In this review, we’ve shared the best manual lawn mowers available for UK gardens today. Based on our research, we’ve deduced that these mowers are the best-reviewed and best-value mowers on the market.
At the bottom, we’ve also shared a buyer’s guide for folks looking for more information about manual mowers. We’ve got you covered with our top tips on buying the perfect manual mower for you.
- Brand: Bosch
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 38cm
Cutting height: 15 – 43mm
Weight: 6.9 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 25 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 54 x 49 x 38cm
Power: N/A
- Brand: Einhell
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 30cm
Cutting height: 15 – 42mm
Weight: 6.5 Kilograms
Grass box capacity: 16 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 49 x 36 x 25cm
Power: N/A
- Brand: Gardena
Price: ££
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 40cm
Cutting height: 12 – 42mm
Weight: 9.4 Kilograms
Grass box capacity: N/A
Dimensions (DxWxH): 57 x 39 x 31cm
Power: N/A
- Brand: Webb
- Price: £
- Power source: Manual
- Cutting width: 30cm
- Cutting height: 10 – 40mm
- Weight: 9.1 Kilograms
- Grass box capacity: 17 litres
- Dimensions (DxWxH): 53 x 39 x 27cm
- Power: N/A
- Brand: Garden Gear
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 30cm
Cutting height: 12 – 45mm
Weight: 6.4 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 17 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 57 x 44 x 25cm
Power: N/A
- Brand: Murray
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 40cm
Cutting height: 13 – 38mm
Weight: 9.5 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 20 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 53 x 43 x 26cm
Power: N/A
- Brand: Cobra
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 38cm
Cutting height: 13 – 38mm
Weight: 8.5 kilograms
Grass box capacity: Not specified
Dimensions (DxWxH): Not specified
Power: N/A
- Brand: Fiskars
Price: £££
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 46cm
Cutting height: 25 – 100mm
Weight: 23.5 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 18 litres (sold separately)
Dimensions (DxWxH): 61 x 37 x 60cm
Power: N/A
Table of Contents
Best Lawn Mowers
- Best Overall: Bosch AHM 38 G Manual Garden Lawn Mower
- Runner Up: Einhell GC-HM 300 Hand Push Lawnmower
- Best For Comfortable Mowing: Gardena Comfort Hand Push Lawn Mower
- Best For Mulching: Webb WEH30 Sidewheel Manual Hand Push Cylinder Lawnmower
- Best For Small Gardens: Garden Gear Manual Lawnmower Hand Push Mower
- Best For Medium Lawns:Murray HM400 Hand Push Cylinder Mower
- Best Budget Pick: Cobra HM381 Manual Garden Lawnmower
- Best Premium Option: Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower
📊 Comparison Chart of Lawn Mowers
Scroll right on mobile to see the whole table chart
| Product | Brand | Star rating | Price | Power source | Cutting width | Cutting height | Weight | Grass box capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosch AHM 38 G Manual Garden Lawn Mower | Bosch | 5/5 | £ | Manual | 38cm | 15 - 43mm | 6.9 kilograms | 25 litres |
| Einhell GC-HM 300 Hand Push Lawnmower | Einhell | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 30cm | 15 - 42mm | 6.5 Kilograms | 16 litres |
| Gardena Comfort Hand Push Lawn Mower | Gardena | 4.5/5 | ££ | Manual | 40cm | 12 - 42mm | 9.4 Kilograms | N/A |
| Webb WEH30 Sidewheel Manual Hand Push Cylinder Lawnmower | Webb | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 30cm | 10 - 40mm | 9.1 Kilograms | 17 litres |
| Garden Gear Manual Lawnmower Hand Push Mower | Garden Gear | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 30cm | 12 - 45mm | 6.4 kilograms | 17 litres |
| Murray HM400 Hand Push Cylinder Mower | Murray | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 40cm | 13 - 38mm | 9.5 kilograms | 20 litres |
| Cobra HM381 Manual Garden Lawnmower | Cobra | 4/5 | £ | Manual | 38cm | 13 - 38mm | 8.5 kilograms | Not specified |
| Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower | Fiskars | 5/5 | £££ | Manual | 46cm | 25 - 100mm | 23.5 kilograms | 18 litres (sold separately) |
| Product | Brand | Star rating | Price | Power source | Cutting width | Cutting height | Weight | Grass box capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosch AHM 38 G Manual Garden Lawn Mower | Bosch | 5/5 | £ | Manual | 38cm | 15 - 43mm | 6.9 kilograms | 25 litres |
| Einhell GC-HM 300 Hand Push Lawnmower | Einhell | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 30cm | 15 - 42mm | 6.5 Kilograms | 16 litres |
| Gardena Comfort Hand Push Lawn Mower | Gardena | 4.5/5 | ££ | Manual | 40cm | 12 - 42mm | 9.4 Kilograms | N/A |
| Webb WEH30 Sidewheel Manual Hand Push Cylinder Lawnmower | Webb | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 30cm | 10 - 40mm | 9.1 Kilograms | 17 litres |
| Garden Gear Manual Lawnmower Hand Push Mower | Garden Gear | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 30cm | 12 - 45mm | 6.4 kilograms | 17 litres |
| Murray HM400 Hand Push Cylinder Mower | Murray | 4.5/5 | £ | Manual | 40cm | 13 - 38mm | 9.5 kilograms | 20 litres |
| Cobra HM381 Manual Garden Lawnmower | Cobra | 4/5 | £ | Manual | 38cm | 13 - 38mm | 8.5 kilograms | Not specified |
| Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower | Fiskars | 5/5 | £££ | Manual | 46cm | 25 - 100mm | 23.5 kilograms | 18 litres (sold separately) |
⭐ Reviews – Best Lawn Mowers of 2023
In our opinion, the Bosch AHM 38 G Manual Garden Lawn Mower is the best manual lawn mower available today. This mower is the most popular manual mower on Amazon, with more than 3,400 reviews, and it’s easy to see why: it’s truly the best-value model on the market, costing just over £50 and offering all the most desirable features of a manual mower.
This cylinder mower has five durable steel blades that provide a neat, precise cut, putting your lawn health and quality first. Plus, it has a built-in rear roller, so you can achieve a satisfying striped finish with minimal effort. The 38cm cutting width means you can quickly mow small and medium-sized lawns, and you can adjust the cutting height (from 15mm to 43mm) to help you get the perfect cut.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Bosch
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 38cm
Cutting height: 15 – 43mm
Weight: 6.9 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 25 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 54 x 49 x 38cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
People who want to make the smartest investment in the best-value manual lawn mower available today, with all the best features at a price that won’t make you wince.
What Customers Think:
Customers were pleased with the Bosch AHM’s performance, commenting that it’s durable and built to last, quick to assemble, not too taxing to use, and great at producing a neat, quality cut. Some customers said that cutting long grass with this mower proved difficult (which, unfortunately, is the case with all manual mowers).
Pros:
We love all the features of this manual lawn mower. The rear roller creates visible stripes, and you can adjust the cutting height to tackle long grass in stages, which reduces the likelihood of clogging the blades.
You can also use this mower for tackling different lawn types, including those with thicker grass, due to its 5-blade cylinder- so it ticks all the boxes for everyone.
The mower weighs just 6.9 kilograms, so it’s one of the most lightweight manual mowers you can buy today. That means no putting your back out lugging the Bosch AHM in and out of storage, and much easier back-and-forth mowing and maneuvering around corners.
It’s great to see a 25-litre grass box included, since so many manual mowers don’t give you an option to collect the grass cuttings as you mow.
Cons:
Using this mower to cut long grass (10cm+) might cause the blades to jam.
The assembly instructions aren’t very detailed.
Based on our research, the close runner-up to the Bosch AHM and another great-value option to consider is the Einhell GC-HM 300 Hand Push Lawnmower.
