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Chainsaws can be large, heavy, and difficult to handle, and after years of experience using and researching them, we have no doubt that they can be very dangerous. Drill Bit
That’s why we were pleasantly surprised to find that the compact and user-friendly DeWalt DCCS623L1 20V Max 8 in. Brushless Cordless Pruning Chainsaw Kit had plenty of cutting power, excellent battery life, and the capability to manage all kinds of brush clearing, seasonal pruning, and storm cleanup.
After testing four cordless pruning saws alongside eight full-size cordless chainsaws, we advise anyone shopping for a chainsaw to start the search with an eye on this smaller option, step up to one of our larger saw recommendations if necessary, and skip gas-powered chainsaws entirely.
This easy-to-maneuver saw offers great ergonomics and is perfect for general property maintenance such as brush cleaning, pruning, and light storm cleanup.
This chainsaw has some annoyances, but it’s an inexpensive, effective option for handling the occasional task.
This full-size model delivers on a lot of expectations, offering fast cutting, a long battery life, nice ergonomics, and an excellent design overall. It’s also a great value.
Power, speed, convenience, and standout features set apart this full-size model, which had the longest run time of any saw we tested.
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This easy-to-maneuver saw offers great ergonomics and is perfect for general property maintenance such as brush cleaning, pruning, and light storm cleanup.
We’ve found that the DeWalt DCCS623L1 20V Max 8 in. Brushless Cordless Pruning Chainsaw Kit can handle all but the largest pruning jobs. This impressive little tool, less than half the size of an average chainsaw, provided enough battery life to make almost 50 cuts through a fir 4-by-4. Its unique handle, which allowed us to comfortably and securely hold the tool in a variety of ways, adds to the overall safety of the tool. It has an 8-inch bar, of which 6 inches are usable, thanks to the tip-guard safety feature. This saw can’t take down any towering oaks, but it works well for most general yard work. It’s a nice option for someone who is new to chainsaws or doesn’t need the added power, capacity, or risks of a full-size saw.
This chainsaw has some annoyances, but it’s an inexpensive, effective option for handling the occasional task.
If the DeWalt DCCS623L1 is not available, or if you’re just looking for an inexpensive, quality chainsaw for some light-duty work around your property, we like the Greenworks CS24L210 24V 6″ Cordless Battery Brushless Pruner Saw. It can’t match the DeWalt model in cutting speed, battery life, or excellent ergonomics, but it offers a solid run time and enough power to make 35 cuts through a fir 4-by-4 on a single charge. Under relentless work during our tests, it noticeably heated up in our hands, and oiling the chain is a tedious process due to the lack of an onboard oil reservoir. But this basic little saw performed admirably, especially considering that it was the least expensive model we tested.
This full-size model delivers on a lot of expectations, offering fast cutting, a long battery life, nice ergonomics, and an excellent design overall. It’s also a great value.
If you need to clear branches larger than 6 inches in diameter—or you have a heavily forested property that presents unpredictable brush-clearing work—you might be happier with a full-size tool. The first option in that class that we recommend is the Echo eForce DCS-5000-18C2. With a fast cut speed and a long battery life, this full-size Echo model ranked near the top in all our tests. Its narrow body and simple handle design made it easy for us to maneuver around a fallen tree. All of the little details are right on, from the wrench storage to the handle shape. As one of the least expensive full-size cordless saws we tested, it’s also a great value.
Power, speed, convenience, and standout features set apart this full-size model, which had the longest run time of any saw we tested.
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If you have a larger budget for a full-size chainsaw, we recommend the Husqvarna Power Axe 350i. In addition to excellent battery life, which was considerably longer than what we got from any other saw we tested, this full-size Husqvarna model has a couple of other features we didn’t see elsewhere, namely an extra safety switch and a boost-mode button that increases power by 25%, according to the manufacturer. Add in solid ergonomics, a fast cutting speed, and a convenient tool-free chain tensioner, and this chainsaw really stands apart from the pack. Typically priced around $450, it’s on the expensive side, but anyone who needs to use their saw regularly will appreciate what this Husqvarna model has to offer.
Through our years of researching chainsaws, we’ve spoken to professional tree workers, a New Hampshire–based logger, and a wide variety of dedicated chainsaw owners and users. I’ve been operating chainsaws regularly for almost 20 years, and I live in New Hampshire, where I rely extensively on wood heat during the winter. In the cold months, I run three wood stoves and a fireplace daily, with a fourth wood stove and a second fireplace getting intermittent use. All of that takes a lot of wood, some of which I collect from my own property. Additionally, I have a construction background and have been reviewing tools since 2007, covering outdoor power equipment for Wirecutter since 2013.
