How EN 62841-2-14 rates a planer
Two figures per tool. Part 2-14 of EN 62841 is written for planers, and DEWALT, Makita, HiKOKI and Festool declare their planers for Europe under it, giving LpA at the operator's position and LWA sound power.
LpA is the one for the person pushing the planer along the board. LWA covers everything the planer radiates, whether or not it reaches you, which makes it the figure for the rest of the room or site. Both carry a K value for uncertainty, and every planer in this guide declares a K of 3 dB.
Planers are ranked by LpA, with the LwA listed next to each. A planer's two figures, such as the DCP580B's 85 at the ear and 96 sound power, share a test but not a meaning and are never ranked against each other; how power and pressure readings differ has the detail. Two more rules decide which planers sit together. A declaration to the older EN 60745 standard never goes up against EN 62841 figures, and a figure with no standard named is kept apart too, because there is no telling how it was measured.
Every EN 62841 figure in the ranking is a single declaration per tool, since no maker here splits figures by mode or material.
Festool labels its rows "Planing"; the others give no condition.
What is the quietest cordless planer?
DEWALT's DCP580B: 85 dB(A) for the operator, 96 for sound power. It is a brushless 20V MAX planer with a 2 mm cut, and its UK and US manuals share the model number and speed.
Makita's brushless XPK02Z comes next at 87 and 95, through the DKP181, with a deeper 1/8 inch cut. After that the figures climb.
| Cordless planer | European document | LpA, dB(A) | LwA, dB(A) |
|---|
| DEWALT DCP580B, 20V MAX brushless | DCP580 | 85 | 96 |
| Makita XPK02Z, 18V LXT brushless | DKP181 | 87 | 95 |
| Makita XPK01Z, 18V brushed | DKP180 | 90 | 98 |
| Makita GPK01Z, 40V max XGT | KP001G | 90 | 98 |
| Bosch GHO18V-26N, brushless | GHO 18V-26 | 91 | 99 |
| Metabo HPT P18DSLQ4, 18V | P18DSL | 92 | 100 |
The P18DSLQ4 is the highest EN 62841 declaration in this guide.
Milwaukee's M18 BP, the European twin of the US 2623-20, shows the lowest numbers of all on Milwaukee's EU page: 82.8 dB(A) at the ear and 93.8 sound power. Nothing on that page says which standard or test produced them. The 2623-20 is therefore listed apart and not ranked against the EN 62841 planers.
What is the quietest corded planer?
A tie at 87 dB(A) for the person planing, between Metabo HPT's P20STQS and Festool's HL 850 E-F-Plus. Both declare 95 for sound power, the lowest EN 62841 sound power figure in this guide, which Makita's XPK02Z shares.
| Corded planer | LpA, dB(A) | LwA, dB(A) | Max cut |
|---|
| Metabo HPT P20STQS | 87 | 95 | 1/16 inch |
| Festool HL 850 E-F-Plus | 87 | 95 | 1/8 inch |
| Makita KP0800K | 88 | 96 | 3/32 inch |
| Makita KP0810 | 89 | 97 | 5/32 inch |
| Bosch PL1632 (GHO 16-82, 2025 manual) | 91 | 99 | 1.6 mm |
The two leaders are very different tools. The P20STQS is a light 5.5 amp planer. The HL 850 is a heavy 850 W planer with its head mounted to one side, so it can cut a rabbet of any depth flush to the edge, and at a $799.00 compare at price on Festool USA's reconditioned store it is the only planer here with a maker price. Makita's KP0800K is the lightest corded planer here at 5.7 lbs, and the KP0810 takes the deepest corded cut.
Bosch's PL1632 figure comes from the 2025 manual. The 2022 edition of the same manual gave 88 at the ear with the same 99 sound power, and neither document explains the change, so the newer edition is used here and the catalog entry shows both.
Two declarations left out
An old EN60745 figure for Makita's KP0810, and Makita's KP312 beam planer.
The manual Makita links from its US KP0810 page is an older international edition. It gives 87 dB(A) at the ear and 98 sound power, "For European countries only", obtained according to EN60745. Makita's current EU manual for the same model gives 89 and 97 under EN62841-2-14. Under the old test the KP0810 would look quieter at the ear and louder in sound power than it does today, and that is the whole case against mixing standards.
The KP312 belongs to a different class of tool. Its EU manual declares 91 dB(A) and 99 under EN62841-2-14, but it is a 12-1/4 inch beam planer weighing 40.6 lbs.
The US manuals for DEWALT's corded DW680K and D26676 carry no noise figure, and no current UK or EU manual for either turned up to quote. RYOBI's US operator's manual for the P611 18V ONE+ planer prints none either. All three go unranked, and their documents give no hint whether they are quiet or loud.
How loud is a hand planer?
85 dB(A) or more at the operator's position, for every EN 62841 figure in this guide. The Makita, Bosch and HiKOKI manuals all tell you to protect your hearing.
Seven decibels separate the lowest EN 62841 declaration here from the highest at the ear, a narrow spread next to the 24 decibels among routers.
In use, sharp knives, a sensible depth and a steady feed rate count for as much as the choice of planer. Two light passes are usually easier on your ears and the wood than one heavy one, whichever planer you own.
For shaping an edge rather than taking a board down, our router guide covers sixteen trim, compact and plunge routers. For levelling a glued up panel instead of trimming an edge, the guide to belt sanders ranks the heavy hitter of the sanding family.
We did not measure any of these planers. Every figure is quoted as Makita, DEWALT, Bosch, Milwaukee, Festool or HiKOKI prints it, keeping each standard and K value the paperwork gave.
