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Don’t call it a weed whacker, weedwacker, or weed eater. But you do need one.

If you want a neatly cut yard, you’ll have to trim its grass. Some people trim before they mow, while others mow and then trim. Regardless of your preference, the tool you need to put the finishing touch on your landscape is a string trimmer. Some people call them weed eaters; others call them weedwackers. They’re correctly called a string trimmer. By any name, it is a handheld power tool that spins a line head by means of either a gas engine (in almost all cases burning a gas-oil fuel mixture) or a lithium-ion battery and a DC motor. The harder you work the string trimmer, the tougher the machine you need to buy. Trimming a large and diverse rural property requires a far more robust tool than if you live on a 1⁄4-acre lot.

Read on for quick info on the best string trimmers from our testing, then scroll down for buying advice and in-depth reviews.

Many people are looking to cordless string trimmers powered by a lithium-ion battery to meet their needs, especially in suburbia. Although cordless string trimmers still lack the raw weed-slashing power of professional-grade gas-engine machines, they have narrowed the performance difference considerably. However, one benefit that a battery-powered trimmer provides that a gas trimmer can’t touch is that it’s quiet. If noise reduction is important to you, then a cordless string trimmer is your obvious choice. The gas-engine machines here are pro-duty and take the 50:1 gas-oil fuel mix. If you need weed-trimming power above all else, they will provide it. Whether it’s powered by a gas engine or a battery and brushless motor, every machine here gave a good account of itself in our testing.

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We test our gas-engine and battery-powered string trimmers in identical fashion. We use the machines on ordinary suburban lawn grasses such as blue grass, perennial ryegrass, and fescues in a variety of suburban and rural locations. However, our most severe testing occurred along the sloping bank of a sand floor drainage basin in southern New Jersey, where we used the trimmers to cut down knee-deep weeds and wild flowers. We also did considerable edging where sidewalks meet lawns.

For battery-powered trimmers, our primary goal was to assess power and run time. For gas-engine trimmers, we wanted to judge whether the power they provided was offset by their noise and weight. For all trimmers, we wanted to see if each machine was comfortable and well balanced, and whether its line feed was finicky or robust. We found that especially when we were using the machines to cut down weeds, the growth was so tough, it took an immediate toll on the trimmer’s line, causing us to use the bump feed line mechanism at twice or three times the rate that we would in normal grass trimming.

After that, we took the trimmer head apart inspected how much dirt got in, if any. We also evaluated how easy it was to load fresh line into the head; every machine needed it after its session.

Note that we haven’t yet tested the Craftsman WS2400, due in part to supply-chain issues and shipping delays. But we did test its predecessor model and evaluated it based on our previous use, knowledge of string trimmers and their important features, and the promising list of specs. We’re confident recommending it for its value and use on large, rural properties.

This Stihl operates at an almost monotone rpm. All you have to do is move along, relentlessly and explosively cutting just about anything that stands in your path. For all its power, it has slightly better vibration damping than the Echo below and is a bit heavier. The FS91R is a highly developed product for professionals—but even if you’re not, you could still avail yourself of it if you have a large property. Set its rotary-dial choke and pull the recoil start. It may start, in which case you press the throttle lever and the choke dial automatically moves to the run position. If it doesn’t start on a couple of pulls, move the dial to the semi-choke position and pull again.

DeWalt’s 60-volt Max power tools—encompassing machines as different as a track saw, a chain saw, and a joist drill—are well-regarded for their brute strength and adaptability. The DCST972X1 nestles nicely into that line as a hard-charging trimmer that slashed through the tough stuff almost as readily as gas-engine trimmers. Because it’s so aggressive, we appreciated the large deflector shield behind the line head­–the largest in the test, and (we think) the safest, especially when you’re cutting down fibrous stalks and the debris starts to fly. If you’re plugged into DeWalt’s FlexVolt system, the large 60-volt battery that comes with the trimmer also works in its circular saw, big drills, pavement breakers, power cutters, and more. And a final entry in the Like column for the big yellow trimmer is its high-low speed switch. On high, this DeWalt handles thick and tough growth. Low helped us trim with greater finesse and conserve its battery.

We realize that our drainage basin test might have been a bit much for the FSA90R, a U.S.-built light-duty trimmer. But it held its own surprisingly well in some pretty thick growth. Although it’s most at home in the pleasant suburbs, it definitely has enough punch to slice a tall weed. Its balance, a shaft that extends and retracts 2 inches to suit your height, an easily adjustable front handle, and a line head that’s a snap to rewind make it a pleasure to use. Its fold-down line guard is mounted on the housing above the trimmer head and acts as a bumper–we find that it does prevent you from moving too close to a vertical surface and striking it with the spinning line. Given the amount of line damage we see on trees, walls, fence posts, and garage door jambs, the guard is a great addition.

