The Best Circular Saws: Three Worth Buying

A circular saw is a hand-held tool with a spinning, exposed blade, built for straight cuts rather than the fine control a jigsaw or track saw gives you. Almost every home shop has one, and almost every home shop has the wrong one for what it is actually used for.

Corded vs cordless

This guide covers corded saws, which remain the default for anyone doing sustained ripping or crosscutting rather than occasional trim work — no runtime limit, and generally more consistent power delivery under load. A cordless saw on the same battery platform as your drill is a reasonable trade if portability matters more than unlimited runtime, but it is a different buying decision from the one this guide answers.

Blade selection matters as much as the saw

The saw supplies the motor; the blade decides the cut quality. A combination blade handles general ripping and crosscutting reasonably well, but a dedicated crosscut blade gives a cleaner cut across the grain, and a plywood blade with more, finer teeth reduces the tear-out that a general-purpose blade leaves on veneered sheet goods. Thin-kerf blades cost a little cutting speed for less resistance and a longer runtime per charge on cordless saws.

Safety basics

Every circular saw should have a working blade guard — do not defeat it, even temporarily. An electric brake, where fitted, stops the blade in seconds rather than letting it coast, which matters most in the moment right after a cut when the saw is being set down. Wear eye protection, keep loose clothing and jewellery clear of the blade path, and clamp the workpiece so both hands stay free to control the saw rather than holding material steady.

Buying note

None of the three picks above have been used hands-on for this guide — the comparison is built from published specifications and consistent patterns across buyer feedback, not our own testing. If that distinction matters to your decision, treat this as a shortlist to research further rather than a final answer.