3 Electric Lawn Mowers That Outshine Ryobi's In Performance

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Ryobi became an exclusive partner with hardware giant Home Depot more than two decades ago. Concentrating on affordable consumer level products, the brand has garnered significant interest from homeowners looking to tackle projects on a budget. In terms of lawn care, Ryobi made it onto Consumer Reports best cheap lawn mowers list with its battery powered 20-inch walk behind unit.

One of Ryobi's most popular models is the similar 40V HP Brushless 20-inch Cordless Battery Walk Behind Push Lawn Mower listed for $329 at Home Depot (normally $359) . This unit can handle areas as large as a half acre, and operate on a single charge for as much as 50 minutes with its 6 Ah battery, depending on the circumstances. This Ryobi unit also comes with a fast charger that takes less than 1.5 hours to charge. 

The cutting deck features seven height settings, and you get a five-year warranty on the tool itself and the battery is covered for three years. While certainly a bargain, brands like Milwaukee, Green Machine, and Toro do provide some attractive alternatives.

Green Machine is a brand under Daye North America (DNA), providing a variety of battery-powered lawn tools, including walk-behind mowers. The Green Machine 62V Brushless 22-inch Self-Propelled Lawn Mower is available from outlets like Walmart for $649. Compared to Ryobi's most popular walk-behind mower, the Green Machine unit outdoes it in some key areas and provides the same equipment and battery warranty.

Regarding the cutting deck, it features a slightly larger cutting width of 22 inches versus Ryobi's 20 inches. While the difference might seem negligible, according to a formula posted by Encore Power Equipment for calculating mowing times with different size decks, it can add up. Traveling at 3 mph on level terrain, it would take around 1 hour, 50 minutes to mow an acre with a 22-inch cutting width. Conversely, the 20-inch cut at the same speed would require approximately 2 hours, with the larger cutting swath saving you around 11 minutes.

While Ryobi does offer a much more expensive 80-volt model, the rest of the lineup consists of 40-volt powered equipment. Green Machine features a system running off of 62-volts that comes with two 4 Ah batteries. Not only can each battery pack offer as much as 45 minutes of runtime (90 minutes total), but each one only takes 45 minutes to recharge.

Toro has been a staple in lawn equipment since the debut of its industry-leading mechanized mower designed for golf courses back in 1919. The brand offers plenty of competition in the battery powered residential mower market. Its Recycler 22-in 60-volt Self Propelled Battery Walk Mower can be found at Lowe's for $679 (with one 8 Ah battery and charger included), or from other outlets like Amazon.com for $569 (without battery or charger). 

Where the Toro stands out is in cutting performance and efficiency. According to testing by Popular Mechanics, this Toro bested the competition with a total of 2,254 square feet mowed per amp-hour of its 8 Ah battery, compared to just 1,274 for the Ryobi model. This may stem from features like its Vortex technology, which utilizes an air intake to process clippings more efficiently, chopping them up or bagging them more quickly.

The Toro also features a handy bit of technology, the Personal Pace Auto-Drive transmission. Essentially, instead of you setting the walking speed and conforming to the mower, the mower adjusts to your desired walking pace. Unfortunately, this mower can't compete with Ryobi in terms of warranty, with a two-year limited coverage.

Milwaukee has been around since the 1920s, cultivating a reputation for durable and powerful products suitable for professional use. It should be no surprise then, that its battery powered mowers can tackle your overgrown lawn with gusto. The M18 Fuel 21-inch Self-Propelled Dual Battery Mower is offered in a kit that includes two 12 Ah batteries and a rapid charger for $999 at Home Depot (normally $1,199). However, availability is one of the things to consider before buying Milwaukee's M18 Fuel 21 Electric Lawn Mower. 

What makes Milwaukee a compelling choice over Ryobi is its build quality, substantial power, and additional features. While the Ryobi mower utilizes polymer composite (plastic) for its walk-behind mower deck, Milwaukee's uses 15-gauge steel. That extra strength supports the mower's High-RPM mode, which sets the blades spinning to a steady 3,300 RPM. This particular unit is just one of the examples of Milwaukee tools that prove going electric doesn't always mean losing power, though you'll need to use both 12 Ah batteries together.

The M18 FUEL self-propelled mower also includes both front and side LED lights for better visibility at dusk. This is superior to the Ryobi unit which offers only front LED illumination. Although, as you can tell, these perks come at a significantly higher price than many of Ryobi's offerings. In addition, the Milwaukee falls short in the warranty department, offering just three years of equipment coverage.

This information was gathered primarily through side-by-side specification comparisons from major hardware retailers and testing from reputable outlets such as Popular Mechanics and Pro Tool Reviews. While there are many Ryobi models to choose from, the mower selected for this article was listed as a top seller on Home Depot's website, making it a suitable point of comparison to other brands. Green Machine, Toro, and Milwaukee mowers were picked based on unique characteristics that set them apart from Ryobi's unit. Price was not a consideration, as the Ryobi product was the least expensive of the group.