Many people will find a good string trimmer in the prosumer product category, tools and machines that are heavier than what a homeowner typically needs but are not quite beefy enough to suit a contractor. Ryobi specializes in this category, and its newest string trimmer is a case in point. It’s got more than enough power for normal grass, but—knowing its features—we reserved a stand of dried milkweed stalks and some light briers to test its power. It sailed through. Aside from a motor that produces decent torque, its string head is wound with a good quality twisted .095 line–stout stuff, we learned. Rewinding that line is simplified by a crank that the company provides with the RY40290VNM. Slip the gadget over the bump feed button on the bottom of the line head and crank it. The machine’s light weight makes it easy to handle and is achieved in part due to a carbon-fiber tube that houses the drive shaft–the only trimmer so equipped.

Despite not having hands-on time with the WS2400 yet, our hunch is that this is a capable machine that’s a good fit for Craftsman owners. Its bump-feed string trimmer head is wound with .095 line, and its 27-cc, full-crankshaft engine should put that head to work in a serious way. Note that the engine takes a 50:1 fuel-oil ratio, the same type of two-stroke fuel reserved for professional chainsaws and leaf blowers. If you own professional-duty equipment, you won’t need a separate (40:1) blend for this machine. Our advice is that the WS2400 is really best suited for rural properties, maintaining fence lines, keeping brush at bay at the pasture’s edge, and the like. It’s most at home in the country and likely a bit too much trimmer for a small suburban yard.

Echo built its reputation on making a first-class string trimmer, and when you use this professional-duty machine, you see why. Its design is familiar. Anybody who has used a gas-engine trimmer can pick it up, purge the carburetor, choke the machine, and start it with a couple of pulls. Its strong suit is two-fold: It offers outstanding throttle response and torque, in part due to a great engine, but also a 2:1 gear reduction that multiplies that torque output. When combined with the rigid twisted-nylon line, it provides almost explosive cutting power.

Other well-designed features are a translucent gas tank that lets you see your fuel level and a semi-wrap skid plate that protects the tank and holds it upright when you’re laying the trimmer down. The handles are comfortable and the machine is well balanced, enabling long trimming sessions.

The CST-58V is a model of simplicity. Its safety latch and trigger are easy to squeeze, and the rabbit/tortoise icon on the speed switch nearby is clearly visible, as is the switch easy to move. These features are more than an exercise in good industrial design; they made the trimmer less tiring to use, especially given that we always wear work gloves and safety glasses in our tests. This Echo was in line with the DeWalt in terms of weed-slashing power, and was equal to the DeWalt and Makita in that it’s equipped with a robust line head that feeds readily. We do think the alignment arrows on the line head cap (necessary for installing fresh line) could be more visible. Black arrows on black plastic are hard to see. It was the only demerit, and a small one, that we could find on this fine machine.

Ego pulled out the stops in engineering this string trimmer. Start with the fact that you never have to bump feed the head. It feeds out string automatically. When you run out of string, feed a precut length of string through the head and press the rewind button at the end of the shaft. The string zooms into the head in seconds. Our test found the 56-volt brushless motor delivers power to spare and you have excellent control over that power with a two-speed selector switch that enables you to choose between going full out at vegetation or dialing back the speed if you find yourself cutting near delicate shrubs and you need to avoid collateral damage. That control is also improved with a telescoping shaft length; you adjust it to suit your tastes, and the shaft is carbon fiber. Its reduced weight also reduces your fatigue, further improving your control over the machine.

The lightest pro trimmer in this test is this Makita, which racked up points for good industrial design and a host of features, from its solid-steel drive shaft to its three speed settings. Its specially designed, high-torque motor has an external rotor and is extremely smooth and quiet. It also provides a surprisingly high power-to-weight ratio. When coupled with the drive shaft, it creates one of the few trimmers that operates almost entirely without vibration.

All of the speed settings provide enough power for average jobs. The lowest sips current from the battery and provides great control, particularly when you turn the trimmer vertically like an edger. The low-speed setting also extends string life. We particularly love the momentary reverse feature. Push its switch and the head briefly counter rotates to clear grass and weeds that are wound around it. Speaking of that, the XRU15 excels in grass. It’s got enough oomph to cut weeds, but if you do a lot of that, the DeWalt or Echo SRM-2620 would be better choices.