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Rankings re-checked weekly · Last re-checked 16 October 2026
·Prices updated daily·AI-assisted, run by Jaco Olwagen
3 quick taps — we'll match you to a pick using the same scores we rank with.
The picks, in order
7 picks
Number one at the top, number 7 at the bottom. The tier label on each card says which price bracket it sits in.
★Editor's Choice
1
Stanley
Stanley FatMax V20 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Kit, 33cm, 4.0Ah)
Stanley V2033cm SwathAutomatic Feed
Premium
Rank #1
Stanley FatMax V20 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Kit, 33cm, 4.0Ah)
Our Verdict
The widest swath here at 33 cm, a genuine automatic line feed, selectable high and low speed on a gear-drive transmission, and a 4.0Ah battery and charger in the box. The one pick that leads on both cutting and feed.
Why it's number one: The widest swath in the category at 33 cm, a genuine automatic line feed rather than a bump or trigger-release head, a gear-drive transmission with selectable speeds, and a 4.0Ah battery and charger in the box at A$209 - the only pick that leads on both cutting and line feed at once. Owners rate it 4.4 stars, from a thin 21 reviews.
Buy this one if you want the job done quickly and you do not want to think about the line. The 33 cm swath is the widest in this ranking, matched only by the Bosch 36V that costs A$120 more and arrives as a bare tool. The feed is genuinely automatic: it pays out 1.6 mm line on its own as the old line wears back, rather than asking you to blip the trigger like the Bosch pair or tap the head on the ground like the Greenworks. On top of that it has a gear-drive transmission for torque in thicker grass and a high/low speed switch, so you can wind it back for light edging and save the pack. Stanley quotes 2.4 kg for the bare tool and fits a telescopic shaft and a rubber auxiliary handle, and the box includes a 4.0Ah pack and charger - the largest battery bundled with anything on this page - at A$209. Two honest caveats. It is brushed, not brushless, so the Bosch 36V will hold its speed better in heavy growth. And the owner evidence is thin: 4.4 stars is a good rating but only 21 people have left one, against 2,849 for the Bosch EasyGrassCut. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
9.6
Feed
9.3
Build
8.5
Battery
8.1
Owners
7.6
Owners is the 4.4★ Amazon AU rating from 21 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 9.6 (rubric 9.5): Card: 33 cm swath (8.5), the widest here, plus the gear-drive transmission and the user-selectable high/low speed (+0.5 each); brushed and 1.6 mm line, so no further bonus applies.
Feed 9.3 (rubric 9): Card: automatic feed that pays out 1.6 mm line on its own (8), plus a telescopic shaft and 2.4 kg bare (+0.5 each); no dedicated edging mode is published.
Build 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: gear-drive transmission, full debris guard and two-stage trigger on Stanley's Australian warranty with spare spools stocked locally; polymer housing and no plant-protection stirrup.
Battery 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Card: brushed kit (5.5) plus 1.5 for the included 4.0 Ah pack and 0.5 for the breadth of the V20 range sold in Australia; no per-charge runtime figure is published.
Pros
+ 33 cm swath, the widest in this ranking, and the only wide head that comes with a battery in the box
+ Genuine automatic line feed rather than a bump head or a trigger-release feed - the mechanism owners complain about least
+ Gear-drive transmission plus a high/low speed switch, so there is torque for thick grass and economy for light edging
+ Includes a 4.0Ah pack and charger, the biggest battery bundled with any pick here, at A$209
+ 2.4 kg bare with a telescopic shaft and adjustable auxiliary handle
Cons
− Brushed motor, so it will bog in heavy growth where the brushless Bosch 36V keeps its speed
− Only 21 owner reviews - the rating is good but the sample is far thinner than the Bosch and Kärcher picks
− No dedicated edging mode is published, which the BLACK+DECKER, Bosch EasyGrassCut and Kärcher all have
− At 4.7 kg shipped with the 4.0Ah pack fitted it is not a light tool to hold out at arm's length
Stanley V2033cm SwathAutomatic FeedGear DriveVariable SpeedKit With 4.0Ah
BLACK+DECKER 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Kit, 28cm, 2.0Ah)
BLACK+DECKER 18V28cm SwathAFS Auto Feed
Value
Rank #2
BLACK+DECKER 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Kit, 28cm, 2.0Ah)
Our Verdict
The most complete package here: automatic line feed, a proper flip-to-edge mode on its own guide wheel, two-speed power select, and an 18V 2.0Ah battery and charger in the box. It also carries the highest owner rating in the category.
