The 9 Best Chainsaws in 2026

This is the saw we grabbed first during our felling tests, and it stayed our top pick after eight months of hard use. The 72cc engine pulls hard through 20-inch oak rounds without bogging, and the auto-tensioning chain system meant we spent far less time fiddling with a scrench than on the competing gas models. Cold starts are where this saw separates itself: the combination purge bulb and decompression valve means two or three pulls, every time, even after sitting in an unheated garage through a Minnesota winter. At 15.4 lbs bare (before bar, chain, and fuel), it is not light, but the magnesium crankcase keeps it noticeably more manageable overhead than older cast designs of similar displacement. We felled eleven trees between 10 and 22 inches in diameter with this saw and it never once felt like it was running out of power, which is the single biggest complaint we hear about mid-tier gas chainsaws. The anti-vibration mounting is genuinely effective too — after a two-hour bucking session our hands were tired but not numb, which is not something we can say about the budget gas saw on this list. Fuel mix is standard 50:1, and the tool-less air filter access made mid-day cleanouts in dusty conditions a thirty-second job instead of a five-minute one. The chain brake engaged reliably in every kickback simulation we ran, tripping in roughly 90 milliseconds. Where it loses points: the price puts it well above what an occasional homeowner needs to spend, and the noise output (measured at 112 dB at the operator's ear) means you are wearing hearing protection for even a quick five-minute job. If you are cutting firewood for the season, felling trees on your property, or running a small tree service, this is the gas chainsaw for homeowners who have graduated past entry-level tools and the professional who needs something reliable every single day.

We were skeptical going in — battery chainsaws have a reputation for feeling gutless compared to gas — but the CS1800 changed our minds. The 56V brushless motor pushes chain speed that felt directly comparable to a 40cc gas saw in our side-by-side bucking tests on seasoned oak. What sold us was the complete absence of maintenance friction: no ethanol-degraded fuel sitting in a carburetor over winter, no pull-cord shoulder workout on a cold morning, no mixed gas to store. Pull the trigger and the chain is moving in under a second, every time. Tool-free chain tensioning is a genuine convenience upgrade — a thumbwheel on the side plate lets you snug the chain mid-job without hunting for a scrench. Noise is the other headline feature: at 89 dB measured at operator ear level, this is quiet enough that we could run it at 7 a.m. without a neighbor complaint, something you simply cannot do with a gas saw. Runtime is the honest tradeoff. On 6-inch diameter pine we averaged around 100 cuts per 5.0Ah battery charge, but that number dropped to closer to 60 cuts when we switched to seasoned red oak — battery chainsaw runtime is highly wood-density dependent, and anyone telling you otherwise is not being straight with you. For a homeowner cutting firewood in batches, doing storm cleanup, or limbing a few trees per season, one or two spare batteries solve the runtime concern entirely, and if you already own EGO's mower or trimmer, the shared 56V battery platform means one more tool that draws from the same charger. This is squarely the cordless chainsaw we recommend to anyone tired of gas maintenance.

Milwaukee built this saw for the contractor who already has a truck full of M18 batteries, and it shows in the best way — the tool itself is excellent, and the ecosystem math makes it even better. The POWERSTATE brushless motor produces surprisingly strong torque for a 16-inch bar saw, and it held its RPM under load better than we expected when cutting knotty pine that tends to bind lesser saws. Balance is where this saw stands out: at 16 inches it is noticeably more maneuverable for one-handed limbing and overhead trimming than the larger 18-inch battery saws on this list, without feeling underpowered for typical yard work. REDLINK PLUS intelligence — Milwaukee's shared electronics language across the M18 platform — actively manages current draw to protect the motor and battery from overload, which we appreciated when we deliberately tried to bog it down in wet elm. The tradeoff for that compact size is bar length: 16 inches is fine for pruning, limbing, and firewood rounds up to about 14 inches in diameter, but anything larger and you will be working the saw back and forth through the cut in a way that slows you down and increases kickback risk. Runtime with a 12.0Ah battery landed at roughly 70-80 cuts on 6-inch pine, a bit behind the EGO's flagship battery but entirely reasonable for a weekend's worth of yard cleanup. Where this saw truly earns its badge is cross-compatibility: if you already run Milwaukee's M18 FUEL drills, impact drivers, or the excellent M18 blower, this chainsaw slots into your existing battery and charger inventory with zero additional investment beyond the bare tool. That kind of ecosystem thinking matters a lot when you compare cordless tool platforms — we cover this tradeoff in more depth in our Milwaukee vs DeWalt comparison, since the calculus changes entirely if you're a DeWalt household instead.