Chainsaws are not for everyone. They’re powerful, bulky, and dangerous. In any discussion of chainsaw safety advice and gear, it’s hard to overstate the potential hazards of a chainsaw, regardless of your experience level. If you’re not sure whether you need one, see if you can handle your pruning work and tree maintenance with the peace and quiet of a well-made handsaw.
In our tests of handsaws, we’ve had a lot of success pruning limbs with both the Vaughan Bear Saw BS333C and the more compact Silky Pocketboy 130 mm Folding Saw Medium Teeth 340-13. If those are too slow for your needs, or if you just have too much cleanup to do with a handsaw, read on.
For this guide, we sought to recommend a basic, easy-to-use chainsaw that’s good for property maintenance, seasonal pruning, brush clearing, some firewood work, and storm cleanup. We focused only on battery-powered cordless chainsaws, which offer unmatched convenience, almost zero maintenance, and no exhaust, in contrast to their gas counterparts.
Try these saws for precise cuts in wood that are simpler and safer than using power tools.
Through our research and testing, we found that smaller, 6- to 8-inch cordless pruning saws have enough power and cutting ability for most needs. They lack the large cutting swath of a full-size chainsaw, but they’re much safer and far easier to handle, especially for people who are not used to hefting a full-size chainsaw.
Pruning saws are little, but they can get a lot done. Pruning saws, which are really just mini chainsaws, are a great option for light-duty work. Because they are so small, they can fit in places a full-size saw can’t, such as deep under a thick hedge or in between the branches of an apple tree. They’re clearly not as powerful as their larger cousins, but they have enough strength to cut through a 6-inch-diameter branch. A pruning saw’s small size makes it much easier to control, too, and thus it’s a safer choice than a full-size saw, so it’s a nice option for a novice.
Full-size saws offer more power and have longer battery life. If you’re looking to get into more serious firewood work and tree felling, you should step up to a full-size chainsaw, something in the 14- to 16-inch bar length. Though such models are smaller than the giant saws that tree workers and loggers use, saws in this class should be able to handle the work on most properties. Compared with pruning saws, they’re larger and faster, they have longer battery life, and they’re considerably more dangerous. Saws with a 12-inch bar are also available, but once you’ve decided to step up to a larger saw, the added capability of models with a 14- to 16-inch bar makes more sense.
Regardless of saw size, skip the gas and go cordless. We don’t see any compelling reasons for a homeowner to purchase a gas-powered chainsaw, at least none that outweigh a cordless model’s overall convenience and ease of use. This is coming from a person with a lifetime of experience using gas chainsaws, and it was a surprising discovery during our testing. Cordless saws start with the push of a button and require minimal maintenance—no worries about gummed-up carburetors, no need to mix gas and oil, and no concerns about exhaust. They’re quieter, and they also don’t idle, so there’s no brub-brub-brub-brub sound between cuts. The other alternative to gas models, a corded electric chainsaw, is a category we did not investigate; because corded models need to be tethered to an outlet, we’ve found them extremely limiting in previous experience.
The biggest limitations with cordless saws are the charge time and battery life. Though these are real concerns, in our tests some saws made nearly 75 cuts through a 7-inch-square block of wood on a fully charged battery. One tree worker told us that they could do about two and a half hours of work on a single battery. Charge times vary, from about one hour up to about four; while that isn’t ideal for all-day work, we’ve concluded that it’s a price worth paying for the overall convenience of cordless compared with gas. We’ve found that if we plan our day, we can work around extended charge times, cutting a portion of a tree into rounds, for example, and then hand-splitting while the battery charges. We also appreciate, in a way, the enforced break of a dead battery: Working with a tool for an extended time causes complacency, and that can lead to a mishap. With a chainsaw, you don’t want to have a mishap.
Convenience and safety features help. We looked for saws that added convenience in the form of tool-free chain tensioners (the chain loosens after use and needs consistent tightening), comfortable handles, and a way to monitor the bar oil, which you pour into an onboard reservoir so that it slowly leaks over the chain while the saw is in use to lubricate and cool it. We also factored in how design details such as the handle orientation, blade guards, and overall ergonomics contributed to safer operation.
