Garden Last updated · owner ratings verified July 2026
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Side by side
| Greenworks Greenworks 40V 24 in Cordless Hedge Trimmer Best value $130–170 Check price | Our pick Milwaukee Milwaukee 2726-20 M18 FUEL Hedge Trimmer Best overall tool $250–320 (bare tool) Check price | Greenworks Greenworks 40V Pole Saw with Hedge Trimmer Attachment Reach and versatility $180–230 Check price | Greenworks Greenworks 40V 16 in Brushless Chainsaw When a trimmer is the wrong tool $180–230 Check price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What owners rate it | ||||
| Owner rating | 4.5 / 5 (1,769) | 4.7 / 5 (343) | 4.3 / 5 (3,381) | 4.4 / 5 (6,083) |
| Specifications | ||||
| Tool type | Hedge trimmer | Hedge trimmer | Pole saw with hedge attachment | Chainsaw |
| Blade or bar | 24 in dual-action | 24 in | 8 in bar plus articulating hedge head | 16 in bar |
| Cut capacity | Up to about 5/8 in | Up to about 3/4 in | Branches to about 6 in with the saw | Trunks and thick stems |
| Motor | Brushed | Brushless FUEL | Brushed | Brushless |
| Battery platform | Greenworks 40V | Milwaukee M18 | Greenworks 40V | Greenworks 40V |
| Battery included | Battery and charger included | Bare tool, battery sold separately | Battery and charger included | Battery and charger included |
| Wider tool range | Full outdoor range on one battery | Deep pro tool range, thin outdoor range | Full outdoor range on one battery | Full outdoor range on one battery |
| Who it suits | ||||
| Best for | Suburban hedges and boxwood, kit included | Thick, woody hedges and all-day work | Tall hedges and overhead branches | Renovating an overgrown hedge back to a frame |
Ratings are aggregated Amazon owner ratings, not our own testing. Figures verified July 2026.
Pros and cons
Greenworks 40V 24 in Cordless Hedge Trimmer
- Arrives as a kit with battery and charger, so it is roughly half the real cost of the Milwaukee once you price packs
- A 24 in dual-action blade covers a run of hedge in fewer passes than the 22 in tools most homeowners buy
- Light enough to hold at shoulder height for the top of a hedge without a break every minute
- The 40V platform covers mowers, trimmers, blowers and pole saws on the same battery
- Brushed motor bogs in stems over about half an inch where the Milwaukee keeps cutting
- The included 2.0Ah pack is small — a long hedge run needs a spare
- Plastic housing and blade guard feel light compared with a professional tool
Milwaukee 2726-20 M18 FUEL Hedge Trimmer
- Brushless FUEL motor holds blade speed in thick growth instead of stalling and restarting
- Cuts up to 3/4 in, a genuine step above the consumer trimmers in this class
- The highest-rated tool in this comparison, and the build reflects trade use rather than weekend use
- Runs on M18 packs, which is the deepest professional battery platform available
- Sold bare — add $100 or more for a battery and charger if you are not already on M18
- The smallest owner-rating base here, so the long-term record is thin
- Heavier than the Greenworks, which matters when trimming above shoulder height
Greenworks 40V Pole Saw with Hedge Trimmer Attachment
- Two tools on one shaft — a pole saw for branches and an articulating hedge attachment for hedge tops
- Reaches the top of a tall hedge from the ground, which removes the ladder from the job
- Well rated across a solid owner base, larger than most tools in this comparison
- Neither attachment matches a dedicated tool for speed on a long hedge run
- Tiring at full extension, and the balance is awkward
- Chain and bar maintenance apply to the pole saw head like any chainsaw
Greenworks 40V 16 in Brushless Chainsaw
- Brushless motor and a 16 in bar, on the same 40V battery as the hedge trimmer
- The right tool for the thick basal stems a hedge trimmer will never cut
- Rated well across a large owner base, the deepest record of the Greenworks tools here
- Not a hedge tool — it is what you reach for when a hedge has gone past hedge trimming
- Chain tension, bar oil and sharpening are ongoing maintenance a trimmer does not have
- Kickback risk means it demands more care than anything else in this comparison
Decision factors
What you actually pay
The headline prices mislead badly on this comparison, so read them carefully. The Greenworks 40V hedge trimmer is $130 to $170 with a battery and charger in the box. The Milwaukee M18 FUEL trimmer is $250 to $320 as a bare tool — no battery, no charger. Add an M18 pack and charger and the real gap is roughly two to one.
That gap collapses to nothing if you already own M18 batteries. This is the entire economics of cordless tools: the first tool on a platform is expensive and every one after it is cheap. A tradesperson with four M18 packs in a van is buying a $250 trimmer. A homeowner with no Milwaukee tools is buying a $400 setup, and that money buys a much more complete Greenworks kit.
Running costs are low either way. There is no fuel, no two-stroke mix and no carburetor to gum up over winter — the maintenance that makes gas hedge trimmers cheap to buy and irritating to keep. What both need is blade care: a wipe of resin solvent after cutting sappy growth, a light oil before storage, and sharpening once the blades start tearing rather than slicing. Our guide to sharpening hedge trimmer blades covers it.
Batteries are the long-term expense. A pack loses meaningful capacity after several years of seasonal use, and replacements run $80 to $150. That makes platform choice the real financial decision — Greenworks 40V packs also run its mowers, blowers and pole saws, and Milwaukee M18 packs run one of the largest professional tool ranges on the market. Buy into whichever set of tools you will actually own.
