Best Electric Chainsaw

How to choose the best electric chainsaw

The best corded electric chainsaw for you is the saw whose amp rating and bar length match your typical logs while keeping you within reach of an outlet. For most homeowners that means a 14 to 15 amp motor on a 16 to 18 inch bar, stepping down to a lighter 12 amp saw only for pruning and small branches.

Build quality, chain access, and the oiling system matter as much as headline amps, because a well-made corded saw with easy tensioning is far nicer to live with than a cheap one that needs tools for every adjustment. The picks above span light pruning saws to strong firewood cutters, and the sections below explain how to read the specs so the ranking makes sense for your yard.

Which electric chainsaw suits your workload?

The best electric chainsaw for you falls out of one honest question: what do you actually cut, and how often? Match the saw class to that answer and the ranking above turns into a single obvious pick rather than six competing options.

Use these workload profiles to place yourself:

• Occasional pruning and branches under about four inches: a light 9 to 12 amp saw on a 14 inch bar, such as the Sun Joe SWJ599E (paid link), is easier to hold overhead and cheaper than you need for anything heavier.
• Mixed suburban yard work with the odd small log: a 12 amp, 16 inch saw like the Greenworks 20222 (paid link) handles branches and light firewood without tiring a new user.
• Regular firewood and storm cleanup near the house: a 14 to 15 amp, 16 to 18 inch saw such as the Oregon CS1500 or Black+Decker CS1518 (paid link) pulls through firewood-sized rounds with fade-free power.
• Frequent use where refinement matters: the Makita UC4051A (paid link) trades a little bar length for a quieter, smoother, better-built tool that rewards heavy hours.

If your honest answer is that you routinely cut large hardwood or fell trees, no corded saw is the right buy, and a gas chainsaw is the tool to read about next. If the cord itself is the problem because your cutting is spread across a large block, a battery chainsaw removes the tether at a higher price.

How many amps does an electric chainsaw need?

Amps should track how hard and how often you cut, since the motor rating is the main power figure on a corded saw. Occasional pruning is fine on 8 to 12 amps, general yard work and small firewood suit 12 to 14 amps, and steady firewood or storm cleanup wants the full 14 to 15 amps a household outlet can supply.

The comparison table below lines up our picks by motor rating, bar length, and the buyer each one suits, so you can see where your workload lands before you read the individual reviews.

What bar length should an electric chainsaw have?

Bar length should exceed the diameter of your usual logs by two to four inches so the saw clears the wood in a single pass. A 16 inch bar covers most suburban cutting, 14 inches gives a lighter pruning saw, and 18 inches is worth it only when you cut firewood-sized rounds and have the 15 amp motor to drive it.

Remember that a longer bar on a fixed-power electric motor can cut more slowly, not faster, so oversizing the bar on a modest motor works against you. Chains and bars wear and need replacing, so check our chainsaw chains guide when it is time to re-fit the saw.

How do the top corded electric chainsaws differ?

The corded saws worth buying differ less on raw power than on how they are built and maintained, since most 15-amp saws cut similar wood at a similar rate. What separates them is the chain system, the tensioning, the noise, and the price, and the table below lines up those trade-offs.

The Oregon's self-sharpening chain is the single feature most likely to change your day-to-day experience, because a sharp chain matters more than any amp figure and the CS1500 lets you touch it up in seconds. Owners who happily file their own chains, covered in our chainsaw sharpening guide, can spend less on a simpler saw and keep it keen themselves.

What features separate good electric chainsaws from cheap ones?

The features that separate a quality corded saw from a throwaway are tool-less chain tensioning, an automatic oiler with a visible level window, a reliable chain brake, and a comfortable, balanced handle. These make day-to-day use and upkeep painless and keep the chain properly fed.

Self-sharpening systems, such as the Oregon PowerSharp chain on the CS1500, are a genuine convenience for owners who dislike filing, while quieter, better-built saws like the Makita UC4051A reward heavier use. Cheaper saws often skip tool-less tensioning and cut corners on the oiler, which leads to dry bars and premature wear.

What mistakes do first-time electric chainsaw buyers make?

The most common electric chainsaw buying mistakes are oversizing the bar, skimping on the extension lead, and expecting gas-saw performance from a corded tool. Each one leaves an owner disappointed by a saw that was never the real problem.

Avoid these traps before you buy:

• Buying the longest bar available: a fixed-power motor drives a long bar slowly, so an 18 inch bar on a 12 amp saw cuts worse, not better, than a 16 inch bar would.
• Pairing a strong saw with a cheap cord: a thin or overlong lead starves a 15 amp motor and makes a good saw feel gutless, so budget for a proper heavy-gauge outdoor lead from the start.
• Ignoring the oiler: a saw with a poor or manual oiler needs constant watching, and a dry bar ruins a chain fast, so favour an automatic oiler with a visible level window.
• Expecting felling performance: corded saws are pruning, limbing, and firewood tools, and asking one to drop large trees is both unsafe and beyond its design.
• Overlooking safety gear: the saw is not the whole cost, and cutting without chainsaw chaps and PPE is a false economy.

Getting these right up front means the saw you buy performs the way its amp rating promises, rather than the way a starved, oversized, or mismatched setup allows.

What does a corded electric chainsaw cost to own?

A corded electric chainsaw is the cheapest chainsaw type to own over time, because it needs no petrol, two-stroke oil, filters, plugs, or replacement batteries. The main running costs are bar and chain oil, the occasional replacement chain, and a file or sharpener.

A good outdoor extension lead is a one-time cost worth getting right, since an undersized cord starves the motor and makes the saw cut poorly. Keeping the chain sharp, covered in our chainsaw sharpening guide, is the cheapest performance upgrade there is. If you want lower running cost without a cord, weigh a battery chainsaw instead.

How do you set up a new corded electric chainsaw?

A new corded electric chainsaw needs a few minutes of setup before its first cut, because most ship with the bar and chain loose or unfitted and the oil reservoir empty. Skipping this is the fastest way to damage a brand-new saw.

Work through the setup in order:

1. Fit the bar and chain per the manual, making sure the chain's cutters point forward along the top of the bar.
2. Set the tension so the chain sits snug against the bar underside but still pulls freely by hand, then re-check it after the first few cuts as a new chain stretches.
3. Fill the reservoir with the bar and chain oil the maker specifies, and confirm the automatic oiler throws a light line of oil onto a surface when you briefly run the chain.
4. Test the chain brake by engaging it and checking that the chain will not turn.
5. Pair the saw with a correctly gauged extension lead and a GFCI outlet before the first real cut.

Taking these steps once turns an out-of-the-box saw into one that cuts at its rated power and lasts, and it is the same short routine our chainsaw maintenance guide builds on for ongoing care.

What safety gear should you budget for?

Safety gear is not optional with an electric saw, so plan for cut-retardant chaps, eye and ear protection, gloves, and sturdy boots before your first cut. An electric chain is just as sharp and fast as a gas one, and the quiet motor can lull new users into dropping their guard.

Manage the cord so it never crosses the cutting path, unplug the saw before clearing a jam, and match the saw to jobs you are trained for, leaving felling and work near power lines to professionals. Start with the right chainsaw chaps and PPE, and read our full electric chainsaw guide if you are still narrowing your shortlist.