Worx WG163 GT 3.0 String Trimmer Review (2026): The Best

Why you should trust this review

I bought the WG163 myself and used it across a roughly four-thousand-square-foot yard over three months, with no involvement from Worx. I have run heavier cordless and gas trimmers, so I know where a budget twelve-inch trimmer genuinely competes and where it simply cannot keep up. A string trimmer is a tool you judge by how it feels over a full yard session and how it handles the awkward edges, not by a spec list, and that is exactly how I approached this one.

Everything below comes from real trimming and edging on a small lot: weight in the hand, runtime per battery, edge quality, and the honest ceiling on what this tool can cut.

How we evaluated

I used the WG163 as the primary trimmer on a four-thousand-square-foot yard over three months of regular maintenance, trimming along fences, under deck rails, and around obstacles, then converting to edger mode along the sidewalk and driveway. I timed the runtime on a two-amp-hour battery doing typical mixed trim and edge work, and I tested both included packs to gauge total working time per charge cycle.

I judged the trimmer-to-edger conversion for speed and ease, evaluated the cut quality on grass and light weeds, and deliberately pushed it into heavier, woodier growth to find where the power runs out. I also paid attention to weight and ergonomics over a full session, since a light tool that stays comfortable is half the value on a small lot.

Edging that genuinely impresses

The edger function is the WG163’s standout, and it is better than it has any right to be at this price. The rotating head converts the trimmer into a wheeled edger in about five seconds: press the button, twist the head ninety degrees, and the wheels engage so the tool rolls along the edge. In practice it cut a clean, true edge along the sidewalk and driveway, and the wheeled guide kept the line straight without me fighting it. For a small lot where you want both jobs done by one tool, this conversion is the feature that makes the WG163 worth owning.

The pivoting head also helps with trimming proper. It reaches under deck rails and along fence lines at angles a fixed-head trimmer cannot, so the awkward spots that usually need a second pass or a hand tool came out clean. That flexibility, plus the fast edger swap, is where this budget trimmer punches above its weight.

Cut power and its honest ceiling

On grass and light grassy weeds, the WG163 cuts cleanly and keeps up with normal yard maintenance, which is exactly what most small-lot owners need. The twelve-inch path and the single line handle a typical urban or small suburban yard without strain, and over three months it never struggled with ordinary trimming.

The honest ceiling is heavier growth. This is not a weed clearer. Push it into thick, woody stalks or dense overgrown brush and the twenty-volt motor bogs down, because it was never built for that job. If your yard is mostly tidy grass and light weeds, you will never notice the limit; if you regularly clear half-inch woody stems or reclaim overgrown areas, you want a more powerful, higher-voltage trimmer. I would rather you know that ceiling up front than buy this expecting it to do a job it cannot.

Battery, runtime, and the two-pack advantage

Runtime per battery is modest, around twenty-five minutes of typical trim and edge work on a two-amp-hour pack, which is normal for a light budget trimmer at this voltage. On a four-thousand-square-foot yard that was enough for a full session with margin, and the standout here is that the kit includes two batteries. That second pack effectively doubles your working window, so you can swap and keep going on a slightly larger session, which is genuinely unusual at this price and a real part of the value.

The charger is a standard slower unit, so you are not topping up quickly between back-to-back sessions, but with two packs in hand that rarely mattered for a small lot. The Worx twenty-volt batteries also run the brand’s other yard tools, so if you build into the platform the packs do double duty across a blower, drill, or saw.

Weight, ergonomics, and the platform trade-off

The WG163 is the lightest trimmer in its competitive set, and on a small lot that weight advantage is a daily pleasure. At well under six pounds with the battery, it stayed comfortable through a full trimming and edging session without the arm fatigue that heavier trimmers bring, and the balance felt natural during long fence-line runs. For older users or anyone who finds full-size trimmers tiring, that lightness alone is a strong reason to consider it.

The honest trade-off is the ecosystem. The Worx twenty-volt platform is smaller than the larger battery families from some competitors, so if you are heavily invested in another brand’s batteries, that fragmentation is a consideration. It is a minor point for someone buying a standalone small-yard trimmer, but worth weighing if you are building a whole cordless tool collection around one battery system.

Who should buy the WG163 GT 3.0?

Buy it if you have a small lot under roughly six thousand square feet, you want one light tool that trims and edges, and you value the included second battery. The fast edger conversion and the low weight make it a genuinely pleasant small-yard tool at a friendly price.

Skip it if you have a half-acre or larger lot where the twelve-inch path means too many passes, you need to clear woody weeds and brush, or you are committed to a different battery ecosystem. A higher-voltage, wider-cut trimmer fits those needs better.

The verdict

After three months the Worx WG163 GT 3.0 is the budget cordless trimmer I would recommend for a small yard. It is light enough to use comfortably for a full session, the rotating-head edger conversion is fast and cuts a clean line, and the included pair of batteries meaningfully extends your runtime for the price. The honest limits are a small twelve-inch cut path and a motor that is not built for woody weed clearing. Matched to a typical urban or small suburban lot of grass and light weeds, none of that bites, and the value is strong. For bigger lots or heavy growth, step up to a more powerful trimmer instead.