Battery Platforms
Ryobi 40V vs Toro 60V Max
One of these publishes a real watt-hour number and one does not, and that single difference decides how much of this comparison you can trust.
Affiliate disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — here is how we're funded.
We have not tested these units. Every spec on this page comes from the manufacturer's own documentation and is linked to it. Every computed figure is arithmetic you can redo. Prices are checked daily — last verified September 27, 2026. Here is exactly how we pick.
These are the two flagship 21 inch mowers most likely to sit next to each other in a big-box aisle, and they publish almost opposite things. Toro tells you what is in the battery and how heavy the machine is. Ryobi gives you two batteries and tells you very little about either.
The short answer
The two spec sheets, side by side
| Spec | Ryobi RY40HPLM01B | Toro 21356 | Who published more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck | 21 in, material not published | 21 in, 14-gauge steel | Toro |
| Batteries in the box | 2 x 40V 6.0Ah | 1 x 60V Max 6.0Ah | Tie |
| Watt-hours | 480Wh (our arithmetic) | 324Wh (Toro's own figure) | Toro |
| Runtime claim | Up to 80 min on both packs | Up to 45 min | Tie |
| Charge time | Not published | 150 min | Toro |
| Weight | Not published | 66 lb | Toro |
| Cut height | Not published | Not published on the page we cite | Neither |
| Drive | Variable-speed RWD self-propel | Personal Pace variable RWD | Tie |
| Storage | Not published | SmartStow vertical | Toro |
| Tool range on the platform | Broadest consumer 40V line | Narrower 60V Flex-Force | Ryobi wins on range |
Transcribed from each manufacturer's own product page, cited in full below. Where a page publishes no figure we write 'not published' rather than filling the cell.
The watt-hour comparison is not fair, and Toro is the reason
Every lithium pack has two voltages: the maximum it reaches at full charge, which goes on the sticker, and the nominal voltage it actually averages under load, which is roughly 90% of it. Toro publishes the nominal figure. Almost nobody else does.
The honest reading: Ryobi still carries more energy, because two packs of anything beat one. But the size of the gap is smaller than 480 against 324 makes it look, and we cannot tell you by how much. That is Ryobi's omission, not our arithmetic.
Minutes per watt-hour, which is the fair test
Energy on board only matters against how fast the machine spends it. Both makers publish a runtime claim, so this one is computable.
Who should buy the Ryobi
Two packs in the box is not a small thing. It means you swap and keep mowing rather than stopping for two and a half hours, and the spare doubles as the battery for a trimmer or a blower on the same platform. Ryobi's 40V line is the broadest consumer battery range of the brands we cover, which is the whole argument for buying it.
The catch is in Ryobi's own configuration: only one pack is live at a time. The 480Wh is sequential, not simultaneous, so it buys you duration, never power.
#ad Check the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 21" Self-Propelled price on Amazon — how we're funded.
Who should buy the Toro
Toro is the mower to buy if the mower is the purchase. It publishes a real watt-hour number, a 66 lb weight, a 14-gauge steel deck and a 150 minute charge time, and it stores upright against a garage wall — which in a one-car garage is worth more than any spec on the sheet.
The 150 minute recharge is the price. With one pack and no spare, a lawn that needs more than 45 minutes becomes a two-session job.
#ad Check the Toro 60V Max 21" Recycler Self-Propel (21356) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
The platform question, which outlives the mower
A mower lasts perhaps a decade. The platform decision lasts as long as you keep buying tools, and it is the harder one to reverse. On range, Ryobi wins clearly. On what the manufacturer is willing to tell you, Toro wins just as clearly. Those are different virtues and only you know which one you are buying.
- Buying one mower and nothing else: Toro. More published facts, better deck spec, vertical storage.
- Buying a mower, a trimmer and a blower over three years: Ryobi. The spare pack and the tool range both pay off.
- Already own either brand: stay. Neither gap here is worth stranding a battery collection over.
The other pairings are in EGO vs Toro, EGO vs Ryobi and Toro vs Greenworks, and all four flagship mowers sit in one table in the mower brand comparison.
What we cannot tell you
We have not mowed with either machine. Ryobi publishes no weight, no cut-height range, no deck material and no charge time for this kit, so four of the ten rows above are blank on its side. Neither maker publishes a decibel figure. And neither states the grass conditions behind its runtime claim, which is the variable that decides whether 45 or 80 minutes means anything on your lawn.
The products discussed
Specs are the manufacturer's own and linked to the page they came from. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say so rather than print a stale one.
