Battery Platforms
Switching battery platforms: what it actually costs
The tools keep working. The batteries stop being useful the moment you stop buying tools that take them. Here is how to price that honestly.
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 January 1, 1970. Here is exactly how we pick.
Nobody plans to switch battery platforms. People switch because the platform they picked does not make the tool they now need, or because they discovered too late that two boxes with the same brand name held two different voltages. Here is what that costs, honestly.
The short answer
What actually strands
| Asset | After a switch | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The tool you already own | Still works | It runs on the packs you already have, for as long as they last |
| Every battery pack | Stranded | No cross-brand adapter exists from any manufacturer |
| Every charger | Stranded | Chargers are pack-specific |
| Multi-head attachments | Stranded | An EGO edger or pole saw has no motor and needs an EGO power head |
| Spare chains, blades, line | Usually fine | These are commodity items specified by dimensions, not brand |
| Your knowledge of the range | Worthless | Which is a small cost, but a real one |
The attachment row is the sharp one. The EGO EA0800 edger and PSA1000 pole saw are published as multi-head attachments requiring a PH1400 or PH1420 power head. Leave EGO and they become shafts with blades on them.
Pricing the switch without prices
We do not print prices, so the honest way to size this is in watt-hours and charger count — the two things you would have to rebuy.
That is the real number to weigh. Not the tools — the energy. Work out your own total with the conversions in watt-hours explained, then decide whether the tool you cannot get is worth rebuying it.
#ad Check the EGO Power+ 21" Select Cut LM2135SP price on Amazon — how we're funded.
The three cases where switching is right
1. Your platform does not reach the tool you need
This is the legitimate one. If you need a riding mower and your platform does not make one, or a pressure washer and it does not make one, the platform has run out before you did. In our registry only EGO 56V reaches from a handheld trimmer to a 42 inch zero turn on one pack family.
2. Your kit is at end of life anyway
Packs do not last forever, and when the batteries in a three-tool kit are all near the end of their useful capacity you are effectively rebuying them regardless. That is the cheapest moment to change your mind, and it is worth noticing when it arrives rather than replacing packs on autopilot.
3. You are one tool deep and got the voltage wrong
The most common version of this happens inside one brand. Greenworks runs 24V, 40V, 60V and 80V as separate families; buying a 40V mower and then wanting the 80V blower is a platform switch wearing a familiar logo. One tool deep, switch. Three tools deep, live with it.
#ad Check the Greenworks 80V 21" 4-in-1 LM2108S price on Amazon — how we're funded.
When to stay put instead
- Because another brand has a slightly better spec. The mower differences between platforms are a handful of watt-hours and a few minutes. They are not worth 840Wh of rebuying.
- Because a bundle looked good. A kit price that undercuts your existing platform is not a saving if it starts a second pack inventory.
- Because you need one specialized tool. Two platforms for one odd job is usually cheaper than abandoning the platform that serves the other five. Or rent it — see renting versus buying.
- Because of warranty length. The spread between three and four years on a battery is real but small next to the cost of restarting.
#ad Check the Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 21" Self-Propelled price on Amazon — how we're funded.
How to not be here again
- Choose on the fourth tool, not the first. The mower is rarely the constraint; the chainsaw, pressure washer or rider is.
- Write the voltage down. Especially with Greenworks, where the brand name tells you nothing about compatibility.
- Buy the kit once, then buy bare. That is the payoff of a platform, and it is also what makes leaving one expensive.
- Prefer platforms that publish a wide range. A pack that can go in a rider one day is a pack that is hard to strand.
What we cannot tell you
We cannot tell you the resale value of used cordless tools or packs, because we do not track a used market and any figure we gave you would be invented. We also cannot tell you how much capacity your existing packs have left, because no manufacturer in our registry publishes capacity retention beyond the warranty term.
What we can tell you is what strands and what does not, and that the number to weigh is the watt-hours you would have to rebuy rather than the tools you would replace.
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.
EGO Power+ 21" Select Cut LM2135SP
EGO · EGO 56V ARC Lithium · Our score 9.1/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
The most watt-hours in the box of any flagship walk-behind here, on the platform with the widest tool range to grow into.
