It's Time to Prep Your Garden for Planting Season With the Best Tillers (2024)

Our Top Picks

We chose this battery-powered tiller from Greenworks as our best overall pick because it doesn't need gasoline, starts easily with a button, runs for up to 40 minutes on a single charge, and can break through compacted or clay soil. This cordless garden tool comes with a 40-volt, 4.0 amp-hour battery, so no smelly gas fumes, and no need to tether yourself to a nearby electrical outlet, either. Just power it on and go.

This is a front-tine tiller with four, 8-inch tines that dig down into the soil to a maximum of 5 inches. The tines turn fast enough so that the soil is struck 2,000 times per minute, slicing and dicing through your garden bed. It has two, 6-inch wheels that roll easily over the soil or other surfaces, and we love how easy it is to maneuver this tiller around obstacles while smoothly cutting through the soil.

Note, however, that this is not the best choice if your soil is full of roots, extensively covered with weeds, or loaded with rocks. But for existing garden beds with soil that's become compacted or heavy with clay, or that needs to have supplements mixed into the native soil, it's hard to go wrong with this offering from Greenworks.

You can set the tilling width to either 8.25 inches or 10 inches, which is very helpful when cultivating soil in a vegetable plot or other area requiring careful maneuvering. Unlike many gas-powered or heavier tillers, this one doesn't create excessive vibrations to bother your hands and arms while you work. Once you're finished gardening, the tiller's handles fold down to make it easy to store, too.

The included charger for the battery takes just a couple of hours to fully charge the tool up, so you'll also be quickly ready for your next work session.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 8.25 or 10 inches | Tilling Depth: 5 inches | Power Source: Battery | Weight: 21 pounds}

With this corded tiller from Earthwise, keeping your budget under control doesn't have to mean sacrificing performance. While this admittedly isn't the most powerful or the largest tiller out there, it does a great job at breaking up compacted soil, and can even chew through small weeds in your existing vegetable beds, flower beds, or garden beds beneath shrubs or trees.

You will need to supply an outdoor-rated extension cord to use it, but once plugged in, it starts up at the press of a button, and is quiet. It doesn't create a lot of vibrations, and is very easy to use. It has a 2.5-amp motor that requires very little maintenance, as well.

The tiller has four front tines that dig down into the soil up to a depth of 6 inches. There are no rear wheels; this is a lightweight, handheld tiller that weighs a mere 9 pounds (the lightest option on our list), so you can lift it and reposition it wherever you need to work the soil with ease.

There's an ergonomic, soft-grip handle at the top, as well as a large second handle for extra control. This pick also has a set tilling width of 7.5 inches, which is good for working your way through rows of plants or between obstacles.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 7.5 inches | Tilling Depth: 6 inches | Power Source: Corded electric | Weight: 9 pounds}

If you garden in an area with clay soil, you know how difficult it can be to dig through it, and how tiring it can be to try and work supplements into the soil. But with this sturdy corded tiller from Earthwise, you'll be able to get the job done easily and with little fatigue, thanks to its powerful 13.5-amp motor.

Like the other corded options on our list, you will need to supply an outdoor-rated extension cord, but once plugged in, you'll love the way this tiller smoothly chews through clay, hard-packed soil, and even roots. Keep in mind that it's important to stop the tool immediately and clear the tines should the roots tangle around them.

This tiller has six tines in the front, along with two rear wheels for easy maneuvering across the ground. You can adjust the tilling width from 11 inches to 16 inches; that means you can get even a large garden bed in tip-top shape for spring planting quickly. With a maximum tilling depth of 8 inches (the deepest on our list), you can work amendments deep into the soil or just get the dirt as fluffy and light as possible for healthy plants with strong roots.

At 34.8 pounds, this isn't the lightest tiller out there, and we do wish that the handles could fold down for storage. But other than that, this is a great addition to the garden tool collection of anyone who has to deal with clay or compacted soil.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 11 to 16 inches | Tilling Depth: 8 inches | Power Source: Corded electric | Weight: 34.8 pounds}

With a 13.5-amp motor, here's a corded electric tiller with plenty of power to chew through compacted soil, clay, and even roots that aren't too thick. You'll need to have an outdoor-rated extension cord and access to an outdoor electrical outlet, but no need for gasoline and no worries about a battery running down before you finish your project.

This tiller has six angled front tines that dig down up to 8 inches beneath the soil, leaving your garden beds well-prepared for the planting days ahead. The two rear wheels are 5.5 inches in diameter, which is a bit on the small side, but you can adjust them to three different angles to best accommodate your terrain, making it easier to maneuver the tiller where you want it to go.

The tilling width is 16 inches and is fixed. That makes this a good choice for larger areas, but not quite as versatile for tilling between rows of crops or other confined areas. This is also a useful tool for working amendments or compost down into the soil where your plant roots can easily access the nutrients. We also like the tiller's double handles, which are comfortable to hold and fold down for storage when your project is done.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 16 inches | Tilling Depth: 8 inches | Power Source: Corded electric | Weight: 27 pounds}

If you're looking to get the soil in your vegetable plot, flowerbeds, or small lawn area ready for planting, or you need to mix amendments or compost into the soil before sowing seeds, then we recommend this battery tiller from Ryobi. The battery is sold separately, so if you don't already own a Ryobi 18-volt battery, you'll need to purchase that as well.

