Ryobi HP Brushless 21-inch Multiblade

The Ryobi is the ultimate jack of all trades, master of none among electric lawn mowers. While it doesn’t stand out as the best when it comes to any particular feature or category, it also doesn’t score poorly on any metric. Battery life, cut quality and maneuverability are all acceptable, and the Ryobi is a solid all-rounder for the price. You could do better, but also a whole lot worse when choosing an electric mower. 

Pros:

• No wheel lock when disengaging self-propulsion
• Price to value is competitive

Cons

• Battery life lowered substantially when using Turbo mode for extended periods
• Doesn’t include a dual battery charger like some other brands do
• Ergonomics for self-propulsion could be improved. Not the most comfortable

EGO Power Plus 21-inch Select Cut XP

The Ego Power Plus 21-inch Select Cut XP was the biggest surprise during testing. The Ego brand is highly regarded in the electric power equipment market, and this Ego does indeed have some excellent features and design elements to boast about. Three different blade options are included in the box, something no other competitor offers. The single-point height adjustment is really well thought out; it’s IPX4-rated for a bit of weatherproofing and the phone holder is a nice touch.

However, in our testing, the Ego cut quality just wasn’t up to the standard laid down by its competitors. There was a noticeable mohawk effect evident on each pass, leaving strips of uneven grass on the edges of the cut. The Ego wasn’t alone in this regard, but many other mowers offer a High Lift, Boost or Turbo mode to reduce this effect and provide a more even cut, a feature that this Ego doesn’t offer. Additionally, while it's an attractive machine, the Ego seems longer and wider than it really needs to be, affecting maneuverability around trees and other obstacles, while delivering a less even cut on sloped yards.

Pros:

• Three different lower blades included for different cutting options
• Excellent lever for easily changing cut position
• Overall fit and finish of the mower is ahead of many competitors

Cons

• Cut quality is disappointingly uneven, with lots of mohawking on the edges
• No Turbo or Boost mode
• Bulkier than many competitors, making it less maneuverable

Echo DLM-2100SP

The Echo DLM-2100SP has a lot of similarities to the higher-rated Greenworks Pro 60V 25-inch Dual Blade mower, which is both good and bad. Both have excellent self-propulsion controls, as well as dual battery bays and excellent battery life. 

Not as good, the Echo, like the Greenworks, has the annoying wheel lock “feature” when disengaging the Self Propulsion system, requiring you to either wait a few seconds or manually push the mower forward to be able to reverse direction. The biggest differentiator between the Echo and Greenworks is the cutting radius, with the Greenworks offering the wider cut at 25 inches versus 21 inches for the Echo. Considering the Greenworks is $140 cheaper, it’s hard to recommend the Echo over it. That said, the Echo is the sharper-looking of the two, if looks are important to you.

Pros:

• Creates a nice stripping pattern
• Lightweight, with good propulsion levers and speed control
• Good battery level feedback indicators

Cons:

• Grass blade lift could be better, especially when mowing downhill
• Deck bottoms out easily at minimum cut height
• Wheel lock when disengaging self-propulsion is very annoying

Green Machine 62V 23-inch RWD

Green Machine is one of the lesser-known brands tested on this list, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that change in the years to come. The Green Machine 62V 23” has a lot to offer on a price-to-value scale, but a few key drawbacks held it from ranking higher on this list. 

The main drawback, far and away, was battery life. While the 45-minute stated runtime is theoretically attainable, use of the Self Propulsion system greatly diminishes that time. While most of the tested mowers on this list could cut my sloped,  two-thirds of an acre yard in just two or three battery cycles, the Green Machine required four to five cycles. With a battery recharge time of 75 minutes, this made for a very long and tedious testing experience. 

If primarily used on smaller, flatter lawns, the Green Machine is a solid budget option to consider. 

Pros:

• Good build quality
• Attractive design
• Competitively priced

Cons:

• Not as maneuverable as other options in this price segment
• Not great lift from the blade, leaving the cut shaggy at times
• Easy to accidentally change the speed when turning the mower
• Self-propel drains the battery quickly

Craftsman V20 20-inch

The Craftsman V20 20-inch was the lightest of our tested mowers, and also the cheapest based on MSRP. It is easy to push and provides surprisingly long battery life for its smaller-sized battery, which helps with storage. 

While these are all great features, it's still difficult to recommend the Craftsman due to its lack of power and subpar cut quality. Its self-propulsion system is basic, with little variable speed control, with a simple pull handle either engaging or disengaging the system. The mower is also the least powerful of those tested. It can handle light trimming just fine, but high, thick grass is more than it can comfortably manage.

The Craftsman V20 would be best suited to small, flat yards, much like the Green Machine mentioned above. But there are better mowers that can be purchased for just a bit more money if you need self-propulsion. If you’re after the Craftsman’s lightweight design and compact size, thenon Self-Propulsion version -- $120 cheaper -- would likely be a better fit.

Pros:

• Light and compact, easy to maneuver and store
• Lowest MSRP of any of the tested mowers
• Good battery life from 4.0Ah batteries

Cons:

• Not very powerful, with marginal cut quality
• Very basic self-propulsion system, with limited speed adjustment

What we updated: 

May 2025:We changed how we test electric lawn mowers, updating the testing methodology and assigning a new tester and author.

June 2025: We retested these electric lawn mowers for consideration on our list: Milwaukee M18 Fuel 21-inch; Greenworks Pro 60V 25-inch; Toro Recycler 60V 22-inch; Stihl RMA 453 PV 21-inch; Ryobi HP Brushless 21-inch; Ego Power Plus 21-inch; Echo DLM-2100SP; Green Machine 62V 23-inch; Craftsman V20 20-inch.

