Yard Tools
Best mini chainsaw
Both publish cuts per charge. Only one says what it was cutting, which is the difference between a specification and a slogan.
Affiliate disclosure: we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we rank first — here is how we're funded.
We have not tested these units. Every spec on this page comes from the manufacturer's own documentation and is linked to it. Every computed figure is arithmetic you can redo. Prices are checked daily — last verified January 1, 1970. Here is exactly how we pick.
Quick picks
Ranked on the published specs and the arithmetic below. Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. We have not tested these units -- here is exactly how we pick.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No photo Milwaukee M12 FUEL HATCHET 6" Pruning Saw (2527-20) The only mini saw here that says what its cuts-per-charge figure was measured on: 120 cuts in 2 in oak. | Best documented claim | 8.6 | |
| 2 | No photo RYOBI 18V ONE+ HP Brushless 8" Pruning Mini Chainsaw (PSBCW01K) Eight inches of bar, a 6 in cut capacity and 65+ cuts from a 2.0Ah pack, with no bar oil to spill in the car. | Best cuts per charge | 8.4 | |
| 3 | No photo EGO Power+ 18" Chain Saw CS1804 300 published cuts through a 4x4 on one 280Wh pack, on an 18 in bar -- a work figure rather than a runtime figure. | Best overall | 8.8 |
#ad Buy links are affiliate links. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say "check price" rather than print a stale one.
Mini chainsaws are the fastest-growing category in yard tools and the worst documented. Nearly all of them advertise cuts per charge; almost none say what they were cutting. Two here publish enough to compare, and one of them names its reference log.
The short answer
Cuts per charge, converted to energy
Cuts per charge is meaningless across brands until you divide it into the watt-hours the pack holds.
The two mini saws, and the full-size comparison
| Spec | Milwaukee M12 HATCHET | RYOBI 18V ONE+ HP 8" | EGO CS1804 (full size) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar | 6 in | 8 in | 18 in |
| Cut capacity | 3 in hardwood | 6 in | Not published as a capacity |
| Cuts per charge | Up to 120 in 2 in oak (4.0Ah) | Over 65 (2.0Ah), wood not stated | Up to 300 cuts on a 4x4 (5.0Ah) |
| Energy per cut | 0.40Wh | 0.55Wh | Not comparable -- different reference |
| Oiling | Automatic oiler | Oil-free | Not published here |
| Chain | Full house chain | Pitch and gauge not published | 3/8 in pitch, 0.050 in gauge, 62 drive links |
| Weight | Under 5 lb | Not published | 14.5 lb with battery |
| Battery | M12, sold separately | 18V 2.0Ah included | 56V 5.0Ah |
| Warranty | 3 years | Not published on the page | 5-yr tool / 3-yr battery |
Transcribed from the Milwaukee 2527-20, RYOBI 8" pruning saw and EGO CS1804 product pages. Energy-per-cut figures are our arithmetic.
1. Milwaukee M12 FUEL HATCHET — the checkable claim
A 6 inch bar, 3 inch hardwood capacity, a full house chain, an automatic oiler, metal bucking spikes, a tool-free tensioner, under 5 lb and a 3-year warranty. And, uniquely here, a cuts-per-charge figure attached to a named reference: 2 inch oak.
The automatic oiler is the second reason it leads. Oil-free saws trade chain life for convenience; a real oiler and a full house chain is the configuration that lasts, and Milwaukee is the only one here specifying the chain type at all.
The costs: the smallest reach on this page, a battery sold separately, and M12 is a compact platform most yard owners do not already have.
#ad Check the Milwaukee M12 FUEL HATCHET 6" Pruning Saw (2527-20) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
2. RYOBI 18V ONE+ HP 8" — more reach, on a platform you may own
Eight inches of bar and a 6 inch cut capacity is twice the Milwaukee's hardwood rating, on a brushless motor with chain and handle guards, a 2.0Ah pack included, and an oil-free design that means it can live in a car without leaking.
Ryobi 18V ONE+ is the largest cordless platform in this registry, so for most households this is the saw that needs no new battery.
