Mowers
Best reel mowers for a small lawn
No battery, no cord, no fuel, and a cut the powered machines cannot match. Also: one company in Indianapolis makes every one of them.
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 November 13, 2026. Here is exactly how we pick.
Quick picks
Ranked on the published specs and the arithmetic below. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. We have not tested these units -- here is exactly how we pick.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great States 14" 5-Blade Reel Mower (304-14) Five alloy-steel blades on ball bearings with 10 inch wheels and a published weight -- the most completely specified reel mower in the range. | Best value in a 5-blade reel | 8.2 | |
| 2 |  Scotts 18" 7-Blade Pro Reel Mower (716-18S) Seven blades on a four-spider reel and a 1 to 3 inch range -- the finest cut and the widest height window of any reel mower in the range. | Best cut quality | 8.1 | |
| 3 |  Scotts 20" 5-Blade Reel Mower (2000-20S) Twenty inches of reel mower -- the only one that matches a powered deck for width -- with nine published height positions and no published weight. | Widest cut | 7.9 | |
| 4 |  American Lawn Mower 14" Manual Reel Mower (1204-14) Nineteen pounds and the lowest cut in the range at 1/2 inch -- from a product page that publishes two different blade counts and two different cut heights. | Lightest and cheapest | 7.6 |
#ad Buy links are affiliate links. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say "check price" rather than print a stale one.
Buy the Great States 304-14. On a small, flat, regularly cut lawn a reel mower does something no powered machine on this site can: it cuts with a scissor action rather than tearing with a spinning blade, it costs about ninety dollars, and it has no battery to degrade, no cord to drag and nothing to service but the blades. The 304-14 wins because it has the most complete published sheet in the category — a 3-spider, 5-blade ball-bearing alloy steel reel, 10 in wheels, a published 1 to 1-3/4 in cut height and a published 21 lb. One thing to know before you shop: every reel mower here comes from the same company in Indianapolis, under three different badges.
The short answer
The finding: this is one catalog with three badges
Shopping reel mowers looks like shopping brands — American Lawn Mower, Great States, Scotts, Earthwise. It is not. Every one of those product pages is published by American Lawn Mower Co., established 1895, at one address in Indianapolis, and the pages cross-link to each other as siblings in a single catalog. The Scotts and Earthwise names are badges on it.
That matters for two reasons. First, there is no brand-level quality argument to be made here — the differences between these mowers are specification differences within one product family, which is actually easier to shop honestly. Second, it means the gaps in the published data are systematic rather than one firm being careless: the same company publishes a weight for its two 14 in mowers and no weight for its 18 in and 20 in mowers.
What the one maker publishes, under four badges
| Cut width | Blades | Cut height | Wheels | Weight | Maker's list price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great States 304-14 | 14 in | 5, 3-spider, ball bearing | 1 to 1-3/4 in | 10 in, ball bearings, radial rubber | 21 lb | $164.99 |
| Scotts 716-18S | 18 in | 7, 4-spider, ball bearing | 1 to 3 in | 10 in front / 6 in rear tracking | Not published | $224.99 |
| Scotts 2000-20S | 20 in | 5, 5-spider, ball bearing | 1 to 3 in, 9 positions | 10 in front / 6 in rear tracking | Not published | $239.99 |
| American Lawn Mower 1204-14 | 14 in | "one-blade" and "4 Blade" -- both published | 1/2 to 1-1/2 in and 1/2 to 1-3/4 in -- both published | 8-1/2 in polymer | 19 lb | $149.99 |
All four pages are published by American Lawn Mower Co. The list prices are the maker's own and are well above the live retail prices on the buttons above — check the button, not this column. The 1204-14 row carries two pairs of contradictory figures because its own page does; see the pick below.
The arithmetic
Cuts per reel revolution scale directly with blade count.
5 blades / 4 blades = 1.25, so 25 percent more contacts
7 blades / 5 blades = 1.40, so 40 percent more again
7 blades / 4 blades = 1.75
At the same walking pace the 7-blade Scotts makes 75 percent more cuts per foot than the 4-blade American Lawn Mower. More, shorter slices rather than fewer, longer tears — that is what people mean when they say a reel mower cuts better than a rotary, and it is why blade count is the first spec to read.