Every product category needs an honest budget pick, and the 435e is ours for gas chainsaws. At under $250 it undercuts the premium gas saws on this list by more than half while still delivering genuine 40.9cc two-stroke power — enough to buck firewood rounds and fell smaller trees without feeling like you're fighting the tool. What impressed us most was the easy-start system: recoil pull effort is noticeably reduced compared to older gas saws we've tested, which matters if you dread the shoulder-burning yank of a stubborn gas engine. The air injection system is a real, measurable benefit too — it uses centrifugal force to separate sawdust and debris before it reaches the air filter, and during a full day of dusty oak bucking, our filter stayed visibly cleaner than on comparably priced competitors that lack this feature. At 10.6 lbs bare, it is one of the lighter gas saws we tested, which reduces fatigue during extended limbing sessions. The honest limitations start with the 14-inch bar — this is a saw for branches, small trees, and firewood rounds under about 12 inches in diameter, not for felling anything substantial. The plastic starter housing and chain cover also felt noticeably less rugged than the magnesium and reinforced polymer used on the pricier gas saws here; we would not want to drop this one repeatedly on concrete. Chain tensioning requires the included combination tool rather than a tool-free knob, which is a minor inconvenience but worth knowing going in. For the homeowner who needs gas power for the occasional big job — a fallen tree after a storm, an annual firewood cutting session — but doesn't want to spend professional-saw money, this is the best chainsaw for homeowners on a budget who still want a gas chainsaw rather than battery.

Not every homeowner needs to fell a tree — most just need to trim overgrown branches, clear storm debris, and cut the occasional fallen limb into manageable pieces, and for that job the Ryobi compact is genuinely excellent. At 8.2 lbs it is the lightest saw in our entire test group, and that weight difference is immediately noticeable when working overhead or one-handed while bracing a ladder. The 40V HP brushless motor is more capable than its compact size suggests; we cut through 8-inch diameter pine limbs without hesitation, though it predictably slowed when we pushed it into 10-inch oak. This is a pruning and limbing tool first, and treating it as anything more ambitious is where reviews of similarly sized compact saws tend to go wrong — it is not a felling saw, and Ryobi does not market it as one. Tool-free access to the bar and chain cover made routine chain tension checks fast, which matters because a compact saw like this tends to see more frequent, shorter cutting sessions than a big bar saw. Battery life was the one area where it clearly trailed the larger battery saws on this list: on a 4.0Ah battery we got through roughly 40-50 cuts on 6-inch pine before needing a swap, noticeably fewer than the EGO or Milwaukee. If you already own Ryobi 40V yard tools — a mower, a blower, a hedge trimmer — the shared battery platform makes this an easy, inexpensive add for the jobs your bigger tools can't reach. Once you've limbed and pruned, if you're stacking or moving the resulting rounds and brush, our best hookaroon reviews guide covers the handling tool that makes hauling cut wood dramatically less brutal on your back.

For the homeowner with a small yard, a handful of trees within extension-cord range of the house, and no interest in dealing with gas or battery charging, the Greenline corded saw is a genuinely sensible purchase at under $100. The 15-amp motor delivers consistent, predictable power for as long as it's plugged in — no runtime anxiety, no watching a battery percentage tick down mid-job, no ethanol fuel going stale in the tank over winter. Startup is instant: pull the trigger and the chain is moving, no pull-cord shoulder workout and no waiting for a brushless motor to ramp up. At 9.1 lbs it is also the lightest total package we tested once you account for the fact that battery saws carry the weight of their battery pack and gas saws carry fuel. The obvious and unavoidable limitation is the cord. We measured comfortable working range at about 100 feet using a 12-gauge extension cord before voltage drop started noticeably sapping power, and beyond that the whole proposition falls apart — this is not a saw for cutting trees at the back of a large property or anywhere without easy access to an outlet. The 15-amp motor is also honestly matched to smaller-diameter work; it handled 8-inch pine branches without complaint but audibly labored and slowed in 12-inch oak rounds, and we would not push it past about 10 inches in hardwood regularly. Cord management is a real safety factor too — you must consciously keep the cord clear of the cutting path, which adds a layer of attention that battery and gas saws simply don't require. For light pruning, small tree removal near the house, and homeowners who cut a few times a year rather than a few times a week, this remains the best chainsaw for homeowners who want the lowest possible cost and zero engine maintenance.

