The Best Chainsaws of 2022

The Husqvarna 135 is our best all around chainsaw of 2020 because it’s a well-balanced chainsaw with few vibrations and a lot of power. It’s best suited to homeowners with both small and large trees to maintain. The bar is quite long, but despite this, the chainsaw can chew through most things without struggling. The chainsaw is sharp, and the machine is well built.

The disadvantage of the Husqvarna 135 is that it’s really reluctant to start. Many competitors include nice innovations to reduce the resistance, which means that despite being powerful machines they’re easy to start. This chainsaw requires a lot of force from your arms to get it going. At the same time, there’s no good way of positioning your body while you start it. For example, you want to put a knee against the housing to provide resistance, but there’s a bump from the spark plug in the way. What does work is putting one foot in the grip and pulling. But we think the entire starting procedure is a bit old-fashioned and fiddly.

But from another viewpoint, it’s easy to get going; it only needs 1-3 pulls before it starts up from cold. So, if you can find a good technique and you’re strong enough, this isn’t a problem.

Easy to clean and adjust

Once you've got the Husqvarna 135 going it's user-friendly. For such a workhorse you’re never negatively affected by vibrations while you use it. The saw is also well-balanced. So despite having a heavy machine weight, it’s not too taxing when in use.

The chainsaw’s grips aren’t rubberised, but that isn’t a problem because it sits very well in your hands.

The chain catcher has clear positions and reacts well. The chainsaw is also easy to maintain. The included tool makes it simple to open and access the petrol cap, oil, housing and chain tensioner. We aren’t convinced by the hard plastic snap fasteners on the housing and would have preferred to see a more substantial solution, as these reduce the build quality a little. But in general, the chainsaw feels like a well-built power tool.

All of the markings and sightlines are clearly indicated. Overall, this is a fast and quite easy to use chainsaw, with a bar length and performance that makes it ideal for homeowners with moderate amounts of woodland. Whether you need it for cutting trees or smaller maintenance jobs, this is one of the better choices among the lighter petrol chainsaws.

Husqvarna 545 Mark II is a powerful chainsaw for those of you with slightly larger wooded plots. It’s quick and easy to start. Its great advantage is how powerful it is – the engine has great traction.

The chainsaw has classic snap-on lids for oil and petrol. They are flexible as they are tool-free, and are easy to open even when wearing gloves.

As with many Husqvarna garden machines, filters and other maintenance parts are easily accessible. This requires the classic key you have for the chain; however, this chainsaw's the target group probably already knows that it should be included, as it is so standard here.

For those with high demands

The chainsaw makes a lot of noise when sawing. But it has a nice grip and, despite it high performance, it does not vibrate too much.

If we’re going to be picky, the string is a sluggish when starting up the saw, but it’s also one of the few negative things we noticed.

Husqvarna 545 Mark II is suitable for those of you looking for a reliable chainsaw, but who are not a mainstream professional user, but rather a homeowner with high demands and a wooded plot. It has great traction, and at the same time as it gives you good ergonomics and easy maintenance.

The Stihl MS 211 C-BE is a chainsaw that can cope with a wide range of tasks while simultaneously being easy to start and maintain. Stihl boast a function called Easy2Start, which consists of a spiral spring that stores energy. In practice, this means you don't have to pull too hard or fast for it to get going. A simple tug gets you underway. The function works well and is one of the biggest advantages with this chainsaw. Another advantage is how easy it is to clean it. You simply pull out a button and rotate it. Nor does the chainsaw have any problems continuing to chew through trees and branches even if it's got a bit dirty.

The MS 211 C-BE is ideal as an all-round saw. It can fell smaller to medium-sized trees. It's fairly average in terms of fuel consumption, performing in roughly the same class as its competitors, which in practice means that you can fell a couple of trees and debranch them on one tank of fuel. It's also suitable for cross-cutting or limbing trees, even if a light battery chainsaw is really the best tool for limbing. We found a few negative points. The chain is sluggish to tension and the knob could have been softer. And the “On” button is small and well-integrated into the machine. We do feel however that this could have been made more visible. On the whole, the MS 211 C-BE is a good all-round chainsaw for the average user who wants to fell, debranch and cut smaller to medium-sized trees. The chain is also of a durable hard metal variety.

