Table saws are undeniably the kings of cutting sheet goods. The concept is simple: place a motor below a solid table to spin a blade through the surface and watch the sawdust fly. The idea may be simple, but there are a lot of things to think about when you’re looking for the best portable jobsite table saw for your next job.
Editor’s Note: If you’re just starting out, don’t miss our how to use a table saw guide.
Best Portable Jobsite Table Saw Overall
DeWalt 10-Inch Table Saw DWE7491
With new models and even new brands entering the table saw field, DeWalt’s DWE7491 still tops our charts years after its initial launch. We love the rack-and-pinion fence system, there’s plenty of power from its 15-amp motor, the accuracy is excellent, it has a wider table than many, and the rolling stand gives it a nice stable platform. Throw in a reasonable price tag that includes the stand, and it’s the most complete option available in our team’s opinion.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 4800 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/4 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 32 1/2 inches
Price: $529 with stand
Pro Tip: Note that table saws often have additional shipping charges due to their size and weight. If you’re ordering online, many retailers will ship to your local store for free.
Best Cordless Portable Jobsite Table Saw
Metabo HPT 36V MultiVolt 10-Inch Table Saw
Searching through the best cordless portable table saw options, there aren’t a ton of competitors, but the competition is fierce. Traditional powerhouses, Milwaukee and DeWalt have them with Metabo HPT adding one a little later. Most recently, Ryobi joined the group with an HP Brushless model.
While these saws each have compelling reasons to buy them, Metabo HPT stands out in a few ways. First, it’s a full 10-inch saw and it has a monster 35-inch rip capacity. It’s also the only option that’s hybrid. By adding the AC adapter, you can use the saw with a battery when it’s convenient or on AC power when you need unlimited runtime.
- Motor: 36V brushless
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/4 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 35 inches
Price: $599 bare tool
Best Portable Jobsite Table Saw for Safety
SawStop Jobsite Saw Pro
When you want the ultimate in table saw safety, there’s SawStop and then there’s everyone else. It uses flesh detection and when any part of your skin touches the blade, it drops down below the table and slams into an aluminum brake. It’s also lightning-fast. It’s possible the blade might draw blood, but you’ll almost always avoid a trip to the ER.
SawStop also designs a very well-thought-out table saw that doesn’t sacrifice performance and usability to get the safety feature. Of the two saws targeting construction, the Jobsite Pro is our top choice thanks to a more portable package that includes an excellent rolling stand.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 4000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/8 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 25 1/2 inches
Price: $1579
Best Portable Jobsite Table Saw Value for Pros
Ridgid 10-Inch Table Saw with Rolling Stand
If you’re on a budget, it’s still possible to get a quality table saw and stand for less than $500. Ridgid’s latest update includes the R4550 that upgrades to a rack-and-pinion fence system that supports rip cuts up to 32 1/2 inches. At $499, you get better quality and stability that frustrate many of the lower-priced saws.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 5/8 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/2 inches at 90°, 2 1/2 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 32 1/2 inches
Price: $499 with stand
Best Budget Portale Jobsite Table Saw for DIYers
Skil 10-Inch Table Saw with Integrated Stand
Using a 15-amp motor, Skil’s 10-inch table saw has excellent cutting power. Its rack-and-pinion fence system makes it easy to keep your cuts square, even if you’re just getting started with table sawing. Plus, the integrated legs offer an impressively stable platform for a table saw targeting DIY/Prosumer users.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 4600 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 5/8 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/2 inches at 90°, 2 1/2 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 25 1/2 inches
Price: $349.00
Best Portable Jobsite Table Saw Blade
In most cases, the best portable table saw blade is going to be a 40-tooth option with carbide teeth, although 24-tooth blades are common and usually fine for framing. There are times when you want a finer finish on your cut and a 60- or 80-tooth blade may be more appropriate. Regardless of what tooth count you need, there are a ton of options from budget to premium blades. Here are the ones we turn to most often for portable jobsite table saws:
- Diablo: $29.97 for the 10-inch, 40T D1040X
- Makita Max Efficiency: $33.49 for the 10-inch, 45T B-62103
- Milwaukee: $29.97 for the 10-inch, 40T 48-40-1024
Best Portable Jobsite Table Saws From More Brands We Trust
Best Bosch Portable Jobsite Table Saw
Bosch is down to just one table saw now and it’s the 4100XC that replaced the workhorse 4000 series. Now in its XC form, the primary difference between it and the original 4100 is a larger rip capacity of 30 inches. This is one of the slowest saws on our list at 3650 RPM. It still has a 15-amp motor to back it up, though, and we don’t believe it’s underpowered. This is also one of the few holdouts that made our final cut without a rack-and-pinion fence. That said, Bosch’s SquareLock fence is a significant upgrade to some of the fences we’ve used.
