Which String Trimmer Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 9 string trimmer options head to head. DeWalt came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $320 for the battery, the charger, and the string trimmer
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“If I had to choose just one string trimmer, I would definitely go with the DeWalt. It's an amazing machine, very well-designed, and performs extremely well.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Weight
- 1DeWalt
trimmer head 3.5 lb, total weight 12.6 lb
- 2Milwaukee
trimmer head 4.2 lb, total weight 11.8 lb
- 3Makita
trimmer head 3.6 lb, total weight 9 lb (lightest in the lineup)
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload
trimmer head over 4.5 lb (heaviest head at that point in the video), total weight 12 lb
- 5Ryobi
trimmer head 3.42 lb (recap rounds to 3.4 lb, lightest head in lineup), total weight 10.6 lb (recap states 10.7 lb - minor discrepancy kept)
- 6Echo
trimmer head 3.47 lb, total weight 10.6 lb
- 7Kobalt
total weight 10.8 lb, trimmer head described only as slightly heavier than Ryobi/Echo, no exact head figure given
- 8Atlas
trimmer head 4.2 lb, total weight 9.25 lb
- 9Greenworks
back of trimmer 9.45 lb, trimmer head just over 4 lb, total weight 13.5 lb
Noise
- 1DeWalt89.5 dB
- 2Milwaukee89.4 dB
- 3Makita88.4 dB
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload81.1 dB
- 5Ryobi87.2 dB
- 6Echo82.5 dB
(quietest at that point in the video)
- 7Kobalt77.7 dB
- 8Atlas74.9 dB
quietest at that point in the video
- 9Greenworks91.4 dB
loudest of any brand tested
Torque
- 1DeWalt73 lb
(unit inconsistent across brands in transcript, some given as in lb, some as lb; kept verbatim)
- 2Milwaukee39 lb
about the same as Ryobi
- 3Makita48 lb2nd
second place behind DeWalt's 73
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload26 lb
13 lb less than Milwaukee's 39
- 5Ryobi39 in lb
- 6Echo30 in lb
- 7Kobalt10 lb
struggled to make low end torque
- 8Atlas9 lb
about the same as Kobalt
- 9Greenworks
did not make enough torque to get the 1 lb test device spinning, effectively a fail
Reaction Time
- 1DeWalt0.1 sec
to start, 0.95 sec to full speed
- 2Milwaukee0 sec
to start (fastest in lineup), 0.5 sec to full speed (fastest in lineup)
- 3Makita0.05 sec
to start (almost as fast as Milwaukee's 0), 0.95 sec to full speed
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload0.1 sec
to start, 1 sec to full speed
- 5Ryobi0.2 sec
to start, 1.1 sec to full speed
- 6Echo0.3 sec
to start, 1.2 sec to full speed
- 7Kobalt0.3 sec
to start, 1.4 sec to full speed
- 8Atlas0.3 sec
to start, 1.8 sec to full speed, slowest at that point in the video
- 9Greenworks0.5 sec
to start, 1.3 sec to full speed
Line Capacity
- 1DeWalt20 ft
- 2Milwaukee20 ft
then tested successfully at 30 ft (barely adequate); final recap calls Milwaukee and EGO the joint leaders at 30 ft, but EGO's own individual test earlier measured only 20 ft, not retested to 30 ft - contradiction in transcript, flagged
- 3Makita16 ft
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload20 ft
as individually measured; final summary lumps EGO with Milwaukee at 30 ft, which conflicts with the 20 ft figure measured on screen - kept both, flagged as transcript inconsistency
- 5Ryobi13 ft
- 7Kobalt9 ft
- 8Atlas9 ft
- 9Greenworks13.5 ft
- 6Echonot tested
Line Dispense From Short
- 1DeWalt
only needed three taps to advance line from 3/4 in, about 1.2 seconds, quickest of all brands
- 2Milwaukee
best in lineup so far, four taps in about 2 seconds
- 3Makita
made very easy work of it, 7 seconds
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload
successfully advanced line from 3/4 in after several bumps, 6 seconds
- 5Ryobi
advanced line from 3/4 in just fine, took quite a bit of effort
- 7Kobalt
unable to dispense line from 3/4 in, but did fine from 2 in
- 8Atlas
unable to dispense line from 3/4 in, but did fine from 2 in, same as Kobalt
- 9Greenworks
too short to advance line from 3/4 in; took some effort but advanced from 2 in
- 6Echonot tested
Grass Cut Time
