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Lawn mower buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are choosing a first or replacement mower, and the box wants you to start with watts. A lawn mower buying guide should start with the lawn: how wide a strip you need, what happens to the clippings, whether a lead is a problem, and how low the blade will go. The [lawn mower comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/lawn-mower) is the eleven-row table of saved amazon.co.uk listings, from about £49.99 to about £249.99. This page is that decision order. Peter F. read those listings on 22 October 2026. The scores are printed stars, not a lab test, and a qualifying Amazon purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing a first or replacement mower, and the box wants you to start with watts.

Our top picks

Flymo Flymo Speedi-Mo 360C

Best overall

Flymo Flymo Speedi-Mo 360C
9.2/10about £110
View offer
Einhell Einhell GC-EM 1600/37

Alternative

Einhell Einhell GC-EM 1600/37
9.0/10about £114.99
View offer
BLACK+DECKER BLACK+DECKER BEMWH551-GB

Best value

BLACK+DECKER BLACK+DECKER BEMWH551-GB
8.4/10about £49.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the lawn, not the motor
  2. 2.Collect, mulch, or both
  3. 3.Lead or battery
  4. 4.Cutting height and an ordinary UK lawn
  5. 5.What a seller’s area line is not

Start with the lawn, not the motor

Measure the gate and the longest straight run before the motor badge. The English Garden’s size sketch is a band: about 30–35 cm up to roughly 250 m², 35–43 cm for a medium lawn, and 43–55 cm above that. The widths stated in this set are 22, 25, 30, 32, 33, 36, 37, 38 and 43 cm. If the ground is lumpy, the hovers here are the 30 cm BLACK+DECKER BEMWH551-GB and the 25 cm Flymo Hover Vac 250. If you want stripes, the only stated rear roller is the Hyundai HYM3800E at 38 cm. A wheeled rotary such as the Einhell GC-EM 1600/37, at 37 cm, is the ordinary middle.

Collect, mulch, or both

Collecting means a box the listing actually states. Mulching means the clippings stay down, and only if the listing says so. A bullet that merely asks a question is not a feature. The Hyundai HYM3800E states a 40 L box and a mulch plug. Reviews still mention clumps with that plug fitted. The Einhell states 38 L, the Bosch EasyRotak 32-220 states 31 L, and the Ark Mat and the Hyundai HYM3313E each state 30 L. The Speedi-Mo states a box and no litres. The Hover Vac 250 states 15 L. The BLACK+DECKER states no box. The swift states mulch and no box. The Litheli states neither in the bullets.
Flymo Flymo Speedi-Mo 360C

Testsieger

Flymo Flymo Speedi-Mo 360C
9.2/10about £110
View offer

Lead or battery

A corded mower keeps cutting while the socket is live. A cordless one stops when the pack is flat. In this set the swift states one 40 V 2.0 Ah battery, the Maxlander two 18 V 4.0 Ah batteries, and the Litheli two 5.0 Ah batteries, each with a charger. Where a corded length is printed, it is 10 m on the BLACK+DECKER, the Einhell, the Hover Vac 250 and the Hyundai roller, and 11 m and detachable on the Hyundai HYM3313E. The Speedi-Mo and the Bosch do not state a length, so you cannot rank them on cable. Use a UK 3-pin plug, an RCD, and dry grass.

Cutting height and an ordinary UK lawn

The RHS puts an ordinary lawn at about 4 cm in spring and autumn and about 2.5 cm in summer. The swift’s floor is 30–50 mm, so it misses that summer figure. Most other stated minimums are about 20–25 mm. Only the Hover Vac 250, at 11 mm, enters the fine-lawn band, and it is a 25 cm hover. Read the cells against the bullets. The Speedi-Mo bullets say 20–60 mm across five positions, while a minimum cell says 20 centimetres. Those two figures cannot both be the cutting height. The Bosch states five positions and gives no millimetres. The Hyundai roller does not state a millimetre range either. If the lowest click sits above the grass height you wanted, change the target or change the mower.

What a seller’s area line is not

A square-metre line is a sentence on the listing, not a measured lawn you can rank. The swift seller says up to 50 m². The BLACK+DECKER seller says up to 250 m². The Hyundai roller seller says about 225 m². The Einhell seller says up to 700 m². Those numbers were not taken on the same grass. The comparison that holds is stated width, stated box or mulch, stated lead or battery, and stated lowest height.

Common questions

What cutting width do I need?
Check the gate, then the centimetres on the listing. The English Garden’s sketch is about 30–35 cm up to roughly 250 m², and 35–43 cm for a medium lawn. This set runs from 22 cm on the swift to 43 cm on the Litheli. Other guides disagree, so the band is a rule of thumb.
Rotary, hover, or a rear roller?
The RHS puts a rotary on most domestic lawns, a hover on bumps, and a rear roller only if you want stripes. Here the hovers are the 30 cm BLACK+DECKER and the 25 cm Flymo Hover Vac 250. The only stated rear roller is the Hyundai HYM3800E. There is no cylinder mower in the folder.
Is the battery in the box?
On these three cordless rows, the listings say yes. The swift includes one 40 V 2.0 Ah pack, the Maxlander two 18 V 4.0 Ah packs, and the Litheli two 5.0 Ah packs, each with a charger in the bullets. That is not true of every cordless tool on amazon.co.uk. A bare-tool listing is a different purchase. These three saved files are kits.
How low can it cut compared with a normal UK lawn?
The RHS ordinary summer height is about 2.5 cm, and about 4 cm in spring and autumn. The swift stops at 30 mm, so it cannot reach that summer figure. Most other stated minimums are about 20–25 mm. The Hover Vac 250 states 11 mm. The Speedi-Mo bullets say 20 mm while a cell says 20 cm, so that row is not settled.
What must I not treat as a test?
The scores on the main table are Amazon stars times 20, with a deduction when fewer than 100 reviews are printed. They are not a Gardeners’ World result and not a Which? score. Seller lines such as 50 m² or 700 m² are not areas you can rank against each other.

Related pages

Cordless or corded lawn mower

Lawn mower for a small garden

How to mow a lawn

Lawn mower

Best lawn mower UK: the highest score and best value

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are the saved listings for this set. No lab test was run.

  1. GOV.UK outdoor-noise guidance
  2. Schedule 3, Noise Emission Regulations 2001
  3. GOV.UK Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008
  4. Electrical Safety First: lawnmowers
  5. HSE electrical equipment
  6. RHS: lawn mowing
  7. RHS: how to mow a lawn
  8. GOV.UK noise nuisances