Buy this one if you want the trimmer that needs the least learning. The AFS automatic feed pays out line without you doing anything, and the flip-to-edge mechanism is the best-executed edging system on this page: the head rotates and drops onto its own guide wheel, so you run it along a driveway lip and get a clean vertical face without having to hold the angle yourself. Power Select gives you two speed settings, which matters more than it sounds on a 2.0Ah pack - low is plenty for a weekly tidy and roughly doubles what you get from a charge. The telescopic tube and the adjustable second handle mean it fits tall and short users properly. At A$192 with an 18V 2.0Ah battery and charger, it is the cheapest complete working tool in this ranking, and at 4.5 stars from 116 owners it is also the best-rated. What you give up against the Stanley is cutting width: 28 cm against 33 cm, and no gear-drive transmission, so a long run takes longer and heavy growth will slow it. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
8.5
Feed
9.3
Build
8.1
Battery
7.8
Owners
7.9
Owners is the 4.5★ Amazon AU rating from 116 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: 28 cm swath (7.5) plus 0.5 for the Power Select two-speed control; brushed, no gear-drive claim and no line gauge published.
Feed 9.3 (rubric 9): Card: AFS automatic single-line feed (8), plus the flip-to-edge mode on its own guide wheel and the telescopic tube (+0.5 each); about 2.6 kg bare misses the weight bonus.
Build 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Card: full guard, edging guide wheel and adjustable second handle on a 2-year Australian warranty with spares widely stocked; all-polymer housing and no gear-drive transmission.
Battery 7.8 (rubric 7): Card: brushed kit (5.5) plus 1 for the included 18V 2.0 Ah pack and 0.5 for the breadth of the BLACK+DECKER 18V range in Australia; no runtime figure published.
Pros
+ 4.5 stars from 116 owners, the highest rating in this category on a sample worth trusting
+ AFS automatic single-line feed - no trigger blipping and no tapping the head on the ground
+ The best edging system here: the head flips and runs on its own guide wheel for a clean vertical face
+ Power Select two-speed control noticeably extends what you get from the 2.0Ah pack
+ A$192 including an 18V 2.0Ah battery and charger, the cheapest complete working tool in this ranking
Cons
− 28 cm swath against the Stanley's 33 cm, so open ground takes longer
− Brushed motor with no gear-drive transmission - it will slow in thick or wet growth
− The included 2.0Ah pack is small; a longer session needs a second battery
− All-polymer housing with no plant-protection stirrup
BLACK+DECKER 18V28cm SwathAFS Auto FeedFlip To EdgeTwo SpeedKit With 2.0Ah
Bosch Home & Garden 36V Brushless Cordless Line Trimmer (Skin, 33cm)
36V Power For AllBosch Green33cm Swath
Premium
Rank #3
Bosch Home & Garden 36V Brushless Cordless Line Trimmer (Skin, 33cm)
Our Verdict
The only brushless tool here, with a 33 cm swath and Bosch's Syneon load management. It is also the dearest, arrives as a bare tool, and runs 36V POWER FOR ALL packs that none of the 18V picks share.
Buy this one if the grass regularly gets away from you and you are tired of a trimmer bogging down in it. It is the only brushless pick in this category, and that is what you are paying for: the motor holds its speed in growth that slows the brushed tools, and Syneon load management lets it trade power against endurance instead of simply stalling. The 33 cm swath matches the Stanley's, and the EasyWind spool makes reloading line genuinely quick, which is not the same thing as an automatic feed - the feed itself is semi-automatic, advancing on each trigger release, so you still blip the trigger as you work. The catch is the battery and it is a real one. This is 36V POWER FOR ALL, a physically separate and dearer green Bosch class from the 18V POWER FOR ALL packs that run the EasyGrassCut at rank six and the Husqvarna Aspire at rank five. Existing Bosch green 18V batteries will not fit, and far fewer tools share the 36V packs. At A$329 as a skin it is the most expensive pick here by a clear margin, and at 3.3 kg bare it is the heaviest. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
9.3
Feed
8.1
Build
8.9
Battery
7.8
Owners
7.2
Owners is the 4.2★ Amazon AU rating from 84 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 9.3 (rubric 9): Card: 33 cm swath (8.5) plus 0.5 for the brushless motor; Syneon holds speed under load but is not a user-selectable speed, so it earns no variable-speed bonus.
Feed 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Card: semi-automatic feed advancing on trigger release (7.5); EasyWind speeds reloading but is not a feed mechanism, and there is no edging mode, telescopic or split shaft; 3.3 kg bare.
