A handheld battery blower is the everyday tool: the patio after a windy night, the deck under the maple, the driveway before guests arrive. You use it close to the house, often within earshot of the neighbors' windows, and usually for ten or twenty minutes rather than an afternoon. That changes which numbers matter.
This guide narrows our quietest leaf blowers guide to handheld cordless blowers. We reopened the maker pages and manuals for twenty handheld battery blowers from eleven brands, EGO, Milwaukee, DEWALT, Makita, RYOBI, Greenworks, STIHL, Husqvarna, Toro, Worx and CRAFTSMAN, and sorted every noise figure by what it measures. The ranking is by the 50 ft figure, because that is what a blower rule is written in. The figures for your own ears come after, in their own list, and the bare "dB" figures sit apart, unranked.
Our picks are listed above, with full specifications for each.
Four kinds of number on a handheld box
Handheld battery blowers carry more kinds of noise figure than any other tool we cover, and they are never ranked against each other here.
The 50 ft bystander figure. Sound pressure 50 feet (15 m) from the blower, measured to ANSI B175.2. It is the nearest thing to what the house across the driveway hears, and it is the figure city rules use. Milwaukee, STIHL and Husqvarna's newer manuals publish it, and so does EGO for its commercial LBX1000. Our ranking uses only this figure.
The operator's ear figure, LpA. Sound pressure at the user's head. Husqvarna prints it on its US pages, EGO declares it in its European manuals, and STIHL lists it in its UK product data. It is always much higher than the 50 ft figure, because your ears are a couple of feet from the fan.
Guaranteed sound power, LWA. The total sound the blower puts out, with an allowance for variation between units, under the EU's outdoor noise directive 2000/14/EC. It is not a distance figure at all. Our sound power vs sound pressure explainer explains why it cannot sit beside either pressure figure.
A bare "dB". Worx's 57 dB, RYOBI's 57 dB, DEWALT's 62 db(a) and EGO's 64 dB for the LB6504 come with no distance, standard or speed. They may be honest numbers, but without a basis we cannot put them in a ranking.
The 50 ft ranking
Every figure below is dB(A) at 50 ft (15 m) under ANSI B175.2, in the maker's own page or manual:
- STIHL BGA 30: 50 (a small 11 V blower, 250 cf/min)
- Milwaukee 3017-20: 54
- STIHL BGA 50: 55
- STIHL BGA 60 and BGA 110: 56
- STIHL BGA 86: 58
- Husqvarna 530iB: 60 (at rated maximum speed)
- Makita XBU03: 60 (from Makita's page as recorded in our catalog; the site would not load on our recheck)
- Husqvarna 525iB Mark II: 64.4 in Normal mode, 66 in Boost
- EGO LBX1000: 65
Read the gaps with the usual rule of thumb: about 10 dB(A) sounds twice as loud. The Milwaukee and the Husqvarna 530iB are six decibels apart, which is clearly audible across a yard. The BGA 30 is four decibels under the Milwaukee, but with half its air, so it is a choice for hard surfaces rather than a swap for a bigger blower. From 54 to 58, the full-size STIHLs and the Milwaukee are close enough that airflow, kit and price should decide between them. Our dBA explained page covers the A weighting behind every figure here.
What your own ears get
On a patio you stand closer to the blower than anyone, so the operator's figure deserves a look. By LpA at the operator's ear, quietest first:
- STIHL BGA 30: 73 dB(A), K 2.0, STIHL UK data
- STIHL BGA 60: 76 dB(A), K 2.0, STIHL UK data
- Husqvarna 530iB: 76.9 dB(A), US page
- STIHL BGA 50: 78 dB(A), K 2.0, STIHL UK data
- EGO LB5804 (EU LB5800E): 78.4 dB(A), K 2.5, EU manual
- Husqvarna 230iB: 79 dB(A), US page
- Husqvarna 350iB: 79.4 dB(A), US page
- STIHL BGA 110: 82 dB(A), K 2.0, STIHL UK data
- Husqvarna 525iB Mark II: 85 dB(A), US page and manual
- EGO LBX1000: 86 dB(A), K 3, EU manual
By guaranteed sound power, LWA: Husqvarna 530iB at 92 dB(A), EGO LB5804 and LBX1000 at 98, Husqvarna 350iB and 525iB Mark II at 101, and Husqvarna 230iB at 102. STIHL's UK data also give a sound power level for each STIHL blower, from 84 dB(A) for the BGA 30, but not as a guaranteed figure, so we leave them out of that order. Husqvarna's 525iB Mark II manual names EN ISO 11203 and ISO 22868 for the operator figure; STIHL gives only a K-value under Directive 2006/42/EC, and EGO's manuals name no standard for it, so read close rows as neighbors rather than a strict order. Our EGO decibels page and Husqvarna decibels page list every blower in each brand with all its figures.
