Which Circular Saw Should I Buy? A Singapore Buying Guide
If you have landed here, you probably know you want a circular saw and not much more than that. This answers the question directly, then explains the reasoning in case your situation is different.
The short answer
Occasional home use — shelves, plywood, a few boards: a corded 185mm saw around $143 to $178. Corded is cheaper, lighter in the hand because there is no battery, and never flat when you need it.
You already own 18V tools: a cordless 165mm saw on your existing battery platform. No cable to manage, and for a few cuts a day the runtime is a non-issue.
Renovation or regular work: a brushless cordless 185mm. More power, longer runtime, and it will cut a full depth of timber without bogging.
Corded or cordless? This decides most of it
Corded is underrated for home use. It costs less for the same power, it never runs out mid-cut, and nothing degrades in a drawer over two years. The cable is a nuisance on a site and barely an issue in a flat or a corridor.
Cordless makes sense when you already own batteries, when you are working somewhere without a socket, or when dragging a lead is genuinely in the way — up a ladder, on a roof, out on a balcony.
If you own no cordless tools at all, buying into a battery platform for a circular saw alone is an expensive way to start. Buy corded, and start your platform with a drill instead.
What blade size do you need?
The number is the blade diameter, and it sets how deep you can cut.
- 165mm — cuts roughly 57mm deep. Fine for plywood, boards, and most furniture work. Lighter and easier to control.
- 185mm — roughly 64mm. The common all-round size, and the one to pick if you are unsure.
- 190mm and up — for framing timber and anything thick.
For context: a sheet of plywood is 12 to 18mm, and a typical piece of construction timber is 38mm. Almost all household work sits well inside what a 165mm saw handles.
The four things actually worth comparing
- Depth of cut at 90° — the real measure of capacity, more useful than wattage
- Soft start — stops the saw lurching when you pull the trigger, which matters most to inexperienced users
- Electric brake — stops the blade in a couple of seconds instead of thirty. A genuine safety feature, not a luxury
- Base plate quality — a thin stamped base flexes and your cuts wander. Cast or reinforced bases hold a line
Wattage on its own tells you little. A well-designed 1,200W saw will out-cut a poorly made 1,500W one.
Three to buy
- Cheapest sensible option — Makita M5801B corded, $142.91. Makita's value line. Does everything a homeowner needs and nothing more.
- Best all-rounder — DeWalt DWE5615 190mm, 1500W, $178. More depth, more power, still corded so there is no battery cost hidden in the price.
- If you own Makita 18V — Makita DSS610 cordless, $283.40. Runs on batteries you already have. For a few cuts at a time it is simply more pleasant to use.
Browse the full range of saws, or see them side by side at our Geylang showroom — we will cut a test piece with whichever you are considering.
Budget for the blade
The saw that arrives in the box comes with a basic blade, and the blade does the cutting. A $25 blade with the right tooth count will transform a $140 saw.
Fewer, larger teeth cut fast and rough — for ripping and framing. More teeth cut slower and cleaner — for plywood, laminate and anything that will be visible. Keep one of each.
Three mistakes worth avoiding
Buying on wattage. Depth of cut and base plate quality matter more.
Cutting without supporting both sides. As the offcut drops it pinches the blade, and the saw kicks back at you. Support the work properly, or let the offcut fall free.
Using the wrong blade for the material. A wood blade in metal or tile destroys the blade and can shatter teeth.
A note on noise
If you are cutting in an HDB flat, remember that heavy or sustained power tool work falls under HDB's noisy-works window — 9:00am to 5:00pm on weekdays only, not weekends or public holidays. A circular saw is unmistakably loud through a slab.
Still deciding? Our first toolkit guide covers what a new flat actually needs, and the cordless drill guide is the other tool most people buy first.