Best Cordless Leaf Blower Reviews 2021

The battery-powered blower landscape sure has changed since we did our first head-to-head review several years ago. There are a lot more options and the performance is leaps and bounds ahead. So who makes the best cordless leaf blower in 2021?


Best Cordless Leaf Blower Power

Ryobi 40V HP 730 CFM Blower

Best cordless leaf blower power | Ryobi 40V HP 730 CFM

When it comes to getting the highest performance the best battery-powered leaf blower isn’t quite as clear as we expected. After all, Newtons are Newtons, right?

That depends on what variables you allow for. With a standard loadout, no cordless blower hit as high a Newton force as Ryobi’s 40V HP 730 CFM model. With its base configuration, we measured 20.0 N. But cut one notch back on the flexible nozzle (it’s designed to be cut based on your preference) and we measured an impressive 21.7 N!

Stihl BGA 200 Blower

Best cordless leaf blower power | Stihl BG 200 Battery Pack Blower

Making the case for Stihl’s premium BGA 200, it hit an impressive 21.3 Newtons with both the AP3000 backpack battery and the 6.3Ah AP300 battery pack. Between the performance level and the extended runtime a backpack battery offers, there’s little doubt this is the best cordless blower for performance-minded Pros.

Quietest Cordless Leaf Blower

Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 730 CFM Blower

Best cordless leaf blower noise level

As battery-powered blowers have increased in power, their noise levels have crept up along with it. Reversing that trend, Ryobi’s 40V HP Brushless 730 CFM leaf blower crushed it in our Newton force test by hitting 21.7 N. But instead of producing the 85–88 decibels most high-performance blowers do, it’s just 72 decibels in high and 76 decibels in Turbo measuring from our operator’s ear.

Let’s put that in perspective. The SPL (decibel) scale shows that a drop of just 3 decibels is half the sound pressure level. However, a drop of 10 decibels sounds half as loud. For Ryobi, running in Turbo mode hits your unprotected ear with roughly 8x lower SPL and half the perceived loudness. It’s incredibly impressive when you’re using it side-by-side with other cordless blowers.

Though it’s a few decibels louder, the Stihl BGA 200 is another model that’s quieter than most.

Best Cordless Leaf Blower Vac

Makita 18V X2 3-in-1 Blower Vacuum Mulcher XBU04

Makita XBU04 Blower Vac - Best Cordless Leaf Blower Vac

Don’t knock it ’til you try it. Makita’s 3-in-1 cordless blower vacuum mulcher may look a little awkward, but it works really well. As a blower, it has the same performance as their 18V X2 XBU02 blower. Switching out for the vacuum attachments, this leaf-clearing beast uses a metal impeller to reduce your leaf volume up to 10x. Use it to pull leaves out of your landscaping or general cleanup around your property.

The downside is that the runtime is on the shorter side. We ran for 8:30 at top speed using a pair of 5.0Ah batteries, so you’ll want to use those speed settings to manage your runtime. The good news is that Makita’s Rapid Optimum Charger needs just 45 minutes to get them back up to a full charge.

Best Cordless Backpack Blower

Stihl BGA 200 Leaf Blower

Stihl BG 200 Battery Backpack Leaf Blower

Cordless backpack blowers differ significantly from gas backpack blowers. Rather than moving air from the backpack through the nozzle, they typically maintain the same efficient inline design and simply use a tether to shift the weight of the battery to your back.

With that as the standard, it’s hard to argue with the Stihl BGA 200 as our top pick. It has the performance to hit the second-highest blower force we’ve tested (21.3 N) and the runtime of a 42.3Ah (1522Wh) backpack power source. It’s expensive, though. The whole package runs north of $1700.

Best Cordless Leaf Blower Value

Greenworks Pro 60V 610 CFM Leaf Blower

Best Value Battery Leaf Blower

Getting the most bang for your buck doesn’t mean dropping completely away from excellent performance. Greenworks’ Pro 60V 610 CFM blower offers the best value in our opinion, pairing a top blower force of 19.7 N with a $179 price tag that includes a 2.5Ah battery and charger. While you can find cheaper blower kits, you’ll have a hard time finding one at that price that pushes this much air.

Best Budget Cordless Leaf Blower

Skil PWRCore 40 Brushless Leaf Blower

Best Budget Battery Blower

If you’re on a tighter budget, check out the Skil PWRCore 40 leaf blower. For $149.99, you get a brushless blower with 500 CFM and 120 MPH top airspeed that hit 12.0 N in our testing. The kit comes with a 2.5Ah battery and PWRJump quick charger.

Best Cordless Leaf Blower Options From More Brands We Trust

DeWalt 60V Max FlexVolt Blower

Best Cordless Blowers DeWalt

DeWalt moved to an inline design with the latest version of their FlexVolt blower and hit 17.0 N in our testing. The downside is that it’s loud—91 decibels at our operator’s ear. We also thought the tone of that sound was somewhat irritating. With a 9.0/3.0Ah battery, it ran for 12:12 in our tests.

The bare tool runs $199 and the kit with a 9.0/3.0Ah battery is only $70 more, making it one of the more affordable kits you can buy and working with DeWalt’s 20V Max and 60V Max lines of power tools and lawn care equipment.

