Rank | Picture | Name | Rating | Shop |
#1 |  | BEST OVERALL Agri-Fab Lawn Sweeper | ||
#2 |  | Yard Commander Pull Behind Sweeper | ||
#3 |  | Agri-Fab Pull Behind Sweeper | ||
#4 |  | Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper | ||
#5 |  | Craftsman Tow Hi-Speed Lawn Sweeper |
Although fall is a beautiful time to witness, and there’s plenty to love about the changing seasons, it also brings with it a lot of extra yard work.
You start to notice the occasional leaf falling here and there, and before you know it, you’re out in the garden with your rake every day just trying to keep things tidy.
The rake has been a long-time trusted companion for the yard-proud, but it also takes a lot of regular muscle just to get the job done.
A lawn sweeper was invented as a mechanical alternative to this tool that lets you clear your grass in minutes without ever breaking a sweat, and it couldn’t come at a better time than when the leaves start to fall like crazy.
How you do find a good lawn sweeper though?
A leaf sweeper needs to be capable enough to remove the debris and leaves from your lawn, whatever that may look like. It should have a powerful enough motor, easy maneuverability, and other important features like catchers and blades.
Depending on your garden’s specific needs, there are likely to be some styles better than others, but you’ll also have to consider the product’s reputation.
If you’re ready to ditch the rake and make life easier for yourself, this buying guide can help you do it. We’ve found the best rated lawn sweeper models on the market and a little more about what each of them offers, so you can be sure you’re only dealing with the best of the best.
Finding the best lawn sweeper is not an easy task, especially if you’re never shopped for one of these specialty tools before. We’ve made life a lot simpler with our best lawn sweeper reviews, highlighting the top performers in all shapes and sizes, so you only have a great selection to make your final decision from.
Table of Contents
Best Lawn Sweepers – Reviews & Buying guide for 2021
Best Overall: Agri-Fab Lawn Sweeper
- Power: N/A
- Weight: 25lbs
- Type: Push
Keeping up with lawn maintenance can be a costly affair, but when you shop for budget friendly and efficient products like the Agri-Fab Lawn Sweeper, it doesn’t have to be.
This is a moderately sized sweeper with a 26-inch width for collecting everything your lawn has to offer, including grass clippings, acorns, and twigs. Although smaller in size, it can compete with the bigger models, even if you do have to make a few more passes to get the job done.
The best feature of the Agri-Fab Lawn Sweeper is its maneuverability, and this is one bonus of choosing a smaller sized sweeper compared to the large models. You can get into tight corners and take turns with ease, which customers loved if they had unique yard configurations to work with.
On the downside though, because this isn’t the biggest model, it’s not ideal for people with large yards. It does just as good of a job of collecting and sweeping but with just 26 inches of width, it’s not going to work if you have a lot of ground to cover.
In this case, you’ll need to pay extra for an upgrade and hope that it’s just as efficient at sweeping.
The Agri-Fab Lawn Sweeper comes with a hopper bag with seven cubic feet of capacity and it collapses down when you’re done for easy storage.
The brush that does all of the work is durable and gives it a 4.5 to 1 brush to wheel ratio which is ideal for this type of tool and ensures that more of the debris gets swept from the grass.
The Agri-Fab wheels are made of durable plastic and measure 9.7 x 2.25 inches which give you good clearance from the ground. However, there are lots of ways to make this lawn sweeper work for you, most importantly being the height adjustment that lets you change where the brush is.
This makes it the best lawn sweeper for grass clippings and the like as it can be adjusted to reach things that are finer and closer to the ground.
This is by far the best push lawn sweeper for those with small to moderate size yards and people who want to choose a good product without spending a fortune.
The Agri-Fab Lawn Sweeper costs around $150 on Amazon and comes with a three year manufacturer’s warranty for peace of mind. For an efficient and fast lawn sweeper that can keep your lawn in check, this is one of our favorites.
Runner Up: Yard Commander Pull Behind Sweeper
- Power: N/A
- Weight: 77lbs
- Type: Pull Behind
When you’d rather not do the work yourself, you’ll probably prefer to use the best pull behind lawn sweeper attached to your tractor or UTV.
If this is what you had in mind, the best pick is the Yard Commander Pull Behind Sweeper, and it comes with a massive 12.9 cubic feet of capacity in its hopper to suit moderate to large sized yards without a hassle.
The best thing about the Yard Commander is its quality of construction. As a hefty unit, this is the best tow behind lawn sweeper for those who favor durability more than anything.
It weighs 77lbs which you’ll never have to worry about because it’s being towed behind you, but only proves how well made it is and that it has staying power.