Build 8.9 (rubric 8.5): Card: brushless drive with Syneon electronics, full guard and plant-protection stirrup, and Bosch's 3-year warranty on registration behind a national service network.
Battery 7.8 (rubric 7): Card: brushless skin (7); the 36 V Power For All class is stocked locally but shares nothing with 18 V and spans far fewer tools, so the platform bonus and the narrow-platform penalty cancel.
Pros
+ The only brushless motor in this category, so it holds speed in growth that slows every other pick
+ 33 cm swath, equal widest here, with Syneon electronics managing power against runtime
+ EasyWind spool makes reloading line markedly faster than a conventional head
+ Bosch's 3-year warranty on registration and the deepest spare-spool supply of any brand here
Cons
− 36V POWER FOR ALL is a separate battery class - Bosch green 18V packs do not fit, so this starts a second and dearer collection
− A$329 as a bare tool with no battery or charger, the highest price in the category
− 3.3 kg bare, the heaviest pick here, and there is no telescopic or split shaft
− Semi-automatic feed only, and no dedicated edging mode - the cheaper EasyGrassCut has one
36V Power For AllBosch Green33cm SwathBrushlessEasyWind SpoolSkin Only
A 30 cm swath, a rotating head that drops into a dedicated edging position and a real-time LED charge display, for A$81.71 as a skin. The cheapest way into a wide head on this page by a wide margin.
Buy this one if you already own Kärcher 18V batteries, or if you want the widest head you can get for under a hundred dollars and you are willing to buy a pack separately. For A$81.71 it brings a 30 cm swath - wider than the BLACK+DECKER above it and both 26 cm Bosch tools - a head that rotates into a proper edging position, a plant-protection stirrup to keep the line off the stems of things you want to keep, and a real-time LED display showing charge as you work, which nothing else here has at any price. Kärcher also has a genuine Australian dealer network behind it, so spares are not a problem. Two things to be clear about. The listing does not state the line feed mechanism anywhere, which is why it scores provisionally on our feed rubric rather than being credited with an automatic head: assume you will be managing the line more actively than on the Stanley or BLACK+DECKER. And the Kärcher 18V platform, while real and locally stocked, spans far fewer tools than the 18V ranges from Bosch or BLACK+DECKER, so a battery bought for this trimmer has less to do when the lawn is finished. Stock was showing as low when we checked. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
8.5
Feed
8.1
Build
8.5
Battery
6.6
Owners
7.7
Owners is the 4.4★ Amazon AU rating from 281 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: 30 cm swath (8) at 7,800 rpm; brushed and single-speed with no gear-drive claim and no published line gauge, so no bonus applies.
Feed 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Card: the listing does not state the feed mechanism, so the provisional 7 applies, plus 0.5 for the rotating head that drops into a dedicated edging position; fixed shaft.
Build 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: debris guard plus plant-protection stirrup, rubberised grips, tilt-angle adjustment and a real-time LED charge display, on Kärcher's Australian warranty and dealer network.
Battery 6.6 (rubric 5.5): Card: brushed skin (5.5); Kärcher 18 V packs are stocked locally but the platform spans far fewer tools than the other 18 V ranges here, so no platform bonus, and no runtime figure is published.
Pros
+ A$81.71 for a 30 cm swath - the cheapest route to a wide head on this page by a large margin
+ Rotating head drops into a dedicated edging position, and the plant-protection stirrup keeps line off stems
+ Real-time LED charge display, which no other pick here offers at any price
+ 4.4 stars from 281 owners, the second strongest owner evidence in the category
+ Kärcher's Australian dealer network means spare spools and service are easy to find
Cons
− A skin: no battery or charger, and the Kärcher 18V platform runs fewer tools than the Bosch or BLACK+DECKER ranges
− The listing never states the line feed mechanism, so we score it provisionally rather than assume an automatic head
− Brushed, single-speed, no gear drive and no telescopic shaft
− Showing as low stock when we last checked
Kärcher 18V30cm SwathEdging ModeLED Charge DisplayPlant GuardSkin Only
Husqvarna Aspire 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Skin, 28cm)
Power For All 18V28cm SwathDual Line
Value
Rank #5
Husqvarna Aspire 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Skin, 28cm)
Our Verdict
A 28 cm dual-line head on a telescopic, collapsible shaft from a premium garden brand, running POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE packs - so a green Bosch battery runs it. Only three owners have reviewed it.
