Deciding on a thickness planer is hard, with all of the choices that are out there...
Wouldn't you agree?
I wanted to try to find the best thickness planer under $500 and I thought this would be a good price point and would have decent planers that were powerful, gave a nice finished surface and would last a while, if taken care of.
I found (by hours of research/comparing) out that a lot of the planers under the $500 price point were very similar, when it came to features, specs and functionality. There were a couple of models that stood out (best rated, best price, etc.) and each planer seemed to have it's own"edge" over the competition. Let's take a look at what these were...
* Pricing legend located at bottom of table
IMAGE | MODEL | FEATURES | PRICE | USER FEEDBACK (ONLINE RATINGS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DW734 | * 15 amps * 10,000 RPM (max.) * Min. cut depth: .008" * Max. cut depth: 1/8" * Max. board thickness: 6" * Max. planing width: 12-1/2" * Feed rate: 26 (FPM) * 30,000 cuts per min. * 80 lbs. * Large infeed & outfeed tables * 3 cutting blades * Reversible blades * Turret depth stop * Dust port * 3 yr. warranty | $$$$$ | (420+ Ratings)   4.5/5 |
 | 22-555 | * 15 amps * 10,000 RPM (max.) * Min. cut depth: 0" * Max. cut depth: 3/32" * Max. board thickness: 6" * Max. planing width: 13" * Feed rate: 28 (FPM) * 18,800 cuts per min. * 58 lbs. * 2 cutting blades * Dust port * 5 yr. warranty | $$ | (214+ Ratings) 4.2/5 |
 | R4331 | * 15 amps * 9,000 RPM (max.) * Min. cut depth: 0" * Max. cut depth: 1/8" * Max. board thickness: 6" * Max. planing width: 13" * Feed rate: 23.5 (FPM) * 27,000 cuts per min. * 72.88 lbs. * Large infeed & outfeed tables * 3 cutting blades * 8 depth stops * Reversible blades * Dust port * 3 yr. warranty | $$$ | (458+ Ratings)  3.9/5 |
 | PC305TP | * 15 amps * 8,000 RPM (max.) * Min. cut depth: 0" * Max. cut depth: 1/8" * Max. board thickness: 6" * Max. planing width: 12-1/2" * Feed rate: 26.2 (FPM) * 16,000 cuts per min. * 62 lbs. * Medium infeed & outfeed tables * 2 cutting blades * Reversible blades * Dust collection options (extra $) * 3 yr. warranty | $$ | (190+ Ratings) 4.0/5 |
 | 6550 | * 15 amps * 9,400 RPM (max.) * Min. cut depth: 0" * Max. cut depth: 3/32" * Max. board thickness: 6" * Max. planing width: 12-1/2" * Feed rate: 26 (FPM) * 18,800 cuts per min. * 70 lbs. * Medium infeed & outfeed tables * 2 cutting blades * Granite table * Reversible blades * 2 yr. warranty | $ | (534+ Ratings) 4.4/5 |
 | G0505 | * 15 amps * 10,000 RPM (max.) * Min. cut depth: 0" * Max. cut depth: 3/32" * Max. board thickness: 6" * Max. planing width: 12-1/2" * Feed rate: 32 (FPM) * 20,000 cuts per min. * 78 lbs. * Medium infeed & outfeed tables * 2 cutting blades * 1/8" thick cutting blades * ??? warranty | $$$$ | (69+ Ratings) 4.4/5 |
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$250 - $299
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$375 - $399
$400 - $500
1. Dewalt's DW734 - The "Best Rated" Thickness Planer Under $500
The Dewalt DW734 was probably one of the highest rated thickness planers in the category (under $500) and was actually well under that $500 cut off point, coming in at around $400 (when writing this).
Out of the more than 400 reviews I found (online) the majority of these were four and five star ratings (85 - 90%) and is why I considered the Dewalt DW734 the "best rated" thickness planer in the category.
It had some of the largest feed tables available (in comparison to the other planers) and uses 3 blades on the cutter, resulting in a finer finish. The cutter will cut up to 30,000 cuts per minute which was the best(in class) and was a hair more than the Ridgid R4331 (27,000 cpm).