We did two structured tests with each saw. We evaluated battery life by making cuts through a block of four fir 4-by-4s (totaling a 7-inch-thick square) until the batteries died. For the smaller, pruning saws, we used only a single 4-by-4. During this test, we also timed 10 cuts for the full-size saws and five cuts for the pruning saws to get a sense of comparable cutting speed.
We then did a lot of unstructured work. We used all of the saws at a rural New Hampshire property for general tree cleanup, brush clearing, and firewood work. We tidied up a number of fallen trees, took down some dead ones—cutting them all into 16-inch log lengths—and cleared an overgrown hillside. We also cut a big pile of cordwood to fit into our smallest wood stove.
We cut a wide variety of wood. In this unstructured testing, we used the saws on softwoods like pine and fir as well as on more dense wood such as oak and maple. We cut fresh, green wood, old rotted logs, and everything from 17-inch-wide tree trunks to thin, stalky underbrush. While using the saws, we kept an eye on ergonomics, maneuverability, and overall ease of use.
We did all of our testing with the factory chains on the saws. Separate chains are available that can alter the characteristics of a saw’s cutting ability, but we concluded that most owners would opt for the simplicity of using the factory chain, so that’s how we tested these models.
On a chilly evening, we like to cluster around the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 (for smaller yards) or the Tiki Fire Pit (for larger yards).
This easy-to-maneuver saw offers great ergonomics and is perfect for general property maintenance such as brush cleaning, pruning, and light storm cleanup.
The DeWalt DCCS623L1 20V Max 8 in. Brushless Cordless Pruning Chainsaw Kit is an excellent fit for the needs of most property owners. It may seem small, but it is a very capable tool—and one that is far easier to manage than a full-size chainsaw. Compared with other cordless pruning saws, it offers top-notch battery life, a fast cutting speed, and the best ergonomics of any saw we handled. It can’t take down a towering hardwood, but it’s all you need for seasonal pruning, brush clearing, and light storm cleanup.
Its power and battery life are very good. In our structured tests, the DeWalt DCCS623L1 made five cuts through a fir 4-by-4 in 40 seconds, and on a single charge of the battery, it made 49 cuts through the same 4-by-4. Of the pruning saws we tested, it was the fastest cutter, tied with the Greenworks CS24L210, and it had the best battery life, tied with the Milwaukee 2527-21 M12 pruning saw. In the intermittent work of unstructured brush clearing, we used the tool for hours and wrapped up our day with plenty of battery life to spare. This saw clearly has enough strength to handle a few downed branches, seasonal pruning, or even more relentless work, such as our hillside-clearing project.
The ergonomics are outstanding. The DeWalt DCCS623L1 stood far above the other tested pruning saws in ergonomics. The front pommel is easy to grab, and the safety switch is intuitive, but it’s the unique rear handle that really impressed us. The handle is much longer than those of other cordless pruning saws, so it can easily accommodate a bulky, gloved hand. Additionally, DeWalt continued the grip area all the way around the handle and back to the body of the saw—thanks to this unique design, it’s very natural to use a second hand to hold the back end of the saw, something that we valued while clearing a hillside of underbrush. With this grip, you can easily control the saw at arm’s length. The other pruning saws we tested didn’t make this kind of accommodation for the second hand and were more difficult to hold that way as a result.
It has great battery life. The DeWalt DCCS623L1 made 49 cuts through a fir 4-by-4 on a single battery charge, more than all the other pruning saws except for the Milwaukee 2527-21 M12, which also made 49. When we were out clearing the hillside, that translated to hours and hours of work time. The DCCS623L1 lasted most of the day cutting and clearing on a single charge; depending on your workload, it could go a full day without recharging. The battery that comes with this saw is compatible with any DeWalt 20-volt tool, including our 20-volt DeWalt drill recommendation.
The tip guard adds safety but limits cutting a little. The DCCS623L1’s excellent handle is its best safety feature, but another significant detail is its tip guard, which consists of two metal pieces that prevent the tip of the bar from engaging with dense wood—an event that can cause any chainsaw to violently, quickly kick back toward the user. The downside of the tip guard is that it limits what and how you cut. Branches over 6 inches in diameter are out, and the added bulk makes maneuvering the bar awkward at times. Because this tool may end up in the hands of a less-experienced user, the guard is a welcome feature, and it wasn’t a nuisance during our testing. DeWalt did not design this tip guard to be easily removed, so unless you’re determined, it’s on there for good.
