The 8 Best Battery Chainsaws of 2024

Best Overall

Husqvarna Power Axe 350i

$360 At Lowe's View On Husqvarna.com View On Acmetools.com

This Husqvarna is roughly equivalent to their 450 Rancher gas model, so it’s more than equal to just about any backyard task. We put it to the test on a property in dire need of clearing out overgrown shrubs and trees, and the 18-inch bar and chain tore through everything we threw at it—thick branches, overgrown brush, and even an old tree stump that needed some serious grinding.

We were impressed by the long run time of this chainsaw, enabled by a powerful 40-volt, 7.5 amp-hour battery. The boost function is even more impressive though, adding 25 percent more power at the push of a button. The cost is shorter run time, of course, but it’s a very effective option when used sparingly.

This chainsaw includes an automatic oiler, which keeps the chain spinning smoothly without any intervention. It lacks the option to swap the 18-inch bar for a different size though, which is an option Husqvarna often includes. The additional flexibility to drop down to a smaller bar for lightweight jobs, or a bigger one when bucking firewood or felling small trees would have taken this beast of a cordless chainsaw from great to nearly perfect, but it’s still an extremely capable tool that’s worthy of adding to your arsenal.

_{Bar Length: 18 inches | Battery Voltage: 40 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 7.72 pounds | Battery Run Time: Not listed}

Best Budget

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Cordless Chainsaw

$125 At Amazon $139 At Home Depot $130 At Walmart

While it’s not the most powerful option, this reasonably priced offering from Black+Decker is more than sufficient for most light tasks around the yard, including pruning small tree limbs, shaping up those overgrown shrubs, cutting small logs into firewood, or other typical landscaping needs. It has a 10-inch cutting bar with 8 inches of cutting capacity.

There’s no need to break your budget for a cordless chainsaw, particularly if you only expect to use it occasionally for light duties around your property. This one is easy to maneuver and control. The chainsaw comes with a 20-volt, 2 amp-hour Max lithium battery, which should give you enough runtime for typical light tasks that don’t require continuous use. However, we do feel that the charger is slow; it can take over 4 hours to fully recharge a drained battery.

The chain tension is easy to adjust with a simple dial, and the auto-oiler keeps the chain turning smoothly. For safety, the bar and chain are designed to reduce the risk of kickback (when a saw “catches” on an irregularity in the wood and “kicks back” toward the user), and the front guard helps protect your hands from flying debris. Even if you are new to chainsaws, you should find it easy to effectively wield this tool around your yard.

_{Bar Length: 10 inches | Battery Voltage: 20 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 9.3 pounds | Battery Run Time: Not listed}

Best General Use

Ego Power+ 56V Cordless Chainsaw

$249 At Amazon $279 At Walmart $299 At Lowe's

Effortlessly complete a variety of landscaping chores with the help of this powerful and efficient battery chainsaw from Ego. This is a great chainsaw for anyone looking to get away from the noise and smell of a gas-powered tool or the bother of a corded chainsaw but not wanting to settle for a lower-powered tool; EGO claims its power is equivalent to a 40cc gas chainsaw.

You can easily and quickly regulate the chain tension with the chainsaw's separate controls, allowing you to produce clean, precise cuts every time. The automated oiler keeps the chain turning smoothly, which keeps the tool and chain in good condition for longer.

The 56-volt, 2.5 amp-hour battery that comes with the chainsaw can power up to 130 cuts before requiring a recharge. It charges completely within an hour, so you can use it again and again when the time comes. It also features a high-efficiency brushless motor, which increases the tool's overall performance and runtime.

The metal bucking spikes help keep the log in place while you saw through it, and the chain is designed to help prevent dangerous kickbacks. This chainsaw's one and only drawback is its weight—9 pounds when empty and 11.8 pounds when loaded with a battery. Even though it's a bit heavier than other battery chainsaws, its control, speed, and power more than compensate for it, making it a great option for regular use.

_{Bar Length: 16 inches | Battery Voltage: 56 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 9 pounds | Battery Run Time: Up to 130 cuts}

Best for Beginners

DEWALT 12-Inch Cordless Chainsaw

$249 At Home Depot $270 At Tractor Supply Co. View On Toolnut.com

Chainsaws can be a little intimidating if you’ve never used one before, which is why we recommend this lightweight model from Dewalt for beginners. It’s capable of trimming limbs and other lightweight tasks, with a 12-inch bar that’s very easy to handle. You still need to follow standard chainsaw safety practices, but this chainsaw is compact, easy to operate, and has an ergonomic handle that gives you a very secure grip while you get used to this kind of tool.

One of the reasons we recommend the Dewalt 20V Max 12-inch chainsaw to beginners is that it’s designed to reduce the risk of dangerous kickbacks. It uses a low-kickback chain and bar from Oregon, a chain brake that activates in case of kickback, and the lightweight construction makes it very easy to maneuver and avoid potentially dangerous pinching.

This chainsaw comes with a 20-volt, 5 amp-hour lithium-ion battery that provides up to 90 cuts per charge, so you should be able to finish pruning or other garden tasks before running out of juice. As it only takes around 90 minutes for a recharge, you won’t have to wait all day until the tool is ready to get back to work.

