Professional Tool Reviews for Pros
When you’re making the switch away from gas or corded power to battery power, hedge trimmers are a great place to start. They’re not as power-hungry as mowers and chainsaws, so they can run a long time without strapping a monster-size battery to it. The best battery-powered hedge trimmer models make the transition easy and save you the frustrations of gas engines and extension cords.
Makita’s XHU07 18V hedge trimmer is a model we keep turning to frequently. Running on a single 18V battery, it’s lightweight and one of the lowest vibration models we’ve tested. Since Makita’s 18V X2 platform uses the same batteries, you’re not excluding yourself from tools on either their 18V or 36V performance level.
We love that you can rotate the handle hit angles more comfortably and that you can switch out the 24-inch knives for 30-inch ones. Alternatively, you can just buy the XHU08 and get the 30-inch knives as the standard set. Add in a jam-clearing reverse function and super-fast 4400 SPM speed with incredibly low vibration, and you begin to see why we recommend this model so readily.
This one’s not cheap at $249 bare and $389 as a kit with two 5.0Ah batteries. However, the best hedge trimmer is one you’ll actually use, and we keep coming back to this one.
EGO brought a new hedge trimmer into 2022, moving the performance to a higher level and taking over our top recommendation for homeowners. The HT2501 ups the capacity to 1 1/4 inches and its brushless motor is capable of 3200 SPM. The overall knife length bumps out slightly to hit 25 inches. It’s also sporting a new rotating handle.
It’s not cheap, though. As a kit, EGO’s top hedge trimmer is $319 with a 2.5Ah battery and charger.
Greenworks ended up in a heated race with Ryobi and EGO for our pick as the best cordless hedge trimmer for homeowners. It takes the win for the best value with 26-inch knives and a higher 3200 SPM top speed with a 1.2-inch cutting capacity and a rotating handle.
If you’re already using Greenworks 60V batteries, the bare tool is just $119. The kit with a 2.0Ah battery and charger runs $199.
When Skil relaunched with the PWRCore 12 and PWRCore 20 power tool lines, we quickly learned to expect surprisingly good performance for the price. The lawn care side of their business is making a similar reputation for itself and Skil’s PWRCore 40 brushless hedge trimmer follows suit. With 24-inch knives and 3000 strokes per minute, you can get this 8.5-pound model (yes, that includes the battery weight!) for $149.99 as a kit with a 2.5Ah battery and PWRJump fast charger.
Now that Craftsman has moved away from the V60 line and is focusing on the V20 platform, your cordless hedge trimmer options are more limited. However, Craftsman’s brushed CMCHT810 is an excellent lightweight option. Sporting 22-inch knives and a 3/4-inch stroke length, it’s less than 8 pounds with a 2.0Ah battery.
One of the things Craftsman does differently is to add a saw blade to the end of the knives that can cut through branches up to 1 1/2 inches thick. It’s not nearly as easy as a chainsaw or reciprocating saw with a pruning blade, but you don’t have to stop what you’re doing and grab another tool.
You can get this one at Lowe’s for $149.99 with a 2.0Ah battery and charger.
As DeWalt continues to build out the 60V FlexVolt line of lawn care products, the DCHT870 is worth considering. With speeds up to 3400 SPM and a Pro-level capacity of 1 1/4 inches on a set of 26-inch knives, it’s one of the few models available for work involving branches over an inch thick.
The trade-off is a heavier design—8.7 pounds without a battery. Even the smallest FlexVolt battery pushes the total weight well over 10 pounds.
Pick this one up for $179 as a bare tool or $249 with a 2.0Ah/6.0Ah FlexVolt battery and charger.
At a very reasonable $140, Hart packs a lot into their 40V hedge trimmer kit. It has a 1-inch cutting capacity, rotating handle, and 24-inch knives, giving it a very nice combination of performance and design for the price. The kit comes with a 2.5Ah battery and charger. If you’re already on the 40V system, the bare tool is just $99. If there’s a downside, it’s that this model isn’t brushless. That’s a trade-off we’re happy to make at this price point.
Husqvarna has a couple of battery hedge trimmers to choose from and their 520iHD60 is our pick for the tough jobs professional landscaping crews tackle. Packing 4000 SPM with a 1.26-inch capacity onto its 24-inch blades, it’s able to tackle heavier growth. Plus, it’s rated at just 78 decibels, making it one of the quieter models you can get your hands on.
You can pick this one up for $419.99 as a bare tool from your favorite dealer. We’ve also seen kits around $699.99 that include a charger and a 5.2Ah battery.
Milwaukee only has one standard design battery hedge trimmer and the M18 Fuel is a good one. Sporting 24-inch blades with a 3/4-inch cutting capacity, it steps the speed up higher than most to 3400 SPM. It has fewer bells and whistles than some designs, but considering the original model we tested back in 2017 is still in use on a regular basis, we don’t have any trouble recommending this one for those of you that prefer long-term commitments from your tools.
Look for this one at your favorite retailers for $179 as a bare tool or $349 with an 8.0Ah High Output battery and charger.
Ryobi’s 40V HP Brushless hedge trimmer makes a strong case with its 1-inch cutting capacity and longer 26-inch knives. This is another model that comes with a rotating handle and the design team kept the HedgeSweep bar to help clear branches as you trim. The tools we’ve tested so far on the 40V HP Brushless line have been big improvements over the last 40V generation, bringing Ryobi up a level compared to where they were.
The kit comes with a 2.0Ah battery for $219.
Stihl has several excellent choices for both homeowner and professional needs. There’s a decision to make as you look at the top of their line. On one hand, the HSA 94 R has a higher capacity with 1.5-inch tooth spacing. On the other hand, the HSA 94 T has much higher speeds, topping out at 4700 SPM, and is nearly half a pound lighter. While there’s not really a bad choice, we prefer the higher speeds and lighter weight.
No matter which way you go, these aren’t cheap. Both models retail for $509.99, and that doesn’t include a battery or charger.
The focus of this article is on traditional hedge trimmers, but there are plenty of cordless pole hedge trimmers, and we highly recommend articulating models. The majority of these are on attachment systems and you can read more about those in this article.
In general, there are four main types of hedge trimmers you can get that work on battery power. They each have their place and some property owners may find a use for more than one style. We focused on traditional design for this article, but many of the brands we recommend make some or all of these styles.
Note that some pole hedge trimmers are standalone tools while others are part of a multi-head attachment system.
If a hedge trimmer is the first piece of battery-powered lawn equipment you’re buying, pay close attention to the battery platform you’re buying into. 18V/20V max models might be tempting because of their lower weights, but you might find that the string trimmers, blowers, and mowers aren’t as strong as you’d like. That’s not as big of a deal if you don’t mind having multiple batteries and charger types, but we prefer the convenience of having one set of batteries to run everything. Most often, the battery-powered lawnmower is what drives the right system for you.
Makita uses the same batteries for their 18V and 18V X2 products, and DeWalt FlexVolt batteries are backward compatible to 20V Max tools, giving you an option to run both higher power OPE for some tools and 18V/20V Max on others.
Hedge trimmers are one of the tools that can be highly effective with a brushed motor. However, we still recommend the benefits of a brushless motor if it’s within your budget.
Depending on the height of your hedges, you might be spending significant time with your hedge trimmer at chest height or higher and weight plays a big part in fatiguing your arms. Choose the lightest hedge trimmer that has the power to tame your hedges to make the task more bearable.
After weight, vibration is another area to consider as you look to combat fatigue and increase comfort. The lower the vibration, the better. If you can find a cordless hedge trimmer that has both low weight and low vibration, grab it without hesitation.
The longer the hedge trimmer knives (AKA blades), the quicker you can shape up your hedges. Longer knives can also help keep you from bending over as far to get to the base of hedges that reach the ground. 24 inches is a pretty good baseline to look for. Some models offer 26 inches and Makita even has one option that gets you 30 inches of cutting length.
Most of the time, a hedge trimmer with a 3/4-inch cutting capacity is plenty. You can find stronger models that can cut 1 inch and some Pro models even go beyond that if you need more.
For many of us, price is the first consideration and we immediately discard any recommendations that are outside our budgets. As you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, consider the performance and design of the hedge trimmer, other compatible tools you might want to add later, and the warranty service. If you already have battery-powered lawn care tools, look at adding a hedge trimmer that’s already on the system and buy the bare tool to save some money.
Ever check out a “review” site and you can’t tell if they actually tested the tools or if they’re just “recommending” the Amazon top sellers? That’s not us. We won’t recommend anything unless we’d actually use it ourselves and we don’t really care who the primary retailer is. It’s all about giving you a legitimate recommendation and our honest opinion of each product.
We’ve been in business since 2008 covering tools, writing reviews, and reporting on industry news in the construction, automotive, and lawn care industries. Our Pro reviewers work in the trades and have the skills and experience to know whether tools can perform well in the field.
Each year, we bring in and review more than 250 individual products. Our team will put our hands on hundreds of additional tools at media events and trade shows throughout the year.
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On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.
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I have (still) owned the greenworks not really a best value if you have to replace it annually. I have the trimmer and small chain saw neither lasted a full year. I tried to go back through the manufacturer and no resolution. I switched to stihl.
What happened to the Echo line of battery powered lawn tools. They seemed like a good choice a few years ago with 60volt batteries and a full line including blowers string trimmer hedge trimmer and chainsaws
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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros
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