Buy this one if you already own Bosch green 18V batteries, because this is the quiet cross-platform bargain in this category. Husqvarna's Aspire range is part of the POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE, the same 18V standard as Bosch Home & Garden, which means the pack and charger that run your EasyGrassCut will run this too - and vice versa. For A$199 you get a 28 cm dual-line head at 6,800 rpm, a telescopic shaft, a soft-grip handle and a genuinely thoughtful storage design: the parts collapse down and there is an integrated hook, which matters in a small shed or if the trimmer travels in a car. Husqvarna's Australian dealer network and parts supply are among the best of any brand here. The honest reservations are about evidence rather than engineering. Only three people have reviewed it and they average 2.8 stars, which is far too small a sample to mean much in either direction but is not reassuring either. The listing also never states the feed mechanism, so we score that provisionally. And note what Amazon's title does not make obvious: this is the version without the battery and charger, despite being called a kit. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
8.1
Feed
8.5
Build
8.5
Battery
7.0
Owners
7.1
Owners is the 2.8★ Amazon AU rating from 3 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Card: 28 cm swath (7.5) running dual lines at 6,800 rpm; brushed and single-speed with no gear-drive claim and no published line gauge, so no bonus applies.
Feed 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: the listing does not state the feed mechanism, so the provisional 7 applies, plus the telescopic shaft and the collapsible shaft joint (+0.5 each); 2.6 kg just misses the weight bonus.
Build 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: Husqvarna's Australian dealer network and parts supply behind the warranty, with a full guard and an integrated storage hook; Aspire is their entry DIY range rather than the trade product.
Battery 7.0 (rubric 6): Card: brushed skin (5.5) plus 0.5 because Power For All Alliance is a cross-brand 18 V standard, so Bosch green packs run it; no runtime figure, and the pack and charger are excluded.
Pros
+ Runs POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE 18V packs, so a green Bosch Home & Garden battery powers it directly
+ 28 cm dual-line head with a telescopic shaft and collapsible parts plus an integrated storage hook
+ Husqvarna's Australian dealer network and parts supply are among the strongest here
+ 2.6 kg, lighter than every pick above it except the Bosch EasyGrassCut
Cons
− Only three owner reviews, averaging 2.8 stars - far too thin a sample to rely on
− Sold as a skin despite the word Kit in the Amazon title: the 2.5Ah battery and charger are explicitly excluded
− The listing never states the line feed mechanism, so we score it provisionally
− Brushed, single-speed, no gear drive and no dedicated edging mode
Power For All 18V28cm SwathDual LineTelescopic ShaftCollapsibleSkin Only
Bosch Home & Garden 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Skin, 26cm)
Power For All 18VBosch Green26cm Swath
Budget
Rank #6
Bosch Home & Garden 18V Cordless Line Trimmer (Skin, 26cm)
Our Verdict
The most-owned line trimmer on Amazon AU by a huge margin - 2,849 reviews - and the lightest here at 1.9 kg, with a click-and-twist edging mode. A 26 cm skin at A$120 on Bosch green 18V.
Buy this one if you already have Bosch green 18V packs and the work is detail rather than distance. It is the most-owned trimmer in this category by an enormous margin: 2,849 reviews at 4.2 stars, which is roughly ten times the evidence behind any other pick here and the main reason it earns a slot despite the narrowest head on the page. At 1.9 kg bare it is also the lightest tool here by some way, and that matters more than the spec sheet suggests when you are working along a fence at arm's length. The head spins at 9,000 rpm, the fastest of any pick, and the edging mode is well judged: a button press and a twist of the handle and you are cutting a vertical face, no bending and no tools. The feed is semi-automatic, paying out a little line each time you release the trigger, which most owners get used to within one session. The limits are straightforward. The 26 cm swath is the narrowest here, so a long boundary run simply takes longer than it would with the Stanley or the Bosch 36V. There is no telescopic shaft. And it is a skin - at A$120 it looks cheap, but you still need an 18V POWER FOR ALL pack and charger, which is most of the difference between it and the complete BLACK+DECKER kit. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
7.8
Feed
8.9
Build
8.5
Battery
7.0
Owners
7.0
Owners is the 4.2★ Amazon AU rating from 2,855 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 7.8 (rubric 7): Card: 26 cm swath (7); the head spins at 9,000 rpm, the fastest here, but the rubric's bonuses cover brushless, gear drive, selectable speeds and 2.0 mm line, and it has none of them.
Feed 8.9 (rubric 8.5): Card: semi-automatic feed paying out line on each trigger release (7.5), plus the click-and-twist edging mode and 1.9 kg bare (+0.5 each), the lightest tool in the category.
