Gardens are a labour of love. There’s always those repetitive, regular jobs to do, while each season, every month of the year in fact, also brings with it particular tasks.
Of course there are myriad products to help make gardening that little bit easier, including machines that can tackle the toughest jobs thankfully - like garden shredders.
The best garden shredders will make short work of tree branches, hedge cuttings and foliage. They are powerful beasts. The models we tried turned thick branches to chippings in mere seconds.
Garden shredders are definitely an investment, with prices ranging from around £100 up to several thousand pounds for professional models. These are not kit you buy on a whim, but if you have a large garden or you’re into your garden tech, then they are worth the investment.
There’s something heartwarming about the circular nature of gardening, with each period of growth and harvest feeding into the next, and whether you’re shredding branches or greenery, the best garden shredders are great for aiding recycling. They produce chippings that you can spread on your garden to protect plants from frosts during the winter and mulch that composts down to create nutrient-rich, homemade fertiliser for feed the soil throughout the year.
What’s the difference between a shredder and a chipper?
Garden shredder is a term that’s used to describe tools that chop up leaves and light garden waste into a mulch you can spread on your flower beds or add to your compost heap. It can also used as a name for more heavyweight machines designed to cut through hedges, woody plants and of course, tree branches. Just to make it even more confusing, shredders can also be described as chippers.
The key is to look at the price: cheaper garden shredders may be capable of shredding leaves, weeds and a little more, while more expensive machines can handle tree branches.
Is corded or cordless best?
This depends on the size of your garden and your budget. For small gardens a plug-in could be the way to go, but cordless offers more flexibility, as you’re not tied to the length of the lead or extension cable.
Cordless shredders may cost more than plug-in models, but if you have a large garden it could be worth paying the extra. Charging from flat can take a couple of hours and the Ryobi garden shredder we reviewed below runs for more than 60 minutes on one charge (on a 5Ah battery).
Should I opt for a petrol or electric garden shredder?
Again, this depends on the size of your garden – a petrol shredder, like a cordless version, means you can go anywhere and are not limited to the nearest socket. However, generally speaking, petrol shredders cost more than their electric counterparts.
How much do garden shredders cost?
The best garden shredders come in at a range of price points so you’re bound to find something to suit your budget. Those in our roundup range from £100 to just under £2,000, but there are even more expensive models on the market.
Best garden shredders at a glance
- Best overall: STIHL GHE 250 Electric Chipper/Shredder - £419, Sam Turner & Sons
- Best cordless: Ryobi RY36SHX40-0 Max Power Brushless Shredder - £499.99, Ryobi
- Best corded: Bosch AXT 25 TC Garden Shredder - £429.95, Amazon
- Best professional: Forest Master Professional FM14DD Petrol Wood Chipper and Garden Shredder - £1,998, Forest Master
- Best multi-function handheld: Stiga Cordless Vacuum Shredder - £251, Stiga
- Best budget electric: Hyundai Electric Garden Shredder - £130.95
- Best budget petrol: Forest Master FM6DD-MUL Petrol Wood Chipper, Shredder and Mulcher - £639.95, Amazon
- Best quiet: Draper 230V Quiet Garden Shredder - £178.99, Amazon
- Best lightweight: Challenge Impact Garden Shredder - £100, Argos
- Best for small gardens: The Handy Impact Shredder With Box - £159.99, Dobbies Garden Centres
See the best garden shredders to maintain your garden below.
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STIHL GHE 250 Electric Chipper/Shredder
Best for: overall
This is one impressive piece of kit. We tested the shredder on a mix of tree branches, leaves and shrubbery, and it made short work of everything we threw at it.
The powerful cutting discs chop through branches up to 30mm thick, quickly spitting out chippings from the base. Safety goggles are supplied to protect your eyes from possible flying debris. There’s a plastic shield to keep the contents moving in one general direction when they exit the shredder, but there’s no bucket or bag on the end to catch what comes out, so you’ll need a brush handy to sweep up the mess.
However, since using the shredder we’ve realised that STIHL does sell an optional collection bag that you simply place underneath to catch the contents exiting the machine.
