Best Lawn Edger: Top 8 Gas, Electric + Manual Edgers [Reviews]

Everyone loves a good clean edge along the sidewalks, driveways, and mulch beds. The best way to get this done is by using a good lawn edger – be it cordless, corded, electric, battery-powered, gas-powered, or even manual. But how do you know the best lawn edger?

It comes down to personal preference, the size of your yard, and whether you have natural grass edges or concrete edges.

8 Best Lawn Edgers

To get the best, you first need to decide the type of edger that’s most suitable for your lawn. Having done a lot of lawn care work over the years, I have reviewed the best lawn edgers below and explained the different types to choose from with reasons.

1. WORX WG896 12 Amp 7.5″ Electric Lawn Edger & Trencher

• Has a cutting line guide for clean, straight edges
• 3 depth adjustments suitable for varying edging tasks
• Comfy grip with a pivoting handle
• Easy to maneuver (weighs only 14 lbs)
• Corded and cordless options available
• Useful for small trenching projects too
• 3-year warranty

WORX produces some great versatile landscaping tools and the WG896 is one of the best electric lawn edgers I’ve used so far. Being a self-propelled battery-powered lawn edger, I find the 7.5” blade to be very useful for different edging and trenching tasks.

From my own use and review, the WORX WG896 electric lawn edger produces clean, professional-looking lawn edges, thanks to the line indicator on top of the edging unit. This always guides you on the cutting line while you move the little machine along the edges of your driveway, walkways, and flower beds.

This edger is great especially for producing deep and more defined lines along with your lawn because of the 7.5-inch blade. I also liked it because with 12 amp power output and weighing just 12lbs, this WORX WG896 lawn edger is powerful yet lightweight, making it easy to maneuver even where you want to draw rounded edges.

On the cons side, this edger can really struggle and get clogged if you have a thick turf with overgrown grass along the edges and especially if the yard is muddy.

While still on this brand, you might want to get a lawn edger that comes with a string trimmer instead of a trencher. I’d recommend the WORX WG163 GT 3.0 20V PowerShare 12″ Cordless String trimmer and edger. It also comes in as an impressive tool with 2 batteries, wheels for guidance when edging, and an adjustable space guard.

2. Craftsman E405 29cc 4-Cycle Gas Powered Grass Lawn Edger

• Durable 9-inch steel blade for cleaner edges
• Powerful 29cc 4 cycle engine
• 3 wheels – stable and very easy to maneuver
• 6 different adjustable edging heights
• Very quiet and pleasant.

For many reasons, I prefer not to drag cords around, which is the case with corded electric lawn edgers. That makes the Craftsman E405 one of the best gas-powered lawn edgers. But that’s not the only reason.

Being a 4-stroke engine, the Craftsman E405 lawn edger is a very powerful landscaping tool that produces enough torque and revolutions to cut through even the thickest edge turf and compacted soil.

It is also quiet compared to most of the gas-powered lawn edgers I’ve reviewed on this list. You do not need to mix the gas with oil or drag a cord around as you edge your lawn, pavements, and driveways.

The edge guard is also very useful – working together with the 3 wheels and the heavy-duty edging blade to produce straight and clean edges.

For both DIY landscaping and professional lawn edging, the Craftsman E405 lawn edger is a machine I’ve reviewed heavily and would highly recommend especially for one major reason – the 9-inch steel blade with dual tips. This blade produces neat, straight edges even if the edges of your lawn are overgrown with tough turfgrass. The adjustable blade heights also make it possible to produce even deep edges.

On the downside, be careful if you’re edging brick sidewalks. The powerful blade can easily damage the bricks especially if they’re fairly eaten by moss and water.

3. BLACK+DECKER LE750 12 Amp 2-in-1 Landscape Edger and Trencher

• 2-in-1 tool (edger + trencher)
• 3 different blade depth adjustments
• Powerful 12-Amp high-torque motor
• In-built cord retention and control
• Powerful trencher for more DIY yard tasks

The Black+Decker 2-in-1 Landscape Edger and Trencher is one of the best-corded lawn edgers on the market today. Being a plug-and-go tool, I found it useful for fairly small-area edging tasks (mostly due to cord limitations).

So, apart from just edging, you’ll find this landscaping tool handy when digging trenches in your yard for planting bushes, installing outdoor lighting, and laying wires in your yard a much easier task to do.

The edging blade is adjustable (3 different heights), making it ideal for controlling the depth and angle of your lawn’s edge.

