The best cordless lawn mowers in 2024: Tried, tested and reviewed

The best cordless lawn mowers can take the hassle out of mowing. There’s no more running out of cable or worrying about chopping through the cord. As long as you have charge in the batteries, you’re good to go.

But with different makes, styles and sizes, which cordless lawn mower should you go for? I’ve tested and reviewed 16 cordless lawn mowers in the last three years, using my front and back gardens as a testing ground. I’ve looked at small mowers designed for light work and easy storage along with heavy-duty cordless mowers that can cope with larger plots. I’ve narrowed my selection to list the eight best cordless lawnmowers I think you should buy.

Here you’ll find recommendations to fit the size and shape of any garden, from flat, well-kept lawns to more uneven areas with thicker, tougher grass. You’ll also find options catering for a range of budgets. And if you need more info before you make your choice, look at my detailed buying guide below the list of products.

Best cordless lawn mower: At a glance

How we test cordless lawn mowers

First, I spend time assembling each lawn mower, before putting it to work on two different lawns. The first is a small, flat front lawn measuring roughly 6m by 4m, with reasonably well-kept grass and no major undulations. The second is a much larger, sloping lawn with patches of rough and uneven grass.
I look at how each lawn mower handles each of the lawns, how effectively it mulches the clippings or transfers them to the grass collector and how well it avoids blockages and jams. I also take note of how easy it is to start and control the mower, adjust the handles and change the cutting height. I also time how long I can mow before the battery runs out over multiple mowing sessions, and how long the battery takes to recharge. Finally, I fold the mower away for storage to see how compact and manageable it will be in your garage or shed.

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The best cordless lawn mowers you can buy in 2024

1. Bosch CityMower 18: Best cordless mower for most people

Price when reviewed: £246 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… easy and quiet mowing of smaller lawns
• Not so great for… rough and sloping patches

Bosch’s mower for smaller gardens is a cracker; much smaller than the mighty UniversalRotak 36-550, but also much cheaper and lighter. You still get Ergoflex handles for easy steering and a comfortable push, plus easy cutting-height adjustments and twin power triggers on the grips. In use, it’s one very easy mower to work with, and it runs from a single 18V 4Ah battery, which charges to full in 1hr 35mins and lasts for a little over half an hour. You can buy it complete with an 18V 4Ah battery and charger, or solo if you’ve already got compatible Power For All products.

Your neighbours will love this mower, as it makes so little noise; I had to check the grass box to ensure it was cutting properly because it was so quiet. What’s more, the cut is brilliant. I had great results on my flat front lawn, and it also cuts closer than many compact mowers when you’re mowing next to a flat wall or paving. The small wheels and compact size mean it’s not as capable on rough or sloping lawns, while the minimum cutting height of 3cm won’t be low enough for those who want the astroturf look. Yet I found that the CityMower 18 could handle small areas of long, wet grass that I expected to choke it up in seconds. With some of Bosch’s top technology in a cheaper, smaller mower, I think it’s the best option for those with one or two small lawns to tackle.

Key specs – Size: 103 x 36 x 121cm (HWD); Weight: 9.9kg; Height of cut: 3-6cm; Grass box capacity: 31l; Power: 18V 4Ah lithium-ion battery (charge time: 1hr 35mins); Width of cut: 32cm

2. Murray IQ18WM37: Best cordless mower for mid-sized lawns

Price when reviewed: £319 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… effective mowing of larger lawns, fast charging
• Not so great for… overkill for small lawns

Want an affordable mower for a mid-sized garden? The Murray IQ18WM37 could be it. It combines a 37cm cutting deck with a powerful 36V brushless motor, which means it can handle areas of up to 425m². The twin 18V batteries last for just over 30 minutes, but take just under an hour to recharge, so even if you have to mow over a couple of stints, you won’t be left waiting for long.

The great thing about this mower is that it hits a sweet spot for medium-sized lawns. It’s neither very big nor very heavy, but it has enough oomph to tackle larger areas and copes well with unruly sections where the grass has grown a bit too long. It also feels much more solid than some other budget models, with chunky, rugged wheels and good ergonomics. What’s more, if you need something just a little bigger, its sister model – the IQ18WM44 – takes the cutting width up to 44cm for another £144.

Key specs – Size: 105 x 41 x 128cm (HWD); Weight: 13.5kg; Height of cut: 2.5-7.5cm; Grass box capacity: 40l; Power: 2 x 18V 2.5Ah lithium-ion battery (charge time: 55mins); Width of cut: 37cm

3. Bosch Universal Rotak 36-550: Best-value cordless mower

Price when reviewed: £289 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… tackling larger plots without much noise or hassle
• Not so great for… smaller budgets, as it’s quite expensive

While not much bigger or even heavier than some of the mowers on test, the Bosch Universal Rotak 36-550 has a bit more cutting power. With a 38cm deck, it can easily tackle medium-sized lawns, and while it’s fantastic on flat lawns and shorter grass, I found that it could also handle tricky slopes and longer, wetter grass that left some other mowers floundering.

It’s the little things, though, that sell this mower. The well-designed handle gives you a choice of hand positions and makes it easier to push around, and I love the one-click cutting height adjustment; just press and hold a button on the top handle and you can lift the body up and down to change it. Bosch’s ProSilence motor technology also makes the UniversalRotak much, much easier on the ears and with a 40l grass box, you’re not forever stopping to empty the clippings.

