The best power trowels, compared.
Top pick: Mekturm cordless wall smoother – Highest score in the set: the battery line agrees with itself and there is one UK sentence, at £92.99 and 5 kg. Two ratings remain a thin file, and it is not a slab float. Best value: VexNook cordless wall smoother – Lowest shelf price with a written UK review, at £86.19, if you already own an 18 V pack. The 220 V line against 18 V keeps it off the top score. Updated October 2026.
In UK hire yards a power trowel is the pedestrian machine that finishes fresh concrete, also called a power float. Pitched blades follow once the bleed water has gone. A 36 inch hire machine is about 91 kg, and a published day rate is tens of pounds excluding. About 5–7 kg with pads is a wall tool. A walk-behind has a guard ring around 600 mm or 900 mm. The [walk-behind or handheld power trowel](/hub/flooring-tools-and-accessories/power-trowel/sub/power-trowel-walk-behind-or-handheld) guide sets out that split. These scores are listing scores, not a finish test. A pan or flat blades close the surface. The seven amazon.co.uk listings are not that machine.
In UK hire yards a power trowel is the pedestrian machine that finishes fresh concrete, also called a power float. Pitched blades follow once the bleed water has gone.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What are you finishing?
The Mekturm listing is a 5 kg cordless wall smoother at £92.99, with a claimed 1680 W motor and an 18 V battery that the title and the bullets both say is excluded. amazon.co.uk shows 5.0 from two ratings, and the only written review, from the United Kingdom on 2 August 2026, says it works surprisingly well. A second rating is counted and has no text in the file, so the star line is not a tested result. The specification prints 380 rpm while the bullets say seven settings from 80 to 600 rpm, and that speed clash is unresolved. Hard, iron and sponge trowels, sandpaper and a stirring rod are named, which matches a plaster or putty job rather than a 90 kg power float. In this comparison it is the top pick among the sub-£120 wall discs, because the battery line is consistent and there is at least one UK sentence, though two ratings remain a thin file.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a sub-£100 wall smoother whose battery line agrees with itself, and you already have a Makita-style 18 V pack.
Less suitable: You are choosing from star averages alone, or you need to finish a concrete slab.
Specifications
Common questions
Is a Makita 18 V battery in the box?
No. The title says compatible with Makita 18 V and no battery. The bullets repeat that batteries are excluded and name packs from BL1815 to BL1860B.
What speed is printed?
The specification line says 380 rpm. The bullets say seven settings, 1 to 6 and MAX, from 80 to 600 revolutions per minute.
Does the listing say it is heavy?
The page asks that and does not answer it. The item-weight line is 5 kg.
The Generic 6-in-1 listing asks £165 and prints 5.0 from one rating with no review text in the file, so the star does not describe a job. The specification says 1 volt and a bullet says 48 V at 60 Hz, which is not UK mains frequency, and no BS 1363 plug is shown. Item weight is 7 kg on one line and 3.6 kg in a bullet. The title offers two 15000 mAh batteries and a 1.68 m pole, while the kit sentence in the same bullet says the telescopic pole is sold separately. A 38 cm disc is listed, and another bullet also says a 15-inch chassis. The included-components field says shelves, which does not match the plate kit in the bullets. Treat the page as unresolved before you compare it with a cheaper wall disc that at least states the battery is extra.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are comparing catalogue claims only, and you will ask the seller which voltage, weight and pole you would actually receive.
Less suitable: You want a written UK review, a consistent battery story, or a walk-behind float.
Specifications
Common questions
Which voltage is listed?
The specification line says 1 volt. A bullet says 48 V 60 Hz. UK mains frequency is 50 Hz. The saved listing does not show a BS 1363 plug.
Is the telescopic pole included?
One sentence in the same bullet offers a 1.68 m telescopic pole. The kit line in that bullet says the telescopic pole is sold separately.
Which weight is listed?
The item-weight line says 7 kg. A bullet says 3.6 kg. Both figures are in the saved listing.
