I Bought & Tested the Best-Selling Lawn Leveling Rakes. Here's Why Planova is #1:
Written by Laura Kessler
The morning after the cookout, I walked the entire yard with a bag of marker flags and a four-foot level. I planted fourteen flags before I reached the back fence. Some dips were shallow saucers, others deep enough to swallow a tennis ball. That's when I admitted the lawn needed real leveling, not another weekend of ignoring it.
Over the next three weeks I tried everything within reach. A standard bow rake just shuffled soil from one hole into the next. A lightweight plastic leveler flipped over every few feet and cracked at the handle joint. My homemade 2x4 drag board worked, sort of, but left me with a sore lower back and streaks of scraped turf.
That frustration pushed me to test properly. I rounded up five of the most talked-about lawn leveling rakes, including Planova, which kept turning up in reader emails and kept selling out before I could order one. After seven years and 38+ lawn and garden tools tested, I know how quickly marketing claims fall apart in real dirt.
Here's what I found.
My Test Results
For six weeks, our team used each rake in my own backyard and in a neighbor's front lawn, which has heavy clay and a mix of Bermuda and Kentucky bluegrass. Every session covered the same three jobs: spreading sand topdressing, working in compost, and filling settled low spots after rain. I logged time per 100 square feet, passes required, and how each tool behaved when wet.
We scored every rake on four criteria: Material Durability, Ergonomic Design, Leveling Efficiency, and Stability Performance. Durability covered rust, bending, and weld integrity after damp storage. Ergonomics tracked handle range and how my back felt after 45 minutes. Efficiency measured plate coverage and weight balance, while stability measured flipping and wobble.
The first thing I noticed with Planova was how little effort it demanded. Its 30"x10" plate swept across a 400-square-foot patch of settled lawn in about 35 minutes, where my old bow rake needed roughly 70. The wide plate and 12 lbs of weight did the work, so I pulled instead of pressed.
The secondary discoveries mattered just as much. Sand topdressing spread in thin, even layers, compost didn't clump, and the rounded plate edges never scuffed my Bermuda grass. After six weeks of dew and wet mornings, the steel showed no rust at all, and the handle sections still separated cleanly for storage.
Weaknesses? Honestly, just one. Demand is so strong that the rake regularly sells out, and I waited two weeks for mine to come back in stock. On the product itself I found nothing worth a deduction: no wobble, no flipping, no bent plate. That's a rare result in seven years of testing.
The Results:
That mix of durability, comfort, speed, and stability is why Planova is the #1 lawn leveling rake on this list.
Value
Since this rake joined my shed, I've stopped hiring a landscaper for spring topdressing, and I've stopped surrendering Saturdays to back-breaking drag-board work. I'm not replacing flimsy rakes every other season either. The real value is time reclaimed: a job that once ate a weekend now fits inside one afternoon.
Consider what doing nothing costs. Every low spot is a tripping hazard, a puddle waiting to drown the grass, and a place where your mower scalps the turf. Cheap rakes that flip, bend, or loosen only offer temporary fixes, then land in the trash while the dips stay put. I know because I lived that cycle.
Build quality closes the long-term case. Double-welded joints, rust-proof steel, and a locking handle point to many seasons of service, while most budget rakes I've tested started loosening within one. After six weeks of hard use, nothing on this one has budged. Buy it once, level once, and enjoy a smart long-term decision.
Evenings on a Lawn You Can Trust
Last weekend I carried a full tray across the same patch of lawn that once sent me sprawling, and I never glanced at my feet. That's the real payoff: no more ankle checks, no wincing when kids sprint out the back door, and a mower that finally cuts at one height. My yard went from something I managed to something I enjoy.
The benefits reach well beyond one homeowner. Families with young children gain safer play space, dog owners avoid twisted paws, and anyone laying fresh sod or sand gets a professional finish without renting equipment. Even people maintaining sports turf or pasture will appreciate how easily it handles soil, sand, compost, and fertilizer.
Customer Reviews
At 67, my lower back doesn't forgive bad tools. I set the handle to my height and leveled the whole front yard in a single afternoon, with no soreness the next morning. My old rake used to put me in the recliner for two days.
Just laid new sod and it had ridges everywhere. This smoothed the whole back lawn in about 90 minutes. Easy to put together too.
I used to pay a landscaper to level my yard every spring. This year I did it myself in about three hours, filling 11 low spots with topsoil and checking each one with a straightedge. The locking handle never wobbled once, even with a heavy load of soil in front of it. Wish I'd bought this years ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
A lawn leveling rake has a wide, flat ground plate that drags across the surface and fills low spots with soil, sand, or compost. A garden rake has tines that gather and loosen debris, so it tends to move material around rather than flatten it. The plate is what produces a smooth finish.
Stainless steel is the best choice because it resists rust and bending in damp outdoor storage. Look for welded heads rather than bolt-only construction.
Uncoated carbon steel usually starts to rust within a season.
A 30"x10" plate suits most residential yards because it balances coverage with control. Very small gardens may prefer a shorter plate around 17 inches, while large lawns and sports fields benefit from wider plates up to 40 inches.
Choose a handle that lets you stand upright with your elbows slightly bent. An adjustable range of roughly 28 to 60 inches fits most people.
Handles of 78 inches or more add reach but can feel unwieldy in tight garden beds.
Sand, topsoil, compost, and granular fertilizer all work well. Sand and fine topsoil spread most evenly, while compost should be screened or dry to avoid clumping. Wet clay is the hardest material to move, so let it dry slightly first.
Level while the grass is actively growing so it can recover through the new layer. Warm-season grasses such as Bermuda do best in late spring into early summer, while cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass prefer early fall or spring.
Spread no more than about half an inch of material at a time.
Not if the plate edges are rounded and you pull the rake rather than dig with it. Sharp edges can tear grass blades, which is why I favor smooth designs. Thin, even layers of topdressing let the grass grow through.
Demand regularly outpaces supply, and Planova sold out on me while I was trying to order. I waited about two weeks for a restock.
If it shows as available when you check, ordering promptly is the safest move.
Purchase and Delivery Process
Ordering is simple. The rake is sold exclusively online, which means no retail markups and no wandering hardware store aisles.
Here's the catch: it sells out frequently. When I first tried to order, it was out of stock, and I had to wait two weeks before it returned.
If it shows as available when you click through, don't wait. Restocks tend to vanish within days, and spring is peak season.
Once I placed my order, shipping was fast, and everything I needed for assembly was in the box.
Where Can I Buy the Planova?
Getting your own Planova with a 50% discount is simple. Just follow these steps: