Best Reciprocating Saw 2026: 10 Ranked, and Why the Spec Table Lies

The spec table does not list strokes per minute at all, which is unusual for the tool sitting at the top of a ranking. What it does give is 525 watts, an 18V system and 46 "teeth" — a figure that says nothing about cutting speed. In practice, the numbers worth having are 2.3 kg and an 18 cm blade length, both listed but neither in the marketing headline.

The four-position blade clamp is the real differentiator. It lets the blade sit at 90 degrees to the body for flush cuts against a floor or a wall, and the keyless lever change takes seconds rather than minutes. The electronic motor brake stops the blade quickly after the trigger is released, and the variable-speed trigger is progressive instead of stepped. At 2.3 kg it is heavier than the Einhell and the SnapFresh, though the rubber overmould helps on long cuts.

Who should not buy it: anyone who does not already own DEWALT 18V XR batteries. This is a bare unit, so a first-time buyer adds a battery and charger and the total rises well above the £141 on the page. Skip it for light garden pruning too — a 1.6 kg saw is easier on the arm. And if you want a brushless reciprocating saw with everything in the box, the DEWALT is the wrong place to look.

Bosch lists this saw's speed as 3.1 RPM. No saw runs at three strokes per minute, and no saw is measured in RPM — it is a missing zero and the wrong unit, probably meaning something near 3,100 strokes per minute. By contrast, the rest of the table is tidy: 18V, 2.16 kg, keyless blade change, 90-degree cutting angle. The error sits in the single number most buyers compare first.

In use, the counterbalanced design is the point. Bosch claims low vibration and multiple grip positions, which matters when you are cutting branches overhead or working flush against a wall. It is listed for wood, steel, plastic, chipboard, rubber and plasterboard, and one S 3456 XF blade is supplied. The 90-degree angle entry is a default field, not a feature you select.

Worth noting before you buy: this is the bare tool at £83.99, and the listing still states that one lithium-ion battery is required. The review histogram also carries three one-star and two two-star ratings out of roughly 100 — a small share, but wider than the single one-star on the DEWALT. If you have no Bosch 18V batteries, budget for them.

This is the clearest example of a listing arguing with itself. The spec table says 4,500 RPM. The product highlight in the same listing says up to 2,600 strokes/min. Both cannot be right, and neither should be quoted as fact. Even so, two figures in the bullets are useful: a 22 mm stroke and a 10 cm cutting depth in wood. Those, not the RPM line, tell you how fast this reciprocating saw gets through a fence post.

The triathlon motor is Einhell's branding for its brushed motor, and the saw weighs 1.59 kg — among the lightest mains-free tools here. The sawing shoe adjusts without tools and the blade changes without tools, which suits garden work, loft board and light demolition. It runs on the 18V Power X-Change system, so anyone with Einhell garden tools already owns the battery.

The catch: it ships without a battery or charger, which is the whole point of the "Solo" name in the model. Starting from nothing, you need to add both before it runs. Also look past it for regular steel cutting — the 18-tooth blade and the stroke figures point to wood, plastic and light metal rather than daily metalwork.

The headline is 3,500 SPM from a brushless motor, with two 21V 4,000 mAh batteries and a claimed 1.5-hour charge. That is an unusual bundle at £64.59. However, the spec table describes the power source as "2 C batteries required (included)" while the bullets and the included-components field both say two 21V lithium packs. One of those entries is wrong, and it is the table.

For garden and renovation work, this cordless reciprocating saw covers wood, PVC, metal, ceramic and tile through an eight-piece blade set: three blue alloy blades for metal, five carbon steel for wood and plastic. It weighs 1.2 kg, the lightest here by a distance, and the listing claims low vibration and a soft rubber grip that suits left- and right-handed use.

That said, 1,690 ratings average 4.3, with seven one-star and four two-star reviews — a wider spread than the DEWALT or the Bosch. The brand is not a tool-system name, so there is no battery platform to grow into. If you want one battery for a whole range of tools, this is not that. If you want two batteries, a charger and eight blades in one box, it is.

Two numbers in this listing deserve scrutiny. The table claims 750 watts, yet the tool is battery powered from 18V with no mains supply. Separately, the speed appears as 3,000 RPM in the table while the bullet says 0-3,000 rpm variable — the same figure, one of them describing a trigger range rather than a fixed speed. What holds up is the 20 mm stroke, listed in both places.