PROS
CONS
420+ Total Reviews:
341+ Reviews:
76+ Reviews:
3+ Reviews:
2. Up Next, The Delta 22-555 - This is What A Longer Title Will Look Like
The Delta 22-555 was pretty standard as far as features go and was about the same as the other models I looked at but they did have a 5 year warranty, the best out of all of the planers in the list.
Service stations are in metropolitan areas though and if the planer did need to be repaired, then you would have to take it in or ship it (added expense).
The 22-555 was a more affordable model tough (coming in at around $330, at the time) and had a decent number of reviews backing it up (more than 200). I didn't like the high number of negative reviews on Amazon though, which was around the 20% mark but not all of them were related to the 22-555 itself, so I would recommend reading them yourself to see if they are "deal-breakers" for you.
PROS
CONS
214+ Total Reviews:
93+ Reviews:
90+ Reviews:
4+ Reviews:
3. Ridgid's R4331 - This is What A Longer Title Will Look Like
The Ridgid R4331 had one of the highest cuts per minute (27,000) and also used 3 blades (like the Dewalt DW734) to get a smoother and more even surface on the material.
The R4331 was probably the planer with the most feature-rich qualities to it, having the 8 different depth stops and longer feed tables (2nd to the Dewalt DW734). The price was decent (around $370) at the time and was closer to the DW734 but is more comparable to it as well.
The R4331 was available at both Amazon and Home Depot but there was a huge price difference between the two places, so I would recommend doing your research first before buying. I did not like the overall rating the R4331 had (which was around 3.9 stars, out of 5) and was the lowest rated planer in the lineup.
PROS
CONS
458+ Total Reviews:
5+ Reviews:
433+ Reviews:
20+ Reviews:
4. Porter Cable's Own PC305TP - This is What A Longer Title Will Look Like
The Porter Cable PC305TP was another worth contender (under the $500 mark) and was available at Amazon, Lowes and a couple of other place (online and off). I would recommend looking around at the different prices because the PC305TP did have some variations (found in my research.)
The specs for the PC305TP were very similar to the other planers in the lineup but Porter Cable did offer a great 3 year warranty, which matched the Dewalt and Ridgid planer I looked at.
The PC305TP was one of the more affordable models (out of the 6) and was around $270 (at specific locations) and ranged in price, all the way up to $300 and higher (in some cases).
PROS
CONS
190+ Total Reviews:
42+ Reviews:
109+ Reviews:
42+ Reviews:
5. A Wen 6550 - This is What A Longer Title Will Look Like
The Wen 6550 was another great planer under $500 and was actually almost half of that (around $240 at the time) making it the best priced planer in the category.
The 6550 had a good amount of reviews to sift through as well (over 500 when I last looked) and a strong 4.4 out of 5 star rating overall, a nice combo! Even though the Wen 6550 was much lower in cost than most of the other planers on the list it had comparable feature and specs.
I would label the 6550 the "best budget planer under $500" because of the comparable specs and features of the tool. Take a look at some of the specs yourself and you will probably be surprised, like I was!
PROS
CONS
534+ Total Reviews:
305+ Reviews:
192+ Reviews:
5+ Reviews:
4+ Reviews:
6. Last, The Grizzly G0505 - This is What A Longer Title Will Look Like
The Grizzly G0505 was the last planer under the $500 mark I wanted to include on the list and Grizzly is a less known name (as the reviews reflect) but makes some very decent tools, including the G0505 planer.
The blades are 1/8" thick (instead of 1/16" thick like some of the other planers listed) and are much better quality over the competition, which is a big selling point after seeing so many negative reviews stating that the blades were either cheap, dull or a combination of both.
If you are unfamiliar with Grizzly tools (like I was but am familiarizing myself with now) then I would recommend checking them out and see what they are about. The G0505 is a very good example of this and is a decent planer under $500 that will hold it's own with the rest of the other planers in the lineup.
PROS
CONS
69+ Total Reviews:
35+ Reviews:
34+ Reviews:
