Battery or petrol machinery: what should you choose in 2026?

Five years ago the answer was easy: battery for small gardens, petrol for everything else. By 2026 that line has shifted a long way, and we see it in the workshop every day. Here is the real picture.

Where battery already wins

For most homeowners, today's battery machinery is the better option:

• Quiet: you can work on a Sunday morning without falling out with the neighbours.
• No engine maintenance: no fuel mix, no spark plugs, no gummed-up carburettor after the winter.
• Instant starting: press a button and away you go.
• One set of batteries powers the mower, the brushcutter, the blower and a small chainsaw.

Where petrol still rules

• Long days: a professional strimming for six hours straight cannot be waiting on a charger.
• Heavy forestry work: for felling chainsaws and big timber, petrol is still the reference.
• Off-grid: out in the countryside, the petrol station is closer than the nearest socket.

The real cost

Battery machines cost more to buy but less to keep running: no fuel, no carburettor tuning and fewer wearing parts. In domestic use, the five-year total usually favours battery; in heavy professional use, it depends on the job.

Our advice

Come in with your work in mind — metres of hedge, area of lawn, hours on the tools — and we will put together the right combination for you, whether that is Husqvarna, ECHO or Honda. And if you are unsure, try them: we have them on display in the Palafrugell shop. We look forward to seeing you.