The quietest miter saws

How are miter saw decibels measured?

Under EN 62841-3-9, the part of EN 62841 written for table and miter saws. Makita and Bosch cite it by name, Festool, Hilti and DEWALT's EU manual name EN 62841, and that shared basis is what lets the figures sit side by side.

The test produces two numbers. LpA is sound pressure where the operator stands, in front of a saw at chest height, and it is the one for your own ears. LWA is sound power, the saw's entire output, which tells you more when other people share the room. Printed with both is K, the uncertainty, which is 3 dB for every saw here.

Within each blade size the saws are ranked by LpA, with LwA beside it. For the Bosch GCM18V-12GDC, 88 at the ear and 103 sound power come from the same test but measure different things, so neither enters the other's ranking; the sound power vs sound pressure explainer goes further into that.

Two makers depart from the pattern. Milwaukee's European pages name no standard at all. Festool labels its figures "Sawing", while the others name no cutting condition. Since each maker declares one figure pair per saw, they are ranked together, with each figure's source given.

What is the quietest miter saw in each blade size?

At every size the lowest figure is 88 dB(A) at the ear: the Festool KSC 60 among compacts, the Festool KS 120 REB in the ten inch class and the Bosch GCM18V-12GDC at twelve inches. A 12 inch saw and an 8-1/2 inch saw are bought for different jobs, which is why the saws are grouped by blade.

Sort by sound power and the order changes. Four Makitas declare the lowest, 100 dB(A): the LS1219L, GSL02, GSL03 and GSL04M1. The Bosch that leads its group at the ear declares 103, three above them, so in a shared room the right-hand column deserves a look too.

Bosch's two 12 inch saws sit five decibels apart

Bosch's cordless GCM18V-12GDC declares 88 dB(A) at the miter saw operator and 103 of sound power. The European twin of the corded GCM12SD declares 93 and 106, though the two saws are built around the same Axial-Glide arm.

The cordless match is about as tight as a US and an EU saw get. Bosch's US page for the PROFACTOR GCM18V-12GDC gives part number 3601M43010, the European GCM 18V-305 GDC manual covers article numbers 3 601 M43 0.., the 3601M430 stem is common to both, and both manuals give the same 2550 rpm ECO speed. Under EN IEC 62841-3-9, that European manual puts the slider at 88 for the user and 103 of sound power.

The corded pairing is looser. The GCM12SD's part number differs from the European GCM 12 GDL's, but the two share the 12 inch blade, 4,000 rpm, the 52 and 60 degree miter range, the 47 degree bevels, the bevel cut capacities and a weight within a few tenths of a kilogram.

How loud is a Festool Kapex miter saw?

88.00 dB(A) at the ear and 101.00 of sound power, for both Kapex saws on Festool's international site.

For the corded KS 120 REB, that web table names EN 61029-2-9, an older standard, while the saw's current manual and its declaration of conformity name EN 62841. The figures are identical either way, and the manual is the one quoted. Festoolusa.com shows no prices. Each Kapex price is the compare at price on Festool USA's own reconditioned tool store.

Milwaukee runs from 90.5 to 96.2, Hilti declares 90

On Milwaukee's European pages, the 10 inch M18 FMS254 lists 90.5 dB(A) for the operator and 101.5 of sound power, and the 12 inch M18 FMS305 lists 96.2 and 107.5. The first is matched to the US 2734-20 by blade, speed and angle ranges; the second to the 2739-20 by the same, plus its capacities. Milwaukee's US page for the 2739-20 says 3,500 rpm. Its manual says 3600, as the European page does.

Hilti sells the Nuron SM 60-22 under the same name in the US and prices it on hilti.com. The EU manual gives 90 for the operator's ear and 101 for sound power. Hilti's UK page calls that 101 sound pressure, but the manual labels it sound power, and the manual wins here.

A gap of one or two decibels is inside K

Every figure carries a K of 3, so saws within a decibel or two of each other could be indistinguishable at the bench. The three saws at 88 and the Makita at 89 are best read as one cluster rather than a first, second and third.

Bigger gaps carry real weight. Bosch's two 12 inch saws are five decibels apart at the ear, and Milwaukee's 2739-20 declares 8.2 decibels more than the quietest 12 inch saw here.

A declaration is one standardised cut, not your whole day. Blade choice, the material and how hard you push all change what you hear, and a dust extractor running beside the saw adds its own noise, so the figures are for comparing saws rather than predicting your exposure. Our guide to dust extractors ranks the extractors under their own standard, EN 60335-2-69. For rip cuts a miter saw cannot make, the table saw guide found only seven jobsite and compact saws with a declaration we could read.

Saws left out for want of a usable figure

Several DEWALT, Makita, Metabo and Metabo HPT miter saws are missing because no published noise figure could be tied to the US model.

DEWALT's US manuals give no noise figure for the DWS780 or its 60 V DCS781. The UK page for the European DCS781 offered no manual we could open, which keeps that saw out, and no European twin turned up for the DWS779, DWS716 or DWS713.

Makita's EU manual for the DLS211 declares 95 dB(A) and 103 sound power, yet its US twins, the XSL07 and XSL08, are marked discontinued. Makita's European LS1040 runs at 5,100 rpm against 4,600 for the US LS1040, too far apart to match.

Metabo's US site menu lists circular, metal, multi-tool and reciprocating saws, no miter saws, and no US Metabo miter saw page turned up. For Metabo HPT, the Asian edition of the HiKOKI manual for the C3612DRA prints no noise figures and its European page gave no data. Any of these saws could be quiet or loud. Their makers' US documents give no way to tell.