Every Major Brush Cutter Brand Ranked Worst To Best

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What does a brush cutter even do? You might think the answer is in the name (and it is!), but that's a fair question. There is a lot of confusion around these tools; many still use their string weed trimmer to edge their lawn, which is dangerous for them and the tool. We won't dwell on the differences between string trimmers and brush cutters, but since the two are often used interchangeably, we should at least clarify which tool we're referring to here. For our purposes, a brush cutter is a tool shaped more or less like a string trimmer, but equipped with blades for stronger cutting. They are used to cut through thick grass, roots, and other surfaces that are too tough for a standard trimmer.

Often, a string trimmer can be equipped with a brush cutter blade, but that's not always the case. Sometimes, brush cutters have heavy-duty cords of string. Many products featured in this article are either string trimmer/brush cutter combos or are compatible with trimmer heads. We'll highlight the brands and models that let you do this, but if you already have a string trimmer, it's worth checking if the manufacturer makes compatible brush-cutting blades. If you don't have one, we have a selection of string trimmer brands for you to try.

Did you know that Honda makes gardening tools? There's only one brush cutter produced by this brand, and it's a string trimmer/brush cutter combo. Now, it's possible this tool works perfectly well and is as high-quality as Honda's most successful car models. Indeed, the company highlights several appealing features, including an ergonomic design with reduced vibrations for greater comfort and noise reduction, as well as increased durability. On that last front, we should note that this brush cutter comes with a limited lifetime warranty, which is uncommon for this tool.

If this is a well-known brand and its users are generally positive about the product we're discussing, then why does Honda rank so low? It's because the toolmaker makes one such tool, and it's an expensive trimmer/cutter. The toolmaker also sells a Trimmer Attachment, which should be compatible with a brush cutter's saw blade. However, those have middling reviews and they are very expensive, since they require both the power head ($349.00 for the cheapest of the two) and the $119.00 attachment. Ultimately, Honda's offer isn't varied in price nor energy source (gas vs electricity), which hardly makes it a leader among brush cutter brands.

Lemolifys is a lesser-known gardening tool brand, but it does make more than one standalone brush cutter. It makes two, but that's still an improvement. Both receive decent — though not great – reviews, with the cheaper 4000mAh 21V Brush Cutter model coming out on top, at 4.1 out of 5 stars. The company describes it as a 4-in-1 tool that can be a grass trimmer, a brush cutter, a "weed eater," and a "mini lawn mower". It's unclear what distinguishes a "grass trimmer" from a "mini lawn mower." 

The brush cutter is available on Amazon for $149.99, currently on sale for $119.99. Considering the cost of those brush cutters and the amount of accessories and materials shipped with the tools, it's hard to be optimistic about quality. The cheaper model includes a trimmer blade, a saw blade, an edger side blade, two unspecified metal blades, 20 plastic blades, a pair of wheels, safety glasses and gloves, two rotating wrenches, and a screwdriver. Oh, and batteries, too. The cheaper 21V 4000mAh model comes with two 21V/2Ah batteries. 

Husqvarna is a Swedish tool manufacturer specializing in heavy-duty gardening equipment that not everyone will recognize, but which you're likely to have interacted with before, even if through one of the many brands it owns. You might also recognize it as the brand behind the motorcycle ranges Vitpilen and Svartpilen. The company offers a variety of brush cutters, although half of them are gas-powered. Many of these models feature a string cutter line instead of a blade, and all are quite expensive. The company's most affordable battery-powered brush cutter, which includes a saw blade, is the 535iFR, priced at $649.99. Of course, that doesn't include the batteries, the cheapest of which (a 36V/4.0Ah) is sold at $189.99.

That's not a bad price, but batteries like these are only a worthy investment if you can use them on multiple machines. Chances are, you don't have another Husqvarna power tool. The brand's customers appear to appreciate the company's products, but express frustration in their reviews regarding the poor customer support and inconsistent quality. This toolmaker may be a better choice for those seeking a gas brush cutter. The Husqvarna 122RJ has slightly better reviews, is available on Amazon and other retailers, and is sold at the reasonable price of $259.99.