Build 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: full guard and plant-protection stirrup, two-stage start, Bosch's 3-year warranty on registration and the deepest spare-spool supply here; polymer housing and no gear drive.
Battery 7.0 (rubric 6): Card: brushed skin (5.5) plus 0.5 because 18 V Power For All is a cross-brand alliance standard rather than one maker's platform; no per-charge runtime figure is published.
Pros
+ 2,849 owner reviews at 4.2 stars - roughly ten times the evidence behind any other pick in this category
+ 1.9 kg bare, the lightest tool here, which tells after twenty minutes along a fence line
+ Click-and-twist edging mode: a button and a handle twist, no bending and no tools
+ 9,000 rpm head, the fastest here, and the deepest spare-spool supply of any brand on this page
+ Runs 18V POWER FOR ALL, a cross-brand alliance platform that also powers the Husqvarna Aspire
Cons
− 26 cm swath, the narrowest in this ranking - a long boundary run takes noticeably longer
− A skin: the A$120 price does not include the battery and charger you need to run it
− Semi-automatic feed rather than automatic, so you blip the trigger to pay out line
− No telescopic shaft, brushed single-speed motor and no gear drive
Power For All 18VBosch Green26cm Swath1.9kgEdging ModeSkin Only
A 30 cm bump-feed head on a split shaft that comes apart for storage, and the only pick here that publishes a runtime figure. Expensive for a brushed 24V skin at A$214.22.
Buy this one if storage or transport is the constraint. The split shaft is the real feature: it comes apart in the middle, so the tool fits a small shed, a ute toolbox or a hatchback boot in a way none of the fixed-shaft picks here will. The 30 cm swath is wider than the BLACK+DECKER and both 26 cm Bosch tools, the forward handle slides along the shaft to suit your height and reach, and Greenworks is the only brand in this ranking that publishes an honest per-charge figure - 25 minutes on a 2Ah pack - rather than leaving you to guess. It also has solid owner evidence: 4.2 stars from 294 reviews. The problem is what A$214.22 buys. That is more than the complete Stanley kit with its 4.0Ah battery, and more than the BLACK+DECKER kit, and this is a brushed 24V skin with a bump feed - the mechanism where you tap the spinning head on the ground to release line, which is the one owners grumble about most. There is no edging mode and no telescopic adjustment. The 24V platform is also narrower than the 18V ranges here and Greenworks' Australian service presence is thinner than Bosch's, Kärcher's or Husqvarna's. It ships from Amazon AU.
Cutting
8.5
Feed
8.1
Build
7.8
Battery
7.0
Owners
7.1
Owners is the 4.2★ Amazon AU rating from 294 reviews, weighted toward the category average when there are few. Fewer than two published reviews of this exact model, so the owner rating carries that weight too. Tick marks show the category average.
How we scored it
Each measure is marked against the category's rubric, where 10 is the best you can buy, 8 is strong, 6 is basic but sound and 4 falls short. The bars show that mark on the Top7 scale (a 6 reads as 7.0, an 8 as 8.5); the notes quote the rubric mark.
Cutting 8.5 (rubric 8): Card: 30 cm swath (8) at 8,500 rpm on 1.65 mm line; brushed and single-speed with no gear-drive claim, so no bonus applies.
Feed 8.1 (rubric 7.5): Card: bump feed tapped on the ground (7) plus 0.5 for the split shaft that comes apart for storage; no edging mode, no telescopic adjustment, 2.9 kg bare.
Build 7.8 (rubric 7): Card: guard and safety switch with a forward handle that slides along the shaft; the listing states China as country of origin with no warranty term, and Greenworks' Australian service presence is thinner than the other brands here.
Battery 7.0 (rubric 6): Card: brushed skin (5.5) plus 0.5 for the published 25 minutes per charge on a 2 Ah pack, the only per-charge figure any pick here states; the 24 V platform is narrower than the 18 V ranges.
