If you’re the type of person who really likes to get their hands dirty doing DIY jobs themselves, then a miter saw is a great tool for you to have, but choosing the ideal one is difficult.
That’s why we’ve narrowed things down for you. If you’ve got it down to Makita vs. Festool, then take a look at what we’ve found.
Known for producing great power tools, such as compound miter saws, hammer drills, cordless drills with lithium-ion batteries, orbital sanders, fixed-base routers, and more, these two companies will go head to head in this miter saw review.
Here, we’ll take a look at two different options when it comes to compound miter saws: the Makita and the Festool.
Table of contents
Makita vs. Festool: Brief Company Histories
Makita Company History
Makita was actually founded in 1915, over 100 years ago, and started out by making and repairing electric motors. It didn’t take long for the company to expand even further, and now they have products in over 40 countries as well as plants in eight different countries. They’re known for providing compact, powerful, and durable tools that provide lower levels of vibration and feel better in your hand.
Festool Company History
Slightly younger than Makita, Festool originated in 1925 (just over 90 years ago), repairing and modifying wood processing machines to focus on ball bearings rather than plain bearings. From there, they slowly started moving more and more into electric tools. This small company is still family-owned and operated.
Both of these companies are known for high quality in all of their tools, including durable and long-lasting products.
Makita vs. Festool: Parent Companies
Makita
Makita is just Makita. It’s one of the few remaining power tool brands that is not owned by a larger company. Makita did acquire the Dolmar brand, increasing its already-impressive line of outdoor power tools.
TTS Tooltechnic Systems
Festool is owned by TTS Tooltechnic Systems, they own a few different brands.
- Festool
- TANOS
- Narex
- SawStop
- Shaper Tools
Makita vs. Festool: Product Line Depths
Both Makita and Festool sell a wide variety of products. Below, you’ll find what each brand’s product line consists of.
Makita Product Line
Makita sells corded, cordless, and gas-powered products. While they may not sell as many products as other companies out there, that doesn’t mean they won’t have what you need. For the average consumer, you can find everything that you need.
Here are some of the specific types of products you can purchase from Makita:
- Blowers
- Chainsaws
- Hedge Trimmers
- Lawn Mowers
- Pole Saws
- Circular Saws
- Miter Saws
- Metal Cutting Saws
- Hammer Drills
- Impact Wrenches
- Nailers
- Vacuums
- Area Work Lights
- Random Orbit Sanders
- Polishers
- & More
Festool Product Line
Festool sells a wide variety of corded and cordless products. While they may not sell as many products as Makita, that doesn’t mean they won’t have what you need. For the average consumer, you can find everything that you need.
Here are some of the specific types of products you can purchase from Festool:
- Cordless Drill
- Dust Extractor
- Oscillator
- Angle Grinder
- Impact Driver
- Orbit Sander
- Jigsaw
- Track Saw
- Cordless Hammer Drill
- Jobsite Lights
- Jobsite Radios
- Miter Saw
- Drywall Sander
- & More
Makita vs. Festool: Brand Reputation & Cost of Tools
Here we’ll go over the reputations and cost of the tools of each brand.
Makita Reputation and Tool Affordability
This company has received some high praise due to the performance and high quality of the tools they make. Makita tools are truly durable, long-lasting, and tough.
Unlike a lot of other brands, Makita uses high-quality raw materials for its products and holds itself to high manufacturing standards as well. You can literally drop these tools on the ground over and over again, and they’d still work like the day you first bought them.
Consumers have found that Makita tools last a long time; the electrical components, motors, and other components can withstand high amounts of heat, friction, and general wear. It’s also noted how Makita tools are usually comfortable to use, functional, and have a variety of features too.
Overall, Makita tools are viewed as some of the best tools you can buy. Makita tools are great for DIY jobs, crafts, home use, and more. However, Makita products are marketed toward tradesmen, professionals, and anyone else who needs reliable, high-quality tools for daily, heavy-duty use.
The quality you get with these tools does come at a cost. Makita is one of the pricier brands. However, you really do get what you pay for.
Festool Reputation and Tool Affordability
Festool has a higher quality product for two reasons, the first being that the majority of Festool products are manufactured in Germany. Germany enforces and adheres to very high manufacturing standards. These standards then translate to excellent tool quality.