The two lists do not agree, and that is the point. Among full-size handhelds, the Milwaukee leads at 50 feet but publishes nothing for the operator, and the 530iB leads in guaranteed sound power but is six decibels behind the Milwaukee at 50 feet. The small BGA 30 has the lowest figure we found on both pressure lists, at 50 feet and at the ear. If the neighbors are your worry, read the first list. If you blow the deck every morning, read the second.
Every handheld here has a variable speed trigger or a speed control, and most add a boost or turbo button. The quiet way to run any of them is the lowest speed that moves the leaves. But almost none of them publish a figure at that speed.
Husqvarna is the exception. Its 525iB Mark II manual gives 64.4 dB(A) at 50 ft in Normal mode and 66 in Boost, so boost costs 1.6 decibels at the neighbor's fence. That is a small step, but on a 65 dB(A) rule it is the difference between under and over. Husqvarna's pages also list guaranteed sound power in boost mode: the 230iB goes from 102 to 108 dB(A), six decibels more, and the 350iB from 101 to 110, nine more. Nine decibels is close to the ten that sounds twice as loud.
The other makers stay silent on boost. STIHL's BGA 60 and BGA 110 each have a Boost mode and one 56 dB(A) figure; STIHL does not say which mode that figure describes. EGO's turbo has no figure. And Husqvarna's 530iB manual says its 60 dB(A) is "determined on the basis of the rated maximum speed", which is the honest way to rate it: the published figure is the loud end, and the low setting can only be quieter.
Run time at the low setting
A quiet speed is also a long-lasting one. Here is what each maker publishes for a handheld on low:
- EGO LB5804 (EU LB5800E): 200 minutes on low, 30 on high, 18 in boost with a 5.0Ah battery. EGO's US page says up to 75 minutes on a 5.0Ah, without naming a speed.
- EGO LB6504: 200 minutes on low, 30 on high, 15 in boost with the included 5.0Ah, in its US manual.
- EGO LBX1000: up to 100 minutes on low, 33 on high and 20 on turbo with a 10.0Ah battery.
- STIHL BGA 50: 20 to 115 minutes on the included AK 20. STIHL says its working times "are indicative and may vary depending on the application and operating mode", and does not name the setting for the long figure.
- STIHL BGA 60: 13 to 105 minutes on an AK 20, 16 to 130 on an AK 30.
- STIHL BGA 30: 8 to 25 minutes per AS 2 battery; the set includes two.
- Husqvarna 350iB: an estimated 45 minutes in normal mode with the included BLi30.
- RYOBI RY404014K: over 45 minutes with a 4Ah battery, "using variable speed trigger on low".
- Husqvarna 230iB: up to 30 minutes on lower variable speeds with the included 4 Ah battery.
- Milwaukee 3017-20, Husqvarna 530iB and 525iB Mark II: no single run time published.
For a patio and a deck, even the short figures here cover a session. Run time starts to matter on a medium lawn in autumn, where a blower on low for an hour is far kinder to the street than one on boost for twenty minutes.
Weight in one hand
A handheld is held at arm's length on one wrist, so weight is part of whether you will run it slowly. The makers publish weight on different bases, which makes this tricky. Without a battery: STIHL BGA 30 at 3.4 lb, STIHL BGA 50 at 4.9 lb, STIHL BGA 60 at 5.1 lb, Husqvarna 525iB Mark II at 5.51 lbs and 530iB at 5.95 lbs, EGO LB5800E at 2.18 kg, Worx at 4.5 lbs bare. Milwaukee lists 5.1 lb for the 3017-20 without saying whether a battery is fitted. With a battery: Husqvarna's 350iB kit at 10 lbs. RYOBI's 9.60 lbs and DEWALT's 9.42 lbs do not say either way.
