The best grass trimmers in the UK for your garden – tested by our expert

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You can mow your lawn as little or as often as you like, but it won’t look truly perfect until you’ve neatened up the edges. As with most garden tasks, you can do this manually, using a decent pair of edging shears – or, if you’re not a fan of manual labour, you can use a grass trimmer instead.

Rather than traditional cutting blades, grass trimmers usually use one or two lengths of nylon string about 1.6mm thick. A motor spins this so fast that it stiffens and can shear through light vegetation such as grass and weeds.

As well as trimming and edging your lawn, most grass trimmers can tackle patches of weeds and light undergrowth. For more serious work, though, you’ll need a brush cutter – a similar device with a more powerful motor, which swaps the nylon line for a sturdier metal blade. The dividing line between trimmers and cutters is fuzzy, as most electric brush cutters also include a grass trimming attachment, such as the Bosch AdvancedBrushCut 36V-23-750, reviewed below.

At a glance

Best grass trimmer overall:
Stihl FSA 50

£159 at Stihl

Best budget grass trimmer:
Mac Allister MCI1198GGT

Body only, £36 at B&Q

Best for heavy-duty trimming:
Bosch AdvancedBrushCut 36V-23-750

Body only, £154.99 at Amazon

Best grass trimmer for small gardens:
Flymo SimpliTrim 230 Plus

£33 at Currys

Why you should trust me

I’ve spent most of the past 30 years reviewing and writing about products for a range of newspapers, magazines and websites. Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time in the garden, testing and tinkering with electric lawnmowers, pressure washers and leaf blowers.

Although I’m in charge of grass mowing in my household, overall aesthetics are overseen by my wife. She’s a very enthusiastic gardener who often finds room for improvement in the quality of my edging and isn’t the type to keep her thoughts to herself. If any of these grass trimmers aren’t up to the task, I’ll definitely know about it.

How I tested

Line of duty … our tester measured battery life, noise and cutting performance.

I selected eight electric grass trimmers at a range of prices, opting for five battery-powered cordless models and three corded alternatives that need plugging into a wall socket.

I started with the battery and noise tests. Each of the batteries from the cordless trimmers was fully charged, then attached to the device. I propped up each trimmer using wood offcuts and surrounded it with a dog-proof cage to keep my dog and other family members away (in the end, the dog didn’t like the noise and stayed inside anyway). Then, bypassing any safety features, I left the trimmers running, timing how long they took to drain the battery. At the same time I used the Decibel X app on my phone to measure how loud they were.

Then came the proper trimming work. I assigned each of the eight trimmers half an edge of my square lawn, which I’d left uncut around the edges for a couple of weeks to give them something to work with. I also tested each trimmer on a section of ivy foliage and other weeds on ground below a beech hedge. I was under strict orders to work around any self-seeded forget-me-nots, which were flowering at the time of testing, allowing me to make notes on cutting accuracy and my own dexterity. Tidying up afterwards was capably and quickly handled by a leaf blower.

My garden is kept reasonably neat and under control, thanks to my enthusiastic head gardener. So, to push the limits of the trimmers a bit further, I disappeared down a nearby alley to do a bit of guerrilla trimming of unruly nettles and other overgrowth.

Any trimmers not collected by manufacturers after testing will be donated to the British Heart Foundation.

The best grass trimmers for your garden in 2026

Eight cordless and corded grass trimmers, tested side by side

Andy Shaw testing the Stihl grass trimmer

Andy Shaw testing the mac allister cordless grass trimmer

Andy Shaw testing the Bosch grass trimmer

Andy Shaw testing the Flymo grass trimmer

The best of the rest

The cutting head of the Mac Allister MGT60030 grass trimmer.

Andy Shaw testing the Mac Allister corded grass trimmer

Andy Shaw testing the corded Einhell grass trimmer

Andy Shaw testing the Einhell cordless grass trimmer

Andy Shaw testing the Makita grass trimmer

What you need to know

Makita grass trimmer in its cardboard packaging.

Which of these products are the most sustainable?

Bosch, Makita, Einhell and Flymo use the most sustainable packaging, consisting of just cardboard and paper envelopes. All the others include at least one plastic bag.

All the companies reviewed here offer spares for their tools, both online and, often, from retailers. Stihl offers repairs through its network of dealers. Bosch, Makita and Einhell have their own service centres to repair products both in and out of warranty, although you may have to pay for transport and out-of-warranty repairs.

All the manufacturers comply with the WEEE regulations and support local councils with recycling electrical tools. Note that you can often recycle old tools through retailers such as B&Q, as long as you’ve bought the replacement product from there.

How to use your grass trimmer safely

Grass trimmers are among the worst garden tools for sending debris flying. A decent pair of safety glasses is imperative, even if you already wear glasses. The Stihl FSA 50 came with a pair of Stihl safety glasses, which fitted nicely over my existing specs. You should also wear long trousers and a sturdy pair of shoes – flip-flops and shorts aren’t at all suitable for the job. Gloves and a long-sleeved top are still needed but your arms will thank you for it if something comes flying at them.

How to look after your grass trimmer

The cutting area will inevitably collect grass and other debris, but it can be easily cleared using a soft brush: always disconnect from the power before cleaning. Pay particular attention to the blade that keeps the wire trimmed to the correct length, as this can become clogged up with grass. While you have your brush out, make sure any air vents are clear of dust and debris.

Can I use a trimmer to mow the lawn or trim hedges?

You could use a grass trimmer to go over an entire lawn, particularly if you only have a small patch, but larger lawns would take a long time to cover. The cutting area of the trimmers I’ve tested here is much smaller than a lawnmower, and it would be hard to get an even cut over a large area.

Hedge trimming really wouldn’t work. The string cutters might be able to shave off a little foliage, but you need a more substantial cutting blade to get through thicker twigs and branches. The length and balance of a grass trimmer are also designed to be operated at floor level – waving one around at head height is not recommended.

How do I protect wildlife when trimming my garden?

Before you start trimming grass or undergrowth, poke around the area you want to clear with a broom handle to give any animals that might be sheltering a chance to move on. This is particularly important around larger shrubs and hedges, in long grass, and in the plants around your lawn’s edges. Pay particular attention to animals that are inclined to curl up defensively rather than scamper off when disturbed, such as hedgehogs. If you spot something that looks like it might be a nest, leave it alone.

For more, read the best secateurs to save you time and effort when pruning and the best lawnmowers for every garden

Andy Shaw is a consumer and technology journalist with more than 30 years of experience reviewing technology, home and garden gadgets. Garden tools are up there among his favourite things to review, because he can usually get a weekend chore out of the way while also doing his day job

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