What Does Tool Only Mean on a Lawn Tool? (2024 Guide)

Tool-only lawn tools are purchased without a battery and charger. While tool-only lawn tools seem like a rip-off they are actually great deals if purchased correctly.

You can get tool-only versions of just about every major battery-powered lawn tool if you know where to look. The cost of additional batteries for lawn tools like lawn mowers, leaf blowers, or string trimmers can add hundreds of dollars to your overall lawn tools.

The benefits of tool-only lawn tools

I like to buy tool-only lawn tools whenever I add a new lawn tool to my arsenal. I buy tool-only when I already own the battery for the tool AND the battery life can last for two tools.

For example, I would buy a tool-only Greenworks 60V hedge trimmer after I already owned their Greenworks 60V string trimmer. Because I already purchased the battery and charger with the string trimmer AND because the string trimmer will have battery power left over after using it, I am able to maximize the value.

The tool-only Greenworks 60V hedge trimmer.

The conversation becomes more complex if you buy a lawn mower and string trimmer combo kit. These types of combo kits can be amazing for thrifty folks looking to save money on a battery and charger, but you need to purchase carefully.

If you have a big yard and want to use the battery mower and string trimmer in the same afternoon, you may want to go ahead and purchase a separate battery. Most batteries take well over an hour or two to fully charge, so a backup will be super helpful in keeping the job moving.

Where to find tool-only lawn tool deals

Home Depot is known for having a ton of tool-only options (which you can check out here). On many of these lawn tools, you can save up to $60-$75 by getting the tool-only version.

If you are someone that owns a bunch of hand tools from a brand like Makita or Milwaukee, its possible to save hundreds of dollars on a Milwaukee M18 mower or Makita LXT mower that comes with four batteries.

My recommendation for buying lawn tools

One of my top recommendations for folks looking to transition from gas to battery-powered lawn tools is to spend the most time picking the first tool. Once you have a core battery line, then it makes it easier to purchase additional tools in the lineup. You can save money on the next tool and then if you need to buy extra batteries down the road, you have a ton of tools you can use them with.

My favorite lawn tool battery lines

Some of these lawn tool manufacturers have a bunch of different battery lines. I have used probably 20 different lawn tools battery lines and have a few recommendations.

The EGO 56V battery line of lawn tools

EGO’s 56V battery lineup is their ONLY line of battery. EGO is hands down my favorite battery brand because of the simplicity of the singular battery voltage. All batteries work with all tools. Seems simple, right?

So many other brands focus on getting batteries from 18V, 20V, 40V, 36V, 80V – it seems to never end. EGO stuck with 56V (for some reason) and has continued to pump out powerful product after powerful product.

Here are some of my favorite EGO products that I’ve tested:

Greenworks 80V battery line of lawn tools

Greenworks is lesser known but puts out some absolute banger lawn tools. I’ve had the chance to review a ton of these tools over on my YouTube channel. The 80V lineup from Greenworks has some really slick and powerful tools that can all be supported by different Ah batteries.

While Greenworks has several other battery voltage options, I’ve stuck mostly with their 80V tools because the battery puts out quite a bit of power and you can grab their tools on Amazon or even Costco.

Here are some of my favorite Greenworks 80V tools that I’ve tested:

Why you can trust The Lawn Review

We have tested hundreds of battery powered and electric lawn tools. Our goal is for our readers to understand what it is REALLY like to use each tool that we test. Plain English, no technical jargon – just a couple of folks talking lawn tools. You can find more about us by checking us out on YouTube or on Instagram where we have videos of us using just about every tool on this website + DIY guides.