The GHE 250 comes with a long 9m power cable, handy if the nearest socket is a bit of a distance away, and it has wheels so you can tip it and move it effortlessly into position. The feed chute is easily removed in case of blockage, for cleaning, or if you want to transport the machine elsewhere in the car.
Our tester is 5’6 tall and while the feed chute is angled and not too tall, it comes up to shoulder-height. The branches fed into it were not too long, but we can see longer branches perhaps posing a problem for her when it comes to manoeuvring them into the head of the chute.
Not having used a garden shredder before, the noise emitted when the branches/foliage/plant trimmings hit the blades was a bit of a shock, but we quickly got used to it. And we love what comes out the other end. Greenery chopped so small it’ll compost really quickly in our bin, and chippings that we could spread on the garden straight afterwards.
The STIHL garden shredder has a simple one touch, on-off button so it’s easy to use for us very amateur gardeners, but it packs a powerful punch. Though this is more about form than function, we love the orange colour and think it looks great.
Buy now £419.00, Sam Turner & Sons
Ryobi RY36SHX40-0 36V Max Power Brushless Shredder
Best for: cordless
The Max Power Shredder from Ryobi is a powerful machine and can handle branches up to 40mm thick. We tried it out on a range of branches, hedge cuttings and foliage, and it demolished them all with ease.
Once assembled we were surprised at how compact the shredder is. Simply feed branches or whatever you want to shred into the top and the chippings are collected in the debris container at the bottom. This solid container is a useful feature, holding up to 55L of collected waste ready to tip into your compost bin, or if all wood chippings, immediately spread on to your garden if you wish.
The simple on-off operation is supplemented by two speeds, so you can adjust depending on the size, consistency and hardness of the branches or shrubbery you’re feeding into it. If the machine does jam (which will happen at some point with all shredders, we think) there’s a handy auto-reverse mode to unblock the blades.
We love that the shredder is easy to move around, thanks to the wheeled design. Simply tip it backwards on to its two wheels and pull it along. Because it’s cordless you are free to use it anywhere, even if your garden’s huge.
The battery takes an hour or two to charge from flat and once fully charged should last around 60 minutes. However, the shredder doesn’t come with a battery; you have to buy it separately and you also have to buy a battery charger, which we think is a bit of a shame as it adds a couple of hundred pounds to the price.
That said though, the battery can be used with other Ryobi Max Power cordless tools so if you already have one or more of these you won’t need to buy another. If you’re planning on buying more tools in the range then you’ll only need to purchase one battery for all of them. For keen gardeners we imagine this is a big selling point and less wasteful for the environment.
The fact the feed is just a short distance from the cutter is both a plus and a negative. It’s great in that you can use the machine if you’re not very tall as you don’t have to manoeuvre branches into a tall chute, but it also means your hands are much closer to the working parts of the shredder. It’s self-feeding though, so you don’t need to get too close as the machine does it all by itself.
Buy now £499.99, Ryobi
Hyundai Electric Garden Shredder
Best for: budget electric
This garden shredder can handle greenery and even tree branches up to 4.5cm in diameter, but it costs less than £150 so won’t break the bank.
It’s also light – weighing in at just 10.3kg – and it comes with a collection bag that is easy to fix and detach for emptying.
We love the fact it has a long, 10m power cable so you can wheel it to wherever you need it within reason – and the cord is orange so highly visible (which we think is extremely practical considering the number of times we’ve accidently cut through the not-so-visible lawn mower cable.)
It also has a stick or plunger to help push branches and foliage through the machine.
Comes with a three-year warranty.
Buy now £130.95, Amazon
Forest Master FM6DD-MUL Petrol Wood Chipper, Shredder and Mulcher
Best for: budget petrol
This is a versatile shredder that handles wood up to 5cm in diameter, but equally, makes short work of green garden waste, turning it into mulch that you can either lay on the garden straightaway or add to your compost bin for a few months.
It’s easy to move around, thanks to the wheels, and because it’s petrol you’re not restricted to positioning it near plug sockets. The blades are reversible and the exit chute is adjustable.
When compared to electric shredders the price may not seem budget, but petrol models cost more than electric so we figure the description is apt, especially because it shreds, chips and mulches, so covers all eventualities.
