The best electric chainsaws are powerful, easy to handle, and a much safer choice for the environment. These are the saws that offer the type of reliable, safe, quiet-running performance that most homeowners are looking for. Cordless electric models can give you the freedom you need to tackle jobs around the yard. Unlike their corded counterparts, these saws will allow you to move freely, without the worry of slicing through a cord or searching for extension cords that are long enough to reach those trees at the back of your property. Basically, these power tools are designed with convenience in mind. They’re much lighter than traditional gas-powered models, which promotes longer use while minimizing user fatigue.
But finding a model that offers power that’s comparable to a gas-powered model can be a real challenge. Fortunately, I’ve done all the hard work for you. I have reviewed several of the best-selling models on the market, testing for speed, performance, cutting capability, runtime, charge time, and overall power. I’ve narrowed it down to just five models, each of which has something special to offer, whether it’s more raw power, minimal vibration, or lightweight design.
Below, you’ll find a comparison chart that lists some of the similarities and differences between each of these models, as well as how they rated, and what to expect concerning power.
Table of Contents
Electric Chainsaws Comparison Chart
| Product | Style | Voltage | Bar Length | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Greenworks Chainsaw Check Price! | Cordless | 40V | 16 in | |
DEWALT DCCS670X1 Check Price! | Cordless | 60v | 16 in | |
Makita XCU02PTX1 Check Price! | Cordless | 36v | 12 in | |
EGO Power+ CS1400 Check Price! | Cordless | 56v | 14 in | |
Worx WG322 Check Price! | Cordless | 20v | 10 in |
Best Overall-Greenworks Cordless Chainsaw
Our Rating:
This tool comes fully-loaded with some excellent features that make it perfect for both home or pro use. This is a forty-volt, sixteen-inch cordless saw that can take on those larger jobs around the yard that low-powered saws just can’t handle. It features a shorter than average charge time and a runtime of thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on the type of material you’re sawing through. It also comes with some great extra features including tool-free chain tensioning, automatic bar and chain lubrication, and a user-friendly design that makes it suitable for beginners and experienced users alike. Overall, it handles well due to the powerful brushless motor that’s designed to minimize vibration. If you’re in need of some serious power, this model by Greenworks delivers.
Best Cordless Chainsaw-DEWALT DCCS670X1 FlexVolt Cordless Chainsaw
Our Rating:
This Flexvolt model by Dewalt is turning heads. It features FlexVolt technology, which allows it to change between twenty and sixty volts, depending on what you’re sawing. It also comes with a sixteen-inch Oregon bar and chain, automatic bar and chain lubrication, and tool-free chain tensioning. Its lightweight design allows you to easily handle the saw in tight spaces or tough overhead work. It also helps minimize user fatigue and features an ergonomic design that improves comfort. Easy to use, quiet-running, and designed to last, this beginner-friendly saw may feature simple controls, but it’s packing the type of power you need for small and large jobs around the yard or on the job site.
Most Powerful-Makita XCU02PTX1 Lithium-Ion Cordless Chainsaw
Our Rating:
If you’re familiar with this brand, then you know it produces top of the line power tools that are easy to use, powerful, and designed to last. The company sticks to those standards with their latest release, offering a cordless model that’s built tough and equipped with two eighteen volt batteries that are used at the same time, for a total of thirty-six volts. This type of raw power is perfect for jobs of all sizes. If you have several trees on your property, then this is the saw you need to keep your yard looking great, whether you’re pruning limbs, felling trees, or giving your shrubs a serious makeover.
Beginner-Friendly-EGO Power+ CS1400 Cordless Chainsaw
Our Rating:
The CS1400 by Ego is powerful, beginner-friendly, and able to take on most cutting jobs around the home and on the job site. It runs on a fifty-six-volt battery and is equipped with a brushless motor. Combined, you’re looking at a powerful, efficient cutting performance that can make short work of any small tree on your property. It has a standard runtime of forty-five to sixty minutes per charge, depending on the type of material you’re cutting, and features a short charging time of just forty minutes. It’s not the lightest model on the market, but it’s still pretty easy to handle, thanks to the vibration dampening technology, excellent weight distribution, and the included ergonomic handles.
