If you’re a woman looking for a reliable lawn mower, these options are affordable, easy to use, and (very) durable. I guarantee they’ll get the job done in terms of cutting and finish.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Sun Joe Electric Scarifier + Lawn Dethatcher with a Collection Bag
Top-rated: 16,591 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Detachable thatch collection bag for easy disposal.
Helpful review: "I'm a woman who takes care of her own lawn. This spring however, I ran into a few issues. It was after researching the internet that I discovered that my yard was dying; had weeds and was beginning to become plagued with fungus in some spots because thatch was suffocating my grass.
Thus, I had too much thatch which wouldn't allow proper oxygen, water and nutrients to hit down into my lawn's soil. I'm not going to lie. Your yard will look disgusting and embarrassing for the first two weeks after using this Sun Joe.
I first tried two passes on a close to highest setting but soon realized that wasn't enough. I said 'the heck with it's and took my Sun Joe down to the lowest setting and eradicated my entire yard in order to get rid of the thatch.
I followed behind it and over-seeded with commercial grade seed and sprinkled granulated sugar in my yard to encourage the photosynthesis process and promote self-repair. I didn't know how long it would be or what to expect thereafter, but as you can see just after the end of week 2, my grass has grown back lush. I have no weeds & my grass is super green thanks to regular Dominos sugar. I wouldn't hesitate buying this.
I live in Ohio and I too wonder if some or all reviews are from paid users, but I am not. And, I feel great about this Sun Joe joining the arsenal of my lawn care equipment. But, as mentioned your grass will look rather raggedy after using. Just have some patience because a 2 weeks turnaround was more than worth it!" — Ronda S Needham
Get it from Amazon now: $199.00 & FREE Returns
2. BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Electric Lawn Mower with Trimmer and Edger
Top-rated: 7,705 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Corded mower, trimmer and edger combined in one compact machine.
Helpful review: "Like others, I needed to know the lowest measurement setting from the ground to the operating button with the mower attachment and trimmer in place. For some unknown reason, the community answers seemed to avoid such an easy question for those who owned one?! With that said, I just purchased my own to get that exact answer with a measuring tape.
The LOWEST MOWER HEIGHT (from ground to button pressed): 22-1/2 inches.
The HIGHEST MOWER HEIGHT (from ground to button pressed): 31-1/2 inches.
Due to my very own physical needs, the lowest height works perfectly for me! Fortunately, I did not have any of the 'troubles' that some have reported with theirs. If it works as it all did with my first use on a small yard today for even a season or two, I would definitely purchase again! Although it does kind of sound like a small shop vac in use, it is absolutely adorable and FUN for me to use. I love it!!
It does look like a toy and is nearly identical to vacuuming, with both physical motions & width. So those that are impatient (or hate vacuuming) may not appreciate this trimmer/mower like I already do. Did I mention that I I love this thing! :)
However, as not to wear down the thin and very narrow plastic lip that holds the trimmer into the mower attachment, I personally won't be pressing the trimmer into the mower attachment until it "clicks" per the instructions. Instead, I simply press on the pedal and gently seat the trimmer all the way in before releasing the pedal to lock it in place. Noting again, that's just my own suggested solution to hopefully prevent that thin plastic 'lock' from wearing down so easily, or as I see that it probably could otherwise.
Further, the trimmer seems to hold in place just fine when pressing the trimmer handle down to make turns (just like placing the weight on the back wheels to turn a vacuum). To 'lift up' on the trimmer handle when mowing, is when it wants to detach from the mower --so don't do that people lol.
Just like every electric tool that I've ever owned, it does NOT come with an extension cord (and it makes me laugh that anyone would expect it to). However, since I wanted an extension cord designated just for this unit, I also purchased what did NOT work --and that was a 50 ft 16AWG Yellow HUANCHAIN brand through Amazon at the same time as well. To my disappointment (I even tried to force it further into the plug hole), that extension cord does NOT and will NOT make a tight enough contact to fit but for 'brief' contact spurts. At first, that was a big GRRR there for me because the mower kept cutting out before I realized it was that extension cord that was barely making contact. Okaaay....
