If you need to cut a large amount of lumber or plywood, or to break down lots of hardwood pieces to feed through a table saw, you’re going to need a circular saw. Sure, there are alternatives like hand saws and jigsaws, but they don’t come close in terms of efficiency and versatility. Plus, with a little practice, they’re easier to use than you might think. Bottom line: the circular saw is the best tool for fast and accurate cutting.
Here at Popular Mechanics, we constantly test and use circular saws in our own projects. Our favorites below range from budget-friendly models, to pro-duty tools that a contractor could use to frame a house.
Our advice is always the same regarding our recommendations: Your goal isn’t to buy the most powerful tool or the least expensive, but the tool that’s the right fit for you. Using our data, look at the circular saw’s performance, its price, and its physical characteristics, such as its weight and whether it’s corded or cordless. From there, consider how you like to work, and make an informed selection.
Read on for quick info on the best circular saws from our testing, then scroll down for buying advice and in-depth reviews of these and other models.
- Best Value Cordless: Hart HPCS25
What to Know About Circular Saws
Circular saws are powerful tools that crosscut wood (cut across its grain) and rip it (cut with the grain). Save for the rear-handle saws we cover, the tools that we tested do not exhibit much design variation. With a few exceptions, most of the blades are 7.25 inches in diameter, positioned on the right side of the motor. When the blade is fully lowered, the saw cuts to about 2.25 inches deep (or slightly deeper).
A More Powerful Saw Isn’t Always Better
If you’re ambitious, you might want the same saw the pros use. Contractor-grade saws can have the blade on the left or the right of the motor. Corded models have motors that draw as much current as 15 amps. The saw rides on a larger, more damage-resistant shoe and is equipped with a big, tough trigger switch, larger and tougher bearings, and a thick but highly flexible cord. These features promote durability but increase the saw’s weight. The average homeowner-duty saw (with a motor drawing 12 amps) weighs 8 to 9 pounds. Contractor saws start at 10.5 pounds and go up from there.
But a contractor-grade saw may not help you get the job done faster, believe it or not. While it’s true that pro saws cut faster compared to homeowner saws, their most important attribute is durability. A homeowner working with a pro-level circular saw may find it too heavy and be unable to take advantage of its speed and power.
With manufacturers working so hard to develop cordless tools, you also may wonder if these are the best fit for you. Homeowner-grade cordless saws have enough power to cut 2 x 3 and 2 x 4 lumber, pine planks, and plywood. But if you expect to make more difficult cuts such as plunging through an interior floor, frame out your basement, or cut pressure-treated lumber, opt for a pro-duty cordless or corded circular saw.
What Else Do You Need?
Aside from the saw, you need a couple of carpenter’s pencils and a combination square to both mark the lumber and guide the saw for accurate crosscuts. For corded circular saws, you also need a heavy-duty, 15-amp extension cord, safety glasses, and some ear protection.
How We Tested
Our test material is Douglas fir 2 x 4, 2 x 10, 4 x 4, and 4 x 6 pressure-treated southern yellow pine (reserved for full-depth cuts on our pro-duty rear handle saws), some hem fir, and some rock-hard red oak thrown in for good measure. We use each saw to cut across and with the grain, the blade perpendicular to its shoe and at an angle to it.
Next, we did some hairsplitting crosscuts, guiding each saw along a square held across the wood. If the saw held true along the cut, that told us that its shoe edge and blade are parallel. If the saw moved off the square (and the cutline), we knew something was amiss. The most common cause is a saw motor and body that makes a slightly sloppy fit with the shoe on which it rides.
Here’s how the best corded and cordless saws ibcbet login —from inexpensive, homeowner-duty saws to pro-worthy models—fared in our test.
Key Specs
We’ve tested many circular saws, and this one comes as close to perfection of the form as is possible. Equipped with a standard 7.25-inch blade and an 8-Ah battery and weighing 11.6 pounds, it’s a nimble cutter by itself. But the good news gets better: It has an aluminum accessory track—no special shoe or mounting hardware required. Lay the track on the board or plywood and slide this Bosch down it like a locomotive riding the rails. The resulting rip or crosscut is table saw-accurate.
To control cutting depth, the Bosch circular saw has a thumb latch right above the trigger. Move the latch forward and press down, and the saw’s shoe drops. To fine-tune the shoe’s position, simply hold it with one hand while pressing down on the latch. When the shoe is where you want it, release the latch. And the amount of blade exposure below the shoe is right where you need it.
There’s an eco setting that reduces power for light cutting while conserving battery life, and six speeds for enough range to make multiple cuts in thin plywood on low to full bore (and maximum blade depth) to cut construction lumber. A battery life readout tells you how much charge you have left.
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