- 1DeWalt68 seconds
fastest in the test, dominated the torque test and the cutting test
- 2Milwaukee85 seconds
stalled once near the end from being pushed too hard
- 3Makita80 seconds2nd
second place behind DeWalt's 68
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload89 seconds
got hit by the most grass clippings of any brand due to a small debris shield
- 5Ryobi
cut 192 square ft about 40 seconds faster than the Greenworks (Greenworks took 2 min 45 sec); exact Ryobi time not stated numerically
- 7Kobalt1 minute 51 seconds
fastest at that point in the video
- 8Atlas90 seconds
fastest at that point in the video
- 9Greenworks2 minutes 45 seconds
stalled out 7 times during the test
- 6Echonot tested
Run Time
- 1DeWalt17 minutes
on a 180 watt hour battery
- 2Milwaukee16 minutes
on a 144 watt hour battery
- 3Makita10 minutes
first battery to run out despite being tested with two 5 amp hour batteries
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload
stated as 14 minutes in the run-time-test segment, but the same segment's closing recap states 'the EGO has the longest run time at 40.5 minutes' - directly contradictory within the transcript, both figures kept per the never-pick-one rule
- 5Ryobi23 minutes
stated as 6 minutes longer than DeWalt's 17
- 7Kobalt29 minutes
on a stated 180 watt hour battery
- 8Atlas31.5 minutes
tied with Greenworks
- 9Greenworks31.5 minutes
tied with Atlas
- 6Echonot tested
All measurements (6 more)+
Rating
- 1DeWalt
A minus
- 2Milwaukee
A minus
- 3Makita
A minus
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload
A minus
- 5Ryobi
A minus
- 6Echonot tested
- 7Kobaltnot tested
- 8Atlasnot tested
- 9Greenworksnot tested
Charger Noise
- 1DeWalt
no detectable sound
- 7Kobalt
may have a cooling fan that kicks in, but remained quiet during testing
- 8Atlas
high-pitched squeal but less noisy than Greenworks or Ryobi
- 9Greenworks
pretty loud, sounds a lot like a hair dryer
- 2Milwaukeenot tested
- 3Makitanot tested
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerloadnot tested
- 5Ryobinot tested
- 6Echonot tested
Charge Time
- 3Makita48.6 minutes
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload49 minutes
- 5Ryobi44.5 minutes
fastest of any brand tested
- 6Echo57 minutes
slowest of any brand tested
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 2Milwaukeenot tested
- 7Kobaltnot tested
- 8Atlasnot tested
- 9Greenworksnot tested
Vibration
- 2Milwaukee
harsh, most noticeable vibration of any brand tested
- 3Makita
amazingly smooth, very little tool vibration, best in lineup
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerloadnot tested
- 5Ryobinot tested
- 6Echonot tested
- 7Kobaltnot tested
- 8Atlasnot tested
- 9Greenworksnot tested
Battery Capacity
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerload
stated as 224 watt hours (most of any brand) in one segment, then stated as 126 watt hours (smallest of any brand) in a later segment describing the run time test - directly contradictory, both figures kept, not resolved
- 9Greenworks216 watt
hours
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 2Milwaukeenot tested
- 3Makitanot tested
- 5Ryobinot tested
- 6Echonot tested
- 7Kobaltnot tested
- 8Atlasnot tested
Debris Shield Width
- 3Makita15.75 in
of width, most protection of any brand
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 2Milwaukeenot tested
- 4EGO Power Plus 16-in Powerloadnot tested
- 5Ryobinot tested
- 6Echonot tested
- 7Kobaltnot tested
- 8Atlasnot tested
- 9Greenworksnot tested
How it was tested
- electric motor start-up torque
- cutting speed through tall grass (192 sq ft box)
- trimmer line capacity
- trimmer line dispensing from a short (3/4 in) length
- noise level (dB)
- trigger reaction time and time to full speed
- trimmer/head weight
- battery run time
- battery charge time
- charger noise
- vibration
- debris shield protection width
- overall A-F rating
“If I had to choose just one string trimmer, I would definitely go with the DeWalt. It's an amazing machine, very well-designed, and performs extremely well.”
