Tired of wrangling your garden hose here and there? Exasperated with mixing messy fertilizers, or trying to safely apply pesticides to your lawn? How about constantly refilling your watering can to water all your plants? Behold: a convenient and versatile solution known as the garden sprayer. Whether handheld, battery-powered or a 150 PSI tank strapped to your back, there’s a garden sprayer for every lawn or gardening need — large or small. Join us for a roundup of the best garden sprayer reviews and the top garden sprayers.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall: SOLO 2 Gallon Handheld Sprayer Medium-sized, handy, and widely available, the SOLO 2 Gallon Handheld is simply one of the best garden pump sprayers on the market. | |
Best Budget: Chapin 1 Gallon Lawn and Garden and Home Project Sprayer An ultra-affordable jack of all trades, this Chapin 1 gallon sprayer adapts to all sorts of uses. | |
Best Handheld: ITISLL Manual Garden Sprayer Compact and handy, the *truly* handheld ITISLL garden sprayer is way easier to use than to pronounce. | |
Best Battery-Powered: PetraTools 4 Gallon Battery Powered Backpack Sprayer Tough, easy to charge, well-reviewed: the PetraTools backpack is one of the best garden tank sprayers available. | |
Best Backpack: Field King 4 Gallon Professional Backpack Sprayer Strap on this Field King 4 gallon powerhouse and get going on any lawn or garden task under the sun. |
The Best Garden Sprayers: A Closer Look
Let’s take a further dive into the best of the best of what we’ve listed above.
1. SOLO 2 Gallon Handheld Sprayer
The best garden sprayer overall
Brand: SOLO | Tank Size: 2 Gallons | Materials: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) | Attachments: Extended reach wand; funnel top; chemical resistant seals; shut-off valve; on/off lock; storage compartment | PSI: 45 | Price: 💰💰
This SOLO garden sprayer falls right in the middle of the pack — in all the best ways. This handheld sprayer is simply a great all-around choice: it’s big enough, but not too big, affordably priced, and has an unexpected wealth of bells and whistles for its price point. In addition to the best overall, it’s also our pick for best 2-gallon garden sprayer.
Featuring a long (28 inch) “unbreakable” wand, a shut-off valve with lock-on/lock-off (to minimize user fatigue), and four different nozzles to maximize spray choices, the SOLO 2-gallon has everything you’d want, but nothing you don’t need.
Reviewers Like
- Sturdy
- Long wand
- Very versatile, variety of spray types
- Many users believe it’s the Solo brand that make the best garden sprayers
Reviewers Dislike
- Lid can be fussy
- “Worked great; until it didn’t”
- Harder to maintain pressure over time
2. Chapin 1 Gallon Lawn and Garden and Home Project Sprayer
The best budget garden sprayers
Brand: Chapin | Tank Size: 1 Gallon | Materials: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) | Attachments: Pump handle; drip guard; funnel top; clear tank | Price: 💰
This affordable, lightweight garden sprayer is well under 20 bucks. Flexible and handy, the Chapin 1 Gallon Lawn and Garden Sprayer is not only cheap, it’s one of the best hand pump garden sprayers we’ve come across in the “small but mighty” category. It has a drip guard and a translucent tank that makes it easy to judge the liquid level. It’s great for smaller jobs and a large variety of indoor or more targeted uses.
Reviewers Like
- Easy to carry around
- Requires less pumping than comparable sprayers
- Perfect size for all kinds of home and garden projects
Reviewers Dislike
- Minor defects
- Not designed to last for the long haul
3. ITISLL Manual Garden Sprayer
The best handheld garden sprayers
Brand: ITISLL | Tank Size: ¼ – ⅜ Gallons | Attachments: Brass nozzle; lock switch; safety valve; anti-clog filters; ergonomic handle | Price: 💰
Our first two picks are both handheld options. Still, the ITISLL manual garden sprayer is the only sprayer on our list compact enough to operate with just one hand. This truly handheld sprayer uses a trigger mechanism to spray directly from its tank. The ITISLL is ultra-easy to fill and maneuver. Users can adjust the brass nozzle to spray anywhere between a gentle mist and a direct stream.
Reviewers Like
- Easy to pump
- Lock-on spray option
- Works well for small garden/indoor plants
Reviewers Dislike
- Some leaks
- Breaks more quickly than larger garden sprayers
4. PetraTools 4 Gallon Battery Powered Backpack Sprayer
The best battery powered garden sprayers
Brand: Petra Tools | Tank Size: 4 Gallons | Materials: Polypropylene, Plastic | Attachments: Wide mouth lid; multipurpose stainless steel HD want; 6 nozzles; variable pressure switch; handle w/locking mechanism; padded shoulder straps; high-pressure hose | PSI: 70 | Price: 💰💰💰💰
If you need a sprayer for a more serious lawn and garden business, and you’re not interested in continually hand-pumping, this Petra Tools battery-powered garden sprayer should make your job easy. This heavy-duty backpack sprayer goes the distance, and can be used continuously for 2 hours (or more) per battery charge.
It is the most expensive garden sprayer on our list, but it’s also one of the most professional-grade, consistent, and reliable. The Petra Tools backpack appears on many “best of” gardening lists and is amongst the best electric garden sprayers.
