Best Pressure Washer 2025: Fully tested by experts

If you’re looking for a pressure washer with plenty of power, the Stihl RE 100 Plus Control should be top of your list. This pressure washer has a maximum output of 150bar, which means it can deal with the toughest jobs easily.

Of course, that level of pressure is no good for lighter jobs, so it’s good to see that it also has a three-level variable power control (available on the handle), so you can dial the pressure back to tackle other jobs.

This pressure washer comes with a multi-nozzle that offers a choice of fan, rotating spray and detergent spraying. That makes switching between modes easy, but no mode is adjustable by spray width or pattern.

There’s also not much in the way of available accessories, bar the patio washer.

What the Stihl RE 100 Plus Control is good at is cleaning. In our tests, it produced the best results on our patio, cleaning every bit of muck off. Its adjustable power also meant that we could easily clean decking, outdoor furniture and our car.

There are some slightly more versatile cleaners, but none with quite as much power as this one that we’ve tested. And, its excellent design makes this pressure washer easy to set up and pack down.

Considering it costs way under £100, the Vonhaus 1600W Pressure Washer is much better than you’d think. In fact, it’s not only better than you think, it’s actually very good.

It’s a little cheaply made: the lance holder drops out a little too easily and has to be clipped back in place, and the wheels feel a bit wobbly. However, the main unit feels good enough.

A single nozzle is provided in the box, which rotates to give a choice of everything from a narrow, high-pressure jet to a wider, low-pressure spray. The pressure washer’s output power can’t be adjusted, however.

Water is output at 130 bar, which is about the maximum limit we suggest for a car; fortunately, the wide jet can be set to a wide pattern that reduces pressure.

On our tough patio test, the Vonhaus 1600W Pressure Washer did almost as well as many more expensive pressure washers, showing that it’s a powerful choice. And, there’s a detergent bottle that adds flexibility.

There are neater, more powerful and more flexible choices, but if you mostly tackle patios and stonework and want something cheap but powerful, the Vonhaus 1600W Pressure Washer is a great choice.

Beautifully made, the Nilfisk Core 140-6 Power Control High Pressure Washer might be large, but it’s also very easy to store. It needs a fair bit of assembly, but this rugged pressure washer has some neat features.

Top of the list is the hose wheel that’s on the front, so the integrated hose can be wound up and down. When packed up for storage, there’s no sign of the hose, and the lance clips into a holder, and accessories on to the back.

Nilfisk provides a foam gun for detergent, rotating jet nozzle and a spray head. Nozzles are not adjustable, but the pressure washer has four power modes selectable via the big switch on the front.

There’s a wide range of accessories available, including a patio tool, car brush and pipe-cleaning kit. They’re individually expensive and can’t be bought in a money-saving bundle.

Cleaning quality is generally excellent, although on close examination of a patio tile, not quite as good as the best that we’ve tested.

For ease of storage and range of accessories available, the Nilfisk Core 140-6 Power Control High Pressure Washer is a brilliant choice.

Precision-engineered, like the company’s other garden tools, the Husqvarna PW 235R is a rugged and well built pressure washer that doesn’t take up much room.

This model has a hose reel on top, which looks good; however, the hose doesn’t remain connected to the machine, so the high-pressure hose has to be unclipped and unwound before use, which is time-consuming and a little annoying.

Husqvarna provides a spray bottle for foaming detergent and two nozzles: a rotary jet and a flat jet. Neither are pattern or power adjustable, but the Husqvarna PW 235R does have a remove control built into the handle that let us adjust power to tackle any kind of job.

On maximum power with the rotary jet, the Husqvarna PW 235R cleaned our patio as well as the best. And, the adjustable power meant that we could tackle lighter jobs, such as cleaning decking and our car.

The hose storage is a little annoying, but this is otherwise a powerful and compact pressure washer suitable for all jobs.

The Stihl RCA 20 Cordless Pressure Washer is a brilliant tool for at home and away. Powered by the AS battery system (which has a growing number of tools available for it), this cordless washer is light and reasonably powerful.

Built to Sithl’s exacting standards, the RCA 20 comes with everything you need: a travel case, hose, wand and 4-in-1 nozzle. You can buy it barebones, if you have batteries, or in a set with a charger and two batteries.

Two batteries make sense, as you’ll get around 30 minutes of cleaning power from the set, which should be enough for most jobs.

This pressure washer can be used with mains water, or you can use the filter on the end of the hose and use it with rain water, standing water or with the 20-litre water bag that comes in the box. This combination makes the RCA 20 easy to use anywhere, whether it’s cleaning down garden furniture at home, or washing down a dirty bike before you load it into the car.

Easy to use, the RCA 20 doesn’t quite have the maximum power levels as a plug-in model, and can’t shift tough stains on patios. However, it’s power level is perfect for loose dirt, garden furniture, decking, cars and bikes; think of slightly lighter jobs and this is the perfect tool.

For the ultimate in versatility, the Stihl RCA 20 Cordless Pressure Washer is hard to beat.