Pros
+ Split shaft comes apart in the middle - the only pick here that will fit a small shed or a hatchback boot
+ 30 cm swath, wider than the BLACK+DECKER and both Bosch 26 cm tools
+ The only pick in this category that publishes a per-charge runtime: 25 minutes on a 2Ah pack
+ 4.2 stars from 294 owners, among the better-evidenced picks here
+ Forward handle slides along the shaft to suit height and reach
Cons
− A$214.22 for a brushed skin - more than the Stanley kit that includes a 4.0Ah battery and charger
− Bump feed: you tap the spinning head on the ground to release line, which is awkward over gravel and beds
− No edging mode and no telescopic adjustment
− 24V platform spans fewer tools than the 18V ranges, and Greenworks' Australian service presence is thinner than the other brands here
Greenworks 24V30cm SwathSplit ShaftBump FeedPublished RuntimeSkin Only
We score cordless line trimmers across four category-specific dimensions. Cutting & Swath starts from the cutting width the manufacturer publishes, then credits a brushless motor, a gear-drive transmission, user-selectable speeds and heavier line. Line Feed & Handling is weighted deliberately high, because the feed mechanism is the single biggest source of owner complaint in this category: a fully automatic feed scores above a semi-automatic, which scores above a bump feed, which scores above manual winding, with credit added for a dedicated edging mode, a telescopic or split shaft and a genuinely light bare weight. Build & Safety weighs the guard and plant-protection stirrup, the gear housing, two-stage switching, the Australian warranty term and whether the brand has local service and spare spools on the shelf. Battery & Runtime scores what the listing actually includes rather than what the platform could offer, so a skin does not get credit for a battery the buyer still has to find, and a published per-charge runtime earns a bonus because almost nobody publishes one. Scores come from triangulating manufacturer specification sheets, Australian retailer listings and the pattern in buyer reviews. We do not physically test tools. Where a listing simply does not state the feed mechanism, as two here do not, we mark it provisionally against the rubric and say on the card that the figure is unstated rather than inventing one.
Scored on Cutting and swath 35%, Line feed and handling 25%, Build and safety 20%, Battery and runtime 20%, plus owner ratings and critic reviews
Four mechanisms exist and the difference between them is the difference between a ten-minute job and a swearing match in the driveway. A fully automatic feed senses the line wearing back and pays out more on its own: the BLACK+DECKER calls this AFS, the Stanley just calls it automatic. A semi-automatic feed, which is what both Bosch picks use, advances a short length every time you let go of the trigger, so you learn to blip the trigger as you work. A bump feed, as on the Greenworks, requires you to tap the spinning head on the ground to release line, which is fine on lawn and awkward on gravel or garden beds. Manual winding means taking the guard off. Automatic is the one to pay for if the trimmer is going to be used by someone who does not want to think about it. Whatever you buy, keep a spare spool on the shelf: the single most common cause of a trimmer that "stopped feeding" is line that has been wound on too tight or allowed to fuse in the heat.
Swath Width, and Why 26 cm Is Not Automatically Too Small
Swath is how wide a strip the head cuts. The spread here runs from 26 cm on the Bosch EasyGrassCut to 33 cm on the Stanley and the Bosch 36V. Wider is faster across open ground, and on a long fence line that difference is real. But wider heads are also heavier, harder to steer into a corner, and more likely to clip a sprinkler head or the bark of a young tree. For a courtyard, a townhouse strip or detail work around established beds, a 26 cm head is genuinely easier to use and is not the compromise the number implies. Match the swath to the longest run you have to do, not to the biggest figure on the shelf.
Green Bosch, Blue Bosch, and the POWER FOR ALL Alliance
Bosch runs two battery-incompatible ranges in Australia. Bosch Professional is the blue trade line; Bosch Home & Garden is the green DIY line, sold as EasyGrassCut, UniversalGrassCut and AdvancedGrassCut on POWER FOR ALL packs. Both Bosch picks here are green, so blue Professional batteries will not fit either. It then splits again inside green: the EasyGrassCut 18V-26 runs 18V POWER FOR ALL, while the AdvancedGrassCut 36V runs the separate and dearer 36V POWER FOR ALL class. Same colour, same naming family, different battery. The useful part is that 18V POWER FOR ALL is a cross-brand alliance, not a Bosch-only platform: Husqvarna's Aspire trimmer on this page takes the same packs, so a green Bosch battery runs the Husqvarna and vice versa. Worth knowing before you buy a second charger you do not need.
Skin or Kit: Read the Title Twice
This is where the price comparison in this category goes wrong most often. Five of our seven picks are skins - bare tools with no battery and no charger. Two are kits: the BLACK+DECKER includes an 18V 2.0Ah pack and charger at A$192, and the Stanley FatMax includes a 4.0Ah pack and charger at A$209. That makes the Kärcher at A$81.71 look like less than half the price of the Stanley, and in cash terms it is, but you still need a Kärcher 18V battery and charger before it will cut a blade of grass, and that is most of the gap. The rule of thumb: if you own nothing yet, price the kit. If you already have packs on the right platform, the skin is the bargain it appears to be. Our Battery & Runtime score counts only what is in the box for exactly this reason.
