Greenworks 40V 21-inch Cordless Mower Review

Battery Lawn Mowervia MavelyFrom ~$299 (kit)

A quiet, fume-free mower that fits small yards and smaller patience for gas engines.

8.2
out of 10
Very good
Our verdictThis 21-inch 40V Greenworks is the archetype of the sensible battery mower: push a button, mow, fold it up, and hang it on the wall. It shines on small and medium lawns that get cut regularly, where it is quiet enough for early evenings and light enough to steer with one hand. The honest knock is that thick, tall, or wet grass exposes the runtime and power limits fast, and the plastic deck will not shrug off curb strikes the way a steel one does. Buy it if your lawn is modest and you keep up with it; skip it if you have half an acre of stubborn growth or let the grass go three weeks between cuts.
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✓ Pros

  • Push-button start and near-zero maintenance compared with any gas mower
  • Quiet enough to mow early or late without annoying the whole street
  • Light and maneuverable, with a fold-up frame for vertical wall storage
  • 40V batteries share across the wider Greenworks tool lineup

✗ Cons

  • Runtime drops sharply in thick or tall grass, so big yards need a spare pack
  • Plastic deck is lighter but less durable than a steel deck over the years
  • Replacement batteries are a real future cost most buyers forget to budget

Living with it

The best thing about this mower is everything it does not ask of you. No gas can in the garage, no oil changes, no spring tune-up, no yanking a cord while the neighbors watch. You click in the battery, hold the bail, press the button, and it just cuts. The 21-inch deck covers ground at a normal walking pace, and the height adjustment is a single lever, which is how it should always be. Where reality bites is dense growth: let the lawn get away from you after a rainy week and you will hear the motor bog, feel the pace slow, and watch the battery gauge fall. Clear sticks before you mow and keep your feet clear of the deck; a quiet mower is still a mower.

The value math

A kit with battery and charger lands in the same territory as a basic gas push mower, so the sticker is a wash. The savings show up afterward: no fuel, no oil, no filters, no carburetor work, and your annual maintenance is basically sharpening the blade and blowing out the deck. The cost that sneaks up on people is the battery itself. Lithium packs are consumables on a long enough timeline, and a replacement is a chunk of the mower's original price, so treat the pack well: store it indoors, avoid leaving it baking in a hot shed, and do not run it flat and forget it. If your yard is genuinely big, price in a second battery from day one.

Should you buy it?

If your lawn is a quarter acre or less, reasonably flat, and mowed on schedule, this is an easy recommendation and one of the better values in battery mowing. It removes every annoying part of lawn care except the walking. If your grass grows thick and fast, your lot is large, or you mow on whatever weekend you happen to remember, be realistic: you will be swapping packs mid-cut and wishing for a self-propelled steel-deck machine. Those buyers should look at bigger 60V-class mowers or stay with gas. For the target user, though, the Greenworks does exactly what it promises, quietly, for years, with almost nothing asked in return.

Best for

Owners of small to medium flat yards who want push-button mowing and zero engine maintenance.

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