To address cord entanglement – which is usually a problem with corded landscaping equipment – the Black+Decker Landscape Edger and Trencher has a built-in cord retention mechanism, which I find to increase the safety of this machine while edging around curved and rounded yards.

Although it is one of the best lawn edgers that are corded and electric-powered, I found this new design to be poorly designed around the handles, making it difficult to handle compared to the older model.

Another major issue I noticed in my review is that the handle of this Black + Decker lawn edger is not adjustable, so you’re stuck with a height that you cannot do something about. For me, the handle was rather low and a little difficult to use.

4. Scotts Outdoor Power Tools ED70012S 11-Amp 3-Position Corded Electric Lawn Edger

• 7.5-inch long blades for increased edging depth
• Convertible into a trencher
• Has a cord retention mechanism
• Powerful 11-Amp motor
• 3 adjustable blade positions

Scotts produces a long list of great outdoor tools and products for lawn care and maintenance. The ED70012S corded electric edger is an excellent tool for DIY edging projects, being an electric-powered machine.

Adjustable blade positions make up for some of the best lawn edgers today because it is easier to edge comfortably along sidewalks and driveways that have deeper edges. You get 1-inch, 1.25-inch, or 1.5-inch blade heights so you can produce very clean and crisp edges along the driveways and pavements bordering your lawn.

On the disadvantage side, the Scotts ED70012S lawn edger is prone to physical damage, with the blades needing frequent replacement and the bolt holding them in place seeming to be weak. I had to have mine replaced within the first week. The good thing is, this good lawn edger has a 3-year warranty that can cover some of these issues.

5. Greenworks 12 Amp Electric Corded Edger 27032

• 7.5-inch double edged serated blade
• Variable blade heights
• Comfy user handling
• Powerful motor for DIY edging projects
• Safety cord-lock mechanism

If you’ve got a small yard, the corded Greenworks 27032 edger is a great pick for small-scale edging jobs. The 12 Amp motor coupled with a 7.5-inch blade is a powerful combination for most DIY landscaping jobs.

The front wheel has a spring assist mechanism, making it easier to maneuver and adjust the blade height while edging along sidewalks, driveways, and mulch beds.

There’s also a cord lock feature on this model which I found to be really important. Some of the best-corded lawn edgers and string trimmers don’t lock their cords in place, meaning the model’s power cord can get unplugged easily.

If you’re looking for an edger and a string trimmer in one, I’d recommend the Greenworks 12-Inch 24V Cordless String Trimmer and Edger that happens to be battery-powered (cordless) and provides great value in terms of weed whacking and edging.

6. Truper 32100 Tru Tough Rotary Lawn Edger

• Manual lawn edger (cheap and easy to use).
• Great for sculpting curved lines
• Makes clean natural-looking edges
• Very easy to maintain

Now for a manual edging tool, the Truper 32100 Tough Rotary Lawn Edger is a top-quality pick. Although it is not fancy and powered, it makes clean edges with its rotary blade. I even found it to do a better job along concrete sidewalks and driveways than string trimmers.

To use it, apply some downward force and slowly go back and forth along the edges, making sure you do this enough times in one place to create a groove for the blade and wheels to cut overgrowing vines and grass stolons.

7. Southland SWLE0799 79cc Walk Behind Gas Lawn Edger

• Powerful 79cc engine
• 9.3 inch blade for even deeper edges
• Angling blade for a bevel edge
• Easy to start with a manual recoil
• Adjustable front and rear wheels
• Easy to trim around the curb

With a 2 year limited warranty, the Southland SWLE0799 is one of the best lawn edgers for professional landscaping. The 3-point triangular blade does a great job producing crisp manicured lawn edges along with all types of borders.

This is possible thanks to the 5 adjustable blade heights and the powerful 79cc gas-powered engine. You can also get a beveled trim because this machine has a blade that can be adjusted 15 degrees right or left for a sloping edge.

In addition, unlike most gas-powered lawn edgers, the Southland walk-behind lawn edger starts easily, making it one of my favorite landscaping tools for professional works.

8. PowerSmart 20 Volt Cordless 2-in-1 Cordless Trimmer/Edger

• Easily converts from trimmer to edger
• Lightweight – weighs 7.5 lbs
• Has long lasting 20v lithium ion battery
• Very easy to use

The one impressive feature of this 2-in-1 landscaping machine is that the head tilts 90 degrees so that you can trim edges even in tight areas. It also makes it easy to whack weeds even in awkward areas.