Unlike many similar small tillers, this one has an adjustable tilling width of 6 to 8 inches, so you can tailor it to your needs. It has four steel tines that can dig down to a maximum of 4 inches. The three-speed control is another great feature. We recommend using the lowest speed when working through compacted, hard soil; the highest speed when tilling relatively soft soil; and the medium speed when tilling in between the two extremes or when mixing amendments into the soil.

The handle is comfortable to hold, and there's a large secondary handle for better control. While not the most powerful tiller, it has enough oomph to handle most garden soils, and it's a perfect size for slipping between rows of crops or tilling a small flowerbed.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 6 to 8 inches | Tilling Depth: 4 inches | Power Source: Battery | Weight: 13.5 pounds}

If you have a big garden to till, then you need a tiller that's also large so you can get the job done in a reasonable amount of time. Our top recommendation for gardeners with a lot of land to cover is this gas-powered beast from Champion Power Equipment. The 212cc, four-stroke engine provides enough power to chew through clay, compacted soil, and weeds that aren't too thick.

It has four, 13.8-inch tines that can cut down to a maximum of 8 inches beneath the top of the soil. Controls on the handles let you adjust the turning speed of the tines, as well as set them to rotate forward or backward. The tilling width can be adjusted to a minimum of 16 inches or a maximum of 22 inches.

While that might be too much for working your way between rows of vegetables, it's perfect for preparing new garden beds, getting a stretch of soil ready for planting grass, or working amendments into the soil around trees and shrubs.

Like most gas-powered garden tools, you might need to yank the starter a few times before the tiller comes roaring to life, and it is louder than electric models—and additionally weighs a whopping 119 pounds, which can be difficult to navigate. But when you need power, it's hard to beat this gas tiller.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 16 to 22 inches | Tilling Depth: 8 inches | Power Source: Gas | Weight: 119 pounds}

If you just have a small garden to tend to, or you don't want to handle a heavy tool, then you don't need an oversized, heavy tiller. Instead, we recommend this offering from Black+Decker, which runs off an included 20-volt, 1.5 amp-hour battery, so there's no need for an extension cord or gasoline.

It can till up to 325 square feet before needing a recharge, which is enough for most small areas. And with a 7-inch tilling width, it easily slips between rows of vegetables or around plants you want to protect. The tool has two, 4-inch tines that move in a counter-oscillating fashion to avoid becoming clogged. It can also be used to remove small weeds, although it should not be used for removing grass or extensive stretches of tall weeds.

The tiller has a comfortable, non-slip handle and a second handle for better control. The shaft is adjustable, so you can set it to the height that works best for you, and at a mere 11.7 pounds with the battery in place (the second lightest option on our list), it's not too heavy.

While this isn't the right choice for clay soil, heavily compacted soil, or soil that's loaded with roots, it's a great tool for those who can't wield a heavy tiller and only need to get a fairly small area ready for planting or sowing seeds.

_{Type: Front tine | Tilling Width: 7 inches | Tilling Depth: 4 inches | Power Source: Battery | Weight: 11.7 pounds}

If you need a beast of a tiller to handle clay or compacted soil, or to cover a lot of ground, then you need the power of a gas tiller like this one from Yardmax. With a 4-stroke, 209cc engine, along with 12, 13-inch tines in the rear of the tiller that can be set to spin forwards or backward, you'll soon tame even the toughest soil.

We do wish the tilling width was adjustable, like our best for clay soil pick, the Earthwise Corded Electric Tiller. But at a set 18 inches, it's wide enough to cover a lot of ground in one pass, but not so big that it's unwieldy. The maximum tilling depth is 6.5 inches. At 205 pounds, this is a very heavy tool (the heaviest on our list), so you'll want an assistant to help assemble it. Once up and running, it does have large pneumatic wheels that help it glide across the terrain, but due to the weight, it can be a bit tough to turn sharp corners.

Like many gas-powered tools, it can take a few tries to start it, and you'll need to carry out periodic oil changes. However, there is no need to mix oil with the gasoline. This is a California Air Resource Board (CARB) compliant gas tiller, meaning that it meets that agencies stringent requirements for reduced emissions, although there might still be a low level of fumes.

_{Type: Rear tine | Tilling Width: 18 inches | Tilling Depth: 6.5 inches | Power Source: Gasoline | Weight: 205 pounds}

Final Verdict

If you want a cordless tiller that’s easy to handle, has plenty of power, runs up to 40 minutes on a single battery charge, and lets you adjust the tilling width, then our top pick, the Greenworks 40V 10-Inch Tiller/Cultivator, is our recommendation. But if you want to keep costs down, our budget pick, the Earthwise TC20025 2.5-Amp Tiller, is a corded option that is more than adequate to till typical garden soil or work in amendments.

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