Choosing a Battery Tool Platform: EGO, Greenworks, Ryobi and More

Tool breadth decides whether a platform can replace everything gas in your garage. This table shows which yard tool categories each platform has in this site's catalog of verified products; brands sell more models than listed here.

Voltage is roughly how hard the battery can push power into a motor, and amp-hours (Ah) are how long it can keep that up. Watt-hours (Wh) are the real measure of stored energy, and they are simply volts times amp-hours: a 56V 5.0Ah EGO pack holds 280 Wh, the figure EGO prints for the EGO Power+ SKA2800T 56V 5.0Ah Battery and Charger Kit. Watt-hours predict runtime far better than the voltage badge.

Do not compare platforms by the voltage number alone. Brands label voltage differently: some quote the peak voltage of a freshly charged pack and others a lower nominal figure, so an 80V badge does not mean 43 percent more power than a 56V badge. Motor design, brushless efficiency and the tool itself matter as much. Compare watt-hours (printed on many packs) and each tool's rated runtime or coverage. For mowers, the battery mower runtime calculator turns watt-hours into square feet.

Battery price per watt-hour is the long-run cost of a platform. These are catalog listings; the watt-hour figures multiply the badge voltage by the amp-hours, so treat them as approximate across brands.

For a homeowner who wants to go fully battery, EGO 56V is the most complete yard platform in the catalog. It is the only one here with a two-stage battery snow blower like the EGO Power+ SNT2405 24 in. Self-Propelled Two-Stage Snow Blower Kit, battery riding mowers including the EGO POWER+ Z6 ZT4204L 42 in. Electric Zero Turn Mower and EGO POWER+ T6 TR4204 42 in. Electric Lawn Tractor, a backpack blower (the EGO Power+ LB6003 600 CFM Backpack Blower Kit with 7.5Ah Battery), a leaf vacuum and a multi-head system, all on the same ARC Lithium packs. The same EGO Power+ BA4200T 56V 7.5Ah Battery that runs the EGO POWER+ LM2135SP 21 in. Select Cut Self-Propelled Mower Kit mower runs the EGO Power+ CS1815 18 in. Chainsaw Kit with 6.0Ah Battery chainsaw.

The downsides are cost and weight. EGO batteries are not cheap per watt-hour, and the large packs are heavy on handheld tools. Budget for at least two batteries if you mow and trim in one session. The beginner battery yard setup shows a starter EGO kit, and the expert battery yard setup scales it to acreage.

Greenworks sells several separate systems, and batteries do not cross between them, so choose deliberately. Greenworks 80V (sold as the PRO line) is the stronger handheld and walk-behind family, with the Greenworks 80V 770 CFM Blower Kit with 4.0Ah Battery, Greenworks 80V 18 in. Chainsaw Kit with 4.0Ah Battery and Greenworks 80V 21 in. Self-Propelled Mower Kit self-propelled mower. Greenworks 60V is where the riding mowers live: the Greenworks 60V CrossoverZ 42 in. Electric Zero Turn Mower and Greenworks 60V MaximusZ 54 in. Electric Zero Turn Mower run on 60V packs, along with the Greenworks Pro 60V 22 in. Brushless Single-Stage Snow Blower Kit snow blower and a 60V pole saw.

Greenworks kits usually cost less than equivalent EGO kits, which makes it a strong value choice. If a battery riding mower is in your plans, start on 60V so the handheld packs can back up the mower system; if not, 80V has the better handheld lineup. Greenworks 40V is a lighter-duty system for small yards. Head-to-heads are on EGO vs Greenworks leaf blowers and EGO vs Greenworks lawn mowers.

Ryobi 40V is the budget-friendly choice with the cheapest replacement batteries in the table above: the RYOBI 40V 4Ah Lithium-Ion Battery lists at $104.99. It covers the core trio well with the RYOBI 40V Attachment Capable String Trimmer Kit with 4.0Ah Battery, RYOBI 40V HP Brushless Whisper Series 650 CFM Blower (tool only) and RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 26 in. Hedge Trimmer (tool only), and the trimmer accepts Expand-It attachments for edging and pole pruning. Ryobi also makes a 40V snow blower, the RYOBI 40V HP Brushless 18 in. Single-Stage Snow Blower Kit (RY40890VNM).

