CR’s experts cut 500,000 square feet of grass each year to find the best battery and gas mowers from brands like Ego, Greenworks, and John Deere
Most mowers and tractors will give your grass a good cut, but you’ll really notice a difference in convenience, noise output, and battery life among different models.
By Tobie Stanger
We’ve tested lawn mowers and tractors for decades, and there are currently more than 180 models in our ratings. One thing that’s true of most models—they can at least do their core function well.
“You’ll get a decent cut from nearly all of the lawn mowers and tractors we’ve tested recently, as long as you sharpen the blades at the beginning of the mowing season and do other basic maintenance,” says David Trezza, who headed up lawn mower testing at Consumer Reports for years. The best mowers stand out by offering additional perks and benefits.
Trezza says that scores differ quite a bit when it comes to the convenience features the mowers and tractors offer, the level of noise they make, and their battery life (for electric mowers). “Mowers and tractors can also vary a lot in their reliability,” he says. Results from our member surveys show that some mower brands are more likely than others to keep on cutting year after year with minimal mechanical issues.
CR members with digital access can read on for the best battery and gas walk-behind mowers, as well as the best battery and gas riding mowers and tractors. We also highlight several budget-friendly mowers that can deliver quality cuts starting under $400.
If you’re in the market for a new mower, the best place to start is Consumer Reports’ lawn mower and tractor buying guide. Then check out our in-depth ratings of dozens of mowers and tractors, the best of which are highlighted below.
Best Battery Walk-Behind Mowers
Battery walk-behind mowers (also called cordless mowers or battery-powered mowers) use rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs. These mowers are much easier to store and maintain than gas walk-behind mowers, and our testing shows they cut grass just as well, too. Below, we highlight the top-scoring battery-powered self-propelled mower and the highest-rated battery push mower in our ratings.
Greenworks LMB455
The Greenworks LMB455 gets excellent scores in our tests for mulching, cutting evenness, and handling. It gets very good scores for side discharging and midrange scores for bagging. It comes with two 80-volt batteries and gets top scores for battery run time. Greenworks offers a four-year warranty on the mower, as well as a four-year warranty on the battery. This mower is part of the Greenworks 80-volt battery platform, which includes a string trimmer, leaf blower, and chainsaw, among other tools. Greenworks receives excellent scores for owner satisfaction and very good scores for predicted reliability.
Stihl RMA 510
The 21-inch Stihl RMA 510 earns top scores for cutting evenness and mulching, and it gets excellent scores for reliability and owner satisfaction. It also gets our top rating for battery run time. The mower performs capably at bagging, though its side-discharging chops are just so-so. The RMA 510 is part of Stihl’s AP 36-volt battery platform, which also includes a string trimmer and leaf blowers. The warranties for both the mower and the battery itself are three years.
Best Gas Walk-Behind Mowers
Gas walk-behind mowers aren’t limited by battery capacity and can cut much larger yards in one go. They come in both push and self-propelled varieties (you can read more on highly rated options of each type below). They also usually cost less than their battery-powered counterparts, though you might spend more in the long run on fuel and maintenance.
DeWalt DW12AVP2R3739
The 21-inch DeWalt DW12AVP2R3739 is a gas self-propelled mower that gets excellent scores for cutting evenness, mulching, and side discharging. It earns very good scores for bagging and handling. Like most gas mowers, it is loud at the ear. The DeWalt earns near-perfect marks for predicted reliability and midrange scores for owner satisfaction in our surveys.
Ariens Razor 911607
The Ariens Razor 911607 is a little pricier than most lawn mowers we test, but it’s the clear standout among gas push mowers in our ratings. It offers top-notch mulching and cutting evenness, and also scores near the top for side discharging, handling, and bagging in our lawn tests. It has a 21-inch deck that’s height-adjustable, allowing it to trim grass anywhere from 1 inch to 4.125 inches. It also includes a washout port, making it easy to clear the underside of excess grass and debris. We don’t have enough data on Ariens mowers to judge its predicted reliability, but it comes with a three-year warranty.
Best Battery and Gas Riding Mowers and Tractors
Battery and gas riding mowers and tractors cut two to three times faster than push mowers, making them better suited for larger lawns. CR’s tests have found that the best battery riding mowers perform as well as—or better than—gas riding mowers and tractors.
Zero-turn-radius mowers offer more nimble handling and higher top speeds than tractors. Rather than using a steering wheel, you control a zero-turn with a pair of levers; pushing one forward and the other rearward causes the mower to turn in place.
Rear-engine riders are a small subset of the riding mowers category that bridge the gap between walk-behind mowers and riding mowers. They’re typically cheaper than tractors and have smaller cutting decks, but we find their cutting to be less effective.
Ego ZT4205S
Stellar performance is the hallmark of the admittedly expensive Ego ZT4205S, our highest-rated battery riding mower. This 42-inch zero-turn-radius mower nabs top marks in every test we put it through, including cutting evenness, side discharging, mulching, and handling. Run time on a single charge is about an hour—which we consider respectable—and this unit recharges in about 3 hours. It’s also relatively quiet. Ego battery riding mowers are too new for us to judge predicted reliability or owner satisfaction over time.