The Stihl MSA200C is one of the market’s best battery chainsaws, thanks to a combination of neat cuts, power, ease of use and a solid battery life. It has a clear battery indicator, rubberised grip, is clearly well built and produces few vibrations to enhance user comfort. The chain is thin and really flexible. It produces very good cuts, which means that this chainsaw is ideal for finer work. At the same time, the thin chain means that you need a special file to sharpen it.

Despite the fact that the chain is so thin, the chainsaw can cope with both felling and cutting up a medium sized birch tree without protesting.

Maintenance largely straightforward

Maintaining the MSA200C is simple. You top up the oil through a cap that you fold out of the way. The battery is spring loaded so it's easy to remove and replace. Cleaning is easy because there’s a little handle type device that you turn to undo it.

The only disadvantage is the chain tensioner. There’s nothing actually wrong with the construction – a wheel that you tighten – because it works well. The problem is that the wheel is extremely sluggish. And if it happens to be splashed with oil that’s had time to harden, the problem only gets worse.

The MSA200C uses a lot of oil. The advantage is of course that it's constantly well lubricated. The disadvantage is that it becomes a bit more expensive to operate. It takes almost an entire tank of oil each time if you run it from a full fuel tank to empty. But the oil tank isn’t very big, and as we mentioned earlier it’s easy to top up.

Performance

The included battery has a high capacity and the battery life under load is good. There are competitors that perform to a similar level without a load, but with a load their working time is drastically reduced. Meanwhile, the MSA200C's battery can cope with a lot of heavier work, and we measured a battery life of 3.2 minutes per Ah during our test.

The downside of the high battery capacity is that the battery is very heavy and significantly increases the machine weight. Simultaneously, the advantages of having a battery chainsaw that can cope with felling and cutting up a smaller tree, cut timber and prune trees become clear after a couple of months’ use.

The Stihl MSA200C is therefore most suitable for arborists and people owning larger areas of woodland looking for a versatile chainsaw that can cope with both finer and heavier tasks, such as for cutting trees.

The Husqvarna 135 Mark II is a well-balanced, low vibration chainsaw. It’s suitable for working small trees that need to be felled and cut up. The chain is sharp and the machine is well built.

One disadvantage of the Husqvarna 135 is that it’s very tough to start. Many competitors offer reduced resistance, which means that – despite being more powerful machines – they’re easier to start. This chainsaw requires a lot of elbow grease to get it going. We also feel that the entire starting procedure is a bit old-fashioned and fiddly.

At the same time, it’s easy to start to the extent that it only takes 1-3 pulls to get it started from cold. So if you can find a good technique and you’re strong enough, none of this should be a problem.

Easy to clean and adjust

Once you do get it started, the Husqvarna 135 Mark II is user-friendly. The chainsaw is very well insulated against vibration and you are never negatively affected during use. The saw is also well-balanced. So despite a fairly hefty machine weight, it is easy to use.

The chainsaw’s grips aren’t rubberised, but that isn’t a problem because it sits very well in your hands.

The chain catcher has clear positions and reacts very well. Furthermore, the chainsaw is also easy to maintain. The included tool makes it easy to open and access the fuel cap, oil cap, housing and chain tensioner.

We aren’t convinced by the hard plastic snap fasteners on the housing and would have preferred to see a more sustainable solution, as these reduce the build quality a little even though they’re not bad in terms of user-friendliness. As a whole this chainsaw feels very well built. All markings and lines of sight are clear.

Overall, this is a fast and fairly easy-to-use chainsaw, with power and a bar length ideal for smaller trees in a garden. It’s one of the better choices among the lighter petrol chainsaws. It’s fine for cutting smaller trees, but won’t be very efficient if you have a lot of work to do or larger trees to cut. But if you’re only going to fell small trees and cut them up, it’s definitely sufficient.

