
Which Battery Powered Chainsaw Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 10 battery powered chainsaw options head to head. DeWalt came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.

DeWalt
Price shown in test: $440 for chainsaw, battery, and charger
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EGO
Price shown in test: $300, chainsaw, battery, and charger
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“the dwell ran circles around the competition for cutting speed and had an average finish of 2.2”
Best in 1 of 9 measurements, including Osage orange hardwood cut.
Placed top three in 2 of 9 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Weight
- 1DeWalt
transcript reads 152 lb, almost certainly a mangled decimal for 15.2 lb, the heaviest saw tested, kept verbatim per transcript with ambiguity flagged
- 2KTYU9.78 lb
the lightest saw tested
- 3Atlas12.84 lb
- 4Ryobi12.565 lb
- 5Greenworks14.56 lb
- 6Milwaukeejust over14 lb
- 7EGO13.45 lb
- 8Echo14.125 lb
- 9Husqvarna13.65 lb
- 10Stihl MS25013.635 lb
Fastest of three cuts through softwood 2x10 stack
- 1DeWalt12.49 seconds
by far the fastest saw in the lineup on this test
- 2KTYU
overheated during the first cut and needed roughly an hour to cool down before finishing; recorded times of about 61.5 seconds and 58 seconds, far slower than every other saw
- 3Atlas
attempts of 20, 22.82, and just over 24.5 seconds; stalled multiple times under heavy downward force
- 4Ryobi
attempts of about 23.5, 21.5, and 21.32 seconds, did not stall unlike the Atlas
- 5Greenworks
attempts of very close to 23, just over 24, and just over 23.5 seconds; did not stall
- 6Milwaukee
attempts of just over 21, 20.5, and just over 20.5 seconds
- 7EGO14.4 seconds
on the fastest attempt, described as over 5 seconds faster than the number two spot at that point in testing; final result after all saws tested placed it third behind DeWalt and the gasoline Stihl
- 8Echo
attempts of 21.58, just over 19, and 19.7 seconds; second place behind EGO at that point in testing
- 9Husqvarna
attempts of just over 18, just over 18, and 17.65 seconds; held second place behind EGO
- 10Stihl MS25013.93 seconds2nd
second place behind DeWalt
Osage orange hardwood cut
- 1DeWalt11.51 seconds1st
moved into first place ahead of EGO
- 2KTYUjust over1 minute 12 seconds
the slowest of all saws tested
- 3Atlasjust under29 seconds
torque faded after about 10 seconds and the saw stalled three times
- 4Ryobijust over26 seconds
survived without stalling
- 5Greenworks28 seconds
- 6Milwaukee23.3 seconds
- 7EGO16 seconds3rd
over 7 seconds faster than Milwaukee at the time, later finished third overall behind DeWalt (11.51 seconds) and the gasoline Stihl (13.77 seconds)
- 8Echo21.6 seconds2nd
moved into second place behind EGO before Husqvarna, DeWalt, and the gasoline Stihl posted faster times
- 9Husqvarna
took second place away from Echo at some point during the test but no exact seconds figure was stated in the transcript; finished outside the final top three of DeWalt, gasoline Stihl, and EGO
- 10Stihl MS25013.77 seconds2nd
second place behind DeWalt
Noise level
- 1DeWalt101.7 dB
- 2KTYU99.8 dB
the quietest saw tested
- 3Atlas110.5 dB
the loudest of the battery saws
- 4Ryobi105.4 dB
- 5Greenworks102.3 dB
- 6Milwaukee100.9 dB
- 7EGO107.4 dB
- 8Echo107.9 dB
louder than the EGO
- 9Husqvarna103.3 dB
- 10Stihl MS250114.9 dB
the loudest of all saws tested, plus two stroke exhaust smoke
Time to peak RPM