There are some trade-offs compared to the most recent saws, but the Bosch 4100XC is still a field-tested winner.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 3650 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/8 inches at 90°, 2 1/4 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 30 inches
Price: $599 with stand
Best Delta Portable Jobsite Table Saw
Delta as a brand has been around for a long time. After nearly 100 years, the 36-6023 is its best portable table saw. It comes with a rack-and-pinion fence system and its 15-amp motor is capable of spinning the 10-inch blade up to 5000 RPM.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 13/16 inches
- Max Cutting Depth: 3 1/2 inches at 90°, 2 1/2 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 32 1/2 inches
Price: $659.99 with stand
Best Makita Portable Jobsite Table Saw
Makita had a pretty solid table a few years back but has since bowed out of this sector. In general, they make outstanding miter saws and circular saws, so we’d love to see them get back in, perhaps on the cordless side with a 40V max XGT model.
Best Milwaukee Portable Jobsite Table Saw
Milwaukee has just one table saw and the M18 Fuel 2736 is a good one! Competing well for the top selection as the best cordless portable table saw, it has the rack-and-pinion fence system we prefer and is very confident cutting through sheet goods.
This saw sports an 8 1/4-inch blade that the brushless motor turns at an impressive 6300 RPM. Plus, One-Key is onboard to offer tool tracking, inventory management, and more. Realistically, we believe this saw has the power to handle a full 10-inch blade, and we wonder if that might be somewhere down the pipeline.
- Motor: 18V brushless
- Blade Speed: 6300 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 8 1/4 inches
- Dado Capacity: 3/4-inch
- Max Cutting Depth: 2 1/2 inches at 90°, 1 3/4 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 24 1/2 inches
Price: $449 bare, $599 kit with 12.0Ah High Output battery and charger
Best Ryobi Portable Jobsite Table Saw
Ryobi has several high-value table saws available at The Home Depot and it’s the cordless 18V One+ HP Brushless model we’re focusing on. The saw uses a brushless motor to turn its 8 1/4-inch blade up to 4500 RPM. To get the best results, be sure to pair the saw with a High Performance battery (two 4.0Ah High Performance batteries come in the kit). This is a compact table saw and it only has 12 inches of rip capacity, so keep that in mind.
As Ryobi’s first cordless table saw, and the first to come from the DIY/Prosumer side, it’s a good start and we’re curious to see if any other brands follow Ryobi’s lead.
- Motor: 18V brushless
- Blade Speed: 4500 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 8 1/4 inches
- Dado Capacity: Not compatible
- Max Cutting Depth: 2 1/4 inches at 90°, 1 3/4 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 12 inches
Price: $339 bare, $399 kit with two 4.0Ah High Performance batteries and charger
Best Skilsaw Portable Jobsite Table Saw
The Skilsaw brand has a couple of portable jobsite table saws and both use a true worm drive. The lighter model is great when you’re moving it in and out of a truck bed, but it’s the larger heavy-duty SPT99-12 we prefer.
It’s a muscular saw that is capable of producing 5000 RPM and it has the strongest overall cutting in any portable table saw we’ve tested. It’s a little lean in rip capacity compared to some of the top choices on our list, but plenty wide enough to handle 1/2-sheet rip cuts. Other than that, it’s a solid build that comes with a fantastic folding/rolling stand.
- Motor: 15-amp
- Blade Speed: 5000 RPM
- Blade Diameter: 10 inches
- Dado Capacity: 1/2-inch
- Max Cutting Depth:3 5/8 inches at 90°, 2 3/10 inches at 45°
- Rip Capacity: 30 1/2 inches
Price: $649 with stand
Best Portable Jobsite Table Saw Buying Guide: What We Look For
Power
Even though you might be ripping sheet goods primarily, you make come across times when you need to rip 2x or 4x material. While most portable table saws are great on thin sheets, other lumber separates them in terms of power.