Lightweight Design-Worx WG322 20V Cordless Chainsaw
Our Rating:
This small powerful cordless model by Worx is compact, easy to use, and features the type of lightweight design you need for small jobs around the yard, cutting jobs in tight spaces, or overhead work. If you’re looking for a moderately powerful saw for smaller jobs in the yard, then your search is over. It operates on just twenty volts of power, so it’s definitely not the toughest saw in this top five lineup, but it is the lightest. If you’re not looking for a heavy-duty saw that you can use to fell trees or cut up logs, then this model is a great alternative. While it can’t compete with high-powered models, its compact design and short ten-inch bar will allow you to finally tackle those cutting jobs in awkward or tight spaces that would otherwise be dangerous to do with a heavy-duty model.
Electric Chainsaws Buyer’s Guide
Corded or cordless, the best electric chainsaws are designed to provide the type of power and efficiency you need for jobs around the home and at work. These affordable saws provide users with an easy and efficient way to deal with heavy-duty pruning, fallen branches, and general upkeep in the yard. While many DIYers and homeowners may claim that gas-powered saws are the way to go, there’s something to be said about the electric saw’s ability to handle jobs small and large, without eating through fuel, waking up the entire neighborhood, or emitting toxic fumes that are harmful to the environment.
These saws will come in handy if you have a lot of trees and thick shrubbery on your property. If you don’t want to pay a high price for professional landscaping, then an electric chainsaw can help you get a handle on yard maintenance.
Why You Should Go Electric
There are times when you really don’t need a high-powered gas saw. In many cases, for small jobs around the yard and light pruning, they’re overkill. Not only is their initial cost high, but fuel, oil, and ongoing maintenance costs can really add up as well. In this case, an electric model is simply a smarter, more affordable alternative.
If you’re looking for a cleaner, safer, and easier way to tackle those jobs around the yard, an electric model may just be the answer.
This type of chainsaw is a great option for homeowners since they’re quiet-running and more convenient to use than gas-powered models. They’re also more beginner-friendly and easier to control.
Often, beginners avoid using chainsaws, simply because firing one up seems both intimidating and potentially dangerous. However, electric startups aren’t quite as scary as their gas-powered counterparts. Instead of repeatedly yanking on a stiff pull start to fire up your saw, you’ll flip a switch for a safe, controlled start, making the saw much easier to handle once it roars to life.
While a saw’s power rating, weight, and size can make it easier to determine which model will work for you, other features can also have an impact on cutting efficiency, safety, and comfort.
Anti-Vibration
This feature is designed to dampen vibration, which will not only make it more comfortable for users, but it also helps to improve handling and control. Additionally, it will reduce user fatigue. This is one feature you’ll want if you have a lot of big jobs around the yard that will require you to use the saw for hours on end.
Automatic Lubricator
A saw equipped with an automatic oil lubricator for the chain and bar will save plenty of wear and tear on your saw, especially if you’re often guilty of forgetting to add oil to the saw’s bar. This feature will keep the chain nice and lubricated, which can prevent overheating and enhances cutting quality, speed, and performance. However, many of these tools will also include an oil level indicator window, which will display how much oil is left in the tank during use, so you will still need to keep a close eye on the oil level and top off the tank as needed.
Chain Brake
This feature is designed to shut down the blade when the chainsaw encounters abrupt impact or movement. Some models will also come equipped with a manual chain brake feature.
Low-Kickback Chains and Bars
This is a must-have feature for beginners and one that minimizes the risk of kickback, which involves the saw unexpectedly moving up and back. Gas-powered saws are well-known for their kickback, but electric models also have this problem. Fortunately, this type of safety feature can often efficiently reduce kickback making these saws much safer for inexperienced users.
Chain Adjustment
Models with tool-less chain adjustment are more convenient to use. If you normally don’t have time to grab the special chain tensioning tool, then you’ll love this feature that allows you to quickly adjust the chain’s tension without the use of tools, in just a couple of minutes.
Power
These saws get a bad rap since they’re not as tough as gas-powered models. While it’s true that they’re better suited for lighter tasks around the home, if you don’t need to fell larger trees on your property, then an electric model has more than enough power to handle thinning branches and light pruning jobs. The saw’s power rating is what will determine the size of branches a particular model can handle.
