Jigsaw Vs Circular Saw | Comparison & Uses Explained 2024

One of the common questions that you would find yourself asking when it comes to craftsmanship and carpentry is the difference between Jigsaw Vs Circular Saw and which one you should get. Whether you have already entered into the job or work or are planning to, it’s necessary to tell the difference apart from the different tools required in an area of work.

It is important, so to be able to use them and do the job properly since none of you would be looking forward to the embarrassment and blunders of using the wrong tool for a task. The confusion usually revolves around jigsaw and circular saw because the two use the same cutting process that is vertical.

So, which one should you use to carry out the particular task you have in front of you, or which one should you purchase? This article answers all these questions, explaining the differences and similarities, the purposes of the two, and by the end, you would have all the confusion cleared and have made your decision.

Jigsaw Vs. Circular Saw

What is a Jigsaw

A jigsaw is a power tool used to make angular and curved cuts on a wide variety of materials that includes wood, metal, plastic, and ceramic tiles. Jigsaws come in both corded and cordless models, allowing you to choose as per your preference. There is a thin toothed blade under a parallel cover that moves back and forth while cutting the material; whether it’s a straight-cut, beveled cut, or circular cuts, this is what sets jigsaws apart from other cutting tools. Check out the best jigsaws I have reviewed.

The speed and the cutting intensity of the blade are adjustable on a jigsaw with controls that are located on the handle. In a jigsaw, the blade can also be set to move up and down along with backward and forward. This increases the speed and power of the blade and is used when you have to complete the task in a short time. Jigsaws are compact and smaller than circular saws, also more lightweight, with a narrow and thin blade set vertical; this compactness makes it easier to make detailed and irregular cuts.

What is a Circular Saw

A circular saw is used to make straight cuts with incredible power and accuracy. It comes with a toothed cutting disc that cuts precisely through materials like wood, metals, ceramic, and also stone; it is mostly used for lumber. Circular saws come in both corded and cordless models and are mostly used for more professional and heavy-duty cutting tasks. The power tool is used in professional wood workshops and on construction sites.

The circular blade of a circular saw has dimensions that range from 85mm to 235mm, which is why it can make straight cuts so quickly. The speed also depends on the type of material that you are cutting, the type of blade that needs to be used varies according to the material as well. A blade that cuts through metal does not have teeth, and the blade for cutting through plastic is toothed. The blade needed to cut with grain has fewer but bigger teeth, while blades for crosscutting have numerous smaller teeth.

Circular saws tend to be heavier, but the weight does not really matter since they do not have to be moved around for differently angled cuts. They are only used for straight cuts, for which they just rest on a surface. However, there are smaller and relatively lighter options available as well in case you need to move the tool around while working.

Major Differences Between Jigsaw and Circular Saw

While the nature of the tasks that both these power tools, jigsaws, and circular saws, are used is much similar, there are still the differences that make one of the tools more suitable for certain tasks over the other. Both the tools can be used to cut through a wide array of materials and are used in workshops and work sites. With a circular saw, you can cut accurate and precise straight cuts quickly, as well as angled cuts when you adjust it sideways.

Along with that, you can also adjust the depth of the cut on a circular saw; the cutting depth is important when you are cutting thicker materials. This makes it suitable for carpentry tasks that involve dealing with heavy-duty wood cutting tasks. This is not to say that jigsaws cannot make deep and straight cuts, but they take double the time while doing that as compared to circular saws and don’t deliver that much accuracy.

However, jigsaws are also able to make more complex cuts along with straight and angled cuts. Due to their compact profile and lightweight, they can be used for places and tasks for which circular saws are not reliable, like kitchen fitting and cabinet making. The ability to neatly and efficiently make irregular cuts is what sets jigsaws apart and is preferable for certain tasks.

To make curved cuts, jigsaws are a better choice since the thin and narrow blade easily maneuvers its way through the surface. Circular saws are preferable to cut through larger and thicker pieces; its build is more durable and robust along with the thicker blade because of the intensity of the works it performs. This does not mean that the blades of jigsaws are highly prone to break. They just seem delicate when compared to circular saw blades, though the former is also cheaper to replace. The blades used for circular saws are also of different kinds, each suitable for a different type of material.

Which One Should you Get?

As for the question of which of the tools you should get, the answer depends on the nature of your job and its requirements. Both of the tools have certain different features. If you need a tool for craft and DIY projects, that would require a lot of detailed and curved cuts. This makes jigsaw a more suitable power tool for you since it’s pretty versatile when it comes to the variety of cuts. If you require long and straight cuts on larger pieces, a circular saw is a better choice. It can also be used on a larger variety of materials with the use of different blades it allows.