The Husqvarna 120i is a long chainsaw in terms of motor and bar, particularly with the battery on, which Husqvarna have placed at the back. But it’s still well balanced, so this is only a disadvantage in terms of size. At the same time, the saw is quite heavy, which also adds to the impression that this is a large chainsaw.

Unfortunately, it isn’t impressive in terms of power. It copes with exactly what you'd expect from a chainsaw with this motor capacity, but no more. For example, when we try to cut up a smaller birch tree, it switches off and flashes red. Then we have to wait for a while before it will start again.

The chainsaw in use

In terms of maintenance, this is a good chainsaw. It’s easy to tighten the chain, even if the knob could have been a bit bigger. It’s fast and straightforward to top up the oil as there’s a useful lid, and it's easy to remove the housing to clean the machine. The fact that it's so quiet is also making us nod in appreciation.

The chainsaw has a number of safety features. We like the fact that you can switch it off with a separate button, and that the chain brake has such distinct positions.

The balance in the saw is perfect despite its rather narrow design, and it does have very good vibration reduction. However, the plastic handles are lacking rubberised grips.

Battery life

The battery life on the cordless Husqvarna 120i is good under load, and it also has an eco-mode that adds a few minutes. Its 3.75 min/Ah makes it the best in its class just now, but that’s assuming you don’t load it too hard.

The battery system gives us a few problems. For example, we can use the chainsaw’s battery in a Husqvarna hedge trimmer with the same voltage, but the hedge trimmer’s battery doesn’t fit the chainsaw. Hopefully, Husqvarna will refresh their range in the future so that it's always possible to share batteries between machines in the same voltage class.

The Husqvarna 120i is a good chainsaw, but primarily for simpler tasks. It’s best suited for those looking to cut up trees or timber.

The Stihl MS 170 is a user-friendly and easy-to-start petrol chainsaw for light to medium sawing tasks. It’s simple to maintain and has a compact design. Access for cleaning is also straightforward. You open the motor cover by rotating one part 90 degrees with a screwdriver or similar tool.

This means it's firmly attached but there are no small parts that can break when you open it. We think other manufacturers should adopt this solution too. The spark plug, filter and so on are then easily accessible inside the cover.

We also like the distinct chain catcher and the built-in stop/start/choke that you can reach easily with your thumb. It makes the entire chainsaw effortless to use. However, the chain tensioner could have had a more modern design. It’s easy to tension but awkwardly positioned because the screws aren't next to each other. The chainsaw produces a vibration – not so much that it’s really bothersome, but given that the MS 170 isn’t hugely powerful these vibrations are still a bit excessive.

Nor is it all that fast. It takes a while for the chainsaw to get up to speed, and even when it’s running on full power, it's not enormously strong given the price tag. However, the MS 170 is a wonder at efficiently felling and cutting up small trees.

Its strength lies in the small user-friendly format and the fact that it's easy to start. You don't need to use too much force, which makes it even more user-friendly.

Narrow target group

However, the target group for this chainsaw is hard to define. In this segment, battery chainsaws are doing pretty well these days because they're a lot more powerful and have enough battery life to cut up timber and so on without struggling. They can even cope with felling small to medium trees and cutting them up.

This means that the Stihl MS 170 is only really interesting if for some reason you're looking for a petrol chainsaw rather than a battery one for small to medium tasks. For example, if you're going to cut up lots of small trees and need to do it in one go without changing batteries.

The Husqvarna 440 E-series X-Torq delivers both power and a high level of safety. It's ideal for beginners because it's well balanced and has double kickback protection. The chainsaw sits comfortably in the hand and produces very little vibration. It's easy to clean and seamless to top up with oil and petrol. However, we find the snap fasteners on the cylinder housing a little fiddly. They tend to wear and break over time. And we feel that the price of replacements is excessive. On a chainsaw in this price class, we expect top quality in all aspects. Another thing that impairs the overall impression of the 440 E-series is the cold start. It's easy to start in that you don't have to pull more than two or three times. But it's quite heavy to pull and you need a good deal of force. It can also take a while before it gets up to speed. This isn't a major problem overall, but it gives the impression that it could have been more lively.

