Best Budget Lawn Mowers
These gas and battery push mowers are a cut above at a reasonable price
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If you’re looking to buy a new inexpensive mower, now may be a good time: The supply-chain snarls that raised prices on manufactured products have long since eased, and lawn mower prices have leveled out or gone down.
On the flip side, tariffs may lead to price hikes in the near future. Manufacturers might find themselves facing higher supply and production costs, which could raise lawn mower prices for consumers, according to Courtney Pennicooke, a CR market analyst who covers outdoor power equipment.
- Best Budget Mowers: Gas Battery
- How We Test Lawn Mowers
Best Budget Gas Lawn Mowers
Gas lawn mowers generally cost less and run for longer. Check out our picks for the most reliable gas lawn mowers.
Best Budget Battery Lawn Mowers
Battery lawn mowers are quieter and more eco-friendly than their gas counterparts. Many of these mowers have batteries that can be interchanged with other outdoor tools. For more information, check out our roundup of battery platforms for power tools.
How CR Tests Lawn Mowers
To test lawn mowers and tractors, our testers and engineers travel every winter to specially prepared grounds in Florida, where we plant 1,800 pounds of grass seed (predominantly annual rye, prized for its dense growth). That’s where we put the mowers to work, cutting 500,000 square feet of grass using three modes: mulching, side-discharging, and bagging (accumulating a total of 3,000 pounds of clippings). We cut both level turf and slopes to get a feel for how each model handles the terrain. We also review convenience features.
Additionally, the Overall Score for each lawn mower and tractor in our ratings also incorporates predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings from our latest member surveys. These surveys, fielded in the fall of 2022, 2023, and 2024, leverage data on more than 46,000 lawn mowers and lawn tractors that members purchased between 2014 and 2024.
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