Trying to decide on the best lawn mower size for your needs?
There’s no point in overspending on a mower that’s too big and clunky for your garden. Equally, your mower needs to be big enough to make light work of your lawn mowing duties and reduce the time spent doing laps of your lawn.
In this guide, I’ve shared how to choose the right-sized mower based on your lawn size, your chosen mower type, engine power, and more.
✅ Key Takeaways:
You can work out the best lawn mower size for your lawn by determining your lawn size, then comparing this number to the correlating lawn mower cutting width on our mower-to-lawn size chart.
Different mowers are suitable for different lawn sizes:
For a small lawn, look for a mower with a 26-30 cm cutting width.
For a medium lawn, choose a mower with a cutting width of 30-36 cm.
For a large lawn, buy a mower with a 36-42 cm cutting width.
For a very large lawn, buy a mower with the widest cutting width of 42-46 cm+.
Table of Contents
🤔 How to Work Out The Best Lawn Mower Size For Your Lawn
Follow these 2 easy steps to work out the best lawn mower size for your lawn.
🟢🟩 Step 1: Determine Your Lawn Size
First, you need to know how big your garden is.
If you can’t casually pull this number from the top of your head, don’t worry! There’s an easy way to get an idea of your lawn size, to the nearest 50 m². This number doesn’t need to be exact.
Get out your tape measure and take a measurement of your lawn size in cm, first width-ways, then length-ways.
Or, if you don’t have a tape measure, you can measure your lawn by the number of strides you take from one end to the other:
A man’s stride is about 76 cm
A woman’s stride is about 66 cm
Do the same as you would with a tape measure, except count your strides, first measuring the width of your garden, then the length.
Once you have these figures, you can multiply them together. The number you get is your lawn size in m².
📊 Step 2: Compare Your Lawn Size To Our Mower-To-Lawn Size Chart
Now you know your lawn size, there’s one simple step that remains: compare your lawn size to our mower-to-lawn size chart, shared below.
This chart shows the most suitable lawn mower cutting width for different lawn sizes.
Simply find your lawn size on the chart and follow the chart horizontally to see which mower size is best for quickly and efficiently mowing your lawn.
| Lawn Size (m²) | Mower Cutting Width (cm) |
|---|---|
| Less than 50 | 22-25 |
| 50-100 | 26-30 |
| 100-250 | 30-36 |
| 250-500 | 36-40 |
| 500-650 | 42-46+ |
You’ll notice that there’s some crossover on this chart. For instance, if you have a 50-100 m² lawn or a slightly bigger lawn of 100-250 m², I recommend mowers with a 30 cm cutting width for both.
The exact mower size that’s right for you should also depend on other factors, like your patience with mowing, your garden shape, and whether you have a lot of trees, flower beds, and other obstacles to navigate around.
Best Lawn Mower Size For Small Lawns (Up to 100 m²)
The best mower size for smaller lawns up to 100 m² is a mower with a 26-30 cm cutting deck.
A mower of this size will be narrow enough to navigate a small space and fit into tight spots, while being wide enough to limit the number of laps you need to make of your lawn.
Best Mower Types For Small Lawns
Any kind of push lawn mower is suitable for use on a small lawn.
The best mower types for small lawns are manual mowers, cordless mowers, electric corded mowers, hover mowers, and robot mowers.
You can get a great deal on a budget mower for a small lawn. Or, you can spend hundreds of pounds upfront on an autonomous robotic mower that will do the hard work for you.
Best Lawn Mower Size For Medium Lawns (100-250 m²)
The best mower size for medium lawns of 100-250 m² is a mower with a 30-36 cm cutting deck.
A mower of this size will cover more ground per lap, so it’ll be quicker to cut your lawn than it would be with a smaller mower.
The mower will be slightly bulkier due to its increased cutting width, but it should still be capable of navigating around obstacles and shouldn’t take up too much room in storage.
Best Mower Types For Medium Lawns
If you have a medium garden, you can take your pick from any kind of push mower, including corded electric mowers, hover mowers, and petrol mowers.
Some larger manual mowers may also be suitable for mowing a medium garden, and, if money is no object, you should also consider a robot lawn mower.
Best Lawn Mower Size For Large Lawns (250-500 m²)
The best mower size for a large garden of 250-500 m² is a mower with a 36-42 cm cutting width, depending on exactly how large your lawn is.
Mowers with larger cutting widths cover the most ground with every lap, speeding up the process of cutting a bigger space.
They’re bulkier and heavier than small and medium mowers, which is why they’re exclusively intended for use in a big lawn without many tight spots, and with plenty of space for turning.
Best Mower Types For Large Lawns
The best mower type for larger lawns is the petrol mower. Go for a self-propelled mower if you want to reduce the pushing effort involved in cutting a big lawn.
You could also use an electric corded mower, but keep in mind that the cord will restrict your ability to mow too far, and you’ll have to use an extension lead to reach all areas of your garden.
Best Lawn Mower Size For Very Large Lawns (500-100 m²+)
To efficiently mow a lawn that’s very large, opt for a push mower with the widest cutting width of 42-46 cm+.
The wider the cutting width, the better, since you need a mower that covers as much ground as possible to reduce the time and effort of mowing (which will already be higher than average).
Best Mower Types For Very Large Lawns
I recommend petrol mowers exclusively for very large lawns, since they’re not tethered by a cable or restricted by battery life. Choose a self-propelled mower to reduce your pushing effort, so you only have to walk behind the mower and turn it when necessary.
If your lawn resembles a field (more than 1,000-1,500 m²), you might want to avoid push mowers altogether and buy a ride-on mower.
🧐 Why Is Lawn Mower Size Important?
Lawn mower size is important because improperly sizing your mower could cause you to run into issues with speed and practicality.