Reviewers Like
- Adjustable pressure
- Great customer service
- Time saver, easy to charge
- “Pattern and reach are amazing”
Reviewers Dislike
- A little heavy
- Weak hose connection point
5. Field King 4 Gallon Professional Backpack Sprayer
The best backpack garden sprayers
Brand: Field King | Tank Size: 4 Gallons | Materials: HDPE | Attachments: 4 nozzles; internal piston pump; 21″ poly wand; Viton seals; lockable shutoff; filtration basket | PSI: 150 | Price: 💰💰💰
If you’re searching for one of the best garden pressure sprayers, look no further than the Field King Pro, which delivers up to a whopping 150 PSI. The Field King has an adjustable pressure regulator. In addition to blasting away dirt or algae, users can also adjust it for gentler applications.
Why a backpack garden sprayer? It’s convenient, easy to use, and very portable. Backpack sprayers let you get into hard-to-reach areas, and because they can hold more volume, they provide way more spray coverage than a handheld unit. The Field King Professional Backpack Sprayer also offers:
- Exclusive “no leak” engineering
- Internal piston pump design
- Padded comfort backpack straps
- 50″ of chemically resistant poly hose
- Waist and chest belts for added stability
- Lower back support
- Integral agitator mixes solutions
Reviewers Like
- Tough
- Comfortable
- Good design
- Large capacity
- Impressed with quality and ease of use
Reviewers Dislike
- Noisy
- Heavy
- Some experienced leaking
Types of Garden Sprayers
Manual vs. Battery-Powered
Most garden sprayers are either manual or battery-powered. For the average gardener, a manual, handheld, mid-sized garden sprayer that you pump yourself works nicely for most jobs.
Battery-powered garden sprayers are also available. These (usually backpack) sprayers feature a removable battery that you charge overnight. Some fancier units can last 8 or more hours, but most lawn and garden tasks won’t require nearly that much “juice.” Our pick for best battery-powered garden sprayer lasts a solid 2+ hours per charge.
Size and Use
There are a wide variety of garden sprayers available for every conceivable use and scale. For smaller jobs, there are many varieties of handheld garden sprayers. If you have a larger area to spray, or need a unit that can withstand chemicals, you should probably opt for a backpack sprayer. These are designed to be more leak-proof and offer a steadier application.
What to Look For in a Garden Sprayer
1
Pounds Per Square Inch Rating (PSI)
Check to see your sprayer’s PSI to get an idea of the strength of a sprayer. If you’re looking for a garden sprayer to mist your plants, periodically apply fertilizer, etc., then anywhere from 30-50 PSI should be sufficient. If you need more oomph, like more targeted pressure-washing, you may want to opt for a backpack sprayer, which can pressurize a stream to 100PSI or more.
2
Tank Size
How much water or solution do you generally need to use? If you’re spraying a small garden or using a sprayer in a targeted way, you shouldn’t need much more than a gallon or two of liquid. However, if you have jobs that require more extensive applications, or you don’t want to keep refilling your tank, look for a backpack sprayer in the 3-4 gallon range. Just remember that with each gallon, comes significantly more weight. That’s why for tanks that hold more than 2 gallons, we recommend a backpack sprayer.
3
Other Accessories
What’s important to you in terms of functionality and comfort in the garden? If you’re lugging around a heavier sprayer, you may want to consider padded straps, an ergonomic handle, or a rolling cart. More concerned about clogging or leaking? Check to make sure your sprayer has a no-clog nozzle, strong seals, and a funnel top or wide mouth rim to prevent spillage. Some garden sprayers offer additional features like built-in pressure gauges or extended hoses.
A Few Eco Friendly Uses for Garden Sprayers
Garden sprayers have many uses, including herbicide and pesticide applications. Much of the language around garden sprayers assumes that you’ll be using toxic chemicals. But there are many eco-friendly uses, too, such as:
- Concentrated plant watering. Set the spray strength to low and slowly soak the roots of plants in need of more intensive watering. A lighter mist setting also works excellent for foliar spray or for plants that are hard to reach without a wand.
- Housecleaning. The indoor uses of a garden sprayer are endless, like carpet-cleaning, sanitizing your shower, deep cleaning a floor, or even getting into the musty crevices of your laundry machine or dishwasher.
- Cleaning your car. A garden sprayer works especially great for detailed cleanings, like hubcaps, rims, or other nooks and crannies.
- Natural fertilizer Try making some compost tea or use another natural (filtered) fertilizer.
- Eco-friendly weed and pest treatments. Many natural weed killers are made of easy-to-find nontoxic ingredients, like vinegar, salt, or gentle detergents. Natural pesticide recipes also abound, like using neem oil, or other nontoxic sprays that eliminate pests, while keeping beneficial insects (such as honeybees) safe. For instance, did you know that you can fill your sprayer with a solution of water, dish soap, and a little essential oil to prevent or (carefully) kill wasps and hornets?
- Washing away algae and mold. Have some slimy stepping stones? Spray off outside surfaces in a snap. (This tip works especially well with a higher pressure backpack garden sprayer.)
However you choose to use your garden sprayer, there are countless ways to do so sustainably. Happy drizzling, streaming, misting or spritzing!
Our Process
For this guide on the best garden sprayers, our team spent 6 hours researching the most popular options from over 25 brands and manufacturers big and small. We then read about one hundred user reviews (both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought about each garden sprayers. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 5 on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.
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Further Reading