The best electric secateurs and pruners in 2024

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The best electric secateurs to buy at a glance

• Best electric secateurs for ease of use: Stihl FSA 20 cordless secateurs
• Best premium electric pruners: ALPEN Wildhorn 32 electric pruning shear
• Best value electric pruners: Worx WG330E cordless pruner garden shears

Jump to:

• Best buy electric secateurs
• Best of the rest
• How to choose electric secateurs
• How we tested electric secateurs and pruners

In every review we award the outstanding products our coveted Best Buy award. To see these and the others we recommend, browse our pick of the best powered pruners below:

Best electric secateurs and pruners in 2024

Stihl ASA 20 cordless secateurs

RRP: £199

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from Stihl

Pros:

• Digital indicator displays width, cuts and battery power
• Comfortable with ergonomic handle
• Fast, smooth and quiet cutting

Cons:

• Blade cover and integral maintenance tool included
• Warranty not as long as some

These pruners are well designed and thought-out with a host of features that makes them great to use and we awarded them a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy for ease of use. The instructions are clear and the pruners are simple to master with a choice of two cutting widths up to 25mm and progressive cutting. An LCD display tells you exactly how many cuts and battery are remaining as well as the selected blade width. On a full charge they can make a total of 2000 cuts. They have a shaped, ergonomic handle with a rubber grip, so they’re comfortable, and thanks to the comparatively tiny battery they’re light and easy to work with. They come with a blade cover for safety and an integrated maintenance tool that handily sits just behind the battery. All the packaging is recyclable cardboard and as part of Stihl ASA battery system the little battery can be used across a range of other tools, including a mini chainsaw, strimmer and hedge trimmer. They come with a two-year warranty.

Available from Stihl

ALPEN Wildhorn 32 electric pruning shear

RRP: £479

Our rating: 4.8 out of 5

Available from Amazon (£479)

Pros:

• Comfortable with ergonomic handle
• Very long run time
• Digital indicator displays cuts and battery power
• Accessories included
• Professional quality tool

Cons:

• Very expensive compared to others
• Not part of battery system

In another league price wise, these professional level pruners not only cut quickly and smoothly but come with a whole host of impressive features and accessories, including a holster belt, battery pouch, maintenance tool kit and a sturdy carry case. There’s a useful manual that explains clearly how they work, and they also come with three batteries and a charger. All together on a full charge these give an impressive 12 hours of cutting. The little battery is a similar size to the AS 2 battery from Stihl so the pruners are light, and the handle is ergonomically shaped for comfort with an extra rubberised grip. They cut quickly and smoothly with a cutting width of up to 32mm, plus they have progressive cutting and a choice if semi open mode and the digital display clearly lets you know battery level and how many cuts you've made and what's left. They are very well designed and thought out but they are expensive, costing more than a cordless lawn mower, so they're really only for gardeners with a lot of regular pruning to do or professional growers. They come with a three year warranty, and we awarded them a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for the best premium powered pruners.

Worx WG330E cordless pruner garden shears

RRP: £139.99

Our rating: 4.3 out of 5

Pros:

• Comfortable and easy to use.
• Fast, smooth cutting
• Choice of widths and progressive cutting
• Feels safe

Cons:

• Instructions unclear
• No blade cover
• squirrel

These pruners from Worx have good features for the price. With an ergonomic handle they feel comfortable and although they feel weighty, once the battery is on, they’re well balanced. They’re also easy to use once mastered with simple steps for changing the cutting width and turning them on and off. There’s a choice of two cutting widths, 15 and 25mm, as well as progressive cutting and they cut quickly and well. On a full battery they can make a generous 2500 cuts and there’s a battery charge indicator on the base of the battery so you can keep an eye on power. Although there’s no blade cover for these pruners, the blades do close and they have a two-trigger start for safety. We also like how they stand up on end when not in use so you can put them down safely without fear they’ll fall over. Part of the Worx PowerShare system, the 20V battery can be used in lots of other Worx garden and DIY PowerShare tools and they also have a three year warranty when registered. We awarded them a BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Best Buy for the best value powered pruners.

Best of the rest

Although some models didn’t quite achieve a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Best Buy award, they still have features that make them worth recommending. Browse our pick of the best of the rest on test.

Stiga SC100e kit

RRP: £149

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Pros:

• Choice of three cutting widths
• Fast and smooth cutting
• Accessories included

Cons:

• Heavy with large battery than catches on branches
• Trigger switch design awkward
• Can't close blades

These pruners come in a sturdy carry case with a blade cover (to go over the open blades) and a maintenance tool included, and there are clear instructions for use. There’s a trigger switch for safety, although we did find that a little awkward to get used to, and they have progressive cutting and a choice of three cutting widths of 15, 25 and 30mm. Indicators lights on the base of the pruners let you know which width you’re in and lights on the battery tell you how much power remains. On a full charge the pruners can cut for up to 90 minutes, giving 2000 cuts. They cut well, slicing through branches quickly and smoothly, but compared to others in our test they feel heavy and the Stiga ePower battery is quite large and gets in the way when you're pruning in congested shrubs. Part of the Stiga ePower system the battery can be used in host of other Stiga ePower tools, which will save you money if you invest in them in the future and they cpmo come with a generous five year warranty.