Adding bar oil is less messy than on some other models. Periodically, you need to add bar oil to the onboard reservoir in order to lubricate the chain. We appreciate that the threaded portion of the reservoir, where the cap screws in, sits outside the saw body, which makes it much less likely for sawdust and debris to fall into the oil reservoir and clog up the oiler.
Even if you have a full-size chainsaw, this is a nice companion tool. During our tests, we came to really appreciate what the little pruning saws, especially the DCCS623L1, brought to the table. They’re agile and comparatively light—typically just under 6 pounds versus about 13 or 14 pounds for a full-size saw—and they can do a few things that full-size saws cannot, such as work their way between close-knit branches. To us, the decision between a pruning saw and a full-size chainsaw is not necessarily an either-or situation: In a lot of ways, they’re entirely separate tools, and they complement one another nicely.
It lacks a tool-free chain tensioner, and the scrench is not stored on the tool. Most chainsaws come with a tool called a scrench (a combination screwdriver and wrench) for periodically adjusting the chain tension while you’re using the saw. Often the scrench is stored somewhere on the chainsaw for convenience. Unfortunately, the DCCS623L1’s scrench is stored on the inside of the plastic bar sheath. Because it’s common to set the sheath elsewhere when you’re working, finding the scrench adds a step when it’s time for you to tighten the chain. We’ve seen a number of creative ways to store the scrench on the body of a chainsaw or pruning saw—even on DeWalt’s larger saws—so we see no reason why DeWalt couldn’t somehow do the same here. The good news is that you can shove the bar sheath and the scrench into a back pocket without too much difficulty, but this still seems like an unforced error on DeWalt’s part.
It requires bar oil, and the chain needs maintenance. This isn’t a flaw so much as it is a fact of owning a chainsaw. In addition to the saw, you also need a container of bar oil. You fill a reservoir on the side of the saw, and as you use the tool, it leaks onto the chain, lubricating and cooling it. The chain also needs periodic sharpening, which you can do yourself with a round file or a chainsaw sharpening kit; many hardware stores also offer chain-sharpening services.
This chainsaw has some annoyances, but it’s an inexpensive, effective option for handling the occasional task.
Another cordless pruning saw that we like is the Greenworks CS24L210 24V 6″ Cordless Battery Brushless Pruner Saw. Though it’s a solid little tool, it doesn’t have the battery life or power of the DeWalt DCCS623L1, and it definitely lacks that model’s top-notch ergonomics. It brings with it enough minor frustrations that we wouldn’t recommend it for a person who needs to use a chainsaw regularly, but it’s a nice fit for anyone who wants to spend as little as possible and will use their saw only for smaller jobs on an occasional basis.
It’s a fast cutter, but it has less battery life than our top pick from DeWalt. In our timed test, the Greenworks CS24L210 ranked right beside the DeWalt DCCS623L1, making the five cuts in 40 seconds. When we were out clearing a hillside of brush, it easily cut everything we tried it on. In our battery test, it managed 35 cuts through the 4-by-4, 14 fewer than the DeWalt model. The CS24L210 also heated up during the relentless-use portion of our testing—though it was fine during the periodic cutting of our unstructured testing—which indicates that it doesn’t have the same durability as the DCCS623L1.
The chain guard is safe but prohibits certain cuts. The CS24L210 lacks the forward hand guard of the DCCS623L1, replacing that safety feature with a chain guard that rests on the top of the bar. As you make a cut, the bar pivots up. This system keeps the upper side of the chain covered at all times, which is good if you get any kind of kickback. The downside is that you cannot cut using the top of the chain, which we found inconvenient during our more unstructured testing.
The tool-free chain tensioner adds a lot of convenience. You don’t need a tool in order to tighten up the CS24L210’s chain. Instead, it gives you a two-part locking dial to make the adjustment. The dial is on the smaller side, but we could operate it with light gloves on.
The bar oil situation is strange. This Greenworks saw does not have a bar oil reservoir. Instead, it comes with a small bottle of oil, and the instructions indicate applying it directly to the area between the guide bar and the saw chain every five to 10 cuts. Automatic oiling systems can be messy—they can leak when you store the saw away—so we understand the sentiment behind omitting one here, but continuously oiling the bar adds an element of tedium. The bar oil situation alone is a major reason we don’t recommend this model for someone who needs to use their saw on medium to large projects.
