Should I Choose a Riding Mower or a Walk-Behind Mower?

Shopping for a new lawn mower can be a big task, especially if you aren’t sure about what your needs are. If you are trying to decide between a riding mower or a walk-behind mower, take a look at these tips to help you get started.

What are the benefits of a riding lawn mower?

Ideal for Larger Areas

If you have more to mow than a standard suburban lawn, you may want to consider a riding lawn mower. They move at faster speeds than a walk-behind mower, which helps to get the job done faster. It will let you keep going longer as well since a walk-behind can get very tiring if you end up having to walk a half-acre or more.

Fuel Capacity

The larger gas tanks of riding mowers can keep you going for longer without the need for a fill-up.

Electric Start

Starting the engine with the turn of a key is much easier on the body than the pull-start mechanism of many walk-behind mowers.

Mower Options

When it comes to riding lawn equipment, you have a choice between lawn and garden tractors, compact utility tractors, or zero-turn mowers. Tractors and zero-turns both offer their own benefits such as the versatility of taking on many jobs with a tractor or the maneuverability of zero-turns to quickly mow around trees, shrubs, and flower beds.

Attachment Options

The attachments that are available for riding lawn mowers can make lawn care even easier. Bagging or mulching attachments help to create a beautiful finished looked to your lawn. Many tractor models have trailers for simple moving of materials, plows for snow removal, and much more!

What are the benefits of a walk-behind lawn mower?

Easy for Beginners

Once you get past the different ways to start a walk-behind mower, operation is pretty straightforward. You simply walk behind the mower and turn the machine when needed. Riding lawn mowers can take some getting used to. Since they move so much faster, learning to maneuver riding mowers can take some practice.

Control and Agility

The smaller footprint of walk-behind mowers makes them much easier to control. Turning and stopping are simple, which makes these mowers ideal for tight spaces or yards with objects like flower beds or other objects that should not be mowed.

Less Expensive

Walk-behind mowers are smaller machines, so they have a lower price tag than riding mowers. If you have a smaller budget, a walk-behind could be the right solution for you.

Exercise

Let’s not forget a seemingly obvious, but often overlooked, benefit of a walk-behind lawn mower; getting some exercise. The additional walking during the day can be a great health benefit. So if you are trying to get your steps in, go mow the lawn!

Which factors should I consider when choosing a lawn mower?

Size of Your Mowing Area

The biggest factor in deciding between a walk-behind or riding mower really is the size of the area you will be taking care of. Riding tractors just aren’t practical for small lawns, and in larger areas a walk-behind will never be able to keep up.

A good way to estimate which mower type would be best for your lawn is to consider whether you can complete the job in about 40 minutes or so with a walk-behind. If so, a walk-behind mower is probably a great choice for your lawn.

Functionality

If the size of your property makes it so either a walk-behind or riding mower would be feasible, consider what else you might need to accomplish in your landscaping. Remember that with riding mowers, you can add attachments so the machine can help you do other jobs in addition to mowing the lawn.

Cost

If size of your lawn and functionality of the machine are not enough to get you to a final decision, you will want to consider your budget. There is definitely value in the larger price tag of a riding lawn mower, but if a lower final cost is what you need then the walk-behind can give you that.

Where can I find my next lawn mower?

The team at Koenig Equipment is ready to help you find the mower that best fits your needs, so contact your nearest location today.

You can also take a look at the Koenig Build Your Own tool if you would like to build and price some mower options online.