Earth auger buying guide
Updated: October 2026
You are marking out a hedge, a short fence, or a bed of bulbs, and every listing seems to be called an earth auger. Some are a steel flight you twist by hand. Some are a cordless powerhead that arrives without a battery. One is an 82 cc petrol kit the listing weighs at 25 kg. This earth auger buying guide sorts those three types by how many holes you will bore, what the soil is doing, and what is actually in the box on amazon.co.uk. The six listings sit on the [earth auger comparison](/hub/digging-tools/earth-auger). Peter F. compared the listings and public UK sources in October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are marking out a hedge, a short fence, or a bed of bulbs, and every listing seems to be called an earth auger. Some are a steel flight you twist by hand. Some are a cordless powerhead that arrives without a battery.
You are marking out a hedge, a short fence, or a bed of bulbs, and every listing seems to be called an earth auger. Some are a steel flight you twist by hand. Some are a cordless powerhead that arrives without a battery. One is an 82 cc petrol kit the listing weighs at 25 kg. This earth auger buying guide sorts those three types by how many holes you will bore, what the soil is doing, and what is actually in the box on amazon.co.uk. The six listings sit on the earth auger comparison. Peter F. compared the listings and public UK sources in October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Power | Diameter | Weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Einhell Einhell GP-EA 18/150 cordless auger | Cordless 18 V | 150 mm | 5.7 kg | 9.0 | about £148.45 | View offer |
| Best value |  LONGRUN LONGRUN manual fence post auger | Manual | 100 mm | 3 kg | 8.4 | about £29.98 | View offer |
 Horti Power Horti Power 82 cc petrol earth auger | Petrol 82 cc | 100–300 mm | 25 kg | 0.0 | about £299 | View offer |
On this page
Three earth augers, not one product
A manual earth auger is a flight, a shaft, and a handle. You turn it, lift it, and empty it. In this set that means the LONGRUN at £29.98, with a 10 cm flight, a 96 cm shaft, and 4.2 stars from 251 reviews; a carbon-steel auger at £24.99 whose title says 200 mm while a bullet says 15 cm; and a VIDETOL auger at £17.99, stated as 10 x 60 cm, at 3.9 stars from 77 reviews. None of them needs a battery.
A cordless earth auger is a powerhead plus a bit. The Einhell GP-EA 18/150 is £148.45, 18 V, 5.7 kg on amazon.co.uk, with a 150 mm auger, a stated depth of 80 cm, and 4.5 stars from 752 reviews. The WORX WG865E.9 is £199.99, 40 V, a stated 80 Nm, a 20 cm bit, 13.6 kg, and 4.0 stars from 12 reviews. Both arrive without a battery or a charger.
Match the tool to the job
A few bulbs, one umbrella socket, or a couple of narrow holes is manual territory, as long as the soil is something a blade can cut. The LONGRUN reviews include daffodils, tulips, and one person who bored about 200 holes to 6 inches in heavy clay. The £17.99 auger is the one reviewers found short: one buyer wanted roughly 300 mm more shaft.
A garden fence or a hedging line is where people leave the hand tool. Width for a 100 mm post is on the earth auger for fence posts page, because a 10 cm flight cannot leave a concrete collar around that post. For 150 mm holes in soil, the Einhell has the large UK review count.
A long day, a remote plot, or a 300 mm hole is the petrol case, or a hire case. The Horti Power kit lists the wide bit, 25 kg, and no reviews. Hire Services (Southern) lists £35 for a one-person borer and £45 for a two-person borer before VAT, and Tippers lists £40. If you will bore once, those rates sit under £148.45 plus a new battery, and under £299 for an unrated kit.
What the listing leaves out
The price on the tin is not the price in the shed. Both cordless tools here are body-only. Einhell’s UK page for the GP-EA 18/150 says the battery and charger are not included, and it recommends a 2.5 Ah pack or larger. The amazon.co.uk box is the powerhead, the 150 mm auger, and a cotter pin. The WORX box is the auger and one 20 cm bit; it needs two 20 V packs to make 40 V. If you already run Power X-Change or PowerShare, you are comparing a tool. If you own neither, you are comparing a tool plus a battery and a charger.
Diameter is the other omission. The Einhell bit is 150 mm. The WORX bit is 20 cm. The manuals are about 10 cm, except the listing whose title and bullet disagree. The petrol kit is the only box in this set with 100, 200 and 300 mm, plus 40 cm and 60 cm extensions. Weights on these cards are 1.5 kg and 1.97 kg for the light hand augers, 3 kg for the LONGRUN, 5.7 kg for the Einhell, 13.6 kg for the WORX, and 25 kg for the petrol kit.
Soil, stones, and a second person
An auger cuts soil. It does not chew a rubble trench. UK reviews of the Einhell describe clay and hedging going well, then a stop or a snatch on stone, a hard patch, or a thick root. LONGRUN reviewers report the blade bending as soon as it hits stones, or going blunt after a few deep holes in clay. The £24.99 manual is described as usable in compacted sandy ground with pebbles, and of limited use once roots and stones take over.
Clay on its own is not a reason to buy petrol. A cordless machine with a sharp bit, lifted often, is what those Einhell reviews describe. Clay plus a long run, a wide bit, and no spare batteries is where petrol or hire starts to make sense. A 300 mm flight on a 25 kg machine is a poor solo buy. The petrol vs cordless earth auger page takes that fork, and the best post hole borer page names the top pick.
Common questions
Is a manual auger enough for a few bulbs and one post?
For bulbs and one narrow hole in soil, yes. The LONGRUN at £29.98 is the manual in this set with a 96 cm shaft, a stated 54 cm dig depth, gloves in the box, and 4.2 stars from 251 reviews. A single 100 mm fence post is a different question, because a 10 cm flight does not leave room for a concrete collar. One shallow plant hole is not the same job as a panel run.
When does clay push you towards a cordless or petrol machine?
Clay alone does not. Reviewers used the LONGRUN for many shallow holes in heavy clay, and UK Einhell reviews describe clay and hedging as workable. You move to a powerhead when the number of holes, the depth, or a hard pan makes the hand edge blunt or the day too long. You look at petrol or hire when you also need a wide bit or all-day runtime and you do not have spare batteries. Stones and thick roots still stop all of them.
Why does a cordless auger around £150 still need a battery?
Because the Einhell at £148.45, and the WORX at £199.99, are sold as body-only tools. The listing and Einhell’s UK page both say the battery and charger are separate. The £148.45 figure is the powerhead, the 150 mm auger, and a cotter pin. If you already own a matching 18 V Power X-Change pack, that gap is small. If you do not, the real cost is higher, and this comparison does not guess a battery price.
Is a hex bit for my drill the same purchase?
No. A hex-shank auger is a drill accessory. The tools on this page are complete borers: a hand flight with its own shaft, or a powerhead with a post-hole bit. Chuck size, hex size, and a cordless drill’s torque are a different category. If the amazon.co.uk title is a bit set rather than a borer, leave this comparison.
Should I hire if I will only bore holes once?
Often, yes. A one-person petrol borer was £35 for a day before VAT at Hire Services (Southern), and £40 a day before VAT at Tippers. That is one Saturday, not a machine you store. Buying the Einhell still means a battery on top of £148.45, and the Horti Power kit is £299 with no reviews. Hire is the weaker choice if you already own the right battery and you will bore again next season.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listing lines saved on 19 October 2026. No laboratory test.
- HSE — PUWER overview (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE — excavations (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- HSE — CIS65, avoiding danger from underground services (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Energy Networks Association — Think before you dig (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Einhell UK — GP-EA 18/150 Li BL-Solo (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Worx UK — WG865E.9 40 V earth auger (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, Schedule 2 (retrieved 19 October 2026)