Wood Chippers (2026): 4 Best Picks

Past most yards' prunings, the other three picks cover dry branches, branches up to 4 inches, and leaves.

The figures above come from the makers' own pages and manuals, and we did not feed branches or leaves through these machines: how we chose these.

Start here: which wood chipper for your yard

• Fresh prunings, twigs and small branches up to 1-3/4 inches: WEN 41119 Electric Wood Chipper (pick 1).
• Dry, downed branches up to 1.8 inches, into a bin: LawnMaster FD1504 Electric Chipper (pick 2).
• Branches past 1-3/4 inches, up to 4 inches, even hard or dried-out ones: EFCUT C40 Gas Wood Chipper (pick 3).
• Leaves, grass clippings and pine needles, no branches: WORX WG430 Leaf Mulcher (pick 4).

The picks, by job

1. WEN 41119 Electric Wood Chipper: our pick for most yards' prunings

A corded electric chipper shredder: a 15-amp motor spins two 7-inch blades at up to 8,000 cuts per minute and takes branches and sticks up to 1-3/4 inches (45 mm) thick. Chips drop into a 12-gallon (45 L) collection bag, and it rolls on two 7-inch never-flat wheels. It comes with a push stick and a two-year warranty, and weighs 19.2 pounds.

Why it is our pick: Fresh prunings come with leaves on, and its manual plans for them: feed wilted and damp material alternately with dry branches, finish each leafy branch before adding more, and push small twigs and leaves in with the paddle. It is the lightest machine of the four, and a safety mechanism keeps it from starting while the hopper is open.

Good to know: Its maker gives no reduction ratio. Kitchen waste and other soft, damp material stay out, and so does rain: its manual says not to use it in rainy or wet locations. Keep a few dry branches to shred at the end, since they help clean the machine.

2. LawnMaster FD1504 Electric Chipper: our pick for dry, downed branches

A corded electric chipper with a 15-amp motor and a two-sided blade at 3,700 RPM, for dry sticks and branches up to 1.8 inches (45 mm). Chips land in a dent-resistant polypropylene collection box of 11.89 gallons (45 L), and it rolls on two 7-inch wheels. Its maker lists a 2-year limited warranty, a 16:1 mulch ratio and 29.54 pounds.

Why it is our pick: Dry branches are what it is built for: its manual says it is designed for dry material only. Of the two electric chippers here, it is the one whose maker gives a reduction ratio, and chips collect in a bin rather than a bag.

Good to know: Keep green material, leaves, vines and bamboo out. Hardwoods such as oak and beech chip at less than the full 1.8 inches, and dry or knotted wood may too. Its product page lists the branch cutting diameter as 1.7 inches in its spec list and 1.8 inches in its description; its manual says 1.8.

3. EFCUT C40 Gas Wood Chipper: our pick for branches up to 4 inches

A gas chipper with a 9 hp four-stroke OHV engine, 274cc by its manual's parts list, and a recoil start. It chips solid wood up to 4 inches in diameter, fed by gravity onto a 15.9-inch flywheel with hardened steel blades, and its maker gives a 15:1 reduction ratio. It weighs 57 kilograms, about 126 pounds, and rolls on two 10-inch wheels.

Why it is our pick: As the one gas pick here, it takes branches past what the electric picks take. Up to 4 inches is the largest branch any pick here takes, and its maker rates it at over 0.70 tons of brushwood an hour. It is also the pick for hard or dried-out limbs: its maker says it handles harder wood, and its manual allows for dry wood.

Good to know: No collection bag is in its packing list; chips leave through a discharge tube, so keep clear of it, since stray objects may fly out of it with great force. Its maker asks for a helmet with a mesh visor and ear defenders, work gloves with elasticated wrists and steel toe cap boots. Fresh greens, pine cones, palm branches, petrified wood and vines stay out. Its manual recommends re-sharpening the blades after up to 3 hours of chipping fresh wood but 1 hour of dry wood, because dry wood is harder. One line of its product page gives 294cc; the page's title and its manual say 274cc.

4. WORX WG430 Leaf Mulcher: our pick for leaves

A corded electric leaf mulcher that folds down for storage: a 13-amp motor spins cutting line, not metal blades, under a funnel, and the shredded leaves drop into a bag you supply. Its maker lists up to 53 gallons of leaves a minute, an 11:1 mulch ratio, a 13-inch cutting diameter, a 3-year warranty and 20 pounds.

Why it is our pick: Leaves are its whole job: it shreds leaves, grass clippings and pine needles. The dry-branch chipper here is not designed for leaves, and the gas pick keeps fresh greens out.

Good to know: It cannot shred branches, sticks or brush. Feed dry leaves a double handful at a time and wet ones a single handful, and let it regain speed between loads. A bag is not included, and its maker does not recommend storing it outside.