In tests, the 36V battery comfortably lasts 25 to 30 minutes of mowing and takes just over two hours to recharge. As a nice extra, the UniversalRotak’s specially designed blade even collects and grinds up any leaves that have dropped on the grass. Some might find the price hard to swallow, but I think it’s worth it. By any yardstick, this is an exceptional mower.

Key specs – Size: 105 x 40 x 135cm (HWD); Weight: 15kg; Height of cut: 2.5-7cm; Grass box capacity: 40l; Power: 36V 4Ah lithium-ion battery (charge time: 2hrs 5mins); Width of cut: 38cm

4. Husqvarna LC 347iVX: Best cordless mower for big gardens

Price when reviewed: £620 | Check price at World of Power

• Great for… big and challenging gardens
• Not so great for… carrying around or cutting costs

The Husqvarna LC 347iVX is the Range Rover Evoque of cordless mowers, combining great design, fantastic build quality and a lot of power into one fairly sizable package. Let’s make no bones about it: it’s very big and very heavy. Even with the lifting handles at the front and rear, I found it a lot of work to lift. But once it’s active it’s anything but cumbersome. It’s self-propelled, with intuitive digital speed controls, and on flat and slightly sloping lawns it will do much of the work for you. You need to be careful on steeper slopes, as it’s slow going uphill and a little too speedy downhill, but you can temper the speed with the throttle. What’s more, it’s not short on power, so it’s not fazed by areas of thick or wet grass. With a 47cm cutting deck, I found it made surprisingly short work of my large, sloping back lawn.

In tests, I found that two 36V 4.0Ah batteries will run for around 40 minutes and recharge in roughly half an hour. Alternatively, a 7.7Ah BLi30 battery will run for around 30 minutes or most of an hour if doubled up. You can find the mower in bundles with the charger and batteries included or, as on Husqvarna’s website, sold as a bare tool. This means you can pick the right mix of charger and batteries to fit your needs, though you may need to budget up to £280 extra. It’s not the best option if you’re strapped for cash.

This mower even throws in Bluetooth, so you can monitor its operations using Husqvarna’s smartphone app. If you’ve got a lot of land that needs mowing, this is a credible alternative to big petrol mowers – and a lot easier on the ears and eyes.

Key specs – Size: 127 x 55 x 137cm (HWD); Weight: 26kg; Height of cut: 2.5-7.5cm; Grass box capacity: 55l; Power: 2 x 36V 4Ah – 7.5Ah lithium-ion battery (charge time: 30mins); Width of cut: 47cm

Check price at World of Power

How to choose the best cordless mower for you

What size mower do I need for my garden?

The most crucial thing is to get the size right. If you’ve only got a small oblong of grass to cut, you can get away with the smallest mowers – and they’ll be easier to store and use. If you have large areas of lawn, however, then you’ll need a bigger mower to get the job done. The key thing is the cutting width, determined by the size of the mower deck and the size of the blade. Mowers with a cutting width of 32cm or less are really only good for smaller lawns. Most of the cutting width of 33-38cm should cover a lawn roughly the size of a tennis court, and often a bit larger. If you’ve got a bigger area than that to mow, then you’ll need a mower with a cutting width of 40cm or more. You might also want to think about a self-propelled lawn mower, which will move around under its own steam without you having to actively push it along.

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What about the mower’s battery life?

Of course, with a cordless mower battery life also comes into play. Some mowers come with only a single battery with a relatively low capacity, and you’re going to have to stop and recharge long before you finish cutting the grass – particularly if you have to tackle both the front and back lawns. That said, you can often buy higher-capacity batteries or a second battery to keep your mower in juice for longer.

Most cordless mowers fit into a specific manufacturer’s battery and charger system, which means you can share batteries and a charger between several garden and power tools. This is great if you want to save money by buying a “bare tool” product without a battery and charger, although only if you have them already. Packages with them included are usually cheaper than buying everything separately.

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What else should I look out for?

All cordless lawn mowers offer a range of different cutting heights, meaning you can leave your grass a little longer or cut it really short. What’s more, when you do the first cut of the season you might need to do one cut at the maximum cutting height then take it down for a second run. As a rule of thumb, mowers with a higher maximum cutting height will be better at tackling longer or wetter grass.

You also want to think about what the lawn mower will do with your clippings. Almost all mowers come with some kind of collapsible collecting box or bag and, the bigger it is, the more grass you’ll be able to cut without stopping to empty the collector. However, some mowers offer the option of a mulcher, which breaks apart any clippings into tiny pieces that can fall on the ground where they decompose and feed your lawn. This also makes your lawn more drought-resistant – and you never need to worry about emptying any box or bag.

Perhaps the most important thing, though, is ergonomics. Things like how much you can adjust the handle and how comfortable the mower is to push matter a lot when you spend more than just a few minutes mowing. Even the location of any controls can make a huge difference, especially if you have to keep them pressed or squeezed while you’re busy cutting the grass. And don’t forget storage, either. If you’re stuck for space in your shed or garage, then having a mower that can fold up really small is a definite bonus.

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