- Single-stage snowblowers are available in both electric and gasoline-powered models. But their lower-powered engines often don't provide enough drive to maintain stability on slopes. Two-stage snowblowers have larger engines with the drive torque to hold their own on inclines. Many two-stage snowblower engines are also 4-cycle varieties and, unlike the 2-cycle engines in single-stage snowblowers, do not require the extra inconvenience of mixing oil with the gas.
- Single-stage snowblowers are smaller than two-stage models -- about the size of a walk-behind lawn mower. This makes them more maneuverable in residential applications. But the reduced dimensions means single-stage machines also have narrower clearing swaths, requiring more passes to clear larger areas than two-stage snowblowers.
- Single-stage snowblowers are propelled by the action of the rotating rubber-coated auger contacting the ground. This makes them a poor match for clearing snow from surfaces other than hard pavement. Loose materials such as gravel or paving pebbles may be inadvertently scraped up and discharged along with the snow. Drive wheels in two-stage snowblowers are propelled directly by the engine, and the auger does not touch the ground, making two-stage machines suitable for all surfaces.
- In a single-stage snowblower, snow is scraped up and forced out though the exhaust chute entirely by the rotating auger. Two-stage snowblowers incorporate a secondary fan-like impeller after the auger stage to facilitate transport of snow out the chute. This extra stage enables these machines to process larger volumes of snow and clear deeper snowfalls than single-stage machines. Also, because the snow is exhausted at greater velocity from a two-stage snowblower, it will be thrown farther from the cleared area and piled higher.