Edging, Shaft Type and Weight
Edging mode turns the head through ninety degrees so the line cuts a vertical face along a path or driveway, and it is the feature that most separates a tidy lawn from an untidy one. The Bosch EasyGrassCut does it with a button and a twist of the handle, the BLACK+DECKER flips to edge on its own guide wheel, and the Kärcher has a rotating head that drops into an edging position. Shaft type matters for storage and transport rather than cutting: the Greenworks uses a split shaft that comes apart in the middle, which suits a small shed or a hatchback boot. Weight is the specification to take most seriously if the trimmer will be held out at arm's length for an hour, and it is also the specification most often misreported on Amazon, where the "item weight" field frequently carries the shipping weight. The manufacturer figures for these picks run from 1.9 kg bare for the Bosch EasyGrassCut to 3.3 kg for the Bosch 36V, and that is a difference you feel within fifteen minutes.
The Amazon AU Brand Gap, and the Accessories Trap
Ask an Australian to name a whipper snipper brand and you will hear Ryobi, Ozito, Victa, Stihl or EGO. Almost none of them are properly available on Amazon AU: Ryobi and Ozito are Bunnings-exclusive, Stihl sells through its dealer network, and the Ryobi listings that do appear are third-party resellers quoting a dispatch window rather than holding stock. Makita's best-reviewed skin currently has no buyable offer, and the one that is listed is a reseller asking roughly double dealer price. Milwaukee's ships from the United States. There is also a straightforward trap in the search results worth naming: this category is heavily polluted with spools and line sold under tool-shaped titles. The "DEWALT QuickFeed String Trimmer" that appears high in results with more than 4,400 ratings at around A$70 is a 277-gram replacement spool head, not a trimmer, and it ships from the Amazon Global Store. Check the weight and the included components before you believe a price that looks too good.
A line trimmer is the tool that decides whether a mown lawn looks finished or merely cut. The mower handles the open ground; the trimmer does the fence line, the base of the clothesline, the gap between the path and the garden bed, and the strip along the colorbond that no mower wheel can reach. Through an Australian spring that is a weekly job, because kikuyu and couch run sideways into everything and buffalo throws runners across the edge of a path within a fortnight.
The specification that actually governs whether you enjoy the job is not the swath width or the voltage on the box. It is the line feed mechanism. A fully automatic head pays out new line on its own as the old line wears back. A semi-automatic head advances a little every time you release the trigger. A bump feed makes you tap the spinning head on the ground to release more. A manual head means stopping, pulling the guard off and winding by hand. Owner reviews across every brand in this category come back to the same complaint in the same words: the line would not feed, or it fed too much and welded itself inside the spool. Two of our seven picks run a genuine automatic feed, and that is the single biggest reason they rank where they do.
The second thing to settle before you spend anything is the battery, because five of these seven are sold as skins with no battery or charger in the box. Bosch is where buyers come unstuck, and it is worth being precise about why. Bosch sells two 18V ranges in Australia that do not share batteries: Bosch Professional, the blue trade line, and Bosch Home & Garden, the green DIY line sold as EasyGrassCut, UniversalGrassCut and AdvancedGrassCut on POWER FOR ALL packs. Both Bosch picks on this page are green Home & Garden, and a blue Professional battery will not run either one. There is a further split inside the green range: the EasyGrassCut 18V-26 takes 18V POWER FOR ALL packs, while the AdvancedGrassCut 36V takes 36V POWER FOR ALL, a physically separate and dearer battery class. Buying the 36V skin for your existing 18V packs leaves you with a tool you cannot switch on.
One genuinely useful cross-brand fact sits inside that mess. POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE is a shared 18V standard rather than a Bosch-only one, and Husqvarna's Aspire range is part of it. A Bosch green 18V pack runs the Husqvarna Aspire trimmer on this page, and an Aspire pack runs the Bosch EasyGrassCut. If you already own either platform, your choice here is wider than the badge on the tool suggests.
Finally, the brands Australians actually name when asked about whipper snippers are largely missing from Amazon AU, and we would rather say so than quietly leave them out. Ryobi, Ozito and EGO are Bunnings-exclusive here and effectively absent; the Ryobi listings that do surface are third-party resellers quoting "usually dispatched within" a number of days rather than holding local stock. Makita is a near miss twice over: the DUR193Z skin carries more than 1,500 owner reviews and currently has no buyable offer at all, while the DUR181Z that is listed sits with a third-party reseller at A$449, roughly double what that tool costs through a Makita dealer. Milwaukee's M18 trimmer ships from the Amazon Global Store in the United States rather than from Australia. None of those earned a slot.