Most of these weights leave the battery out, and a battery can add a good share again. Pick one up with the battery you will use before you buy.
Blower rules that cite 65 dB(A) at 50 feet
Many towns write blower rules around the same figure. Two examples:
- Portland, Oregon. From March 1 through October 31, only blowers on the city's certified list of 65 dBA or quieter may be used; from November 1 through February 28, the list is 70 dBA. The lists include only blowers certified by a third-party lab using ANSI B175.2-2000, and no blower may run in residential zones from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Cupertino, California. Any leaf blower "with a noise level reading of 65 dBA or less, measured at 50 feet" is permitted. For an electric blower, that level must be "identified in its product information specifications". Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays at most properties.
Here is where the handheld market gets awkward. Cupertino's wording asks for a figure at 50 feet in the product's specifications. Milwaukee, STIHL and Husqvarna's 530iB and 525iB manuals print exactly that. Worx's 57 dB, RYOBI's 57 dB and DEWALT's 62 db(a) do not say 50 feet, so they may not show what such a rule asks for, however low they look. And Portland goes further, with its own list. Check your town's wording and, where there is one, its list before you buy. Our parent guide covers Los Altos Hills and California's engine rules.
Several makers sell handhelds on quietness without a number we can rank:
- RYOBI's WHISPER SERIES blower is "85% quieter than gas", engineered "with noise dampening foam".
- EGO says the LB5804 is "4 times quieter than gas blowers".
- CRAFTSMAN's V20 Brushless RP blower offers "Up to 50% less noise than gas", footnoted as a bystander noise level at a 50-ft radius against its own 25cc gas blower, but the page gives no decibel figure for either.
- Milwaukee says its blower is "Up To 40% Quieter than the competition", alongside its 54 dB(A).
- Greenworks' Canadian page for the BL60L251 lists "Noise Level @ 50' (Long Range) 89.4 dB". That is far higher than any ANSI figure here and names no standard, so we cannot tell what it measures. We found no figure on Greenworks' US blower pages.
- Toro's page for its 60V MAX blower, model 51820, gives no decibel figure at all. We found no maker figure for Kobalt's handhelds either.
None of these can be ranked, and a percentage of loudness is not something a rule is written in.
How to keep a handheld quiet on a small lot
Start on the lowest speed. Husqvarna's 525iB figures show boost costs 1.6 decibels at 50 feet; the guaranteed sound power figures for the 230iB and 350iB show it can cost six to nine. Save boost for the wet corner.
Use it for short sessions. A handheld is a ten minute tool on a patio. If you are clearing a lawn for an hour, our backpack blower guide covers the tools built for that.
Wear hearing protection anyway. EGO's LB5800E manual says "Always wear ear protection when operating this product". Even the quietest operator figure here, 73 dB(A), is measured at your head, not at 50 feet.
Time it with the neighbors. Our quiet yard overview sets the blower beside the mower and trimmer if you are planning a quieter weekend routine for the whole yard.
How we chose
We reopened each maker's US product page and, where we could, the operator's manual, plus EGO's European manuals for the operator and sound power declarations. We recorded each figure in the maker's own words with its basis and ranked only like with like: 50 ft ANSI against 50 ft ANSI, operator's ear against operator's ear, sound power against sound power. Prices are the maker's own, where one is shown; Milwaukee, Makita, DEWALT and EGO show none. Husqvarna's 120iB, which buyers still ask about, is no longer on Husqvarna's US blower listing, so we left it out.
We did not measure any of these blowers ourselves. Every figure here is the maker's, quoted with its distance, standard or setting where the maker gives one, and the bare "dB" figures are listed but never ranked. Makita's site would not load when we rechecked it, so its 60 dB(A) is the figure we recorded earlier from Makita's own page.
