The UK's bestMini Circular Saws2022 Review

Worx produce a comprehensive family of saws for the keen DIYer, and their WX527 cordless circular saw is great when you need to go off-grid. Boasting a powerful 20V Max battery, you can work on light jobs for ages without having to swap out the battery. And if you’ve got other cordless Worx tools you can share the batteries around as well.

The first thing we noticed was the included case – a lot of saws in this price bracket come in a cardboard box so it was a nice change to get a smart box to keep things organised. The adjustable cutting depth gauge is bright and easy to read, which is another smart touch when you want to make changes on the fly.

This cordless compact circular saw is an ideal tool for making plunge cuts to 27 mm at 90°, something we end up doing with a drill and jigsaw otherwise. It’s never going to be as powerful as its corded WX423 cousin, but the WX527 is so convenient, you can throw it in your tool bag or use it up a ladder without having to trail cords all over the place.

With a growing range of quality power tools that won’t empty your wallet, Hychika have made a mini circular saw that’s every bit as good as something you’d pay twice as much for if it had a different name.

Lightweight and quiet, it’s not a heavyweight circular saw for cutting metres of board, but for trimming tiles and laminate flooring it’s ideal. The barrel grip is easy to hold on to and changing the blades out is particularly easy with the push button spindle lock.

It’s not the most powerful corded model on the list but otherwise we think it’s the best compact circular saw for the price. The universal vacuum attachment is great, and the accurate laser on top will help you follow a straight line.

Japanese tool experts Makita are trusted on building sites and in toolboxes across the world, so I was keen to get my hands on their HS301DZ mini circular saw. It’s the ideal lightweight tool for cutting through thin sheet materials, especially if you don’t want to lug around one of Makita’s full size circular saws.

The HS301DZ makes up part of Makita’s popular 10.8V range of power tools- built for portability and convenience without sacrificing power or durability. The handle is rubberised and easy to hold, as you’d expect from one of the best small circular saws and has a convenient one-handed lock as well.

My only gripe with this saw is that it’s a “naked” tool- you’ll have to get a 10.8V battery separately, and don’t think you can use one of your 18V batteries instead. Some users might be put off by the relatively shallow 25.5 mm cutting depth, but it’s more than adequate for most thin boards.

Budget tool brand Ginour make a decent range of power tools, hand tools, and measuring devices. If you want a circular saw kit with everything you need to get to work, and you don’t want to fiddle about with batteries, the Ginour circular saw is a good choice.

This is a chunky tool to hang on to. If you’ve got big hands then you won’t have a problem with the barrel type grip. There’s a large rubberised section at the rear of the saw, which makes it easy to hang on to, but it’s quite basic and not that comfortable to use for long periods of time.

Built with a 750 Watt brushed motor, the 115 mm blade spins up to 3,600 rpm and can cut down to a maximum depth of 43 mm. If you bevel the sole plate round to 45°, it can still cut to a maximum depth of 28 mm. That’s deep enough to deal with most sheet materials and even pieces of timber without a problem.

With a whole bunch of decent DIY tools and even robot lawnmowers in their catalogue, Worx know how to make clever kit. The WX423 is a capable corded compact circular saw that does away with expensive batteries and cuts through sheet materials easily.

This is the corded version of the excellent 20 Volt Worx WX527. Featuring a comfortable barrel grip shape and a useful safety switch on the bottom of the body, it’s been ergonomically designed to work well, even with gloves on.

The 400 Watt brushed motor pushes the 85 mm blade up to 3,600 rpm, and can cut down to a depth of 27 mm. You can cut bevels up to 45°, but this reduces the cut depth to 17 mm. A bonus of this saw is that you can cut through ceramic and plastic, as well as wood. You just need to swap out the blade.

Tool brands don’t get much bigger than Bosch, and their blue line of professional-level tools are used by tradespeople and keen DIYers all around the world. The GKS 12 Volt V-26 cordless circular saw is the ideal balance between a big capable saw and something you can handle easily.

The first thing to note about this saw is how it’s powered. This mini circular saw is powered by Bosch’s excellent 12 Volt professional system. You get the same level of power as their bigger 18 Volt battery but in a much smaller package. This reduces weight and because the battery is contained within the handle, it’s much smaller overall.

The small size doesn’t mean this tool is a toy though. Far from it, you get the same level of functionality from the pint-sized 85 mm saw blade as you would from one of its bigger cousins. The motor puts out 1,400 rpm, you can make bevelled cuts up to 45°, and the maximum cut depth of 26.5 mm is ideal for most sheet materials.

With a huge range of useful tools and home gadgets, VonHaus certainly know a thing or two about making compact saws. Their 18V E-Series cordless range of power tools are well rated, and all take the same battery, so you could build up your collection for less than you might think. 

If you need to cut boards and you don’t want to drag a cable behind you, this cordless saw is great. The chunky rubberised handle feels good in the hand and it’s easy to adjust the cutting depth and angles.

With a maximum cutting depth of 43 mm at 90°, or 28 mm at 45° it’ll cut through big boards, but don’t expect it to cut miles of hardwood easily. Built to be light and easy to handle, the thin vacuum adapter works well when you need to get into tight spots and still extract dust.

The big tool brand with the yellow and black tools, DeWalt are one of the most respected manufacturers out there. Used by tradespeople as much as DIYers, you can guarantee that their tools are built tough. The DCS571N compact circular saw is no exception, it’s the big beast on my list, a wholly capable 18 Volt saw that’s great for chopping up sheet materials.

Sporting a chunky top handle and a familiar grip to anyone who’s used DeWalt power tools before, you know this is going to be a comfortable bit of kit to use. There’s plenty of rubberised plastic to soften the handle and help keep vibrations down to a useable minimum.

The powerful 18 Volt XR battery system powers a strong brushless motor, which spins the 115 mm blade up to a whopping 4,500 rpm. That’s a whole lot of power to have in just one hand! The depth of cut is an impressive and class-leading 38 mm, and you can bevel the saw up to 45° and still cut down to 25 mm.