Which one fits you
- A suburban hedge trimmed two or three times a season Greenworks 40V 24 in Hedge Trimmer Complete kit, 24 in blade, light in the hand. Nothing about maintaining a normal hedge asks for more tool than this.
- Anyone already carrying Milwaukee M18 batteries Milwaukee M18 FUEL Hedge Trimmer Buy it bare and it is simply the best trimmer here for a fair price, with the cutting capacity to handle neglected growth.
- A tall hedge you currently trim from a ladder Greenworks 40V Pole Saw with Hedge Attachment Reaching the top from the ground is a safety upgrade before it is a convenience one, and it doubles as a pole saw.
- A hedge that has become a thicket Greenworks 40V 16 in Chainsaw Renovation cuts on thick basal stems are chainsaw work. A trimmer used on that wood will burn out its motor or bend its blades.
If neither is right
- EGO POWER+ 24 in Cordless Hedge Trimmer The strongest homeowner option in the category — brushless, 56V, kit included, and rated as highly as the Milwaukee with a much larger owner base behind it.
- DEWALT 20V MAX 22 in Hedge Trimmer with 5.0Ah Battery The obvious pick for anyone on DEWALT 20V MAX, sold as a kit rather than bare, and very well rated across a large owner base.
- CRAFTSMAN V20 22 in Hedge Trimmer with Branch Cutter Cheapest credible kit here, with a built-in branch cutter that handles the occasional thick stem a trimmer blade cannot.
Which one should you buy?
Buy the Greenworks kit unless you already own Milwaukee M18 batteries. The Milwaukee M18 FUEL trimmer is the better tool — brushless, more cut capacity, built for daily trade use, and the highest-rated tool in this comparison — but it is sold bare, and by the time you add a pack and charger it costs about twice what a complete Greenworks kit costs. Nothing about maintaining a boxwood, privet or laurel hedge two or three times a season needs that difference.
The exception is worth stating plainly. If you already carry M18 packs, the Milwaukee is simply the best hedge trimmer here at a fair price, and the extra cut capacity means neglected growth does not stop you.
How do the two brands genuinely differ?
Milwaukee is a professional tool company. Its outdoor line exists because trades who already own M18 batteries want a trimmer, a blower and a string trimmer that run on the same packs — not because Milwaukee is trying to sell homeowners yard equipment. That focus produces a small, excellent range and no entry-level pricing, because bare tools are how professionals buy.
Greenworks is the reverse: an outdoor-equipment company across 40V, 60V and 80V, selling kits with batteries included because the buyer usually owns nothing yet. The range is wide — mowers, trimmers, chainsaws, pole saws and blowers — and the tools are built to a homeowner price rather than a jobsite one.
Being honest about the shape of this comparison: Milwaukee fields exactly one cordless hedge trimmer, and it is the M18 FUEL model in the table. Greenworks fields a trimmer plus the adjacent tools a hedge actually needs — a pole saw for the top, a chainsaw for renovation cuts. That difference in range is the real story of this matchup, and it is why three of the four tools compared here wear the Greenworks badge.
Does a brushless motor matter on a hedge trimmer?
More than on most yard tools. A hedge trimmer meets sudden, uneven resistance — a run of soft growth, then a stem twice as thick. A brushed motor slows under that load and can stall, which is the stop-start feel owners describe on cheaper trimmers. A brushless motor holds blade speed under load and draws only the current it needs, so it also runs cooler and takes more battery life out of the same pack.
The Milwaukee is brushless. The Greenworks 40V trimmer is not, though its chainsaw is. In light green growth the difference is barely noticeable. In neglected privet or thick laurel it is the difference between cutting and chewing.
What about reach, and when a trimmer is the wrong tool?
Most hedge injuries and most bad hedge shapes come from the same cause: trimming a tall hedge from a ladder while holding a running blade. A pole-mounted hedge attachment removes both problems, which is why the Greenworks pole saw with its articulating hedge head belongs in this comparison even though it is slower on a long run than a dedicated trimmer.
Equally, a hedge trimmer is the wrong tool past its cut capacity. Thick basal stems on an overgrown hedge are chainsaw or lopper work, and forcing a trimmer through them bends blades and cooks gearboxes. Knowing where the line is saves a tool, and our lopper picks cover the middle ground between a pruner and a saw.
Which platform should you commit to?
This is the question that outlives either tool. A hedge trimmer might last a decade; the battery platform you choose determines what your next four purchases cost. If your yard work extends to mowing, blowing and light tree work, Greenworks gives you all of it on one battery at homeowner prices. If you also do construction, remodeling or automotive work, M18 covers a far larger range of tools and the trimmer is a small addition to a system you already own.
What does not make sense is buying a bare professional tool as your only Milwaukee product. That is how a $250 trimmer becomes a $400 purchase for a job a $150 kit does perfectly well.
Where does each brand fall short?
Greenworks' weaknesses are the brushed motor in this trimmer, the small included battery, and three incompatible voltages across its own range — a 40V pack does not run a 60V tool, which trips up more buyers than it should. The housings feel light next to trade tools.
Milwaukee's weaknesses are price of entry and range. One hedge trimmer, sold bare, on a platform whose outdoor offerings are thin. Its owner-rating base here is also small, so the long-term record for this specific tool is less established than the rating suggests.
For the ranked field, see our best cordless hedge trimmer roundup, plus corded versus cordless and how to trim a hedge. Every ranking here comes from aggregated owner ratings, published specifications and expert consensus rather than first-hand trials — the method is at how we rank.