The Best Circular Saws of 2026

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer like me, investing in tools that perform well for repairs and builds is smart. Filling your workshop with a one-trick pony that only excels at a single task, well, that’s not so smart. So if you’re planning a project that involves cutting beyond what a good pair of scissors can afford, you’ll want to find a versatile saw that’ll perform like a champ, no matter what you throw at it. In short, you want a circular saw—like our favorite, the DeWalt DCS391B (Available at The Home Depot).

The best circular saws are powered hand-tools that, in many instances, can easily tackle tasks normally reserved for a table saw or hacksaw. It will chop up two-by-fours, slice particleboard and dice drywall. With the aid of a specialized blade, it will cut metal, tile or brick. And as you gain confidence using a circular saw, you’ll find the tool capable of so much more than making simple rough cuts—like plunge cuts and miter cuts—will soon be within reach. But which circular saws are best for home projects? Does blade size matter, or whether the saw is right- or left-handed? That’s why I set out to find the best circular saws on the market.

What You Should Know About Circular Saws

• Power Source: Before investing in a circular saw, you’ll want to give some thought to whether you want cordless or corded model. It used to be that going cordless meant sacrificing power. That’s no longer the case. Over the last few years, battery technology has advanced significantly, making cordless tools a more competitive solution to their corded counterparts. With this in mind, the choice of whether or not you should go cordless comes down to where and how you plan on using the circular saw. If you frequently work in an area with power outlets or can move the material you are cutting closer to a power source, you might consider a corded circular saw. That’s great news, as corded power tools can often be less expensive than their battery-powered counterparts, especially once you factor in the additional cost of a battery and charger. However, if you frequently work in areas without easily accessible power, adding a cordless circular saw to your toolkit makes more sense.

• Compatibility: If you’ve decided that buying a cordless circular saw is the best fit for how you work, you’ll want to think about compatibility. For example, if you already own a number of cordless power tools that use the same battery, then the smart move is to buy a saw that will run off of those batteries. Doing so will save you from forking over extra money for a new battery and charger, just so you can use the saw. If a new circular saw is the first battery-powered tool that you’ll own, give some thought to what other tools the saw’s manufacturer offers (like a cordless drill) that you might like to buy down the road. Doing this will ensure that you’re satisfied with your purchase for years to come.

• Blade Size: For circular saws currently on the market, the most common blade size is 7 1/4 inches7.25. However, if you choose a cordless saw, generally, the blade size is slightly smaller at 6 1/26.5 inches. Selecting a saw with a common size makes buying replacement blades easier and gives you a quick short-hand of the saw’s cutting capabilities.

• Left- or Right-Handed?: Unlike scissors, saws are labeled according to the side of the motor the blade is located, rather than the hand dominance of the user. On left-sided circular saws, the blade is to the left of the motor, while right-sided saws have a blade on the right. That means, no matter which hand you prefer to write, eat, and do other activities with, you can easily use either sided blade. Preference on a blade boils down to simply having a different setup for cutting—keeping in mind where your saw motor is supported on the table and keeping your arms out of the line-of-sight for the cutting area. As a right-handed user, I prefer the left-sided saw. I don’t have to look over the motor to see my cutting area and I prefer to stand to the left of the saw rather than directly behind it. That said, I found it easy to switch between the two different sided saws by either changing the direction of my cut, or the way my material is supported.

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