Best Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Reviews 2024

Deciding on the best self-propelled lawn mower isn’t as easy as it used to be. Do you need commercial or residential quality? Do you want to use gas or batteries for power? How much grass do you need to cut? Are you a mulcher or a bagger?

Having tested dozens of the best walk-behind lawn mowers, from entry-level residential to high-performing professional models, we got our Pro team together to choose our top mowers in a range of scenarios.

Editor’s Note: Looking for more than just self-propelled mowers? Get our best lawn mower pick and find out who we think makes the best of all types in the industry.

Our Top-Rated Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Recommendations

For Professionals (Commercial Use)

• Best Gas: Exmark Commercial X-Series ECX160CHN21000
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• Best Electric: Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2823-22HD
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• Best Large Format: Greenworks 30-inch 2522602-P
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For Homeowners

• Best Gas: Toro Super Recycler 21565
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• Best Electric: EGO 22-inch Select Cut LM2200SP
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• Best for the Money: SKIL PWRCore 40V Self-Propelled Mower Kit SM4910-10
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Best Commercial Gas

A worthy complement to its Lazer Z zero-turns, Exmark’s Commercial 21 X-Series is our pick for the best commercial gas mower category. Although some professionals will turn to the higher-capacity 30-inch model, we expect the 21-inch to find its way onto more trailers.

Exmark wisely uses a Honda 163cc GXV engine for reliability and repairability. It’s fed by a generous 1-gallon fuel tank and turns the blade at tip speeds up to 18,500 fpm. There’s also an option for a Kawasaki FJ180V engine if you’d like to step up to a 179cc engine.

The deck is 1/4-inch aluminum construction that keeps the weight down (112 pounds) while maintaining high durability. The deck is adjustable from 4.5 inches on the high side down to 1 inch while the drive runs at speeds up to 4.2 MPH.

Generally, this model retails for around $2,000.

Best Commercial Battery-Powered

With the Milwaukee 2823 mower fully charged, we cut our test lawn in mulching mode, taking 4–6 inches in most areas with several thicker sections. We even started it up in a patch of thick grass—something that stalls most gas mowers. Our test mow occurred on a lawn with 8–10 days of growth. By the time the M18 Fuel mower ran out of battery power, we had run it for 43 and a half minutes non-stop! Given our testing conditions, Milwaukee’s 60-minute estimate when performing regular “maintenance” cuts in grass seems spot on.

I like the soft tires on this mower as well as the stability of the drive system. The steel deck is solid, and there’s very little flex in the frame. Milwaukee is clearly targeting professional lawn care crews with this mower. Those mowers typically start north of $800 and run as much as $1300 or more for a similar 21-inch deck. The single height adjustment is convenient even if unconventional for a pro-targeted mower.

The above kit price includes two HD12.0 Ah batteries and an M18 dual-bay rapid charger. If you’re already loaded up on M18 batteries, you can grab the mower itself for just $799. About the only negative with this mower is that you have to get used to using a thumb bar for the self-propelled mechanism. I got used to it over time.

Best Large Commercial Self-Propelled

Can a battery-powered commercial mower displace gas models? Greenworks Commercial has an 82V 30-inch model that got our attention at the Equip Expo in late 2022, and it’s hard to ignore as a legitimate option. It has the power to replace a 200cc gas engine with blade speeds up to 16,000 FPM. On a full charge, it can cover up to 2 acres.

There are drive system features worth considering as well. Independent hub wheel motors engage what Greenworks calls the Easy Turn System (ETS), making the mower easier to maneuver. Another big deal is that there is a powered reverse function—something that’s incredibly helpful with the weight of mowers in this class. The controls are all up next to your hands and there’s even a display to help you keep track of your battery levels.

Price: $1,999.99 bare, $3,499.99 with three 8.0Ah batteries and a dual-port charger

Best Residential Gas Self-Propelled Mower

Toro runs deep in the residential lawn mower sector; our favorite is the Super Recycler series. Getting the best of all the technology Toro has to offer, our top recommendation (model 21565) includes the Personal Pace drive system and the Smart Stow design that allows you to vertically store the mower even though it’s a gas model.

It uses a 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine that produces 7.25 ft-lbs of torque and just under 17,000 fpm blade tip speed.

Toro touts a commercial-grade construction on this model and includes a lighter aluminum deck rather than steel. In addition to that, you get outstanding cut quality, especially on the mulching side (you better with the name Super Recycler!). Wrapping it up, the Personal Pace drive system adjusts to your walking pace, so there are no levers or dials to adjust.

