10 Best Jigsaws [Tested and Reviewed]

DeWalt's 20V MAX XR Cordless Jig Saw is an offering by world-renowned power tool maker Black+Decker. It uses a battery for its power supply and weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces with the 20V 5Ah battery inserted. This jigsaw received top scores in both cutting curves and straight lines, and on top of that, we felt it struck the right balance between cutting power and ease of use. 

The acceleration can be adjusted with a dial or the trigger, which makes cutting smooth curves a breeze. If you approach the job patiently, you'll find this jigsaw produces fewer rough edges than most other products, which makes it useful for cuts on material or objects that are difficult to use a sander on. It also has an orbital action setting, allowing it to cut a 2x4 wood slab in a reasonable amount of time. Both blade changing and angle adjustment are handled with a lever and don't require any extra tools, which lessens the amount of time you need for preparation and cleanup. 

The handle fits comfortably along the hand and rarely slips. It includes both an LED light and a dust blower so that you can easily follow both thick and thin scribe lines. The shoe was also thick enough to keep it steadily in place when set down. Even if you're a pro or advanced-level DIYer, this jigsaw can be used in a wide variety of situations.

Kobalt is an in-house brand from home supply chain Lowe's, and their 24-Volt Max Variable Speed Jigsaw weighs 6 pounds with the 24V 2Ah battery inserted. We had no trouble cutting either curved or straight lines with this jigsaw. Even when keeping a good pace, we were able to easily stay along the scribe lines, so it definitely lends itself to an efficient workflow. The vibration it produced wasn't a burden, and we felt it made for a comfortable cutting experience overall. 

The only small downfall was that it doesn't have a speed control dial, so you'll need to cautiously adjust the power with the trigger depending on the type of material you're working with. The handle is on the thin side and doesn't grip as tightly as some of the other products we looked at, but it does include both an LED light and a dust blower, and it shouldn't cause much fatigue even after long sessions. 

The shoe is noticeably hefty and keeps steady when placed on a surface. This jigsaw uses a lever to adjust the angle, and although the scale was pretty accurate when cutting at 90 degrees, changing it to a 45-degree angle resulted in about a two-degree difference in the actual angle of the cut surface. It's not the best choice if you need to cut materials at an angle frequently.

If you don't need to use it on a wide range of materials, the ease with which you can cut both straight and curved lines is nothing short of top class. In particular, if you need to cut curves into many pieces of similar material, we highly recommend this jigsaw.

Milwaukee, founded in Wisconsin, produces the M18 FUEL D-Handle Jig Saw, a battery-powered jigsaw weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces with the 18V 5Ah battery inserted. It made a good impression on us with how easy it was to cut through wood in a straight line. The cutting power was enough to cut through a 2x4 wood slab without a hitch. It did leave some noticeable bumps in the cutting surface, but considering it has an orbital action setting, its power to cut through wood pieces of all sizes is the main appeal. 

The cutting speed can be adjusted with the amount of pressure applied to the trigger. On the other hand, the high acceleration makes it difficult to cut along scribe lines to make curves precisely. It does include both an LED light and dust blower, but it isn't really intended for long jobs requiring patience and precision to begin with. Changing blades and adjusting the cutting angle are both handled with levers and don't require any tools, meaning there's little effort needed for preparation or cleanup. 

As for accuracy of the angle values shown on the scale, both the factory setting of 90 degrees and the 45 degree mark were off by about one degree, so it might not be precise enough for some people. We noticed that even though it's cordless, it's heavier than we expected. The trigger and trigger guard are also on the large side, which might not fit with every person's hands. While cutting some materials caused it to vibrate strongly, it will likely cause fatigue in your arm after prolonged use.

The 7.0 Amp Top-Handle Jig Saw is by German maker Bosch. It's a corded type with a 12-foot-4-inch cord and weighs 5 pounds, 10 ounces. When we used it to cut wood, we found it worked well for both curved and straight lines, and was easy to keep along the scribe lines. The acceleration can be adjusted with either the trigger or speed control dial, and it includes an orbital action setting. Even with the power turned up, we had no trouble keeping it along the scribe lines, and we didn't notice many jagged edges on the cutting surface.

While it doesn't have an LED light, it does come with a dust blower. You might feel inconvenienced depending on the time of day, but as long as you're working in a well-lit room, you shouldn't feel any stress, and you won't need to brush dust off the scribe lines. But since this is a corded model, you'll need to make sure you have the necessary facilities, and there's a chance the cord could be a problem if you're cutting large pieces of wood.

This jigsaw requires a hex key in order to adjust the angle, which does take some time, but the numbers shown on the scale are surprisingly accurate. It can be adjusted to angles of 0, 15, 22.5, 30, and 45 degrees. The 22.5-degree angle in particular is an uncommon setting, so it could be quite helpful to people who frequently need to cut at precise angles.

