Three stratified clip methods for the estimation of herbage mass and its vertical distribution in grass swards were compared. The first method used a herbage‐gripping device, which held a sample from a 2 × 9 cm area while it was harvested and cut into layers in the field. For the other two methods, turfs of herbage were dug and brought into the laboratory where areas defined by 10 × 10 cm or 2 × 9 cm quadrats were cut into layers. For the comparisons, two operators collected independent samples from a sward shortly before it was cut for silage, a sward grazed by cattle and a sward grazed by sheep. The total mass of herbage dry matter collected depended on the method used, with the herbage‐gripping device producing greater estimates than the turf quadrats in two of the swards. The different methods produced similar estimates of the vertical distribution of mass. The larger quadrat usually produced the least variable results, while the herbage‐gripping device collected samples most quickly. There were also small differences between the estimates produced by different operators. It was concluded that because the herbage‐gripping device was the most cost‐effective it would often be the most appropriate method to use. However, when a higher level of precision per quadrat is required the large quadrat, following turf collection, would be more appropriate.