If you undersize a mower (i.e buy a mower that’s to small for your lawn size), you’ll end up spending longer mowing your lawn, and you’ll have to do more laps of your garden due to your mower’s smaller cutting deck.
If you oversize a mower (or buy a mower that’s too big for your lawn size), the mower might be too large to use quickly and conveniently in your garden. The bigger turning circle and bulkier design might mean that you struggle to turn the mower after every lap due to your limited garden space, and you may be unable to squeeze the mower around obstacles or into smaller gaps.
It’s best to buy a mower that’s intended for your lawn size so that you can mow your lawn as quickly and as easily as possible.
📝 Factors Affecting Required Lawn Mower Size
There are a few factors that will affect the size of the lawn mower you need:
🟩 Size Of Your Lawn
The first and most obvious determiner of the right lawn mower size for you is the size of your lawn, as I’ve mentioned above.
The larger your lawn, the larger the lawn mower you should buy. Why? Because larger lawn mowers have wider cutting decks, meaning that they can cover more ground with every lap, so you can mow a large lawn in fewer steps and fewer laps.
On the opposite end, a smaller lawn mower is better suited to smaller lawns because it has a narrower cutting width, which means it’s easier to maneuver into tight spots and around obstacles, and it has a smaller turning circle that makes it easier to turn in tight spaces at the end of each lap.
😤 Your Lawn Mowing Patience
Some of us enjoy the task of lawn mowing more than others.
If you don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to mowing your lawn, you’ll be better off looking at larger mowers that help you to get the job done in less time.
Just be careful not to go too large for your garden size, or you’ll end up adding on time due to the extra hassle (not to mention the extra sweat production) of doing a ten-point turn after each lap of your lawn.
Alternatively, if you enjoy taking your time on your mowing duties, you might be happy to spend less money upfront on a smaller mower.
🤨 Lawn Mower Type
The type of lawn mower may also play a part in the most suitable size for you.
For instance, if you have a larger lawn, you could probably get away with a smaller mower if it’s powered by petrol. The reason for this is that petrol lawn mowers are the most powerful, and can get the job done at up to twice the speed of most other mower types.
On the other hand, if you have a smaller lawn and you want to buy a manual push mower, I recommend looking at the larger mowers in this category. That’s because a manual mower is more physically taxing because your own pushing power drives the blades, so you want a mower that’s big enough to enable you to mow your lawn in as few laps as possible.
Electric and cordless mowers are mid-range in terms of power, so we recommend sizing these mower types according to the size of your lawn.
🦾 Mower Power
I’ve touched on mower power in the different mower types above, but let’s look more closely at your power options for specific categories of mowers, and how this correlates to lawn mower size.
Electric lawn mowers have a power ranging from 1,200-1,800 watts on average. Typically, the bigger and more powerful the motor, the larger the mower’s cutting deck. If you have a big garden, I recommend a mower with a 1,700-1,800-watt power range, since this amount of power will provide enough speed for you to cut your lawn quickly. It’ll also make easy work of cutting rougher grass.
Most cordless mower models take one 12-20-volt battery, depending on the mower size. The bigger the mower, the bigger the battery voltage. 18 volts is average for a medium-sized mower with a 36-36 cm cutting width. Very large mowers intended for use in big gardens may have space for two batteries, doubling the power provided to the mower and giving it enough juice to last for an entire mowing session.
Petrol mowers have engines ranging from 80-200 cc (cubic centimetres) on average. The bigger the engine, the more horsepower it provides, and the more suitable the mower is for larger gardens. Most walk-behind petrol mowers have an engine size ranging from 130-175 cc.
🏠 Storage & Transportation Requirements
Your available storage space will determine the maximum footprint of the new lawn mower you can buy.
Generally, larger lawns have room for bigger outhouses and sheds, so storage space is less of an issue. If you have a small lawn, however, you might have a smaller shed, meaning that mower size is something you need to put more thought into.
As well as size, you should also consider a mower’s practical storage features, since some mowers are better in this respect than others.
The good news is that most modern walk-behind mower models have foldable handles, so you can reduce the amount of horizontal space they take up in your shed. Some of the smaller, lighter electric mowers can also be hung vertically, so they don’t take up any ground space at all.
Also consider how you plan to use your new lawn mower. If you need a mower that’s portable and can be stored in the boot of your car on trips to a family member’s home or the allotment, it should be smaller and lighter.
🏋🏼♂️ Your Physical Abilities
Generally, the larger the mower, the heavier it’ll weigh.
So, if you have reduced mobility, you’re over the age of 60, or you’re prone to neck, back, or wrist strain, shop for a smaller lawn mower that won’t be too taxing to use.
Small mowers weigh as little as 6-8 kilograms, and they’re narrow enough to allow you to turn and get around tight corners with ease, without the bulk and extra weight of a larger mower model.
I also recommend choosing an electric mower if your mobility is restricted. Electric mowers don’t contain a heavy battery and don’t have the weighty engine of a petrol mower, so they’re the lightest and easiest to maneuver for folks who may struggle to operate something heavy.
🏁 Final Word
Does lawn mower size matter? Yes – if you want to mow your lawn as fast as possible with minimal hassle, it does.
Buying the right lawn mower for your garden size is simple: just measure your lawn, then use the table in this guide to choose the optimal lawn mower size for your needs.
Just remember to consider other important factors when choosing a lawn mower, including the number of cut heights, the mower power type, and your preferred add-on features (such as a rear roller for a stirped lawn, a mulching function, or a self-propelled wheel drive).
Knowing what size lawnmower you need is a great start – but to get the best value from your investment, it’s important to consider all the features that could enhance your lawn mowing experience further.
Check out our guide to the 9 must-have lawn mower features to learn more.