At a glance
I have tested ten chainsaws over the past two years, five battery and five petrol, and the one conclusion I keep coming back to is that the question most people ask first is the wrong one. They ask which saw has the most power or the longest bar, when the question that actually determines whether you will be glad you bought it is whether it suits how you actually work. Someone who cuts firewood for an hour twice a year and stores the saw in a dry shed for ten months needs a different answer from someone who spends most of a weekend twice a month on coppice work. Getting this wrong is expensive. The five saws below are the ones I would recommend across both categories, based on real work, and the one thing they have in common is that they earn their place rather than just look good on a spec sheet.
The top five comes out as four battery saws and one petrol. That is not a bias toward battery technology; it is what the scores produced when you apply the same criteria across both categories. The Makita DUC353Z came out on top, the Husqvarna 435 II is the best petrol saw and lands third overall, and the Stihl MSA 220 C-B sits between them. What I noticed first when working through all ten is how little the actual cutting performance varied between saws in the same size class, and how much the differences came down to weight, vibration, starting behaviour, warranty, and whether the saw you choose makes you want to use it regularly or dread getting it out.
How these were assessed. Ten chainsaws tested across real domestic jobs: firewood processing, clearing storm damage, felling small trees, coppice work, pruning. The five battery saws and five petrol saws were ranked separately first, then combined. The top five by overall score are shown here. Full reviews for all ten are linked from each ranked card.
Quick verdict summary
Top 5 chainsaws ranked
The Makita DUC353Z earned the top position across all ten saws I tested, including the five petrol saws, on the basis of one straightforward argument: it is the best combination of cutting capability, platform depth, and accessibility in the entire group. Two 18V LXT batteries running in series give 36V and 1,100W from a brushless motor, with a chain speed of 20 metres per second and a 35cm bar. The bare tool weighs 3.3 kg. The LXT platform runs to over 200 compatible tools, which means if you already own Makita cordless kit those batteries go straight in. A tree surgeon I know who tested it alongside his own professional saw chose it for branch pruning work.
The 3-year warranty requires registration. Tool-free tensioning, an adjustable oil pump, and a translucent oil window are the details that make sustained use comfortable. The limitation to name: use matched battery pairs or the saw stops when the lower-capacity one empties. Available body-only and in kit form on Amazon UK.
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The Stihl MSA 220 C-B sits second in this group on the basis of build quality and the AP professional battery platform. The AP500S cells are rated for 2,400 charging cycles, which in daily professional use works out to roughly ten years. The Stihl dealer network for servicing, the 3-year tool warranty and 2-year battery warranty, and the fact that the saw is built to chainsaw manufacturer standards rather than power tool manufacturer standards are the reasons it earns second place despite being dealer-only. The AP battery system is Stihl-only; that is the trade-off you are accepting, and if you are already in that world it is worth it. 35cm bar, 36V AP platform.
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The Husqvarna 435 II is the only petrol saw in the top five, and it earned its place on one number: 3.1 m/s² on the front handle and 3.8 m/s² on the rear. Those are the vibration figures, and they are substantially lower than any other petrol saw I tested. Over a two-hour coppicing session that difference accumulates in your hands and arms in a way that changes how much work you can do in a day. The X-Torq 40.9 cc engine, Smart Start with up to 40% less pull force, flip-up fuel cap, Air Injection centrifugal pre-cleaning, and felling sights moulded into the casing are the supporting arguments. 2-year warranty, dealer only.
It is dealer only, not available direct from Amazon in the usual way. For anyone who will use a petrol chainsaw regularly and wants to still feel comfortable at the end of a full morning, it is the right saw. The 40.9 cc engine starts to show its ceiling on very large hardwood, but for domestic use it has more than enough.
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The Ryobi OCS1830 earns fourth place as the best lightweight option in the entire group, battery or petrol. At 3.2 kg bare it is the lightest saw I tested. The chain speed of 10 metres per second is the fastest in the battery group. The dual chain brake, mechanical from the front guard and electrical from the motor stopping in under 0.12 seconds, is the best safety setup in this class. The ONE+ platform covers over 200 tools, available on Amazon UK. The 3-year warranty requires registration within 30 days. For overhead work, sustained light pruning, and general garden use where you are stopping and starting across a morning, the weight advantage compounds over time in a way the spec sheet does not fully capture.
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The DeWalt DCM565N finishes fifth for anyone not already on one of the other platforms, and first for anyone who is on DeWalt XR. The XR ecosystem runs to over 250 tools, the largest battery platform in this group. Single 18V battery, 30cm Oregon bar, 7.68 m/s chain speed, 3.5 kg bare. The 3-year warranty requires MyDeWalt registration within four weeks of purchase. The stock semi-chisel chain is adequate; an aftermarket full-chisel replacement makes a clear difference on hardwood. Empty the oil tank and store it flat: the tank has a known seepage issue when stored upright with oil in it, and that resolves it. Amazon UK.