Instead, though, and most fortunately for me, I ended up using my older orange extension cord (that most of us have laying around) that has a slightly narrower plug encasement that seats all the way into the plug for continuous contact well and fits perfectly tight! With my recent experience: If it feels slightly wobbly, kind of loose or pulls out too easily... just forget it and try another extension cord plug! You're welcome. Lol
Again, before getting super frustrated with the extension cord constantly coming loose from the plug (like I did with the brand new yellow one), you may want to try to find an older style or better fitting extension cord first (even if to take the trimmer to your local hardware store to try one there)!
Lastly, my reason for purchase. Living in an apartment with a small yard has became just too ridiculous annoying every year to 'wait' for yard maintenance not even mowing until the weeds are almost 18" high and allowing the clippings to just fall where they may for their tenants to just track long grass/weed clippings into our cars and apartments. I finally had ENOUGH when a thorn weed recently caught my pant leg causing me to trip and fall! With this fun to use, light and nifty little edger/mower that I can enjoy taking care of my yard weekly and all by myself. I'm not done yet, but just after mowing the whole yard once & quickly edging to 'test' it today, my yard already looks way better than it ever has before! I'm HAPPY and very pleased with this fun little B&D trimmer/mower being my new 'toy'!
I hope my lengthy review helps answer some of the questions that I had prior to my having to purchase it to find out for myself anyway. I'm sure glad I did though! I don't enjoy raking, so to prevent that, I will just be sure to mow weekly through the growing season because I CAN now, and I'll enjoy doing so, too. Just make sure you get a tight fitting extension cord. Happy mowing the easy way!! :)" — A. Zuker
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
3. American Lawn Mower Company Four-Blade Push Reel Lawn Mower
Top-rated: 11,536 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Capable of cutting grass up to 4 inches tall.
Helpful review: "I’m not knocking people with allergies; I have food and pet allergies and they suck, and it sucks when people make light of them. But with my former gas powered mower, I was convinced I was allergic to grass. Sneezing fits galore. Every. Time. $#%^ you, cut grass. With this, I might, MIGHT, sneeze once. Because there’s no gas exhaust fumes blowing up into my face, there’s no huge kick up of whatever I just mowed: dirt, grass, whatever.
So my point is, you really might not be allergic to grass. You might be allergic to gas powered mowers. If I could cure my food and pet allergies this easily.
I’ve bought this twice. They do require a bit of a learning curve. Like do not go over rocks or roots, flip this over so that the rear stabilizer wheel isn’t touching the ground when going over sidewalks or driveways (and the blades won’t spin). I didn’t do that with my first one, and compromised the rear stabilizer wheel, which you need to run this. It’s expensive to replace, near $40 with taxes and shipping from the company’s website, so I just bought a new mower. I did get 4 years out of my first mower, so I got my money’s worth.
The new mower seems like they addressed that issue; the rear stabilizer wheel looks much tougher. The blades are also sharper than my previous one. You can sharpen these with sharpening compound by removing one wheel and cranking the mechanism backwards. I’m sure there are detailed instructions out there on the vast Internet, and you can do that with ALL of these, including the wooden ones from the 50s you might find at yard sales for pennies. I anticipate, now that I know what I’m doing, the new one will last me far beyond 4 years.
Another huge plus is you save on gas here, because this requires no gas. You also save on a gym membership, as this is quite the workout but not undoable. It's like pushing baby carriages or shopping carts. And saves on time! No more filling the tank (and spilling gas). No more checking the oil and pressing the primer and pulling the rip cord and unclogging the clumps of cut grass from the blades and cursing the stupid, much heavier gas mower for not working (and sneezing, sneezing, sneezing all the while). This takes me about the same time as the gas mower did, and I’m just mowing here, casually walking along appreciating nature.
It’s super easy to put together, no crazy hand or wrist strength required (future sharpening of the blades will require some hand and wrist strength).
About the only downside is that twigs and leaves and other small objects can get caught in the blades and will stop this. Full stop. It’s more of an annoyance, as your nice momentum will come to a sudden jerking halt. But it’s part of the learning curve if you don’t want to rake your lawn every time.