This mower has a slightly narrower cutting width of 30cm and a smaller 16-litre grass bag, so it’s a better choice for small lawns, but aside from that, many of its features are identical to the Bosh AHM’s: it has a rear roller for creating subtle lawn stripes, a total of 4 adjustable cutting heights to give you a precise cut, and large, lawn-friendly wheels that make for easy pushing, even over long grass.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Einhell
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 30cm
Cutting height: 15 – 42mm
Weight: 6.5 Kilograms
Grass box capacity: 16 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 49 x 36 x 25cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
Folks who have smaller lawns and want a smaller model than the Bosch AHM but are still looking for the best-value manual lawn mower that they can rely on year after year.
What Customers Think:
The Einhell GC-HM 300 has more than 1,300 customer reviews, and the general agreement of reviewers is that this mower is lightweight, a handy size, and does an excellent job of cutting small lawns. Most customers decided to ditch the grass bag and left the grass clippings on the lawn to fertilise. Some people struggled with assembly.
Pros:
We think this Einhell mower is the best-value option for smaller lawns, thanks to its lightweight design (it weighs just 6.5 kilograms) and easy maneuverability.
People of any age should quickly get the hang of using this mower, so whether you’re buying for an older member of your family or you want to encourage your teenage children to get stuck into chores, the Einhell GC-HM 300 is a great choice.
Once you’ve got the mower moving forward, it’s easy to push and offers a smooth cutting experience, and the adjustable cutting heights (15 – 42 mm) give you plenty of options, from gradually trimming longer grass to sustaining a short, neat lawn.
There’s even a built-in rear roller, although it produces stripes that are more subtle than you’d get from our top-pick Bosch model.
Cons:
The assembly instructions aren’t in English. You can follow the picture diagrams, but English instructions would be helpful.
The 8cm space between the outer edge of the blade and the wheels means that you can’t mow right up to obstacles, so you might need to finish the job with shears or a strimmer.
Mowing the lawn can often cause pain in your hands, back, neck, and shoulders. If you’re prone to muscle strain from pushing a mower, we recommend the Gardena Comfort Hand Push Lawn Mower.
We’ve found that this ergonomic mower is the best manual lawn mower for comfortable mowing, thanks to its rounded, padded bar handle that’s comfortable to hold, and its lightweight 9.4-kilogram design that reduces strain when you push the mower and take it in and out of storage. Plus, the mower has a special feature – “touchless cutting technology” – that greatly reduces resistance from the blades, making it easier to push the mower over your lawn.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Gardena
Price: ££
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 40cm
Cutting height: 12 – 42mm
Weight: 9.4 Kilograms
Grass box capacity: N/A
Dimensions (DxWxH): 57 x 39 x 31cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
People who have experienced pain or strain from mowing in the past, or people with reduced mobility who want the most comfortable, ergonomic manual mower available today.
What Customers Think:
Customers have plenty of praise for the Gardena Comfort Hand Push Lawn Mower – one customer even deemed it “a joy to use” – saying that it’s easy to push, sturdy and well-made, good for mowing even surfaces, and a great option for seniors. Some customers said that assembly took longer than expected.
Pros:
We love that everything about this manual lawn mower has been intentionally designed for easy use and minimal exertion, from the ergonomic handle to the lawn-friendly wheels. The unique “touchless cutting technology” also puts the Gardena mower ahead of other manual mowers for usability.
The 40cm cutting width is ideal for flat lawns up to 250 meters squared, but isn’t too wide for getting into tight spaces.
The Gardena Comfort Mower is a mulching mower, so it sprays grass cuttings along your lawn as you mow – an ideal way to add nutrients to your lawn and eliminate the hassle of emptying a grass box.
Cons:
This mower doesn’t cope well on bumpy or sloped lawns.
You don’t get an included grass collection box with the upfront purchase. It’s available to buy separately, though.
You might prefer to mulch as you mow, which reduces grass disease and gives a greener, healthier lawn. Our top recommended choice for the best manual mower for mulching is the Webb WEH30 Sidewheel Manual Hand Push Cylinder Lawnmower.