Best Battery Residential Self-Propelled

There’s plenty to like about EGO’s 22-inch Select Cut self-propelled lawn mower. For one, it sports a slightly larger deck than most residential/prosumer models. Yes, it’s only an extra inch, but every inch counts. Furthermore, it offers true gas-replacement power, generating over 11 foot-pounds of torque, along with blade speeds of up to 3,350 RPM. Depending on several variables, including mowing conditions, the LM2200SP provides respectable runtimes. Based on our tests, you should get about 70 minutes on ECO, 60 minutes on Normal, and 45 minutes on Turbo.

While it may be pricier than other units, this model is a top-of-the-line battery-powered solution.

Best Self-Propelled for the Money

If you’re looking to ditch the gas can but don’t want to drop a lot of coin, the Skil PWRCore 40 is a solid choice. This 20-inch model has several features that make it worth considering. For one, it has a variable speed dial that allows you to choose your speed easily. Moreover, the system’s Auto PWRJump technology can minimize downtime by charging a dead battery back to 30% in just 30 minutes. Finally, this mower comes mulching-ready.

Our Process and the Nitty-Gritty

• Why You Can Trust Pro Tool Reviews
• More Self-Propelled Mower Recommendations
• What We Look for When Buying a Self-Propelled Mower
• What’s the Best Lawnmower Blade to Use?
• Related Articles

Why You Can Trust Pro Tool Reviews

Ever check out a “review” site and you can’t tell if they actually tested the product or if they’re just “recommending” the Amazon top sellers? That’s not us. We won’t recommend anything unless we’d use it ourselves, and we don’t care who the primary retailer is. It’s all about giving you a legitimate recommendation and our honest opinion of each product.

Since 2008, Pro Tool Reviews has provided in-depth tool reviews, buying guides, how-to articles, and industry news in the construction and lawn care industries. We focus on professionals in the trades, and our writers have the skills and experience to know whether a tool or accessory will hold up on the jobsite.

Each year, we bring in and review more than 250 individual products. Additionally, our team will put their hands on hundreds more tools at media events and trade shows throughout the year. If I recommend a work boot, that means I’d wear it myself (and perhaps I or one of our staff already does!)

More Self-Propelled Lawn Mower Recommendations

Not every mower earns an award, but there are several other models we recommend that didn’t find a place earlier in the article. Check these options out if one of the others doesn’t fit your needs.

YBravo Gen II 25-inch Commercial Mower 25-210

After running into issues with other commercial walk-behind mowers, we turned to YBravo 25-inch commercial mower to take care of a 3-acre soggy field that our ZTs only bogged down in. Its Kawasaki 180cc engine kept the blade turning where others stalled.

When it’s time to move out of the radio station swamp and you’re going for a more professional look, its cut quality is excellent as well. Available in a 21-inch and the 25-inch model we tested, Ybravo is worth serious consideration. If you have a Bad Boy dealer closer to you, check out the same model sold under the Bad Boy brand name.

Toro 22-inch Recycler Max w/Personal Pace 21485

The 21485 is a solid option for those with up to an acre of mowing to do. This 22-inch unit boasts a 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine, along with a variable speed control that allows you to fine-tune the mower’s pace. It also comes ready to mulch.

Echo 58V E-Force 21-in Self-Propelled Lawn Mower DLM-2100SP

This excellent cordless residential model tackles lawns up to 1/2 an acre. For most maintenance cuts, you don’t have to make any adjustments as you mow. However, if you’re a few days late on your weekly cut, Echo gives you a “Turbo” button that lifts the RPMs to help you out. Just be aware that your runtime will take a hit.

Greenworks 60V 21-Inch Self-Propelled Lawn Mower 2547802

The Greenworks 60V self-propelled mower is a solid and reliable cordless residential model that’s easy to use. As part of Greenworks’ high-performing 60V battery system, you also get access to a full array of OPE products. This mower features a steel 21-inch deck and is good for lawns up to 1/2 an acre. You also get everything needed for bagging, mulching, or side discharge.

Ryobi 40V HP Brushless Crosscut AWD Lawn Mower RY401210

This Ryobi mower pulls out all the stops to deliver top-tier cordless performance with a stacked 2-blade cutting system. It’s one of your best bets for a residential cordless AWD option. Excellent on lawns up to 1/2 an acre, this model also has the runtime to cover up to 3/4 of an acre in ideal conditions. Our favorite feature might be the lever-action mulching mode that eliminates the need for an “easily losable” plastic plug.