July 2025: We retested the Ego Power Plus 21-inch 56-volt and removed it as the best overall pick.

July 2025: We recategorized Greenworks 25-inch 60-volt from the “best for consistent lawn maintenance” to the “best value.” 

July 2025: We removed the Greenworks 19-inch 40-volt and the Litheli U20LM00-0A120 13-inch 20-volt from this list.  

July 2025: We removed the Dewalt DCMWP233U2 21.5-inch 20-volt from this list because it's currently out of stock. 

August 2025: The former authors’ bylines (Steve Conaway, Chris Wedell and Macy Meyer) were removed from this page following new testing and evaluation.

Charging times

Depending on the size of your lawn, battery charging times can either be of minimal or great importance when selecting a mower. Most electric mowers are able to handle close to a quarter acre in a single battery charge. If you have a larger yard, you'll want a mower that comes with multiple batteries or has very quick charge times on individual batteries.

Cut quality

Many factors can influence the cut quality a mower delivers during each mowing session. Grass type, height and density can lead to vastly different cutting experiences from one yard to the next. When mulch-cutting a yard, the cut quality will be better when cutting just one inch of grass compared to multiple inches. Higher, denser grass may require you to utilize a mower's boost or turbo modes, which improves the cut quality, but can reduce battery run times -- sometimes drastically. 

The greater the lift a lawn mower blade can generate, the better the cut will be. Poor lift leaves you with uncut blades with every pass, resulting in a shaggy-looking yard. Many mower brands sell specialized high-lift blades to prevent this issue, but these blades often result in lower battery run times.

Price 

Like most material purchases, price to value will play a significant role in choosing the best mower. While the Milwaukee M18 Fuel is rated as our best overall mower, there are lawns that don’t require such a large investment. Those with smaller yards or those whose primary concern is getting the grass cut as easily and painlessly as possible, but not necessarily looking for the most premium cut quality, would be wise to purchase a more economical electric lawn mower such as the Greenworks Pro 60V 25-inch Dual Blade. 

Maneuverability

A mower that's easy to maneuver and doesn't make it feel like you added an extra gym session to your weekly routine is highly important, especially for those with larger, sloped landscapes. Being able to cut close to fence edges and around trees further reduces time spent trimming and weeding those hard-to-reach areas.  

Cutting height

Mowers can have vastly different blade height options to choose between, and these can be a significant factor in choosing the mower that's right for you. While most mowers all have a maximum cut height that's close to 4 inches, some can cut as low as 0.8 inches, while others may only cut as low as 1.75 inches. If maintaining a close cropped yard is important to you, paying close attention to these cutting height positions will help you pick the right mower for your needs.

Testing was conducted over a four-month span from the beginning of April through July. All mowers were tested on the same lawn, under similar mowing conditions. The grass I cut is on a moderately sloped two-thirds acre lot. Early cuts were made on primarily a bluegrass/perennial rye grass lawn with a transition to a Bermuda lawn as the season changed. 

Each mow was tracked using aGarmin Epix Pro smartwatch to record distance and duration of each battery cycle. We used this data, along with a visual inspection of cut quality, and evaluated the mowing experience subjectively based on overall maneuverability and the performance of each mower’s self-propulsion system. Each mower was then compared to the others I tested and given a score out of 10 across these seven categories:

1. Price to value
2. Cut quality 
3. Run time vs. charge time
4. Maneuverability 
5. Self-propulsion control and ease of use
6. Design and build quality
7. Overall user satisfaction rating

Price to value is based on each mower's sale price at the time of review versus its overall satisfaction rating with the mower over the course of testing. The Greenworks was easily the winner in this category, being the third highest-rated mower in overall satisfaction and the cheapest to purchase. While the Craftsman had a low sales price, this wasn’t enough to overcome its low overall satisfaction rating. 

I evaluated cut quality by how well the yard looked after each mow, as well as how the mower handled the varying conditions thrown at it. Missed grass blades, especially those requiring second passes to achieve a satisfactory cut, lowered the score. The mower bogging down or not being able to achieve the desired cut height would also lower the score. While the Stihl provided an exceptional cut in easy to moderate conditions, the Milwaukee’s ability to handle extreme conditions with ease, especially at minimum cutting heights, propelled it to the top of the leaderboard in this category.

It’s one thing to have solid battery life, but if you're dealing with larger yards that require more than a battery or two to complete a mowing, battery charge times can be just as important. The Toro and Craftsman were examples of excessively long charge times, greatly diminishing the value in using these mowers on larger lots. Both the Greenworks and Echo demonstrated an ideal mix of good battery longevity with relatively quick recharges.

Maneuverability scoring is based on how easily a mower could be pushed across the lawn, factoring in turns and cutting along fences, trees and other obstacles. The rear wheel locking when disengaging self-propulsion greatly affected the overall maneuverability of the Greenworks, Echo, Craftsman and Green Machine, while the Stihl's polymer design and flawless ergonomics scored highest in the class. 

A well-integrated, easy-to-deploy self-propulsion system can make mowing a near effortless experience, while an underpowered self-propulsion system with bad ergonomics and poor speed control can make the mowing experience very tedious. The Toro and Stihl excelled with their designs, offering easy to use systems that improved the overall mowing experience.

While taking vastly different approaches in design and materials, the Stihl and Milwaukee mowers stand out from a design and build standpoint. The Stihl's polymer construction provides a strong, yet lightweight frame that's easy to clean and maintain. The Milwaukee is more rugged and it feels ready to take a head-on collision from a rhino and keep on mowing. 

During the testing process, I also had friends, family, and neighbors try out different mowers and share their feedback. These scores reflect their impressions combined with my own hands-on experience. Think of it as a "which mower would I want to borrow today" test.

I took the scores from each testing category above, then averaged each into one final score.