This mower lets you choose between grass collection and mulching with its easily-removable front-facing grass box, and produces clippings that are small and fine – the ideal grass type for even dispersing across your lawn without causing clumps. It shoots clippings out of the front, rather than the rear, which is better for cutting wet grass and prevents clumping.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Webb
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 30cm
Cutting height: 10 – 40mm
Weight: 9.1 Kilograms
Grass box capacity: 17 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 53 x 39 x 27cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
Anyone who wants a mower that they can quickly customize if they want to feed their lawn with mulch, but still has the opinion for grass collection when mulching isn’t necessary.
What Customers Think:
The Webb WEH30 has an impressive 4.3-star average rating (at the time of writing), and customers agree that this mower is a sturdy product made from high-quality materials, with easy height setting and quality blades that produce a clean, accurate cut. Some customers warned that using this mower to cut long grass is difficult.
Pros:
We think the Webb WEH30 is the perfect mower for mulching, but it’s great that it has an optional grass collector, too. It takes just seconds to attach or remove the box, so it’s quick and easy to swap between mulching and grass-catching as you please.
The 30cm cutting width means you can get through a small lawn with ease, and the mower makes easy work of navigating around tight spots and obstacles.
It’s also quick and easy to maintain the perfect height of cut: just use the adjuster knobs to adjust the cutting height (from 10mm to 40mm).
Not all manual push mowers are made with quality parts, but this Webb model is clearly built to last, with super-sharp blades and an all-metal design.
Cons:
The grass box only collects effectively if you’re mowing at a good speed. It also doesn’t have a top covering like other grass boxes/bags, so some grass will still escape.
The grass collector is also smaller than those on similar manual mowers and needs emptying frequently – hence why we recommend this mower for mulching!
For a small lawn, you need a narrow, lightweight mower that can easily navigate around tight corners and obstacles – and in our opinion, the best manual mower for the job is the Garden Gear Manual Lawnmower.
There are a few reasons why this mower is ideal for cutting small lawns: it’s lightweight at just 6.4 kilograms, which makes it easy to use in a small space, and its cutting width is 30cm, so you don’t have to waste time doing too many laps of your lawn, and turning the mower after every lap is much easier than with a wider model.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Garden Gear
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 30cm
Cutting height: 12 – 45mm
Weight: 6.4 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 17 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 57 x 44 x 25cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
Folks with small lawns who want the best narrow, lightweight manual mower that’s easy to maneuver and does a fast, hassle-free job of cutting grass.
What Customers Think:
Most reviewers mention that the Garden Gear Manual Lawnmower is ideal for small lawns, with a small frame that’s easy to store in a shed when not in use, and a lightweight design that makes it easy to push and carry. A few customers had issues with the stability and grass-catching effectiveness of the grass collector.
Pros:
This Garden Gear mower’s lightweight design and slim frame make it ideal for quickly getting around small, flat lawns – and gardeners of all ages should be comfortable using this mower.
You can easily fit this mower in a small shed thanks to its detachable handles (just undo a couple of screws), and it’s small enough to pack in your car to use on an allotment or a family member’s garden.
The 5 sharp blades do a great job of neatly cutting grass, and there are a few height settings (from 12 to 45 mm), so you can choose the right cut height based on your initial grass length.
Cons:
This mower isn’t the best choice for uneven ground or sloped lawns because of its reduced force (a side-effect of the lightweight design).
The grass box is an open design and won’t efficiently catch all your grass cuttings.
Folks with medium-sized lawns will do best with an upgrade of the standard 30cm mower cutting width, and we think the Murray HM400 Hand Push Cylinder Mower is the best mower for the job.
This mower has a 40cm cutting width – that’s about as big as it gets for a manual mower while being manageable – and it still only weighs 9.5 kilograms, so you don’t have to compromise with a heavier model. With its large coverage and lightweight design, it’s the perfect tool for quickly cutting your lawn without the hassle of a heavy electric or petrol model.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Murray
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 40cm
Cutting height: 13 – 38mm
Weight: 9.5 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 20 litres
Dimensions (DxWxH): 53 x 43 x 26cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
People with medium lawns who want to avoid petrol or electric mowers and want a mower that’s big enough to cut their grass quickly without being too clunky and difficult to maneuver.