Many users prefer to choose a tool based on its price, which is completely understandable. Festool is more expensive than Makita. The quality of the Festool tools is very high, which may be the reason for this. They also last longer and have an extremely comfortable design. All of these factors increase the price of tools. Festool is also catered to professionals.
Makita vs. Festool: Warranty Comparisons
Makita Warranty
Makita offers really good warranties on its products. They have a 30-day replacement guarantee on all of their products. Additionally, all tools have at least a one-year general product warranty for defects. Also, all gas=powered tools have a two-year warranty, and all lithium-ion tools come with a three-year limited warranty.
Festool Warranty
Festool offers excellent warranties on its products. First off, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not happy with the product. Second, if your product breaks due to part failure, the tool will be serviced or replaced for up to 10 years.
All their tools also come with a comprehensive three-year warranty that covers all sorts of wear and tear, plus you can purchase an additional two-year all-inclusive warranty as well. Simply put, if anything goes wrong with your Festool product, you should be covered.
Makita vs. Festool: Tool Comparison
Makita Compound Miter Saw
Both of these compound miter saws are designed to cut through just about anything you have and prove themselves to be high-quality and durable.
The Makita Compound Miter Saw is moderately priced and offers a high-quality, 15-amp motor, which provides 3,200 RPM. The Independent laser lets you know right where you’re cutting and even whether the blade is turning or not. Plus, you get micro-adjustments so you can make sure you’re cutting directly where you want to be. This includes left-of-the-blade versus right-of-the-blade. This unit uses something Makita calls ‘Deep and eXact Cutting Technology’ or DXT. This has a direct drive gearbox and a retractable guard system that aids in vertical cutting.
Festool Compound Miter Saw
If price is not a problem for you, the Festool Compound Miter Saw is a more expensive option that delivers everything that you’re looking for. Up to 91% of the dust is extracted with the hood, and there’s a pivoting hose to help even more. The angle transfer device that’s included will help you to get the angles you need quickly, automatically bisecting to the saw, and a variable speed motor for extra power. There’s a dual laser system that lets you know where you’re cutting and, on top of that, this system lets you use the laser without having to turn on the saw itself, and the whole thing is lighter weight than other options.
Head to Head: Features and Benefits of Each Tool
There are a number of things you should look at before choosing the ideal compound miter saw for your needs.
Take a look at what we’ve found between the Makita and the Festool so you know which one is the top choice for you.
Amps
How many amps of power the motor actually puts out is going to tell you which saw has the most power coming into the race.
With these two options, you’re getting a decent amount of amperage no matter which way you go. However, you’re actually getting more when it comes to the Makita, at 15 amps, than you do with the Festool, at 13 amps.
You could notice the difference when cutting harder pieces, though 13 amps should be enough for most applications.
Weight
When it comes to weight, you’re actually getting better with the Festool option.
The Makita weighs in at 58.2 pounds. It’s definitely a lot of weight if you’re going to be carrying it around or transporting it to different locations.
The Festool option weighs in at 47 pounds, which is definitely going to be a big difference.
You’ll still notice the weight of it when you carry it with you somewhere. That extra 11.2 pound is definitely going to make a pretty big difference.
Variable Speed Motor
Having a variable-speed motor means that you can increase the power when cutting something harder and decrease the motor when cutting something softer.
It reduces the amount of wear on the machine and cuts down on overheating problems.
The Festool offers you this feature, providing different motor speed options to make sure you use only the power you need, while the Makita doesn’t provide this feature.
Soft Start
Another way to reduce the wear on the machine you use is with a soft start, which eases the unit into use rather than jumping from no power to high power right off the bat.
Both of these saws actually offer this feature. Providing a smoother process, you can trust to keep the machine working longer.
Makita vs. Festool: Wrap Up
If you’re looking to get the best of the best, the Festool Compound Miter Saw is probably the way to go.
It’s going to give you more features, more versatility, and the ability to move it around wherever you need it on top of that.
This tool has all of the capabilities of the Makita tool, plus some additional ones. Most notably, it has a variable-speed motor and the ability to use the laser without the saw being on.
That means you’ll be able to do a whole lot more with it. You won’t have to worry about overworking it when you need something more extensive.
If you’re not able to purchase the Festool because it’s out of your price range, the Makita is a really good tool and definitely provides some excellent features.
It will help you with most of your woodworking projects and even one-off projects that you might need.
If you’re not quite sold on either of these options and want a few more to choose from, you can check out more options here. We’ve got a whole list of some of our favorite picks.