A 2,000 sq ft lawn, say 40 ft x 50 ft.
At 14 in (1.17 ft) per pass: 40 / 1.17 = 34 passes x 50 ft = about 1,700 ft walked
At 18 in (1.5 ft) per pass: 40 / 1.5 = 27 passes x 50 ft = about 1,350 ft
At 20 in (1.67 ft) per pass: 40 / 1.67 = 24 passes x 50 ft = about 1,200 ft
So the 20 in machine saves about 500 ft of walking per cut over the 14 in — a 30 percent reduction. The catch is that every one of those steps is pushing a wider, heavier reel, and American Lawn Mower publishes no weight for either the 18 in or the 20 in machine. The trade is real and the data to compute it does not exist.
Great States 304-14: $94.99 live
LawnMaster MEB1114K, the cheapest powered mower we rank: $114.99 live
Greenworks 24V 13 in, cheapest cordless: $199.00 live
So the reel mower is only about $20 cheaper than a corded electric mower, and $104 cheaper than the cheapest cordless. The case for a reel mower is therefore not price. It is the cut quality from blade count, the absence of any power source, near-silence, and nothing that degrades — our quietest mowers page ranks published decibel figures, and a reel mower is below all of them because it has no motor at all.
The picks, and who each one is for
1. Great States 304-14 — best overall
Who it is for: most small-lawn buyers. It publishes a weight, a blade count, a spider count, a bearing type, a wheel size and a cut-height range, which makes it the only reel mower here you can shop on complete data. Ball bearings in both reel and wheels is what stops a reel mower getting harder to push over the years, and a hard enamel finish is a real answer to rust on a tool that lives in a shed.
Who should skip it: anyone cutting below an inch — Great States publishes a 1 in floor, and bermuda or zoysia want lower. Anyone cutting above 1-3/4 in, which rules it out for tall fescue kept long. And a 14 in cut on anything much over 2,000 sq ft is a lot of walking, by the arithmetic above. Minor marks: the page calls the wheels both “radial rubber tires” and “composite”, and the handle both “T-style with cushion grips” and “zinc-plated with plastic grips”.
#ad Check the Great States 14" 5-Blade Reel Mower (304-14) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
2. Scotts 716-18S — best cut quality
Who it is for: anyone who bought into the reel-mower idea for the cut. Seven blades is the highest count here and 75 percent more contacts per foot than the 4-blade machine, and the published 1 to 3 in range is nearly double the 14 in mowers' ceiling — so it survives two weeks of growth rather than being defeated by it. Eighteen inches also cuts the walking by a quarter against a 14 in reel.
Who should skip it: anyone who cannot try the push effort first. This is the most cutting work per step of anything on the page — widest reel, most blades — and American Lawn Mower publishes no weight for it at all. Seven blades also means seven edges to back-lap, and the sharpening kit is a separate purchase.
#ad Check the Scotts 18" 7-Blade Pro Reel Mower (716-18S) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
3. Scotts 2000-20S — widest cut
Who it is for: the top of reel-mower range, where a 14 in reel would be too much walking. American Lawn Mower says itself that the 20 in width “compares to a power mower”, and it is the only reel mower here with nine published height positions and full assembled dimensions (28 x 18 x 11 in), plus a welded reel hood the maker says protects overhanging plants.
Who should skip it: anyone with slopes, beds or tight corners — 20 in of reel is a lot to steer by hand, and the 18 in 7-blade machine cuts better on anything you have to work around. No published weight here either, and its own spec text contains a typo in the specification itself: “5-spider ball earing reel”.
#ad Check the Scotts 20" 5-Blade Reel Mower (2000-20S) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
4. American Lawn Mower 1204-14 — the only one that cuts below an inch
Who it is for: fine warm-season grass. A published 1/2 in floor is the lowest in the range and the reason to choose this over the 304-14 — bermuda and zoysia want to be cut short, and our bermuda grass page covers why. At a published 19 lb it is also the lightest mower of any kind in our registry.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants to know what they are buying. This page publishes two cut-height ranges (1/2 to 1-1/2 in in the description, 1/2 to 1-3/4 in in the bullets) and two reel configurations (“a three-spider one-blade reel” in the description, “a 4 Blade Reel” in the bullets). On a reel mower, blade count is the specification. It also has the smallest wheels here at 8-1/2 in polymer, against 10 in with ball bearings on the 304-14.
