The 5 Best Lawn Mowers Under $300 of 2026, Ranked & Reviewed

Our verdict: Gas-mower cutting width at a price that leaves room in the budget.

The PowerSmart EasyCut is an 18 inch gas mower with a 144cc four-cycle engine, side discharge, a five-position height adjustment and a price in the $100 to $200 range. A gas engine has no runtime cap, so a thick or tall stretch of grass never ends your afternoon halfway through. Five heights let you raise the deck after a long gap.

It ranks first because it combines full-width gas power with a low price. The Wild Badger removes fuel hassle but caps runtime, and the reel mowers cannot handle thick grass.

Buy it for a small to medium yard where finishing in a single pass matters. The caveats are fuel and oil upkeep, and noise. Skip it if you do not want to handle fuel or engine maintenance.

Deck

18 inch

Engine

144cc 4-cycle gas

Discharge

Side

Heights

5 positions

Our verdict: Same class of mower as the top pick when that model is out of stock.

The PowerSmart 18 inch 144cc gas mower is a push model with side discharge, in the same price bucket and engine class as the EasyCut. It is a stand-in for the top pick, with the same width and a simple push drive.

It ranks second because it lists no height range, and little separates it from the EasyCut except the missing detail. Think of it as the same class when the top model is out of stock.

Buy it if the EasyCut is unavailable and you want gas power at an 18 inch width. Skip it if you want a self-propelled drive or a mulching setup. Because the listing is thin, check for height positions and warranty details before ordering.

Deck

18 inch

Engine

144cc gas

Discharge

Side

Drive

Push

Our verdict: Gas-width deck with none of the fuel or cord hassle.

The Wild Badger Power is an 18 inch cordless mower with a 40V brushless motor, battery power and no cord or fuel. A brushless motor wears less than a brushed one and runs cooler, so it should hold up through years of weekly cuts. It is quiet enough for early morning mowing.

It ranks third because the battery limits runtime and thus lawn size, and a replacement battery later costs real money. It beats the gas models on noise and upkeep.

Buy it for a small to medium yard where quiet and low upkeep matter. Skip it if your lawn is large or the grass is thick and tall. For anything beyond small, plan on a second battery.

Deck

18 inch

Motor

40V brushless

Power

Battery, cordless

Fuel

None

Our verdict: A manual reel with a wider cut and zero running costs.

The LawnMaster LMRM1602 is a 16 inch push reel mower with five blades, no fuel, no cord and no battery. A reel mower cuts like scissors, trimming blades against a fixed bed knife, which gives a clean cut on short grass and almost no noise.

It ranks fourth because it struggles with tall grass and demands all the effort from you. Its 16 inch width beats the American Lawn Mower's 14 inches, and the cost to run is zero.

Buy it for a small, flat lawn you mow often and keep short. Skip it if grass gets long between mows or the yard is bumpy. A reel stalls on tall stems, so cut frequently.

Width

16 inch

Blades

5-blade reel

Power

Manual push

Running cost

None

Our verdict: The simplest, lowest-cost way to keep a tiny lawn trimmed.

The American Lawn Mower 1204-14 is a 14 inch four-blade push reel mower with no fuel, cord or battery, in the $50 to $100 bucket. It stores in a small space and needs almost no maintenance, which suits a tiny yard.

It ranks last because the 14 inch deck is the narrowest here and cannot handle tall grass. The LawnMaster covers two more inches per pass.

Buy it for a tiny flat lawn on the lowest budget. Skip it if you have more than a small patch of grass. Plan to mow often, since a reel works only on short grass.

Width

14 inch

Blades

4-blade reel

Power

Manual push

Bucket

$50-100