Best Hedge Trimmers (2026): Cordless, Corded & Pole

A good hedge trimmer turns a weekend chore into a 20-minute job, but the gap between a clean, professional-looking finish and a chewed-up mess usually comes down to picking the right tool for your hedges. After comparing this year’s most popular cordless, corded, and pole models, we narrowed the field to seven trimmers that cover everything from tidy boxwood borders to overgrown privacy screens. Whether you want maximum cutting power, the lightest tool your wrists can find, or the reach to top a 10-foot hedge from the ground, there’s a pick below for you.

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Model	Power	Blade length	Best for
EGO Power+ HT2410	56V battery	24 in	Best overall
Greenworks 40V HT40L00	40V battery	24 in	Best cordless value
BLACK+DECKER BEHT350	Corded 4.0 A	22 in	Best corded
RYOBI ONE+ 18V 18″	18V battery	18 in	Best budget
Greenworks 40V G40PSH (pole)	40V battery	20 in head	Best long-reach
DEWALT DCHT820	20V MAX battery	22 in	Best for thick branches
RYOBI ONE+ OHT1845	18V battery	~18 in (45 cm)	Best lightweight

The 7 best hedge trimmers of 2026

EGO Power+ HT2410 — best overall

If you want one trimmer that does almost everything well, the EGO HT2410 is the easy recommendation. It runs on EGO’s 56V Arc Lithium platform — the same batteries that power their mowers and chainsaws — and pairs a brushless motor with 24-inch dual-action hardened steel blades that cut cleanly through branches up to a full inch thick. That extra cutting capacity is what separates it from lighter homeowner trimmers: where a budget tool stalls and tears, the EGO keeps slicing at 3,000 strokes per minute without bogging down.

Runtime is the other reason it earns the top spot. With a 2.5Ah battery you’ll see roughly 60–75 minutes of trimming, which is more than enough to do an entire suburban property in one charge. The bare-tool version is the smart buy if you already own EGO gear; if not, the kit with battery and charger is worth the premium for the platform alone. The only knock is weight — at around 8 pounds with a battery, it’s noticeably heavier than the lightweight picks below, so overhead work tires you faster.

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Greenworks 40V HT40L00 — best cordless value

The Greenworks 40V hedge trimmer is the pick for most homeowners who want cordless freedom without paying premium-platform prices. Its 24-inch blade matches the EGO for length, and the motor spins at roughly 3,400 strokes per minute — one of the fastest in its class — so it powers through soft, leafy growth and light woody stems with a clean finish. The 3/4-inch tooth gap is a touch smaller than the EGO’s, which matters only if you routinely tackle overgrown, finger-thick branches.

What makes it a value standout is the balance of weight and price. At under 7 pounds it’s comfortable to hold at hedge-top height, and the 40V Greenworks battery system is one of the most affordable cordless ecosystems you can buy into, with mowers, blowers, and string trimmers all sharing the same packs. For a typical privacy hedge or a row of foundation shrubs, this is all the trimmer most people will ever need.

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BLACK+DECKER BEHT350 — best corded

Not everyone needs a battery. If your hedges are close to an outlet, the corded BLACK+DECKER BEHT350 delivers unlimited runtime for a fraction of the price of any cordless model — usually under $60. Its 4.0-amp motor drives a 22-inch dual-action blade that runs smoother and with less vibration than single-action designs, and the full wraparound front handle lets you switch grips easily as you angle the tool along the top and sides of a hedge.

BLACK+DECKER rates the cut capacity at 3/4 inch, though in practice the moving blade favors stems closer to 1/2 inch, so think of it as a maintenance tool for hedges you trim regularly rather than a brush-clearing machine. The trade-off you accept for the price and endless runtime is the cord itself — you’ll need an outdoor-rated extension cord and a bit of cord-management discipline to avoid trimming through it. For a small yard with mains power nearby, it’s hard to beat the value.

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RYOBI ONE+ 18V 18″ Hedge Trimmer — best budget

The RYOBI ONE+ 18-inch hedge trimmer is the smart entry point for anyone who wants cordless convenience on a tight budget — especially if you already own ONE+ drills or other tools. The huge ONE+ ecosystem means the bare tool is genuinely cheap, and the 18V battery you may already have for your drill drops right in. The 18-inch dual-action blade is sized for everyday shaping of small to medium hedges, ornamentals, and shrubs rather than heavy renovation work.

You give up some blade length and raw power compared to the 40V and 56V picks, and runtime on a small battery is modest, so this isn’t the trimmer for a long row of dense privacy hedge. But for a homeowner with a few bushes to keep tidy, it’s an inexpensive, reliable way into a battery platform that scales as you add tools. Pair it with a higher-capacity 4.0Ah pack and the runtime complaint largely disappears.

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Greenworks 40V G40PSH — best pole / long-reach

For tall hedges and the tops of arborvitae that you simply can’t reach from the ground, a pole hedge trimmer keeps you off the ladder. The Greenworks 40V G40PSH puts its cutting head on an extension shaft, giving you roughly 8–10 feet of working reach depending on your height, and the head articulates so you can lay the blade flat across a hedge top or angle it down the far side. The 40V battery supplies plenty of power for the leafy growth you’ll typically be tipping back up high.

Pole trimmers are inherently more tiring than handheld units because you’re holding weight out in front of you, so take breaks and let the tool’s weight rest against the hedge where you can. It shares the same affordable 40V batteries as the Greenworks handheld pick above, which makes owning both far cheaper than buying into two separate platforms. If you have a single tall hedge, this is the safest way to maintain it.

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DEWALT DCHT820 — best for thick branches

When your hedges have been left to run wild and you’re cutting into genuinely woody growth, the DEWALT DCHT820 is built for it. Its 22-inch blade uses laser-cut, hooked-tooth geometry that grabs and pulls thicker stems into the cut instead of skating off them, and the high-output motor drives the blade at up to 2,800 strokes per minute through branches up to 3/4 inch thick. A friction clutch protects the gearbox if you snag something the tool can’t cut, which adds real longevity on tough jobs.

It runs on the enormous DEWALT 20V MAX platform, so if you already own DEWALT cordless tools the bare-tool version is a no-brainer; the 5.0Ah kit delivers up to around 75 minutes of runtime. At about 7.5 pounds it’s manageable, and the hooked teeth genuinely make a difference on overgrown hedges where standard blades just bounce. For pure cutting aggression on woody material, this is our pick.

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RYOBI ONE+ OHT1845 — best lightweight

If wrist fatigue or overhead reach is your main concern, the RYOBI ONE+ OHT1845 is the most comfortable trimmer here to hold for long stretches. It’s the newest and most compact body in RYOBI’s lineup, weighing only about 5.5 pounds with a battery, with a wraparound front handle and over-molded grips that make it easy to control — even one-handed for quick detail work. The roughly 18-inch (45 cm) diamond-ground blade keeps a sharp edge and is well suited to ornamentals, topiary, and tidy maintenance trimming.

The trade-off for that featherweight feel is an 18mm (about 3/4-inch) cut capacity and a blade speed tuned for finesse rather than brute force, so it’s not the tool for renovating an overgrown screen. But for shaping, light regular trimming, and anyone who finds heavier trimmers punishing on the arms, it’s a joy to use — and like the budget pick, it taps into the same ONE+ batteries you may already own.

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How to choose a hedge trimmer

Blade length and tooth gap. Two numbers matter most. Blade length determines how much hedge you cut per pass — 18-inch blades suit small shrubs and topiary, while 22–24 inches make quick work of long, flat privacy hedges. The tooth gap (cut capacity) tells you how thick a stem the blade can swallow: 1/2 inch is fine for regularly maintained hedges, 3/4 inch handles most homeowner needs, and a true 1-inch gap (like the EGO’s) is what you want for neglected, woody growth.

Battery vs. corded. Cordless models give you freedom to roam the whole yard and have gotten powerful enough to rival gas, but you pay more and runtime is finite. Corded trimmers like the BEHT350 never run out of power and cost far less, at the price of being tethered to an outlet and an extension cord. If you’re already invested in a battery platform — EGO, Greenworks, RYOBI ONE+, or DEWALT 20V MAX — buying a bare tool on that system is almost always the cheapest path.

Weight and balance. A trimmer that feels fine in the store gets heavy fast when you hold it at shoulder height. If you have a lot of tall trimming or you’re sensitive to arm fatigue, prioritize a lightweight model like the OHT1845 over raw power. Well-balanced dual-action blades also vibrate less, which makes a real difference over a long session.

Pole reach. For anything you can’t safely reach standing flat-footed, a pole trimmer beats a ladder every time. Look at the total reach for your height — most pole units give you 8–10 feet — and check that the head articulates so you can angle the blade across hedge tops and down the far side without contorting yourself.

Safety. Always use two hands on a handheld trimmer, wear eye protection and cut-resistant gloves, and keep both hands behind the blade guard. Unplug or remove the battery before clearing jams, never trim above shoulder height with a handheld unit (that’s what a pole trimmer is for), and watch for hidden fence wire or trellis inside older hedges. A pair of safety glasses and gloves belongs in every kit — see our guide to essential garden tools for the basics worth owning.

Timing matters too: cutting at the wrong point in the season can stress a plant or sacrifice next year’s flowers, so check our notes on when to prune trees and shrubs before your first cut. And if you’re building out a full battery yard kit, our roundup of the best string trimmers pairs naturally with any of the cordless picks above.

Frequently asked questions

Cordless or corded — which is better for me?

If your hedges are near an outlet and you want to spend the least, a corded trimmer like the BLACK+DECKER BEHT350 gives unlimited runtime for under $60. If you have a larger property, hedges far from power, or you already own a battery platform, go cordless — modern 40V and 56V trimmers cut nearly as well as gas with none of the fumes or cord hassle.

How thick a branch can a hedge trimmer cut?

Look at the rated cut capacity (tooth gap). Most homeowner trimmers handle 1/2 to 3/4 inch, and a few like the EGO HT2410 reach a full inch. For anything thicker or truly woody, use loppers or a pruning saw first — forcing a hedge trimmer through oversized branches stalls the motor and dulls the blade.

Do I need a pole hedge trimmer?

Only if you have hedges taller than you can safely reach standing on the ground — typically over about 7 feet. A pole trimmer with 8–10 feet of reach lets you top tall hedges and arborvitae without a ladder, which is far safer. If all your hedges are waist- to shoulder-height, a handheld trimmer is lighter and easier to control.

How long do cordless hedge trimmer batteries last?

Expect roughly 45 to 75 minutes of trimming per charge depending on battery capacity and how dense the growth is. A 2.5Ah pack covers most small yards; step up to a 4.0Ah or 5.0Ah battery for long privacy hedges. Buying a bare tool and a spare high-capacity battery is usually the most cost-effective setup.

When is the best time to trim hedges?

For most formal hedges, late spring after the first flush of growth and again in mid- to late summer keeps them tidy. Avoid heavy cutting in early spring nesting season and right before hard frost. Flowering shrubs are timed differently — prune them after they bloom. See our pruning timing guide for plant-by-plant advice.