#ad Check the American Lawn Mower 14" Manual Reel Mower (1204-14) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
Which reel mower, by your grass
| Your lawn | Buy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small, cool-season, cut weekly | Great States 304-14 | 5 blades on ball bearings, the most complete spec sheet |
| You want the finest finish | Scotts 716-18S | 7 blades -- 75% more contacts than a 4-blade reel |
| Kept long, or cut every two weeks | Scotts 716-18S or 2000-20S | Both publish up to 3 in; the 14 in mowers stop at 1-3/4 in |
| At the top of reel-mower range | Scotts 2000-20S | 20 in saves about 500 ft of walking per cut over a 14 in |
| Bermuda or zoysia, cut short | American Lawn Mower 1204-14 | The only published 1/2 in floor in the range |
| Over about 3,000 sq ft | A powered mower | See our mowers under $300 page |
| Grass that sometimes gets ahead of you | A powered mower | A reel cuts what is standing, not what has fallen over |
What a reel mower will not do
- Cut grass that has fallen over. A scissor action needs the blade standing. Miss two weeks in June and you will need to borrow a rotary mower first.
- Mulch leaves. There is no impeller and no deck vacuum. In autumn you need a blower or a sweeper.
- Collect clippings, unless you buy a catcher. None of these four publishes one as included; American Lawn Mower sells them separately in 14/16 in and 18/20 in sizes.
- Tell you how hard it is to push. Two of the four publish no weight, and they are the two that take the most effort.
Verdict
The Great States 304-14 wins because it is the only reel mower in the American Lawn Mower catalog that publishes everything you need to choose it — blade count, spider count, bearings, wheels, cut height and a weight — and because five blades on ball bearings is the right balance of cut quality and push effort on a small lawn. Move up to the 716-18S for seven blades and a 3 in ceiling, accepting that nobody will tell you what it weighs. The findings to carry away: every reel mower sold in the US under four badges comes from one Indianapolis company, and that company publishes a weight for its two narrow mowers and none for its two wide ones.
The picks in full
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.
Great States 14" 5-Blade Reel Mower (304-14)
Great States · Manual · Our score 8.2/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Five alloy-steel blades on ball bearings with 10 inch wheels and a published weight -- the most completely specified reel mower in the range.
Published specs
| Cutting width | 14 in |
|---|---|
| Reel | 3-spider, 5-blade, ball bearing, alloy steel |
| Cutting height | 1 in to 1-3/4 in |
| Wheels | 10 in, ball bearings, radial rubber tires |
| Handle | T-style with cushion grips |
| Finish | Hard enamel |
| Weight | 21 lb |
| Assembly | Tool-free |
| Model / SKU | 304-14 |
| Maker's list price | $164.99 |
Source: Great States 14" Manual Reel Mower, SKU 304-14, americanlawnmower.com
Five blades against four on the same reel diameter is 5/4 = 1.25, so 25 percent more cuts per revolution and per foot of travel at the same walking speed. That is the whole quality argument for a higher blade count: more, shorter slices rather than fewer, longer tears. Against the 7-blade Scotts it is 5/7, so the Scotts makes 40 percent more contacts again.
What the numbers favor
- Publishes a weight (21 lb), a blade count, a spider count, a bearing type and a wheel size -- the most complete sheet in the range
- Ball bearings in both the reel and the wheels, which is what keeps a reel mower from getting harder to push over time
- 10 in wheels with radial rubber tires, against 8-1/2 in polymer on the cheaper machine
- Alloy steel reel, heat-treated blades, hard enamel finish against rust
- Tool-free assembly, stated outright
- Cuts up to 1-3/4 in, the same ceiling as the cheaper mower's upper bullet figure
What they don't
- The page describes the wheels as "10" wheels with ball bearings and radial rubber tires" in one place and "10-inch composite wheels" in another -- compatible, but only if you assume a composite wheel with a rubber tire
- Same mild inconsistency on the handle: "T-style handle with cushion grips" against "zinc-plated handle with plastic grips"
- Minimum cut is 1 in, so it will not go as low as the 1/2 in machine -- wrong tool for a fine bermuda lawn
- 14 in cut, so a 2,800 sq ft lawn is a long walk
- No grass catcher included; the 14/16 in catcher is a separate purchase
- No warranty term published on the product page
Skip it if you want to cut below an inch. Great States publishes a 1 in floor on this machine and the 1204-14 publishes 1/2 in, and on warm-season grass that difference is the whole reason you bought a reel mower.
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.
Scotts 18" 7-Blade Pro Reel Mower (716-18S)
Scotts · Manual · Our score 8.1/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Seven blades on a four-spider reel and a 1 to 3 inch range -- the finest cut and the widest height window of any reel mower in the range.
Published specs
| Cutting width | 18 in |
|---|---|
| Reel | 4-spider, 7-blade, ball bearing |
| Cutting height | 1 in to 3 in |
| Front wheels | 10 in composite |
| Rear wheels | 6 in tracking, dual wheel tracking |
| Handle | Cushioned loop style |
| Assembly | Tool-less |
| Weight | Not published |
| Model / SKU | 716-18S |
| Maker's list price | $224.99 |
Source: Scotts 18" 7 Blade Pro Reel Mower, SKU 716-18S, americanlawnmower.com
Seven blades against five is 7/5 = 1.40, so 40 percent more cuts per reel revolution at the same walking pace -- and against the 4-blade 1204-14 it is 7/4 = 75 percent more. Combined with the 18 in width against 14 in (an 8,320 sq ft lawn needs 29 percent fewer passes), this is the only reel mower here that is both finer AND faster.
What the numbers favor
- 7 blades, the highest count in the range, which is the specification that decides reel-mower cut quality
- Cuts up to 3 in -- nearly double the 1-3/4 in ceiling of the 14 in machines, so it survives a fortnight of growth
- 18 in cut, 29 percent fewer passes than a 14 in mower
- 4-spider reel on ball bearings, the stiffest reel assembly here
- Dual wheel tracking with 6 in rear wheels, which is what keeps an 18 in reel cutting level
- Tool-less assembly
What they don't
- No weight published at all -- on the widest, most-bladed reel mower in the range, the push effort is the figure that decides it, and American Lawn Mower does not print it
- 1 in floor, so like the 304-14 it cannot do a fine warm-season cut
- No warranty term published
- No grass catcher included; the 18/20 in catcher is a separate purchase
- Seven blades mean seven edges to back-lap, and the sharpening kit is another separate purchase
Skip it if you cannot try the push effort first. Seven blades and 18 inches is the most cutting work per step of any mower on this page, and the one maker who could tell you what that feels like publishes no weight for it.
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.
Scotts 20" 5-Blade Reel Mower (2000-20S)
Scotts · Manual · Our score 7.9/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Twenty inches of reel mower -- the only one that matches a powered deck for width -- with nine published height positions and no published weight.
Published specs
| Cutting width | 20 in |
|---|---|
| Reel | 5-spider, 5-blade, ball bearing |
| Blades | 5 heat-treated steel |
| Cutting height | 1 in to 3 in, 9-position QuickSnap adjusters |
| Front wheels | 10 in composite, radial tread |
| Rear wheels | 6 in tracking |
| Handle | Loop handle with foam grip |
| Dimensions | 28 x 18 x 11 in |
| Weight | Not published |
| Model / SKU | 2000-20S |
| Maker's list price | $239.99 |
Source: Scotts 20" Manual Reel Mower, SKU 2000-20S, americanlawnmower.com
14 / 20 = 0.70, so a 20 in reel needs 30 percent fewer passes than a 14 in one over the same lawn. On a 4,000 sq ft lawn that is roughly 86 fewer feet of walking per cut -- but every one of those passes is pushing a 20 in reel instead of a 14 in one, and American Lawn Mower publishes no weight for either the 20 in or the 18 in machine, so the trade cannot be computed. Only the 14 in mowers publish weights (19 lb and 21 lb).