How we chose these

These are machines that cut up garden waste at home: three chippers for branches, two electric and one gas, and one leaf mulcher. We read each model's product page and manual from its maker, and kept a model only if its maker lists the largest branch it takes (or, for the leaf mulcher, what it shreds instead), the power, the weight and where the chips go. Safety steps come from the makers' manuals and an extension safety booklet; the advice on chips and leaves from the extension and government pages in the Sources list. We did not feed branches or leaves through these machines ourselves.

Our editorial policy says how we find, check and number the picks in every buying guide.

Also considered

WEN 41130. Pick 1's sibling with an enclosed 13-gallon (50 L) bin, which its maker says limits noise and loose sawdust. It takes the same 1-3/4 inch branches at 25.8 pounds, and its maker gives no noise figure.

Shop-Vac Electric Wood Chipper. Branches up to 1-3/4 inches into a 45-liter bag at 22.7 pounds; its maker lists no reduction ratio, and pick 1 takes the same branch size at 19.2 pounds.

LawnMaster FD1503. Pick 2's bag version, with a lower mulch ratio, 14:1 to pick 2's 16:1, and a 12-gallon bag in place of the bin, at 22.7 pounds.

Landworks Compact. A 7 HP, 212cc gas chipper for branches up to 3 inches, at a 15:1 reduction ratio and a net weight of 96 pounds. Its manual's safety section says not to run it without a debris bag, yet no bag is in its packing list or parts list, and its troubleshooting chart calls extremely hard or dried-out limbs not suitable for chipping.

Patriot Products CSV-2515. We had no spec sheet from its maker to check it against.

Wood chippers side by side

The reduction ratio is the maker's own figure for how far the volume shrinks: pick 2's product page puts its 16:1 as 16 bags of twigs and leaves turned into one bag of mulch, though its manual keeps leaves out. None of the four makers' pages or manuals we read gives a noise level.

Electric or gas wood chipper?

Electric for prunings within reach of an outlet; gas for thicker branches or a yard far from one. The two electric chippers here take branches up to 1-3/4 and 1.8 inches and weigh 19.2 to 29.54 pounds. The gas chipper here takes up to 4 inches and weighs about 126 pounds, more than four times as much as either.

A corded machine needs an outdoor-rated extension cord heavy enough to carry the current it draws, and GFCI protection should be on the circuit or outlet; do not use it in rainy or wet locations. A gas engine gives off carbon monoxide, a poison gas with no color or smell, so always start and run it outdoors, and never add fuel to a running or hot engine.

Wood chipper, chipper shredder or leaf shredder?

The two electric chippers here cut branches with blades, up to 1-3/4 or 1.8 inches. A chipper shredder, in the wording of one maker's manual, breaks up leaves and woody pieces with a high-speed rotor of chipping blades and shredding hammers. Pick 4 is a leaf shredder: it spins cutting line for leaves, grass clippings and pine needles and cannot take branches. Read any maximum branch size as a ceiling: on pick 2, its maker says hardwoods chip at less than softwoods such as pine and spruce.

For a light leaf fall you may not need a shredder at all. A thin layer of leaves can be mowed and left in place on the lawn, most effectively with a mulching mower, and with only a few small trees that is probably the most efficient way to handle them.

How do you use a wood chipper safely?

Run incorrectly, a chipper can seriously injure or kill, and being caught in its moving parts is among the most commonly reported causes.

• Gear: eye and hearing protection every time (every chipper maker here asks for both), with sturdy non-slip footwear and gloves without loose cuffs. A dust mask helps, since chips are harmful to your health, and the gas pick's maker asks for a helmet with a mesh visor. Wear close-fitting clothes, no jewelry, and tie back long hair.
• Setup: a flat, level spot, off concrete, pavement or gravel, since thrown material can ricochet off hard surfaces. Keep people and pets well back: the two makers here that give a distance ask for at least 10 meters (about 33 feet) and 50 feet.
• Feeding: start at full speed, stand to the side of the chute, never in front of it, because branches and harder wood may kick back. Feed branches butt end first, which keeps the chipper from jamming and reduces kickback, and let go as soon as the machine starts to pull a branch in.
• Hands: never put hands or feet into the hopper. Push twigs and short pieces in with the push stick or paddle, not a hand, a foot or a shovel.
• Kickback: keep the discharge clear. Material that builds up there can make new material kick back with enough force to injure you or a bystander.
• Clogs: switch off, unplug the cord or pull the spark plug wire, and wait for the blades to stop completely. On the two electric chippers, the blades keep turning for a few seconds after you switch off.
• What goes in: no metal, rocks, bottles or cans, and no soil left on roots.

What can you do with wood chips and shredded leaves?

