The gorgeous and ultralightweight Unagi Model One is most notably available through Unagi’s no commitment, monthly scooter rental service, which is the world’s largest scooter subscription offering by a longshot. This allows you to treat it like its your own starting at $59/month, while having free repairs servicing, and theft and damage insurance covered at the cheapest rate you’ll find anywhere today.

Unagi has been around since 2018, making its claim to fame on sleek design, great ergonomics, dual motors, and premium materials like carbon fiber. This has led the press to label Unagi the ‘Apple’ or ‘Tesla’ of the space, given the full-service and brand-driven focuses of the company.

However, as you’ll see with all lightweight scooters, there are tradeoffs: The two main ones are the Unagi’s ride quality will send you toward more paved surfaces, and is ideal for urban environments, but not so much being a suburban car replacement or overall longer-range use cases.

Unagi is for people who want an ideal commuter scooter and appreciate full-service experience and a great brand repped by celebrities and creatives. If you’d rather own than subscribe, you can buy the dual motor Model One for $990 or the single motor for $790.

Unagi’s subscription program is the only major program offered nationwide (or even outside small subregions for that matter). You can rent month-to-month at no commitment (ie cancel anytime) and have theft and damage insurance and repairs covered at the cheapest rate you’ll find anywhere today.

Use “ESGHALF” for half off your first month!

Choosing a lightweight scooter, isn’t easy, because of the trade-offs between light weight, range and ride quality.
The Air Pro is an entry-level scooter that delivers amazing ride quality, handling and good range while still being relatively lightweight at 37 lbs. 

The Air Pro’s dual 10’’ pneumatic tires and front suspension makes the ride one of the very best at this price point. It’s intuitive to ride and has a roomy deck, great things for newer riders. The Apollo Air Pro delivers satisfying performance on hills; and on flat ground, will hit an ESG-certified top speed of 18.8 mph. 

With 17.7 miles of range, it’s got enough range for any cross-town commute, and for very short commutes like mine, means I only need to charge once every 3 days. The front drum and rear regenerative brakes have a stopping distance of just 11 feet, offering great safety while still being easy for new riders to control. 

Portability and lightweight aren’t just important when it comes to carrying scooters upstairs, but also when it’s time to stow one in the trunk, hop on a bus taxi or train, or even just stash one in the closet.

UScooters have been exclusively selling ultraportable and lightweight electric scooters for a good 8+ years now–and fun fact, around that time Justin Bieber and Neymar tried them out.

They partner with a manufacturer called E-TWOW, and up until recently essentially any scooter you see in the U.S. that looks like this was sold by UScooters. Their scooters are known for both performance per pound and reliability. The UScooters GT Smart Edition or SE adds Bluetooth connectivity and a new app, but it’s the 700 W of peak power that really steals the show.

Coming any day now, is the new UScooters GT Sport, which is expected to go a whopping 28 miles per hour and reach a very strong range value. A key feature that UScooters has been promoting with this launch is the expensive Samsung battery cells they’re using, which should produce both longevity and performance. Stay tuned for our review coming soon.

It’s held back slightly by smaller wheels and tires, but makes up for this with dual suspension … oh, and it’s actually portable.

To smooth out the ride from the solid flat-proof tires the GT SE has plush front and rear suspension but vibrations from rough pavement still come through. Despite its larger battery and new drum brake, the ESG certified weight stays surprisingly, low at 29.6 lbs. The folded dimensions, while not as small as the Booster V are still among the very best. 

If you want to go even smaller (and a bit cheaper), the UScooter Booster V adds new meaning to the term ultra-portable with the smallest folded size of any scooter we’ve

tested. But you’ll give up a noticeable amount of range, and top speed vs the GT Sport (coming soon) or GT SE.

The Fluid Mosquito is the fastest ultraportable scooter we’ve ever tested with a top speed of 27.7 mph. One of the leading scooter retailers in the United States, FluidFreeRide just released the Mosquito, providing their own unique spec to the manufacturer: E-TWOW. None of the scooters in this rocket’s 29.6 lb weight class even come close to matching its top speed per pound, and the Mosquito folds down small enough to take just about anywhere. 

