Earthwise

7 Best Affordable Snow Blowers of 2024

By Alex B

Our Top Picks

Best Overall: Briggs & Stratton 1022ER 22-Inch Single-Stage Snow Blower
“5 stars hidden gem of a snow blower.”

Best Budget: Earthwise SN74018 Cordless Electric 40-Volt 4Ah Brushless Motor
“Great value for the money.”

Best Battery-Powered: EGO Power+ SNT2100 21-Inch 56-Volt Cordless Snow Blower
“The unit is not only strong, but very light and nimble.”

Best for Heavy Jobs: Briggs & Stratton 1022ER 22-Inch Single-Stage Snow Blower
“Wasn’t expecting the power of this to be on par with a 2 stage commercial. But it is.”

Best for Ease of Use: Snow Joe 24V-X2-SB18 48-Volt iON+ Cordless Snow Blower Kit
“It is small and light and easy to use.”

Snow blowers are essential for those living in areas with a lot of snowfall. Whether it’s so you can get to work on time, or just for peace of mind in having a clear driveway and lawn, this list of the best snow blowers will make sure you’re all set.

Item 1: Briggs & Stratton Snow Blower

Briggs & Stratton

Briggs & Stratton is a major engine manufacturer that is well over a century old. It’s got a reputation for making solid engines, of course.

And that means its snow blower is one of the best snow blowers around. The gist for this product is that it’s great for powerful jobs.

There are three versions of this model, with quite a price range. But even if you buy the pricier version, it’s overall a very good deal for the money—so that’s why it’s earned the #1 spot.

Pros:

  • Easy and fast to start
  • Quick height adjustment
  • Version with electric start available (make sure you buy the right one)
  • Remote deflector version lets you easily adjust the direction of the machine without exerting yourself
  • Large size allows for large snow intake/heavier-duty jobs (About 40” of intake height)
  • Highly rated: 4.3/5 stars with hundreds of ratings, plus an Amazon’s Choice product
  • Standard version is affordable, especially for the quality (just shy of $400)

Cons:

  • A bit on the pricey side for a couple of the options ($579.99 for the electric start, $449 for one with the remote deflector)
  • Large size and weight (90 lbs) may be a bit burdensome
  • Consistent complaints of the machine falling apart after a couple years

Item 2: Earthwise Snow Thrower

Earthwise

Given the maker is a company called Earthwise, it’s not surprising that this snow blower has a bright green highlight color. Nor should it be surprising that this snow blower is battery-powered.

The reason this snow blower is high on the list is simple:

It’s got a lot going for it at a low cost, and its quality is supported by many reviews. It’s one of the best snow blowers within the battery-powered category and low-cost category.

Pros:

  • Very affordable price, especially per its specifications and features
  • Large intake dimensions: 44.5 x 18.5 x 40.5 inches for length, width, and height respectively
  • 2 LED spotlights
  • Very light: just 35 pounds
  • Can move 500 pounds of snow a minute (according to the manufacturer)
  • Solid 4.1/5 rating backed up by well over 200 reviews, plus an Amazon’s Choice product

Cons:

  • Consistent complaints about issues handling wet snow
  • Limited battery life

Item 3: Snow Joe Cordless Snow Blower Kit

Snow Joe

Snow Joe’s snow blower has a lot going for it. It’s been overall well-received, and packs a lot of features.

In addition to that, it’s battery powered and lightweight, making it one of the best snow blowers for ease of use. And it’s not very pricey for a snow blower of its class!

The things holding it back aren’t surprising: as a tradeoff for being lightweight, it’s not great for heavy snow clearing.

Pros:

  • More affordable price for a higher-end snow blower, especially one of its size (just over $300 with Prime)
  • Large intake dimensions: 40 x 19 x 40 inches for length, width, and height respectively.
  • 2 LED headlights
  • Not very heavy despite intake dimensions (40 pounds)
  • Solid reviews (4.1/5 stars with well over a hundred ratings), plus an Amazon’s Choice product
  • 2-year warranty

Cons:

  • Not as suited for heavy-duty jobs, a point which several reviewers note
  • Consistent complaints about battery life

Item 4: AAVIX Snow Thrower

AAVIX AGT1420

This snow blower model from AAVIX is a bit unusual compared to the others on this list, because it comes in three variations.

These variations include different sizes and electric vs. gas power.

But the prices are relatively low for all the options, and the features are different. Overall the consensus seems to be that this isn’t among the best snow blowers for heavy days, but it’s good for more casual snowfall.