However, when you consider the size of this model, it doesn’t have the largest capacity in its hopped. Although the 12.9 cubic feet is more than enough for most homes, when you stack it up against other models with the same dimensions and size, it’s severely lacking in this area.
Depending on how much stuff you plan on sweeping, this could either be a big or small issue.
The Yard Commander Pull Behind Sweeper operates with a huge 42-inch clearing width which means minimal laps around the yard.
With such a large width it will only take minutes to sweep your yard, and not hours, so you can get on with the fun stuff in life. This sweeper works with a ten-inch brush diameter as well, which means it collects all types of debris, big and small, and won’t leave anything behind.
You can adjust the Yard Commander to suit your gardening needs with nine different height positions to choose from, and when the job is done it’s all dumped easily with the detachable hopper bag.
This specific model of lawn sweeper attaches to most tractors, UTVs, and ATVs for convenience with a simple foldable tongue and multi hitch design, so anyone can get the job done.
Although there are plenty of noteworthy features, it’s more expensive than push sweepers, and you can expect to pay around $210 when you shop on Amazon.
Finding warranty information from Yard Commander is hard to do, but Amazon does offer free returns should you face any problems. If you want the best lawn sweeper tow behind model, this one is up there with the greatest.
Alternative: Agri-Fab Pull Behind Sweeper
- Power: N/A
- Weight:
- Type: Pull behind
Agri-Fab is a huge name in gardening tools, and their sweepers especially are known for their reliability. If you’re after a larger lawn sweeper and want to upgrade to a 42 inch model, this is the best in show, and it comes with all of the bells and whistles that the brand is known for.
The Agri-Fab 42 Inch Lawn Sweeper is the best lawn sweeper for leaves, acorns, grass, and twigs, and perfect for homes with a lot more space to work with, provided you’ve got something to pull it.
According to customers, their favorite thing about the Agri-Fab was how easy it was to use, especially when it came to emptying the hopper. As a pull behind sweeper, there’s no need to even get off the seat of your tractor or UTV to empty the bag, as it can easily be dumped while you’re sitting down.
However, there were some drawbacks, with a major one being the high cost. For a pull behind sweeper, it’s expensive, and when you consider you can get their smaller model for a whole lot less, we’d only recommend this one for people who had an actual need for a 42-inch width lawn sweeper.
The Agri-Fab 42 Inch Lawn Sweeper has a 2.5 to 1 brush to wheel turning ratio that makes it easy to maneuver, even if you have tight spaces to work with.
The nylon hopper comes on and off with ease and has a massive 20 cubic feet capacity which makes it an obvious standout compared to others in this size.
The overall dimensions of the sweeper are 75.00 x 49.00 x 44.00 inches, so it’s a hefty sweeper designed to tackle everything your lawn throws at it. When it arrives in the box, you can use the quick video instruction guide to get it set up, and there’s minimal work required on your end.
To get your hands on the Agri-Fab 42 Inch Lawn Sweeper and cut hours off your regular yard work, head to Amazon for the lowest price online.
Amazon will also ship it for free to your door and offer free returns, coupled with the three-year warranty from the manufacturer. If you have larger needs in the garden and the money to buy something that can meet them, the Agri-Fab is a great choice of lawn sweeper.
Alternative: Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper
- Power: N/A
- Weight: 95lbs
- Type: Pull behind
If you regularly find a lot of thick and hard debris around your yard and want a sweeper that deals specifically with those things, the Ohio Steel model is one of the best.
This is a 42-inch lawn sweeper with a plastic brush, and it can be attached to most models of tractors and UTVs for serious yard work.
Weighing around 95lbs, it is serious business and one of the heaviest we’ve reviewed, but it moves quickly to get the job done and picks up just about anything you have laying around on the grass.
The best thing about this lawn sweeper is the brush itself that gets the job done. Customers have noted that even after years of regular use it’s still intact and performing just as it did on the first day they received it.
There’s no need to spend big for a metal spiral brush when you can choose one as durable as this for half the price, and the Ohio Steel is proof with its polypropylene brushes.
However, it’s not the easiest to maneuver around and can take some time to get used to. People also commented on the hopper bag and that it was a little harder to detach as well. If you’re working in a hurry or don’t like to fiddle with a lot of knobs and clips, you’ll probably want to steer clear of the Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper.
The Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper measures 51.00 x 18.00 x 16.00 inches so it’s a good size for most tractors, and comes on and off pretty easily.
When you tow in the right position attached to a mower, you can mow and sweep at the same time, which is a convenient feature to have for those that want to cut their yard work in half.