What Customers Think:
Customers say that the Murray HM400 Hand Push Cylinder Mower is ideal for moderately-sized lawns and cuts grass beautifully. A few reviewers also praised the mower’s lightweight design for easy mowing and maneuverability, but numerous customers warned that this model doesn’t cut precisely on uneven ground.
Pros:
You’ll struggle to find a manual mower with a cutting width wider than 40cm, especially not one that still manages to weigh less than 10 kilograms. You get the best of both worlds when cutting a medium lawn with this mower: more coverage and fewer laps during mowing, but easy maneuverability and minimal pushing effort required.
This Murray model comes with an included 20-litre grass bag – large enough to reduce emptying frequency without unbalancing the machine. This mower is another great mulching mower, too, so take the grass bag off if you prefer.
You can achieve your desired lawn aesthetic with the mower’s 4 adjustable cutting heights, from 13 to 38 mm.
Cons:
This is another mower that won’t do an efficient job of cutting uneven surfaces.
The grass box has a poor design and you might find it easier to take it off and mulch instead.
Based on our research, the best manual mower for small budgets is the Cobra HM381 Manual Garden Lawnmower. Most manual lawn mowers are affordably priced, but this Cobra mower is particularly budget-friendly, costing just over £60 – a great price considering the features you get to enjoy.
The most notable of these features include the sharp, durable 5-bladed cylinder blade for a clean, precise cut, the 4 adjustable cut heights for a tailored lawnmowing experience, the time-saving 38cm cutting width and fabric grass bag, and the rear roller for creating stripes as you mow.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Cobra
Price: £
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 38cm
Cutting height: 13 – 38mm
Weight: 8.5 kilograms
Grass box capacity: Not specified
Dimensions (DxWxH): Not specified
Power: N/A
Best For:
People with tight budgets or anyone who just wants to spend as little as possible on a great-value manual lawn mower that has all the features of competing models without the £100+ price tag.
What Customers Think:
Customers generally agreed that the Cobra HM381 looks great and does a good job of cutting lawns – surprisingly so, considering its low price point. Some customers even praised the mower for working well on long grass, which is a known struggle for most manual lawn mowers. However, a few reviewers said that the grass bag design made it only capable of catching around 75% of the grass clippings.
Pros:
There are few mowers that compare with the Cobra HM381 in terms of size, cut quality, and price point. The only mower that we think offers better overall value is the Bosch AHM – and it’s our very top pick for that reason.
You get all the features that you’re looking for in a competent, durable manual push mower, including multiple cutting heights, a decent 38cm cutting width, and a lightweight, maneuverable frame.
It’s great to see an included grass bag with this mower, and emptying it is easy thanks to the quick-release catch, so there’s no struggle to get it on and off.
Cons:
The grass bag design could be better. Prepare for some of the grass clippings to end up on your lawn.
The built-in rear roller doesn’t give a distinctly striped lawn.
If you’re a person who loves to stretch your budget to the very best, top-of-the-range, feature-heavy products, consider our top-pick premium manual lawn mower: the Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower.
This high-tech manual push mower is superior to most of its competitors in numerous ways: its rugged, durable design and powerful blades make it capable of cutting grass as long as 10cm; it has a massive 46cm cutting width for faster mowing with fewer laps; and it uses a unique feature called Inertia Drive, a chain drive system that improves mobility and reduces friction for a pain-free mowing experience.
Quick Specs:
Brand: Fiskars
Price: £££
Power source: Manual
Cutting width: 46cm
Cutting height: 25 – 100mm
Weight: 23.5 kilograms
Grass box capacity: 18 litres (sold separately)
Dimensions (DxWxH): 61 x 37 x 60cm
Power: N/A
Best For:
Folks who are happy to spend the extra money upfront on a manual mower that will give them the very best, most powerful and comfortable mowing experience available from this mower type today.
