10 Best Chainsaw of 2026, Cordless, Petrol and Corded Picks for Logs and Pruning

Judge it on how much it gets done with how little fuss, and the DUC353Z is the saw I'd buy for a mixed garden of logs and overgrown trees. Two 18V LXT batteries run a brushless motor at 36V, driving the chain at a listed 20 m/s on a 35cm bar, plenty for the storm-felled branches that pile up by my log store. It isn't a cheap way in, though: it's a bare tool needing two batteries and a charger, unlike the Ryobi kit.

If you don't own a single garden battery yet, this kit makes more sense than anything else here, because the battery and charger come in the box. Ryobi pairs a brushless motor with a 30cm Oregon bar, automatic oiling, tool-less tensioning and both mechanical and electrical chain brakes, and the battery fits the wider 18V ONE+ range. The bar is shorter than the Makita's, though, so thicker trunks mean cutting from both sides, and one battery means recharge breaks.

Most 30cm saws are designed around the bar; DeWalt has designed this one around storage, with a space-saving body, an on-board wrench and an oil gauge you can read before starting. The bar is rated for wood up to 25cm across, and the listing claims up to 100 cuts per charge, which will vary with the wood. It's sold tool only, so you'll need an 18V XR battery and charger. In my shed, where the mower owns the floor, a short body is worth more than it sounds.

The overgrown hawthorn beside my compost bays is exactly the job this one is for: branches, not trunks. The UniversalChain 18 runs a 20cm bar from Bosch's 18V Power for All system, and the listing pitches it as low weight, with a stop hook for cuts from below. Its listed chain speed of 4.5 m/s is far slower than the Greenworks or the Makita, so it nibbles rather than races. The listing is inconsistent on whether a battery and charger are included, so check before ordering.

No battery saw runs all afternoon on a can of fuel, and that's still the argument for petrol. The 120 Mark II uses a 38.2cc X-Torq two-stroke rated at 1.4 kW, with low-kickback H37 chain, LowVib dampening and Air Injection to spin dust away from the filter. Husqvarna pitches it at small to medium firewood, roughly what my woodburner gets through in a winter. The trade-offs are the usual petrol ones: pull-starting, mixing fuel, noise, and 4.85 kg before fuel and oil, heavier than the Makita.

Start with the gap in the evidence: no UK roundup I read covered the GD40CS15, so this pick rests on its listing. On paper it's strong, with a brushless motor, 35cm of bar, a 12 m/s chain and an automatic oiler whose 180ml tank you can check through a window, all at 3.5kg. It comes without a battery or charger, so it only makes sense if you already own Greenworks 40V kit. My mower runs on a different 40V system, so for me it would mean another charger on the shelf.

Buy this if you want one box that covers occasional jobs: the saw, a 2.0Ah battery and a 25cm bar. Black+Decker lists it at 3.1kg with tool-free tensioning, and says one charge gives roughly 220 cuts through 3.5cm wood, enough for the after-storm tidy-ups where Scout trails behind me stealing sticks. There's no automatic oiling, so you oil the chain by hand, which is easy to forget. I couldn't find editorial backing for it either.

I'll be straight: a 25cm bar on a 20V saw is a pruning tool, and I'd only point you here for light work. The WG322E.9 does have the clever bits, with automatic tool-free chain tension, automatic oiling and a PowerShare battery that fits Worx's 20V and 40V tools. It's sold tool only, so battery and charger are extra. My allotment neighbour's plum tree, which drops a limb most autumns, is about its limit; the Bosch is the alternative at this size.

No batteries to charge and no fuel to mix: plug it in and it goes, as long as you're within reach of an outdoor socket. The GH-EC 2040 has a 2000W motor with metal gearing, a 40cm Oregon bar, a listed chain speed of about 13.5 m/s, a mechanical chain brake and tool-free tensioning. That bar is longer than the Husqvarna's. The cable is the price you pay, limiting your reach and needing to stay clear of the chain.

On the spec sheet, the CS 540 has more going for it than its low profile suggests: a 38.5cc engine rated at 1.6 kW, a listed 22.8 m/s chain speed and a magnesium engine cover, plus vibration control and a tool-less air filter cover. That's the case for it. The case against is that nobody in my research recommended it and the listing's weight figures don't agree, so I'd treat it as a cheaper alternative to the Husqvarna rather than an equal.