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 21" Self-Propelled
Ryobi · Ryobi 40V · Our score 8.6/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
Two 6Ah packs and the longest published runtime claim on this page, on the platform with the cheapest route to a fourth and fifth tool.
Published specs
| Model | RY40HPLM01B |
|---|---|
| Deck | 21 in |
| Motor | Brushless, 40V HP |
| Batteries included (kit) | 2 x 40V 6.0Ah |
| Drive | Variable-speed rear-wheel self-propel |
| Runtime claim | Up to 80 min on 2 x 6Ah |
Source: 40V HP Brushless 21" Self-Propelled Mower, ryobitools.com
40V x 6.0Ah = 240Wh per pack; the kit ships two, so 480Wh total -- but only 240Wh is available at any moment, because the mower draws one pack at a time.
What the numbers favor
- 480Wh across two packs, the most total energy in any kit here
- Two packs means you swap and keep mowing instead of waiting on a charger
- Ryobi's 40V range is the broadest consumer battery line of the three platforms
What they don't
- Only one 240Wh pack is live at a time -- the 480Wh is sequential, not simultaneous
- Ryobi does not publish a cut-height range or weight on the product page, so both are unknown to us
you own nothing on Ryobi yet and expect to buy heavy tools later. 40V is the lowest voltage of the three platforms, and the ceiling shows on chainsaws and riding gear.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Toro 60V Max 21" Recycler Self-Propel (21356)
Toro · Toro 60V Max Flex-Force · Our score 8.3/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
The only manufacturer here that publishes the actual watt-hour figure for its pack -- and the number tells you something the others hide.
Published specs
| Model | 21356 |
|---|---|
| Deck | 21 in, 14-gauge steel |
| Battery | 60V Max L324, 6.0Ah, 324Wh |
| Charge time | 150 min |
| Runtime claim | Up to 45 min on the 6.0Ah |
| Drive | Personal Pace variable-speed RWD |
| Weight | 66 lb |
| Storage | SmartStow vertical |
Source: 60V Max 21 in. Recycler Self-Propel Lawn Mower (21356T), toro.com
Toro labels the pack 60V Max 6.0Ah and publishes 324Wh. 324 / 6.0 = 54V -- the nominal voltage, not the 60V max-charge figure on the sticker. Every brand's 'max volts' is roughly 11% above nominal, so a nameplate watt-hour number is always about 11% optimistic. This is the single most useful spec on this page.
What the numbers favor
- Publishes a real watt-hour figure (324Wh) instead of leaving you to multiply the marketing voltage
- 45 minutes from 324Wh, against Greenworks' 33 minutes from a nameplate 320Wh
- 14-gauge steel deck, the only steel deck spec published on this page
- SmartStow vertical storage -- a genuine constraint solver in a one-car garage
What they don't
- 150-minute recharge is the slowest here by a wide margin
- Toro's 60V line is narrower than EGO's or Ryobi's, so the platform grows less far
you are buying into a platform rather than a mower. Toro builds excellent mowers; the 60V Flex-Force tool range is not the one to bet a decade of yard tools on.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Where to buy the tools on this page
Every link below is an Amazon affiliate link. We show no price we have not verified today, so where there is no live figure the link says "check price" and takes you to the listing to read it there.
Best for a household already on Ryobi
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 21" Self-Propelled
Ryobi · Ryobi 40V
Best published watt-hour honesty
Toro 60V Max 21" Recycler Self-Propel (21356)
Toro · Toro 60V Max Flex-Force
#ad As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. How we're funded.
Common questions
Is Ryobi 40V or Toro 60V better?
Why can you not compare their watt-hours directly?
Which mower runs longer on one charge?
Are Ryobi 40V and Toro 60V batteries interchangeable?
How long does each take to recharge?
Which platform has more tools?
Sources
Read next
- Battery Platforms
Pick the system once and the next four tools are decided for you. Start here.
- EGO 56V vs Toro 60V Max: the honest watt-hour comparison
420Wh nameplate against 324Wh published, and what Toro's own number says about everyone else's.
- EGO 56V vs Ryobi 40V: which platform should you start on?
420Wh in one pack against 480Wh in two, with the warranty and build-out cost worked out.
- Toro 60V vs Greenworks 80V: same energy, opposite answers
324Wh against 320Wh, 45 minutes against 33. Two opposite answers to the same energy budget.
- Watt-hours explained: the one number that compares any two battery tools
Volts x amp-hours = watt-hours. Every pack in the registry converted, and why max volts overstates it.
- EGO vs Ryobi vs Greenworks vs Toro: the mowers compared
Every published spec from four flagship 21-inch mowers, converted so it is comparable.