Mini Chainsaws and Pruning Saws Put to the Test: 11 Compact Saws Ranked

Introduction

Small battery-powered saws have exploded in popularity, but it has been hard to know which ones genuinely cut well and which are toys. We tested eleven compact saws, split into two categories: four with bars of 8 inches or under, and seven with bars between 10 and 12 inches. Each saw was put through the same torque test, a softwood 4x4 speed cut, a pressure-treated 4x4 speed cut, and a hardwood cut near 4 inches in diameter.

One more question drove this test: is a manual folding handsaw just as fast as a mini chainsaw? The answer surprised us.

How the Saws Were Tested

Every saw faced the same three challenges: a stall test measuring how much downward force the chain could take before stopping, a timed cut through a standard untreated 4x4, and a timed cut through dense hardwood. Battery packs were fully charged before every event, and chains were lubricated before each cut.

A battery-powered reciprocating saw was also thrown into the mix as a curiosity. It finished last against every chainsaw in the hardwood test, with heavy vibration and a lot of required effort, which settled the chainsaw-versus-reciprocating-saw debate fairly decisively. For the stall test, a 10-pound weight sat on the test piece while additional downward force was applied until the chain stalled.

Small Saws: 8 Inches and Under

This category covers the smallest pruning saws and the manual alternative. Be aware that these saws differ enormously in size and weight, so this is not a perfectly apples-to-apples group: the Hart weighs over 30 percent more than the Milwaukee and more than twice as much as the handsaw.

Silky PS70 Folding Saw

The Silky PS70 is a Japanese-made folding handsaw with a 12.6-inch kerf blade weighing just over half a pound, priced at roughly $40. Against the mini chainsaws, it cut the 4x4 in 23.7 seconds, and it beat the 6-inch electric saw by a tenth of a second. In hardwood it managed 11.65 seconds, well ahead of the slowest electric saw but behind the best. It requires real effort, but for occasional light-duty use and camping trips, it is remarkably light and compact.

SHQDD 6-Inch Mini Chainsaw

Nicknamed “the Squid” for brevity, this 6-inch cordless saw sells for about $80 for the tool and includes two 21-volt 2Ah batteries plus a spare chain. It is the lightest powered saw here at 2.7 pounds, its sprocket spins at over 4,300 RPM, and access to the safety switch on both sides makes it friendly for either hand. The downside is build quality: the bar collar is plastic, there is no automatic chain oiler, and it stalled at only 7 pounds in the torque test. Its 23.8-second 4x4 cut and 15.1-second hardwood time put it at the back of the pack, though it is still far less effort than sawing by hand.

Hart 20V 8-Inch Pruning Chainsaw

At $80 for the bare tool, the Hart arrives fully assembled and ready to use, with a wrench stored inside the handle and a screw-based chain tensioner. It is a brushed-motor, mostly plastic, light-duty build with no automatic oiler, weighing roughly 3 pounds. Its low 2,843 RPM sprocket speed turned out to be a torque advantage: it took 28 pounds of force to stall, the best in the small category. It cut the 4x4 in 6.9 seconds, more than three times faster than the Squid, and handled 3-inch hardwood in 8.2 seconds, second only to the Milwaukee.

Milwaukee M12 Fuel Hatchet 6-Inch

The Milwaukee Hatchet is the best-built small saw of the group, with a brushless motor, automatic oiler, metal dowel and metal collar, onboard tool storage, and a battery life indicator. At $200 for the tool and 4.8 pounds with an M12 4Ah battery, it is more compact and lighter than the Hart. Milwaukee claims up to 120 cuts per charge in 3-inch hardwood. The performance backs it up: 7.0 seconds through the 4x4, essentially matching the Hart, and the fastest small-saw hardwood time at just 4.6 seconds. If you want a premium compact pruning saw, this is the one.

Large Saws: 10 to 12 Inches

The larger category is where cutting speed gets seriously impressive, and one brand dominated nearly every timed event.

Bauer 20V 10-Inch Chainsaw

Sold at Harbor Freight for $80 as a bare tool, the Bauer includes an automatic chain oiling system and a low-kickback 10-inch bar. It has the slowest sprocket in the lineup at just under 2,100 RPM, yet it still took 27 pounds of force to stall, matching the Hart. It cut the untreated 4x4 in 6.1 seconds and the pressure-treated 4x4 in 4.3 seconds, and managed 9.9 seconds in hardwood despite stalling twice along the way. It recovers quickly after a stall, which keeps it practical.