Pros:

  • Three options with varying sizes and power options
  • The electric option is small for those with lighter needs
  • The two gas powered options allow for 20-inch width and 26-inch width respectively
  • The large gas option has an electric start
  • Low price range: varies by model but overall low ($278 and up)
  • Consistent comments that it does a decent job for the price

Cons:

  • Overall mixed reviews (3.8/5 stars), though most of them are years old
  • Consistent complaints that parts of the machine break down after one or two uses. Again, most of those are years old

Item 5: EGO Power+ Snow Blower

EGO Power

EGO Power+ may not be a brand you’ve heard of before, but this snow blower they made has been enthusiastically received by customers.

It can get the job done just fine. In fact, it’s probably among the best snow blowers that are battery-powered, like Earthwise.

The only thing holding it back that the batteries and chargers come separately, and are pricey.

Pros:

  • Push-button start
  • 2 headlights
  • Good intake and clearing dimensions: 21” clearing width, larger than several other options here
  • Lightweight and easily manoeuvrable proportionate to specs and capabilities
  • Consistent praise for ability to clear heavier snowfalls
  • Can throw snow dozens of feet away

Cons:

  • Batteries and charger not included
  • Battery and charger add over $300 to the cost, making it pricey overall at about $758
  • Though reviews are pretty good, it would be nice if there were more

Snow Blowers 6: Simplicity Snow Thrower

Simplicity Single Stage snow blowers

Remember Briggs & Stratton? Simplicity is actually a subsidiary of that company, though it has its own line of snow blowers.

However, because it’s owned by Briggs & Stratton, it gets to use a high-quality Briggs & Strattons’ engine. That automatically puts this in contention for the best snow blowers.

The main downside is that there aren’t a ton of reviews—though the ones that exist are very positive—so it’s a riskier buy.

Pros:

  • Electric chute control lets you rotate the chute to toss snow in a certain direction, all while keeping your hands on the handlebar
  • Dual headlights
  • Powerful engine, from Briggs & Stratton
  • Large intake size

Cons:

  • Pricey—upwards of $650.
  • Small number of reviews (though they are great reviews)
  • May be heavy for some people, at just under 97 pounds

Snow Blowers 7: WORX

WORX WG471 snow blowers

WORX is a lesser known lawn brand, but it’s still done quite well for itself. Their WG471 model has a lot of good features and isn’t badly priced for the specs, plus it’s got solid intake dimensions.

The only downside, which holds it back on this list of the best snow blowers? There aren’t any reviews on Amazon, making it a riskier buy.

Pros:

  • Lighter body makes the machine more manoeuvrable and easier to store
  • Intake dimensions still solid
  • Powered by an efficient battery
  • Dual LED headlights
  • 180-degree rotating chute that can throw snow up to 20 feet
  • On the less-expensive end of high-quality snow blowers

Cons:

  • Lighter, and less efficient for more intense snow clearing jobs
  • No customer reviews on Amazon makes it a bit riskier to buy

Our Winner

It’s a close call, but ultimately our winner is the Briggs & Stratton snow blower. It may seem a bit on the pricier side, but it has a more affordable, simpler option that’s still high quality.

Briggs & Stratton snow blowers

The reason it’s gotten the top spot on this list of the 7 best snow blowers is that it’s just plain strong. It’s good for reliability and power, and is pretty big at taking up snow. Proportionate to price, it’s very good.

But, for those with lighter snow clearing needs and tighter budgets, the second option—Earthwise’s snow blower—is one of the best snow blowers for the budget buy.

Snow Blowers – Buyer’s Guide

snow blower buying guide

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How heavy are your snow days?
This, of course, is the big question in the minds of most of you as you look for the best snow blowers. You know best what the snow is like where you live, and what your needs would be in clearing snow.

Now, in terms of getting a machine sufficiently powered to clear the snow around your home, gas power vs battery power is going to be a major point to consider. But I’ll talk about that in more detail later.

So before that, there’s something else you need to keep in mind as you shop around:

Price.

I know, I know, you want the best quality for the price. And you should!

The thing is, though, snow blowers are the type of machine for which quality scales very proportionately to price. In other words, an expensive snow blower is more likely to be good for tougher jobs, and a cheaper snow blower is more likely to be good for lighter jobs.

Of course this isn’t true for every single snow blower, but it is a pretty consistent trend overall. Note that even in this list of the best snow blowers, price is roughly proportional to power.

In terms of how that’s relevant to you:

If you need to clear a lot of snow fairly regularly, you should be prepared to buy a pricier snow blower. You can still get one that gives you good value for the money, but the starting range may be higher.