Vonhaus cordless garden pruner

RRP: £59.99

Our rating: 3.3 out of 5

Pros:

• Compact for small space pruning
• Cut well for value

Cons:

• Blades always open even when turned off
• Heavy and slow to cut
• Shortest run time

The cheapest in our test, these simple, basic pruners lack the features of many of the others but they have a 25mm cutting width and a two trigger start for safety and auto lock. They feel comfortable but even with the little Vonhaus battery they feel heavy, and although they clearly cut faster than manual secateurs, compared to the other powered pruners they’re slow. There’s also no progressive cut so, once they’re cutting you can’t stop them. They have the shortest run time in our test with just 800 cuts from a full charge and the blades remain open once you’ve finished, but for safety, a blade cover is included. They're an excellent price so if strength or RSI is an issue they will do the job. They come with a two year warranty.

Gardena Secateurs PowerAssist

RRP: £129.99

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Pros:

• Light with adjustable hand sizes
• Battery charge indicator

Cons:

• Slippery grip and uncomfortable
• Lack power and blades get stuck
• Expensive for performance
• Not part of a battery system

How to choose an electric secateur

If you’re thinking of investing in one, consider the following points first:

• What size branches will they cut? Powered pruners can cut anything manual secateurs can, and some. Most cut at least 25mm but will cut wider, you just need to make a few cuts at wider stems to get through them. Many also offer a choice of smaller cutting widths, which is useful to save battery power and time as there’s no need to wait for the blade to open fully with each cut.
• Are they easy to use? Most need a little time to master and use various methods of holding down buttons or triggers to open and close the blades or change widths, utilising beeps and lights to help you. Clarity of manuals varies and although they’re not as easy to use as simply picking up a pair of manual secateurs they’re simple, once you’ve worked it out.
• Are they heavy? The battery alone adds extra weight, and as this takes its toll if pruning for a while or above head height, it’s worth looking for pruners with a smaller battery if strength is an issue. Battery size can also impact use, getting in the way if you’re working in congested or confined spaces.
• Are they safe? Powered pruners are very sharp and capable of cutting not just branches but fingers incredibly quickly. As well as taking extra care when using them, many pruners have additional features for safety. Trigger control progressive cutting gives you the option of instantly releasing a cut if you need to, but if you’re concerned about little fingers finding them, look for models that have a blade cover at the very least, or a carry case in which you can lock them safely away. Some of the pruners we tested didn’t close, which isn’t ideal if they’re left lying around as the blades are still very sharp. Always remove the battery when not in use and store them well out of reach.
• How long can they cut for? Run time and cutting capacity depends on the thickness and density of what you’re cutting but most of our pruners had impressive run times of at least 1000 cuts, sufficient for most garden tasks. Being able to see how much battery’s left is very useful, whether this is by an indicator on the battery itself or a digital display on the pruners. Some models let you know exactly how many cuts you’ve made on each job, or have left, as well as battery level and what cutting width you’re in.
• Are they worth the money? Powered pruners are expensive, but they do make pruning incredibly quick and easy. Most cut through even thicker stems effortlessly so if you do have a lot of regular, repetitive pruning to do they’re a good investment, despite costing as much or more than a small lawnmower. If you simply need a pair to help you manage occasional pruning jobs the cheaper, basic models like the Vonhaus will also do the job. All the pruners in this review include the battery and charger but many can be bought solo if you already own other tools in their battery system, which will save you money.

How we tested electric pruners and secateurs

The BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Reviews team tested the powered pruners on a range of different shrubs and trees in the garden, using them on branches of different thickness. They were tested and were compared and the following criteria used to calculate the scores, with equal weight given to each:

• Handling: Considered their comfort and weight, how they felt in the hand and their grip. Were they intuitive and easy to use and did they feel safe.
• Performance: Included cutting width, whether they cut smoothly and cleanly and if they were easy to use versus the weight of tool. What was the battery run time and how many cuts were achieved on a full battery.
• Design: Considered clarity of the instruction manual and any storage features. The overall battery size and ease of charging and use, plus special features such as digital display, battery level indicator, carry case or protective blade cover. Finally, were they easy to clean and sharpen.
• Value for money: Assessed all the above points including materials, product quality and features and RRP and length of warranty.

For more information on our testing process see How we Review

This review was last updated in October 2024. We apologise if anything has changed in price or availability