Ryobi ONE+ 18V 10-Inch Chainsaw

The Ryobi costs $119 for the tool and offers a push-button oiler, onboard tool storage, an easy-access safety switch, and near-instant trigger response. It is a brushed motor in an all-plastic body that does not feel as durable as some rivals, and its 45-pound stall force shows the low-RPM tuning delivers real torque. But in the hardwood test the slow chain speed hurt badly: 17.3 seconds, over 7 seconds behind the Bauer, with noticeable handle vibration.

Kobalt 24V 12-Inch Chainsaw

The Kobalt is the outright winner of this showdown. For $129 as a bare tool you get a 12-inch bar, a 24-volt max brushless motor, and an automatic oiling system. It is the heaviest saw tested at 8.9 pounds and the loudest, but its 7,000-plus RPM sprocket made it twice as fast as the competition: 3.3 seconds through the untreated 4x4, 2.3 seconds through pressure-treated lumber, and 6.4 seconds in hardwood. It also held an impressive 21 pounds of force before stalling despite the very high chain speed. First place in every timed event, at a very reasonable price.

Black+Decker 20V 10-Inch Chainsaw

At $139 including battery and charger, the Black+Decker is one of the few complete kits here. It has a brushed motor, automatic oiling, a top-mounted safety switch, and a metal press block securing the bar. It posted the best torque figure of the entire test, a remarkable 72 pounds, but its low chain speed held it back: 5.5 seconds in the untreated 4x4 and 10.2 seconds in hardwood, where it felt like it was grinding through the log with lots of vibration. Great torque, modest speed.

Craftsman V20 10-Inch Chainsaw

The Craftsman kit costs $149 with a battery and charger and includes automatic oiling, front-mounted chain tensioning, and a steel stud with a plastic press block. It is a brushed motor at 6.6 pounds. Its 2,563 RPM sprocket speed is similar to the Ryobi’s, and it delivered 35 pounds of stall force. It cut the untreated 4x4 in 6.1 seconds and, helped by its faster chain speed, beat both the Black+Decker and the Bauer in hardwood at 8.5 seconds. A solid middle-of-the-pack all-rounder.

DeWalt 20V 12-Inch Chainsaw

The DeWalt costs $200 for the bare tool and brings a high-efficiency brushless motor, a tool-free chain tensioning system, a low-kickback 12-inch bar, and automatic oiling. It weighs 8.9 pounds and its sprocket spins above average at 3,841 RPM. In the pressure-treated test its high chain speed paid off with the second-fastest time at 3.5 seconds, and its balance of speed and torque earned second place in hardwood at 8.0 seconds. The 15-pound stall force shows it favors chain speed over torque, so let the saw do the work rather than forcing it.

Makita 10-Inch Top-Handle Chainsaw

Also $200 for the bare tool, the Makita is a compact brushless top-handle saw with very good build quality, an adjustable automatic oiler, and a three-step startup: power switch, top safety switch, then trigger. At 6.8 pounds it is about 2 pounds lighter than the DeWalt and Kobalt. Its sprocket spins at over 13,000 RPM, nearly twice the Kobalt’s, producing exceptionally smooth and fast cuts: 4.6 seconds in the untreated 4x4 with almost no downward force, and 3.6 seconds in pressure-treated lumber. The trade-off is torque: it stalled at just 6 pounds and struggled when pushed hard in hardwood at 8.8 seconds.

Buying Advice

Across the 10-to-12-inch category, the Kobalt dominated with first-place finishes in every timed cutting event, and at $129 for the tool it is arguably the best value in the entire test. The DeWalt and Makita tied for third overall, with the Craftsman fourth. Notably, the top three finishers all had the highest no-load sprocket speeds, and chain speed proved to be the biggest factor in cutting hardwood quickly.

Bar length is also worth scrutinizing: with a new chain, most saws offered noticeably less usable bar life than the advertised length, and new chains stretch over time.

For occasional light-duty use such as camping trips, the Milwaukee Hatchet and the Silky PS70 folding saw stand out for their size and weight, and both are excellent in their own categories. If hardwood performance matters most, remember that efficient cutting requires a balance of chain speed and torque, which is exactly where the Kobalt shines.

Conclusion

The Kobalt 24V 12-inch is the clear overall winner: fastest in every cutting test, respectable torque, and an aggressive price. The Milwaukee M12 Fuel Hatchet is the premium pick for small pruning work, the Hart is the value pick among 8-inch saws, and the Silky PS70 proves a $40 handsaw can hang with a mini chainsaw. Match the saw to the wood you actually cut, and any of these top picks will serve you well.