A 15-amp motor is an absolute must in our book. From there, it’s all about dialing in that power so there’s plenty of torque to back up the blade speed. Don’t let big RPM numbers do all the talking—we’d rather give up a few hundred RPM for a design with more torque than to have the motor bog down on our toughest cuts.
Blade and Table Size
Recent changes are driving some saws with smaller tables to shift to an 8 1/4-inch blade. It’s a safety thing. Your total cut capacity comes down to around 2 1/2 inches so that 4x rip cut is no longer possible in one pass.
The big thing to keep in mind is that the 8 1/4-inch models typically have smaller tables, but still use 15-amp motors and have plenty of strength.
As far as the overall table size goes, we want at least 24 inches of cutting width. That gives us enough to rip a sheet of plywood in half and cover any other measurement we might want.
Accuracy
For the best accuracy on a table saw, don’t buy a portable one! Cabinet table saws are much better suited for ultimate precision when 1/16th of an inch makes a huge difference in your results.
Still, high accuracy is something you should expect from your portable table saw. Most of this happens along the fence. We try to avoid fences that are easy to lock down out of square when possible. Models with clamps on both sides tend to fall into that category.
Single clamp fences typically do a nice job of self-squaring when you lock it down. Just be sure that it’s beefy enough not to push to the side when you start feeding material.
One of the easiest fences to use that’s also highly accurate is the rack-and-pinion style. The first one we used was on DeWalt’s popular DWE7491 and more brands have come on board with similar designs. In our opinion, it’s the way to go.
Stability and Portability
Stability and portability are two key areas that affect one another. As you’re shopping for the best portable table saw, something that’s lightweight can seem appealing. That might make portability very easy, but it can sacrifice stability to get it. Especially if you’re setting your table saw on something other than a dedicated stand, the last thing you want is the saw to move as you feed material.
Integrated stands can also cause problems. If the legs are wobbly, the saw can shift as you feed, throwing your cut accuracy off. However, there are some good ones.
There are some excellent dedicated stands you can use, too. Whether you prefer a separate stand or an integrated one, look for solid materials that offer little to no wobble with the legs deployed and adjustable feet to help level the saw on uneven ground.
The stand can also help with transportation thanks to onboard wheels. We prefer stands with large wheels to make rolling the saw over less than ideal ground easier.
So what’s the ultimate setup? We prefer a saw that’s heavy enough to resist shifting on a dedicated stand with high stability and large wheels. That’s not something that’s in everyone’s budget, and if you’re lifting your saw in and out of a truck bed, you’ll need a second person to help you out.
Dust Collection
If you’re primarily using your portable table saw outside, dust collection may not be a big priority. If you’re using it in a shop or indoors, it’s a different story. Most models do a fine job of collecting sawdust and there’s not much variance in the chute designs. Just pay attention to the diameter so you have the right hose or adapter and be sure to use a high-CFM shop vacuum for the best results.
To SawStop or Not to SawStop?
All table saws sold in the U.S. come with a riving knife, anti-kickback pawls, and a split blade guard. Because some cuts can’t be made with these safety features installed, they are removable. If you’re looking for a fun party game, see which of your uninitiated friends can install both correctly without a manual. While each one is different, their nature means you can use the saw without them installed. we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you those cuts are more dangerous, so avoid it if you can.
The best safety technology is the flesh detection pioneered by SawStop. Bosch’s Reaxx also had a version, but it’s no longer available in the US. Efforts to mandate flesh detection technology in table saws have not been successful so far. That said, there’s no denying how effective SawStop’s technology is at preventing catastrophic injuries. And it helps that they make a really good portable table saw.
If it’s in your budget, go ahead and pull the trigger. The first time it saves you a trip to the ER, it’ll pay for itself and then some. After all, table saw injuries are still one of the most common tool-related injuries and most people we know prefer the use of all ten fingers.
Additional Features to Consider
- Kickback pawl, blade guard, blade wrench, and push stick storage
- Additional blade storage
- Dado capacity
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