German manufacturer Stihl (pronounced "steel") makes a variety of tools, from leaf blowers to "comfortable" chainsaws and more, that users and reviewers both really like. But how does this company fare with brush cutters? Stihl sells three types of brush cutters, two of which (the FS 461 C-EM and the FS 561 C-EM) are more popular than the other. According to mixed reviews, the FS 361 C-EM – the smallest of the three — is reported to be very noisy and prone to developing issues. One user also claims their unit has always had problems starting until they had it repaired by a third party.

None of the brush cutters from Stihl are corded or battery powered. Naturally, as with all gas-powered tools, you might have issues starting the thing. But once you do, you'll make quick work of whatever needs cutting, strimming, or whacking. Having the choice of a gas tool is always nice, especially when you don't want to buy expensive batteries dedicated solely to one tool. However, we don't like that it's the only option. And then there's the price. Ignoring the FS 361 C-EM, the cheapest entry in the line with some negative reviews, Stihl's brush cutters are expensive. The mid-range FS 461 C-EM is available only at a few online stores, and costs a whole $1,399.00. The most powerful of the brand's brush cutters, the FS 561 C-EM, is also the most expensive, at $1,649.99.

Echo is a brand of yard and outdoor tools that makes just one dedicated brush cutter, the 42.7cc SRM-410U, but many of its string trimmers are advertised as being compatible with brush cutter blades. The SRM-140U is a gas-powered tool, but Echo makes great battery tools as well. While the company's battery-powered line doesn't include a dedicated brush cutter, both the DSRM-2100 and the more expensive X Series DSRM-2600 seem to be compatible with the Echo 22-Tooth Brush Blade, thanks to its two available arbor sizes. Which one is best for you? It's hard to say, but the DSRM-2100 is by far the most popular.

According to its users, the 2100 has an excellent power output and good battery life, especially considering that the included battery is just a 2.5Ah. According to reviews, the company appears to have a well-established customer service department, and some users claim that the brush cutter/string trimmer offers a good compromise between the ease of electricity and the power of gas. If the 52V/2.5Ah battery isn't big enough for you, Echo sells a significantly larger 56V/5.0Ah battery. This one, however, doesn't come free with the trimmer and costs $249.00. That's $20 more than the DSRM-2100, which retails for $229 at Amazon. At least it's not the $349.99 Echo 56V/8.0Ah. Considering those battery prices, it's easy to understand why many brands stick with gas.

Milwaukee seems to have only one dedicated brush cutter. Still, the M18 Fuel 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Brush Cutter is well-liked by users, even if it is very expensive for a bare tool. With the cutter coming in at $387.03, getting a functional brush cutter will set you back over $600.00, since a Milwaukee M18 18V/5.0Ah battery and charger cost $219.00. Is that a fair price for this tool? This is part of the Milwaukee M18 Fuel range, a line of brushless tools from a notoriously expensive manufacturer. User reviews are very positive, averaging at 4.5 out of 5, with 76% of users recommending the product. The most positive reviews claim that Milwaukee's big brush cutter can handle wide lawns and large, thick plants, while others regret not purchasing larger batteries.

Milwaukee makes some of the best electric string weed trimmers, but it doesn't seem like you'll be able to use them with the Milwaukee 9-Inch Brush Cutter Blades. Still, the company does offer a Quik-Lok Brush Cutter Attachment for use with the brand's Quik-Lok power head and attachment system. The attachment comes in at $149.00, but currently you can get it as a "gift" from Home Depot if you buy the $449 bundle, which includes an M18 Power Head, the Quik-Lok String Trimmer, the M18 Fuel Blower, and a very good XC 8.0Ah battery and charger.

EGO makes a lot of tools, including the 56-volt line of multi-head attachments and the EGO Power+ 12-Inch Brush Cutter Attachment. When connected to the PH1420 Power Head, this tool can reach a speed of 6,000 RPM and comes with a 3-tooth blade with a cutting width of 12 inches. Some users really like this attachment, calling it a "beast" and highlighting blade resilience. The attachment is sold at $189.99, the exact same price as the power head. Together, they'll set you back a sensible $379.98. Then, you'll need a battery. A small one, just 56V/2.5Ah, costs about $140, bringing the total over $500.

