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Keep your grass green whether you have a small or large yard.

We updated this guide in March 2022 to ensure all products previously vetted by the Good Housekeeping Institute were in stock and correctly priced. Our original top-rated picks, selected by the GH Home Improvement & Outdoors Lab, remain the same.

A healthy lawn is one of your property’s best assets, but keeping it lush and green requires regular mowing and watering at the very least, especially during the hot summer months. It can be confusing to figure out when to water and how much you should be watering, and if your lawn is large or oddly shaped, you may worry about missing spots. That's why we put sprinklers to the test to ensure you choose the one that's right for keeping your lawn green all summer.

In past lawn sprinkler tests, the engineers at the Good Housekeeping Institute have measured their performance, ease of use and durability. For smart watering systems, we evaluate the apps and their integration with smart home products. Based upon our past testing and category expertise, our engineers and outdoor home experts vetted new and innovative lawn sprinklers on the market to find the best lawn sprinklers from reputable brands we've tested and trust. Here are the best lawn sprinklers of 2022.

Over 2,500 Amazon customers have given this traveling sprinkler a five-star rating. This ingenious sprinkler rides along the 5/8 inch diameter hose you lay out in whatever pattern you choose (up to 200 feet), and its two aluminum sprinkler arms generate spray coverage between 15 and 55 feet in diameter. With three speeds, you can choose between a faster pace for a lighter watering, a slower pace for a more intense watering or the self-propelled neutral pace in between. An auto shut-off ramp helps prevent water waste. The powder-coated cast-iron body is chip-resistant, and it's ideal for larger yards.

• Coverage pattern: Customizable • Maximum coverage: 13,500 square feet

Perfect for a small lawn or a vegetable garden, this metal Gilmour Spot Sprinkler is less likely to tip over while it showers grass and plants, and you can stake it into the ground so it really stays put. It’s also ideal for areas with lower water pressure as no mechanism must be driven. If your smaller-sized lawn is more square or circular in shape, you may want the square-patterned version which covers a 30-foot diameter.

• Coverage pattern: Rectangular • Maximum coverage: 450 square feet

The Melnor oscillating sprinkler has a durable rust-proof aluminum base, attaches to a ¾ inch hose and is ideal for a long narrow lawn. It’s easy to adjust the spray distance and width, and it has a built-in flow control. The design produces a quiet gentle rain, and a cleanable sieve protects the gears from grit in the water if you’re using well water (plus, the end plug includes a nozzle cleaning tool).

• Coverage pattern: Rectangular • Maximum coverage: 4,500 square feet

With a sturdy step spike to hold the sprinkler firmly in place, the Orbit has an adjustable 0-360º spray pattern and can reach up to 50 feet, depending on the water pressure (it can handle up to 80 PSI). It attaches to a ¾ inch hose and its brass head and zinc spike make it especially durable. Its flow-through design allows you to connect multiple sprinklers.

• Coverage pattern: Circular • Maximum coverage: 7,700 square feet

The RainBird automatic sprinkler system kit is one of the only in-ground sprinkler systems that can be installed by the homeowner without calling a landscaping company or other professional installer. It attaches to an outdoor faucet — the same way your garden hose would — and the tubing doesn't need to be buried very deep. Its six pop-up rotary sprinklers give ideal coverage for medium-sized yards between 1,000-3,000 square feet (the system is not designed for expansion). They retract into the lawn after watering, and it's ready for mowing! Each sprinkler's spray zone can be adjusted and the programmable automatic timer ensures your yard is watered as often as it needs without overwatering. If rain is anticipated, you can suspend watering for up to four days without affecting the program.

• Coverage pattern: Circular per sprinkler • Maximum coverage: 3,000 square feet

A newly seeded lawn needs a gentle spray of water and the Aqua Joe does just that. The range is customizable to reduce water waste. A sturdy metal base adds stability, and the turbo gear-driven unit gives you coverage up to 3,600 square feet. The water inlet filter, which traps grit and debris, can be removed and cleaned, and, if necessary, errant dirt can be removed from the plastic nozzles with the included cleaning tool.

