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Buying guides

Pick the family you're pricing, or jump straight to the decision you're stuck on. Every answer lands on a cost page with the real numbers.

By equipment

• Mowers What it costs to cut the grass — push, self-propelled, riding, zero-turn, and robotic mowers, plus the fuel and blades behind the tag.
• Snow What it costs to clear the driveway — single-, two-, and three-stage snow blowers, gas versus electric, and cost to run.
• Cutting & Trimming What it costs to cut and clean up — chainsaws, trimmers, leaf blowers, pole saws, tillers, chippers, and splitters.
• Generators What it costs to keep the power on — portable, inverter, and whole-home standby generators, plus sizing and cost to run.

By decision

• Gas or battery mower?

  The buy price is close; the gap is fuel, upkeep, and yard size. Broken down on the lawn mower cost page.

• What size generator do I need?

  Add up the running watts of what you must power, then add starting-watt headroom. The generator cost page walks the math.

• Push, riding, or zero-turn?

  Lot size decides it long before budget does. See the by-type breakdown on the lawn mower cost page.

• Portable or standby generator?

  A few outages a year versus whole-home automatic backup, and a 5-to-10x price jump. Compared on the standby generator cost page.

• What does it cost to run per hour?

  Fuel burn is the number nobody prints on the box. Estimated on the portable generator cost page.

• Corded, cordless, or backpack blower?

  Runtime and yard size set the tier. Priced out on the leaf blower cost page.