- 1DeWalt0.7 seconds
- 2KTYU2.2 seconds
- 3Atlas1.1 seconds
- 4Ryobi1.3 seconds
- 5Greenworks
very close to 1.3 seconds
- 6Milwaukee0.2 seconds
the fastest of any saw tested
- 7EGO0.7 seconds
- 8Echo1.5 seconds
- 9Husqvarna0.5 seconds
- 10Stihl MS250not tested
Downward force in lb to stall the chain
- 1DeWalt66 lb
tied for most with Greenworks
- 2KTYU29 lb
gave up earliest of all saws
- 3Atlas45 lb
good initial torque that faded on an extended run
- 4Ryobi43 lb
performed about the same as the Atlas
- 5Greenworks66 lb
tied for most of any saw with DeWalt
- 6Milwaukee65 lb
- 7EGO47 lb
- 8Echo56 lb
- 9Husqvarna61 lb
- 10Stihl MS250not tested
Runtime on full charge
- 1DeWalt6 minutes 12 seconds
drained quickly due to the powerful motor
- 2KTYU8 minutes 41 seconds
completed four and a half passes through the log
- 3Atlas5 minutes 30 seconds
completed 9.5 cuts
- 4Ryobiabout5.5 minutes
total, battery overheated around 3 minutes 45 seconds then resumed after cooling
- 5Greenworks6 minutes 20 seconds
144 watt hour battery
- 6Milwaukeearound11.5 minutes3rd
at the time it was tested, later confirmed third longest overall behind Husqvarna and Echo; 216 watt hour battery
- 7EGO10 minutes 20 seconds
224 watt hour battery
- 8Echo11 minutes 40 seconds2nd
252 watt hour battery, finished second overall in runtime at 11.67 minutes
- 9Husqvarnajust over15 minutes
the longest of any saw tested, 270 watt hour battery, the largest battery capacity in the lineup
- 10Stihl MS250not tested
Repeat cut with 5 lb weight added to bar
- 1DeWalt14.34 seconds
the fastest cutting saw on this test
- 3Atlas22.93 seconds
stalled twice during the cut
- 4Ryobi24.6 seconds
described as about 1 second slower than the Atlas though the stated numbers do not fully reconcile, kept verbatim
- 5Greenworks23.6 seconds
- 6Milwaukee24.84 seconds
needed more than 5 lb of downward force to cut most efficiently
- 7EGO17.14 seconds3rd
- 8Echo19.41 seconds
stalled once, about 2 seconds faster than its first test result
- 10Stihl MS25014.45 seconds
almost as fast as DeWalt
- 2KTYUnot tested
- 9Husqvarnanot tested
All measurements (2 more)+
No load RPM
- 2KTYU6,556 RPM
well short of the marketed 11,000 RPM claim
- 3Atlas
very close to 12,000 RPM, about twice the KTYU's chain speed
- 4Ryobi12,353 RPM
higher sprocket speed than most saws tested
- 5Greenworksaround5,500 RPM
the slowest sprocket speed of the saws tested to that point
- 6Milwaukeejust under6,200 RPM
- 7EGO10,645 RPM
- 8Echo10,582 RPM
about as much sprocket speed as the EGO
- 9Husqvarnaaround6,250 RPM
- 1DeWaltnot tested
- 10Stihl MS250not tested
No load sprocket speed
- 1DeWaltaround6,950 RPM
- 2KTYUnot tested
- 3Atlasnot tested
- 4Ryobinot tested
- 5Greenworksnot tested
- 6Milwaukeenot tested
- 7EGOnot tested
- 8Echonot tested
- 9Husqvarnanot tested
- 10Stihl MS250not tested
How it was tested
- time to reach peak RPM from a stopped start
- no load sprocket / chain speed in RPM
- fastest of three attempts cutting through a stacked 12 board 2x10 softwood log
- repeat cut through softwood with a fixed 5 lb weight placed on the bar for consistent downward force
- cut through an Osage orange hardwood log with a Janka hardness score of about 2,500
- downward force in pounds required to stall the chain with a 10 lb weight on the log
- runtime on a fully charged battery until drained
- noise level in decibels
- weight of the saw
“the dwell ran circles around the competition for cutting speed and had an average finish of 2.2”


