How badly do you want to have a good-looking lawn? Or maybe you’re looking to find and buy the best lawn mower for your landscaping business.
No matter your situation finding the best lawn mower with a balance of price, power, and durability is what most people focus on. Due to the variety of lawn mowers and their suitability for different types of yards, obstacles, turns, and terrain, finding the right one can be difficult.
In addition, lawn mowers have different cutting heights and maintenance costs for proper function.
For that reason, we have compiled this detailed guide covering the types of lawn mowers. We have covered their description, unique features, what they are suitable for, who would need them, price range, and maintenance difficulty.
We have grouped them and further expounded on subcategories where necessary for easy understanding. This guide will make your lawn mower selection process easy. If you’re looking for lawn mower financing, feel free to follow our process.
1. Riding Lawn Mowers ( also known as Ride-On Mower)
A riding lawn mower is an efficient four-wheel mowing machine that resembles a mini car. They come with an ergonomic seat, a steering wheel, and a powerful engine that makes them the best among mowing machines. There are different types under this category, and they include:
2. Zero-Turn Mowers ( Zero Turning or ZTR mowers)
Zero-Turn mowers are the best when your lawn needs tight 360° turns. These lawnmowers are renowned for landscaping, cutting, and other yard work that requires 100 cm to 1500 cm in width.
These lawn mowers are lightweight, compact, and run on a moderate-power engine. Equipped with control lap bars in the front seat, the ZTR mowers operate on dual hydrostatic transmission in the rear wheels. This transmission enables the lawnmower to pivot easily, which makes them efficient.
The cost of Zero-turn mowers ranges from $1,000 to $ 20,000, depending on features and features and styles. ZTR mowers are sophisticated and need caution when running maintenance programs.
The maintenance entails oil change, checking and changing the fuel filter and stabilizer. It also requires diligent transmission filters and oil checks and changes.
3. Articulating Lawn Mowers
An articulating lawn mower is similar to a ZTR mower but with the blade deck at its very front. You can see directly where the machine is guiding the deck from your seat. The articulating lawn mower is longer to give you an advantage point. These movers don’t have zero-turn power but are still easy to control compared to other mowers with similar features.
With the price ranging from $2,680 to $ 3,280, these lawn mowers are most suitable if you are looking for accuracy of the ZRT but with a low budget and maintenance cost. Its maintenance includes cleaning, sharpening, balancing, changing blades, replacing the spark plug, and adding a fuel stabilizer.
4. Lawn Tractors
A lawn tractor is the most common riding lawn mower. They come with front-mounted engines and 42- 54 inch deck widths. The lawn tractor is suitable for medium to large-sized lawns.
A lawn tractor is simple, with only an operator seat, a powerful engine, and four wheels. Powered by 18 to 25 horsepower engines, lawn tractors are larger compared to your typical lawn mower.
The lawn tractors have automatic pulley-drive, hydrostatic pedal, and lever-operated gear. Each of these transmissions has different functions. These are priced between $1,350 to $ 4,000 and are easy to maintain as they entail oil change, spark plugs, and filter change, among other basic routines.
5. Rear Engine Riding lawn mower
Rear engine riding mowers are the most suitable for medium-sized lawns. The lawn mower’s 10 to 11 horsepower engines are held at the back part of the machine, under the driving seat. The deck size ranges from 30 to 35 inches, making these machines compact. These lawnmowers operate by variable transmission continuously.
The rear engine riding mowers range from $1,000 to $ 4,000 and are easy to maintain. The maintenance includes basics like sharpening the blades, changing them, and checking the oil and filters.
6. Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers (Walk Mowers)
As the name suggests, you operate the Walk-behind lawn mower from its rear position. A lawn mower of this kind can differ one from another depending on various factors such as size, how it works, and the engine position.
They are suitable for small-sized lawns and come with unmatched maneuverability. There are different types in this category, which include:
7. Self-Propelled Lawn Mowers
A Self-Propelled Lawn Mower is a walk-behind mowing machine that doesn’t require manual force to move when mowing. Ideal for 1⁄4 to ¾ acre lawns, these machines only need you to control the steering wheels.
Depending on your yard’s lawn needs, the self-propelled lawn mower offers rear and front-wheel drive. Front-drive pushers are suitable for obstacle-filled small yards due to their front wheels’ ability to swivel, allowing 180° turns. The rear-wheel-drive mowers are ideal for hilly yards due to their traction.
