There was a time when cordless mowers were a bit of a joke — underpowered, short on runtime, and forever conking out halfway down the garden. I'm pleased to report those days are well and truly behind us. The current crop of battery mowers will happily handle the kind of lawn most of us actually have: a modest stretch of grass, a few awkward corners, maybe a slope down to the shed, and that one patch by the fence that always grows faster than everything else.

In this round-up I've pulled together eight of the cordless mowers I rate most highly for UK gardens, with a deliberate focus on small-to-medium lawns — think anything up to roughly 550m². I'll walk you through who each one suits, where they shine, and where they fall short. No model is perfect, and I'll be honest about the trade-offs, because spending £150 or £600 on the wrong machine is a genuinely irritating mistake to make.

Whether you want a featherweight push mower for a courtyard garden or a self-propelled beast that lays down proper stripes, there's something here for you. Let's get stuck in.

Why Go Cordless in the First Place?

I'll be upfront: I was a corded-mower loyalist for years. The thing that finally won me over wasn't power — it was the sheer faff of cables. No more draping an orange lead over your shoulder, no more accidentally chopping through it (we've all done it), no more limiting yourself to whatever your extension reel can reach. A cordless mower means you grab it, push a button, and go.

The other big shift is noise. Petrol mowers are loud enough to annoy the neighbours on a Sunday morning, whereas a battery mower is civilised by comparison. Some of the models below are genuinely quiet — the Stihl RMA 235, for instance, runs at around 75dBA, which is roughly conversational-shout territory rather than ear-defenders territory.

The one genuine compromise is runtime. A battery will only take you so far before it needs recharging, which is exactly why matching the mower to your lawn size matters so much. Buy too small and you'll be stopping to charge mid-mow; buy too big and you've paid for capacity you'll never use.

How I Chose These Mowers

This isn't a list of every cordless mower on the market — that would be exhausting and, frankly, unhelpful. Instead I've focused on machines that consistently come up trumps for the kind of lawns most British households have, and that have been recommended across respected UK outlets including BBC Gardeners' World, Expert Reviews and EasyLawnMowing.

I've grouped them roughly from budget to premium, and I've leaned towards models that strike a sensible balance between cutting width, runtime, weight and price. A 33cm push mower is a delight on a pocket-handkerchief lawn but a nightmare on a big one; a 55cm self-propelled flagship is overkill for a courtyard. The trick is honesty about what you actually need.

The Best Budget Pick: Greenworks GD24LM33

If your lawn is small and your budget is tight, the Greenworks GD24LM33 is where I'd start looking. BBC Gardeners' World named it their best budget cordless mower for small gardens, and with an RRP of £149.99 for the bare tool it's by far the most affordable machine in this round-up.

It sits on the Greenworks 24V platform, which is one of the broader budget battery ecosystems out there, so if you fancy adding a cordless trimmer or blower down the line, your batteries can do double duty. For a courtyard, a front lawn, or a modest back garden, it's a sensible, frill-free choice that does the job without drama.

Best for a Quality Cut: Stihl RMA 235

Stihl has a deserved reputation for build quality, and the RMA 235 is their answer for anyone who wants a tidy, reliable cut without paying premium money. BBC Gardeners' World picked it as their best push mower for a quality cut, and at £184 for the bare tool it's still firmly in affordable territory.

A few things stand out here. The 5-year warranty is genuinely generous and speaks to Stihl's confidence in the machine. The 30L grass box has a fill indicator, so you're not constantly stopping to peer inside and check whether it's full. And at 75dBA it's one of the quieter mowers I've come across, which your neighbours will quietly thank you for.

It runs on the Stihl AK battery system, which is shared with other handy garden kit including the FSA 57 grass trimmer and BGA 57 leaf blower. If you can see yourself building a small cordless arsenal, that cross-compatibility is worth a lot. The 300m² mow area and 33cm cutting width make this a small-lawn machine through and through — push it onto a big garden and you'll be recharging before you've finished.

Best Easy-Going Option Under £300: Einhell RASARRO 36/34

The Einhell RASARRO 36/34 earned BBC Gardeners' World's nod as the best mower for ease of use under £300, with an RRP of £283.95. Einhell's whole pitch is approachable, sensibly priced kit, and this mower fits that brief nicely. It's the sort of machine you can hand to anyone in the household without a lengthy tutorial — push, go, done.

For a small-to-medium lawn where simplicity matters more than bells and whistles, it's a very easy recommendation. It slots neatly into that sub-£300 sweet spot where you get genuinely capable performance without straying into premium pricing.

Best Lightweight Mower: Husqvarna Aspire LC34 P4A

If storage space and easy handling are your priorities, the Husqvarna Aspire LC34 P4A is a lovely thing. BBC Gardeners' World rated it the best lightweight cordless mower in the £300–500 bracket, with a kit RRP of £349 available directly from Husqvarna.

The clever bit is the storage. It folds up into a compact package and can be stored upright or even hung on a shed wall, which is brilliant news if your shed is already bursting at the seams. The 34cm cutting width is well-judged for small-to-medium lawns, and you get four cutting positions from 30 to 65mm controlled by a tidy joystick-style side lever.

It also runs on the Power For All Alliance platform, meaning the battery is compatible with tools from Bosch and other partner brands — a genuinely useful bit of flexibility. There's a mulching plug included too, so you can either finely chop clippings back into the lawn or send them to the 30L bag.

It's worth being clear-eyed about the runtime: up to 25 minutes from a 4Ah battery is fine for a small lawn but means you'll want a spare battery on the charger if your grass is on the larger side. And it's noticeably louder than the Stihl, sitting in the 84–91dBA range, so it's less of a stealth operation.