Once going, the 440 E-series is a chainsaw with a great deal of cutting power. The chain is quite broad, and this together with the power means that you can fell both small and larger trees without any problems. However, it tends to jump quite a lot when we saw through harder woods. Otherwise it works evenly. We like the fact that you can choose a shorter bar when limbing felled trees. However, when you buy the chainsaw, it only includes one bar, so you have to pay more if you want to add others. We also like the carefully considered positioning and design of the stop button. The button is in a protected yet easily accessible place, and its red colour makes it clearly visible. This means you don't have any problems reaching it with your thumb. At the same time, you won't hit the button by mistake, for example if something falls against it. Our overall experience is that the 440 E-series is a good chainsaw for individuals who regularly saw trees of varying sizes; people looking for both high levels of safety and a user-friendly chainsaw will be happy with this machine.

The Bosch AKE 30 Li is a battery-powered chainsaw suitable for smaller tasks, such as clearing small trees and cross-cutting smaller trunks. The chainsaw can be purchased with or without a battery. If you purchase a package with a battery included, this does last for quite a long time, but there are more economical batteries on the market. The chainsaw makes a helpful beeping noise when the power is switched on, which means that you don't have to check whether or not the “On” button is illuminated. However, the start button is very small and impractically positioned. It's easy to remove and replace the battery. Unfortunately, the build quality leaves a good deal to be desired and the AKE 30 Li has to be fixed quite often. This means that potential repair costs could be quite high in the long run. The chain pops off quite easily when it's exposed to tougher tasks. And when it's faced with a large heap of brushwood - which means a lot of jerking in the chain - it throws the chain pretty much straight away. The AKE 30 Li is most suited to larger hands. This is partly because the throttle control and the safety throttle are rather far apart, and partly because the kickback protection is narrow and the distance to the front handle is relatively large. The work of sawing would have been made easier if the chainsaw was better balanced. If you hold it in the centre of the front handle, the saw feels unbalanced and hard to control. The AKE 30 Li does have some strengths, but given the price we'd have expected stellar quality.

The Ryobi OCS1830 is a user-friendly chainsaw that's neat in terms of its size. It has a light and relatively narrow in design. The safety button for starting it is on top so you can reach it regardless of whether you're right or left-handed. The rubberised grip gives you good control of the chainsaw despite a lot of vibrations generated.

The chainsaw has reasonable build quality for the price tag – even if it can feel a little plasticky. There’s a bit of a gap in the attachment between the bar and the machine.

The chain tensioning on the OCS1830 is really good. The chainsaw has a knob on the outside and a cover with two pegs on, one to tighten the chain with and the other to release it. This is easy, either with or without gloves. It’s also easy to undo the housing for cleaning.

The chain catcher has distinct positions and the oil cap is quite high up, which makes it easy to fill up.

Clever battery sharing

The battery is well positioned and easy to insert or remove. However, the battery indicator is underneath so you can’t see it while you’re using the chainsaw.

One major advantage of the OCS1830 is that it’s a member of the One+ family, which means you can share batteries with other 18-volt tools from Ryobi. The disadvantage with this is how it performs under load.

Unloaded it lasts for quite a long time. But as soon as we face the OCS1830 with even simple tasks, the operating time drops to just less than a minute per ampere hour. This means you can run it for about five minutes with a 5Ah battery. If you're only going to chop up a very small tree or a little heap of wood, this is perhaps enough. But given the price, this seems really stingy.

It also got stuck a lot when we were cutting up trees. But the motor is quite strong so you’re quickly up and running again.

Overall, the OCS1830 is best suited to individuals who want a chainsaw for very simple tasks. For example, it's neat and sufficiently powerful to demolish a wall indoors, or for lighter tree lopping. But this isn’t a chainsaw you’d take with you out into the forest, either for felling or limbing.

