Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16" Chainsaw Kit vs Makita 40V Max XGT 16" Chainsaw Kit

Milwaukee / Battery

Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16" Chainsaw Kit

40cc class (by bar)

~$499

4.5/5 Ace Hardware

Makita / Battery

40cc class (by bar)

~$629

4.3/5 Home Depot

The Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16" Chainsaw Kit costs about $130 less.

Spec	Milwaukee M18 Fuel 16" Chainsaw Kit	Makita 40V Max XGT 16" Chainsaw Kit
Approx. price	~$499kit with HD12.0 battery and M18/M12 rapid charger	~$629kit with 4.0Ah battery and charger
Engine class	40cc classplaced by shipped bar length	40cc classplaced by shipped bar length
Power type	Battery	Battery
Use case	Farm & Ranch	Farm & Ranch
Voltage	18 V	40 V
Kit battery	12 Ah	4 Ah
Bar length	16 in	16 in
Single-pass cut	about 14 in	about 14 in
Bar range	16 in	16 in
Chain	3/8" low-profile pitch / .043" gauge Oregon, 56 DL	3/8" low-profile pitch / .050" gauge (91PX), 56 DL
Weight	13.9 lbwith HD12.0 battery	13.9 lbwith 4.0Ah battery (11.7 lbs bare)
Warranty	5-year tool / 3-year battery	3-year tool & battery

Tinted cells mark the better figure on that row alone: more engine, longer bar, lighter, cheaper. A lighter weight is only a win on the same basis.

Genuinely gas-class cutting speed — beat a Husqvarna 460 Rancher in Pro Tool Reviews' head-to-head
Ships with the HD12.0 (216 Wh) pack, the biggest battery any 18V saw kit includes
Full throttle in under a second with a well-tuned variable-speed trigger
Shares batteries with 250+ M18 tools — the kit pack powers your whole jobsite
Quality 16" Oregon bar and chain plus dual-stud bar retention, not proprietary hardware
5-year tool warranty, longer than most gas saws in this class

13.9 lbs with battery — noticeably heavier than gas rivals or EGO's 16" saw
Aggressive factory oiler setting; owners report oil-slinging and bar-oil puddles in storage
Needs an HO 8.0Ah+ pack for full power, so bare-tool buyers with compact batteries get a slower saw
$499 kit price is steep against EGO's $329 CS1613 unless you're already on M18
The .043" narrow-kerf chain dulls fast in dirty wood and stretches early in its life

5,020 FPM chain speed — the fastest chain in the 16" battery class, and it shows in cut speed
Legitimate 42cc-class power that no longer embarrasses Makita next to EGO and Milwaukee
Standard 3/8"LP/.050 91PX chain — replacement loops cost $15 anywhere, no proprietary sizing
Outstanding build: XPT sealing, inertia chain brake, metal spikes, tool-free tensioning
Variable-speed trigger with excellent low-speed control for careful limbing
45-minute rapid charger in the kit keeps a two-battery rotation viable

$629 kit price is the highest in the 16" battery class — an EGO CS2005 20" kit costs less
Included 4.0Ah pack manages only ~30 cuts in 12" wood by Makita's own claim; spares are $200+
13.9 lbs with battery — heavier than the LXT saw it effectively replaces
XGT batteries don't interchange with Makita's own 18V LXT fleet, restarting your battery investment
Modest 46-review pool at retail; long-term durability record is still thin compared to rivals