_{Bar Length: 12 inches | Battery Voltage: 20 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 8 pounds | Battery Run Time: Up to 90 cuts}

Best Mini

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Hatchet Chainsaw

$205 At Amazon $279 At Home Depot $254 At Walmart

Not every project calls for the biggest chainsaw bar; in fact, for many common gardening tasks, especially for pruning or for careful work reaching through branches to remove just one specific limb, a small chainsaw is ideal. For those types of jobs, we recommend the Milwaukee 3004-20 because it is lightweight (less than 5 pounds without the battery, the lightest option on this list) and compact (only 4 inches wide), making it very easy to maneuver over, around, or through branches.

Plus, it has variable speed control, so you can slow down when precision counts or speed up when you just want to get the cut done. The chainsaw has an 8-inch bar (the smallest on this list, tied with our best pole saw pick), but can handle branches or small logs up to 7.5 inches in diameter, so it’s no slouch around the yard. It’s perfect for spring or fall pruning of large shrubs and small trees but also useful for cleaning up after winter storms or removing dead or diseased branches any time of the year.

It has a brushless motor for long runtime and an automatic oiler to keep the chain moving smoothly. It does require a tool to adjust the chain tension, but there’s a spot right on the chainsaw to keep the included tool handy. Note that this chainsaw is sold tool-only, meaning that you’ll need to purchase the battery and charger separately if you don’t already own a Milwaukee M18 battery. Depending on the amp hours of the battery you choose, you can get up to 100 or more cuts before needing a recharge.

_{Bar Length: 8 inches | Battery Voltage: 18 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 4.9 pounds | Battery Run Time: Up to 100 cuts}

Best for Cutting Firewood

Greenworks Pro 80V Cordless Chainsaw

$310 At Amazon $310 At Walmart View On Greenworks

This Greenworks battery chainsaw provides all the power needed to keep your wood-burning stove or fireplace stocked with firewood over the winter. The 80-volt, 2 amp-hour battery provides the same amount of power of a 42cc gas chainsaw, and the 18-inch bar tears effortlessly through logs up to 16 inches in diameter. This chainsaw has the same size bar as the Husqvarna Power Axe 350i (our best overall pick), but its more powerful battery handles up to 150 cuts per charge.

We like this model for firewood because of the long bar and huge battery, but you're free to put that power to just about any other use. This battery chainsaw is more than capable of pruning tree limbs and overgrown shrubs, cleaning up debris after a winter storm, and even felling small-to-medium trees. It's pretty heavy, weighing in at 13.7 pounds with the battery installed, but all that power has to come from somewhere.

This chainsaw also has an automatic chain oiling system to reduce maintenance, and a brushless motor that improves the tool’s efficiency and lengthens the battery runtime. If you don't have an extra battery handy, you can charge it to full in about 30 minutes thanks to the included quick charger.

_{Bar Length: 18 inches | Battery Voltage: 80 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 11 pounds | Battery Run Time: Up to 150 cuts}

Best for Yardwork

Stihl MSA 140 C-B Battery Chainsaw Kit

$370 At Ace Hardware

Stihl is one of the top-selling and respected brands of chainsaws in the world, and in fact, the founder of the company invented the electric chainsaw back in the 1920s. So, it's no surprise that this battery offering from Stihl is a reliable, powerful, and versatile tool. The chainsaw is well-suited to most tasks around the backyard or property, thanks to its 12-inch blade that can handle up to a 25-inch cutting capacity, its chain that's designed for very clean, smooth cuts, and its light weight of 8.6 pounds, including the battery.

The chainsaw comes with Stihl's AK 30 battery, which is a 36-volt, 4.8 amp hour battery that can run for up to 45 minutes without lagging in power or performance. That makes this a great choice for cleaning up after a winter storm, removing tree limbs, felling small trees, or other moderate jobs that are common in suburban or rural yards. We love how easy it is to maneuver the chainsaw around branches and shrubs, and we especially appreciate that it creates minimal vibrations despite its power.

In addition to reducing annoying vibrations, the rubberized grip makes the device easy to handle and comfortable on the hands. Just about our only complaint regarding this chainsaw is that, like all Stihl tools, it is only sold through authorized dealers—no big box stores or discount distributors—and you'll pay a little more for the power, reliability, and reputation of the brand.

_{Bar Length: 12 inches | Battery Voltage: 36 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 5.7 pounds | Battery Run Time: Up to 45 minutes}

Best Pole Saw

Greenworks 40-Volt Cordless Pole Saw

$169 At Amazon $169 At Walmart

This pole saw is a miniature battery chainsaw on an adjustable extension pole. Fully extended, it gives you 9.5 feet of reach to easily prune high branches while you remain safely on the ground. The 8-inch bar provides the cutting power to carve through branches up to 6 inches in diameter.

We like the way the head of this tool is slightly angled to allow for easier pinpointing of specific limbs and branches when maneuvering through overgrown brush. The comfortably molded handle adds to that, allowing you to maintain a solid grip on the tool as you select branches to prune and then saw through them. It's well balanced between the battery and the saw as well—many pole saws aren't, which gets more fatiguing the longer you hold the saw.

We do wish this saw had a shoulder strap. It’s about 10 pounds with the battery installed, which is lightweight enough for long pruning jobs but heavy enough that it would be nice to have a strap. The small self-oiler reservoir isn’t impressive either since it requires frequent stops to top it off with bar oil. It is fairly powerful, though, with a 40-volt, 2 amp-hour battery that provides up to 65 cuts before needing a recharge, and the long extension pole is just the helping hand you’ve been waiting for if you’re tired of climbing ladders to prune your trees and bushes.

_{Bar Length: 8 inches | Battery Voltage: 20 volts | Tool Weight Without Battery: 7.96 pounds | Battery Run Time: Up to 65 cuts}