John Deere X354
The John Deere X354 is a pricey choice for a traditional gas lawn tractor, but it’s the best model of its type, acing every performance test we could throw at it: handling, side discharging, mulching, bagging, and evenness. Its only weakness is that it’s quite loud, something you can expect from pretty much any gas lawn tractor, so you’ll want to use it with hearing protection. Another drawback to consider: Its 42-inch deck is on the narrow side for gas lawn tractors, so it may take you longer to mow a big property than it would if you use some competitors (or even other Deere models) that have decks as wide as 54 inches. John Deere receives an impressive reliability score and an outstanding owner satisfaction score.
John Deere Z530M
For the very money you’ll invest in the John Deere Z530M, you’ll get excellent performance from our highest-rated gas zero-turn-radius lawn mower. It looks and feels like a professional mower, and it excels in everything from evenness and side discharging to mulching and handling. Like all gas riding mowers and zero-turn mowers, it suffers in testing noise levels near and 25 feet away. In our member surveys, John Deere zero-turn mowers earn very good reliability scores and an excellent owner satisfaction rating.
Cub Cadet CC30 H
If you have little storage space or a modest lawn and want a compact mower, the 30-inch Cub Cadet CC30 H gas rear-engine rider is a possibility. Its cutting is impressive in both side-discharge and mulch mode, and its handling and evenness performance are very good, too.
Keep in mind, though, that you’ll have to engage the blades the old way, with a lever. And while you can check the fuel level from your seat, this model doesn’t sport the comfy high-back seat found on higher-end riding mowers.
Best Budget Lawn Mowers
CR tests a number of mowers hovering around the $300 to $400 range, and we’re happy to report that you can still get a great cut at that price. Consider one of the following battery or gas walk-behind models if any of the top mowers featured above exceed your budget.
Ryobi RY401170VNM
The 20-inch Ryobi RY401170VNM battery push mower handles well and excels at mulching and providing an even cut. It also comes with features like a single lever for deck-height adjustment, a swing-up handle, and the ability to be stored upright. This Ryobi mower has a five-year warranty, while the battery has a three-year warranty. In our member surveys, Ryobi battery push mowers get midrange scores for predicted reliability and very good owner satisfaction scores.
Toro 21311
The Toro 21311 is among the best gas push mowers in our ratings, and it’s reasonably priced, too. It earns top marks for mulching and side discharging, though its bagging performance is only adequate. It handles nicely and provides an even cut, too. As a brand, Toro gas mowers earn stellar marks for reliability and midrange scores for owner satisfaction.
Troy-Bilt TB120C
The 21-inch Troy-Bilt TB120C gas push mower does well in our tests. That’s due in part to its standout performance in mulching and cutting evenness, and its ability to cut in side-discharge mode. This model’s bagging also rates near the top, though handling is just middling, and it’s fairly noisy. It also lacks features of similarly priced models, including a washout port and high wheels, which can often handle bumpy terrain better than standard wheels. Its two-year mower warranty also isn’t the most generous. Troy-Bilt gas push mowers earn excellent ratings for predicted reliability.
Yardmax YG2760
There’s much to praise about the self-propelled Yardmax YG2760 gas mower. With a wide 22-inch deck, this Yardmax earns a stellar rating for mulching, side discharging, and cutting evenness. But its bagging is middling, and it can be noisy. Yardmax gas self-propelled mowers earn very good predicted reliability scores but get dismal marks for owner satisfaction.
How CR Tests Lawn Mowers and Tractors
To test lawn mowers and tractors, our testers and engineers travel every winter to specially prepared grounds in Florida, where we plant 1,800 pounds of grass seed (predominantly annual rye, prized for its dense growth). That’s where we put the mowers to work, cutting 500,000 square feet of grass using three modes: mulching, side discharging, and bagging (accumulating a total of 3,000 pounds of clippings). We cut both level turf and slopes to get a feel for how each model handles the terrain. We also review convenience features.
In our view, a mower that works well now but conks out in a year or two doesn’t—ahem—cut it. So the Overall Score for each lawn mower and tractor in Consumer Reports’ ratings incorporates not only its test performance data but also predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings from our latest member surveys. These surveys, fielded in the fall of 2023, 2024, and 2025, leverage data on more than 62,266 lawn mowers and tractors that members purchased between 2015 and 2025.
How to Shop for a Lawn Mower or Tractor
If you’re not sure which kind of lawn mower is right for your yard, we have advice on how to choose a model based on your property’s acreage and topography.
Trying to decide between a gas and an electric mower? Check out our face-off or use our interactive decision tool to see which is the better investment for you.
If you’re deciding between different brands, read our reports on the most and least reliable gas riding mower brands and walk-behind mower brands, which cover both electric and gas mower brands.
When you start to shop, keep in mind that some mower brands are sold only at Home Depot or Lowe’s, while others are sold only through independent dealers. And some brands may sell certain models at big home improvement chains and others through dealers. If you can’t find a particular model at your favored store or at a price that fits your budget, shop around more.
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