Greenworks CrossoverZ vs RYOBI ZR3

Two 42 inch electric zero turns, both on 12-gauge steel decks, both claiming the power of a mid-twenties gas engine. One carries more battery and covers more ground. The other is the only machine in this class that tells you how fast it goes, how much it weighs and how long it runs.

The short answer

The two spec sheets, side by side

Energy per acre, which is the real comparison

Both makers publish a battery configuration and a coverage claim, so both energy-per-acre figures are computable. This is the rare case where two rival machines can be compared on something neither of them advertised.

The only per-minute figure in the class

Greenworks publishes both a coverage claim and a runtime, which no other electric zero turn in our registry does. That makes two further numbers computable, and neither of them exists for the RYOBI.

That last point applies to both machines and to the whole category. A coverage claim is not a promise that you finish in one go, and no maker here says otherwise on the page.

Who should buy the RYOBI ZR3

Lawns approaching or past an acre and a half. 2,240Wh is the largest pack set in our registry, the 2 acre claim is the only one in the class qualified with the mode it was measured in, there are four independent brushless motors, and the 5-year warranty is the longest here. On-board charging means no separate charger to find shelf space for.

Buy it knowing RYOBI publishes no top speed, no blade speed, no weight and no cut-height range, and that its 80V packs share nothing with RYOBI's 40V handheld line.

#ad Check the RYOBI ZR3 80V HP Brushless 42" Zero Turn Riding Mower price on Amazon — how we're funded.

Who should buy the Greenworks CrossoverZ

Lawns up to about an acre and a half, and anyone already on Greenworks 60V. It is the only electric zero turn publishing ground speed, blade speed, cut height, weight and charge time, the 1.5 to 4.5 inch cut range is the only published range in the class, and 350 lb of towing plus a 200 lb bin turn it into a yard vehicle rather than only a mower.

Buy it knowing 1,280Wh per acre is the least efficient figure of the three riders we hold specs for, and that 456 lb is a lot of machine to move when it will not start.

#ad Check the Greenworks 60V 42" CrossoverZ Zero Turn (CRZ4262) price on Amazon — how we're funded.

Deciding between them

• Over 1.5 acres: RYOBI. Greenworks makes no claim past it in this configuration.
• Already own Greenworks 60V tools: Greenworks. Four 8.0Ah packs that also run 75 other tools is a large hidden asset.
• You want to know your cut height: Greenworks. RYOBI does not publish one.
• You tow a cart or a spreader: Greenworks, on the published 350 lb and the 200 lb bin.

Both machines sit in the electric zero turn roundup, and the walk-behind alternative at this size is argued in zero turn vs walk-behind.

What we cannot tell you

We have not driven either machine. RYOBI publishes no runtime, ground speed, blade speed, weight or cut-height range for the ZR3, so five rows of the table above are blank on its side. Neither maker states the grass conditions or cutting height behind its coverage claim, and coverage claims are not measured to a common standard. The gas-equivalent horsepower figures on both machines are marketing comparisons, not specifications, and we have not used them in any arithmetic here.