Best Battery-Powered String Trimmers Compared: 9 Models Tested

Introduction

If you are ready to leave gas behind, there has never been a wider choice of battery-powered string trimmers. To find out which ones are actually worth the money, nine kits were compared head to head: Greenworks, Ryobi, Echo, Kobalt, Atlas, Milwaukee, EGO Power+, DeWalt, and Makita. Each was put through the same checks, from startup torque and cutting speed to trimmer line capacity, noise, run time, and charging.

How We Evaluated Each Trimmer

Every trimmer faced the same tests: startup torque with a resistance device, cutting speed through a measured box of 10 to 12 inch tall grass, how much 0.095 trimmer line each head holds, how well each head dispenses line when it gets very short, overall run time at wide open throttle, charge time, noise level, weight distribution, and trigger response. Weight matters more than most people expect, especially at the trimmer head, because it drives user fatigue over a long session.

Greenworks 60V Brushless String Trimmer

At $230 for the trimmer, 4Ah 60V battery, and charger, the Greenworks is one of the most affordable kits here. It has a brushless motor that Greenworks claims matches a 30cc gas engine in power, a Load and Go head for fast reloading, a flexible handle position, a shoulder strap, a claimed 110 minutes of run time, and a 4-year warranty. It holds 13.5 ft of line, but at 13.5 lb total and 4 lb at the head it is the heaviest of the group, and at 91.4 dB it is the loudest. Trigger response is sluggish, low-end torque is weak, and it stalled repeatedly during the tall grass test, finishing in 2 minutes 45 seconds.

Ryobi 40V String Trimmer

For $250, the Ryobi kit includes a 40V 4Ah battery and charger, with a carbon fiber shaft, an adjustable 13 to 15 inch cutting width, a two-speed transmission, a 5-year tool warranty and 3-year battery warranty. It also works with a wide range of add-on attachments including an edger, blower, and pole saw. It has the lightest trimmer head at 3.42 lb and a 10.6 lb total weight, runs quieter at 87.2 dB, and produced strong 39 in-lb of torque. Trigger lag is present but much better than the Greenworks, and it cut the tall grass plot about 40 seconds faster without stalling.

Echo Battery-Powered String Trimmer

Echo’s kit is also $250 and includes a 2.5Ah battery and charger. You get a brushless motor, the Speed Feed 400 head that reloads in seconds without disassembly, a variable speed trigger, up to 28 minutes of run time, and a 5-year warranty. It is the quietest of the early group at 82.5 dB, weighs a reasonable 10.6 lb with a 3.47 lb head, and managed 30 in-lb of torque. Trigger lag is similar to the Greenworks, which holds it back slightly, but overall it is a very respectable mid-priced package.

Kobalt 80V String Trimmer

The Kobalt kit costs $250 and includes an 80V 2.5Ah battery. It offers up to 60 minutes of claimed run time, a brushless motor, an adjustable 14 or 16 inch cutting width, a rapid reload head, high and low speed settings, a 5-year tool warranty and 3 years on the battery. The motor sits near the trimmer head, which helps efficiency, and the head is only slightly heavier than the Ryobi’s at 10.8 lb total. It is quiet at 77.7 dB and showed more cutting power than the Ryobi, finishing the grass test fastest at that point with 1 minute 51 seconds. The downside is weak low-end torque at just 10 in-lb and noticeable trigger lag.

Atlas String Trimmer

Sold at Harbor Freight, the Atlas cannot be bought as a kit; buying the trimmer, battery, and charger separately totals $260, and the warranty is only 90 days, far shorter than the competition. It has a brushless motor, a rapid reload head, a single speed range, and a variable speed trigger, with the motor mounted at the trimmer head. It is the quietest trimmer tested at 74.9 dB and light at 9.25 lb, but the head is heavy at 4.2 lb, low-end torque is weak at 9 in-lb, and spool-up is the slowest of the group at 1.8 seconds. In the grass test it matched the Kobalt’s power and finished in 90 seconds, though the small debris shield lets more clippings hit the operator.

Milwaukee M18 String Trimmer

At $299, the Milwaukee kit includes an 8Ah battery and rapid charger. It is designed for landscape professionals, with a brushless motor reaching up to 6,200 RPM, full throttle in under one second, a quick-lock attachment system for edger and pole saw accessories, balanced design, and a 3-year warranty on both tool and battery. Throttle response is effectively instant, matching a gas trimmer, and torque matched the Ryobi at 39 in-lb. It holds up to 30 ft of trimmer line, the most of any brand tested. The trade-offs are a heavy 11.8 lb total with a 4.2 lb head, a very harsh vibration level, noticeably louder 89.4 dB output, and one stall during the grass test, which it still finished in a strong 85 seconds.

