Corded vs cordless lawn mowers: Which is best for you?

When the grass is looking a little long, it’s time to break out the mower. There are a few options to choose from when you’re in the market for a new lawn mower, so whether you’re buying for the first time or looking to upgrade your gardening game, here’s how to choose the right corded, cordless or petrol mower for you and your garden.

You can choose the best corded lawn mower for your garden and plug it into an electrical socket when you go to mow, or if you prefer not worrying about running over a cable, you can choose a cordless mower instead. If you decide to go cordless, then you’ll need to choose between electric models, which will run on batteries, or petrol-powered mowers, which have a small petrol engine.

Sure, you could delegate the job to a robot lawn mower, but for now, we’ll concentrate on mowers that you push yourself.

Let’s dive into the benefits and drawbacks of the different types of mains-powered or cordless mowers so you can get on with making the most of your garden.

Corded lawn mowers: Pros and cons

Benefits of a corded lawn mower

Claire Baglin, landscaping category manager at Toolstation, identifies three main benefits for a mains-powered lawn mower:

• Unlimited runtime: “Since they’re powered directly from the main electrical supply”, explains Baglin, “these mowers don’t need to be recharged or re-filled with fuel.”
• Easier to maintain: “Mains-powered mowers typically require less maintenance than cordless ones, since you don’t have to worry about a battery or oil and fuel levels.”
• Ease of use: “Because they have smaller electric motors, they are often lighter and so easier to manoeuvre when cutting the grass and storing away.”

Drawbacks of a corded lawn mower

The cable is, obviously, the main issue. It’s important that you measure your garden so that you can make sure the cord, and the extension lead, you buy will reach all the way to the very farthest corners of your lawn.

The other key question is power, as rotary mowers typically range from 900 watts to about 1,500 watts. If you don’t plan to mow very often, your grass will grow longer and you’ll find yourself needing a more powerful mower – a lightweight model might not cut it (literally).

Cordless lawn mower: Pros and cons

Benefits of a cordless lawn mower

As Baglin tells us, there are some benefits of cordless mowers, as well as differences between cordless electric mowers and petrol-powered mowers:

• Unlimited reign: “Unlike mains-powered mowers, they don’t require a cord to be plugged in – they can be used in any area of the garden.”
• Battery-powered energy efficiency: “Some mowers can be charged in as little as 90 minutes. And many energy companies offer cheaper electricity tariffs at off-peak times, so it can be worth staying up late to save a few pennies.”
• Petrol engines work on wet grass: “An advantage over electrically powered machines is that petrol mowers can be used to cut wet grass without fear of electrocution.”

Paul Hicks, product manager at Stihl, stresses that the main benefit of a cordless mower is the freedom from pesky cables: “No wires strewn across the lawn for people to trip on, no distance restrictions”, he says, “and no need to keep tugging the cables out of the way of obstacles in your garden.” He also suggests looking for mowers with lithium-ion batteries as they charge quickly, hold their charge for longer and don’t degrade in storage.

Claire Baglin also points out that lawn mower batteries are often multi-functional, meaning they can be used in a variety of gardening tools. If you’re buying several garden devices, like grass strimmers, hedge trimmers or leaf blowers, consider choosing the same brand and checking if you can swap batteries between devices in the range.

Drawbacks of a cordless mower

A battery-powered mower’s main drawback is that the battery will eventually run out, which can be frustrating if you haven’t yet finished the job. You may have to buy a more expensive mower with a larger capacity battery to make sure it has enough juice to get round your garden, or invest in spare batteries.

Petrol-powered mowers, on the other hand, need far more maintenance – not only do you have the ongoing expense of filling it up with petrol, you also need to check the spark plugs and filters, and keep up with regular oil changes.

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Are corded lawn mowers more powerful?

No. Generally, a cordless petrol mower will be the most powerful option. “Since these mowers typically have larger engines, they produce more power”, explains Claire Baglin.

Though that will make it easier to chop through longer growth or tougher grass, you should think about the trade-off between power and size. More powerful mowers are heavier because they have bigger engines. Lighter mowers will be easier to push around your garden, but they won’t be able to deal with dense grass, so you will need to mow more often.

Mains-powered corded mowers are more comparable to battery-powered cordless mowers than petrol mowers. Most of them are light and less powerful, although there are more powerful models available in both mains-powered and battery-powered form. The main difference is that a cordless mower’s battery will run out, while a corded mower can keep running because it’s plugged into a constant power supply.

Are cordless lawn mowers more expensive?

Cordless petrol mowers are likely to be more expensive, but battery-operated cordless mowers are often similar in price to corded models, once you’ve discounted the price of the battery.

As we’ve already noted, battery-powered cordless mowers and mains-powered corded mowers are available in a range of sizes. Lightweight models in either category are usually relatively inexpensive.

How do you choose between corded or cordless?

The key to your decision is the size of your garden. Will a cable stretch all the way to the end? Will a battery run out before you’ve finished?

“For smaller gardens, close to the property, a mains-powered lawn mower is a more suitable choice”, says Claire Baglin, “as the cable can reach the entire lawn area. For larger gardens that stretch away from the property, cordless mowers are much more efficient and practical to use.”

So, if you’re looking for a lawn mower suited to a small garden and don’t mind being tethered by a cable, a corded mower is an inexpensive option that will do the job.

If you’re worried about tripping over a cable, take a look at a battery-powered mower – just keep those batteries charged.

If your garden is big enough that a cable won’t be able to reach every corner and a battery won’t last long enough, consider a petrol mower.

If your garden is particularly big, or if you struggle to push a lawn mower, a more powerful but far more expensive option is to get a ride-on mower.