This full-size model delivers on a lot of expectations, offering fast cutting, a long battery life, nice ergonomics, and an excellent design overall. It’s also a great value.
If you know that your needs go beyond the capabilities of the DeWalt and Greenworks pruning saws, we recommend the full-size Echo eForce DCS-5000-18C2 kit. This model is a notably fast cutter with excellent battery life, a narrow body, and great ergonomics, and it offers strong overall value for a full-size cordless tool.
It excels at the basics. Whereas other models suffer from lousy scrench storage, odd ergonomics, so-so battery life, or mediocre power, the DCS-5000’s design makes no such missteps. It’s simply a good chainsaw—nothing fancy, no novelties. In the evenings, when our days’ worth of testing was wrapped up, this Echo model was the saw we’d reach for to do our own work around the property.
It’s a really fast saw with above-average battery life. The DCS-5000 ranked near the top in these two crucial categories. In our tests, it made 10 cuts faster than all but one of the saws (the uber-speedy DeWalt DCCS670T1 60-volt saw), and in battery life it was second only to the Husqvarna Power Axe 350i, which outdistanced the pack by a wide margin. This Echo saw made 55 cuts through a 7-inch-square block of fir on a single charge.
Its body is long and narrow. We really liked handling the DCS-5000, as the body of the saw was narrow and easy to maneuver around and through a dense mess of branches. At its widest point, it’s only about 6 inches by our measurements—most other models are closer to 8 inches. It’s also a long saw, with the two handles spread farther apart than on some of the other saws; we preferred this spacing for the added leverage it provided, which gave us more control over the saw.
All of the small details are solid. Nothing about the DCS-5000 feels off or distracts. The safety switch is nondescript and easy to use, the cap of the oil reservoir has a piece that flips out to give you more leverage while you’re opening and shutting it, and the handle is simple and lacks any contours that force the hand into a certain position. We wish the oil reservoir had a slightly taller neck to better prevent sawdust from falling in, but it at least has a little ridge there. The DCS-5000 does not have a tool-free chain tensioner, but the scrench is stored underneath the saw, clipped into place; the accessory is well out of the way but easy to get to when you need it.
It’s a great value for a full-size cordless chainsaw. Currently sold for around $300 with a 5.0 Ah battery, the DCS-5000 was one of the least expensive saws we looked at. It performed far better than much more expensive saws, including the full-size Milwaukee 2727-21HD, which costs $200 more. The Echo battery alone sells for well over $200.
But the battery takes a while to charge. The DCS-5000-18C2 saw kit comes with Echo’s regular charger, which fills the battery in two and a half hours. That’s a pretty long time. A rapid charger, which is available separately, shaves that time down to 75 minutes. This lengthy charge time is certainly an inconvenience, but once we were aware of it, we could fairly easily structure our work around it by doing all of our cutting at once and then charging the battery while we split and moved the rounds.
Echo’s cordless platform is limited. As of late 2023, Echo’s eForce lineup—that is, all the tools that are compatible with this battery—consists only of outdoor power equipment. We’ve tested a couple of Echo’s cordless tools, and though we haven’t named them as official picks, we have found them to be solid, capable tools. Such an offering can feel limited in comparison with the DeWalt battery’s wide compatibility among that brand’s power tools, and Echo’s selection of tools is paltry next to those of brands such as Ego and Ryobi, which go beyond tools into other cordless gear.
Power, speed, convenience, and standout features set apart this full-size model, which had the longest run time of any saw we tested.
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If you’d prefer to power up the best full-size saw we tested, we recommend the Husqvarna Power Axe 350i. Its higher price puts it out of reach for some people, but its extended battery life, tool-free chain tensioner, excellent cutting speed, and unique features—including a boost mode and an additional safety switch—made this saw a real overachiever during our testing. Most people seeking a full-size saw will be fine with the Echo DCS-5000, but prolific chainsaw users will appreciate what the Husqvarna 350i has to offer.
It has some serious battery life. In our tests, the 350i made 72 cuts through our 7-inch block of fir. The second most, which the Echo DCS-5000 accomplished, was 55. That’s a substantial difference, and in practical terms it means that the 350i can do a significantly larger amount of work on a single battery charge than any of the other saws we tested.