Conversely, if your snow clearing needs are less substantial, you can often get away with a more affordable snow blower. In that case, you should still make sure the machine is high-quality, and ideally has a warranty.

Again, to be clear, it’s not that the best snow blowers NECESSARILY are expensive. It’s just that the powerful ones, which may or may not be what you need, TEND to be.

Now, let’s talk about the other major point to consider, which is similar:

Gas-powered or battery-powered?
This is going to be one of the biggest points of consideration—maybe the biggest—on your end in choosing a snow blower.

Gas-powered snow blowers and battery-powered snow blowers each have pros and cons. It’s not as simple as the best snow blowers being gas or battery-powered. And of course, it depends on your needs.

To generalize, gas models are the best snow blowers for heavy-duty jobs:

They can handle deep snowfall a lot better than electric models, and many models often allow for much greater snow intake. We’re not just talking a few inches more or less of snow here; some gas models can take another foot of snow, or more, than electric counter-parts.

Not only that, but they often get the job done quicker.

So if you live in an area with very heavy snowfall, gas-powered snow blowers are more likely to be the best snow blowers.

That being said, electric models are getting better and you should check out the specifics for whichever machine you’re interested in.

Now, the drawbacks of a gas-powered snow blower, are a larger set of responsibilities for the customer/user. A gas snowblower requires oil changes, a steady flow of gas, spark plug replacement (sometimes), filter cleaning, and all that on top of general machine cleaning.

Plus, a couple basic facts of gas-powered machines will be cons to many: the smell and environmental issues.

The main advantages of electric snow blowers is that they are much easier to maintain.

It’s true that you have to recharge and replace batteries for battery-powered electric snow blowers. The thing is, though, that can still often be cheaper AND easier than oil and gas changes.

Aside from ease and cost of maintenance, there are some additional ease of use benefits with electric snow blowers:

They usually start quickly. However, it’s important to note that many gas-powered snow blowers have an electric start option, so you shouldn’t choose your power type based on that alone.

But, overall, battery-powered snow blowers are the best snow blowers for ease of use.

Now, in terms of price—overall, gas-powered snow blowers are more expensive than electric.

Despite that, there’s also a HUGE price range for gas snow blowers. Some can cost thousands of dollars, not including any costs of maintenance.

So you could still buy a cheaper gas-powered snow blower than a battery-powered one. It’d be better to choose based on the quality of the machine and which power method is best for your home.

Other considerations
There are still other things to consider or look for when shopping for the best snow blowers, though they aren’t as major as the two main things I pointed out above.

First, what stage model do you want?

A single-stage snow blower has one auger that scrapes snow off the ground and throws it into the discharge chute. A single-stage snow blower should be fine for snow up to 6 inches.

A two stage snow blower uses a differently shaped auger (in a corkscrew shape). Usually two-stage snow blowers are self-propelled with different speeds, so it’s easier to move around, especially uphill.

Also, two-stage snow blowers are better for larger amounts of snow. They can usually accommodate snowfall up to a foot deep and work faster at turning out larger amounts of snow than single-stage machines.

Lastly, a three-stage snow blower has an auger similar to a two-stage auger. But, it’s faster and stronger, so a three-stage machine can usually cut down snow much faster than a two-stage snow blower even if the sizes are the same.

As you can imagine, the higher your stage, the more expensive the snow blower, generally. But exceptions exist.

Second, do you think you’ll be using a heavy snow blower, or do you experience fatigue or back problems?

If so, you should probably look into features that make maneuvering physically easier on your body.

One example is power steering: some snow blowers have one-hand controls that can quickly turn the machine without much exertion.

Another example is chute rotation controls. These let you quickly turn the direction of the chute in case the wind changes or you want to direct the snow output to a new place.

Also, like I mentioned, electric start is a lot easier than the old-school pull-start mechanism…but it’s also easier on your body too, and it involves less hunching.

Best Snow Blowers: Conclusion

So there you have it: the best snow blowers of our times. In general, this list was ordered taking into account the best combinations of quality and price.

However, remember that this is a list of the best snow blowers OVERALL. It’s generalized for a large number of people:

Meaning, the list of the best snow blowers for you will probably be a bit different. If you live in an area with lighter snowfall, Earthwise or Snow Joe would be some of the best snow blowers for you.

If you’ve got heavy snow clearing needs, you may need to invest more in power: so in that case, Briggs & Stratton and EGO Power + would probably be the top two best snow blowers for you.