The best Honda lawn mower you can buy today is the Honda HRX-BV 21" battery walk-behind, and the most important thing to know before you buy it is that Honda has exited the US lawn mower business. The battery HRX models are the end of the line, not the start of one. If you want the famous HRX deck and you accept a finite parts tail, the HRX-BV is the sensible trim and the HRX-BE is the top one. If what you actually want is a mower that cuts like a Honda and will still have dealer support in ten years, the honest answers are the Toro 60V Super Recycler and the EGO Power+ 21" Select Cut, both of which are on this page for exactly that reason.
We are leading with that because it is the single fact that changes the decision, and because tens of thousands of people a month search for Honda lawn mowers without knowing it. Honda announced its withdrawal from the lawn mower market; the HRN and HRX gas mowers that built the reputation are discontinued lines, and what remains is run-out stock at dealers plus a small number of battery models still appearing on live listings. Our catalog pass on 13 October 2026 found three real Honda machines, all battery, and a great many HRN216 wheels and HRX217 tune-up kits.
None of that means a Honda is a bad mower. The opposite: the HRX deck’s twin-blade MicroCut system mulches finer than almost anything in the category, and the GCV engines earned their reputation honestly over decades. It means the calculation has changed. You are buying into a line with a known end date, at a premium price, and the question is whether the deck is worth that.
So this page does two jobs. It ranks the Honda mowers that genuinely still exist, with live prices where we have them and a check-price link on the discontinued gas line. And it names the closest equivalents from brands that are staying, because that is what a buyer-first page owes somebody whose preferred brand just left the market. We have not mown with any of these machines — see how we pick.
Honda mowers and their closest replacements
| Mower | Deck | Power | Status | Best for |
|---|
| Honda HRX-BV | 21 in | Battery | Listed, run-out line | Affordable HRX deck |
| Honda HRX-BE | 21 in | Battery | Listed, run-out line | Top-trim HRX |
| Honda HRC-BE | 21 in | Battery | Listed, commercial | Crews, not homeowners |
| Honda HRN216 | 21 in | Gas | Discontinued — check price | Replacing an HRN |
| Toro 60V Super Recycler | 21 in | Battery | Current, supported | Closest cut quality |
| EGO 21" Select Cut | 21 in | Battery | Current, supported | Best all-round replacement |
Deck widths and power sources above are the figures the listings and published specifications state. “Run-out line” means a live listing on a product family Honda has announced it is leaving; “discontinued” means no current production and dealer stock only, which is why there is no price beside it.
Honda lawn mowers self propelled: what you are actually buying
The reason Honda became the enthusiast’s answer on a 21-inch deck is the HRX cutting system. Two blades stacked in a deep deck, cutting clippings twice and packing them into a bag far more densely than a single blade does — which is why HRX owners talk about how rarely they empty the bag. The HRX-BV and HRX-BE keep that deck and replace the engine with a battery drivetrain, so you get the cut without the annual oil change, the air filter, the plug or the fuel stabilizer habit.
Between the two trims, the difference is equipment level rather than deck. The HRX-BV is several hundred dollars less for the same cutting system, which makes it the one we rank first. The HRX-BE is the top trim and the best cut Honda still sells to homeowners, and it is the most expensive 21-inch walk-behind on this site by a wide margin.
The HRC-BE is a different animal: a commercial-duty deck and frame built for a crew cutting all day. It costs more than some riding mowers for a 21-inch deck. If you mow your own lawn once a week, it is the wrong purchase at any price.
The gas HRN and HRX: why there is no price here
The HRN216 is the mower most people picture when they search for a Honda — a 21-inch gas self-propelled with a GCV engine. It is discontinued. What exists is whatever stock dealers still hold, priced locally, which is precisely the situation where publishing a number would be dishonest. So it carries a check-price link.
If you already own an HRN or an HRX and you are here looking for a replacement, two things are worth knowing. Parts and blades are still widely stocked, because Honda sold an enormous number of these mowers — your existing machine is maintainable for years yet. And when it does need replacing, the battery HRX models are the direct continuation of the deck, while the alternatives below are the continuation of the ownership experience.
What to buy instead, and why these two
Toro 60V Super Recycleris the closest match on cut quality. Super Recycler is Toro’s premium deck with the mulching geometry that comes nearest to what HRX owners are used to, and Personal Pace is the only self-propel system that genuinely rivals Honda’s for feel — it matches your walking speed with no lever to hold. Toro is also a dealer brand with the service network Honda owners value. It is listed as a bare tool, so budget for a 60V pack and a charger. The full Toro line is in the best Toro lawn mowers.
EGO Power+ 21" Select Cutis the best all-round replacement and the one we would actually buy. It ships as a complete kit, it has a multi-blade Select Cut system aimed at the same fine-mulching job as Honda’s twin blades, and the EGO 56V platform is the deepest cordless range in the category — so your trimmer, blower and edger have somewhere to go. It is ranked against the whole field in best electric lawn mower and best self-propelled lawn mower.
If you want to stay with gas rather than move to battery, that is a legitimate choice and it is covered in the best gas lawn mower, with the cost comparison in electric vs gas lawn mower.
Who should still buy a Honda
Two people. The first is somebody who specifically wants the HRX deck, has handled one, knows what the twin-blade cut does, and is willing to pay a premium for it on a line with a finite tail. That is a reasonable thing to want and the HRX-BV is the sensible way to get it.
The second is somebody replacing a Honda on a lawn where the mower will be kept five or six years rather than fifteen. Over that horizon the parts tail is a non-issue and the deck is genuinely excellent.
Everybody else should buy a brand that is staying. That is not a criticism of the mowers — it is the practical consequence of a manufacturer leaving a market, and a page that sold you a Honda without mentioning it would not be worth reading.