The gaps are real: no published weight, no chain pitch or gauge (so replacement chains mean digging through the manual), no warranty term on the page, and a cuts-per-charge claim with no stated wood.
#ad Check the RYOBI 18V ONE+ HP Brushless 8" Pruning Mini Chainsaw (PSBCW01K) price on Amazon — how we're funded.
3. EGO CS1804 — when the limb is actually a trunk
Eighteen inches of bar, a published chain specification (3/8 in pitch, 0.050 in gauge, 62 drive links), 11,000 RPM and up to 300 cuts on a 4x4 from a 56V 5.0Ah pack, at 14.5 lb with the battery.
It is here as the boundary. A mini saw is a pruning tool; past about 6 inches of wood you want a bar that is longer than the cut, and the full-size roundup is in best cordless chainsaws.
#ad Check the EGO Power+ 18" Chain Saw CS1804 price on Amazon — how we're funded.
A small bar is still a chainsaw
The CDC's chain saw guidance does not scale with bar length: hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, heavy gloves, cut-resistant chaps from waist to top of foot, and boots covering the ankle. One-handed operation — which mini saws invite — is how kickback finds a forearm. Our chainsaw safety guide has the full list.
What we cannot tell you
We have not cut with these saws. RYOBI publishes no weight, no chain pitch or gauge, no warranty term and no reference wood for its cuts-per-charge claim. Milwaukee publishes no chain pitch either. Neither publishes a chain life figure, which is the open question for any oil-free design, and neither publishes a kickback rating — nobody in this category does.
The picks in full
Specs are the manufacturer's own and linked to the page they came from. Prices come from a live daily check; where we have no verified price we say so rather than print a stale one.
Milwaukee M12 FUEL HATCHET 6" Pruning Saw (2527-20)
Milwaukee · Milwaukee M12 · Our score 8.6/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
The only mini saw here that says what its cuts-per-charge figure was measured on: 120 cuts in 2 in oak.
Published specs
| Bar | 6 in |
|---|---|
| Cut capacity | 3 in hardwoods |
| Cuts per charge | Up to 120 in 2 in oak, on an M12 XC 4.0Ah pack |
| Chain | Full house chain |
| Oiler | Automatic |
| Motor | POWERSTATE brushless |
| Weight | Under 5 lb |
| Extras | Metal bucking spikes, tool-free chain tensioner, onboard scrench storage |
| Warranty | 3 years |
| Battery | Sold separately (M12 REDLITHIUM XC 4.0Ah assumed) |
Source: M12 FUEL HATCHET 6" Pruning Saw (2527-20), milwaukeetool.com
12V x 4.0Ah = 48 watt-hours, and Milwaukee publishes up to 120 cuts per charge in 2 inch oak: 48 / 120 = 0.40Wh per cut. This is the only figure of its kind in our registry that names the wood and the diameter, which is what makes it worth quoting at all -- a cuts-per-charge number without a reference log is a marketing figure, not a specification.
What the numbers favor
- States the reference log for its cuts-per-charge claim -- nobody else here does
- Automatic oiler and a real full house chain rather than an oil-free compromise
- Under 5 lb with a published weight
- 3-year warranty, the longest in the mini class
- Bucking spikes and a tool-free tensioner
What they don't
- 6 in bar and 3 in capacity -- the smallest reach here
- Battery sold separately, and M12 is a compact platform most yard owners do not already own
- An automatic oiler means bar oil, which means it cannot ride loose in a car
you are not already on M12. Buying into a compact tool platform for one pruning saw is an expensive way to cut a branch.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
RYOBI 18V ONE+ HP Brushless 8" Pruning Mini Chainsaw (PSBCW01K)
RYOBI · Ryobi 18V ONE+ · Our score 8.4/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
Eight inches of bar, a 6 in cut capacity and 65+ cuts from a 2.0Ah pack, with no bar oil to spill in the car.
