Head-to-head 2026 comparison of the top sub-compact tractors around 25 HP: John Deere 1025R, Kubota BX2380 & LX2620, Massey Ferguson GC1725M, and Kioti CS2210. PTO HP, hitch, loader lift, quick attach, and who wins each job.
These five tractors are the ones actually cross-shopped in the sub-compact and entry compact segment: the John Deere 1025R , Kubota BX2380 , Kubota LX2620 , Massey Ferguson GC1725M , and Kioti CS2210 . All are diesel, all sit in the 21–26 engine HP band, and all can wear a front loader. The differences that actually matter - hitch category, 3-point lift, loader capacity, and quick-attach type - decide which attachments you can run and how much real work each will do.
All spec figures come from the manufacturers' current spec sheets - see each linked model page for the source PDF and last-verified date.
These two dominate the sub-compact market and cross-shop is constant. The 1025R wins on 3-point lift (758 vs 680 lb) and comes standard with iMatch, which makes hooking a mower or box blade a one-person job. The BX2380 wins on PTO horsepower (17.7 vs 17.2) despite lower engine HP - Kubota's drivetrain losses are lower. Both use small-frame proprietary quick attach: the 1025R's 120R loader uses JDQA, the BX2380's LA240 is pin-on. Neither will run SSQA attachments out of the box.
Pick the 1025R if you'll spend most of your time hooking and unhooking 3-point implements (rear-blade grading, cutter mowing, tiller). iMatch alone saves an hour a week.
Pick the BX2380 if you want the lightest, tightest-turning subcompact and plan to keep a mid-mount mower on year-round. It's the shortest wheelbase in the group and gets into tight spots the others can't.
The Kubota LX2620 is the odd one in this group because it's a full class larger than the other four despite similar engine HP. Its 3-point lifts 1,257 lb (nearly double the BX/GC/CS) and its LA526 loader lifts 1,097 lb at the pin - and it ships with factory SSQA. That means the LX2620 can run the same rotary cutters, box blades, grapples, and pallet forks as a 35+ HP compact, and it can shop the full SSQA aftermarket without an adapter.
The tradeoff: it's ~$8,000–$10,000 more than a comparably-equipped BX2380 or 1025R, and it's physically bigger - worse for tight orchard rows, better for anything involving a loader, forks, or a heavy rear implement. If your work list includes moving pallets, lifting round bales, or running a 60-inch box blade, the LX2620 is the honest answer.
The Massey Ferguson GC1725M and Kioti CS2210 both come in $2,000–$4,000 under the 1025R when comparably equipped, and both have loyal followings. The GC1725M has hydrostatic power steering standard on all trims and Massey's straight-cut styling; the CS2210 has the longest standard powertrain warranty in the segment (6 years on Kioti's DK-series driveline components).
Both use pin-on or brand-specific loader couplers rather than SSQA at this trim level, which limits the aftermarket. If you plan to stay in the OEM catalog, that's a non-issue; if you want to shop skid-steer attachments, budget for a weld-on or bolt-on SSQA conversion ($300–$600 installed).
1. 3-point lift capacity. If your heaviest planned implement is a 5-foot rotary cutter (~500 lb), any of these five will handle it. If it's a 6-foot box blade (~600 lb) or a 6-foot tiller (~800 lb), the BX2380, GC1725M, and CS2210 are at or over their rating and the 1025R is marginal - only the LX2620 has real headroom.
2. Loader coupler. This decides your 10-year attachment cost. SSQA (LX2620, CS2210) opens the entire skid-steer aftermarket - pallet forks, grapples, bale spears, tree shears, snow pushers, all for $200–$800 apiece. JDQA (1025R) and pin-on (BX2380, GC1725M) restrict you to OEM or a $300–$600 adapter/conversion. If you plan to own the tractor 10+ years, the coupler matters more than the engine.
For each of these tractors, our compatibility database shows exactly which implements in our catalog are full matches, which fit with notes, and which don't fit at all. Open the tractor page and every implement is checked against its hitch category, PTO speed, PTO HP range, and 3-point lift capacity:
Before you commit, read the Limited Category 1 hitch explainer (why the 1025R's hitch isn't the same as everyone else's Cat 1), the loader lift capacity guide (why "1,100 lb" doesn't mean 1,100 lb of mulch), and the SSQA vs JDQA vs Kubota QA adapter guide (the coupler math that changes 10-year cost of ownership).
Published 2026-07-11, last updated 2026-07-11. Every figure quoted in this guide is taken from manufacturer documentation and linked in the text, and the tractors and attachments it references are records in the FitTractor compatibility database.