The VexNook listing is a 5.7 kg cordless wall smoother at £86.19, and the only amazon.co.uk review, dated 13 September 2025, says it works well on a standard Makita 18 V battery with six speeds from 80 to 600 rpm. That reviewer calls the build high quality and the packaging tidy, and they do not describe a defect. The technical details still print 220 volts while the bullets and that review describe an 18 V tool, so the voltage line is not settled. Batteries are not in the box, and the bullets name Makita-style packs from BL1815 to BL1860B. At this weight, with hard, sponge and iron pads plus a mixing rod, it is a wall and mixing tool, not a pedestrian float for a fresh slab. In this comparison it is the best value pick if you already own an 18 V pack and you will set the 220 V line aside until the seller confirms it.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already own a Makita-style 18 V pack and you want the lowest-priced wall disc in this set.
Less suitable: You need a pedestrian float for a fresh slab, or a listing whose voltage lines agree.
Specifications
Common questions
Does this listing include a battery?
No. The bullets say batteries are not included, and the specification line says batteries are not required. The bullets name 18 V packs such as BL1830 and BL1860.
Why does the page say both 220 V and 18 V?
The technical details print 220 volts. The bullets and the only UK review describe a cordless tool for a Makita-style 18 V battery. The saved listing does not resolve that conflict.
What pads are listed?
The bullets name a plastic hard pad, a sponge pad and an iron pad. The included list adds four sandpapers, a mixing rod and gloves.
The WODHMIEY listing is a 5 kg cordless cement trowel at £116.88, and it is the only product here with a cluster of written reviews: 3.6 from nine ratings, three of them marked United Kingdom. Two UK reviewers say it is still going after hard use and that it works for render. A third UK reviewer, who bought in April and wrote in July, says it smelled as if it was burning and that no product help was available. A short German review in the same file is not United Kingdom experience. The voltage line and the bullets both sit at 18 V, and the battery is not included, though the speed line says 300 rpm while the bullets say 80 to 600 rpm. Pads, a trowel, sandpaper and a mixing rod are in the included list. Read it as a wall and render tool with a real complaint on file, not as a machine that has been shown to float a slab.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the only listing here with several written UK reviews, and you will read the burning-smell report before you buy.
Less suitable: You want a tool with no defect report on file, or a pedestrian float for fresh concrete.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the listing include a battery?
No. The bullets say it works with 18 V/20 V packs such as BL1850 and BL1860, and that the battery is not included.
What did UK reviewers write?
Three UK texts are in the saved listing. One says it is still going after hard use. One says it works for render. One says that by July, after a purchase in April, it smelled as if it was burning and that no product help was available.
Can it be used on concrete?
The page asks that and does not answer it. The usage line says wall, surface smoothing and levelling. The bullets name wall plastering, cement mixing, paint stirring and putty.
The Pnpaea listing appeared on amazon.co.uk on 24 September 2026 at £286.12 and 10.3 kg, and the file has no star line and no review text. The title says an 18.1 inch finisher with a float pan and two 30000 mAh batteries. The bullets say a 46 cm cast-iron four-blade head, which is about the same diameter as 18.1 inches, plus a pole to 130 cm and speeds from 280 to 2800 rpm. A bullet then says one 20000 mAh battery, so the pack in the box is not agreed. Sponge discs, hard discs, sandpaper and a mixing rod sit beside the float-pan title, which is the pattern of a wall kit rather than a 900 mm walk-behind. The package dimensions are 82 × 82 × 82 cm, and the file does not describe a guard ring, a petrol engine or a pedestrian handle. Pay this only if a seller confirms one battery figure, and do not read the float pan as proof it will finish a garage slab.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a float pan named in the title, and you will confirm the battery before you pay £286.12.
Less suitable: You need reviews, one settled battery capacity, or a 600–900 mm hire float.
Specifications
Common questions
Do the battery figures match?
No. The title says 2×30000 mAh. A bullet says a 20000 mAh rechargeable battery. The saved listing has no review text.
What head size is printed?
The title says 18.1 inches with a float pan. The bullets say a 46 cm cast-iron cross-axis blade and a four-blade head. 18.1 inches is about 46 cm as a conversion, not as a second measurement.
Is this a walk-behind petrol float?
