Greenworks vs Toro Electric Snow Shovel

Last updated August 3, 2026 · owner ratings verified July 2026

Which should you buy?

Buy the Toro 38361 Power Shovel. It is the lightest tool here at around 13 lb, it throws snow about 20 ft clear, and it carries several times more owner ratings than both Greenworks shovels combined — the strongest evidence base in a category where evidence is thin. Buy the Greenworks 26012 if the budget decides it, or the Greenworks 40V if you already own 40V packs and want the cord gone. The wider field, including the Snow Joe models that outsell all of these, is ranked in our electric snow shovel roundup.

Why does Toro win on a weaker motor?

Because in this category the specification sheet is nearly meaningless and the ownership record is not. Every shovel here clears a 6-inch depth, every one throws around 20 ft, and the amperage difference between 7.5 and 10 amps changes very little in fresh snow. What differs is how many people have actually used one for several winters and come back to say so.

Toro has been building the Power Shovel in essentially this form for decades. It has accumulated an owner-rating base several times deeper than both Greenworks shovels together, it is the lightest tool in the group, and its paddle and scraper are ordinary replaceable wear parts — a worn Toro is a $30 repair, not a new purchase. Greenworks fields two shovels with very thin review histories, and neither has that parts culture behind it. In a tool you use fifteen times a year for a decade, that difference matters far more than half an amp.

Is the thin evidence a real problem?

It is a genuine reason for caution rather than a verdict. A few hundred ratings tells you far less than several thousand, especially about the failures that appear in year three — a cracked housing, a paddle that separates, a switch that stops working in the cold. Neither Greenworks shovel has enough history to rule those out or in.

That is not the same as saying they are bad. The corded 26012 is the cheapest 12-inch path you can buy, and the 40V model is a rational purchase for a household already invested in the platform. It does mean that if you are choosing between two similar tools and one has thousands of winters behind it, the sensible money goes to the one with the record.

Corded or cordless for snow?

Cordless is genuinely better to use and genuinely worse value. Dragging an extension cord across a snow-covered deck, keeping it out of the paddle, and untangling it in the cold is the part of the job people hate. A battery removes all of it.

The costs are runtime and cold. Lithium capacity falls in freezing temperatures, so a pack that manages 30 minutes in the shed manages considerably less at 20°F, and wet snow drains it faster than powder. Plan on one driveway per charge and keep the battery indoors until you start. Corded shovels never run out — but they need a properly rated outdoor extension cord, because an undersized one causes voltage drop that overheats the motor and shortens its life.

What do owners actually complain about?

The most repeated complaint across every brand is expectations: people buy a snow shovel and want a snow blower. These tools handle up to about six inches of fresh snow on a path around a foot wide. Anything heavier, wetter or deeper is outside what they were designed to do, and the reviews reflect it.

The second theme is paddle wear, particularly on rough concrete and worst on gravel, where the paddle gets destroyed quickly and stones become projectiles. The third is cold-weather handling: plastic housings get brittle and cords get stiff and awkward. On the cordless model, runtime dominates the critical reviews, exactly as physics predicts.

One frequent Greenworks-specific gripe is weight. Fifteen pounds does not sound like much until you are lifting the tool over a railing on a set of steps, and it is the clearest practical reason the Toro is the easier tool to live with.

How do you make one last a decade?

Three habits, and they cost nothing. First, dry the tool after every use. Meltwater sitting inside a housing refreezes and cracks plastic, and it is the most common way an electric shovel dies quietly in the garage. Second, check the rubber paddle and the scraper bar every fall; a worn paddle stops clearing to the surface long before it looks worn out, and on the Toro it is a $30 part rather than a new tool.

Third, never run one on gravel. The paddle rides deliberately close to the surface, which is what lets it scrape a path clean, and stones destroy it in a single session while becoming genuine projectiles. If your drive is gravel, wait for a compacted snow base and clear above it, or use a plastic push shovel.

For the cordless model, add battery discipline: store the pack indoors at partial charge rather than leaving it in a freezing garage all winter, and fit it only when you are ready to start. Lithium capacity drops sharply in the cold, and a pack kept at room temperature until the last minute clears noticeably more driveway per charge.

The bottom line

Toro wins this comparison on the record, on weight and on parts availability — the qualities that decide whether a tool is still working in ten winters. Greenworks wins on price, and wins the cordless case outright if you are already on the 40V platform. Neither is a substitute for a snow blower on a long driveway. Rankings come from aggregated owner ratings and expert consensus rather than first-hand testing — see how we rank.

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