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Drop or broadcast — one is accurate, the other is fast

Lawn spreaders, compared

A spreader exists to put the same amount of fertiliser or seed on every square metre, and the two designs on this shelf do that differently enough that they are not interchangeable. A drop spreader releases material straight down between its wheels: the working width equals the hopper width, the edges are sharp, and nothing lands on the path or in the flowerbed. It is slow and it is unforgiving — a missed strip shows as a pale line for a month, and an overlap shows as a dark one. A broadcast or rotary spreader throws material in a fan from a spinning disc, covering two metres or more at a walk, blending the overlaps invisibly and throwing some of it wherever you did not want it. The corpus holds both, plus hand-held shakers for small lawns and one cordless powered spreader. The hopper volume — 12 litres and up on the trolleys here — decides how often you stop to refill, and refilling a spreader in the middle of a lawn is how uneven applications happen. The rate setting is the part that decides whether the machine is useful at all: a numbered gate that the fertiliser bag refers to by the same numbers. Where the bag and the spreader come from different makers, that correspondence does not exist, and the honest answer is a calibration run on a measured square. The wheels matter more than they look: small hard wheels skid on a slope and stop the disc, which stops the spreading without stopping the walking. We compare type, hopper volume, working width, wheels, rate setting and material.

Every part here, laid out figure by figure

  1. Gardena combisystem drop spreader head without handle

    Gardena 420-20

    A 40 cm drop spreader head with a levelling bar — the narrowest and most accurate pattern on this shelf.

    Type
    Drop spreader head for a modular handle system
    Hopper volume
    Not published
    Working width
    40 cm — the narrowest here, and laid down rather than thrown
    Wheels
    Not published
    Rate setting
    Integrated levelling bar for an even pattern
    Material
    Pushed by hand; handle NOT included, sold separately · Drop spreader head for a modular handle system
    Amazon reference
    B0001E3QME (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4078500042000
    • A drop pattern, which lays exactly its own width and nothing outside it
    • The cheapest item on this shelf, if you already own the handles
    • The handle is a separate purchase, which changes the real price

    Best for: Small lawns, and anywhere fertiliser must not land on a bed, a path or a pond

    Check price on Amazon
  2. WOLF Garten WE 330 universal drop spreader

    WOLF Garten WE 330

    A 41 cm drop spreader with a 15 litre hopper — the accurate pattern with capacity behind it.

    Type
    Wheeled drop spreader
    Hopper volume
    15 litres
    Working width
    41 cm
    Wheels
    Not published
    Rate setting
    Not described beyond being adjustable for all kinds of material
    Material
    Pushed by hand; complete, no handle to buy · Wheeled drop spreader
    Amazon reference
    B0009I9Z8Q (one reference across 4 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4009269542906
    • A drop pattern at 41 cm with a 15 litre hopper — accuracy without constant refilling
    • Stated for seed, fertiliser, sand and salt, including winter grit
    • No metering detail at all — no settings, no rates, no scale

    Best for: A medium lawn where an even, hard-edged pattern matters and 40 cm passes are acceptable

    Check price on Amazon
  3. Einhell handheld battery-powered spreader

    Einhell GE-US 18 Li-Solo

    A handheld battery spreader with six speeds and eight rate settings — and two coverage figures that disagree.

    Type
    Handheld broadcast spreader, battery-powered
    Hopper volume
    3.3 litres
    Working width
    Adjustable to a maximum of 5 m — the widest here
    Wheels
    None — handheld
    Rate setting
    6-step electronic speed control and 8-step rate adjustment
    Material
    18 V system battery — NOT included, and no charger; recommended for up to 800 m² · Handheld broadcast spreader, battery-powered
    Amazon reference
    B07XF6X269 (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4006825638356
    • Six speeds and eight rate steps — 48 combinations, the finest adjustment here
    • Part of an 18 V platform, so the battery is shared with other tools
    • Two coverage figures in consecutive lines — 800 m² and about 15 m² — that nothing reconciles

    Best for: Somebody already on this 18 V platform, treating awkward shapes rather than open lawn

    Check price on Amazon
  4. Handheld battery spreader with adjustable angle and rate lever

    Shall SH112047AE

    The only spreader here that tells you which setting is for seed, for fertiliser and for salt — and gives two coverages.