It’s easy to ride, the deck is large, and so is the rider weight capacity at 265 lbs, but the braking distance and traction in wet conditions could be a bit better. 

Perfection of utility and top speed is the story on this scooter, and its hill climbing is also good. The Mosquito includes full-suspension that actually does pretty okay at smoothing out larger bumps, but one con is that along with the strong utility focus of the scooter, you also get ride quality that is a bit jittery.

Use our link and discount code in the description for an extra year of warranty on the standout, newly-released Mosquito.

The Inokim Light 2 has a very low deck height and low weight, at 30lbs, resulting in a confidence-inspiring ride that’s perfect for new riders, but still fun for the more experienced. The only thing that may not be optimal for new riders is the price, though it’s clear you gain some premium design from one of the most long-standing global scooter makers.

Acceleration is easy to handle, but it’s got speed if you need it: topping out at 21 mph on flat ground. The front and rear drum brakes are easy for new riders to use safely while still delivering excellent stopping power. The folding handlebars angle back toward the rider for comfort and the ergonomics of the foam grips and thumb throttle are top-notch. The scooter rolls on comfortable 8.5-inch air-filled tires more than making up for the lack of suspension

If you’re looking for a huge step up from basic beginner scooters, the Fluid Freeride Horizon’s 26 miles of tested range, certified 24-mile-per-hour top speed, and small folded size make it an outstanding commuter.

Often compared together, the Horizon beats the  Emove Touring, by 7.7 miles on range, and is 2.5 miles per hour faster, with a top speed of 24 miles per hour. Though the Touring, is the clear winner when it comes to hill climbing. 

Despite the Horizon’s solid rear tire, ride quality is very good thanks to dual suspension. We would love to see dual brakes as well. Since the single rear brake and solid rear tire result in a longer than average braking distance for its class. 

This new scooter caught us by surprise with the shortest stopping distance in its class, the lightest removable battery we’ve ever seen at 5 just lbs, and 17.9 miles of tested range. 

It’s also got a shockingly high weight capacity at 300 lbs and the deck is spacious enough to fit anyone’s feet. When tested by our resident Big Dawg Ramier the UM-2 didn’t struggle at all. Acceleration is instant and hill-climbing power is impressive. Ride stability is amazing regardless of the rider’s weight, and at $899 and is good value for commuters, and unbeatable ride quality for the price. Pro-tip, Anyhill often offers discounts if you order the spare battery at the same time as the scooter and since we just reviewed the UM-2, we still have an exclusive discount (see below).

At just $549 the TurboAnt X7 Pro is a great inexpensive, lightweight scooter with a swappable battery. Tested range is15.3 miles, but doubles to 30.6 miles with a quick battery swap. 

Top speed is 20 mph, and acceleration is good considering its small 350W motor. Even without any suspension, the ride quality of the TurboAnt is good due to air-filled and large 10” tires. 

The Emove Touring is one of the most comfortable lightweight scooters at only $899. The Touring has excellent performance for its price, with a top speed of 21 mph. Known as a strong hill climber, the Touring is also famous for its available accessories including an optional seat and two alternative throttles.

The front 8-inch air-filled tire and 8-inch solid rear tire combine with truly excellent dual suspension to deliver outstanding ride quality at almost any rider weight.

The Touring has the second-longest deck we’ve seen, making it comfortable for long feet and long rides, which is good because it covered 18.7-miles in our range test. 

On paper, the Gotrax XR Elite is the cheapest scooter that doesn’t ride like a toy. But this is a classic case of cheap is expensive. At $449, it might feel like a bargain, but Gotrax has received much attention in the press for build quality issues and poor customer care; and its 90-day warranty is the worst in the industry. There have also been numerous reports by customers about their scooters arriving broken, which again speaks to quality.

We recommend paying $20-50 more and picking up a Hiboy S2, one of the best performance-per-dollar scooters we’ve ever tested. Aside from quality and support, the S2 comes out ahead with a 19 mph top speed, faster hill-climbing, and above-average ride quality. You also get an industry-standard warranty. The Hiboy S2 is definitely the better performance bargain, even though it costs $50 more.