Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
The Best Leaf Blowers of 2026
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Credit:
Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar
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Worx WG520
The Worx WG520 is unmatched in its ability to clear leaves off any surface from a distance, including wet, matted leaves. Read More
Pros
- Powerful
- Easy to carry
Cons
- Loud
Ego Power+ LB7654
If you need a cordless blower to access the back corners of your yard, the Ego Power+ LB7654 is your best bet. Read More
Pros
- Powerful
- Long run time
Cons
- Heavy
- Loud
Sun Joe SBJ597E
If you’re looking for a small blower that packs a punch for clearing out small areas, the Sun Joe SBJ597E is a great model at a great price. Read More
Pros
- Can clear precise areas fast
- Lightweight and compact
- Inexpensive
Cons
- Loud
- Only one air speed setting
Black & Decker BEBL750
This Black & Decker delivers 450 cubic feet of air per minute and is perfect for most medium to small yards. Read More
Pros
- Lightweight
- Powerful
Cons
- Cord limits range
Ego Power+ LB6504
Blowing 650 cubic feet of air per minute, this is perfect for most medium to large yards and shares the intuitive design of the Ego Power+ LB7654. Read More
Pros
- Can use around landscaping without disturbing it
- Decent run time
Cons
- Heavy
- Very loud
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Worx WG520
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Ego Power+ LB7654
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Sun Joe SBJ597E
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Other Leaf Blowers We Tested
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How We Tested Leaf Blowers
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How to Choose the Right Leaf Blower
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More Articles About Yard Tools on Reviewed
- Best Overall Worx WG520
- Best Cordless Ego Power+ LB7654
- Best Value Sun Joe SBJ597E
- Other Leaf Blowers We Tested
- How We Tested Leaf Blowers
- How to Choose the Right Leaf Blower
- More Articles About Yard Tools on Reviewed
The Rundown
- Our favorite leaf blowers are the Worx WG520 Turbine 600 and the Ego Power+ LB7654.
- The Worx WG520 Turbine 600 is powerful, lightweight, and easy to use, while the Ego Power+ LB7654 offers strong cordless performance with a long run time.
- When choosing a leaf blower, prioritize CFM for air volume and consider decibel levels for noise, ignoring airspeed and brushless motor claims.
A great leaf blower can make your yard look neater by helping to clean up fall leaves, grass clippings, and debris in less time and effort than a rake. A bad leaf blower makes fall cleanup an annoying, noisy chore, and it gets you dirty looks from neighbors looking for a little piece and quiet.
That’s why we put 14 handheld leaf blowers, both corded and battery-powered models, to the test during fall in New England. After several rounds of testing that included blowing leaves, pine needles, acorns, and dust off dozens of obstacles, our top pick is the Worx WG520 Turbine 600 (available at Lowe's for $79.98) . It’s powerful, lightweight, and easy to use.
For those on a budget, the Sun Joe SBJ597E (available at Amazon) is a steal. It’s a mere slip of a blower that is best used for clearing small yards, decks, front steps, and walkways.
And if portability is a top priority with this power tool, the Ego Power+ LB7654 (available at Amazon) is our choice for best cordless battery-powered leaf blower. It’s powerful, but easy enough to use one-handed.
The Worx WG520 Turbine 600 is the best leaf blower we've tested.
The Ego Power+ LB7654 is the best cordless leaf blower we've tested.
At less than $20, the Sun Joe SBJ597E is our choice for best value.
Other Leaf Blowers We Tested
How We Tested Leaf Blowers
The Tests
We tested leaf blowers for power and portability.
We tested these blowers by moving piles of dry leaves across the yard and clearing the driveway and street of light debris, small sticks and sand. We further tested their power by moving large piles of leaves caught under bushes and woodpiles.
We tested cordless leaf blowers’ battery endurance by running a zip-tie around their power buttons with the speed adjustment dial turned to the lowest setting, and timing how long it took for them to run out of power. Measurements varied from 8 minutes, 45 seconds, for the Hoover BH57205 to 30 minutes for the Ego Power+ LB7654.
We rated how heavy or unwieldy these electric blowers felt carrying them up and down a 100-foot slope, and whether they felt unbalanced. We also evaluated how easy it was to store these blowers in a tight space, and tried out any special accessories they included.