Buy now £639.95, Amazon
Stiga VS 100e Cordless Vacuum Shredder
Best for: multi-function handheld
The Stiga 1 Series shredder is actually a garden vacuum, leaf blower and shredder combined. The 600W brushless motor is powerful enough to suck up leaves and light garden foliage, then shred them within the machine. The resultant waste is of course much compacted and ideal for adding to your compost bin, or for spreading around the base of plants during the colder months.
This is not the shredder to buy if you want to chop branches and woody plants, but if you’re looking for something lightweight and portable to get rid of leaves from your garden, chopping the debris down to a usable size, then this could be the tool for you.
The 45L collection bag is removable for easy emptying and cleaning, and switching between the various functions entails a simple flick of the switch.
Supplied with two batteries – which are compatible with other Stiga garden tools – and a charger.
Comes with a five-year warranty.
Buy now £251.00, Stiga
Draper 230V Quiet Garden Shredder
Best for: quiet
This shredder features quiet cutting technology, says maker Draper. This means that the motor operates at low revs to grind down the garden cuttings you feed into it, keeping noise levels low.
The shredder comes with wheels, so you can tip it back to pull it easily around the garden to wherever you want to use it, but the power cable is just 3m long. It also has a 55L collection box, which is one of the biggest in our round-up.
Suitable for leaves, twigs and hedge trimmings, but you’ll not be able to use this for tree branches or large woody stemmed plants.
Comes with a two-year warranty.
Buy now £178.99, Amazon
Bosch AXT 25 TC Garden Shredder
Best for: corded
Bosch’s shredder is ideal for both hard and soft garden cuttings, and can cope with wood up to 45mm in diameter.
It comes with a large collection box, which holds up to 53L of garden waste and is mounted on two wheels for easy manoeuvring.
The shredder is self-feeding, but there is a plunger to help with leafy branches. If a blockage occurs then simply press the reverse button to clear. Safety features include an automatic shut-off if you remove the collection box or hopper.
You don’t need masses of space to store the Bosch AXT 25 TC either. The hopper in the top section separates easily from the machine and fits snugly into the collection box underneath.
Buy now £429.95, Amazon
Forest Master Professional 14HP Petrol Wood Chipper and Garden Shredder
Best for: professional
At just shy of £2,000 this high-end piece of kit is for the most passionate of gardeners or for professionals who will get lots of use from it.
As you might expect, it shreds through the thickest wood of any in this roundup, easily coping with branches up to 10cm in diameter. The feed chute is high, but not too high, and on an angle so feeding in material for shredding is simple. It copes well with both hardwood and foliage, spitting out small chippings from the discharge chute – there’s no collection box though.
The twin blades are reversible and the chipper drum can be rotated if required, which Forest Master states controls the amount of material being processed at any one time, thus preventing the engine from stalling.
Of course as it’s petrol you can take it anywhere and it has two wheels for ease of movement.
Buy now £2018.00, Amazon
Challenge Impact Garden Shredder
Best for: lightweight
This garden shredder is easy to move around – thanks to the fact it weighs just 12.5kg and has two wheels – so if you find other heavier models difficult to manoeuvre then this could be your answer.
It has a total of 230 four and five-star reviews on the Argos website so customers are generally pleased with the way it works, however as you might expect from its size, it’s better for mulching and shredding than for chipping wood.
The shredder has double-sided blades and automatic overload protection.
Comes with a one-year guarantee.
Buy now £100.00, Argos
Dobbies The Handy Impact Shredder
Best for: small gardens
This compact shredder is great for mulching foliage, twigs and fallen leaves in the autumn, ready for your compost bin or spreading directly around plants to protect them from frost and nourish the soil.
It has a collection box that holds up to 40L of debris before you need to empty it, while the wheels and handle mean it’s easy to move around the garden. The power cable is short though, just 3m, but of course you can use an extension cable to move it further from the electricity supply.
It’s also pretty lightweight for this type of shredder – less than 14kg – and it has a large on/off switch so it’s simple to operate. It’s also good value, priced at just under £160.
Comes with a two-year warranty.
Buy now £159.99, Dobbies Garden Centres
