The 7 Best Reel Mowers of 2026

Twenty inches of cut is the whole argument for this one. On a lot big enough that a 14-inch mower turns mowing into an afternoon, the Scotts 2000-20S covers the same ground in noticeably fewer passes, and that, more than blade count or finish, is why we rate it the pick for larger lawns in this group.

The reel is a five-blade ball-bearing unit with heat-treated alloy-steel blades, and the height snaps between nine positions from 1 to 3 inches. That is the highest top setting here, which is what you want on a lawn that gets a little long between cuttings, and the quick-snap adjustment takes seconds rather than minutes.

The 10-inch dual-tracking wheels hold a straight line, and the mower is quiet in the way that surprises people who have only used gas: we could hear birds over it on an evening pass. The part we watch is the wheel hardware. Check the axle nuts after the first few mowings and again at the start of each season, because a wheel working loose is the one failure that sidelines this mower.

At 26.9 pounds it is about as heavy as our top pick, and the cushioned ergonomic grip keeps a long pass comfortable. Assembly is tool-less, which matters more here than on a 14-inch mower simply because there is more handle to put together.

Seven blades in a 16-inch reel is the densest cutting circle in this group, and that density is what makes the Earthwise the pick for the fine, thick, low-growing grasses, Bermuda, zoysia, centipede, and St. Augustine, that a five-blade reel tends to ride over.

We rate its cut near the top of this set on a short, dense lawn. The blades meet the grass more often per inch of travel, so the finish is finer and the lawn reads as striped rather than scuffed. It asks for the same discipline the rest of these do: this is a mower for a lawn you already keep at an inch or two, not the first cut of May after three weeks away.

The height range is 0.5 to 2.5 inches over seven positions, and that is where our enthusiasm cools. Dropping under an inch is a multi-step job at the wheels rather than a lever flip, so plan to set the height in spring and leave it. On a warm-season lawn, where the height barely changes all season, that is a small price.

At 21.8 pounds it is easy to push on flat ground and light enough to hang on a shed wall, and the steel side plates give it a sturdier feel than the plastic-heavy builds. Through a tight turn at the end of a pass it drags a little, so on a lawn with a few corners expect to straighten up with an extra pass.

At 19 pounds the American 1204-14 is a mower you carry in one hand, hang on a hook, and forget about until Saturday. For a courtyard, a strip of grass beside a driveway, or a lawn a kid is expected to cut, that convenience does more work than any line on the box.

The reel is a four-blade unit with a half-inch to 1¾-inch height range, low enough for a tight, tidy lawn and narrow enough that you need to stay on top of the mowing. Do that and the scissor action leaves a cleaner edge than a rotary blade will; skip a week in June and you will be going over the same strip twice.

Twigs are the thing that tries our patience. A small stick caught between the reel and the bed knife stops the blades, and the fix is to back up and pull it out. Walk the lawn for sticks after a windy day and the 1204-14 runs clean; skip that and you will spend more time clearing it than mowing.

Three height positions cover the range, and assembly is a few minutes with no tools at all. It is the simplest push reel mower here in the way that matters: no gas, no battery, no cord, and nothing that turns a small lawn into a project.

The LawnMaster is the cheapest way into a reel mower in this group, and it does not feel like a penalty box. We rate it the best value here because the basics are right: a five-blade hardened-steel reel, 10-inch front wheels, and a 14-inch deck, the same layout the mid-priced mowers use.

Assembly takes no tools and very little time, and the four-position height adjustment runs from 1 to 2.5 inches, which covers a lawn kept at a normal height. The 10-inch front wheels are why it steers so well: on a small lawn with beds and a walkway to mow around, it turns far more easily than the 8.5-inch wheels on the American 1204-14.

Where the savings show up is the build. The deck and fittings feel lighter-duty than the American or the Great States, and this is the one here we trust least on rough ground. On a tidy suburban lawn that trade is fair; on a yard full of stumps and dips, it is not.

One thing the product photos do not make obvious: the collection bag in the pictures is not in the box. Clippings go back on the lawn, which is what a reel mower does best anyway. What you do get is a mower that stores small, tucking against a shed wall in a way the 18- and 20-inch models cannot.

The 1604-16 is the only mower here that comes with a catcher, and that changes the routine more than the spec sheet suggests: instead of a lawn stippled with clippings, you get a bag to empty.

The rest is straightforward. An 18-pound frame, a five-blade reel for a scissor cut, and a half-inch to 2.5-inch height range across four positions that you set by repositioning the wheels and roller. That is a five-minute job twice a season rather than a lever you flip, so pick a height and stay with it.

We like it for the edges of a property, a lawn that runs up to a driveway, a pool deck, or a neighbor's patio where blown clippings are unwelcome. The catcher is honest about its limits: it collects a portion of the clippings rather than all of them, so plan on a light rake regardless. What it does buy you is fewer clippings tracked indoors.

Empty the bag often. A catcher on a 16-inch mower fills faster than you expect on thick spring grass, and the support strap is what keeps it hanging straight, so check that the strap is snug before the first pass and again after you empty it.

Some lawns do not need a mower so much as a trimmer with wheels: the strip between the walk and the street, the patch inside a fence, the grass between a shed and a property line. That is the job the 14-inch Scotts 304-14S does well.

It weighs 18.1 pounds, carries a five-blade ball-bearing reel and 8.5-inch composite wheels, and adjusts from a half inch to 1¾ inches across three positions. On short, dry grass we found it leaves a tidy, trimmed edge, and the T-handle with a cushioned grip is comfortable for the ten minutes the job takes.

Push it into anything longer and the mood changes. Grass that has gotten ahead of you folds under the reel instead of cutting, and a piece of bark mulch flicked out of a bed will jam the blades until you back up and clear it. Both are the ordinary physics of a reel mower, and both are easier to live with when the area is small.

Set against the American 1204-14, we put the two within a hair of each other: the Scotts leaves the tidier cut on tight, short grass, while the American costs less and lifts lighter. Neither difference is decisive, so buy on what is available and keep it for a small, dry, flat patch. It is the mower you grab for a five-minute cleanup when the big one stays in the shed.