Consumer Reports Names The One Best Budget Lawn Mower For 2026

Buying a new lawn mower can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you're working with a tighter budget. Lawn mowers are expensive, important yard tools, and you'll want to ensure whichever one you pick is worth your money and lasts for several years. To help, Consumer Reports (CR) published a list of the 11 best mowers and tractors of 2026, including a section with a few more budget-friendly options. The Ryobi RY401170VNM battery-powered walk-behind mower was named the best budget lawn mower option by CR after being tested by experts. While more expensive battery-operated mowers can cost as much as $900, this Ryobi is a great choice for saving money while still ensuring your grass is properly cut. For $329, you can get this push mower and a compatible battery and charger.

This Ryobi model is a 20 inch wide mower with a swing-up handle and a lever to adjust the height of the deck. Because the handle can fold, this mower can also be stored upright for convenience. The three budget lawn mowers that CR included in its list also featured a Yardmax and a Troybilt mower. Out of these, the Ryobi was the least expensive and said to have the best handling. While this budget mower was rated well by CR, it's still important to consider the downsides to electric lawnmowers and if this specific one is right for your lawncare needs.

Consumer Reports rated its lawn mowers based on handling, mulching, bagging, charge time, run time, evenness, side discharging, and noise while pushing the mower, and 25 feet away. The trusted product testing organization also considered reliability and owner satisfaction. Overall, this Ryobi model had a slightly higher than midrange score. It had perfect scores in the mulching, handling, noise at 25 feet, and evenness categories, making it a good choice to ensure your lawn is cut well. CR also listed the Ryobi as the green choice among the budget options, since the other two were gas-powered machines. However, there are pros and cons of battery-powered lawnmowers. Unfortunately, the charge time for this model only had a middle range score. Additionally, the reliability rating was one of the lowest scores, also coming in at midrange.

While CR did not list any definitive cons for this mower's performance, its lower reliability score could explain why this mower has a better price. Online reviews on Ryobi's website also mention this model's reliability as an issue, with customers complaining that the mower randomly stops working. Though it may not last forever, the great handling and other favorable performance factors are likely the reasons why Consumer Reports claimed the Ryboi RY401170VNM as the top budget mower of 2026.