The best strimmers and grass trimmers I've tested in 2024 | Expert Reviews UK

A good-quality grass trimmer – often called a strimmer – is an essential piece of gardening equipment. As well as hacking down long grass or scything through undergrowth, the best grass trimmers allow you to get into those tight spaces that even the best lawn mowers can’t manage, such as around immovable garden furniture, toys, walls, raised flower beds or decking. Some can even be used for quick and effective edging.

To help find what you need, I’ve tested and reviewed over 20 grass trimmers since 2020, using my own back garden as the testing ground. Heavy duty and lightweight, petrol-, battery- and mains-powered; I’ve tested the lot and whittled my recommendations down to six of the best grass trimmers you can buy.

In my list below, you’ll find my recommendations based on the size, shape and topography of your garden – and of course, your buying budget. Take a look at the at-a-glance list below for a quick overview of my recommendations; or, if you need more information before you buy, head to the bottom of the page for my detailed buying guide.

READ NEXT: Best grass seed

Want to learn more?Jump to the buying guide

When testing, I assemble each strimmer and run it through a gauntlet of grass-trimming trials. First, I use it to trim and edge small areas of my flat lawn, moving to a larger, sloping lawn with patches of rough and uneven grass, thick weeds and even brambles. This is where I find out how the trimmer performs with more challenging patches of green, assessing whether it’s up to some serious ground clearance.

During my tests, I also check how easy it is to adjust a tool’s handle, change the cutting angle, feed the line and replace the spool – and, with cordless models, I time how long the battery lasts during cutting, plus how long it takes to recharge via the supplied charger.

READ NEXT: Best weed killer

Price when reviewed: £106 | Check price at Amazon

Bosch has abandoned the ergonomic design of the old UniversalGrassCut 18V-26, but this new strimmer makes up for it with a combination of good design, rock-solid build quality and great performance. When it comes to whacking chunky thistles and tough nettles, it’s the best strimmer in its class and I found it every bit as capable for regular trimming and edging duties. Thanks to its excellent line management, you can pretty much squeeze the trigger and let it get on with its job.

True, I didn’t find the Universal GrassCut as easy on the shoulders as the Titan TTI821GGT or Gardena EasyCut 23/18V, but it’s still well-balanced and very adjustable, with a head that works in four positions and can rotate through 180 degrees for edging. The chunky loop top handle helps reduce the strain on your arms, then folds flat for storage. The 20 minute battery life isn’t brilliant, but at least the 2Ah battery recharges in just 1hr 15mins. Beefy, versatile and practical, the UniversalGrassCut 18V-26-500 should handle most gardens in style.

Read our full Bosch UniversalGrassCut 18V-26-500 review

Key specs – Power: 18V 2.0Ah to 4.0Ah P4A battery; Cutting width: 26cm; Line: 1.6mm; Weight: 2.2kg

Price when reviewed: £143 (tool only), £204 (with battery) | Check price at Amazon

If you have a larger, rougher garden but don’t want the hassle of a petrol trimmer, the Bosch AdvancedGrassCut 36 is my top pick. With a 36V battery, it has more power than your average cordless trimmer and, with a 30cm cutting width, it can tackle a big-sized plot – especially with a respectable 40 minutes of cutting time.

I have to say that a harness would have been a nice extra, particularly as most of the weight is towards the cutting head, but the movable soft-grip handle and adjustable pole helped make it slightly easier on my arms and shoulders. This is a heavyweight trimmer for heavyweight jobs, and you will struggle to find a cordless model with more raw grass-cutting and weed-chopping power.

Key specs – Power: 36V; Battery: 2.6Ah; Cutting width: 30cm; Line: 1.6mm; Weight: 4kg

Price when reviewed: £52 (corded) | Check price at Amazon

The addition of an adjustable handle and an extra 200W of power when compared to my previous budget favourite – the Flymo Contour XT – makes the Contour 500E a serious step up for around the same price, and the best-value option right now.

With more cutting power to handle rougher, tougher grass and weedy areas, the Flymo Contour 500E whizzed across my garden in testing. It also has some nice practical features, such as the large adjustable handle, which I found helped to alleviate arm and back strain during longer cutting periods, and a wire plant guard across the front of the cutting head, which helped protect my prized plants from utter destruction.

Sure, this Flymo doesn’t have the go-anywhere convenience of cordless models – for that, you’ll want something like the Titan TTI821GGT – but, for such a low price, this is a superb performer that will likely remain at the top of my list for quite some time.

Key specs – Power: 500W motor; Cutting width: 25cm; Line: 1.5mm; Mains cable: 10m; Weight: 3.1kg

Price when reviewed: £80 (with battery) | Check price at Screwfix

The cordless Titan TTI821GGT is a bonafide bargain, coming complete with battery and charger for less than most cordless trimmers sold solo. It’s not just cheap either but exceptionally light and very easy to use. It’s well-balanced, with the battery acting as a counterweight on the handle, and very effective at cutting through thick grass and lighter weeds. It didn’t quite have the power or the thick cutting line to get through anything too fibrous or woody.

