10 Best String Trimmer of 2026, Ranked for Lawn Edges, Long Grass and Small Gardens

The edges along my raised beds are where the mower gives up and a trimmer earns its keep, and this Bosch is the one I'd pick for that job. The UniversalGrassCut 18V-26-500 has a 26cm cutting width, a semi-automatic spool that feeds line each time you release the trigger, a telescopic shaft and EdgeSimple, which turns it into an edger with a tap and twist of the handle. It featured in a UK roundup I read. Note, though, that this listing is the bare tool, so you'll need an 18V Power for All battery and charger unless one already lives in your shed.

Bigger lawns are where the Ryobi earns its place. The RY18LT33A-0 cuts a 33cm swathe, noticeably wider than the Bosch, so a long lawn edge or the grass along a fence line takes fewer passes. It belongs to Ryobi's 18V ONE+ range, which matters more than any single spec, because you're buying it without a battery or charger. If a Ryobi drill or hedge trimmer already sits in your garage, that's an easy add. The listing is thin on detail, though it did appear in one UK roundup.

If neat lawn edges matter more to you than raw cutting width, start with the Worx. The WG163E converts from trimmer to wheeled edger in seconds, the head pivots over 90° for reaching under a garden bench, and Command Feed lets you push out fresh line with a button rather than bumping the head on the ground. A 20V PowerShare battery and charger come in the box. The 30cm cutting width sits between the Bosch and the Ryobi. Annoyingly, the listing contradicts itself on whether you get one battery or two, so assume one.

For a small garden, this is the kit I'd look at first. Black+Decker's STC1820PC-GB comes with an 18V battery and charger, weighs approximately 2.6 kg according to the listing, and cuts a 28cm swathe. A flip-to-edge mechanism and guide wheel handle the lawn edges, the shaft is telescopic, and a Power Select setting lets you trade cutting power for runtime. It appeared in more than one UK roundup. The trade-off is that 28cm swathe, narrower than the Ryobi's, so a bigger lawn takes longer.

Makita owners can skip straight to this one. The DUR193Z is a bare tool, with no batteries or charger, built around the 18V LXT platform and a 260mm cutting diameter. It uses an easy-loading bump-and-feed head with 1.65mm four-leaf nylon cord, a telescopic shaft with 190mm of adjustment, an angle-adjustable motor head and an edger function. I found no UK roundup backing this model, so treat it as listing-led, and bump feed means tapping the head on the ground for more line, unlike the Worx's button.

Corded trimmers still make sense on a small lawn near the house, and the Contour 500E is a familiar name in British sheds. It runs a 500W motor with a 25cm cutting width and an automatic double line feed, and you twist the head to switch from trimming to edging, with a wheel to guide it along the lawn edge. A plant guard keeps the line off tree trunks and shrubs. It turned up in a UK roundup during my research. The cable limits how far you can roam, and 25cm is the narrowest cut in my ten.

Two batteries in the box is the reason this Greenworks is here. One runs while the other charges, useful on an allotment where the paths have got away from you. The trimmer cuts a 30cm width with autofeed 1.65mm line, weighs 2.76kg according to the title, and adds an adjustable front handle, a split shaft for storage, variable speed for gentle work near plants and a plant guard for tree bark. The drawback is the separate 40V system, which won't share batteries with 18V platforms like Ryobi or Makita.

Petrol is for rough corners and long grass well away from a socket, and Stihl's FS 40 is the entry point to that world. The listing gives a 27.2cc two-stroke engine, 0.7kW of power, a 0.34L fuel tank, a 380mm cutting width and a weight of 4.4kg, heavier than every battery trimmer here. I couldn't find a UK roundup that covered this exact model, so this pick is listing-led. You'll be mixing two-stroke fuel and pull-starting it, and the noise means ear defenders, plus the eye protection Stihl specifies.

I'll be blunt: this is the heavy-duty option. Hyundai's HYBC5200X is a 52cc petrol trimmer and brush cutter combo, supplied with a nylon line head for grass and edging plus a 255mm steel blade for brambles and dense overgrowth. The cutting width is listed at 450mm, a twin shoulder harness spreads the weight, and the shaft splits in two for a car boot. No reviewer I found covered it, so this one rests on its listing. It's far too much machine for a tidy suburban lawn, and a steel blade calls for the full protective kit Hyundai specifies.

Stanley's V20 trimmer ships complete, V20 pack and charger included, so it's a sensible all-in-one for a medium garden. It cuts a 33cm swathe with a single 1.6mm line on automatic feed, offers two speeds of 5500 and 7200 RPM for trading power against runtime, and adds an edge protector, a movable auxiliary handle and a hanging hook for the shed wall. It's a new listing with no editorial backing, so I'm judging it on specs alone. That swathe matches the Ryobi, with the battery thrown in.