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Head to head comparison
The five saws span battery and petrol categories. The comparison below covers bar length, weight, battery system or fuel type, availability, and overall score.
| Model | Type | Bar | Weight | Warranty | Amazon | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makita DUC353Z | Battery (LXT) | 35cm | 3.3 kg bare | 3 yr | Yes | 4.4 / 5 |
| Stihl MSA 220 C-B | Battery (AP) | 35cm | ~3.5 kg bare | 3+2 yr | No (dealer) | 4.3 / 5 |
| Husqvarna 435 II | Petrol (50:1) | 38cm | 4.2 kg bare | 2 yr | No (dealer) | 4.1 / 5 |
| Ryobi OCS1830 | Battery (ONE+) | 30cm | 3.2 kg bare | 3 yr* | Yes | 4.1 / 5 |
| DeWalt DCM565N | Battery (XR) | 30cm | 3.5 kg bare | 3 yr† | Yes | 4.0 / 5 |
* Ryobi 3-yr requires registration within 30 days. † DeWalt 3-yr requires MyDeWalt registration within 4 weeks. Stihl MSA 220 C-B: 3 yr tool, 2 yr battery.
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Battery or petrol: how to decide
If you are trying to decide whether to buy a battery chainsaw or a petrol one, the honest answer for most domestic users is battery. Battery saws start instantly, require no fuel mixing, make considerably less noise, produce no exhaust fumes, and need no maintenance between sessions. The Makita and the Stihl battery saws in this group cut just as cleanly as the petrol saws on material up to 12 to 14 inches in diameter, which covers the vast majority of domestic chainsaw work. The platform argument also applies: if you already own Makita LXT tools, the DUC353Z is a much easier decision than if you are starting from scratch.
Where petrol earns its place is on extended runtime and heavy sustained work. A battery saw stops when the battery runs out; a petrol saw stops when you decide to stop, provided you keep refuelling. The Husqvarna 435 II gives you a full day’s coppicing or timber processing without battery management overhead. The five petrol saws I tested are in the best petrol chainsaws UK article; the five battery saws are in the best battery chainsaws UK article. This roundup pulls the top five across both.
All five saws in this group exceed the 8 m/s chain speed threshold that triggers CS39 chainsaw certificate requirements for professional and employed users in the UK. For domestic buyers purchasing for their own land there is no legal purchase restriction. The CS39 requirement applies to employed chainsaw use, not private domestic buyers.
Platform matters before anything else. If you already own Makita LXT, DeWalt XR, or Ryobi ONE+ battery tools, buy into that same platform. The batteries you own will run the chainsaw and vice versa. Starting a new platform just for a chainsaw is the more expensive long-term decision.
Final verdict and recommendations
For the best all-round chainsaw at any price point, and the best battery chainsaw in this group, the Makita DUC353Z. It earns that position on cutting performance, platform depth, Amazon availability, and a build quality that a professional user chose over their own kit. The 3-year warranty with registration and tool-free tensioning make sustained use comfortable.
For professional or heavy battery use where the saw needs to last a decade of daily work, the Stihl MSA 220 C-B. The AP platform, the build quality, and the dealer network are the reasons. The ecosystem lock-in to Stihl-only batteries is the trade-off you are accepting.
For the best petrol chainsaw and anyone who needs extended runtime on sustained heavy work, the Husqvarna 435 II. The vibration figures separate it from every other petrol saw I tested. Dealer only. For the lightest saw and the best overhead or sustained light work, the Ryobi OCS1830. The dual chain brake and 10 m/s chain speed are the unexpected strengths. For existing DeWalt XR users or anyone who wants the largest battery ecosystem, the DeWalt DCM565N. Register for the warranty within four weeks and empty the oil tank before storage.
For best all-round chainsaw: Makita DUC353Z.
For professional or heavy battery use: Stihl MSA 220 C-B.
For best petrol, extended runtime: Husqvarna 435 II.
For lightest saw, overhead and light work: Ryobi OCS1830.
For existing DeWalt XR users: DeWalt DCM565N.
The Makita DUC353Z is the best chainsaw in this group across battery and petrol, and the ranking was clearer than expected once the scores were in. Four battery saws and one petrol make the top five, not because petrol is the worse category but because the battery saws tested here perform the core domestic jobs more conveniently, and the Husqvarna 435 II is the petrol saw that closes the gap on every metric that matters for sustained use.
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