The saved listing does not describe a guard ring, a petrol engine or a pedestrian handle. It describes a battery tool, a pole to 130 cm, discs and a mixing rod.
The ZyKnaurral listing is a handheld power trowel at £264.99 and 10.7 kg, with no customer-reviews line and no review text in the file. Bullets claim 600–900 W, six speeds from 40 to 300 rpm, and a 45 cm cast-iron or manganese four-blade head with a safety guard. The title says 26000 mAh, while a bullet writes two batteries as 13000 mAh and 22500 mAh, so the capacity is not one figure. A 130 cm pole is described as non-telescopic, and the kit also names sponge and hard discs, sandpaper and a mixing rod. The specification material is synthetic, while the bullets say cast iron or steel. At 10.7 kg it is heavier than the 5 kg wall pads, and it is still far below a 67–91 kg pedestrian float. Without a UK review, the extra money does not show that it will finish a slab.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are comparing a claimed 45 cm head on paper, and you accept that this ASIN has no review text in the file.
Less suitable: You need UK user reports, one agreed battery capacity, or a hired pedestrian float.
Specifications
Common questions
What battery capacity is listed?
The title says 26000 mAh. A bullet says two batteries written as 13,000 mAh/22500 mAh. Those figures do not match.
Is there a star rating?
No customer-reviews line and no review text are in the saved listing.
What head does the listing describe?
The title says five types of grinding discs. The bullets say a 45 cm cast-iron cross-blade or a manganese steel 4-blade, with screw-adjustable angle, plus sponge, hard disc and sandpaper.
The Generic cordless listing is the dearest in this set at £455.91 and the heaviest at 15 kg, and amazon.co.uk shows no star line and no review text. A bullet claims a 450 mm manganese-steel head and 280 to 2800 revolutions per minute, while the specification says a cutting diameter of 1 cm and an assembled diameter of 1 cm. The title says two batteries and a telescopic handle, the specification says batteries are not required, and no capacity or runtime is printed. Bullets also name a mixing rod and an LED, and they add wall smoothing beside a pavement-and-screed title. The file does not describe a guard ring or a petrol engine, so 15 kg does not make this a Belle-class walk-behind. At this price a published 36 inch hire day rate is tens of pounds excluding VAT, which is the comparison that matters if the job is a fresh slab. Order it only after the seller resolves the 450 mm line against the 1 cm line.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are checking whether a heavier cordless listing is more complete than the cheaper discs, and you will not order until the diameter lines match.
Less suitable: You want a reviewed tool, an agreed battery, or a pedestrian float you can hire for a day.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the listing include batteries?
The title says two batteries and a telescopic handle. The specification line says batteries are not required. No capacity and no runtime are printed. The page asks how long the batteries last and does not answer.
What diameter is listed?
A bullet says a 450 mm spatula. The technical details say a cutting diameter of 1 centimetre and an assembled diameter of 1 centimetre.
Is the handle adjustable?
The page asks that. The only related line is a bullet that says a detachable telescopic handle. There is no measured height range.
Seven amazon.co.uk listings were scored from the stored pages. This is not a lab test, a vibration test or a coverage trial. No kept listing prints a vibration figure, a runtime or a square-metre rate, so those are not scored. Review evidence is weighted at 40, listing consistency at 30, price position in this set at 20, and written UK sentiment at 10. A UK report of a burning smell and no product help subtracts 15 from that product’s total. It is not a fifth weight. A star with no review text, and German review text, are not treated as United Kingdom experience.
Review evidence
40%Stars are scaled to 40, then multiplied by a sample factor. No star line scores 0. One rating with no text uses 0.25. One written UK review uses 0.45. Two ratings with one UK sentence use 0.55. Nine ratings with written UK texts use 0.80.
Listing consistency
30%Starts at 30. Deductions cover a contradictory voltage, battery capacity, weight, diameter, or speed, a pole that is then sold separately, and a material line that fights the bullets. A battery that is clearly excluded is not a deduction. The floor is 0.
Price position
20%Up to 20, inside this set of handhelds only. A lower shelf price scores higher. £86.19 scores 20. £455.91 scores 2. The score is not a claim about hire rates or trade floor trowels.