    Type
    Handheld broadcast spreader, battery-powered
    Hopper volume
    3.3 litres
    Working width
    Set by 6 spread angles from 0° to 127°
    Wheels
    None — handheld
    Rate setting
    8 rate steps mapped to material — 1–3 fine seed, 4–6 medium fertiliser, 7–8 coarse grit
    Material
    2.0 Ah battery and charger INCLUDED; 900–2200 rpm; about 350 m² fertiliser or 600 m² seed · Handheld broadcast spreader, battery-powered
    Amazon reference
    B0FDJQFKTD (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    0703387321385
    • The only listing here that maps its numbered settings to what you are spreading
    • Two separate coverage figures — 350 m² for fertiliser, 600 m² for seed
    • Explicitly not waterproof, and it must be stored dry and covered

    Best for: Anybody who wants to spread three different materials and know which setting to use

    Check price on Amazon
  5. Substral EasyGreen rotary broadcast spreader with U-handle

    Substral EasyGreen 17624

    A rotary walk-behind with a stop bar at the handle and a closable outlet so it does not trickle while you fill.

    Type
    Wheeled broadcast (rotary) spreader
    Hopper volume
    12 litres, with a closable outlet for filling
    Working width
    Up to 2 m per side
    Wheels
    Not published
    Rate setting
    Adjustable dosing device; spreading started and stopped at the handle
    Material
    Pushed by hand; U-shaped handle with a stop bar · Wheeled broadcast (rotary) spreader
    Amazon reference
    B00JON64ZE (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4057166064731
    • A stop bar at the handle, so spreading stops when you do
    • A closable outlet, so nothing trickles out while you fill it
    • A broadcast cone up to 2 m per side, which has to be overlapped correctly

    Best for: A medium to large lawn, treated quickly, with attention paid to overlap

    Check price on Amazon
  6. RYOBI 18V ONE+ handheld battery spreader

    RYOBI OSS1800

    A 4 litre handheld spreader on a large 18 V platform, with a width range rather than a single figure.

    Type
    Handheld broadcast spreader, battery-powered
    Hopper volume
    4 litres
    Working width
    Adjustable from 2.5 m to 3.5 m
    Wheels
    None — handheld
    Rate setting
    Not published
    Material
    18 V platform battery, shared with over 200 tools — NOT included, no charger · Handheld broadcast spreader, battery-powered
    Amazon reference
    B079ZKT5TX (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4892210160201
    • A width range rather than a maximum, which is the honest way to state it
    • The largest hopper of the three handheld spreaders here, at 4 litres
    • No battery and no charger in the box

    Best for: Somebody already on this 18 V platform who needs a spreader occasionally

    Check price on Amazon
  7. Large 45 litre broadcast spreader with steel frame and pneumatic tyres

    Onbest 45 L spreader

    The largest hopper here by three times, on a steel frame with an agitator and air-filled tyres.

    Type
    Wheeled broadcast (rotary) spreader
    Hopper volume
    45 litres — three times the next largest here
    Working width
    Not published
    Wheels
    Large air-filled tyres
    Rate setting
    Lever on the handlebar; a stirring agitator in the hopper
    Material
    Pushed by hand, not powered; solid steel frame, large pneumatic tyres · Wheeled broadcast (rotary) spreader
    Amazon reference
    B0CX1QBSGG (one reference across 2 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4260253179557
    • An agitator in the hopper, which is what stops caked fertiliser bridging
    • Pneumatic tyres, which is what makes a loaded 45 litre hopper pushable over grass
    • No spread width published, on a broadcast spreader

    Best for: Large lawns, paddocks and estate work — and winter grit over a drive

    Check price on Amazon