Published specs
| Deck | 21 in |
|---|---|
| Cutting torque | Up to 7.0 ft-lbs |
| Battery included | 56V 7.5Ah |
| Cut height | 1-4 in, 8 positions |
| Self-propel speed | 0.9-3.1 MPH |
| Runtime claim | Up to 60 min |
| Warranty | 5-yr tool / 3-yr battery |
Source: EGO POWER+ 21" Select Cut System (LM2135SP), egopowerplus.com
56V x 7.5Ah = 420Wh, using EGO's advertised pack voltage.
What the numbers favor
- 420Wh in the box -- the largest included pack of any flagship walk-behind on this page
- Eight cut-height positions from 1 to 4 in, the widest published range here
- Three interchangeable lower blades (mulching, high-lift bagging, extended runtime)
- 5-year tool warranty, the longest published on this page
What they don't
- EGO publishes torque (7.0 ft-lbs), not motor wattage, so it cannot be compared directly against Greenworks' 1500W figure
- The 7.5Ah pack that earns the runtime claim is also the expensive one to replace
your yard is under a quarter acre. You would be paying for 420Wh of headroom you will never discharge, and a 20 in push mower cuts the same grass.
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.
Greenworks 80V 21" 4-in-1 LM2108S
Greenworks · Greenworks 80V · Our score 8.4/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
The only mower here that publishes motor wattage, blade RPM, weight and an acreage rating -- and the only one whose battery warranty matches its tool warranty.
Published specs
| Model / SKU | LM2108S / 2550402 |
|---|---|
| Deck | 21 in |
| Max blade speed | 3200 RPM |
| Battery included | 80V 4.0Ah |
| Cut height | 1.38-4.0 in, 7 positions |
| Runtime claim | Up to 33 min |
| Weight | 75 lb |
| Rated for | Up to 1/2 acre |
| Warranty | 4-yr tool / 4-yr battery |
Source: 80V 21" 4-in-1 Self-Propelled Lawn Mower (LM2108S), greenworkstools.com
80V x 4.0Ah = 320Wh, using Greenworks' advertised pack voltage.
What the numbers favor
- 4-year battery warranty -- a year longer than EGO's 3-year, on the component that fails first
- Publishes blade RPM, weight and acreage rating; the other two brands publish none of the three
- 40-minute recharge on the included charger, the fastest published here
- 4-in-1 deck adds turbo leaf pickup on top of mulch, bag and side discharge
What they don't
- 320Wh included, the least of the three flagships -- and the 33-minute runtime claim reflects that
- 75 lb is the only published weight here, and it is not light
you want one battery to finish a half-acre without a swap. Greenworks rates the mower for 1/2 acre but claims only 33 minutes on the included pack; those two numbers only reconcile if you buy a second battery.
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.
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.
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 overall
EGO Power+ 21" Select Cut LM2135SP
EGO · EGO 56V ARC Lithium
Best published spec sheet
Greenworks 80V 21" 4-in-1 LM2108S
Greenworks · Greenworks 80V
Best for a household already on Ryobi
Ryobi 40V HP Brushless 21" Self-Propelled
Ryobi · Ryobi 40V
#ad As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. How we're funded.
Common questions
Can I switch cordless yard tool brands?
Are there adapters between battery brands?
What is stranded when I switch platforms?
When is switching platforms worth it?
How do I avoid needing to switch?
Is it cheaper to run two platforms?
Sources
Read next
- Battery Platforms
Pick the system once and the next four tools are decided for you. Start here.
- What a battery platform really costs over ten years
The four-line cost model for a decade of cordless yard tools, with the battery replacement nobody counts.
- Are EGO batteries interchangeable? And will they work with Ryobi?
Which packs fit which tools, stated plainly, plus the one place brands quietly break their own rule.
- The EGO 56V platform, tool by tool
Ten tools on one pack family, from a 140Wh trimmer to a 2,240Wh zero turn.
- Bare tool or kit: which should you actually buy?
Which tools ship bare, which ship with packs, and how to size the battery yourself.
- Which yard tools to rent instead of buying
Frequency, storage and whether you own a tow vehicle. The rent-or-buy test in three questions.