A self-propelled lawn mower range from $300 to $1,200 depending on additional features like bagging or mulching ability. These lawnmowers are equally easy to maintain with a basic maintenance routine similar to the other lawnmowers.
8. Push Lawn Mower (also called Reel or Cylinder)
A push mower or Cylinder lawn mower requires you to apply a physical push from behind to move.
These push mowers are suitable for small and level lawns.
And their popularity can not only be attributed to their lightweight, ease of handling, and low price. Push mowers can be powered by gas, electricity, battery, and hand. The latter is equipped with cylinder blades or reels for making cuts.
The other two types of push mowers have engines that spin the blades to mow.
The prices of a push mower vary depending on how they work and their brand. An electric-push mower cost between $80 to $2,035, and the gas pushes mowers price from $140 to $565.
Push lawn mowers aren’t difficult to maintain but require manufacturer-approved replacements if need be. In addition, you need to follow any pre-maintenance procedures stipulated by the manufacturer to the later for safety.
9. Hover Lawn Mower
Hover lawnmowers are among the unique mowing machines. The hover lawn mower operates by hovering on an air cushion when mowing your lawn. This feature makes them suitable for golf courses, steep slopes, and high-weed areas. In addition, the hover lawn mower is popular since they don’t leave wheel marks after mowing.
They are built of lightweight plastic bodies and spin their blades, filling the air cushion to hover over the lawn you intend to cut.
The hover lawn mower is a comparatively inexpensive machine that can move in any direction and conveniently maneuver around obstacles. These prices range from $95 to $ 180, depending on your chosen model. The hover lawn mower is a plug-and-play machine and is easy to maintain. The maintenance entails checking and changing the blades, cleaning, and other basics like regularly checking for signs of the need for repair.
10. Rotary Lawn Mowers
Rotary lawnmowers are arguably the most common walk-behind mowers.
They feature single blades that rotate horizontally at high speed. These lawnmowers are suitable for long grass or medium lawns. The rotary lawnmowers are simple and fit small engines that turn the blades. Some rotary mowers come with integral grass boxes, while others have the boxes attached behind.
These lawnmowers range from $295 to $950, making them reasonably priced considering their efficiency. Rotary lawnmowers require maintenance like their peers. However, its most crucial maintenance routine is the service change.
You will drain the oil and then change it to the appropriate viscosity. In addition, you must also change the filters after six months of service or 3,000 miles. This process isn’t complicated but requires caution for safety.
11. Robotic Lawnmowers
These are programmable lawnmowers ideal for estates, homeowners, or commercial buildings that don’t want to dwell on lawn mowing. You have to schedule the machine through mobile apps, and they will operate over wifi or Bluetooth.
These mowers are equipped with battery-operated motors, AC-powered base stations, sensors, perimeter wires, and cutting blades. The sensor guides the robotic mower to prevent it from going out of the area you demarcate using the electric-charged perimeter wire.
The price of these mowers ranges from $600 to $1,500, with as high as $5,000 depending on their features.
The robotic mowers can operate in rainy conditions. However, the condition can make it messy. In most cases, you will only need to clean it. But the best option is robotic lawnmowers equipped with weather sensing features. This unique feature will command it to return to its base in the event of a downpour.
Maintaining a robotic lawnmower is quite daunting but necessary. It entails the basics of cleaning the machine, changing the battery and blades, and replacing the blade disks. In addition, you also need to maintain the charging station.
The station requires a thorough overhaul once a year, on top of regular cleaning with a brush and damp cloth. While at it, check that the charging contacts aren’t corroded.
12. Lawn Mower Types Based on Power
Like any other machine, lawnmowers need an efficient power supply. Each of the types of lawnmower in this article is powered differently. Some of them are gas, battery, or electricity-powered.
The ones that use neither of the power options use manual force. The power you opt for will depend on your need and how efficiently it will work. Let’s cover the different options and how they operate.
- 13. Gas Lawn Mower
These lawn mowers run on engine petrol, making them comparatively more robust and suitable for cutting thick and tall grass. Gas lawn mowers are maneuverable despite their enormous size and heavyweight.
These lawnmowers are fast and hence ideal for mowing large areas. These lawnmowers cause pollution from engine noise and gas fumes on the downside.
These mowing machines go for $200 to $800 and are high maintenance. Keeping an eye on the levels of fuel and oil is a must. In addition, you have to service it like car engines regularly. You might encounter difficulty while at it, which will be best if you seek the services of professionals to run the complicated maintenance routines.
- 14. Electric Lawn Mowers
Electric mowers are the arguably best power-type lawn mowing machines. Other than being light, they are also cheaper and have low maintenance. The electric lawn comes either corded or cordless. The corded ones have electric cables attached to them. These corded electric lawn mowers are good in maneuverability but limited in the area they can cover. On the other hand, cordless ones have rechargeable high voltage batteries that enable a long-running time. All the electric mowers have safety cut out switches, rear rollers, and control levers.
These lawn mowers cost around $100 to $200, depending on the features that work for you. These lawnmowers can serve you up to 10 years if you maintain them well. Besides cleaning and lubrication, electric lawnmowers require battery maintenance and generator cleaning for efficiency.
- 15. Battery Lawn Mowers
These lawnmowers run on lightweight and long-lasting lithium-ion batteries. You insert a key and push a start button or pull a lever to activate them. These types of lawnmowers give you the efficiency of electric ones but with no power cable hindrance. You can use the battery to operate the mower for close to an hour before you need to recharge it.
Note that some models come with the battery installed while others require a purchase of the same separately.
These lawn mowers are easy to maintain, with the main concern being the battery case. You will eventually need to replace the battery. Proper maintenance will give you around five years of service with this type of mower.
The battery-powered lawn mowers range from $150 to $400, depending on the model.
- 16. Manual Lawn Mowers
As the name suggests, these lawn mowers need manual power to operate. They come with engines that rotate the blades but don’t provide momentum. The manual operation gives you control hence a nice lawn.
On the downside, these types of lawnmowers limit the area of mowing since you use a lot of your energy to push it around. However, the movers are quiet, cheaper, and environmentally friendly.
These lawn mowers are not only easy to operate but also to maintain. Its maintenance involves the essential blades check, sharpening, and change. The routine also consists of the engine check for proper functioning. These lawnmowers cost between $80 to $1,400.
17. Lawn Mower Type Based On Driving Options
The terrain of your lawn hugely affects the performance of your lawn mower. However, you can find a way around it by buying your lawn mower based on driving options.
This category has three types of lawn mowers. These mowers are the same, with the difference being the wheels connected to the power source. They are generally easy to maintain, and their cost averages $ 2,050. These types of lawn mowers include:
- 18. All Wheel Drive
These lawnmowers have all four engines attached to their power source. This feature makes the wheels move in unison. Additionally, it gives the machine great speed and power, enabling it to handle medium to large lawns. However, it lacks maneuverability.
- 19. Front-Wheel Drive
As the name implies, the front-wheel-drive ones are propelled with the front wheels. The pushed wheels pull the lawn mower with their turning motions. These mowers aren’t as powerful and are most suitable for level lawns. On the upside, these mowers have good maneuverability.
- 20. Rear–Wheel Drive
On the other hand, the motion of their back wheels moves rear-wheel-drive mowers. These mowers are relatively robust and suitable for rough terrain. However, it is best to note that rear-wheel-drive mowers’ performance is limited in awkwardly shaped or small lawns due to poor maneuverability.
21. Rough-cut mowers
These are industrial lawn mowers. They derive their name from the type of work they do—not meant to create polished lawns. The main goal of these types of lawnmowers is to mow in the shortest time possible. The typical mowers in this category include:
22. Bush Hog Mowers
Also known as the brush hog, they are attached and pulled behind tractors. They are heavy and wide to cover a large area at a time. These lawn mowers are suitable for lawns with thick branches and heavy brushes.
23. Sickle Bar Mowers
These large walk-behind mowers come with two wheels and engines to counterweight the front fitted blades. The manufacturer fits the wide blades on horizontal bars to mow faster and efficiently. These lawnmowers are suitable for tough and tall grass.
24. Flail Mowers
Flail mowers are walk-behind industrial mowers that you can also attach to tractors to operate them. These lawnmowers are suitable for tall grass that you can’t see through because they bounce off objects that their blades cannot cut.
Bottom Line
Lawn mowers are necessities for a well-maintained lawn.
However, choosing a suitable lawn machine can be daunting. You might end up with a mowing machine that requires a lot of time or effort to make it mow your lawn.
Luckily, we have covered the different types of lawn mowers in-depth and detailed their suitability. Use this guide to help you shop for a new lawn mower or upgrade from the one you previously owned. Doing so will ease your shopping and get you a lawnmower that works efficiently.