Written UK sentiment
10%Up to 10 from written United Kingdom review text. A UK report of a burning smell and no product help then subtracts 15 from the product total. Listings with no review text score 0 on this part.
Choose the machine by the job, then by the mass and the head, then by whether the listing agrees with itself. A fresh slab is a pedestrian float. A plaster wall is a handheld disc. The seven cards below are the handhelds. Hire rates and the Rokamat Skate C sit outside the table so the prices are not mixed.
A power trowel, in UK hire language, is the pedestrian machine that finishes fresh concrete. It is also called a power float. A pan or flat blades close the surface. Pitched blades trowel after the bleed water has evaporated. The seven amazon.co.uk listings on this page are not that machine. They are cordless handheld disc tools, mostly wall smoothers sold with a mixing rod, from £86.19 to £455.91 and from 5 kg to 15 kg. Three families sit apart.
A float pan, a 45 cm claim or the words power trowel do not make a 5–15 kg disc into a walk-behind. A Belle-class 36 inch machine is about 91 kg, with a guard ring. These files do not describe that machine.
VexNook, Mekturm and WODHMIEY all say the battery is not included. Other pages print two capacities, or say batteries in the title and then say they are not required. Budget for a pack you already own, or do not treat the shelf price as the whole tool.
The Concrete Society note is to float when a boot heel leaves only a slight impression, about 3 mm, after the bleed water has gone. Trowelling too early, or power-trowelling air-entrained concrete, is how a surface delaminates. One star rating is not a timing test.
Name the job before the brand. A fresh slab needs a pedestrian float or a purpose-built floor trowel. A plaster or render wall is the handheld disc. Dry grinding of cured concrete is a dust job, with an eight-hour silica limit of 0.1 mg/m³, not a trowel job. About 5–7 kg with pads is a wall tool: VexNook at 5.7 kg, Mekturm and WODHMIEY at 5 kg.
Read the box, not only the title. Three listings say the battery is not included. Others print two battery capacities, or say batteries in the title and that batteries are not required on the specification. Kept clashes include 220 V beside 18 V on the VexNook page, 1 V beside 48 V at 60 Hz on the Generic 6-in-1, 7 kg beside 3.6 kg on that same page, and 450 mm beside a 1 cm cutting diameter on the £455.91 listing. UK mains frequency is 50 Hz, and no kept listing shows a BS 1363 plug.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You already own a Makita-style 18 V pack and the job is plaster, putty or render, not a fresh slab. The Mekturm listing is the top pick at £92.99. The title and the bullets both say the battery is excluded, and one UK review says it works surprisingly well. Two ratings are still a thin file.
You want the lowest shelf price in this set and you already have an 18 V pack. The VexNook listing is the best value at £86.19. The only UK review, dated 13 September 2025, reports a Makita 18 V fit. The specification still prints 220 V, so that line is not settled.
You want the only listing here with several written UK reviews, and you will read the complaint before you buy. The WODHMIEY listing is 3.6 from nine ratings at £116.88. Two UK reviewers report render work. One reports a burning smell and no product help. The battery is not in the box.
The top pick is the Mekturm cordless wall smoother at £92.99. The title and the bullets both say the 18 V battery is excluded, the listed weight is 5 kg, and one UK review on 2 August 2026 says it works surprisingly well. Two ratings are still a thin file, and 5 kg is a wall tool, not a pedestrian float. The best value is the VexNook listing at £86.19, the lowest price with a written UK review. The specification prints 220 V while the bullets and that review describe an 18 V tool, so it stays off the top score. Neither listing will finish a fresh slab.
Mekturm cordless wall smoother
Highest score in the set: the battery line agrees with itself and there is one UK sentence, at £92.99 and 5 kg. Two ratings remain a thin file, and it is not a slab float.
VexNook cordless wall smoother
Lowest shelf price with a written UK review, at £86.19, if you already own an 18 V pack. The 220 V line against 18 V keeps it off the top score.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were checked in October 2026.
This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Scores follow the published method and the amazon.co.uk listings. They are not a lab test.
