Choose the 20-inch blower if you clear a two-car driveway, regularly get more than 6 inches of snow, or have to deal with the berm the plow leaves. Choose the 12-inch shovel if your clearing is mainly walks, steps, a deck and a single-car pad — or if you need a second machine for the details a wide blower cannot reach.
FIELD NOTES / COMPARE
20-inch snow blower vs 12-inch snow shovel
Both machines are cordless, both run on two 20V packs, and both clear snow without petrol or a cord. The difference is scale: the 20-inch blower is a driveway machine, and the 12-inch shovel is a paths-and-decks machine that can also handle a small drive.
The short answer
Side by side
Clearing width: 20 inches on the blower, 12 inches on the shovel. The blower clears nearly twice the path per pass.
Clearing depth: 10 inches on the blower, 6 inches on the shovel. This is the number that decides whether an overnight storm is one pass or two.
Throw: up to 30 ft from the blower over a 180° rotating chute, up to 23 ft from the shovel with left, centre and right discharge.
Motor: 1,300 W brushless at 2,100 rpm on the blower; 1,000 W brushless at 2,000 rpm on the shovel.
Weight: 41.9 lb without batteries for the blower, 14.3 lb for the shovel. The blower rides on two wheels and is steered; the shovel is light enough to lift onto a deck or into a trunk.
Batteries: two 20V 8.0Ah packs on the blower, two 20V 6.0Ah packs on the shovel. Both need both packs to run.
Price: $399 for the 20-inch blower and $299 for the 12-inch shovel.
What the width difference means on a driveway
On an 800 sq ft two-car driveway, the 20-inch machine needs about 480 linear feet of walking — roughly 12 passes of 40 ft. The 12-inch shovel would need about 800 linear feet, or 20 passes, and each pass is also narrower than the car it is clearing.
That is the practical case for the bigger machine: not that it clears better, but that it clears a wide area in one session. On a walk or a patio, the same arithmetic reverses — the blower is more machine than the job, and its width makes it awkward between steps and planters.
Where the 12-inch shovel wins
Steps, decks, porches and paths: its 12-inch housing fits where the blower cannot turn, and 14.3 lb is light enough to carry up a flight of stairs.
Storage: it stands in a corner or hangs on a wall, and it fits in a car trunk for clearing a relative's walk.
Light snow: up to 6 inches on a small pad, it clears in a few passes, and the adjustable guide plate throws snow left, centre or right without a rotating chute.
Cost: $299 instead of $399, and it can serve as the detail machine alongside a bigger blower.
Where the 20-inch blower wins
Wide driveways: nearly twice the width per pass, and a 10-inch depth rating that covers a normal storm in one go.
Wet snow and berms: more motor power and up to 30 ft of throw, so heavy snow goes over the bank instead of being pushed around the drive.
The end of the driveway: a 180° chute lets you aim without repositioning the machine, which is what makes a berm manageable.
Cold and dark: IPX4 sealing and an LED light keep it working in wet snow and low light.
Batteries and charging
The 8.0Ah packs on the blower hold 160 Wh each, so 320 Wh on board against a 1,300 W motor — about 15 minutes at full load. The 6.0Ah packs on the shovel hold 120 Wh each, 240 Wh against 1,000 W — about 14 minutes at full load. Light snow and a steady pace stretch both figures; dense wet snow shortens them.
Charging the 8.0Ah packs takes about 160 minutes. Both machines need both packs fitted, so plan on charging the pair together after each use. Neither machine will run with one pack.
Which should you buy?
Buy the 20-inch blower if: you have a two-car driveway, you get 6 inches or more at once, there is a plow berm to clear, or you want one machine to do the whole property.
Buy the 12-inch shovel if: your clearing is mostly walks and decks, your driveway is small and the snow is usually light, you need something light enough to carry, or you want a second machine for steps and paths.
Buy both only if you have a wide driveway and genuinely awkward detail areas. Most owners pick one machine plus a hand shovel for the porch.
Common questions
Is the 12-inch shovel just a scaled-down blower?
It uses the same two-pack 40V system and a brushless motor, but it is a different machine: a fixed-nose snow shovel with three discharge positions, sized for walks and light snow rather than a full driveway.
Can the 12-inch shovel clear a two-car driveway?
It can clear a light snowfall, but it needs about 20 passes on an 800 sq ft drive and its 6-inch depth rating is quickly exceeded in a real storm. For regular two-car clearing, the 20-inch machine is the right tool.
Do both machines use the same batteries?
Both use two 20V packs and the same charger family, but the capacities differ: 8.0Ah on the blower, 6.0Ah on the shovel. A pair is required to run either machine.