What Customers Think:
Customers agree that the Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower is a “beast” and significantly easier to push than other manual mowers – “you don’t have to put your back into it”. Reviewers also praised this mower for being solidly built and easy to store thanks to the detachable handle, and are pleased with the extremely sharp blades that cut grass well. A few customer downsides were the mower’s heavier weight and reduced efficiency when cutting bumpy lawns.
Pros:
The big selling point of this mower is its patented chain drive system: Inertia Drive. This system’s heavy contactless blades and optimised roller speed make pushing significantly easier than other manual mowers (60% easier, according to the manufacturer), so you can enjoy smooth mowing with no clogged blades and minimal sweating on your part.
If you want a mower that can handle long grass, you won’t find anything better than this Fiskars model. It’s designed to handle grass up to 10cm tall – in fact, it has an adjustable cutting height from 25 mm to 100 mm – thanks to the Inertia Drive system and the 7 easy-adjust gears.
We appreciate that power and comfort have been prioritized in the making of the Fiskars StaySharp mower. The 4 wheels keep the mower stable, and there’s an adjustable handle (padded with a non-slip rubber coating for additional comfort) to help you mow with the right posture.
Cons:
Getting to grips with this mower is a bit more challenging than other manual push mowers because of its additional features, but once you know what you’re doing, you can mow like a pro.
The price will put some people off. It’s up to 5 times more expensive than a conventional manual push mower, and the grass catcher is sold separately (for an extra £50).
Our Lawn
Before we share our methodology, it’s helpful for you to know more about our own lawn space. Here are a few pictures of our lawn, which is pretty average-sized for lawns in the UK and is relatively easy to mow – although we have a few tricky borders and an incline in the middle section of the lawn.
Methodology: How We Selected The Mowers In This Guide
In this section, you’ll find information about our research and testing process that enabled us to shortlist the mowers featured above.
Step 1: Researching All The Products Available
We started by searching for all the manual lawn mowers available for UK customers today. We made a list of these mowers and noted the most popular manual mower brands based on product availability. We also noted any important features of these mowers that we used to conduct an initial comparison.
Step 2: Reading Customer Reviews
Our next task was to see what customers thought about the mowers we’d found. Some of the questions we asked ourselves included: Did they exceed or at least meet customer expectations? Was there any repeatedly negative feedback that we should take into consideration? What did customers say about durability, ease of use, and other aspects that couldn’t be determined from the product description alone?
Step 3: Conversations With Manufacturers
In step 3, we put a number of lawn mower manufacturers in the hot seat – not that they knew it! We posed as regular customers and asked them questions to learn more about their products. This helped us to access data that wasn’t online and also gave us an insight into the quality of the brand’s customer service.
Step 4: Testing A Selection Of Lawn Mowers
Finally, we got our hands on several manual mowers and tested them at home. There were a few ranking metrics that we used in this stage of our methodology:
- Ease of use: 25%
- Cut quality: 20%
- Weight & manoeuvrability: 25%
- Price: 20%
- Assembly & maintenance: 10%
🧾 10 Factors To Consider When Buying The Best Manual Lawn Mower
Shopping for a manual push lawn mower isn’t the same as buying a conventional electric mower.
Before you buy a manual mower, make sure to consider the following 10 factors:
💰 Your Budget
The first thing to establish, before you even start your online search, is your budget.
The average price range for a manual lawn mower is £45-£85.
However, some manual mowers that offer special, unique features that provide a more powerful or easier mowing experience can cost more than £100, or even £250+.
Define how much you’re comfortable spending upfront on a manual push lawn mower, and whether you think it’s worth spending more for additional features.
You don’t have to spend hundreds of pounds to get a great experience from one of the best manual push mowers. For instance, our top-pick mower, the Bosch AHM mower, is best for most people and costs just over £50.
🟢🟩 Your Lawn Size
Your lawn size will determine the size of the mower deck you need, or even whether a hand-push lawn mower is right for you in the first place.
For most people, we recommend a manual push mower for a small-to-medium lawn up to 500 meters squared.
If your lawn is any bigger than this, you’ll probably prefer a mower with another power source, like an electric mower. Using a manual mower on a large lawn would take a lot of time and energy.
If you’ve determined that a push mower is suitable for your garden size, consider the mower’s cutting width, and the best width for your garden.
For small lawns, we recommend a mower with a cutting width of 30-32cm.
This means the mower deck won’t be too wide, so you can still turn easily after each lap of your lawn. And if your lawn is smaller, you’ll need to do more frequent in-between lap turns, so it’s important to choose a mower that will make this process simple.
For medium lawns, we recommend a mower deck of 38-40cm.
The wider cutting width means you can cover more ground with each lap, so you’ll mow your lawn faster. It’ll be a bit harder to turn the mower and get into tight spots compared to a mower with a narrower deck, but it won’t cause major handling issues.
♻️ Grass Collection Vs Mulching
Also consider your preferred mowing style with a manual push mower. Would you rather collect grass as you mow, or do you prefer mulching – spraying tiny grass blades out of the mower to fertilize your lawn?
Some manual mowers don’t come with a grass box. Avoid these mowers if you specifically want a mower that will collect your grass clippings for you. Otherwise, you’ll give yourself the extra job of raking the grass up at the end.
Keep in mind that even the hand-push lawn mowers that have a built-in grass collection box don’t compare to electric or petrol models. The grass box on a manual cylinder mower is smaller and will need emptying more frequently.
Additionally, these mowers don’t suck the grass clippings into the collection box as an electric mower would, so they’re not as efficient, and you’ll need to collect the grass clippings that don’t make it into the box once you’ve finished mowing.
✂️ Your Mowing Frequency/ Grass Height
How often do you want to mow your lawn? This will affect whether or not you should buy a manual cylinder mower, and what cut heights you should look for.
If you don’t enjoy the chore of lawn mowing and you prefer to get the mower out as little as possible, a manual lawn mower probably isn’t the best choice for you.
Manual hand-push lawn mowers aren’t designed to mow very long grass. If your grass grows quicker than you can cut it, we recommend a rotary mower, which is powerful enough to handle long grass.
But if you can stay on top of mowing your lawn, we recommend a manual lawn mower with at least three cutting heights. There are a couple of reasons why we recommend this:
Being able to choose your desired height of cut means you can cut your grass to the length that you prefer.
You will find it easier to cut longer grass in multiple stages, and this is easy to do when you have a choice of cutting heights. Just mow once on a higher cutting height, then once more on a lower level.
The choice of cutting heights depends on the mower in question, but most manual lawn mowers have a cutting height range of between 20 and 40 millimetres.
✅ Ease & Quality Of Cut
Manual push mowers require more physical pushing power than electric or petrol lawn mowers because they’re not powered by fuel or electricity.
However, there are certain features of a manual mower that can make it easier to cut your lawn – and provide a better quality cut at the same time.
The number of blades is important for ease and quality of cut because a greater number of blades allows the mower to better cope with thicker grass, providing a smoother and more even cut.
Most manual cylinder mowers have at least 3 blades, and the best mowers have between 5 and 7 blades. This is the ideal range because too many blades will weigh the mower down and make it heavier to push.
On the same note, the mower’s weight also affects the ease of cut. A lightweight mower might be easier to maneuver and carry, but it can actually make pushing more difficult, especially over longer grass, because the mower doesn’t have the extra force of weight to send it smoothly over your lawn.
Additional Cutting Requirements
Depending on your lawn type or your specific preferences, you might have additional cutting requirements that a hand push mower isn’t generally suitable for.
These include:
Mowing over twigs and other debris
Mowing wet grass
Mulching leaves
The cylinder blades on hand push mowers struggle to mow over any kind of debris in excess, and may become clogged and increase the pushing difficulty.
You also shouldn’t use a manual push mower to cut wet grass. While wet grass is safe to cut with this mower type, you’re more likely to damage the soil structure of your lawn and clog your mower’s blades if you routinely get your mower out in wet weather conditions.
