Is This the Year to Trade Up to a Battery Mower?

By “we,” I mean the people behind CR’s lawn mower tests, who travel down to Florida each winter to mow for miles (one of our testers clocked nearly 30,000 steps in a day). It also happens that all six of members of our project team, those who were either involved in mower testing this year or in years prior, have battery mowers for their own yards. A seventh member of our testing team just bought a house with a yard and is currently planning out his arsenal of lawn tools—all battery-powered. 

To understand the magnitude of the change, it might be worth pausing to reflect on Honda, especially for devotees of its line of gas walk-behind mowers. 

Honda’s push and self-propelled gas mowers sat at the top of CR’s ratings for years. They’ve achieved a fan base that’s hard to find elsewhere (there are Reddit threads mourning their loss). Even two of our own testers, who purchased battery mowers and use them, admitted they are still hanging on to their gas Hondas. 

Barry Dlugasz, director of power equipment at Honda, says discontinuing the gas mowers was a business decision that was best for the company over the long term. But he knew that many customers were disappointed.

“They’re so passionate about that product, and that’s why we tried to give dealers a two-year notice,” Dlugasz says. “A lot of those customers went and bought two or three of them and have them stocked in their garage.”

The decision to discontinue a revered and high-performing mower came, at least in part, Dlugasz says, because of the consumer shift to battery mowers. Some state and local governments are driving that change, too, by banning gas tools or incentivizing the adoption of battery equipment. California, for example, banned small engines starting in 2024. 

Our testers all acknowledge that battery mowers aren’t for everyone, and certainly when it comes to riding mowers and tractors, gas dominates the market (though battery models are getting better there, too, and we have 10 recommended battery models in our ratings). But when it comes to walk-behind mowers, for the typical suburban yard, a battery mower doesn’t just cut the grass well; it also offers a level of convenience and fills a need that gas mowers do not. 

For instance, a key selling point of a battery mower is the battery itself, and the fact that—if you invest in one battery platform of power tools—you can use the battery across multiple pieces of equipment. Just about all of our testers specifically noted the benefit of investing in a family of tools, with the mower being just one part of it. 

Plus, battery mowers are low-maintenance. Gas mowers, however, require changing or checking the oil, changing spark plugs, cleaning or changing filters, and keeping gas on hand. 

Collomb, our tester who was a recent convert to battery, didn’t even necessarily need a new lawn mower when he got a battery model last year. But he says his main reason for switching was upkeep. “I just didn’t want to deal with the maintenance on a gas mower anymore,” he says.

Instead, he wants to take care of his yard and not spend too much time on the rest. And after testing lawn mowers for five straight weeks in Florida, I say let the man do what he can to make mowing at home easy.

Curious about battery tools? See our top choices for battery mowers, string trimmers, chain saws, and leaf blowers.