Thankfully, it doesn't require any tools to change blades. The shoe is sufficiently weighty, and it felt steady when we put it down. It offers good leverage on the material while cutting, so as long as you don't need to make long cuts where the cord could become an issue, this is an excellent jigsaw that's easy to use.

The 18V One+ Orbital Jig Saw by Japanese tool maker Ryobi uses an 18V 4Ah battery for its power supply and weighs 5 pounds, 14 ounces with the battery inserted. While cutting wood, we found that the power was more than sufficient for cutting through a 2x4 wood slab, but it also shook noticeably. It includes a speed control dial and an orbital action setting for compatibility with materials of all types and thickness. This jigsaw uses the speed control dial as a replacement for the ability to adjust cutting speed with the trigger. 

It comes with an LED light but no dust blower, so it would be difficult to follow scribe lines when cutting complex shapes due to the leftover dust. Blade changing is handled with a one-touch mechanism and doesn't require any extra tools. You'll need a hex key to adjust the cutting angle, but thankfully we found that both the 90-degree and 45-degree marks on the scale were more or less accurate compared to the resulting angle cut on the material.

The weight with the battery inserted felt just right and made it easy to manipulate. The material on the handle makes it easy to hold in place, and the handle itself is comfortably thick. The shoe isn't particularly sturdy, but the jigsaw itself weighs enough such that we didn't feel it was unstable when we set it down.

Japanese manufacturer Makita makes the Top Handle Jig Saw, a corded model with a 7 foot, 10 inch long cord and total weight of 5 pounds, 10 ounces. Our tests showed this jigsaw could produce top class cutting power, as it was easy to hold along the scribe lines and left behind few jagged edges. Although it didn't cut as quickly as some of the other jigsaws we looked at, it was sufficiently easy to maneuver when cutting both curved and straight lines. The cutting speed can be adjusted with either a dial or the trigger, and it also includes an orbital action setting, so you can turn up the power if you need to.

We felt the weight was just right to hold comfortably, and the shoe was sturdy enough to keep it balanced when set down. However, it doesn’t come with several recommended features. Despite being a corded jigsaw, there is no LED light or dust blower, so it wouldn't be most people's first choice for cutting larger pieces of material. Adjusting the cutting angle requires a hex key, and on top of that, there aren't grooves to lock it in place at individual angle settings, only lines on the scale, so it would be tedious to use for cuts at precise angles.

Hart is one of several brands belonging to multinational power tool distributer TTI, whose holdings also include Milwaukee and Ryobi. Their 20V Orbital Jigsaw is available exclusively on Walmart's online store. It's a battery-powered jigsaw and weighs 5 pounds, 2 ounces with the 20V 1.5A battery inserted. While cutting into wood, it displayed commendable cutting power, but often resulted in a rough cutting surface and produced a noticeable amount of vibration. It wouldn't work well for cutting along complex scribe lines. 

The cutting speed can't be adjusted with the trigger, so you need to set the speed control dial and orbital action switch to the settings you want before getting started. The speed dial doesn't have predetermined increments, making it flexible enough to work with a wide range of materials. It's reasonably lightweight and doesn't weigh your arm down, but the shoe is rather thin, and it didn't feel steady when we set it down. The handle is shaped to fit in your hand and has a textured surface to improve grip, which makes it easy to control.

The cutting angle can be adjusted along a scale using the included hex key. The values shown on the scale were also accurate and allowed for cutting at precise angles. But because it produced so much vibration, it tended to jerk while cutting, so most people will need to sand down the cutting surface afterward.

This 20V cordless jigsaw is by Porter-Cable, a subsidiary of tool maker Black+Decker, and weighs 5 pounds, 2 ounces with the 20V 1.5Ah battery inserted. We couldn't help but notice the substantial vibration produced by this jigsaw while cutting into wood. It tends to jerk around when trying to get the blade into the material you're working on, and often results in a rough cutting surface. It doesn't have a speed control dial, but at least there's an orbital action setting. Due to the need to adjust the cutting speed carefully with the trigger and with no way to set it beforehand, it isn't geared toward beginners.

We felt that the material on the handle made for a steady grip, and the trigger made controlling the cutting speed intuitive. You need to hold down the safety button while cutting in order to prevent accidents, but it's easily reachable, so we didn't feel it added any stress to the task. Its light weight means it shouldn't cause any fatigue in your arms. This jigsaw comes with a hex key to adjust the cutting angle, but it can only be set to plus or minus 45 degrees, and we found a slight discrepancy between the angle shown on the scale and the resulting angle cut into the material. It's equipped with a dust blower but no LED light, so it isn't best used on jobs requiring precise angles or complex patterns.