Low-end saws will have a lower amp output of ten amps or less, while higher-priced, tougher saws will come equipped with twelve to fifteen amps. The higher the amp rating, the more power the saw has to offer. If you have several trees on your property, then you may need a saw that can cut up fallen branches during the rainy season. In this case, you’ll need a model with at least fifteen amps. Essentially, it’s important to take into account the needs of your specific yard so you can choose a model that can handle the job.
Design
While electric powered chainsaws aren’t as powerful as gas models, the silver lining here is the lightweight, compact design. The saw’s bar features an average of fourteen inches, however, this tends to vary from model to model. Even smaller saws can have a weight that comes in at eight pounds. If you have a lot of trees to prune, then you’ll need a saw that you can easily handle for overhead work and one that’s light enough to promote longer use. Imagine trying to wield a fifteen-pound saw overheard for more than an hour, compared to an eight-pound saw. As you can imagine using a gas-powered model requires plenty of upper body strength.
The inability to handle the weight of a high-powered saw is a recipe for disaster. Additionally, it will prevent you from getting a lot of work done in the yard, if you’re forced to take frequent breaks due to user fatigue.
Care and Maintenance
These saws are much easier to care for and maintain compared to gas-powered models. When you’re done using a gas saw for the day, you have to leave the saw out, so it can cool down before you store it. You will also have to deal with draining any remaining fuel and ensure you store it in a ventilated, dry area in an upright position. With an electric saw, it’s as simple as winding up the cord or placing a battery on a charger, and that’s it.
However, with models that come equipped with an oil tank for the bar and chain, you will have to store them properly to prevent the tank from leaking or you can drain the tank to prevent any issues.
Ease of Use
The biggest problem with electric saws is the power cord. Of course, a cord can limit your movements and can even be potentially dangerous if you don’t keep the cord out of the way when you’re slicing through branches. Of course, a cordless saw can be a great alternative. However, cordless saws aren’t as powerful as corded models.
Cordless saws are highly maneuverable, lightweight, and even smaller than corded models, but once their battery is drained you’re left with a job that’s halfway done unless of course, you stock up on battery packs. But for larger jobs, even having a couple of extra battery packs on hand may not be enough.
For a corded model, you have to plug it into the closest outlet and use an extension cord or two if the saw’s cord is only six to eight feet in length. Since most saws have fairly short cords, so plan on purchasing an extension cord or two and make sure they’re compatible with your new saw.
Unlike gas-powered models, these saws:
- Come equipped with push-start buttons
- Feature a lightweight design that promotes longer use and minimizes user fatigue
- Are easier to maneuver
- Don’t come with additional fuel costs
- Quiet-running
- Low maintenance
A Safer Option for the Environment
Since these saws run on electricity, not gas, they won’t have a negative impact on the environment. Did you know that chainsaws and other types of unregulated two-stroke engines are responsible for emitting a significant amount of pollution each year? In fact, considering the strict emissions regulations that most states have enforced for vehicles, gas-powered tools are now considered more harmful to the environment.
Quiet-Running
As I mentioned, these saws are quiet-running, so you can get to work early in the morning and handle all of your important jobs around the yard before it heats up outside, all without waking up the neighbors. With a gas-powered chainsaw, you have to wait until a reasonable hour before you fire it up, which is very inconvenient for most users.
Electric saws have an average sound range of one hundred decibels or slightly lower, while gas-powered saws have a sound range of one hundred and twenty to one hundred and thirty decibels. Obviously, these electric models are not entirely silent, but they’re much quieter than their gas-powered counterparts.
Final Thoughts
An electric chainsaw cannot offer the same type of power that you’ll get from gas-powered models. This can be very limiting, especially if you have large trees on your property that need to be felled. But for most potential buyers the right electric model can provide more than enough power to handle most jobs around the yard. The best electric chainsaws are lightweight, easy to handle and maneuver, come loaded with some great safety features, and offer just the right amount of power to get the job done. Now that you know what specs and features to look for, you’ll have no problem picking the perfect model from my top five list. Each of these saw’s earned high marks for power, durability, ease of use, and innovative design.