Wood chips make a mulch for perennial beds, raspberries and highbush blueberries, permanent walkways and the paths between raised beds, and they go into a compost pile as a carbon source. Spread them on top of the soil rather than mixing them in: chips mixed into soil tend to tie up more nitrogen than chips left on top, and small particles more than large chips. For vegetable beds, advice runs from generally keeping chips out of the beds you plant and on the paths between them, to spreading them around plants on top of the soil. Keep chip mulch off trunks and stems: there it harbors slugs, sow bugs and mice, which may chew on them.

Shred leaves before you compost them if you can: the smaller the pieces, the faster they break down, and mixing them with grass clippings or other nitrogen-rich material helps too. Shredded leaves also make a mulch for vegetable gardens and flower beds and around trees and shrubs, and they are much more likely to stay in place than whole ones. In the compost pile, dry leaves, plant stalks and twigs, and untreated wood chips all count as browns; leave out diseased and pest-infested plants, weeds with seeds, herbicide-treated plants and treated or painted wood. To choose the bin itself, start with our compost bin picks.

Checklist: buying a wood chipper

• Branch size: the maker's maximum diameter, and for which wood.
• What it takes: fresh prunings, dry branches only, or leaves only.
• Power: the amps on a corded machine or the engine's HP, and whether you have an outlet nearby.
• Collection: a bag, a bin or an open chute.
• Weight and wheels: about 20 to 30 pounds for the electric picks, about 126 for the gas pick.

Related guides

• Compost bins, for the chips and shredded leaves.
• Leaf blowers, to gather the leaves first.
• Pruning shears, for the cuts before the chipper.
• Wheelbarrows and garden carts, for hauling chips to the beds.
• Getting rid of weeds naturally, with wood chips among the mulches.
• How to grow blueberries, which take an acid mulch such as wood chips.
• How to grow fig trees, mulched with leaves or pine straw.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best wood chipper?

For most yards' prunings, the WEN 41119, because it is a 15-amp electric chipper for branches up to 1-3/4 inches and the lightest machine here. For dry, downed branches, the LawnMaster FD1504; for branches up to 4 inches, the EFCUT C40; for leaves, the WORX WG430.

What size branches can an electric wood chipper handle?

The two electric chippers here take branches up to 1-3/4 and 1.8 inches, by their makers' figures, and one of them takes dry wood only. The gas chipper here takes up to 4 inches. Treat any maximum as a ceiling: on the dry-branch pick, its maker says hardwoods chip at less.

Is an electric or gas wood chipper better?

Electric suits prunings near an outlet: branches up to 1.8 inches, at 19.2 to 29.54 pounds. Gas takes up to 4 inches with no cord, but weighs about 126 pounds and must run outdoors.

Can a wood chipper shred leaves?

Some can, within limits: pick 1 takes leaves pushed in with its paddle, and the gas pick keeps fresh greens out. The dry-branch pick is not designed for leaves. For leaves alone, the WORX WG430 leaf shredder takes leaves, grass clippings and pine needles.

What safety gear do you need for a wood chipper?

Eye and hearing protection every time, plus sturdy non-slip footwear, gloves and close-fitting clothes with no jewelry. Stand to the side of the chute, feed branches butt end first and use the push stick.

Can you use wood chips in a vegetable garden?

Keep them on top of the soil, not mixed in, where they tend to tie up more nitrogen. Advice for vegetable beds runs from generally keeping chips out of the beds you plant and on the paths between them, to spreading them around plants on top of the soil; chips suit perennial beds, berry bushes and walkways.

Sources

• "WEN: 41119 Electric Wood Chipper and Shredder"
• "WEN: 41119 Wood Chipper and Shredder operator's manual"
• "WEN: 41130 Electric Wood Chipper and Shredder"
• "LawnMaster: 15 Amp Electric Wood Chipper Shredder with Collection Bin, FD1504"
• "LawnMaster: FD1504 operator's manual"
• "LawnMaster: 15 Amp Electric Wood Chipper Shredder, FD1503"
• "Landworks: Compact Wood Chipper (GUO067)"
• "Landworks: GUO067 wood chipper operator's manual"
• "EFCUT: C40 Wood Chipper"
• "EFCUT: User manual for C40 wood chipper"
• "Shop-Vac: Electric Wood Chipper"
• "WORX: 13 Amp Leaf Mulcher WG430"
• "WORX: WG430 leaf mulcher manual"
• "K-State Research and Extension: Chipper/Shredder Safety (MF2710)"
• "University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Using arborist chips in a vegetable garden"
• "Oregon State University Extension Service: Wood chips for mulch?"
• "Iowa State University Extension: How can I speed up leaf decomposition in my compost?"
• "University of Illinois Extension: Recycled leaves make inexpensive mulch"
• "US EPA: Composting at home"