Bosch Universal Chain 18 is a cordless chainsaw designed for pruning trees and cutting firewood. So perhaps we should say that it is more of a battery-powered pruning saw than a traditional chainsaw.

Unfortunately, it is quite sluggish considering its target group. Over time, it detangles slightly larger branches, but it’s too slow. It is also time-inefficient if you use it to cut firewood. Above all, it is suitable for pruning thinner branches on fairly open bushes and trees.

Too easy to start

Unfortunately, it also has a low level of safety. It is all too easy to start with one hand, as the lock and throttle are placed very close to each other – even for a child. The kickback guard is not active (it is locked in a single position).

Instead of the traditional kickback guard, there is a metal guard at the front of the blade that also provides better control when pruning – you apply it to the branch to get a straight cut. The blade itself is only open about 14 centimeters. The metal piece also acts as a passive kickback guard, but it does not turn off the chain – this (in our opinion) reduces the level of safety.

The chain is very short, so keep this in mind when planning what kind of bushes to cut with this chainsaw.

Bosch Universal Chain 18 is suitable for those of you who have other tools from the Bosch green range, and who find lopping shears physically demanding. If you find an area of application for it, it does its job, albeit quite slowly for tasks that are not simple.

Ryobi Ry36Csx40B is a fairly loud and coarse chainsaw that gives the impression of being able to handle a lot. But in practice it is mostly sufficient for felling small trees and cutting some firewood.

When it actually works – which only happens when it is reasonably warm outside – it can handle trees with a diameter of up to 15 cm, but without being particularly time-efficient. It is more reasonable to use this chainsaw to prune trees or cut firewood.

Performance that lacks some desired elements

The handle is rubberised and has quite a coarse design. The safety lock works for both right and left-handed users. The kickback guard is OK. There is a high level of resistance, and it does not give you a direct sense of finesse, but it still works well. However, our positive impressions end here.

Ry36Csx40B has several problems, but above all two major ones. On the one hand, it is a little slower when lubricating the blade, which could damage it over time. The chainsaw does not work in cold weather. You need to have a warm saw with a warm battery, because when it’s cold outside it stops working right in the middle of the tree.

Ryobi Ry36Csx40B has a couple of nice details, but the performance is not sufficient for sawing during the winter or late autumn/early spring. Many people choose to fell during these seasons, so in principle this chainsaw is unusable when it is needed most.

GreenWorks GD24X2CS36 is a sturdy chainsaw. It’s big and makes a lot of noise. The price indicates that it's a budget chainsaw, and it is. But its appearance is more reminiscent of a larger model with plenty of power.

Heavy piece with insufficient battery life Unfortunately, the battery life reduces the rating. Despite double 2Ah batteries (it won't start if you don't have two) the battery life is a mere 8 minutes and 22 seconds. That’s not enough. Although the double batteries don't seem to add battery life, they do add a lot of weight. This is a heavy machine. Without a battery, the chainsaw weighs just over four kilos. With our test batteries, you have to add another kilo, so it becomes the same weight that many high-performance fuel chainsaws have. If you want to maximise the chainsaw with larger batteries, such as double 4 Ah, you'll get a weight of 5.5 kg.

However, the GD24X2CS36 worked well once we started sawing. You can easily cut a log or fell a tree. But after felling the tree, the battery is flat and the chain is loose. There is also a risk that the chain jumps while you are in the middle of sawing a tree. It did this, even if we only held the throttle and let the blade rotate. After a short while, there was an arc a few centimetres above the blade. Nor is there a built-in tool that you can remove and tighten it with. Rather, you need to keep your toolbox with you in order to unscrew and tighten the chain.

GreenWorks GD24X2CS36 is suitable for those of you who are big and strong, and already have a bunch of machines in Greenworks’ 24 volt segment and thus have plenty of batteries. Then you will get a powerful chainsaw, and you can replace the battery if it dies in the middle of sawing. However, you will need to tighten the chain over and over again.