Published specs
| Bar | 8 in |
|---|---|
| Cut capacity | 6 in |
| Oiling | Oil-free design |
| Motor | Brushless, 18V ONE+ HP |
| Battery | 18V 2.0Ah included (36Wh) |
| Cuts per charge | Over 65 with the 2.0Ah pack |
| Guards | Chain and handle guards |
| Weight | Not published |
| Chain pitch and gauge | Not published |
Source: 18V ONE+ HP Brushless 8" Pruning Mini Chainsaw, ryobitools.com
18V x 2.0Ah = 36 watt-hours. RYOBI publishes over 65 cuts per charge, so 36 / 65 = 0.55Wh per cut at most. The Milwaukee hatchet works out to 0.40Wh per cut on its own published figures, but it is cutting a different reference log -- RYOBI does not state what it cut, which is exactly the caveat that keeps these two numbers from being a ranking.
What the numbers favor
- 8 in bar and a 6 in cut capacity, the largest in the mini class we hold
- Oil-free, so it travels in a truck bed or a car without leaking
- Publishes cuts per charge against a stated battery size
- Runs on the 18V ONE+ platform, which is the largest cordless tool platform in this registry
What they don't
- No published weight, chain pitch or gauge, so replacement chains mean reading the manual
- Does not state what wood or diameter the 65-cut claim was measured on
- Oil-free designs trade chain life for convenience; RYOBI publishes no chain life figure
- No published warranty term on the product page
you are felling rather than pruning. A 6 in cut capacity is a limb tool -- see our full-size chainsaw roundup.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
EGO Power+ 18" Chain Saw CS1804
EGO · EGO 56V ARC Lithium · Our score 8.8/10
#ad No verified live price right now, so we show none rather than a stale one. How we're funded.
300 published cuts through a 4x4 on one 280Wh pack, on an 18 in bar -- a work figure rather than a runtime figure.
Published specs
| Bar length | 18 in |
|---|---|
| Chain | 3/8 in pitch, 0.050 in gauge, 62 drive links |
| Motor speed | 11,000 RPM |
| Cuts per charge | Up to 300 cuts on a 4x4 (5.0Ah) |
| Battery (kit) | 56V 5.0Ah |
| Weight | 14.5 lb with battery |
Source: 18" Cordless Chain Saw (CS1804), egopowerplus.com
280Wh (56V x 5.0Ah) over 300 published cuts = about 0.93Wh per cut. A useful way to size a pack: 100 cuts of firewood needs roughly 93Wh, so a 2.5Ah pack covers it with margin.
What the numbers favor
- Publishes work done (300 cuts on a stated material) rather than a vague runtime
- Standard 3/8 in pitch, 0.050 in gauge chain -- replacements are commodity items
- 18 in bar on a consumer cordless saw
- Runs on the same 56V packs as the mower, blower and trimmer
What they don't
- 14.5 lb with the battery fitted is heavy for extended overhead work
- The 300-cut figure is on a 4x4; hardwood rounds will be a fraction of it
your cutting is limbs under 6 in. An 18 in bar is more saw than that needs, and a 10 in pole saw keeps you off the ladder.
How it scores
Scores are our editorial weighting of the published specs above, not a test result. They are deliberately kept out of this page's structured data.
Where to buy the tools on this page
Every link below is an Amazon affiliate link. We show no price we have not verified today, so where there is no live figure the link says "check price" and takes you to the listing to read it there.
Best documented claim
Milwaukee M12 FUEL HATCHET 6" Pruning Saw (2527-20)
Milwaukee · Milwaukee M12
Best cuts per charge
RYOBI 18V ONE+ HP Brushless 8" Pruning Mini Chainsaw (PSBCW01K)
RYOBI · Ryobi 18V ONE+
Best overall
EGO Power+ 18" Chain Saw CS1804
EGO · EGO 56V ARC Lithium
#ad As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. How we're funded.
Common questions
What is the best mini chainsaw?
What can a mini chainsaw actually cut?
Are oil-free mini chainsaws any good?
How many cuts can a mini chainsaw make per charge?
Is a mini chainsaw safer than a full-size one?
Sources
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