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The 11 Best Lawn Mowers to Get Your Yard Looking Its Absolute Best
These are the most reliable and affordable mowers money can buy.

As much as you love your lawn, odds are you probably don't love cutting it. Sure, the smell of freshly cut grass is one of life's greatest treats, but actually mowing the lawn … not so much. If you're looking to get your lawn mowed quickly and efficiently, we're here to help.
Best Lawn Mowers
Our Test team has spent decades testing lawn mowers, both battery powered and gas, on every type of grass, lawn condition, yard size, footprint, and composition. We test every feature and every control for ease of use, comfort, power, and quality. Roy, our lawn and tools expert, even lays in the grass to evaluate tactile sensation and visual landscape – because isn’t that the point of a good mower?
How to Choose a Lawn Mower
Some basics to keep in mind: Whether or not you should buy a walk-behind or riding lawn mower depends on the size of your yard. For any lawn above a quarter of an acre (that’s 10,890 square feet), you’ll want a riding mower. Both Lowe’s and Home Depot’s buying guides recommend walking mowers for lawns up to a half-acre, but unless you have a lot of time to kill, we think you’d be much better off with a ride-on mower considering the amount of time and energy you’ll save.
When it comes to riding lawn mowers, you have three distinct types to choose from: rear-engine riding mowers, front-engine lawn tractors, and zero-turn mowers.
Rear-engine machines are the most inexpensive of the three because of their smaller cutting decks, making them ideal for suburban use at yards up to one acre in size.
Front-engine tractors are probably what you think of when someone says “riding mower.” They’re reasonably priced midrange models that are suitable for yards between 1 and 3 acres in size, thanks to their larger deck sizes, which range between 36 and 54 inches. Plus, you can also use them to tow light yard trailers.
If you need to cover even more ground and want to cut the grass in as little time as possible, a zero-turn mower is the way to go — but they’re the most expensive option. We think Berendsohn put it best: “The more you spend on a mower, the more durable, versatile, intuitive, and probably, the quicker you’ll get the job done.”
So whether you're looking for a simple push-mower, a quiet and clean electric mower, a powerful yet still affordable riding lawn mower, or a more sophisticated zero-turn mower, we have you covered after having researched and compared 25 different lawn mowers. We've even listed a robotic pick, so you can spend more time by the pool sipping on a chilled glass of lemonade rather than behind or atop a loud mower.
Brandon Carte has been covering technology at BestProducts.com since 2017, where he's been writing about the latest gadgets, appliances, and scouring the internet for the products that make life easier. His reporting has been featured on TopTenReviews.com, Good Housekeeping and USA Today. When he's not researching washing machines or testing robot vacuums, you can find him at concerts, swimming laps, or at the movies. He thinks smartphones are too big, prefers MP3s to Spotify, and misses his iPhone’s headphone jack.
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