which also fit the rest of that range.

The catch is the price. £158.99 buys the tool alone — no battery, no charger — so unless you already own 36V PXC packs, budget for those on top. The battery field says '1 12V batteries required', which contradicts the 36V system in the product name, so check what you already have. Skip it if you want something light: 6.5 kg is a two-handed tool.

At £94.00 this is the cheapest way into a petrol machine in the list, and the only one with a three-year domestic warranty. The engine is a 52cc two-stroke with a quoted 9,000 RPM and a 450 mm cutting width, and Hyundai lists a 9.1 kg weight.

The 2-in-1 strimmer and brushcutter kit includes a nylon line head for edging and a 255 mm steel blade for heavier growth — a brush cutter and strimmer on one shaft, so you are not buying two tools. A twin shoulder harness spreads the 9.1 kg across your shoulders and back, and the shaft splits for transport. If you want a petrol brush cutter for brambles and rough grass with no mains lead, this is the cheapest route to one in this list of strimmers and brush cutters.

However, 9.1 kg is the heaviest tool here and you will be mixing two-stroke fuel. The review profile is also less tidy than the Bosch corded model: 13 of 100 ratings are one-star, against 3 in the same 100 for the AFS 23-37. If you have a small lawn, or no wish to handle petrol, this is the wrong tool.

The AdvancedBrushCut 36V-23-750 carries the best score of any cordless model here — 4.5 from 119 ratings — and the best Bosch cordless figures: a quoted 6,400 RPM, 33 cm with line and 23 cm with the blade. Weight is listed at 3.4 kg, comfortably below the corded Bosch's 5.3 kg.

The brushless motor is aimed at heavier brushcutting, and the box includes a shoulder strap, a spool loaded with 3 m of line, and a laser-cut metal blade with its assembly set. It arrives ready to use, with no assembly required. The 36V battery platform is shared across Bosch's Advanced garden range, which means one set of packs can run several tools.

By contrast with the corded Bosch, the price is higher and the kit is smaller. £169.94 is the most expensive cordless tool in this list, and it excludes both battery and charger — a 36V pack and charger add a substantial amount on top. With 119 ratings, the evidence base is also thin next to the 2,695 of the AFS 23-37. Worth noting, too: 13 of 100 ratings sit at three stars or below.

This is the only cordless tool here that arrives complete: 4.4 from 455 ratings, a 2.25 kg weight, a 24 cm cutting circle and a quoted 3,800 RPM, for £79.95 with a 2.5 Ah battery, a charger and 20 plastic blades.

As a light electric grass trimmer it is well thought out. The motor head tilts five ways to reach under hedges and bushes, rotates 90° left and right for edging paths and patios, and the telescopic handle extends by up to 35 cm. Spare blades store in a compartment in the handle, and a flowerguard keeps the head off plants. The 18V Power X-Change battery also runs more than 300 other Einhell tools.

Crucially, it is the slowest and narrowest tool in this guide — 3,800 RPM against the 6,300 RPM of the 36V Einhell, and 24 cm against 30 cm. Plastic blades deal with grass and light weeds, not brambles or heavy brush. If your plot is overgrown, spend more on a blade machine. If it is a small lawn with tidy edges, this is the best cordless grass trimmer among these strimmers and brush cutters for everyday trimming.

The only wheeled machine among these strimmers and brush cutters: a 52cc two-stroke quoted at 2.2 kW and 7,500 RPM. It is ranked 174th in Amazon's Grass Trimmers category and has 32 ratings at 4.1.

Wheels change how you work. Instead of a harness holding the engine, the cutting head runs on a frame you push, which suits flat ground and long straight edges. The shaft splits for storage, and the package includes a brush cutter attachment plus a grass trimming spool, a tool kit and a fuel mixing bottle.

The catch is the review profile. Of 100 ratings, 11 are one-star and 5 are two-star — 16 in total at two stars or below, against 4 in the same 100 for the corded Bosch. The specification table also gives no cutting width and no weight, so you are buying on the description alone. Buy it only if wheels matter more to you than a proven record.

This 4-in-1 sits at 16th in Amazon's Grass Trimmers chart and 2,011th in Garden, the better category position of the two budget cordless models that share it. It quotes a 750 W brushless motor at 18,000 RPM, comes with two 4.0 Ah batteries and holds 4.2 from 107 ratings.

Four blade types cover soft grass, thick weeds, moss and edging, and the head rotates 90° to work as a vertical edger. The handle telescopes from 102 to 142 cm, and a double safety button prevents accidental starts. There is a built-in battery display, so you can see the charge level without removing the pack.

Even so, the listing undercuts itself. The spec table lists a 5.8 kg item weight, while the description calls the same machine lightweight and easy to manoeuvre — that is the heaviest cordless figure in this guide. There is no cutting width anywhere in the specification. Nine of 100 ratings are one-star. If you want something you can swing one-handed, look at the 2.25 kg Einhell instead.

At £53.99 this is the cheapest cordless tool in the guide, and it carries 4.5 from 81 ratings — the joint-best score of any cordless model here. The headline figures are an 850 W pure copper motor and 18,000 RPM no-load, with two 4000mAh batteries.

The kit is generous for the money: six metal blades and ten plastic blades, a 90° rotating head, a telescopic pole from 35 to 48 inches, and a double safety button with anti-collision bars. This battery strimmer arrives assembled, so there is nothing to bolt together before the first cut.

Worth noting three things. The bullet claims a 3.96 lb (about 1.8 kg) weight while the specification table says 3.42 kg. The cutting width is listed at 15.2 cm, the narrowest in this list by a wide margin. And the same bullet mentions '2.0Ah batteries in most of regular equiped', which muddies the 4000mAh claim. If a wide cut matters, this is not the tool for your lawn.

Third cheapest of the ten at £51.09, with 4.3 from 66 ratings. allOne quotes a pure copper motor at 8,500 RPM — less than half the 18,000 RPM claimed by two of the other budget cordless models — and supplies two 4.0 Ah batteries with a fast charger.

Blades do the cutting: stainless steel blades for lawn and young growth, plus a manganese steel circular saw blade for thicker stems. The pole telescopes from 35 to 48 inches, the head has a double safety button, and ten plastic blades come in the box alongside the metal ones.

That said, the weight is stated twice and the two figures disagree. The bullet says 3.2 lb (about 1.45 kg); the specification table says 3.5 kg. Those are not the same machine. Assembly is required, unlike the Einhell 18V kit, and 7 of 100 ratings are one-star. The 8,500 RPM is modest, so treat this as a light-duty trimmer rather than a brush cutter.