What We Look for When Buying a Self-Propelled Lawn Mower

Gas vs Battery

Gas power still wins when your highest priorities are keeping your purchase price down and your power level high. With advancements in battery and motor technology, though, the OPE world is shifting towards battery power. It’s cleaner, quieter, and requires less maintenance.

However, you have to look at premium models to get true gas power, and runtime can be a limiting factor. It’s also less likely you have a service center nearby that can get you back up and running quickly if there’s a problem.

If your lawn is 1/4 acre or less, you have lots of battery-powered options. Once you get beyond that size, you need to consider how many batteries you’ll need and legitimate options start to thin out once you hit 1/2 an acre. With larger lawns, newer battery-powered zero-turn mowers are a legitimate option.

Commercial vs Residential

This might be better titled “professional vs homeowner,” considering there are both commercial and residential professional crews. Regardless, commercial mowers are built with better components and commercial engines, creating a machine that is built to last for years of high-hour daily use.

If you’re a homeowner mowing once a week or so, a good residential mower can still last for 5 or 10 years (or more) if you take care of it. It just uses components and engine designs better fit for occasional use.

Engine Size and Cutting Power

If you stay on top of your mowing and cut quality isn’t a high priority, an engine as small as 140cc is likely fine.

Move up to the 160cc–200cc class for better performance when the grass is thicker and taller or when you want to ensure excellent mulching, bagging, and/or clean cuts. The greater power improves lift and is less likely to bog down in thick patches.

When you’re looking at deck sizes beyond 22 inches, you should start looking for engines in the 180cc–200cc range (or higher) to ensure they can keep the RPMs high while it’s cutting such a large swath.

Cut Quality

We look for three major components of cut quality: evenness, mulching size, and bagging efficiency.

Evenness is pretty straightforward. When we’re testing, we look for grass blades that weren’t cut and indications that there wasn’t enough lift to clip all of the blades at the same level.

When mulching, smaller clippings are better since they drop down closer to the base of the remaining grass. We also look to see if a mower is prone to leaving trails and clumps.

For bagging, it’s all about how much grass is collected, if the chute tends to clog while we’re cutting, and how much grass is deposited back into the ground.

Noise Level

One of the major benefits of battery-powered mowers is the lower noise levels compared to gas, but that doesn’t mean gas mowers have to be obnoxious. We expect higher levels than battery-powered models, and that is typically the case.

When we test noise levels, we measure from our operator’s ear to get an idea of what the person using the mower should expect. Even though some mowers are quieter than others, we still recommend hearing protection when you’re using a gas model.

Fuel Efficiency

How efficient gas mowers use fuel has a very direct effect on your wallet, especially when you’re mowing every day as a Pro.

Fuel efficiency testing is more than just a runtime calculation. A mower’s cutting swath comes into play, especially on those 25- and 30-inch models. With larger lawns, it’s possible to get more cutting done per gallon of gas with an engine that uses more gas per hour.

Deck Size

21 or 22 inches is pretty standard for most mowers. Jumping up to a 25-inch or 30-inch mower may seem tempting, but it’s not for everyone.

If your lawn is a 1/4 acre or less, the time you gain with a larger deck might not mean a whole lot of time savings. Where you gain some time is on lawns that are a 1/2 acre or more.

Keep in mind that larger deck-size mowers are heavier. When you have to mow wet or soggy areas, the weight can work against you.

Steel vs Plastic (Poly) Deck

The vast majority of gas mowers have steel decks, while battery-powered models have a much higher percentage of plastic poly decks.

Those poly plastic decks are tougher than they look, but they probably won’t hold up as well as steel in the long run. It’s still highly unlikely that you’ll wear through one before it’s time to replace the mower, though.

However, poly decks offer a whole lot more design flexibility, and engineers can do some amazing things to help with airflow that directly affects cut quality along with bagging and mulching efficiency.

Deck Height

Here in Florida, we cut a lot of St. Augustine grass at 3 1/2 inches, so we prefer a mower with a maximum deck height of at least 4 inches.

Depending on what species of grass you have, you might be able to get away with a lower height, but 4 inches is a good all-around benchmark.

On the low end, most of us aren’t cutting golf course greens (you’d use a reel mower for that, anyway), so the minimum deck height usually isn’t an issue.

