The Best Chainsaws of 2026

If you only read one paragraph, read this: the ECHO CS-590 Timber Wolf is the pick to buy for most homeowners who need to fell trees, buck firewood, or clear storm damage, because its 59.8 cc engine is the largest of any saw in this guide and ECHO backs it with a 5-year consumer warranty, the longest term any brand here offers. Buyers who want the lightest gas saw to carry up a ladder or swing overhead should look at the Husqvarna 450X Rancher instead. Anyone doing occasional yard cleanup rather than felling trees will get more value from a battery saw: the Greenworks Pro 80V 18-Inch ships with its battery and charger already included in the price, while the STIHL MS 271 Farm Boss suits buyers who care more about STIHL’s Quickstop chain brake and bumper-spike design than about warranty length.

Every pick below is sold new in the US as of September 16, 2026, and none of them, or their close siblings, appear on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s chainsaw recall list we checked before publishing (details in How we picked). We also looked at a compact battery saw, the DeWalt DCCS621B, for buyers who only need to prune branches or limb a downed tree rather than fell one; its 12-inch bar and roughly 10-pound weight make it the easiest saw here to control one-handed, but it ships as a bare tool, so budget for a 20V MAX battery and charger on top of the price shown. We also checked Navimow, the robotic mower brand, since our sourcing list flagged it as a brand to consider; Navimow doesn’t make a chainsaw, so it isn’t included here. See our robot lawn mower picks if that’s actually what you need.

How we picked

Every recommendation on this page comes from published manufacturer specifications, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database, and measurements that outside testers have published under their own names, not from cutting wood in a lab of our own. See how we score for the full method. We weighted five criteria: bar length and cutting power at 30%, safety features at 20%, weight and chain tensioning at 15%, warranty at 15%, and 3-year cost at 20%.

We read the current product pages at husqvarna.com, stihlusa.com, echo-usa.com, dewalt.com, and greenworkstools.com for specs and pricing, then cross-checked prices at Walmart, Acme Tools, and Tool Nut. We queried the CPSC’s saferproducts.gov recall database for both “chainsaw” and “chain saw” listings on September 16, 2026, and read Consumer Reports’ public chainsaw buying guide and the EPA’s small spark-ignition engine emissions rules for the independent figures in the measured-data table on this page. We also checked Navimow’s product line directly; it makes robotic mowers, not chainsaws, so it’s out of scope for this list.

What to look for

• Bar length matched to the job. 12 to 14 inches is enough for pruning and limbing, 18 to 20 inches covers general firewood cutting and felling trees under about 18 inches in diameter, and 24 inches or more is for bigger trunks.
• A named chain brake, not just a low-kickback chain. These are two different safety features. Check that the spec sheet names an actual brake, inertia-activated or electronic, separate from the chain type.
• Warranty length and its conditions. Residential gas-saw warranties in this guide range from 1 to 5 years, and some brands only reach the longer term if you buy their branded fuel or oil at the same time. Read the fine print before comparing numbers.
• Weight without bar and chain, under 12 lb versus 13 lb and up. Saws under 12 lb are easier to control overhead and for long sessions; heavier saws tend to feel more stable on big bucking cuts.
• Bare tool versus kit. A battery saw’s listed price can exclude the battery and charger entirely. Confirm the SKU before comparing its price to a gas saw or to a battery kit that includes power.
• 3-year running cost. Gas saws add fuel and 2-cycle oil every season; battery saws add nothing recurring beyond an occasional replacement chain, unless the battery itself wasn’t included at purchase.

FAQ

What is the safest chainsaw for a homeowner to buy in 2026?

Look for a saw that names an actual chain brake, not just a low-kickback chain, since the two are different safety features. Four of the five saws in this guide name a specific chain brake: Husqvarna and STIHL both use an inertia-activated brake, ECHO uses a dual-post brake system, and Greenworks uses an electronic brake with a separate thumb lock. DeWalt’s published specifications for the DCCS621B name a low-kickback bar and chain but do not name a separate chain brake for this model. Whichever saw you buy, use the protective gear listed in its manual: chainsaw chaps, a helmet with a mesh face screen, hearing protection, and non-slip gloves are standard equipment in chainsaw manuals, not optional extras.

Are any of the chainsaws in this guide under a CPSC recall?

No. We queried the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s saferproducts.gov recall database for both “chainsaw” and “chain saw” on September 16, 2026, and none of the five models recommended here appear on the list. Recent chainsaw recalls we found and avoided include the STIHL MSA 300 (chain brake timing, September 2023) and the Milwaukee M18 FUEL top handle chainsaw model 2826-20 (chain brake activation, October 2025); neither is a saw we recommend.

Should I buy a gas chainsaw or a battery chainsaw?

Gas saws in this guide have more raw power, 50 to 60 cc engines against a 42cc-equivalent battery motor, and are the better choice for regularly felling trees or bucking a season of firewood. Consumer Reports’ public buying guide reports that its engineers have found the best battery saws in its ratings now cut as well as, or better than, many lighter-duty gas saws, and that almost every saw it tests, gas or electric, runs loud enough at the operator’s ear to risk hearing damage over the course of a job. Hearing protection applies to both types.

Does Navimow make a chainsaw?

No. Navimow is Segway’s robotic lawn mower brand, and it doesn’t sell a chainsaw as of this guide’s last price check, so it isn’t part of this list despite being a brand we track for outdoor power equipment. See our Segway Navimow review or our best robot lawn mowers guide if that’s the product you actually need.

How often should I replace a chainsaw chain?

Replace a chain once it won’t hold an edge after two or three sharpenings, or sooner if you see cracked, stretched, or missing links. Heavy seasonal use can mean one replacement chain a year, which is the assumption applied in the 3-year cost figures on this page. For the rest of your outdoor power lineup, see our lawn and garden hub.