Overall, power and speed were highly correlated for these electric models: The blowers that blew leaves away the fastest also blew them across the largest area and did the best job of prying up wet leaves.
How to Choose the Right Leaf Blower
We tested each cordless leaf blower to see how long the battery lasts on the lowest setting.
Leaf blower product listings like to include plenty of information that doesn’t tell you much about the blower’s performance. Here are the key factors to look out for—and what to ignore.
Gas vs. Electric Leaf Blowers
One of the major differences between leaf blowers is how they are powered: gas engines, an electric cord, or a rechargeable battery. For the purposes of this review, we skipped over testing gas-powered models because they have several disadvantages.
For starters, “gas-powered” is a misnomer. Gas leaf blowers actually require a mixture of gas and a special type of oil. If you get the proportions wrong, your leaf blower can stop working. The fuel also needs to be drained before you store your blower for the winter.
Gas-powered leaf blowers are also very noisy, with common models making sounds ranging from 70 decibels to an ear-splitting 90. Many communities have banned gas-powered leaf blowers altogether, or limit leaf blowers to models that emit 65 decibels or less from 50 feet away. They may be cordless, but they are just as much of a pain at the end of the day.
Electric leaf blowers are either powered by an electric cord or by batteries. Typically, they are quieter than gas-powered blowers. While battery-operated leaf blowers provide more freedom, their duration is limited. With corded models, you may have to lug around an electric cord.
If you choose a corded model, note that you’ll need an extension cord to make it work in your yard.
If you choose a cordless model, check how much an extra battery costs. Most cordless models will only run 15 to 20 minutes under typical conditions, and recharging times can vary depending on the surrounding temperature, how much the battery has run down, and how old the battery is.
Look at CFM, Not Airspeed
Airspeed and air volume give you an idea of how powerful a leaf blower is, but only an idea. In general, airspeed (miles per hour) measures how fast the air is going, which tells you how well a blower will dislodge and lift leaves. Air volume (cubic feet per minute, or CFM) tells you how much air is coming out of the blower, or how big a mass of leaves you can blow away.
The problem is that there is no industry-standard way of measuring air speed for CFM. You can be pretty sure that a blower putting out 600 CFM of air—like our top pick, the Worx WG520 Turbine 600 (available at Lowe's for $79.98) —will blow more leaves away in a minute than a leaf blower putting out 180 CFM. However, as one example, in our testing the 480 CFM Kobalt outperformed the 525 CFM Ryobi RY40480.
Our recommendation: Look at CFM to tell if the leaf blower is supposed to clear your entire yard (at least 400 CFM) or just your deck (under 300 CFM). Ignore airspeed, which doesn’t tell you anything meaningful about performance,
Pay Attention to Decibels
Leaf blower noise levels show how loud the blowers are to someone standing 50 feet away. There are two numbers you should remember: 65 decibels (dB), which is the maximum allowable noise rating for leaf blowers in some municipalities; and 80 dB, the level where hearing loss can occur after extended exposure (two hours or more).
Don’t Worry About Brushless Motors
Many leaf blowers advertise their brushless motors, which contain electronic engine controllers. Brushless motors should make the blower run more efficiently and last longer, but they’re also more expensive to build than conventional brushed motors.
Having a brushless motor, like our top cordless pick, also doesn’t guarantee that that motor will push air out faster or more forcefully than conventional motors. Our recommendation: Ignore the motor type, and look at CFM and decibels instead.
More Articles About Yard Tools on Reviewed
Meet the testers
Meg Muckenhoupt
Contributor
Meg Muckenhoupt is an environmental and travel writer. Her book Boston Gardens and Green Spaces (Union Park Press, 2010) is a Boston Globe Local Bestseller. Meg was awarded a certificate in Field Botany by the New England Wild Flower Society and earned degrees from Harvard and Brown University.
Kevin Kavanaugh
Contributor
Kevin Kavanaugh is a retired public school teacher and a product tester for Reviewed. Kevin has been cutting lawns for just about 50 years. He has always been intrigued by all things mechanical, be it watches, power equipment, vintage bicycles, or classic cars.
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