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Broadcast spreader buying guide

Updated: 21.10.2026

You are looking at three tools that all say spreader: a trolley with a spinning disc, a 45 cm wheeled roller, and a lidded shaker. The lawn is a UK back garden, and you want feed, seed or dry grit to land where you meant. This broadcast spreader buying guide decides whether a fan measured in metres is the right mechanism, then which hopper and which power fit, before you open the [broadcast spreader comparison](/hub/garden-tools/broadcast-spreader). If you buy through our amazon.co.uk links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Listings were captured on 19 October 2026. We did not run a lab evenness test.

You are looking at three tools that all say spreader: a trolley with a spinning disc, a 45 cm wheeled roller, and a lidded shaker.

Our top picks

Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini

Best overall

Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini
9.2/10about £167.14
View offer
Gardena Gardena Spreader XL

Rank 2

Gardena Gardena Spreader XL
9.0/10about £105.49
View offer
Einhell Einhell GE-US 18 Li bare

Best value

Einhell Einhell GE-US 18 Li bare
8.8/10about £37.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a broadcast spreader actually throws
  2. 2.Lawn shape, beds and paving
  3. 3.Hopper, area claims and the battery you already own
  4. 4.Seed, feed and dry grit

What a broadcast spreader actually throws

A broadcast machine, sometimes called a rotary spreader, flicks dry granules off a spinning disc or paddle. The pattern is a fan. Grass Seed Online puts a typical pedestrian throw at about 1.5–2.5 metres, a retailer description, not a British Standard. The Gardena Spreader XL lists 1.5–6 metres depending on pace, and the Einhell GE-US 18 Li lists up to 5 metres. If the only width printed is about 45 cm, you are looking at a trough or a roller. The Einhell GC-SR 12 sits outside this set for that reason.

Lawn shape, beds and paving

Open grass is where a fan earns its keep. The Gardena XL is the push example: 18 litres, a locking slide, and a cover plate that Gardena’s UK page describes as cutting the throw to about 1.5–3 metres on one side. Neither plate turns the machine into a drop spreader. If the garden is mostly border and a narrow strip of grass, read broadcast spreader vs drop spreader before you buy a disc. An edge plate is not a licence to aim weed killer at a flower bed.
Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini

Testsieger

Scotts Scotts EdgeGuard Mini
9.2/10about £167.14
View offer

Hopper, area claims and the battery you already own

Hopper size and the square-metre claim are not the same number. Cordless units here are mostly 3.3 litres. The YEX-BUR states 3.7 litres. The Gardena XL is 18 litres. Einhell and Gardena both aim at about 800 m² of lawn, which is the area they have in mind, not one fill. The XL and the Scotts mini are push machines. The Einhell GE-US 18 Li is £37.99 on the snapshot, bare, and it takes an Einhell 18 V pack. Roadtime, LengSuaa and YEX-BUR claim a Makita 18 V fit and are also bare. A new pack can cost as much as the tool.

Seed, feed and dry grit

The Royal Horticultural Society says many lawns do not need feed at all. When you do feed, use the packet rate and water solid feed in if rain does not come, because an overdose leaves brown stripes. “Setting 3” in a review is not your rate. If the bag is a pesticide, the label outranks any year-round line on the tool. Open lawn and a trolley you will store: the Gardena row, remembering that the 6,628 ratings mix other Gardena models. Makita battery already owned: check the codes. Beds and paving in the way: leave the fan.

Common questions

Is a broadcast spreader right for a small lawn broken up by beds?
Often no. A fan throws a band measured in metres, so beds, a pond and paving sit inside the pattern unless you cut the width and shut the gate on every turn. A drop spreader lays a strip you can see, which suits a broken-up garden better. An edge plate on a Gardena, or EdgeGuard on a Scotts, helps one side of a fan.
What hopper do I need if the listing says 800 m²?
Read 800 m² as the lawn size the maker has in mind, not as one fill. The Einhell and the Gardena both use that kind of area claim, while the cordless hoppers here are 3.3 litres and the XL is 18 litres. You will refill a small hopper several times on a larger lawn.
Should I buy a cordless unit if I do not own the battery?
Only after you price the pack. Every cordless model in this set is sold bare. The Einhell needs a Power X-Change 18 V battery, and a review says Makita packs do not fit it. The Roadtime, LengSuaa and YEX-BUR claim Makita 18 V codes and still omit the battery. A new pack can cost as much as the spreader, which wipes out a £37.99 headline.
Can one machine do seed, feed and winter salt?
It can move all three when the product is dry and free-flowing. Seed and lawn feed are the usual job. Damp rock salt clogged an Einhell in reviews, and premium salt failed to drop through a YEX-BUR even on setting 5. Dry grit is a maybe, not a promise written on the bullet list. Empty the hopper between products so leftover feed does not travel with seed.
What is an edge guard for?
It blocks or shortens one side of the fan so fewer granules leave the lawn along a straight edge. Gardena’s cover plate is described as about 1.5–3 metres to one side. Scotts EdgeGuard blocks the right side on the brand page. You still walk the open side as a broadcast pattern, and you still shut the flow when you turn.
How is this different from a 45 cm wheeled spreader?
A 45 cm width is about the width of a trough or roller, not a spinning fan. Broadcast listings in this set state throws of metres: 1.5–6 metres on the Gardena XL, up to 5 metres on the Einhell. The Einhell GC-SR 12, with a roller and a trough near 450 mm, was left out of this comparison for that reason.

Related pages

Cordless fertiliser spreader

How to use a broadcast spreader

Broadcast spreader

Best broadcast spreader UK, and who should skip it

Broadcast spreader vs drop spreader for UK gardens

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 19 October 2026.

  1. RHS spring and summer lawn care (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS dead patches (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Rolawn, using a lawn spreader (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE garden pesticides (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Sustainable Use Regulations 2012 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK owning a watercourse (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Gardena UK Spreader XL (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Einhell UK GE-US 18 Li-Solo (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  9. Grass Seed Online, grass seed spreaders (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  10. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 19 October 2026)