We recommend rotary mowers for mulching leaves and mowing over debris. No mower type is ideal for wet grass, and even a powerful petrol mower will damage your lawn if it’s used often on damp surfaces.
🏋🏼Your Physical Abilities
Most people of any age can easily use a well-built manual lawn mower. However, it’s worth knowing before you buy that manual mowing takes more effort than using a petrol-powered or electric lawnmower.
If you have limited physical abilities or restricted mobility, look for a lightweight manual lawn mower that doesn’t require a lot of push power and is easy to turn and maneuver.
Also consider mowers with special features for additional comfort, like the Gardena Comfort Hand Push Lawn Mower, or a mower that’s more powerful and therefore easier to push, like the Fiskars StaySharp Max Reel Mower.
➕ Additional Features
There are a few additional features that you may want to look for in a manual hand push lawn mower.
A rear roller is one of the most desirable extra features because it allows you to mow stripes into your lawn.
Not all push mowers come with a rear roller, and some have ineffective rear rollers that produce barely-visible stripes because the roller isn’t weighty enough.
From our research, we found that the Bosch AHM is the best manual lawn mower with a rear roller. The mower’s rear roller is heavy enough to produce visible stripes as you mow.
Some manual lawn mowers have patented features that solve common manual mowing issues with low power, blade clogs, and difficulty cutting. Expect to pay more money for these mowers because they simplify the mowing process significantly.
👷 Warranty & Customer Feedback
We strongly recommend that you only buy a hand push mower once you have guaranteed the following things:
It has a warranty of at least 1 year
It has an average Amazon customer rating of at least 4 stars
The majority of hand push lawn mowers have a warranty, so if you find a mower that doesn’t, you have to ask why.
A warranty is a sign that the mower manufacturer is confident in the quality and durability of their product, so much so that they will offer you a refund or a replacement if the mower breaks during the warranty period (terms and conditions apply).
Customer ratings are more subjective, and some customers may buy a push mower without doing their research first. Some people might have the wrong expectations for a manual lawn mower, which is why we recommend taking reviews with a grain of salt.
However, a mower should still have an overall customer average star rating of 4 out of 5 – ideally 4.3 stars or more. That tells you that the majority of customers felt that their purchase met or exceeded their expectations.
🛠 Maintenance Requirements
Finally, make sure you’re aware of the maintenance requirements of a manual lawn mower before you spend your money.
Manual mowers are cylinder mowers, which means they have multiple vertically-spinning blades on a cylinder. These differ from rotary mowers, which have a single horizontally rotating blade.
Hand-push cylinder mowers provide a better quality of cut but require more maintenance because there are more blades to sharpen.
However, compared to other mower types, push lawn mowers are generally lower-maintenance and longer-lasting because they don’t need fuel top-ups or oil changes, they have fewer parts to clean, and they don’t have motors or electrical components that could become worn or damaged.
You can extend your mower’s lifespan by following good maintenance practices, including storing the mower in a dry place and cleaning it thoroughly after every use.
🤷🏽♂️ Is A Manual Mower Right For You?
If you answer “yes” to at least 5 of the following questions, a manual mower is the right mower for you.
Do I have a small or medium lawn?
Is my lawn fairly level and free from bumps and rough terrain?
Am I happy to put in a bit of extra work when mowing my lawn, or am I specifically looking for an opportunity to stay fit while doing my garden maintenance chores?
Do I want to ditch the electric cable and the hassle of starting up a petrol mower?
Do I have a small budget or prefer to spend less money on a mower upfront?
Do I have limited storage or prefer a mower that won’t take up too much room?
Will I cut my grass frequently, and do I understand that mowing longer grass with a manual mower takes extra effort?
Do I want a mower that’s better for the environment and won’t waste energy or produce emissions?
Am I happy to compromise with a smaller grass collector and increased blade sharpening requirements for the benefits of a manual mower?
Important note: this review was last updated in July 2024. We apologise if pricing or availability has since changed for any of the products mentioned above.