We Tested Dozens of Lawn Mowers—These 5 Give the Perfect Cut

We also tested the Stihl RMA 448 Battery Powered Lawn Mower, which performed similarly, and trades the fabric grass bag for one made of durable plastic.

Our experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab keep track of the lawn mowers and tractors that you’re most likely to find at home centers and online. Hands-on testing focuses on brands that have performed best and proven most reliable over years of outdoor power equipment testing. Our engineers conduct a thorough review of technical and performance data points, including cutting swaths, noise, and battery runtimes, when applicable.

To measure all-important cutting performance, our experts test mowers and tractors on a variety of terrains, from hilly to flat and on many types of turf grass. Usability tests take into account handle comfort, ease of raising and lowering the deck, and ease of mounting and dismounting the grass bag. We even look at whether the tires tend to pick up wet grass clippings.

We also evaluate each mower’s bagging system, including its mulching and grass-clipping discharge capabilities. And we consider feature set, for example, giving extra points to walk-behind mowers with larger rear wheels, since it helps with handling on rough terrain.

Lawn mower models start at a few hundred dollars, but prices can climb well into the thousands. In the end, you'll have to weigh performance, comfort, and durability with cost. Here are the main factors to consider as you narrow down the choices.

✔️ Power source:

• Gas-powered mowers and tractors still run on gas, so you’ll have the widest selection in this category, along with solid performance. But gas mowers are the noisiest, require routine maintenance (like oil changes), and emit fuel emissions.
• Battery-powered mowers and tractors eliminate the noise and fumes, and many models cut nearly as well as their gas counterparts. They tend to be more expensive, though, and their hefty battery packs add to their weight.
• Corded electric mowers run on electricity. You don't have to worry about them running out of power, but the cord is a nuisance, so our experts recommend them only for very small lawns.

✔️ Wheel size: Uniform front and back wheel sizes generally provide the best maneuverability over even lawns, including tipping the mower back to make U-turns at the end of a row. If your yard has a lot of rough terrain, look for slightly larger rear wheels.

✔️ Cutting options: Mowers can mulch, side discharge, or bag clippings. Some mowers can only support one type of cutting option, some two, and some all three. What you are trying to accomplish and how frequently you cut your lawn will determine what's ideal for you. Here's what our experts have to say:

• Mulching saves time and energy and deposits clippings onto the lawn, returning natural nutrients to the soil and reducing the need for fertilizer.
• Side discharging is like mulching, except the clippings are discharged from a side chute. That allows the blade to spin faster, for a quicker mow, but it's not as tidy, since clippings can end up on sidewalks, flower beds, and the like.
• Bagging is time-intensive and not as good for the health of the turf and soil, though it gives you the neatest-looking lawn. However, you might need to do it if the grass is very long and mulching will create lots of clumps that need to be raked up.

✔️ Features: LED headlights on mowers and tractors let you finish the job when the sun is going down. Electric-start buttons on mowers are preferable to pull cords. For riding mowers, extras like an ergonomic seat and cup holder may not be deciding factors, but they sure are nice to have. Cruise control is another nice-to-have, as is automatic drive to adjust speeds. Some tractors can switch mowing modes without a manual blade change.

✔️ Warranty: Look for a robust warranty to ensure that if something goes wrong, you’ll be covered—especially with expensive riding mowers and tractors. The industry standard is two to three years, but some models come with warranties of five years or more.

✔️ Storage space: Many battery-powered mowers can be put away vertically to save storage space, but only specific gas models can handle vertical storage, as it requires special engine seals to ensure gas won’t leak out.

It used to be that you could have any lawn mower you wanted, as long as it was a gas-powered push mower. They're still plenty common, but there are now many more categories to consider, including residential riding mowers.

Our experts say you should get a walk-behind mower if you have less than ½ acre of grass. Anything more and you’ll want to opt for a riding option.

✔️ Walk-behinds come in three basic types:

• Manual lawn mowers require you to do all the work without any assistance from a motor or engine.
• Push lawn mowers have an engine or motor to power the blades but require you to move the machine yourself.
• Self-propelled lawn mowers have an engine or motor that powers the blades and the wheels, so you don't have to push manually.

✔️ Riding mowers are available in both manual and automatic transmissions (much like a car) as well as hydrostatic, which uses fluid instead of belts for power transfer.

• Zero-turn tractors are essentially souped-up riding mowers and enable better handling and higher speeds than traditional tractors. You control rotation with a pair of levers as opposed to a wheel (i.e., turning one will move you in a circle). We’re also starting to see more ZTRs controlled by a steering wheel or joystick.

✔️ Robotic mowers are like robotic vacuums but for the yard. The autonomous, battery-powered machines cut the grass according to programmable schedules, staying within wiring that you put around the perimeter of your property. The latest models rely on GPS tracking, eliminating the need for perimeter wires.

In his role as director of the Home Improvement & Outdoor Lab, Dan DiClerico brings more than 25 years of experience to the Institute, having reviewed thousands of products, including all kinds of outdoor power equipment, for Good Housekeeping, as well as for Consumer Reports and This Old House. For this report, DiClerico evaluated mowers at a testing site in New Jersey, assessing their ease of assembly, mowing power, and maintenance requirements.