The best brush cutters under €300

What matters under €300

At this price you’re choosing between three quite different tools: a light cordless trimmer for lawns and edging, a mid-power 36V cordless brush cutter that can take a metal blade, or a proper 40cc+ petrol machine for brambles and scrub. Just under €300 is also where brands start making real trade-offs to hit the price point — some ship the machine bare with no battery, some fit a plastic rather than steel blade, and some ask you to mix 2-stroke fuel to save weight. We ranked these picks on what they actually deliver for the money — weight and finish for the trimmers, cutting width and blade capability for the cordless clearers, and included kit (blade, harness, fuel type) for the petrol options — rather than treating every machine as if it does the same job.

Our picks

The Makita DUR193RT is the lightest and quietest pick here, a 2.3 kg 18V trimmer with a pivoting head built for precise edging — it’s a lawn tool, not a brush cutter, but a lovely one for Makita owners. The Worx WG183E undercuts it further on weight at 2.2 kg and throws in AutoFeed line plus batteries and a charger in the box, making it the easiest grab-and-go trimmer on the list. Stepping up to real clearing power, the Stiga BC 545 B is a 42.7 cc petrol brush cutter that arrives complete with a 3-tooth blade, Tap&Go head and double harness — ready for brambles and neglected ground straight out of the box. The Einhell GP-BC 36/430 leads the cordless field with a class-best 43 cm cutting width and a metal blade option, though it’s sold bare and needs Power X-Change batteries. The Bosch AdvancedBrushCut 36V is the friendliest way into that same Bosch ecosystem, light and quiet with a battery included, best suited to smaller maintained plots. Finally the Makita EM2651UH is a 25.4 cc 4-stroke petrol machine that runs on pure petrol with no oil mixing — ideal if you want engine reliability without the 2-stroke fuss.

Which should you choose?

If you only need tidy edges and grass, the Worx WG183E or Makita DUR193RT will save you weight and hassle, and neither asks you to think about fuel or a harness. For brambles and neglected land, the Stiga BC 545 B or Einhell GP-BC 36/430 have the cutting width and blade capability to cope, though the Einhell needs you to already own or buy Power X-Change batteries. If you want petrol reliability without mixing fuel, the Makita EM2651UH is the standout at this price, and the Bosch AdvancedBrushCut 36V suits smaller, quieter gardens where you already own Bosch batteries and don’t want to think about servicing an engine.

Whichever you pick, match the tool to the job rather than the badge: a featherlight trimmer will frustrate you on brambles, and a 42 cc petrol machine is overkill for weekly lawn edging. Read the linked review for each model’s full pros, cons and who it actually suits before you buy.