However, you can think of this battery as an investment. EGO is well-liked by some of its users because of its tools, but one of the highlights of the brand is its battery line. Unlike other toolmakers, every EGO product uses the same 56-Volt models, available in different Ah values. This makes it trivial to reuse a battery pack across multiple tools. EGO sells another brush cutter — the 30/38cm Brush Cutter/Line Trimmer — and it is a versatile tool that serves as both a string trimmer and a brush cutter. It's also compatible with EGO's rotocut, which is not included, and comes with a harness for comfort.

DeWalt strikes a balance between quality and affordability that other brands either miss or simply don't aim for. In this case, DeWalt errs on the side of quality, resulting in expensive but powerful tools. DeWalt sells two standalone models of brush cutters, one of which is the 10-Inch Brush Cutter. This tool is available with bike handles, too, which are supposed to bring "optimal comfort". Whichever you choose, the 10-inch brush cutter promises 47 minutes of uninterrupted cutting with the "power of gas", or to be precise, 18% stronger than a 36cc gas-powered brush cutter.

It's not exactly a brush cutter, but DeWalt sells a meaner, stronger 10-inch Brush Saw. It might be helpful when a regular brush cutter won't do. Or at least, that's what one would expect, looking at this big circular blade. The few statistics shared by DeWalt for the two products are more or less the same, with the only major exception being that the Brush Saw lasts for a shorter time (37 minutes instead of 47) and consumes more energy, indicating it is probably stronger. Lastly, DeWalt makes a brush cutter attachment for the DEWALT Universal Attachment. This one is far, far cheaper than the other two products ($89 against $658.99 and $688.99), but it's also the only one of the three to have mixed reviews.

Similar to EGO, Ryobi has both brush cutter attachments for its Expand-It system and standalone tools. Another affordable brand of power tools, creator of many sub-$20 products worth buying, Ryobi manages to keep its prices reasonable even when selling somewhat niche products like these. Ryobi makes two standalone brush cutters, the 40V HP Brushless Brush Cutter/String Trimmer and the 18V ONE+ HP Brushless Brush Cutter/String Trimmer. Both are far from cheap, sold for $389.00 and $349.00 respectively, but they're a far cry from DeWalt's prices of over $600. The bigger, 40V brush cutter promises over 50 minutes of runtime with a 40V/4Ah Ryobi battery worth about $133.00. Both of Ryobi's standalone brush cutters feature a 10-inch-wide blade, and the string trimmer has a 15-inch width.

The main difference between the two is in the autonomy of the machines: while the 40V model lasts over 50 minutes, the smaller 18V brush cutter only lasts 25 minutes when paired with a Ryobi 18V/4Ah battery. However, you can buy two of those batteries and a charger for $129.80, which is about as expensive as one 40V/4Ah battery, and effectively doubles the autonomy of the 18V brush cutter. Switch a battery for the other when one is empty, and the two tools can last about the same amount of time. The last Ryobi option for brush cutting is the attachment for the Expand-It line of power heads. The Expand-It 10" Brush Cutter Attachment is about the same size as the others, with a 10-inch blade, but it can't be turned into a string trimmer.

Makita is a premium tool manufacturer that develops unique technologies for its tools and offers a wide range of products marketed to professionals, but is also not above producing consumer-grade tools at a more affordable price. The same duality is present in the company's line of brush cutters. Makita offers three brush cutters: two in the XGT tool line (one 40V and one 80V) and another in the prosumer LXT 36V line. Of course, the 80V XGT Cordless Brush Cutter is the most powerful and longest-lasting of the three, with Makita promising power equivalent to that of a 40cc gas engine. When powered by two XGT 40V/4Ah batteries, which cost approximately $400, this tool can run for up to 100 minutes. The tool itself costs $799.00.

The 40V XGT Brush Cutter ($569.00) is similar to the 80V, if nothing else, because it uses the same battery type. It uses just one battery instead of a pair. Otherwise, the brand claims it is equivalent to a 30cc gas engine and provides no information on its runtime. A single 40V/4Ah battery costs a little over half as much as the pair used by the 80V model. The last of the dedicated Makita brush cutters is the 36V LXT Brushless Brush Cutter ($539.00), which is roughly equivalent to the GXT 40V — as powerful as a 30cc engine, carrying a 9-inch blade. In a bundle with the two batteries necessary to run it and a double charger, the LXT Brush Cutter Kit will cost you $699.00.