The 8 Best String Trimmers of 2026

Reloading line is the chore that sends more people back to gas than any other, and the ST1623T is built around ending it. Feed the line through the head, press a button, and PowerLoad winds it; Line IQ then watches the line and feeds it as it wears, holding a full 16-inch swath without a single bump on the ground.

The working numbers back it up: up to 60 minutes on the included 4.0Ah pack, a digital variable-speed selector for the difference between tidy grass and a ditch bank, and 0.095-inch line that stands up to heavier growth than the thin stuff on cheaper trimmers. The carbon fiber shaft telescopes to fit a tall user without hunching, which is the sort of thing you notice at the end of an hour rather than at the start.

Two things to weigh, and neither disqualifies it for the right buyer. The battery sits forward and you feel it: at 7.5 pounds with the 4.0Ah pack on board, this is a trimmer that wants a strap for long sessions, and smaller-framed users will notice the nose weight before the first pack is half gone. It is also the most expensive trimmer on this page by a wide margin.

For a property with a long fence line, a ditch bank, and a couple of hours of trimming a week, that trade makes sense, and this is the trimmer we reach for when there is real ground to cover. For a quarter-acre lot, the BLACK+DECKER LST136 does the same job for much less money.

Two batteries, a charger, and a wheeled edger conversion for less than the BLACK+DECKER LST136. That is the WG163's opening argument, and for a yard where the sidewalk is the main event, it is a persuasive one.

The wheels are why it earns a slot. Clipped onto the head and walked along a driveway, they hold a straighter line than any trimmer you rotate by hand, and the 90-degree tilting head reaches under a shrub or along a slope without making you crouch. The 20V motor is the mildest in this group, though: it will clear a foot-tall patch of weeds, but it wants the top speed held and a second pass on anything woody.

At 5.5 pounds it is the lightest full-size trimmer here, and the push-button command feed saves the bump-and-curse routine entirely, with WORX's free-spools-for-life program taking some sting out of the line bill. Recharge pace is the annoyance, since packs sit on the included charger for hours, so the two batteries in the box are not a luxury, they are the plan.

This is the trimmer for the person who gave up on gas. At 5.7 pounds it is light enough at the head that it does not drag your shoulder down after ten minutes, quiet enough for a Sunday morning, and simple enough to start with a trigger rather than a cord. For a small lot, a retirement yard, or anyone with a wrist that has opinions, we think it is the best pick here.

The 12-inch swath is a deliberate trade. It means more passes along a long border, but a smaller head is easier to place around flowers, fence posts, and the gas meter, and less likely to eat a shrub you meant to keep. The automatic feed spool handles line without bumping, and the 2-in-1 conversion covers the walk to the curb.

The included 2.0Ah pack is small, and a big yard will empty it before the job is done, so plan on a spare or two shorter sessions. Because it runs on the same 20V packs as BLACK+DECKER's drills and blowers, that spare is often already sitting in the garage.

A hinge in the middle of the shaft is the whole idea here. The DCST922B folds down short enough to lie across a truck bed or stand in the corner of a shed, which is the difference between a trimmer you keep handy and one you stop using because hauling it out is a project.

The rest is DEWALT's usual approach: a 14-inch swath, a variable-speed trigger with two ranges so you can run slow along the flowers and wide open in the rough, and a brushless motor that will take on thick growth. At 9.2 pounds it is the heaviest trimmer in this group, and the mass sits where you would expect, out at the cutting head.

It is a bare tool, so the figure on the page is only the start: you need 20V MAX packs and a charger, and without them the total climbs past the complete kits here. With them already in the truck, this is the trimmer that earns its space, and the folding shaft is the reason it comes out more often.

Gas still has one argument nothing else answers: you can keep going. The 122C carries a 22cc two-cycle engine, a 17-inch cutting width that is the widest here, and 6.9 pounds of trimmer, with Smart Start and an air purge bulb to shorten the cold-start ritual and a low-noise engine that will not leave your ears ringing.

For a fence line that runs a quarter mile, a ditch bank cut twice a year, or a property where the nearest outlet is a hundred yards away, this is the trimmer worth buying, and the curved shaft makes it easy to steer around posts and trees. The trade is the routine: mixed fuel, a primer bulb, a pull cord, and an engine that wants fresh gas and a clean air filter every season.

Cold starting is where a small two-stroke shows its temper, so a unit that will not stay running is the thing to test in the first week, while the two-year warranty is doing the work. The Tap N' Go head feeds line with a tap on the ground, and replacement spools are cheap and sold everywhere.

Sixty-three minutes is the runtime CRAFTSMAN puts on the CMCST901M1, and it comes from a 4.0Ah pack rather than from a bigger motor. That is the right trade if the problem you are solving is finishing the back fence before the battery quits, rather than clearing a hedge row.

The 13-inch swath and turn-to-edge conversion cover the basics, the handle adjusts for height, and the battery and charger are in the box. Two caveats worth knowing before you commit: the runtime figure assumes a lower speed setting, so run it flat out in wet spring grass and the minutes come off quickly, and CRAFTSMAN's claimed 52% gain over the model it replaces still leaves this a weed wacker that prefers grass to brush.

What holds it out of a top slot is simply time. This is the newest design here, and the trimmers ahead of it have been leaned against shed walls for years. If the longest claimed run time in this group is what you are shopping for, and the battery comes in the box, that is a fair bet to make.

Five years of coverage is the longest warranty on this page, and it sits on the least expensive way into EGO's 56V platform: a 15-inch trimmer with a 2.5Ah battery and a charger in the box.

The working numbers are sensible rather than spectacular. Up to 45 minutes on that pack, a 50-minute recharge with the included charger that is quick enough to top up over lunch, and a variable-speed trigger for the difference between edging and clearing. The 15-inch swath is wider than most here without making the head awkward between shrubs.

The Rapid Reload head is where patience runs out. Threading new line through it takes more fiddling than the button-and-wind PowerLoad system on the ST1623T, and at 7.4 pounds the tool is noticeably nose-heavy once the battery is on. Neither is a reason to walk away; both are reasons to know what you are buying.

For most people who want EGO's battery platform and its warranty without the flagship price, this is the sensible EGO. Pay the premium for the ST1623T only if reloading line is the chore you hate most, or if your property is big enough to want the wider cut.