I would, however, recommend it as a string trimmer more than a lawn edger because it can only edge where there’s only light grass crossing the edges of garden beds and pavements.

Some people edge using a string trimmer, but I would recommend using an edging machine for straight and clean edges.

Buying Guide – The Important Features to Consider

While budget is an obvious consideration when buying outdoor tools for landscaping, other factors come into play and are worth considering as well.

To get the best lawn edger for your landscaping needs, here’s what I would recommend you consider first:

Size of your yard

What is the size of your yard and landscaping area? Since you will be using the lawn edger to make clear lines along your driveways, sidewalks, garden, and flower-bed perimeters, you might want to consider how big the area is to determine the best lawn edger for the yard.

Here’s a guide for you:

• If you have a large yard, you want to choose between a gas-powered and battery powered lawn edger.
• Corded lawn edgers can limit how far you’ll run the tool to trim the edges of your lawn.
• Manual lawn edgers are cheap but are only suitable for edging small areas, otherwise they are tiresome because they’re hand-powered.

Another thing to consider is if you’re using the edger for commercial purposes or just simple home DIY landscaping. For commercial landscapers, I would recommend you buy a large and more powerful lawn edging machine that can handle the amount of lawn edging work you’ll have on your hands.

Walk-behind vs handheld lawn edgers

Generally, if you can easily measure your lawn in feet, you can just go ahead and use a string trimmer to edge the borders of your lawn. However, if you do it in yards, you definitely have a fairly large yard and the best option for you is to use a walk-behind lawn edger.

Walk-behind lawn edgers are either gas or electric-powered. They provide a lot of torque compared to handheld lawn edgers. Here’s what you need to keep in mind when choosing between walk-behind vs handheld lawn edgers:

• Gas-powered walk-behind edgers produce plenty of torque and can edge through compact soils and overgrown grasses with ease.
• Handheld edgers can make your shoulders feel tired pretty quickly if you’re edging a large yard.

I would recommend a handheld lawn edger if you have a small yard or a short driveway, walkway, or pavement that’s bordering your lawn. Buy a self-propelled lawn edger if you’re going to edge large areas, overgrown grasses, and compacted or sand and areas with stone-filled soil in your yard.

Straight vs angled blades

Walk-behind lawn edgers are propelled by an engine and the basic types have straight blades. However, professional (or advanced) lawn edgers come with angled blades that provide a variety of cutting angles as opposed to vertical angles.

• The best lawn edgers for professional edging have angled blades attached to a pivoting head.
• With a blade that can rotate up to 110 degrees, you’ll be able to achieve distinct looks alongside all the various edges of your lawn.
• Angled blades are especially great for edging curving borders along driveways, pavements, walkways, and flower beds.

A straight blade on a lawn edger is great if you’re going to edge along very straight lines on the borders of your lawn.

Gas vs electric vs manual edgers

You can get a great lawn edger within the categories of gas-powered, electric- powered and manual edgers. Before you get there, it is important to decide which one is suitable for the type of landscaping you want to do in your yard.

• Gas lawn edgers are the best if you want speed and power.
• Electric lawn edgers are great for a small lawn but can still produce a lot of power to make your work easy.
• Get a manual edger for a very small lawn edging job, probably along small gardens and flower beds.

Keep in mind that gas-powered edgers are fairly pricey compared to electric and manual edgers but achieve great efficiency in trimming lawn edges. However, they also have high maintenance needs in terms of servicing and powering.

2-cycle vs 4 cycle engine edgers

Engine type matters when you’ve decided to buy a gas-powered lawn edger. 2 cycle and 4-cycle engines are the two options you’ll need to choose from. These are also called 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.

But what does that mean and how do you choose a good gas-powered lawn edger in this sense?

• 4-stroke lawn edgers are heavier, more powerful, quieter, and more fuel efficient.
• 2-stroke lawn edgers are noisier with more moving parts. They’re therefore less powerful although lighter and easier to push.

For most DIY lawn edging tasks, I would recommend a 2-cycle gas engine because it is much easier to maintain with minimal oil changes since you add oil to the fuel.

For commercial lawn care and edging, go for a 4-stroke lawn edger because it can handle long hours of use and produce great results consistently. You’ll, however, need to contend with regular maintenance.

Resources

• Hawaii Gvt: Mowing & Edging in Landscape Maintenance Zones
• Jerry Goodspeed, Utah State Univeristy: Tips for Edging Your Lawn