Which Cordless Reciprocating Saw Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 9 cordless reciprocating saw 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: $179 (tool only, no battery/charger)
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Ryobi
Price shown in test: $84 (tool only, no battery/charger)
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“It definitely seems like the DeWalt won the showdown. However, the Makita, as well as the Milwaukee, weren't that far behind. I'm also very impressed with the Ryobi, especially for a budget tool. It definitely seems like a good option.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Nail-embedded 4x4 cut (3 passes)
- 1DeWalt7.0s
7.1s, 7.3s, the fastest of all units, moved into the lead
- 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless)8.6s
8.3s, 7.5s, average about 8.1s per the closing recap, did not beat the DeWalt
- 3Makita brushless, two-speed7.9s
8.65s, 8.8s, average about 8.5s per the closing recap, did not beat the DeWalt
- 4Ryobi12.4s
11.8s, 11.8s, briefly took the lead from the Bauer before being overtaken by the Makita/DeWalt/Milwaukee
- 5Makita brushed9.2s
11.2s, 10.5s, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the DeWalt
- 6Bauer12.2s
12.1s, 11.9s, very consistent results, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the Ryobi
- 7Hart22s
20s, 21.1s, did not beat the Heimerdinger's time
- 8Heimerdinger brushed, Makita-battery-compatible knockoff14.9s
23.5s, 28.3s, progressively slower each pass, described as running hot and beginning to smell hot
- 9Milwaukee corded (bonus reference unit, not part of the official 8 tested tools)7.4s2nd
7.3s, 7.4s, second place behind the DeWalt
1in steel pipe cut (3 passes)
- 1DeWalt4.55s
5.4s, 5.57s, by far the fastest of all units
- 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless)5.77s
5.77s, 5.1s, within less than half a second of the DeWalt and brushless Makita per the closing recap
- 3Makita brushless, two-speed5.16s
5.42s, 5.87s, within less than half a second of the DeWalt and Milwaukee cordless per the closing recap
- 4Ryobi8.0s
8.6s, 8.9s, average 8.5s per the closing recap, briefly took the lead before being overtaken
- 5Makita brushed9.7s
9.1s, 9.7s, described as very consistent but not fast enough to beat the Ryobi
- 6Bauer8.3s
10.4s, 10.9s, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the Ryobi
- 7Hart14.2s
19.1s, 19.7s, described as struggling with blade speed, did not beat the Heimerdinger
- 8Heimerdinger brushed, Makita-battery-compatible knockoff12.1s
14.7s, 13.9s, held the early lead before being overtaken by the Bauer
- 9Milwaukee corded (bonus reference unit, not part of the official 8 tested tools)6.49s
7.1s, 6.54s, average 6.7s per the closing recap, fourth position
1/2in x 3in mild steel cut (single pass)
- 1DeWalt25.7 seconds
the fastest of all units, took the lead from the Ryobi
- 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless)30.4 seconds
did not beat the DeWalt
- 3Makita brushless, two-speed41.4 seconds
did not beat the DeWalt or Milwaukee
- 4Ryobi42.9 seconds
briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the DeWalt
- 5Makita brushed59.9 seconds
cuts smoothly per the narrator but lacks blade speed compared to faster brands
- 6Bauer61.6 seconds
described as vibrating noticeably more than the other brands
- 7Hart48.2 seconds
did quite a bit better than the Heimerdinger
- 8Heimerdinger brushed, Makita-battery-compatible knockoff95 seconds
the slowest of any unit tested, described as really struggling
- 9Milwaukee corded (bonus reference unit, not part of the official 8 tested tools)27.6 seconds2nd
second place behind the DeWalt, nearly as fast
Specs
- 1DeWalt
brushless motor, 0 to 3,000 SPM claimed, 1 and 1/8 in stroke length, 3-year warranty, made in China, weighs 9.2 lb/4.2 kg (heaviest of the 8 official units), 17.75 in long, 90 dB
- 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless)12nd
and 1/8 in stroke length, 3,000 SPM claimed, made in China, 5-year warranty (the longest of any brand), weighs 9 lb/4.1 kg, about 18 in long, 97 dB (second loudest)
- 3Makita brushless, two-speed
two-speed motor, up to 2,300 SPM on low and up to 3,000 SPM on high, 1 and 1/4 in stroke length, 3-year warranty, made in China, weighs 8.6 lb/3.9 kg, 17 in long (about 2 in shorter than the brushed Makita), 90 dB
- 4Ryobi