Love the red color. Amazon offers these at the cheapest prices I’ve come across. Remember, I had to look for a replacement, was even waiting for the VINE gods to drop one, which never happened *boo*.
So I highly recommend this. Really a beautiful piece of engineering that I wish I’d taken a chance on sooner. Take care of it a bit and it’ll take care of you." — Photographer
Get it from Amazon now: $89.99 & FREE Returns
4. GARDENA SILENO City Automatic Robotic Lawn Mower with Bluetooth app and Boundary Wire
Top-rated: 6,763 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: SILENO keeps mowing rain or shine and cuts all shapes of lawns within the boundary wire limits, from simple to complex including slopes of up to a 35 percent gradient (19°).
Helpful review: "This is an extremely convenient little device, if like me you absolutely hate mowing, don’t mind a little setup and prep, and don’t care about a “perfect” lawn. So let me preface this full review with: I absolutely loathe mowing. I tend to avoid it as much as possible and as such my yard frequently gets out of control very quickly in the Florida rain. That being said, this little guy is exactly what someone like me needs, something to make my yard look presentable without all the hours of manual work. And it’s probably the coolest thing I now own.
Prep and Setup
I definitely suggest watching the YouTube videos from the manufacturer on how to unbox and setup the mower. The included guide was quite lengthy and a little hard to follow, but after watching the videos, setup was a breeze. Unboxing everything was also easy, everything was packed and labeled nicely, and I was actually surprised with how compact the mower was. You absolutely need to clear out your yard of any large branches or obstacles that the mower might catch on. I did see it get stuck on some branches that I missed cleaning up.
The hardest and lengthiest part of setup is definitely setting up the boundary/guide wire. This process involves outlining your yard with the included wire. These wires connect back to the base station where I’m assuming it then gets power to tell the mower where the boundary limits are. There’s also a guide wire that runs from the base station to the boundary wire where they’re spliced together with an included coupler. If you’re not familiar with cutting and joining wires this might seem a little daunting but honestly after watching the videos it was very straightforward. The biggest thing is to absolutely make sure the wire is firmly in the ground. The instructions give 2 options: One using stakes and the other to bury the wire. I opted to use the stakes, but I made the initial mistake of not using more of them closer together and the mower got tangled in the wire, this was an easy fix by making sure about every 2 feet of wire a stake was put down to hold it down (they included a lot of stakes).
Running the mower
As soon as you power on the mower you go through a simple install wizard to set your preferences and schedule. You also can override the schedule to test it out and let it run. You should definitely watch it the first time to make sure it runs smoothly but after that it’s basically set it and forget it. I don’t know if it could handle large brush, but I had mowed my lawn a few weeks prior, so it didn’t have to work very hard. I watched it go for about 30 minutes before I went back inside where I continually checked on it, it didn't get stuck and after a couple hours made it's way back to the base station to charge up for the day.
Setting up the App
There's another review on here that mentioned not having the Bluetooth model and not being able to use the app, which got me thinking the one I had also didn't have Bluetooth. Turns out all their models have Bluetooth, you just need to have the app open and turn off the mower while it's in the station and turn it back on. It was listed as P0.2 on my phone, I renamed him to 'Fenton'. My Android phone picked it up almost immediately and I was pretty happy with the options, which allows you to better select your schedule or spot mow a specific area where you place it and of course manually start it for a set period.
Charging Station Cover
The weather is quite sporadic here in Florida. Getting the charging station cover or "Garage" is a nice addition to not have to worry about it. It provides a nice little cover from the extreme heat and the Florida downpours. While the guide says the mower is built for all types of weather, I do recommend getting the cover if you'd like a little more peace of mind. Install takes all of 5 minutes and looks like it's built to last.
Final thoughts
The mower is insanely quiet, I only ever heard the blade when it hit a taller piece of grass. I was also very surprised with how maneuverable it is. I have very soft, leaf ridden soil and so my push mower constantly digs into the always wet soil, and it makes it pretty difficult sometimes to mow. This little guy I guess is light enough that it hasn’t gotten stuck. All that being said, this mower is not a “do it all” type of device, at least not for my yard. I set my boundaries to basically a large open area, I’ll have to touch up the areas where I thought it wouldn’t work very well because of large brush or just obstacles that would get in the way. I would highly recommend this mower to people with very “simple” yard layouts and those who hate mowing. For me it’s extremely convenient having a freshly kept yard without doing any of the work." — Loc C.
