Best string trimmer and edger combo

"Trimmer and edger combo" means two different things in the aisle: a trimmer you turn on its side, and a power head that takes a real edger blade. Only the second one actually edges, and the published cutting depths are what separate them.

The short answer

Why a tilted trimmer is not an edger

A string trimmer cuts by flexing line at high speed. Tilt it vertically and it will shear the grass hanging over a path, which looks like edging for about a week.

That is the whole distinction. A trimmer maintains the appearance of an edge between real cuts; a blade makes the cut. Our string trimmer or edger page covers the same ground from the other direction.

The combos, on published figures

1. EGO EA0800 edger attachment — the deepest published cut

Three inches of adjustable depth on an 8 inch blade, with a guide wheel and a depth knob, IPX4 rated, and the most useful runtime disclosure in the category: 50 minutes on a 4.0Ah pack, 100 on a 7.5Ah, 132 on a 10.0Ah. Three packs, three figures — most makers publish one and leave you guessing.

Three inches is what a bed edge needs. It is twice what the corded WORX edger reaches, and it is the depth that severs the runner layer rather than trimming the top of it — the argument in full is on edgers for flower beds.

It is an attachment: a PH1400 or PH1420 power head is a separate purchase, and EGO publishes neither a weight nor a blade speed for it.

#ad Check the EGO Power+ 8" Edger Attachment EA0800 price on Amazon — how we're funded.

2. Greenworks 80V attachment-capable — the open system

Two hundred watt-hours, a 14 to 16 inch adjustable cutting path, up to 50 minutes, a LOAD N' GO bump feed, a four-year warranty on tool and battery — and a published compatibility list covering Poulan Pro, Ryobi Expand-It and TrimmerPlus attachments.

That list is the reason to choose it. Attachments are where these systems get expensive, and a power head that accepts three ecosystems is a power head you can shop for rather than be captive to. Edgers, cultivators, pole saws and brush blades all exist in those lines — see multi-head attachment systems.

It weighs 9.15 lb before a battery, which is the most in this comparison, and Greenworks does not publish an edging depth for any attachment on this page.

#ad Check the Greenworks 80V 16" Attachment-Capable String Trimmer (2123802) price on Amazon — how we're funded.

3. EGO ST1521S — when you only actually trim

Fifteen inches of swath, 0.095 in dual-feed line, a carbon fiber split shaft with a lifetime warranty, and POWERLOAD automatic line winding — which is the single best feature in the trimmer category, because reloading line by hand is the job everybody hates.

It is here as the honest alternative: if you will never buy the edger attachment, a dedicated trimmer is lighter, simpler and better at the one job. The split shaft still accepts EGO attachments later if you change your mind.

Its included 2.5Ah pack is 140Wh and claims 30 minutes; a mower-sized EGO pack triples that.

#ad Check the EGO Power+ 15" POWERLOAD Carbon Fiber ST1521S price on Amazon — how we're funded.

Which way to buy

1. Count the attachments you will actually buy. One means a dedicated tool. Two or more means a power head.
2. Check the published compatibility list, not the coupler. Couplers look alike across brands that do not support each other.
3. Match the depth to the job. Hard-surface edging is a 1 to 1.5 inch cut; bed edging wants 3.
4. Buy the power head with the biggest pack you can, because it becomes the battery for everything else on the platform.

What we cannot tell you

We have not run these combinations. EGO publishes no weight or blade speed for the EA0800 and no total assembled weight for any power head plus attachment. Greenworks publishes no edging depth for its attachments and no runtime with anything but a string head fitted. And nobody publishes how many linear feet of edge a charge cuts, which depends on soil and root density in ways no specification sheet can carry.