However, if you use a blade that dethatches or scalps for maintenance or re-seeding, you might want to make sure the deck height gets low enough—typically 1 1/2 inches or less.

Setting the Speed

The type of speed adjustment your self-propelled lawn mower has can make or break your experience. There are pull levers, thumb push levers, full push bars (Toro’s Personal Pace), and iterations on those.

Try it at the dealer before you buy it. If you hate working the mechanism for a couple of minutes, imagine what it’s going to feel like after 30 minutes or an hour.

Front-Wheel Drive, Rear-Wheel Drive, or All-Wheel Drive?

Front-wheel drive lawn mowers are typically the least expensive and work well for even terrain. They also help you turn the easiest since you lift the drive wheels as you make your turns.

Rear-wheel drive mowers add some cost but create better traction on hills and slopes. They’re particularly good at pushing the mower’s weight uphill where front-wheel drives start to lose traction as they try to pull the weight.

All-wheel drive mowers are the most expensive and generally do the best job on hills, slopes, and uneven terrain. On particularly bumpy areas where it’s likely one or more wheels will lose traction, it’s the best bet.

Wheel Size

Larger wheels tend to handle bumps and uneven terrain better than smaller wheels according to manufacturers. However, in our experience, managing uneven terrain has more to do with the overall weight, design, and ergonomics of the lawnmower. Larger rear wheels may come in handy when making 180-degree turns on thicker grasses or when mowing lusher lawns.

Electric Start

If you’ve used a gas engine, there’s a good chance you’ve worn out your arm pulling the cord to start it. Having an electric start on your mower can, undoubtedly, eliminate a lot of the frustration.

It won’t make up for poor maintenance, though. A well-maintained mower starts easily on the first or second pull. That begs the question as to whether the electric start is worth an extra hundred dollars.

It’s totally up to you, but if it’s in the budget, we want it.

Mulch, Bag, or Side/Rear Discharge?

Most quality mowers are 3-in-1, meaning you can bag, mulch, or side/rear discharge. Less expensive models often only provide options for bagging and mulching. Which one you choose depends on what type of grass you have, how fast it grows, and your personal preference.

In central Florida where St. Augustine, Zoysia, and Bahia dominate our landscapes, the summer heat and rains make our grass grow incredibly fast. Most of us mulch out of necessity since we almost need a dumpster for the volume of clippings we create.

Handle Positions

Most lawn mowers have 3 handle positions you can set. For tall guys like me or average-height guys like Clint, it helps you find a more comfortable grip. Some mowers opt for 2, or sometimes just 1 handle position.

Value

Value is more than just price. We take a broad look at the performance and features compared to the price to determine the value of each mower.

What’s the Best Lawnmower Blade to Use?

Use High Lift Blades for Better Bagging

You don’t have to ditch your current self-propelled lawn mower and buy a whole new one to improve your bagging efficiency. In most cases, adding a high-lift blade to your current mower will make a significant difference. Except for electric mowers, you don’t need to worry too much about matching the brand making the blade, but you do need to match the arbor style and the length. The package should tell you which brands it is compatible with.

If you’re still in the market for a new mower, higher RPMs improve airflow and bagging. Check mowers with a 160cc or higher engine and compare the top blade speeds. You can always swap blades, but you can’t change the speed.

Pro Tip: If you have a 2-point or 4-point deck height adjustment, set the front wheels of your mower one notch higher than the rear to improve bagging.

Improve Mulching by Using the Right Blade

Similar to a high-lift blade for bagging, you can improve your mulching efficiency with a mulching-specific blade. These usually have additional cutting edges that cut the clippings more times before they drop back into the grass. Keeping the blade sharp ensures you get the best mulching results every time you mow.

Learn how to mulch grass the right way for a healthier, greener lawn!

If you’re in the market for a new mower, look for a 160cc or higher engine to give you the torque you need to keep your blade speed high in thicker grass. Remember, you can always add a mulching blade, but you can’t make up for an underpowered engine.

Pro Tip: You get the best mulching results if you’re only taking an inch or two off the top of your grass, so make sure you stay on top of lawn maintenance during the peak cutting season.

Related Articles

• Gas- vs. Battery-Powered Lawn Mowers: Which Should You Buy?
• Switching from Gas- to Battery-Powered Lawn Care Equipment
• Proper Lawn Mower Care and Maintenance