Get it from Amazon now: $999.99 & FREE Returns
5. Greenworks 14-Inch Dethatcher - Full Power up to 150 Feet
Top-rated: 14,876 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 4 year warranty - double the industry standard.
Helpful review: "I'm an older (66) woman. I did this myself and I was amazed with the dethatcher - and with myself!! LOL. The area is small - about 800 sq feet. I watched some of the videos and followed their recommendations. Mow it first to about 1.5 - 2 " - stick your finger or a ruler in to check it because the length of your grass is misleading.
If it's long it'll get caught up with the thatch and pull out your good grass. There will be some green pulled out but tons of thatch. Don't pull backwards or stay in one place without shutting off which is easy - just let the safety bar go. Then use the mower to pickup and bag the thatch. Then repeat in the other direction. Like North -to South, then East to West.
I almost skipped doing it in the other direction - but there was so much more in my lawn that I didn't see - I'm glad that I did it. After that, I spread 8 bags of top soil - lightly rake it in, added starter fertilizer and plain grass seed to the whole area. WATER WATER WATER. This is very stressful on the lawn, so give it some love and plenty of water. It's been almost two weeks and it's really looking very healthy!
A FEW WORDS FROM MY NEIGHBOR:
Love this little machine,! Not fond of cords, but it worked so well I didn't mind moving the cord with each pass. My lawn was in such bad shape that I had to go over it 2-3 times. Raking each time. I got wagon loads of moss, grass, and dead debris up. It is quiet. Easy to push. Light enough for an older woman to pick up. It was a real deal given I was given a bid of $1200.00 to thatch our half acre a number of years ago. I will just do a section at a time as the raking is hard work for one person--especially if you have bad arms/shoulders.
Finished the front yard about 3 weeks ago. The grass is coming in lush and green and I've seeded the bare spots the moles so graciously provided last year! I started on the back yard. The section I did was in an area where moss tends to accumulate because it is partially shaded. Did great. Once moss is up and grass is thatched I put on Scott's turf builder and moss control, spread some lime, and put on Moss Out. I am one happy customer. A very happy customer!" — Rose W.
Get it from Amazon now: $129.00 & FREE Returns
6. Greenworks 16-Inch Cordless Push Lawn Mower + 4.0Ah Battery and Charger
Top-rated: 8,746 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Up to 45 minutes of runtime on a fully charged 4.0 Ah Battery.
Helpful review: "This mower is perfect for a smaller woman or an older person. It does not weigh much and is extremely light compared to a regular full-size metal gasoline-driven lawnmower. You don’t have to transport gasoline like you do for a regular lawnmower nor do you have to worry about changing the spark plug or anything else of that nature.
All you have to do is charge the 40 V battery and follow the instructions for the electric start—NO cord to pull! If the battery is completely drained, it takes about an hour and a half or two hours to fully charge.
But in this terrible Florida heat, I can only work outside about an hour, and it works out fine because when I’m giving out so is the battery! Of course, I may decide to buy an extra battery, so that when I want to continue working I can.
The only thing to remember about this little mower is that you can’t treated harshly because it is made of plastic. It can take some knocks and bumps, but it can’t take abuse. I have seen people to treat regular metal lawnmowers rather roughly. The one safety feature that you MUST remember is to take the battery OUT before you turn on the lawnmower on its side and work underneath! For a regular yard that is not allowed to get out of hand, this little mower is an absolute dream.
Because of all the terrible rain and humidity here, the grass is growing like crazy and yet I cannot mow. When this happens, it is a chore for any lawnmower to cut this grass. The Bahia grass grows tall unsightly stems that can go up to a couple of feet high. But I have been able to mow even that with this little mower by adjusting the blade height to high. After I get the great height down some, I can readjust the cutting level lower. All in all, I highly recommend this mower." — Erica Lancaster
Get it from Amazon now: $399.99 & FREE Returns
7. WORX 14-Inch Lawn Mower with Two 20V Batteries
Top-rated: 4,337 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: A single lever lets you set the height you want to cut your lawn, depending on the season, or just your preference.