It cuts fast and has a boost mode for increased power. The 350i was one of the fastest saws to make the 10 timed cuts, taking 1 minute 20 seconds, but it also has a button that engages a boost mode to increase the power. Like the turbo setting on a cordless leaf blower, this added oomph comes at the expense of battery life, but it is a nice feature to have for particularly difficult cuts or if you’re trying to wrap up your project quickly.
The tool-free chain tensioner is very convenient. It makes chain tightening a snap, and we found that we were much more likely to stay on top of the chain tension since it was so easy to adjust.
The 350i has an additional safety switch. Situated at the top of the handle, next to the boost button, is a power button that you need to press to start the saw. Once the saw is on, as indicated by the little light next to the button, it’s ready for use. You don’t have to press the button each time the chain is engaged. We’re in favor of nearly anything that adds safety on a chainsaw, and we liked this unusual button.
Like Echo, Husqvarna doesn’t have an extensive battery platform. Husqvarna sells a number of other 40-volt tools that are compatible with the same battery, but nothing beyond lawn-care basics (string trimmers, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers). We have yet to test any of them, but considering the performance we saw from the Power Axe 350i, we plan on looking at other Husqvarna cordless tools as we conduct more testing for our other guides.
It has a long battery charge time. In our testing, the charger needed four hours to fully charge a battery, which is a really long time. Fortunately, the battery life on this tool is so excellent that working around the charge time, as with the Echo DCS-5000, should be manageable.
It’s expensive. While the 350i isn’t the priciest chainsaw we tested (at over $500, Milwaukee’s full-size 2727-21HD takes that title), it is the second highest, with a hefty $450 price tag. That’s about $150 more than you’d pay for the perfectly fine Echo DCS-5000. But because the 350i offers more in the way of cutting options and convenience features, as well as extensive run time, we think this model is worth the additional investment for anyone who uses chainsaws on a regular basis.
Chainsaws, regardless of the battery size, bar length, or handle configuration, are very dangerous tools. If you use one, even just once or twice a summer, we recommend investing in the kind of safety equipment recommended by OSHA, which has chainsaw guidelines (PDF) consistent with those of other agencies, such as the New York State Department of Health (PDF).
According to the CDC, “Each year, approximately 36,000 people are treated in hospital emergency departments for injuries from using chain saws.” A 2015 study that looked at ER visits over a five-year time period noted that 70% of injuries involved the hands and lower extremities.
Considering the danger to the legs, chainsaw chaps are essential. A good pair usually costs around $100 (a fraction of the cost of a serious leg injury), and a number of styles are available, depending on the amount of coverage you feel comfortable with. Keeping in mind the nature of our testing, we used the Labonville Full-Wrap Chainsaw Safety Chaps, which provide full coverage to the front of the legs and fully wrap around the lower legs (this video shows them undergoing testing). You should wear long pants underneath the chaps. And yes, things can get hot in the summer.
Wear a forestry helmet and glasses. The best helmets combine some sort of face shield, a hard hat, and ear protection. The face shield can be either a solid clear plastic or mesh. For our testing, we used the Husqvarna Functional Pro Forest Chainsaw Helmet, which costs about $50 and has a mesh face shield. We wore safety glasses as well; it’s possible for wood chips and debris to fly up under the shield, so we recommend the additional level of eye protection.
A good pair of gloves is also mandatory. Gloves designed specifically for chainsaw use are available; these have additional cut resistance in the event of a chain impact. We didn’t do a full comparison test of these options, but we suggest starting with gloves sold under the brand names of chainsaw makers (such as Husqvarna and Echo) or reputable chainsaw-accessory brands (such as Oregon).
Boots add safety and stability. Keeping your footing secure is an essential part of chainsaw safety and pruning work, whether you’re remaining on solid ground or standing on a ladder. Boots also protect your feet from falling branches. We recommend a pair with deep, grippy treads. A steel toe is a good feature to consider; you’ll find it on many standard work boots and nearly all boots designated for logging work.
Before we dig into specific competitors, here’s some general buying advice: If you’re already invested in a particular battery platform, you should seriously consider starting your search with that brand’s version of a cordless chainsaw. The saws we recommend above stood out in our tests for their own reasons, but in general, those reasons don’t offset the savings of buying some other saw as a bare tool (without a battery or charger) or the convenience of having multiple compatible batteries for a varied set of tools.
One competing pruning saw we tested was the Ryobi P25130 18V One+ HP 6″ Compact Brushless Pruning Chainsaw, and it was underpowered in comparison with the rest. In addition, it didn’t feel as solid while in use.
We also tried the Milwaukee 2527-21 M12 Fuel Hatchet 6″ Pruning Saw. In our tests, this model produced numbers comparable to those of our top pick, the DeWalt DCCS623L1. The drawbacks: It isn’t as comfortable to hold, and it typically costs more. In addition, to read the battery gauge, we had to turn the saw awkwardly in our hand while engaging the chain, which we didn’t feel comfortable doing at all.
Milwaukee also sells the 3004-20 M18 Fuel Hatchet 8″ Pruning Saw, an 18-volt version. We’re sure it’s quite nice, but it typically retails for over $500, which is a serious amount of money to spend, especially considering what the DeWalt DCCS623L1 provides for about half that. It’s even $50 to $70 more than the full-size Husqvarna saw we recommend.
Among the competing full-size saws, the DeWalt DCCS672X1 60V Max 18 in. 3.0Ah Brushless Cordless Chainsaw was nearly identical to the Echo DCS-5000 in overall performance. We really liked this saw, but a few details pushed us in favor of the Echo model. The battery compartment for this DeWalt model opens to the top of the saw (as do many others, including that of the Echo saw), but here the design leaves considerable room around the battery once it’s installed, presumably to hold a higher-capacity battery. We had a lot of trouble with wood chips and sawdust landing in the large gaps around the battery, so when it was time for us to remove the battery, it was almost impossible for us to stop dust and debris from falling into the terminals. On at least three occasions, we had to use a knife to clean out the battery port so that the battery could engage. In addition, this DeWalt saw is typically more expensive than the Echo model and about an inch wider by our measurements.
The full-size Milwaukee 2727-21HD M18 Fuel 16″ Chainsaw ranked at the upper middle end in our battery-life assessments, but because it runs on only an 18-volt battery, it cut slower than the others. It’s a nice saw to use, but at $500, it was also the most expensive full-size model we tested. In light of its performance, that’s a high cost to justify, especially with the Husqvarna 350i being typically priced about $50 less.
The full-size Ego CS1611 Power+ 16″ Chain Saw performed well in our structured tests, and we liked its tool-free chain tensioner. The sizable Ego battery slides in from the side, a design decision that results in a very wide saw. Because of that battery placement, this model also doesn’t have the body length of the others we tested, so the front and rear handles are positioned closer together, more like how they are on a gas chainsaw. We felt more control over the saws that offered more room between the handles.
Though the Ryobi RY40550 40V Brushless 16″ Chainsaw Kit typically costs about the same as the Echo DCS-5000 (around $300), in our tests it was slower at cutting and had a shorter battery life.
The Greenworks CS60L252 60V 16″ Cordless Battery Chainsaw lacked the power of our picks. Oddly, the scrench is attached to the saw with a rubber strap that hangs off the handle, where it could catch on something. The owner manual (PDF) notes that you should remove the strap before using the saw, but the saw provides no other onboard storage for the tool.
We did not test any saws from Makita. They run on the company’s 18-volt battery, often requiring two in order to get sufficient power. They look nice, and they offer a tool-free tensioner and a fast charge time, but we’ve found that the power of 18-volt saws is no match for those running on larger batteries, such as the batteries that come with our full-size picks from Echo and Husqvarna. Makita does sell a 40-volt chainsaw, but it’s typically priced over $600.
For a past version of this guide, we tested saws from Oregon and SunJoe; neither model had the power or stamina of our current picks.
We did not look at any gas models for this guide, but for a previous version we tested a number of them, and we preferred the Stihl MS 181 C-BE. It’s a small saw, but it impressed us with its power, easy pull cord, and tool-free chain tensioner. But considering how the latest cordless models perform, we don’t think a gas saw is worth getting.
We also avoided top-handled saws, such as the Milwaukee 2826-22T M18 Fuel 14″ Top Handle Chainsaw. These saws, which have only a single handle positioned in line with the bar, are meant for being used up in a tree or in a lift bucket. Due to the single handle, controlling kickback is more difficult than on a full-size saw. We recommend leaving these models to the professionals.
This article was edited by Harry Sawyers.
Doug Mahoney is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering home improvement. He spent 10 years in high-end construction as a carpenter, foreman, and supervisor. He lives in a very demanding 250-year-old farmhouse and spent four years gutting and rebuilding his previous home. He also raises sheep and has a dairy cow that he milks every morning.
Garden Kneeling Stool Seat Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).