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A cordless edger is one of the easiest tools to buy twice. The first one is cheap, light, and wrong for your edges — a trimmer dressed up as an edger, or a blade edger on a battery platform you do not own. The second one is the tool you should have bought. This roundup is built to skip the first purchase.
Three things decide whether a cordless edger is good or disappointing: a real steel blade or a string head, a battery that lasts the whole border, and a depth adjustment you can actually use. Get those three right and the edge along your driveway looks like a crew did it.
Blade Edger or String Trimmer-Edger?
Start here, because it decides everything else. A blade edger spins a steel disc and cuts a vertical trench, 2 to 3 inches deep, between the lawn and the concrete. A string trimmer-edger spins line and clips grass at the surface, with the head rotated 90 degrees to run along the edge.
A blade edger is the right tool when your edges have disappeared under grass, when you are cutting a new edge for the first time, or when you want a crisp line that survives a season. A string trimmer-edger is the right tool when the edge already exists and you are just maintaining it week to week. If you are choosing between the two and your edges are overgrown, buy the blade. A string head cannot trench compacted soil, no matter how fast it spins.
The Short List
| Pick | Type | Battery | Blade / cut | Why it wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenworks 40V 8″ Brushless Edger | Blade edger | 40V, 4.0Ah included | 8-in. steel blade | Battery and charger included; 4-yr tool + battery warranty |
| EGO Power+ ME0820 | Blade edger | 56V, sold separately | 8-in. blade, 3-in. depth | Strongest cut; carbon fiber shaft |
| BLACK+DECKER LST136 | Trimmer-edger | 40V MAX, 2.0Ah included | 13-in. string head | Cheapest way in; trims and edges |
Best Overall: Greenworks 40V 8″ Brushless Edger
The Greenworks is the pick that arrives ready to work as a real blade edger. The 4.0Ah battery and charger come in the box, the brushless motor runs up to 60 minutes on a charge, and the 8-inch steel blade cuts a real trench with a curb wheel to keep it straight. Tool-less depth adjustment means you change the cut without hunting for a wrench, and the 4-year warranty covers tool and battery alike.
The trade-off is weight and commitment. At nearly 12 pounds with a steel blade, it is a dedicated edger, not a tool you will grab for quick trimming. If you already own Greenworks 40V tools, the battery swaps across more than 75 of them — and if you do not, this kit is still the cheapest way to get a real blade edger with a battery in the box.
Greenworks 40V 8″ Brushless Cordless Edger
Battery and charger included, 60-minute runtime, and the longest warranty of the three picks.
Runner-Up: EGO Power+ ME0820 Edger & Power Head Kit
The EGO cuts harder than anything else here. The 56V power head spins the 8-inch blade at 7,000 RPM, the carbon fiber shaft keeps it light in the hand, and the depth adjusts to 3 inches — deeper than the Greenworks. The 5-year tool warranty and lifetime warranty on the carbon fiber shaft back it up.
The catch is the battery. The ME0820 kit includes the power head and the edger attachment, but no battery and no charger — those are sold separately. If you are already on EGO’s 56V platform, that is no problem at all, and this is arguably the better tool. If you are not, add the cost of a battery and charger before you compare prices, because the EGO stops being the value pick once you do.
EGO Power+ ME0820 Edger & Power Head Kit
The strongest cut here — 56V, 7,000 RPM, 3-inch depth — if you already own EGO batteries.
Best Budget 2-in-1: BLACK+DECKER LST136
The LST136 is a string trimmer that converts to an edger by rotating the head 90 degrees, and it is the cheapest way into cordless edging. The 13-inch cut, the 40V MAX 2.0Ah battery and fast charger in the box, and the automatic feed spool that advances line without bumping make it a genuinely useful two-in-one — and 7,843 Amazon ratings at 4.5 stars say plenty of owners agree.
Be clear about what it is not: a blade edger. The string head spins at 8,500 RPM and clips grass cleanly, but it will not trench compacted soil or cut a new edge through a grass mat. For a yard with edges that already exist, it is all you need. For a yard whose edges have vanished, it is the wrong tool — buy the Greenworks and cut the edge once, properly.
BLACK+DECKER LST136 40V MAX String Trimmer/Edger
Trims and edges in one tool, battery and charger included — best for yards with edges already in place.
Not Recommended Here: Corded Edgers
Corded edgers like the 12-amp WORX WG896 are capable tools — a 7.5-inch blade at 4,700 RPM cuts a clean line — but they need an outlet and a long cord, which is exactly the hassle a cordless buyer is escaping. If your whole yard sits within a cord’s reach of the house, a corded edger is fine and cheaper. For this roundup, it does not belong: the point of going cordless is cutting the cord.
How to Choose
Match the tool to the edge, not to the brand. If your edges are overgrown or nonexistent, buy a blade edger — the Greenworks if you want the battery in the box, the EGO if you already own 56V batteries. If your edges exist and you need one tool that trims and edges, the BLACK+DECKER does both for the least money. And if you are torn between gas and battery in the first place, the gas-vs-cordless comparison lays out the running costs. Once you own the tool, the blade sharpening guide keeps a steel blade cutting clean, and the sidewalk-and-curb edger guide covers the trickiest edges a blade has to follow.
For most yards, the Greenworks 40V is the buy: a real blade, a battery and charger in the box, an hour of runtime, and a four-year warranty. Buy it once, cut the edge once, and stop shopping for edgers.
