There are a few circular saws out there that are "budget friendly" and these are pretty decent too. They aren't one of the best models out there but they will do the job and they may just surprise you.
There are different features and things that you need to look for, especially when looking at the less expensive saws. A few different things like amperage, features, capacities and performance are a few things you need to look at and compare to make sure you get the best saw at an affordable price. I made a shortlist of some of the top models out there to help make the decision process a little less confusing.
IMAGE | MODEL | FEATURES | PRICE | USER FEEDBACK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 5280-01 | * 15 amps * 7.25" blade * 51° bevel max. * 8.7 lbs. * led light * dust blower * laser guide * 1 yr. warranty | $$ | (275+ Ratings)   4.5/5 |
 | 5007F7 | * 15 amps * 7.25" blade * 45° bevel max. * 11.1 lbs. * 2 led lights * aluminum base * dust blower * 1 yr. warranty | $$$ | (295+ Ratings) 4.5/5 |
 | PCE310 | * 15 amps * 7.25" blade * 55° bevel max. * 9.0 lbs. * 3 yr. warranty | $$ | (35+ Ratings) 4.3/5 |
 | C7SB2 | * 15 amps * 7.25" blade * 57° bevel max. * 10.1 lbs. * alum. base * hard case inc. * 5 yr. warranty | $$$ | (240+ Ratings) 4.5/5 |
 | DWE575SB | * 15 amps * 7.25" blade * 57° bevel max. * 11.1 lbs. * electric brake * dust blower * 3 yr. warranty | $$$$ | (550+ Ratings) 4.5/5 |
The Highest Rated "Budget Friendly" Circular Saw Out There:
Reviews: This Skil (5280-01) was one of the highest rated circular saws out there, for the price range I was looking at.
It had an impressive amount of reviews from a handful of different sites including Amazon in Walmart and what really impressed me was the fact that it had a very high feedback score in the 90 percentile, which is usually a herd of especially for such a lower-priced tool.
Price: The Price was probably one of the most astonishing things considering all of the features this circular saw has and the feedback score. This Skil circular saw was well under $100 and in fact it was around 60 bucks at the time, which could fluctuate but probably won't by much and even if it did it would still be one of the top picks for the price.
Features: The features were probably one of the most surprising things I noticed for this "budget friendly saw". First off, it comes with a 15 amp motor which is comparable to some of the top circular saws out there nowadays and comes complete with a blade, wrench, everything you need right out of the box, ready to go.
The laser was a nice addition and many people found it very useful as well. One thing I really like that stood out was the blade change mechanism. It is located on the top of the saw by the blade and is a larger button making it very easy to stop the blade, something that a lot of the other circular saws out there don't think about, in my opinion.
What I Didn't Like: There were only a couple of minor things I really didn't like about this Skil circular saw, but they definitely weren't deal breakers just more petty things. The first issue, was that I wanted to see more retailers that sold the product and would've liked to have seen more reviews on different websites but not that big of a deal because I had so many reviews to look through.
The other one was the fact that I couldn't find any information on whether or not the laser was adjustable, still not sure if it is or not but I assume it would be.
An Affordable Makita Circular Saw
Reviews: The Makita 5007F7 is another inexpensive circular saw that had nearly 300 reviews at the time from a few different sources, which I always like to see.
All across the board, Home Depot, Amazon and CPO all had ratings for this Makita circular saw in all of the websites had a positive feedback score of 90% or more.
Price: This particular circular saw was right around the hundred dollar mark, so it is a bit on the expensive side when compared to some of the other saws in the lineup but is a Makita product and well worth the extra money. I did not notice a huge price difference from the different retailers, so just making sure the saw is in stock would be the biggest concern I would have.
Features: As far as features go, this circular saw is pretty much a bare-bones work saw that has the basics built into in nothing too extravagant in the way of features. The aluminum base is really nice for stability and weight reduction and it comes with a built-in dust blower so as you're cutting it blows with the dust from the line of sight on the saw base.
This saw also has a light did you conflict on and off to illuminate your cutting line which I thought was pretty unique and typically not seen on most models nowadays.
What Was "Left To Be Desired": I know that this is a lower end Makita circular saw but I would've liked to have seen a little bit more features integrated into it like the Skil brand circular saw had. A laser would've been a nice addition and a carrying case to protect the saw when not in use but other than that a pretty solid saw with a simple and effective design.
A Nice Porter Cable Saw Under $100
Reviews: The Porter Cable PCE310 had around 30 reviews at the time and these came from only a couple of different sources.
I really would have liked to have seen more ratings from different retailers but it did have a pretty high overall feedback score from the few reviews that it did have so I overlooked that.
Price: This Porter Cable saw was on the lower end of the pricing spectrum compared to all of the other circular saws I looked at, somewhere around $70 at the time, so not too bad pricewise. There was another model that was identical and the only difference was that it didn't have the magnesium shoe, instead it used a steel shoe but was nearly $20 cheaper.
