Worx vs Black + Decker string trimmers is a tale as old as time. Two giants in the battery powered lawn tool space with massively popular string trimmers.
You just pulled up the two on Amazon and don’t know which one is better.
Buckle up your seatbelts, because we might be experiencing some turbulence.
Jump ahead:
Why we review lawn tools
The reason we started this website in the first place was because we had so much trouble trying to find reasonable, understandable, honest reviews for lawn equipment. And it’s not cheap! After hours and hours of research, trying products and returning them, and messing up our yards – we started this site.
As people who had to learn the hard way, we want you to know exactly what you are signing up for before you purchase a piece of equipment. That’s why we are committed to providing honest, easy-to-understand reviews that mean something.
Worx vs. Black and Decker: A history
Let’s take Worx for example: The Worx WG163 GT 3.0 20V PowerShare 12” Cordless String Trimmer & Edger has over 16,000 reviews on Amazon. A LOT of people are buying this trimmer – and for a good reason (we will get to that in a minute).
Something that many of you may be scratching your head around is….what is Worx? It isn’t quite the household name that Dewalt, John Deere, or some of the other big name brands. Worx has quietly been creeping into the marketplace and has found a niche in electric lawn tools.
Black + Decker is also a ubiquitous household name. Virtually every garage has some sort of Black and Decker tool stored away in it. One of the first tools I owned was a Black and Decker power drill that I still use to this day.
To add more confusion, these two brands even have the same color scheme. And to take things even further (!), the color scheme is the same as Home Depot. I mean, c’mon people, get it together.
Check out our full review of the WORX WG163 GT 3.0 here.
What to look for in a string trimmer
I have an electric string trimmer. It’s a Ryobi 40V string trimmer and it gets the job done. But I have had some ups and downs and learned things the hard way.
As someone who didn’t grow up with a green thumb, I am a self-taught lawn tool expert. Which means I have made a lot of mistakes and wasted a LOT of money. You don’t have to be like me – so check out what to know before you buy.
- Make sure you buy a tool that has a battery that fits other tools
- Why waste time and wall space with a million different batteries in your garage? Simply flip the same one in and out and get on your merry way.
- Comfort is king – find a trimmer that has some adaptability with the handles to tailor it to your fit
- I am very, very tall. The mixture of my height with the weird, stiff handle on my Ryobi 40V means that I often finish trimming in pain. Don’t do that.
- Find a trimmer with easy-to-advance trimmer line.
- This means when you inevitably lose some of the trimmer line, you can easily bring out more trimmer line without having to slow down too much.
If you’re looking to upgrade your weed eater, make sure you right-size your weed eater string.
Worx string trimmer vs Black and Decker string trimmer: Feature comparison
Now that we understand what we are looking for, we can roll up our sleeves and compare these two. Let’s start with comfort.
Comfort
As mentioned previously, comfort is super important in a string trimmer. You frankly have to hold the trimmer at a weird angle, which ends up torquing my upper back.
Both of these trimmers have adjustable handles, meaning you can change the ANGLE but not the LOCATION of the handle. Changing the location would be ideal, but changing the angle will get you close enough.
Let me show you the below picture and ask you: which do you think is more comfortable?
While the Black and Decker handle looks more like a typical power drill handle, it’s actually going to give you more problems. You see, the battery location being at the very tip of the handle means that it is going to weigh that end down. This then forces your other arm to push down on the handle (which is super close), and causes you to pull up on the trigger.
This action-counteraction is normal, but starts to really wear down your back when you are trimming over a long period of time or being particularly meticulous. Frankly, it makes it hard to control.
The Worx battery is just under the handle, which is still going to cause the action-counteraction we saw in the Black and Decker, but to a lesser degree.
The winner here is Worx.
Batteries
Let me get this out of the way right now – battery life is super hard to measure in tools like these. So instead, I am going to talk about batteries more broadly.
Worx and Black and Decker both have 20V batteries with 2 Amp Hours (measure of power). They are going to be very similar in battery life and power output – so no concern there.
One area that you want to be sure to watch out for is how many other products you can swap out the battery for. Work has a ton of other products that use the same battery, but honestly – Black and Decker might be the best in the game at this.
Black + Decker has power tools, lawn tools, and even home cleaning tools that all can take the 20V battery used on this trimmer. That means one plug, one charger, and you’re good to go.
Worx is growing their line, but doesn’t quite have the scale or the dominance in this space that Black and Decker has had for decades.
The advantage here is clear: Black and Decker wins this round.
Usability and functionality
Something neat about both of these trimmers is that they come with a funny looking wheel on the top. Well, the wheel isn’t just for toying around with – it can serve as a guide wheel for a relatively light-duty edger.
While most edgers come with a big metal blade, much of the simpler jobs can be done with the normal string trimmer. Simply turn the tool on its side, let the wheel balance, and let it rip. This will give you nice, clean lines around your driveway or sidewalk.
One thing that gives Worx a *slight* advantage in this category is the brush guard that it has.
This metal thing is collapsable, so when you convert it from a string trimmer to an edger, simply push it in and keep going. The metal brush guard helps you from running the string into brick or wood that quickly deteriorates the integrity of the trimmer line.
Price comparison: Worx vs Black + Decker
The Worx WG163 GT trimmer is for sale right now on Amazon for about $115, which is a pretty dang good price. It includes two batteries and a charger as well.
The Black and Decker is on sale for a shockingly-low $82 on Amazon. This comes with one battery – but can also use the battery from any of the Black and Decker tools you might already own.
The overall review: Worx vs Black and Decker String Trimmer
We have reviewed the comfort, battery life, usability, and price of the Worx string trimmer and the Black + Decker string trimmer. I’ve gotta say – this is one of the tougher comparisons I have done.
Overall, I think the Worx is the better tool. BUT is it $30 better? It depends. If you already have a Worx piece of equipment and can reuse the battery, I say go with Worx.
If you are completely new to battery powered cordless lawn equipment, then I would grab the Black + Decker for a lower price. Once you have the battery, then this will help you as you choose your next set of tools.
Want more opinions? Check out some other reviews here.