This lawn sweeper is made in the USA and comes from a brand that’s been around for years.
The Ohio Steel is capable of collecting 22 cubic feet of material in each bag, so it’s on par with other pull behind mowers, but better suited to those who work with larger and tougher bits of debris as it seems to be able to handle them well.
If you want to make short work of the heavy duty debris on your lawn, the Ohio Steel Lawn Sweeper is one of the best. It comes with a two year limited warranty from the American manufacturer to sweeten the deal.
Alternative: Craftsman Tow Hi-Speed Lawn Sweeper
- Power: N/A
- Weight: 91lbs
- Type: Tow behind
If your lawn requires a special type of lawn sweeper to meet its unique landscape, something like the Craftsman Tow Hi-Speed Lawn Sweeper will be your favorite pick.
This sweeper is a tow behind model that hitches to most tractors, mowers, and UTVs, and it’s got a massive 42-inch sweeping path to get the job done in minutes.
The wheels are easily the best feature of the Craftsman Tow Hi-Speed Lawn Sweeper and make it a standout for people that have difficult ground to work with. The diamond tread means you can get maximum traction even on slippery or uneven surfaces, so there’s no need to worry if the Craftsman can handle it.
A drawback though comes with the speed in which you have to travel to get it to work and makes the name they’ve chosen for it confusing.
Although these wheels provide good traction, they also make things bumpy, so if you’re going too fast you won’t be able to pick up the debris on the ground, defeating the entire purpose of the lawn sweeper.
The Craftsman Two Hi-Speed Lawn Sweeper features large 11.5 x 2-inch wheels that give it a good distance off the ground, but also allow for adjustability.
The hopper has a huge 22 cubic feet capacity, which is more than most in this price range and size, and it’s easy to detach whenever you need to dump it.
The wheel ratio of the Craftsman is 8.5:1 and you’ll get faster turning brushes that do a better job of sweeping the ground below.
It has a durable housing made of stamped steel, and there are minimal plastic parts like others have, making it one of the heavier options weighing around 91lbs. This weight further adds to its traction and helps in even the sloppiest or toughest conditions.
If you want the most stable model to meet the unique needs of your property, the Craftsman Tow Hi-Speed Lawn Sweeper is the way to go.
Craftsman keeps it covered with a one year warranty, which isn’t that impressive, but Amazon offers free returns should anything go wrong. For a lawn that needs traction, there’s no better option than the Craftsman.
Lawn Sweeper FAQs
A lawn sweeper is a mechanical device used to clear your lawn of debris like twigs and leaves and is intended to replace the traditional rake.
These devices have a lot to offer, but if you’ve never used one before and are still unsure of what they’re all about, check out our answers to some commonly asked questions that will help you out.
A tow behind lawn sweeper only differs in where it’s used, and these are commonly attached to the back of a tractor and then towed across the lawn to do its work.
These devices still sweep the lawn and pick up debris like leaves and twigs, but do so without having to be pushed by the user.
When you push a lawn sweeper over the grass, the wheels rotate and then the brushes attached to them comb through the grass, or a high powered vacuum collects it.
As it does, it dislodges debris and grass clippings and then throws it into the hopper or catcher attached to the machine. When this catcher bag gets full, it’s emptied into the compost or trash pile.
Depending on the size and features of a lawn sweeper, most of these devices were designed to collect grass clippings.
Its ability to do so will depend on the combs and/or vacuums that are attached to it that picks up debris, provided they are fine enough to collect the grass itself.
For the best results, it’s recommended to use a lawn sweeper after mowing if you’re worried about grass clippings that have been left behind, as it will better sweep the lawn when nothing is in its way.
In some cases, you might be able to attach a sweeper to the rear discharge deck of a lawnmower but this isn’t ideal for every model.
Lawn sweepers will be able to collect nuts and acorns from the grass, provided they have the capabilities to do so.
Either models that use a vacuum or a brush to collect the debris are designed to also collect larger materials like nuts, so it shouldn’t be a problem if these are regularly strewn across your yard.
Sweeping Your Way to a Tidy Lawn
Making the switch to a mechanical lawn sweeper and finally ditching the rake can be a godsend and one that will make it a whole lot easier to keep your yard tidy.
During fall especially, you’ll be grateful that you invested in one of these machines, but it can be used year-round to achieve the presentation that you desire in your garden.
With our help and recommendations for the best lawn sweeper, you’ll be well on your way to a tidier lawn and with half the effort it used to take. This is one simple investment that will pay off dramatically when it comes to your weekend gardening tasks, and it turns a once dreaded job into something fun and efficient.