In use this is a light, cheap saw. It weighs 1.74 kg, changes blades without tools, and the pivoting shoe rests against a door jamb for control on flush cuts. There are two blade positions and a 45-degree cutting angle in the table. For occasional pruning, skirting board and plastic pipe, that is enough for a reciprocating saw at this price, and it shares the 18V BLACK+DECKER battery with the rest of the range.

The catch is familiar: it is a bare unit, so the £35 on the page is not the price of a working tool. You also need a battery and charger. The review histogram shows three one-star and three two-star ratings out of roughly 100, the joint-highest low-score share in the top five. Do not buy it for daily trade use.

This is one of the few listings where the table and the bullets agree. Both give 0-3,000 SPM and the product highlight repeats it. The battery is a 20V 2.0Ah pack with a one-hour charger and a charge indicator. The odd entry is wattage at 300 watts, which is plausible for a 20V 2.0Ah battery and far more believable than the 750 watts claimed by the cheaper Black+Decker.

It weighs 2.43 kg, which is heavy for a 20V tool, and that mass comes with a soft rubber handle, a silicone grip and a lock-on button so you can run it continuously without holding the trigger. Blade changes are lever-actuated and tool-free. Five blades are supplied — three for wood, two for metal — which covers the usual jobs without buying spare blades separately.

However, 535 ratings at 4.3 include six one-star and four two-star reviews, and the kit carries a single 2.0Ah battery with no second pack. If your cutting sessions run long, that is the limitation. In short, a sensible first cordless saw rather than a trade tool.

The 25 mm stroke is one of the two longest stated in this ranking, and it sits in the bullets rather than the table. Speed is given as 2,800 RPM in the table and as a 2,800 rpm stepless maximum in the bullets, so at least they match. Crucially, stroke length is the number that decides how much material a blade clears per pass. The difference between a 25 mm and a 20 mm stroke shows up on thick timber.

The 4.0Ah battery is the largest single pack here, and the brushless motor is listed in the special-features field. Tool-free blade release and a pivoting shoe add control in awkward corners. Four blades come in the box: a 230 mm 5TPI pruning blade, 152 mm 6TPI and 8TPI wood blades, and a metal blade. It weighs 2.4 kg, so it is no lighter than the DEWALT.

Even so, 390 ratings average 4.2 with 11 one-star reviews — by proportion, the weakest record in this ranking. The sample is small, but it is a real caution rather than a rounding error. The 20V pack also works only with WORKPRO tools, which means the batteries are not a long-term investment.

The speed claim is 0-3,200 SPM, the highest in this ranking on paper, and the bullets give a stroke of 20-22 mm depending on which blade is fitted. That said, the product highlight rounds it down to 20 mm, so treat the 22 mm end with caution. The cutting depths quoted are 110 mm in wood, 60 mm in PVC tube and 6 mm in steel.

Features include a pivoting aluminium shoe that rotates and extends for bevel angles and depth limiting, a quick chuck that swaps blades without an Allen key, an LED work light and a soft-grip vibration-damping handle. One 2,000 mAh battery, a charger and one wood blade are in the box. At 2.47 kg it is the heaviest cordless model here.

Worth noting before you buy: 94 ratings is the smallest sample in the top nine, so the 4.4 average has wide error bars, and 10 of those reviews are three-star or lower. The 2,000 mAh battery is also half the capacity of the WORKPRO's, which means shorter sessions between charges. At £49.94 it is reasonable as a first saw; as a full-day tool the runtime will frustrate.

SnapFresh's bullets say the saw weighs less than 1.57 kg. The spec table says 1.9 kg. Both sit in the same listing, and only one can be right. Meanwhile the wattage field reads 65 watts and the blade length field reads 1 inch — entries that look like placeholders rather than measurements. The 3,000 SPM claim is repeated in both the bullets and the table, which is at least consistent.

The pitch is a one-handed tool for light garden and DIY work. It has a quick-change automatic metal chuck, a two-stage safety system where the lock switch and the trigger must both be pressed, and a kit with a 20V 2.0Ah battery, a quick charger, 6-inch metal blades and 6-inch and 9-inch wood blades.

Either way, the record is the weakest here after the WORKPRO: 194 ratings at 4.1, with eight one-star and five two-star reviews, around 6.7 per cent. It also ranks 62nd in its Amazon sub-category against 3rd for the XIAZIR. If you want a second, go-anywhere tool for branches and small pipe, it does that job. As your only saw, buy higher up this list.