• Coverage pattern: Rectangular • Maximum coverage: 3,600 square feet

The Rachio 3 Controller works with your in-ground sprinkler system. It integrates via Wi-Fi with other smart home products — you can control it from your smartphone or via an Alexa-enabled device, Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant, plus it has controls on the device itself. Each sprinkler zone can be individually controlled, so an area of lawn in all-sun can be watered more frequently than the area in the shade. The Rachio 3 coordinates watering with the weather and therefore saves water. We tested the eight-zone controller, but Rachio also has a 16-zone device for larger lawns.

• Coverage pattern: Dependent on sprinkler head • Maximum coverage: Dependent on in-ground sprinkler system

In order to choose the best lawn sprinklers, we calculate the average reach by measuring each sprinkler's reach 3 times and then average those data points and score the average reach. We also assess how easy they are to set up, including evaluating the clarity of the instruction manual as well as durability and maintenance requirements.

When it comes to smart watering systems, we look at the intuitiveness of the apps, and their integration with smart home products. We also use our expert knowledge from testing thousands of indoor and outdoor smart home products such as security systems, smart locks, smart thermostats, smart air conditioners and more to analyze smart sprinklers.

✔️Coverage area: Consider the size of the area that you will be watering, some types of sprinklers are better suited for larger spaces and some are better for smaller lawns so you’re not drenching unwanted areas.

✔️Coverage pattern: If you have a rectangular lawn, a sprinkler with a rectangular coverage pattern will work better than a circular pattern and vice versa.

✔️Connectivity: Smart sprinklers connect to the internet, allowing you to control and program them via a smartphone app. The sprinklers can also control themselves, for example, using real-time weather data to deliver more water during dry weather and less when there’s rain in the forecast.

✔️Water pressure: Low water pressure might limit the type of sprinkler you can use. For example, low pressure might not activate the pop-up heads on an in-ground irrigation system.

✔️Hose size: Hoses for above-ground sprinklers are made from different materials to guard against kinking. A narrow diameter is lighter to maneuver but will deliver less water. Flow rate is important to achieve the sprinkler’s maximum reach.

✔️Quick-connect fittings: If you use your garden hose with a sprinkler as well as a hand sprayer, quick connect fittings on the sprinkler, hand sprayer and the hose make it easy to quickly detach one device and attach another.

While there’s no one size fits all solution for every lawn, for a larger lawn you’ll want a sprinkler that can cover a large area, like an impact sprinkler. However, for small areas a spot sprinkler will be the best option and not water unnecessary areas. Here are the types of sprinklers you might encounter while shopping.

This article was written by Lynn Redmile, Testing and Product Review Analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she's been evaluating products since 2012.

Rachel Rothman, Chief Technologist and head engineer at the Good Housekeeping Institute, has a B.S.E. in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics with a mathematics minor from the University of Pennsylvania and has been at GH for 14 years. She leads efforts for the constant evolution of GH’s technical and testing protocols, responding both to market drivers and growth opportunities. Rachel is the lead expert and key brand ambassador for GH across a number of categories — including electronics, smart home, automotive, toys, parenting, fitness, tech, startups and more. Dan DiClerico is the Director of Home Improvement & Outdoors at the Good Housekeeping Institute. For more than two decades, he has written about all things home-related, from big-ticket remodeling projects to routine home maintenance. During his time at GH — as well as prior stints at This Old House, Martha Stewart Living, and Consumer Reports — Dan has reviewed thousands of consumer products across a wide range of categories, including appliances, building materials, fixtures, outdoor power equipment, home technology, and more. Dan also has extensive hands-on experience in home improvement; he worked as a roofer for many years and he has completed multiple home remodels, including the gut renovation of the Brooklyn brownstone where he lives with his wife and kids.