Which Cordless Reciprocating Saw Brand Wins?
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 measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Specs | Measured SPM vs claim | Nail-embedded 4x4 cut (3 passes) | 1in steel pipe cut (3 passes) | 1/2in x 3in mild steel cut (single pass) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeWalt$179 (tool only, no battery/charger) | 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 | measured a little over its 3,000 SPM rating (exact figure not stated) | 7.0s, 7.1s, 7.3s, the fastest of all units, moved into the lead | 4.55s, 5.4s, 5.57s, by far the fastest of all units | 25.7 seconds, the fastest of all units, took the lead from the Ryobi |
| 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless)$180 (tool only, no battery/charger) | 1 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) | measured a little over its 3,000 SPM rating (exact figure not stated), same as the DeWalt | 8.6s, 8.3s, 7.5s, average about 8.1s per the closing recap, did not beat the DeWalt | 5.77s, 5.77s, 5.1s, within less than half a second of the DeWalt and brushless Makita per the closing recap | 30.4 seconds, did not beat the DeWalt |
| 3Makita brushless, two-speed$200, the most expensive tool tested (tool only, no battery/charger) | 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 | 2,775 SPM measured (225 short of its 3,000 SPM rating) | 7.9s, 8.65s, 8.8s, average about 8.5s per the closing recap, did not beat the DeWalt | 5.16s, 5.42s, 5.87s, within less than half a second of the DeWalt and Milwaukee cordless per the closing recap | 41.4 seconds, did not beat the DeWalt or Milwaukee |
| 4Ryobi$84 (tool only, no battery/charger) | 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) | 3,375 SPM measured, better than its 3,300 SPM rating | 12.4s, 11.8s, 11.8s, briefly took the lead from the Bauer before being overtaken by the Makita/DeWalt/Milwaukee | 8.0s, 8.6s, 8.9s, average 8.5s per the closing recap, briefly took the lead before being overtaken | 42.9 seconds, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the DeWalt |
| 5Makita brushed$119 (tool only, no battery/charger) | up to 2,800 SPM 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) | 2,550 SPM measured, 250 short of its 2,800 SPM rating, the slowest measured SPM of any brand | 9.2s, 11.2s, 10.5s, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the DeWalt | 9.7s, 9.1s, 9.7s, described as very consistent but not fast enough to beat the Ryobi | 59.9 seconds, cuts smoothly per the narrator but lacks blade speed compared to faster brands |
| 6Bauer$60 (tool only) | 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) | 2,925 SPM measured, 75 short of its 3,000 SPM rating, the same figure as the Hart | 12.2s, 12.1s, 11.9s, very consistent results, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the Ryobi | 8.3s, 10.4s, 10.9s, briefly took the lead before being overtaken by the Ryobi | 61.6 seconds, described as vibrating noticeably more than the other brands |
| 7Hart$54 | 20V 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 | 2,925 SPM measured, 75 short of its 3,000 SPM rating, the same figure as the Bauer | 22s, 20s, 21.1s, did not beat the Heimerdinger's time | 14.2s, 19.1s, 19.7s, described as struggling with blade speed, did not beat the Heimerdinger | 48.2 seconds, did quite a bit better than the Heimerdinger |
| 8Heimerdinger brushed, Makita-battery-compatible knockoff$30, the least expensive tool tested (tool only, no battery/charger) | 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 | 2,860 SPM measured, 140 short of its 3,000 SPM rating | 14.9s, 23.5s, 28.3s, progressively slower each pass, described as running hot and beginning to smell hot | 12.1s, 14.7s, 13.9s, held the early lead before being overtaken by the Bauer | 95 seconds, the slowest of any unit tested, described as really struggling |
| 9Milwaukee corded (bonus reference unit, not part of the official 8 tested tools) | not tested | not tested | 7.4s, 7.3s, 7.4s, second place behind the DeWalt | 6.49s, 7.1s, 6.54s, average 6.7s per the closing recap, fourth position | 27.6 seconds, second place behind the DeWalt, nearly as fast |
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.”
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.