The battery took just under an hour to charge and lasted for 30 to 40 minutes in my tests. It switches between trimming and edging modes when you push a catch and twist the shaft, while a pull-out guard protects tender stems and tree trunks from unintended attacks. You will have to reload the spool with cable yourself, and Screwfix doesn’t sell a spare spool if you break your first one, which means it’s better suited to lighter work, smaller gardens and less heavy-handed users. If you’re looking for a cheap trimmer for lawn work and the odd bit of light clearing, it’s the perfect choice.

Key specs – Power: 18V; Battery: 2Ah li-ion; Cutting width: 25cm; Line: 1.6mm; Weight: 2.2kg

Price when reviewed: £65 | Check price at Amazon

Black + Decker’s 28cm strimmer might look like an ordinary, mild-mannered grass trimmer, but on its Turbo setting it’s a beast, ripping through clumps of thick grass and weeds like they were nothing. At 2.33kg, I didn’t find it too heavy for comfort, thanks to an adjustable loop handle at the top of the shaft which takes most of the strain of holding up the head. The shaft extends to over 1m in length or compresses down neatly for storage, while the head rotates by 120 degrees for edging, with a wheel to support it as you trim around your borders.

The Black + Decker does a great job of trimming scruffy areas of grass next to walls or fences or around garden furniture. However, in Turbo mode it will slice through patches of brambles and wiry ryegrass that halt lesser strimmers in their tracks. The only downsides I discovered were that it can be noisy, reaching up to 92.5dB in Turbo mode and battery life drops from around 22 minutes in the standard Eco mode to around 18 minutes in Turbo. To make this worse, the bundled charger in the kit version is painfully slow, taking nearly five hours to recharge the 2A battery. Still, as long as you have some patience, this strimmer is fantastic value.

Read our full Black + Decker 18V PowerConnect Cordless Strimmer review

Key specs – Power: 18V 2.0Ah to 4.0Ah PowerConnect battery; Cutting width: 28cm; Line: 1.5mm; Weight: 2.33kg

Price when reviewed: £160 (tool only) | Check price at Ryobi

Thanks to its new brushless motor and great ergonomic design, the Ryobi RY18LYX33A-0 delivers the kind of performance you need to handle tougher grass and weeds without the weight – and subsequent threat of back or shoulder strain – of your typical heavy-duty grass trimmer. In fact, I found I could comfortably wield the Ryobi over a half-hour stretch without feeling tired or achy, even with its usual 2.5kg weight increased by the 730g 5A One+ battery. It has a clever trick where the controls rotate around the shaft for easy edging, plus a switchable speed setting that lets you shift between Slow, to prioritise battery life, and Fast, for maximum cutting power. When you throw in an analogue throttle lever that gives you even further control, you have a very versatile machine indeed.

This was backed up in my tests, where I found the RY18LTX33A-0 tackled light lawn trims with a sharp cut and more demanding patches of long grass and chunky weeds with no trouble. It jammed up occasionally on some clumps of really lengthy ryegrass, but that same patch has completely defeated lesser strimmers before. The RY18LTX33A-0 isn’t quite so effective as an edging tool – shorter strimmers with rotating heads tend to be more comfortable – but it will still manage the task and, depending on the speed setting and the grass or weeds being cut, you can get between 22 and 30 minutes of strimming from a single 5A One+ battery. It may not be the most powerful cordless strimmer I’ve tested, or as easy to use as some smaller, lighter models, but if you need one that can do it all without wearing you out, it’s a brilliant option.

Read our full Ryobi RY18LTX33A-0 review

Key specs – Power: 18V 2.0Ah to 5.0Ah One+ Li-ion battery; Cutting width: 33cm; Line: 1.65mm; Weight: 2.5kg

Price when reviewed: £65 (corded) | Check price at Amazon

Black & Decker’s 700W strimmer is built to handle heavier workloads, with a 33cm cutting width that’s ideal for tackling medium-sized and larger gardens, and a 2mm line that can hack through longer grass. Black & Decker’s E-Drive tech provided extra power when I needed it and, when it was time to break out the big guns, I could take out the main spool, slot in one with an extra heavy-duty line, and teach thick weeds and nettles some respect. The weight got a bit tiring on the arms after a while, but the mid-mounted motor and curved shaft improved the strimmer’s balance – keeping the business end away from my feet – and provided precision and control, since you don’t have such a heavy cutting end to wave about.

It’s built for a heavier workload than others, but that works to its advantage as you will find yourself stopping far less often to untangle the line, or to use another tool to cut through a thick stem. What’s more, the wheeled edging guide helps it do a decent job of edging too. It might be overkill for smaller gardens, but the GL7033 is brilliant for bigger, more unruly plots.