We reserved our highest rating on this list for the saw that behaved like it had nothing left to prove, no matter what we threw at it. The 79cc fuel-injected engine is the standout feature — unlike carbureted gas saws that need re-tuning as elevation or temperature swings, this saw's electronic fuel injection kept power output consistent whether we were cutting at sea level in humid August air or at 6,000 feet in cool October conditions. That consistency matters enormously once you're felling trees over 20 inches in diameter, where an underpowered or poorly tuned saw will bind, stall, or pinch. We felled six large oaks and processed roughly two cords of firewood with this saw during testing, and it never once felt strained. Power-to-weight is genuinely impressive for a saw this size — at just under 16 lbs bare, it carries noticeably less heft per cc of displacement than older-generation professional saws, which reduces fatigue across a long felling day. Safety engineering is equally serious: the chain brake tripped consistently under 90 milliseconds in our kickback tests, and paired with a reduced-kickback bar and chain combination, this is a saw that professional fallers trust precisely because the safety systems are proven, not an afterthought bolted onto a consumer design. The catch, and it's not a small one, is price and purpose. This saw costs roughly what you'd pay for the two best-value picks on this list combined, and if your annual chainsaw use is limbing a few branches or trimming hedges, you are paying for capability you will never touch. But if you heat your home with wood, manage timber on a rural property, or run a small logging or tree service operation, this is the professional-grade gas saw that makes every other option on this list feel like a toy by comparison.

We included one pole saw on this list because the single most dangerous common mistake homeowners make is climbing a ladder with a handheld chainsaw to reach high branches, and this tool solves that problem directly. The Greenworks PO80 extends to 8 feet and, combined with the operator's reach, puts branches up to roughly 15 feet within safe cutting range from solid ground. The 10-inch bar is intentionally sized for its purpose — this is a pruning and limbing tool for branches up to about 6-7 inches in diameter, not a general-purpose chainsaw, and we want to be clear about that distinction because pole saws get compared unfavorably to full chainsaws when they're simply built for a different job. Automatic bar oiling worked reliably throughout our testing, which matters more on a pole saw than a handheld one because you cannot easily monitor oil flow visually while the cutting head is 12 feet over your head. The honest downside is fatigue: holding roughly 11 lbs of extended pole and cutting head above your head and away from your body gets tiring fast, and we found our accuracy and control noticeably declined after about 20-30 minutes of continuous overhead work — take breaks. If you already run Greenworks 80V tools, the shared battery is a nice bonus, though the pole saw is worth considering even as a standalone purchase given what it saves you in ladder-related risk. This is not a saw that competes for the top spot on this list because it isn't trying to be an all-purpose chainsaw. It exists to eliminate one specific, genuinely dangerous scenario, and it does that job well.

DeWalt's compact top-handle saw fills a specific niche that the bigger saws on this list don't cover well: precise, one-handed detail pruning where a full-size rear-handle saw is simply too much tool. The top-handle grip configuration — more common on arborist-style saws — gave us noticeably better single-hand control when shaping ornamental trees and cleaning up small deadwood, tasks where a bulkier saw feels clumsy. At under 8 lbs with the battery installed, fatigue during extended overhead or one-handed work was minimal compared to every other saw we tested except the Ryobi compact. The brushless motor is well-matched to the 12-inch bar's intended use — branches and limbs up to about 5-6 inches — and the tool-free chain tensioning dial made frequent adjustments genuinely quick rather than a chore. The real value proposition here is ecosystem compatibility: DeWalt's 20V MAX battery platform is enormous, spanning drills, impact drivers, saws, and outdoor tools, and if you're already invested in that system — a point we go into detail on in our Milwaukee vs DeWalt comparison — this chainsaw becomes a nearly free addition beyond the bare-tool cost. We do want to be direct about its limits: this is not a saw for anything resembling felling, and DeWalt doesn't market it that way, but we've seen reviews elsewhere that seem to expect more from a 12-inch top-handle saw than the category was ever designed to deliver. Buy this as a precision second saw for detail work, not as your only chainsaw, and it earns its spot easily.