EGO 56V 650 CFM Blower

Best Cordless Battery Leaf Blower

EGO’s 650 CFM blower hits 20.3 Newtons out of the box with a 5.0Ah battery and gets a little stronger with the 7.5Ah. Well-balanced with an intelligent design that avoids the feeling of being over-engineered, this is a strong blower that tops EGO’s extensive line of battery-powered lawn care equipment.

Hart 40V Brushless Blower

Best Hart Battery Blower

Hart has several cordless blowers to choose from and their 40V brushless model is the top of their line. With 550 CFM and 125 MPH, it hit 14.0 N in our tests. With a 4.0Ah battery and charger, this one runs $197 at Walmart.

Greenworks Pro 60V 700 CFM Blower

Greenworks Pro 60V Blower

Greenworks joins Ryobi in the 700 Club as the only two battery-powered blowers to reach the 700 CFM rating. As the top-performing leaf blower on Greenworks’ Pro 60V line, it’s capable of 170 MPH top speed and is one of the elite blowers to hit 20.0 N in our testing. Get this one at The Home Depot for $199.99 as a bare tool or $329.99 with a 5.0Ah battery and charger.

Makita 18V LXT Blower

Makita XBU03 18V blower

If you’re looking for a lightweight option with relevant blower force, check out the Makita XBU03 blower. Running on just one Makita 18V LXT battery, this is strongest 18V blower we’ve tested. It tops out at 459 CFM and 116 MPH, hitting 11.3 N in our testing. That’s plenty to make your post-mowing cleanup a breeze. Grab it for $129 as a bare tool or $199 as a kit with a 4.0Ah battery and charger.

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Blower Gen 2

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Blower Review

The second-generation Milwaukee M18 Fuel leaf blower (2724-20) moved its top airspeed higher to 120 MPH while maintaining 450 CFM. In our testing, it was slightly behind Makita, hitting 11.2 N on our force meter. Look for this one for $159 as a bare tool or $299 with an 8.0Ah High Output battery and charger.

Toro 60V Max Flex Force Leaf Blower

Toro 60V battery blower

Toro has quietly produced an excellent line of cordless OPE and their top brushless blower is worth considering. Maxing out at 605 CFM and 115 MPH, we measured 19.0 N in our testing. Dropping down just a notch from the highest-performing battery-powered blowers, this Toro 60V blower earns a solid value score with a bare tool price of $139.99 and a kit price of $199.99 that includes a 2.5Ah battery and charger.

Cordless Blower Buying Guide | What We Look For

Blowing Force

How much blowing force a cordless blower has makes a big difference in how you’re going to use it. Some might be great for helping you with fall leaves, others might be good for light sweeping only. Air value (CFM) and airspeed (MPH) are helpful, but the numbers we see on the box are best-case scenario, sometimes with different nozzles.

We measure Newton force to get a single number that describes how much force is actually coming from the blower. At the end of the day, that’s the best way to compare the work a blower does.

Runtime

Runtime is another important area to consider. You might have less than 10 minutes of actual trigger time when you clean the driveway and sidewalk after mowing. But your fall leaf management might require 20 or 30. Understanding how much work you have helps you determine whether a blower meets your needs. Most people buy multiple tools that work on the same battery and having extra batteries extends how much work you can get done.

Noise Level

Cordless blowers are quieter than gas models, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are quiet. ANSI standards rate blower noise levels from 50 feet away to consider the hearing safety of bystanders. We measure from our operator’s ear so you know how much noise you have to deal with as the user.

Weight and Balance

Because most cordless blowers are handheld models, it’s good to know how much weight you’re going to muscle around. The balance is important, too. A well-balanced blower points down naturally at wide open throttle so you don’t have to work as hard to keep the nozzle at the best working angle.

Features and Design

Blowers are fairly simple compared to some of the tools we review. Here are some of the features that make using them easier or improve the performance:

  • Brushless motor
  • Cruise control
  • Turbo mode
  • Inline design
  • Multiple nozzles
  • Shoulder strap
  • Rapid charger

In addition to the features themselves, we also look for things you might like or dislike while you’re using the blower such as uncomfortable seams or better grip.

Value

At Pro Tool Reviews, we know price is important. Most of us have some kind of budget we’re working under, but value is more than just an inexpensive price tag. Sometimes, the most expensive option is so far ahead or solves such a big problem that it’s also a great value. Other times, one of the best budget picks presents itself as the best value. Often, it’s something in between. Wherever it is, we want to help you get the most bang for your buck

Ever check out a “review” site and you can’t tell if they actually tested the tools or if they’re just “recommending” the Amazon top sellers? That’s not us. We won’t recommend anything unless we’d actually use it ourselves and we don’t really care who the primary retailer is. It’s all about giving you a legitimate recommendation and our honest opinion of each product.

We’ve been in business since 2008 covering tools, writing reviews, and reporting on industry news in the construction, automotive, and lawn care industries. Our Pro reviewers work in the trades and have the skills and experience to know whether tools can perform well in the field.

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