Key specs – Power: 700W; Cutting width: 33cm; Line: 2mm plus heavy-duty lines; Weight: 3.2kg

Price when reviewed: £78 (tool only) | Check price at Amazon

This lightweight Bosch trimmer makes trimming and edging a doddle. It comes in a surprisingly tiny box, with even the shaft requiring some assembly, but once you’ve fitted it together and charged the battery, you’re good to go. Bosch’s ultra-efficient motor did an impressive job of balancing motor power and battery life, providing me with enough strength to slice through anything bar thicker brambles and chunky thistles. There’s a wire guard on the front and you can switch from trimming to edging by pressing the orange button on the shaft and pivoting the head.

It’s not all plain sailing though as the semi-auto line feed adds more line every time you release the trigger, so if you stop and start a lot, you can run through a spool fairly quickly. However, I found the EasyGrassCut especially light and well-balanced, making it less tiring during long stretches of trimming. The 2Ah battery I tested the EasyGrassCut with lasted for 25 to 30 minutes and it only took an hour to charge. What’s more, since it’s the standard Power For All Alliance battery, it’s easy to share batteries across multiple Bosch, Gardena and Flymo tools. It’s a little more expensive than the budget trimmers, especially if you need to price in a battery and charger, but you’re getting an excellent trimmer at what’s still a relatively low cost.

Key specs – Power: 18V; Battery: 2Ah li-ion; Cutting width: 23cm; Line: 1.6mm; Weight: 2.2kg

Price when reviewed: £228 (petrol) | Check price at Travis Perkins

Some gardens need a petrol trimmer and the Stihl FS40 is a great, affordable example from one of the biggest names in the business. The two-stroke engine provided plenty of power for my overgrown garden, so I’ve no doubt it can handle even the toughest landscapes. Plus, if the 2mm line can’t get through the weeds, you can fit an optional three-tooth, poly-cut head to get through thicker undergrowth and brush – something I found incredibly useful.

The FS40 was easy to handle and has a simple bump-feed mechanism where you bump the head on the ground to release more line. It’s easier to start than most petrol trimmers too. However, at 2.9kg, and with the motor placed right at the end of the stalk, it’s not going to be manageable for everyone. Still, this is the kind of rock-solid, heavy-duty trimmer that will last for years.

Key specs – Engine: 2 stroke; Tank: 0.34l tank; Cutting width: 38cm; Line: 2mm; Weight: 2.9kg

Cordless trimmersPros: Freedom of movement | Cons: Batteries can cost extra, may lack power

These are the most convenient. Models with fast-charging, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries are now the norm, and trimming gets a whole lot easier when you don’t have to think about the cord. Just bear in mind that not all cordless trimmers come with a battery or a charger, so you could end up forking out more than you expect – unless you own other tools that use the same battery pack, that is.

Jump to our favourite cordless trimmer

Electric trimmersPros: More powerful, cheaper | Cons: Require plug socket, limited range

These are often cheap and easy to handle, and usually more powerful than all but the biggest cordless models. The only problem is the cord, which makes a lengthy extension cable a must-have in medium-sized or larger gardens. You need to take real care not to cut the cable, so make sure you’re using a circuit breaker – either integrated into the extension cable, or a standalone socket-type version.

Jump to our favourite electric trimmer

Petrol trimmersPros: Very powerful, ideal for thick grass | Cons: Very noisy, generally heavier

Petrol trimmers are the best option for massive gardens with a lot of thick undergrowth. However, they’re usually noisy and bigger, heavier and harder to manage and maintain.

Jump to our favourite petrol trimmer

Electric strimmers will have a rating of between 250W and 600W. The bottom line is that the higher the figure, the more punch it will pack. When it comes to battery-powered strimmers, it’s the voltage that makes a difference. You will see 12V, 18V or 24V on many boxes – again, the higher the number, the more capable the trimmer will likely be.

With petrol-powered strimmers, engine capacity – measured in cubic centimetres (cc) – is what matters when assessing power.

Simply put, the bigger the trimming width, the more grass you trim away with each sweeping move and – theoretically – the less time you will spend on the job. Trimmers generally range from 20cm up to 35cm.

Generally speaking, the more power you have and the bigger the swathe, the heavier and more expensive the trimmer is going to be. However, I’ve found that the extra cost and weight can often be worth it; you will be able to tackle a larger plot in much less time, using less electricity or fuel as you go.

The amount you spend will largely depend on the size of your garden and how much you will likely use a grass trimmer. A cheap, lightweight corded strimmer should suffice for a small garden for getting into tight corners, and to trim and edge. Many such models are wieldy, compact for storing in the garden shed, and could cost as low as £55 – such as the Flymo Contour 500E, my top budget recommendation.

For larger gardens, especially those with grass or weeds that grow quickly, you might want a model with extra power. Plus, if you’re covering a lot of ground then ditching the cord for a battery or petrol-powered trimmer might be more suitable. For bigger gardens, I recommend the Bosch AdvancedGrassCut 36, which costs £143 tool-only, or £204 with a battery and charger. Or, for petrol trimmers, you’ll want the Stihl FS40 (£228).

↑Return to top