Best Makita Cordless Hedge Trimmers (2026)

The three-speed selector is what separates this trimmer from every other Makita here. Low is 2,000 strokes per minute, medium 3,600 and high 5,000, so you can slow the blades for soft growth to save charge and speed them up for dense tops. The brushless motor is Makita-built and keeps its speed better under load than a brushed design.

The maker claims up to 6 hours of runtime on a 40V XGT 4.0Ah battery, which should be read as a best case at low speed. The tool is sold bare, and XGT packs are not the same family as the 18V LXT range, so an owner of the smaller packs must buy a new battery and charger. At 24 inches the head is long and heavy, so it suits waist to chest height work.

Compared with the XHU09Z 18V LXT trimmer, the XGT is faster and has more runtime headroom, but it ties you to a battery family that has fewer tools than LXT. Wipe the blades after each use, oil them and do not leave the pack on the charger for weeks. It is the pick for someone building a 40V Makita line. A practical habit is to run low speed for the first pass over a freshly grown top and switch to high only where the blade starts to bog down. That habit stretches a 4.0Ah pack much further than leaving the dial on maximum all session.

Makita lists this as a brushless 24 inch trimmer on the 18V LXT platform, and for owners of that battery family it is the most efficient way to add a hedge tool. A brushless motor wastes less energy as heat and has no carbon brushes to wear out, which matters on a tool that works in short, hard bursts.

The LXT platform is the real value. These batteries run a wide range of Makita tools, including drills, blowers and saws, so a household with a few of them can add a hedge trimmer for the price of the bare tool. A first-time buyer pays for the pack and charger on top.

At 24 inches the blade is the same length as the XGT and the XHU10 models, so the choice among them is about motor type and platform, not reach. Check the listing for cut capacity before ordering, since it is not stated in the data we saw. Wipe the blades after use and keep the pack indoors in winter. Because LXT is the larger family, spare packs and chargers are easy to find at most tool dealers, which means a dead battery in year four is a small problem, not a stranded tool. A rapid charger is worth buying if you plan to work through a long hedge with two packs.

This is the Makita for someone who owns no Makita batteries. The kit includes a 4.0Ah 18V LXT battery and a charger with the 24 inch hedge trimmer, so you can cut as soon as it arrives. A 4.0Ah pack is a sensible size for a hedge tool, bigger than the 2.0Ah packs in most budget kits.

It is the same tool as the XHU10Z bare unit, which is sold on its own for people with batteries. If you do not own LXT packs, buying the kit is cheaper than buying the bare tool and a pack separately. The listing highlights the benefits of cordless in general: no gas, no oil mixing, no pull starts and low noise.

The 4.0Ah pack will handle a modest garden in one charge, but a long boundary hedge will want a second pack. Keep the battery indoors, oil the blades after use and clear clippings from the vents. Because the platform is LXT, any later Makita purchases can share the same battery. If you later add the brushless XHU09Z or a Makita blower, you will already own the pack and charger, so the second purchase costs much less than the first. It is a low-risk way to enter a large platform, which is why we rank it as the best first purchase.

The XHU10Z is the bare version of the kit above, and the right choice if you already own LXT packs. It carries the same 24 inch blade, and the listing highlights the same benefits: no gas, no oil mixing and low noise.

Next to the brushless XHU09Z, it is the simpler, older design, and the listing does not describe the motor as brushless. That means it will run a little warmer and with less efficiency than the XHU09Z, which matters if you cut every week and less if you trim a couple of times a year. In that situation the price difference may be reason enough to choose it.

There is nothing to maintain beyond blade care and battery storage. Oil the blades after each use, keep the guard straight and avoid forcing the tool through stems thicker than the gap. If you own LXT packs and trim lightly, this is the cheapest way into a 24 inch Makita. Treat the listing's claims about low noise and reduced maintenance as the general benefits of any battery tool, and judge it on blade, battery and price. If it ever feels underpowered, check the blade for resin before suspecting the motor, because dirty teeth cause most of the stalling that owners complain about.

This is a shear that accepts a hedge trimmer blade, not a full-size hedge trimmer. A quick blade change switches between a grass shear and a hedge blade, and the Makita-built motor delivers up to 2,500 strokes per minute.

It is the choice for detail: shaping box, trimming lavender or edging a border. The maker claims up to 3 hours of runtime on a 5.0Ah LXT battery, which reflects how little power a small blade draws. Because the blade is small, it is lighter and easier on the wrists than the 24 inch trimmers.

It will not replace a hedge trimmer on a boundary hedge, and it is not meant to. Use the full-length XHU models for that and keep this one for precision. Clean the blades after each use and store the battery away from frost. Switching blades is a tool-free job, but always remove the battery first, since a blade that moves while you swap it is a real injury risk. Owners often keep this shear mounted with the grass blade and swap to the hedge blade only when shaping.