Best Push Mower for Larger Gardens: COBRA MX4340VX

When your lawn starts creeping towards the larger end of "medium", a 33cm cut becomes a slog. That's where the COBRA MX4340VX comes in. BBC Gardeners' World named it the best push mower for larger gardens in the £300–500 range, and its wider 43cm cutting deck means fewer passes to get the job done.

That 43cm width is the headline here — significantly wider than the 33–34cm push mowers, which translates to real time savings on a bigger lawn. The 25–75mm height range across five steps is also pleasingly broad, letting you take grass right down for a fine finish or leave it longer for a healthier lawn in a dry spell. Like several others here, it folds down to a compact size for storage. At 14.5kg it's a touch heavier than the Stihl, but that's the trade for the wider deck.

Best Self-Propelled Pick: Worx Nitro WG749E and the Worx WG737E

Self-propulsion is the feature that transforms mowing from a chore into a stroll — the mower pulls itself forward and you simply steer. Worx fields two strong contenders here. The Worx Nitro WG749E 40V 46cm took BBC Gardeners' World's title for best self-propelled cordless mower in the £300–500 bracket, with a 46cm cutting deck for serious pace.

But the model I find myself recommending most often is the Worx WG737E 40V, which EasyLawnMowing and others have rated the best overall mid-range pick. It's a brilliantly well-rounded machine, and worth a closer look.

The WG737E runs a high-performance brushless motor — which generally means better efficiency, longer life and more consistent power than older brushed motors — fed by dual 20V 4.0Ah PowerShare PRO batteries for a combined 40V. The standout feature is IntelliCut technology, which automatically ramps power up when it hits thicker grass and eases off when conditions are lighter, helping preserve runtime. Combined with the cut-to-edge design, it's genuinely thoughtful engineering.

Collection is a 2-in-1 mulching and bagging affair into a 40L box, and Worx claims a 90% grass collection rate, which is impressive. The six cutting positions span a wide 20–70mm. At 15.3kg it's the heaviest push-style machine here, but the self-propulsion on the Nitro variant offsets that nicely. Folded, the WG737E takes up roughly 90 x 55cm — compact enough for most sheds.

Best All-Rounder: Bosch UniversalRotak 36-550

If I had to pick one machine to recommend blind to someone with a typical medium UK lawn, the Bosch UniversalRotak 36-550 would be a frontrunner. Expert Reviews named it their top all-rounder pick, and it's easy to see why — it's a properly well-balanced bit of kit that does most things well and nothing badly.

That roughly 50-minute runtime is one of the strongest in this round-up, and combined with the 550m² coverage it means most medium lawns get done on a single charge with room to spare. The 36V 4Ah battery is included in the kit, which is a relief after all those bare-tool listings. Recharging takes around 125 minutes.

Two features I particularly like: the ProSilence technology, which Bosch says reduces noise by up to 30%, and the LeafCollect blade, which not only cuts grass but collects and shreds fallen leaves — properly handy come autumn. The ErgoFlex handle design is genuinely comfortable over a long mow, too. Six cutting stages from 25 to 70mm cover all the bases.

The Premium Self-Propelled Options: EGO and the Stihl RMA 448 RV

For those willing to spend more for genuine quality and convenience, the premium tier is where things get properly indulgent. These machines stretch beyond the strict "small-to-medium" remit, but they're worth knowing about if your lawn is at the larger end or you simply want the best.

EGO LM1702E-SP 42cm

BBC Gardeners' World named the EGO LM1702E-SP the best user-friendly self-propelled cordless mower, with a kit RRP of £619. It's built around EGO's well-regarded 56V system and uses a poly deck that's strong and durable yet keeps the weight sensible. The kit includes a 4.0Ah battery and standard charger, so you're ready to go out of the box.

The 55L collection bag is generous, and you get three options for clippings: collect, mulch, or rear discharge. The 42cm cutting width and self-propulsion make light work of medium-to-large lawns. If you want a machine that simply gets out of your way and lets you mow, this is the one.

EGO LM2236E-SP 55cm

For genuinely big lawns, the EGO LM2236E-SP is the flagship. A wide 55cm cutting deck, a hefty 10.0Ah 56V battery included in the kit, and coverage of up to 2,000m² on a single charge put it in a different league entirely. It pairs with a rapid charger, rides on large rear wheels for easy manoeuvring, and offers selectable speeds. The polycarbonate composite deck is built to last. This is overkill for a small garden, but for a sprawling lawn it's a serious tool.

Stihl RMA 448 RV

And finally, for the perfectionists: the Stihl RMA 448 RV, crowned best self-propelled cordless mower for stripes by BBC Gardeners' World, with a bare-tool RRP of £829. If laying down those crisp, striped, ready-for-a-cricket-match lines is your idea of a good weekend, this is the machine that delivers them. It's the priciest mower here, and it knows it.

Head-to-Head: How the Key Models Compare

Specs in isolation only tell you so much, so here's a side-by-side of three of the most relevant machines for a typical small-to-medium UK lawn — the budget-friendly Stihl push mower, the all-rounder Bosch, and the mid-range Worx.

The pattern is clear enough. The Stihl is the lightest and quietest, with the best warranty, but its 300m² limit and 33cm deck keep it firmly in small-lawn territory. The Bosch and Worx both stretch to 550m² with wider decks and bigger 40L boxes, making them the better picks once your lawn grows. The Worx adds a brushless motor and IntelliCut smarts, whilst the Bosch counters with that excellent ~50-minute runtime and the leaf-shredding blade.

Who Should Buy Which Mower?

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