EGO Power+ 16-Inch Powerload String Trimmer

The EGO costs $300 and includes a 56V 4Ah battery. It carries a 5-year tool warranty and 3-year battery warranty, Line IQ technology that auto-senses and feeds line length, and the patented Powerload head that winds line for you at the press of a button. Adding 30 ft of line took only 15 seconds, the fastest reloading of the entire test. It runs quietly at 81.1 dB, has excellent 0.1 second trigger response, and delivered the longest run time at 40.5 minutes thanks in part to smart RPM management when full power is not needed. The main drawbacks are the heaviest trimmer head at over 4.5 lb, a 12 lb total weight, more clippings hitting the operator due to the small debris shield, and torque of 26 in-lb, the lowest of the high-power group.

DeWalt 60V String Trimmer

At $320, the DeWalt kit includes a huge 9Ah 60V battery and charger. It has a high-efficiency brushless motor spinning 4,650 RPM in low and 5,800 in high, a Quickload spool, universal attachment capability, a variable speed trigger, and a 3-year warranty. Throttle response is nearly as fast as the Milwaukee’s, torque is outstanding at 73 in-lb, and it dispensed line from a very short 3/4 inch faster than anything else, in 1.2 seconds. In the tall grass test it dominated, holding high RPM under load and finishing in just 68 seconds, the fastest of all nine. It holds 20 ft of line, weighs 12.6 lb with a well-controlled 3.5 lb head, and is loud at 89.5 dB.

Makita 36V Brushless String Trimmer

The Makita is the most expensive at $400 for the tool only, with batteries and charger sold separately. It is built for commercial work, with a one-piece solid steel drive shaft for lower vibration and long-term durability, a brushless 36V motor with three speed options of 4,600, 5,500, and 7,000 RPM, reverse rotation to clear tangled grass, a vibration dampener, a shoulder strap, brush cutter hardware pre-installed, and a claimed 30cc-equivalent power output. It is the lightest trimmer tested at just 9 lb with a 3.6 lb head, and it is by far the smoothest, with remarkably little vibration. It posted the second-highest torque at 48 in-lb and finished the grass test second at 80 seconds, though the large debris shield slowed it and it is loud at 88.4 dB. The head requires disassembly to re-spool and holds 16 ft of line.

Run Time and Charging

At non-stop wide open throttle, the EGO lasted the longest at 40.5 minutes, helped by its habit of lowering RPM when full power is not needed. Greenworks and Atlas managed 31.5 minutes, Kobalt 29, Ryobi 23, DeWalt 17, Milwaukee 16, EGO’s smaller-pack scenario 14, and Makita only 10 minutes. In real residential use, where you rarely run flat out, actual run time would be two to four times longer. Charge times on the included chargers ranged from the Ryobi’s 44.5 minutes to the Echo’s 57, with Makita at 48.6 and EGO at 49. Charger noise varies too: the DeWalt charger was silent, while the Greenworks sounds like a hair dryer.

Overall Buying Advice

If cutting power is the priority, the DeWalt is hard to beat: it topped both the torque and tall-grass tests by a wide margin. The Milwaukee is the pick for instant, gas-like throttle response and the largest line capacity, but be ready for harsh vibration. The Makita is the smoothest and lightest, ideal for long commercial sessions, provided you budget for batteries. The EGO is the best all-rounder for run time and effortless line reloading, while the Ryobi remains the best value thanks to its light head, strong torque, and attachment ecosystem. The Echo is a solid quieter alternative at the same price, the Kobalt suits buyers who value cutting power over low-end torque, and the Atlas appeals mainly on noise, though its 90-day warranty is a real limitation.

Conclusion

Every trimmer here has at least one deal-worthy strength, and most have a compromise to match. The DeWalt stands out as the strongest overall performer, with the Milwaukee, Makita, and EGO close behind. For tighter budgets, the Ryobi and Echo deliver most of what matters at $250. Match the strengths to your yard size, noise sensitivity, and how much trimming you actually do, and any of the top picks will be a satisfying upgrade from gas.