The Best Electric Lawn Mower of 2024

We test electric lawn mowers by using each test battery (no pun intended, as we do real battery tests) and yes, we also mow things. There are certain product categories where we collect, at that time, tons of data, but despite our best efforts, data alone cannot give us a complete picture of which product is performing best. Taking this to the yard is the best way to help sort and clarify the data we have.

Battery test

Let’s start with that battery test. This one isn’t too complicated, but it can be physically difficult to set up. To measure the voltage and amps the mower draws during operation, we must install our measuring equipment between the battery and the mower. The physical process varies slightly from mower to mower, but once it’s set up, we get a measure of the DC voltage and amps flowing between the battery and the mower, which gives us an idea of ​​the mower’s engine power (in watts).

We take these measurements at zero load, which means we do not mow the lawn at that time or provide any resistance to the metal, which would change the numbers, making them higher to calculate the upper limits of the car’s power. Our next round of test updates will include those higher power limits.

RPM test

Yes, we absolutely measure blade RPMs on electric mowers. The eagle-eyed lab staff at CNET have developed the ability to count dozens of changes per second with high precision. I’m kidding, even though we have a meter for that. In fact, we take a reflective tape and place it on the mower blade, then point the measuring tool so that the laser light bounces off that tape and gets an accurate reading on the blade RPM.

Now, if we combine those numbers with others such as blade lengths and weights and throw in some of our motor power calculations, we can estimate things like the amount of force, in Newtons, a blade exerts on grass. Those numbers aren’t terribly helpful. Most people won’t have much of an idea of ​​what 5 Newtons of force equates to. We prefer to take the approach of comparing power output to something people are more familiar with; in this case, horse power.

Electric mowers vary in horsepower, but most stay in the 3- to 5-hp range. We’ll have upper limit numbers added in our next review, but you can see that the lower limit of horsepower for the electric mowers we tested ranged from 0.1 to 0.6hp. That is, not much. In general, you should expect to see electric mowers triple that number to their upper limits, so we’re looking at the 1.75hp ballpark. You will be hard pressed to find gas powered lawn mowers that run under 2hp.

Noise level

We talk about sound quality a lot, especially with outdoor type equipment. Historically these gas powered outdoor tools have been very noisy. (Try sleeping when all your neighbors are mowing early on the weekends.) With the advent of power tool platforms, all that changes. Your neighbor can focus on lawn care while you snooze all day.

We tested the decibel level of lawn mowers from the user’s perspective. We mount a decibel meter and take a measurement. The results weren’t too surprising, as our quietest mower was the smallest, the 13-inch Liteli at 68.6dB, and the loudest was the most powerful mower, the Ego, at 86.7dB.

Speed ​​test

You can usually think of mowers that move at a certain rate, specifically, at whatever rate you might be pushing. A growing number of mowers now come with self-propelled options. Many of these electric shavers allow you to use that function even when the blades are not working.

We measure how fast mowers go in miles per hour. You won’t visit any on-ramps with these, but if you plan to use this mode, this might help you decide which one to take or pass. The Ryobi had a much wider range of speeds to choose from but fell short of being the fastest mouse. Ryobi came out at 3.03mph and Greenworks Pro at 3.33mph.