7 Best Hedge Trimmers of 2024

The Bosch Electric Hedge Cutter EasyHedgeCut 45 is one of the best hedge trimmers for domestic gardens. Its blade is 45cm long which makes it suitable for medium hedges. 

With a 16mm gap between the teeth, it can tackle the majority of domestic hedges with relative ease. It can easily cut through branches of at least 12 mm thick. 

Although occasionally the blade can get jammed on thicker branches, its 420W motor means the trimmer should have enough power to work through them. This hedge trimmer isn’t intended for cutting very thick branches, but if you accidentally come across one that’s slightly larger, it should be able to get itself out of trouble. 

Weighing 4.6 kg, this trimmer is heavier than some others I’ve recommended. While it does feel lightweight initially, it may get tiring to use over time. However, this machine is helped by the fact that it feels exceptionally well balanced. Therefore, even as you start to tire, the hedge trimmer remains easy to control. The handles are also comfortable to hold thanks to the soft grips. 

Additionally, the trimmer comes equipped with a range of safety features. Two buttons need to be pressed to start it, so it’s difficult to start by accident. This also means that you should be in good control of the strimmer at all times, with two hands on the machine whenever it’s running. The triggers are centrally located, so it can be used by both left- and right-handed users. Plus, the safety instructions are comprehensive and very clear. 

Being a mains-powered unit, naturally there is the power cable to think about. This is a decent length at 10 m. Whilst you may still need an extension cable, depending on your garden, 10 m can offer a decent amount of freedom in small gardens. It’s also bright orange so it’s easy to spot against the grass or hedge. There’s nowhere to hook the cable out of the way, so you’ll need to be careful not to slice through it. 

All things considered, this machine strikes a good balance of power and ease of use. It produces a clean and accurate cut through thin branches. Therefore, it’s perfect for standard garden hedges, like the Beech hedges in my garden. If you’ve got more mature hedges in your garden, you may require a trimmer with a wider tooth gap. 

Ryobi are becoming increasingly well-known in the world of DIY, particularly for producing quality machines. This RHT1851R20S Hedge Trimmer is no exception; it’s the best cordless hedge trimmer featured here, combining quality with power.

With a 50 cm blade, and powered by an 18 V motor, this cordless hedge trimmer is capable of cutting through branches around 10 mm thick. Although Ryobi state that this hedge cutter can handle branches of 18 mm in diameter, it seems more comfortable at the 5 – 10 mm mark. Still, not bad at all for a cordless hedge trimmer!

Whilst the hedge trimmer doesn’t jam frequently, it may cut slower on larger branches. It’s best to allow the diamond-ground blades to do the work at their own pace, instead of trying to force them through faster than necessary.

As a cordless hedge trimmer, there are no wires to contend with. This means nothing to potentially trip over whilst cutting the hedge, which is a definite win for safety. Plus, there are additional safety features as well. For example, this Ryobi hedge trimmer has a lock that prevents accidental adjustment of the blade whilst in use.

These factors, combined with the stability of the cordless hedge trimmer, make it feel secure to use. There’s also a blade guard included – although its quality doesn’t quite match up to the rest of the hedge trimmer.

Cordless hedge trimmers can feel a bit heavy, but this model weighs 3.1 kg with the battery pack in place. However, like most power tools, it may start to feel heavy after a while. On the plus side, this hedge cutter allows you to work more freely as there’s no power cable, so you may find that jobs get done faster anyway.

Also, fortunately, the battery doesn’t run down too quickly with this cordless trimmer. Plus, many users have described it as having power on par some with mains-powered models which is pretty good going.

All things considered, this is a powerful and practical hedge trimmer that doesn’t make excuses for being battery powered – it can keep up with other models, and do the same job as some mains-powered hedge trimmers. For this reason, I rate it as the best cordless hedge trimmer overall.

If you’re looking to get a quality machine, whilst still keeping costs reasonable, I recommend the Dewalt DCM563PB-GB Hedge Trimmer (as a bare unit). Although there’s no battery or charger included, you can use interchangeable Dewalt batteries to power this cordless hedge trimmer – you might already have some of these if you have other cordless Dewalt tools.

With a battery in place, this is one of the best cordless hedge trimmers for battery life. Even with just a small 2 Ah battery, you can achieve approximately 25 minutes run time. It might not sound like a lot, but for small/medium sized hedges this is generally more than sufficient to finish the job.

This cordless hedge trimmer has a 55 cm blade with 19 mm tooth spacing between the cutting teeth. It performs well across the majority of garden hedges and will cut through branches of at least 6 mm.

When used with a 2 Ah battery, this cordless trimmer weighs approximately 3 kg which is a manageable weight. With a 5 Ah battery, this weight increases, but the balance is slightly improved. Nevertheless, with either battery, this isn’t considered a heavy particularly heavy hedge cutter.

In terms of safety, given that this is a cordless hedge trimmer, there is no cable to cause a tripping hazard. Also, this hedge cutter has a two-step ignition process meaning that it can’t be accidentally turned on.

Overall, I’d say this is the best cordless hedge trimmer if you already have a compatible Dewalt battery. This will make it great value for money. It’s a good choice generally for standard gardens; it doesn’t eat through battery power too quickly, yet is sufficiently versatile to be appropriate for most jobs.

Buying a hedge trimmer can turn into a costly affair, but there are still some budget options on the market that do a good job – you just need to find them! The Flymo EasiCut 520 Hedge Trimmer is a lightweight, low-cost, easy-to-use machine, that works well on small/medium jobs.