brushless motor, 7/8 in stroke length, 3,300 SPM claimed, made in China, weighs 5.8 lb/2.6 kg, 16.25 in long, 86 dB (the quietest of all 8 units)
- 5Makita brushedup to2,800 SPM2nd
claimed, 1 and 1/4 in stroke length, 3-year warranty, made in China, weighs 8.4 lb/3.7 kg (heaviest at that point in the video), 19 in long (longest at that point), 87 dB (second quietest)
- 6Bauer
brushed motor, 3,000 SPM claimed with a '25% faster cuts' marketing claim, 1 and 1/8 in stroke length, variable speed trigger with lock-on, made in China, weighs 7.8 lb/3.5 kg, 17.75 in long, 98 dB (the loudest of all 8 units), tested with a 3 amp-hour battery since Bauer does not make a 4 amp-hour battery (every other brand was tested with 4 amp-hour)
- 7Hart20V
system, brushed motor, variable speed trigger, 0 to 3,000 SPM claimed, 7/8 in stroke length, 3-year limited warranty, made in China, weighs 5 lb/2.3 kg (tied with the Heimerdinger for lightest), 16.5 in long, 90 dB
- 8Heimerdinger brushed, Makita-battery-compatible knockoff
brushed motor, no variable speed trigger (on/off only), 0 to 3,000 SPM claimed, made in China, weighs 5 lb/2.3 kg (tied with the Hart for lightest), 15.5 in long, 91 dB
- 9Milwaukee corded (bonus reference unit, not part of the official 8 tested tools)not tested
Measured SPM vs claim
- 1DeWalt
measured a little over its 3,000 SPM rating (exact figure not stated)
- 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless)
measured a little over its 3,000 SPM rating (exact figure not stated), same as the DeWalt
- 3Makita brushless, two-speed2,775 SPM
measured (225 short of its 3,000 SPM rating)
- 4Ryobi3,375 SPM
measured, better than its 3,300 SPM rating
- 5Makita brushed2,550 SPM
measured, 250 short of its 2,800 SPM rating, the slowest measured SPM of any brand
- 6Bauer2,925 SPM
measured, 75 short of its 3,000 SPM rating, the same figure as the Hart
- 7Hart2,925 SPM
measured, 75 short of its 3,000 SPM rating, the same figure as the Bauer
- 8Heimerdinger brushed, Makita-battery-compatible knockoff2,860 SPM
measured, 140 short of its 3,000 SPM rating
- 9Milwaukee corded (bonus reference unit, not part of the official 8 tested tools)not tested
How it was tested
- cutting speed through a nail-embedded 4x4 using a Milwaukee AX blade with 10 lb of added downward force, 3 timed passes
- cutting speed through 1 inch steel pipe using a Lenox 18 TPI bimetal blade, 3 timed passes
- cutting speed through 1/2 inch by 3 inch mild steel using a Diablo carbide-tooth blade, single timed pass with cooldown between brands
- measured strokes per minute versus each manufacturer's advertised rating
- weight, length, and noise level (decibels) of each tool
“It definitely seems like the DeWalt won the showdown. However, the Makita, as well as the Milwaukee, weren't that far behind. I'm also very impressed with the Ryobi, especially for a budget tool. It definitely seems like a good option.”
Brand head-to-head scoreboards featuring this test
Data notes and caveats
DeWalt won all three timed cutting tests outright and is the clear, unambiguous winner; the video does not give a numeric average-finish score like several other videos in this corpus, just this narrative declaration. RunnerUp is left null rather than guessed: the narrator explicitly groups the (cordless) Milwaukee and the brushless Makita together as both being close behind the DeWalt without ranking one above the other, and across the three tests the two swap which one is closer (Milwaukee closer in the 4x4 and mild-steel tests, Makita brushless marginally closer in the pipe test). A ninth unit, a corded Milwaukee sawzall, was added as a bonus comparison outside the official 8-brand lineup named in the description; it has no price or spec data and was only run through the three timed cutting tests, where it performed close behind the DeWalt (second place in two of the three tests). The transcript's spoken name for the cheapest unit, 'Haimeidiger,' is explicitly abandoned by the narrator mid-video in favor of his own nickname 'the Humdinger'; the description spells the actual brand 'Heimerdinger,' used as the resolved brand name here. Several individual per-pass times differ slightly from the closing recap's summary numbers (e.g. DeWalt's three 4x4 passes of 7.0/7.1/7.3 seconds versus the recap's single figure of 7.1 seconds); these recap figures appear to be simple averages of the three passes rather than best-of-three times, confirmed by checking several other brands' numbers against their recap figures.
