i absolutely love my Milwaukee cordless. It won't come in under the $200 limit though.

If you have a cordless drill I'd recommend that brand.

Go electric or go straight gas, no 2 cycle stuff with the gas/oil mix and you will be a happier man. My 4 cycle Husqvarna has been worth every cent, but it wasn't cheap. My wife likes her electric because it is light plus she is short and the short length works for her.

I have cordless Ego, and will never own anything else, again. The 56v battery lasts a LONG time, and the tool itself is incredibly well made, with great ergonomics and balance.
I also have thier leaf blower, and am extremly pleased with both.
The batteries are not cheap, but if you buy the weed eater kit, adding attachments (of which there are many), and other tools that use the same battery, (again, there are many), unless you are doing very large projects, one battery will be enough.
I can run the weed eater wide open, non-stop for almost 30 miⁿnutes on a charge.
And the charger will re-charge to full power in less than 15 minutes.

Do you have some brand of cordless power tool batteries? Ifin you do that would save you a bunch of money by buying a bare tool. Like the Milwaukee m18 tool only could be had for $200

I picked one of those up off the street in Florida and just happened to have a mower that had the same battery. They are awesome.
It don't take alot of horsepower to trim grass.

Ryobi electric.

At the sod field I have had the best luck with Echo. Stihl would be the 2nd choice !

All the professional lawn guys run Echo locally.

I have an electric Black&Decker here at the house. Performs really well and always starts. Plenty of grunt and it always starts.

I bought an Echo GT-225 about 6 years ago that runs great.