It the best hedge trimmer for anyone on a budget, delivering enough power to be a useful asset to the garden. Of course, at this price you can’t really expect it to have the strength of more premium models, but Flymo is still a reliable, trusted name in the world of gardening, and their hedge cutter is nevertheless worth considering.

One factor that likely keeps the price of this trimmer down is that it is a corded electric hedge trimmer – cordless tools are generally more expensive. However, despite being a mains-powered model it does have a fairly generous cable length, at 10 m long, which helps improve its practicality. In small gardens, you may not need an extension cable.

The hedge trimmer’s teeth are spaced out at 19 mm intervals along the 50 cm blade, so, for reference it has roughly the same size specification as the Dewalt hedge trimmer featured on this page.

In terms of performance, this electric hedge trimmer works as you would expect. No major surprises (neither good nor bad), just a basic hedge trimmer that will cut standard garden hedges such as conifer bushes and privet hedging.

For a budget hedge trimmer, it’s definitely got a lot going for it. It works well for standard domestic jobs, has a good cable length and a reasonable blade length too.

Considering that this is a cordless hedge trimmer, the BLACK+DECKER GTC18452PC-GB Hedge Trimmer is a very manageable weight. Coming in at just over 3 kg, this cordless trimmer offers a good combination of freedom and control, making it one of the best hedge trimmers in terms of design.

Slightly smaller than the majority of hedge trimmers featured here, this BLACK+DECKER Hedge Trimmer has a 45 cm blade. This is lined with teeth at 18 mm intervals. In terms of cutting power, this cordless hedge trimmer can cut through the majority of branches up to 10 mm in diameter. It’s also fitted with an anti-jam mechanism which can help occasionally ease it through slightly larger branches too.

With this mechanism, you can press a button on top of the hedge trimmer if the blades have jammed in a branch. This will cause the blades to re-track, and remove themselves from the jam.

Whilst generally a powerful cordless hedge trimmer, it does have its limitations, and slower sweeps may need to be taken to achieve the same results as a mains-powered model. However, one thing that shouldn’t cause too many problems is the battery life.

The included battery can achieve a run time of around 45 minutes which is good going for a cordless hedge trimmer. It can also be swapped out for another 18 V BLACK+DECKER compatible battery, so there’s the potential to extend the run time further.

As with a lot of hedge trimmers on this page, there is a two-step starting switch to avoid accidental ignition, and a blade guard for safer storage. In what appears to be a common theme, it seems the quality of the blade guard does not quite live up to the rest of the machine.

Nevertheless, this is a capable tool that is one of the best hedge trimmers if you’re looking for a well-designed, lightweight cordless option. Plus, it has a great battery run time too. Overall, this cordless hedge trimmer wins out in terms of its overall design. Considering how light it is, it’s incredibly manageable for a cordless hedge trimmer.

Despite having the longest cutting blade on this list, at 65.5 cm long, the Blue Ridge Hedge Trimmer still remains very lightweight at 2.78 kg. It’s the best hedge trimmer for blade length overall.

It’s the second lightest hedge trimmer featured here, but the blade length is longer than any other model. This combination makes it suitable for cutting tall hedges without suffering from arm fatigue.

This electric hedge trimmer is capable of cutting through branches up to 16 mm in diameter – that’s how large the gap is between the teeth on its blade. It can cope with anything it might encounter in a standard garden hedge. Plus, thanks to the blade length, it’s not difficult to tackle tall 6 ft hedges either.

This hedge trimmer comes equipped with several safety features including a two-hand safety switch, blade break and hand guard. However, it is relatively noisy so ear protection should be worn as well.

As a mains-powered hedge trimmer, there is of course a power cord to contend with. The cord on this Blue Ridge Hedge Trimmer is 6 metres long, which isn’t quite as generous as some of the 10 metre cables featured on some hedge trimmers on this page. You’ll likely need to use an extension cable.

Also, an additional note on the power cable: it is a black colour, instead of a more visible orange, and can be quite easy to lose sight of amongst the hedge and clippings. Therefore, extra vigilance is required so as not to accidentally cut through it.

All things considered, particularly paying attention to the size and weight of this machine, it’s one of the best hedge trimmers for anyone looking for a lightweight model with a long blade. This could particularly help those who lack upper body strength, but will no doubt benefit many gardeners in general.

If weight is your main concern when using power tools, the NETTA Hedge Trimmer is the lightest model featured here, weighing in at 2.4 kg. It’s the best hedge trimmer if you’re looking for a manageable model that isn’t too heavy.

This lightweight hedge trimmer is relatively small, with a blade length of 41 cm, but it’s still efficient enough to cope with standard garden hedges. Of course, if the hedge is particularly large, the job will take longer than if using a hedge trimmer with a longer blade.

Overall, the 500 W motor results in a machine that cuts through most small and medium branches; however, it may struggle with thicker or woodier stems. Even so, it’s still the best hedge trimmer featured here if you’re after something lightweight that will help with occasional cutting jobs.

It comes with a 6-metre power cord, which is not considered particularly long in the world of power tools, and an extension cable will likely be required unless working right next to the mains outlet. Also, accidentally cutting through the cord has been reported by some users – so this is something to be aware of.

In terms of other safety features, this hedge trimmer has a two-step safety switch, meaning it can’t be turned on unintentionally, and a small hand guard.

Overall, this is a useful, lightweight hedge trimmer that’s suitable for occasional hedge trimming. The only limit is the length of its blade. Due to its weight, it’s the best hedge trimmer if you want a light machine for small jobs. It’s also very reasonably priced considering its capabilities, so it seems to successfully combine three important factors of weight, value and performance.