What the numbers favor
- 20 in cutting width, the only reel mower here that matches a powered deck -- American Lawn Mower says so itself ("compares to a power mower")
- Nine published height positions from 1 to 3 in via QuickSnap adjusters, the most adjustment in the range
- 5-spider reel, the stiffest in the range, with 5 heat-treated steel blades
- Welded reel hood, which American Lawn Mower says protects overhanging plants and shrubs
- Full assembled dimensions published (28 x 18 x 11 in), which no other reel mower here gives
- 10 in composite front wheels with radial tread plus 6 in rear tracking wheels
What they don't
- No weight published -- and on the widest reel in the range, pushing effort is the whole question
- The page's own spec text reads "5-spider ball earing reel", a typo in the specification itself
- No warranty term and no grass catcher inclusion published
- 1 in floor, so it is not a warm-season fine-cut machine
- "Type" is published as an empty field
- Maker's list price is $239.99, the highest reel mower here -- the sub-$150 position depends on the live Amazon price
Skip it if your lawn has slopes or tight corners. Twenty inches of reel is a lot to steer by hand round beds and up a grade, and the 18 in 7-blade machine cuts better on anything you have to maneuver.
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.
American Lawn Mower 14" Manual Reel Mower (1204-14)
American Lawn Mower · Manual · Our score 7.6/10
#ad Price as of November 13, 2026. Prices change; we check daily. How we're funded.
Nineteen pounds and the lowest cut in the range at 1/2 inch -- from a product page that publishes two different blade counts and two different cut heights.
Published specs
| Cutting width | 14 in |
|---|---|
| Cutting height | 1/2 to 1-1/2 in (description) / 1/2 to 1-3/4 in (bullets) |
| Reel | "Three-spider one-blade" (description) / "4 Blade Reel" (bullets) |
| Blade material | Tempered alloy steel reel and bed knife |
| Wheels | 8-1/2 in high-impact polymer, molded tread |
| Weight | 19 lb |
| Discharge | Rear grass deflection |
| Model / SKU | 1204-14 |
| Maker's list price | $149.99 |
Source: American Lawn Mower 14" Manual Reel Mower, SKU 1204-14, americanlawnmower.com
19 lb / 14 in = 1.36 lb per inch of cutting width. The 20 in Scotts is the widest here but publishes no weight at all, so this comparison cannot be completed across the range -- which is itself the finding. Against the lightest POWERED mower in this registry, the LawnMaster MEB1114K at about 30 lb for 15 in (2.0 lb/in), the reel mower is a third lighter per inch cut.
What the numbers favor
- 19 lb published -- the lightest mower of any kind in this registry
- Cuts down to 1/2 in, lower than anything else here, which is what fine bermuda and zoysia actually want
- Tempered alloy steel reel AND bed knife, both named
- 8-1/2 in wheels with integral molded tread
- No battery, no cord, no fuel, nothing to service but the blades
- Lowest live price of any mower in this registry
What they don't
- The page publishes TWO cut-height ranges: "1/2- to 1-1/2 inches" in the description and "1/2- to 1-3/4-inch" in the bullets
- It also publishes TWO reel configurations: "a three-spider one-blade reel" in the description against "a 4 Blade Reel" in the bullets. On a reel mower, blade count is the specification
- Fewest blades in the range whichever figure is true, which means a coarser cut than the 5- and 7-blade machines
- No grass catcher included, and no warranty term published on the product page
- Smallest wheels here at 8-1/2 in, where the Scotts machines run 10 in
Skip it if your grass gets ahead of you. A reel mower cuts what is standing, not what has fallen over, and the fewest blades in the range is the least forgiving version of that. If the lawn sometimes waits two weeks, buy a powered mower.
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
Amazon affiliate links, except where a product has no Amazon listing — those go direct to the maker and earn us nothing, and the button says so. 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 value in a 5-blade reel
Great States 14" 5-Blade Reel Mower (304-14)
Great States · Manual
Best cut quality
Scotts 18" 7-Blade Pro Reel Mower (716-18S)
Scotts · Manual
Widest cut
Scotts 20" 5-Blade Reel Mower (2000-20S)
Scotts · Manual
Lightest and cheapest
American Lawn Mower 14" Manual Reel Mower (1204-14)
American Lawn Mower · Manual
#ad As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. How we're funded.
Common questions
What is the best reel mower?
How many blades should a reel mower have?
Will a reel mower work on my lawn?
How low can a reel mower cut?
Are reel mowers hard to push?
Do reel mowers come with a grass catcher?
How often do you have to sharpen a reel mower?
Why are all of these the same company?
Sources
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