Features: This is a pretty basic saw and I assume that is why it didn't have very many reviews because it just doesn't have that many features to it. It did have a pretty impressive miter capacity which could be set to a maximum of 55°, more than any other saw on the list. It also used a 15 amp motor, having plenty of power to cut some of the toughest materials out there nowadays and always the type of power I like to see in a circular saw.
The three year warranty was a really nice addition that I noticed and is probably one of the strongest warranties I have seen.
What Needed Improvement: The first thing I would like to see more of is features. This particular circular saw is about as featureless as a desert and could implement many different upgrades which would make it a much better overall saw and probably a little bit more popular too. The plastic lever used to lift up the blade guard is also kind of a drag and it makes me wonder why that wasn't made out of metal instead of plastic.
A Cheaper Hitachi Circular Saw (Worth A Look)
Reviews: There were nearly 300 reviews at the time for this Hitachi C7SB2 circular saw and the majority of these came from Amazon's website and Lowe's website.
The overall ratings left for this particular circular saw were very positive in more than 90% of people gave it a positive rating which is a good sign and something I like to see. This was probably one of the highest rated saws out there too.
Price: Out of all of the different retailers that offered this particular circular saw I didn't notice a huge difference in price, all of them seemed to have it for around the hundred dollar mark, or something close to that. I did notice a couple sites that had it listed for much more than $100 so just be aware that around the hundred dollar mark is probably a good rough figure.
Features: There were not were not all kinds of high-tech features on this Hitachi saw but it had an impressive miter capacity of up to 55° and the base of the saw is made out of aluminum making it a little bit lighter and pretty stout. It also had a 15 year motor, one of the most powerful motors out there today and it comes with a hard case, something that none of the other circular saws offered and (in my opinion) is a huge bonus.
What Needed Improvement: There wasn't a whole lot to really complain about regarding the Hitachi C7SB2 but one thing I did notice is that it weighs roughly 10.1 pounds, which isn't bad at all but is one of the heavier models listed by a pound - pound and a half. I also would have liked to have seen more feedback on two or three more retail sites but with nearly 300 reviews that wasn't that big a deal for me.
A More Affordable Dewalt Circular Saw
Reviews: There were nearly 500 reviews for this Dewalt DWE575SB circular saw, from at least six different retailers online which is something I always like to see because it gives a much higher authority rating to the tool.
Dewalt tools seem to be one of the more popular models online so it is no surprise that had that many reviews but is a little more expensive than the other saws we looked at too.
Price: Like I mentioned earlier, this saw was a little bit more than the other saws and came in at around $120-$135 and price but well worth a little bit extra money for the name and a couple of key features. All of the other saws I tried to keep under that $100 mark because I really wanted to gear disposed towards affordable circular saws and thought that anything under $100 or close to that $100 mark would probably fit in this category.
Features: The Dewalt DWE575SB has some really neat features and is definitely one of the top circular saws in the list but is also a little bit more money, so keep that in mind. It has that powerful 15 amp motor and a built-in electric brake so the saw will take much less time to stop due to the electric brake, after you have removed your finger from the trigger.
It also has a blower that will keep the line of sight on the saws basic free of any sawdust or debris while you're cutting and has an impressive miter capacity of 57°, the highest out of any of the other saws in the lineup. This also has one of the deepest cutting capacities at 2.55 inches, which the Makita came really close to but was not quite as deep. Dewalt also offers a solid three-year warranty, one of the better warranties in the industry.
What Needed Improvement: There was a lot to talk about feature wise in this saw so it is really hard to come up with something that I think was missing but if I had to pick one thing it would probably be the fact that it didn't have a laser mounted on because that really would be the only thing that would make this saw nearly a perfect choice. The other thing is the fact that the price is over the hundred dollar mark and I really would have liked to have seen this saw closer to that $100 mark.
Corded Vs Cordless
In my research, I decided to list mainly corded models because there were cordless models that fit the price criteria for me but most of these were bare tolls and did not come with any batteries or kits so after purchasing everything you needed for these cordless circular saws the price would be closer to the $200 mark which would no longer be "budget friendly" for most people.
Price Criteria
I really wanted to keep the price around the $100 mark and lower because I think most people that are looking for an affordable circular saw want something that is going to be reliable and something that will work well and be able to cut just about any type of material.
This really allowed me to narrow down the search results and come up with the five different circular saws that I did and feel confident about the choices I was presenting. I did include one saw that was a little bit more than $100 but I thought it would be a good fit because they had so many more features than some of the other saws and figured 20 or $30 and wasn't that big of a deal.
Ratings And Reviews Were Decent In The Affordable Circular Saw Category...
I was really quite shocked to see the number of reviews for some of the circular saws especially considering the fact that they were some of the cheapest saws out there. The number of reviews didn't really surprise me that much it was more of the overall ratings of the saws that surprised me.
Not only did these saws have hundreds of reviews (most of them) but the overall ratings were phenomenal and on several occasions a four star rating in the above was pretty typical on many of the retail sites. This was a great sign and it really helped me out in the decision process as well because reading through some of the reviews that people leave can really give you an idea of what these saws are capable of, how well they perform and how long they last.