It fits small to medium suburban lots and owners who want to spend less up front. Owners who need a big battery chainsaw, riding mower or two-stage snow blower usually outgrow it. Ryobi's separate 18V ONE+ system does not share batteries with 40V. See EGO vs Ryobi leaf blowers.

DeWalt and Milwaukee are jobsite tool brands first, and their yard tools make the most sense for owners who already run their drills and saws. The DEWALT 60V MAX DCST972X1 17 in. String Trimmer Kit trimmer, DEWALT 60V MAX DCBL772X1 600 CFM Axial Blower Kit blower and DEWALT 60V MAX DCCS672B 18 in. Brushless Chainsaw (tool only) chainsaw run on DeWalt 60V MAX FLEXVOLT packs. Milwaukee's M18 FUEL line includes the Milwaukee M18 FUEL 2825-20ST QUIK-LOK String Trimmer (tool only) QUIK-LOK trimmer (which accepts attachments), the Milwaukee M18 FUEL 450 CFM Handheld Blower (tool only) and the Milwaukee M18 FUEL 2727-21HD 16 in. Chainsaw Kit chainsaw.

Neither brand has walk-behind mowers, riding mowers or snow blowers in this catalog, so they rarely work as a whole-yard platform. Their strength is reuse: a contractor or serious DIYer with a shelf of FLEXVOLT or M18 batteries can add trimming, blowing and cutting without buying a second battery system. Workshop tools themselves are covered on WorkshopCalc.

A multi-head system is one motor and handle, called a power head, that accepts swappable attachments such as a trimmer, edger, hedge trimmer, pole saw, cultivator or broom. The EGO Power+ Multi-Head System Build Your Own Kit is built around EGO's PH1400 power head, and the RYOBI 40V Attachment Capable String Trimmer Kit with 4.0Ah Battery and Milwaukee M18 FUEL 2825-20ST QUIK-LOK String Trimmer (tool only) use the same idea.

• Worth it when: storage is tight, you use several tools a few times a season, or you want a pole saw and edger without buying two more motors. Attachments like the EGO Power+ PSA1020 10 in. Carbon Fiber Pole Saw Attachment pole saw cost less than full tools.
• Not worth it when: you trim and edge every week (swapping heads gets old), or two people work at once, since there is only one power head.
• Balance: a long shaft with a pole saw or hedge head is front-heavy; dedicated tools are often better balanced.

Read the full take in the EGO Multi-Head kit review.

Charging speed decides whether a second battery is optional. EGO lists 145 minutes to charge the EGO Power+ BA4200T 56V 7.5Ah Battery on the standard charger and 60 minutes on its rapid charger, while the EGO Power+ CH7000T 56V 700W Turbo Charger Turbo Charger charges the 10.0Ah EGO Power+ BA5600T 56V 10.0Ah Battery in 60 minutes. Greenworks rates the Greenworks PRO GBA80200 80V 2.0Ah Battery at a 30 minute rapid charge on its GCH8040 charger.

If you mow for an hour and trim for 20 minutes, two batteries cover it without a fast charger. If you have one battery and a large lot, a fast charger lets you break for lunch and finish. Charge and store batteries indoors at room temperature, off concrete in hot or freezing garages, and away from anything flammable, as manufacturer manuals direct. Do not charge a pack that is hot from use until it cools.

Battery is the right call for most suburban yards, but gas still wins some jobs:

• Felling and bucking big hardwood: battery saws in the catalog top out at 18 in. bars, while gas saws like the Husqvarna 455 Rancher 20 in. Gas Chainsaw run 20 in. and longer bars all day.
• Big leaf cleanups on wooded acreage: a gas backpack blower such as the ECHO PB-9010T X Series 79.9cc Backpack Blower moves 1,110 CFM for hours on a tank.
• Several acres of mowing with short breaks, where battery riders need recharging and gas refuels in minutes.
• Log splitters, large tillers, chippers and concrete pressure washing, where catalog options are gas or corded electric.
• Remote properties with no easy place to charge.

Many owners run a hybrid: battery trimmer, blower and mower for weekly work, and one gas chainsaw or backpack blower for heavy seasonal jobs.