Helpful review: "I am a 115 lb little woman. I love that this was easy to assemble, lightweight enough to carry down my steps one handed, easy to start and stop, not hard on the hands when mowing, and it’s not extremely loud.
It DOES work with the same batteries their trimmer uses, which I also love, but not well. The batteries it comes with are a tad bigger, and they have a charge indicator button which is really cool. The trimmer batteries both at full only lasted taking it down the edge of the driveway and to the curb. Just edges.
I had what looked like 20% and 30% charges on the big batteries when it arrived, and that actually lasted it until almost the entire front facing first side of the lawn. Not the back, and not the skinny side of the house. But that was substantial. I know that’s not helpful if I can’t quote square footage or acreage, I’m sorry. But so far I’m really liking it. I’ll update if anything comes up.
NOW ON TO MY FRIEND'S REVIEW:
This is an impressive lawn mower. Solid, well-constructed, easy to set up and use, easy to start up, and cuts the grass evenly and nicely. While the large box used for shipping the lawn mower arrived damaged on one end, there was no damage to the lawn mower inside. This is not a lightweight mower. So be very very careful removing it from the box.
I love the two batteries. The charger works easily and well. I love how easy it is to adjust the mower height and to adjust to mower arm height. You can tell that a lot of thought and good engineering went into the design of this item. I did read several comments about battery drain when using the self-propelled feature constantly. That is understandable when you consider the weight of this mower, and having batteries power the self-propelling of it for a prolonged period of time. So, I avoided using the self-propelled on easy parts of my yard.
It takes me 70-90 minutes to mow my entire lawn, and the batteries were still well above 60% full afterwards. I used the self-propeller for about 30 mins of that time. Battery drain will also be influenced by the height of the grass being mowed, the number of hilly areas being mowed, and the speed you set for the self-propeller. For me, the two batteries were more than adequate for my mowing needs.
Now, always be careful when using the self- propeller. Release the self-propeller bar before making 180-degree turns, or if you plan to pull the lawnmower backwards.
Also, be sure to not use the self-propeller bar while starting the lawn mower. If you do, the lawn mower will quickly pull away from you. You’ll get the hang of this lawn mower pretty quickly. I feel very comfortable using it now after mowing my lawn a couple of times. Best and warmest wishes to you all." — Julianne Andrews
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Returns
8. EGO Power+ Lithium-ion Cordless Lawn Mower with a 5.0Ah Battery and Rapid Charger
Top-rated: 1,915 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Up to 45 minutes of run time on single charge with the recommended 56V 5.0 Ah ARC Lithium battery.
Helpful review: "I'm a sixty-nine year old woman who's always taken care of my own yard... about 2/3 acre. Getting old sucks, and mowing's gotten harder. When the old gas mower broke I fretted about buying a re-chargeable battery mower. Would it hold a charge all the way through the job? YES! It takes me about 45 minutes.
- I like that I can shut it off at any time, and yank out weeds in the adjacent flower beds, get a drink, whatever, and it will start up with a push of a button. No need to worry if I'll choke it, etc.
- I very much like not dealing with gasoline before and after, and not dealing with the smell of gas.
- I like making my environmental footprint a tiny bit smaller. I have two batteries and use them both at the same time. After mowing, I charge them up (about a half-hour each), and they're good to go the next time I mow.
- I like that this mower weighs considerably less than my old one.
My mowing days are NOT over, despite arthritis. I like that it's really easy to adjust mowing height--because the machine itself is lighter, and because I can adjust all of the wheels at once. It's easy to adjust the handle height as well--all the way to folding it over for small-footprint storage in the garage.
Six-year-old Michael, who has the pulse of the neighborhood, said, "How come your mower's so QUIET?" Indeed. My only worry is whether the mower will last. I bought it late last fall and used it once before winter. So far so good, though. I've mowed maybe 25 times this summer without any problems." — Pamela M. Barger
Get it from Amazon now: $477.99 & FREE Returns