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Cordless Line Trimmers — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a line trimmer, a whipper snipper and a brushcutter?+
Line trimmer and whipper snipper are the same tool under two names - whipper snipper is simply what Australians call it, and the manufacturers use line trimmer or string trimmer on the box. Both describe a tool that cuts with a spinning nylon line. A brushcutter is a different and heavier machine: it takes a metal blade instead of line, usually runs a straight shaft with a shoulder harness, and is built for woody weeds, blackberry and light scrub rather than lawn edges. None of the seven picks on this page is a brushcutter, and none of them accepts a metal blade. If you are clearing a paddock or a neglected block rather than finishing a mown lawn, you want a brushcutter and most likely a petrol one.
Automatic, semi-automatic or bump feed - which line feed should I buy?+
Automatic, if the budget reaches it. A fully automatic head pays out new line as the old line wears back, with nothing for you to do, and it is the mechanism on the Stanley FatMax and the BLACK+DECKER. Semi-automatic, which both Bosch picks use, advances the line each time you release the trigger; it works well once you get into the rhythm of blipping the trigger, and it gives you more control over how fast you burn through line. Bump feed, on the Greenworks, means tapping the spinning head on the ground to release more, which is easy on lawn and fiddly around gravel, pavers and garden beds. The mechanism matters more than almost any other specification here because it is what people actually complain about: across every brand, the most common negative review in this category is about line that would not feed or that fused inside the spool.
What size line trimmer do I need for a suburban block?+
For a standard suburban block with a mown lawn, a fence line and some garden-bed edges, a 26 to 30 cm swath on an 18V or 20V platform is the sweet spot, and that covers five of the seven picks here. Step up to a 33 cm swath if you have a long boundary run, a nature strip, or grass that routinely gets away from you between cuts, because the wider head simply covers ground faster. Go the other way - down to 26 cm - if the work is mostly detail: courtyards, townhouse strips, trimming around established plantings where a wide head is clumsy. Runtime matters as much as swath for a bigger block: on a single mid-size pack most of these trimmers will give you fifteen to twenty-five minutes of actual trigger time, which is enough for a typical block's edges but not for a half-acre, so plan on a second battery rather than a bigger head.
Can I use a Bosch battery in the Husqvarna Aspire trimmer?+
Yes, provided it is a green Bosch Home & Garden 18V POWER FOR ALL pack rather than a blue Bosch Professional one. POWER FOR ALL ALLIANCE is a shared 18V standard across several brands rather than a Bosch-only platform, and Husqvarna's Aspire range is part of it, so the packs and chargers interchange with Bosch green. That cuts both ways: an Aspire battery will also run the Bosch EasyGrassCut on this page. What will not work is mixing in Bosch's blue Professional 18V packs, which are a different and incompatible range despite sharing the voltage and the brand name, or Bosch's 36V POWER FOR ALL packs, which are a separate class again and are what the AdvancedGrassCut 36V needs.
Should I buy the skin or the kit?+
If you do not already own batteries on that platform, buy the kit, because a skin with no pack and no charger is not a working tool and the battery is a large share of the real cost. Five of these seven picks are skins: both Bosch models, the Kärcher, the Husqvarna and the Greenworks. Two are kits: the BLACK+DECKER comes with an 18V 2.0Ah battery and charger, and the Stanley FatMax comes with a 4.0Ah battery and charger, which is the largest pack included with anything here. If you already have packs on the right platform then the skins are genuinely the better buy - the Kärcher at A$81.71 is the cheapest way into a 30 cm trimmer on this page by a wide margin - but check the platform carefully first, because a battery that nearly fits is a battery that does not fit.
Can I fit a brushcutter blade to a cordless line trimmer?+
Not to any of the trimmers on this page, and you should not try. These are all DIY-class line trimmers with plastic guards, polymer heads and in most cases a curved or telescopic shaft, none of which is designed or rated for a metal blade. Fitting one makes the tool more dangerous in two specific ways: the guard will not contain what a blade throws, and a blade that catches on something woody will kick the whole tool sideways with far more force than a line head ever generates. Tools that take a blade are built for it, with a straight shaft, a clutch, a metal blade guard and a shoulder harness as standard. If you need to cut woody weeds or scrub, buy a brushcutter rather than modifying a trimmer.
