Best Log Splitters for 2026: Gas Splitters From 6.5 to 33 Tons, Matched to Your Wood

Log splitters are sold by one number, tons, and that number is the least useful thing on the box once you are past about 20. The things that decide whether a splitter is pleasant or miserable are how long each stroke takes, how big a log it takes, and whether you can move it to the woodpile rather than the other way around. Every spec below is from the maker or the Amazon listing, and every pick was checked on Amazon on October 12, 2026.

The Short Version

All figures are from the Amazon listings. A dash means the listing does not state it, and we would rather leave the cell empty than guess.

How Much Tonnage Do You Actually Need?

Champion's own buying guide boils the decision down to three questions, and they are the right three:

• What is the hardest wood you will split? Size the machine to the toughest species in your pile, not the average one.
• Is it green or seasoned? Champion notes that freshly cut green wood takes more tonnage to split than dry wood, which gets more brittle as it loses moisture.
• How big are the rounds, now and later? Champion's advice is to buy for the diameter you might split in a few years, not just this winter's pile.

Champion's own tonnage chart is an image we cannot quote reliably, so here is our read, not a spec: if you split mostly seasoned, stove-length wood from trees you cut yourself, the 20-to-27-ton class is a reasonable place to start. If you buy log-length loads of green hardwood, or you are cleaning up big storm-down trunks, the extra headroom of a 33-ton machine is what Champion's green-wood and future-diameter advice points toward. And if the real answer is "a face cord of dry pine," you are in electric splitter or even kindling splitter territory.

Tonnage Is Not Speed

This is the spec that is easiest to overlook. Cycle time is how long the ram takes to push out and come back, and it is what sets your pace through a cord. Champion makes the point in its own catalog: it sells 27-ton splitters with 11-second and 16-second cycles. Same tonnage, very different pace.

On this page, the two 20-ton machines are the quick ones: 7.5 seconds for the Landworks and 8.5 for the Full Boar 20, per their listings. The Full Boar 33 takes 14.3 seconds per cycle in exchange for the extra force. In our view, a 14-second cycle is rarely what slows down a home woodpile. Lifting and stacking are.

The Picks

Full Boar 33-Ton (223cc): Our Top Pick

Top Pick

Full Boar 33-Ton Log Splitter (223cc)

33 tons, 223cc, 14.3-second cycle, H-beam, auto-return with adjustable detent per the listing, which names YARDMAX as manufacturer.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Amazon

The listing gives 33 tons from a 223cc OHV engine, a 14.3-second cycle, an H-beam frame, an auto-return valve with adjustable detent, and a hydraulic oil filter mounted inside the reservoir, where the listing says falling logs cannot damage it. The listing names YARDMAX as the manufacturer. It does not say whether the beam goes vertical or give a maximum log length, so we have not claimed either. Its case is simple: the most tonnage of anything in stock here, sold by Amazon itself.

Full Boar 20-Ton (209cc): Best Value Gas

Best Value Gas

Full Boar 20-Ton Gas Log Splitter (209cc)

• 20 tons
• 209cc
• 8.5-second cycle
• 10.5 GPM two-stage pump
• Auto-return with adjustable detent

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Amazon

Per the listing: a 209cc EPA-certified engine, 20 tons, an 8.5-second cycle from a 10.5 GPM two-stage pump, an auto-return valve with adjustable detent, a wide-angle wedge and 10-inch flat-free tires. It is a push-around splitter, not a towable one, and it ships without hydraulic oil (the listing calls for 1.45 gallons of AW32-type fluid). For seasoned, stove-length wood, 20 tons and a quick cycle are a good match. Sold by Amazon.

Landworks 20-Ton: The Lightweight Gas Option

Portable

Landworks 20-Ton Portable Gas Log Splitter

7 HP, 20 tons, logs up to 20 inches long and 16 inches in diameter, 130 lb, 7.5-second cycle per the listing. Horizontal only, on transport wheels.

Check price on Amazon

Check the seller on Amazon

Per its listing: a 7 HP engine with a two-stage Bucher gear pump, 20 tons, logs up to 20 inches long and 16 inches in diameter, a 7.5-second cycle, and 130 pounds all-in on 10-inch transport wheels. That weight is the story. It is horizontal only and sized for wheeling around a property, not towing down a road. It ships from Amazon but is sold by a third-party seller.

BILT HARD 6.5-Ton: For a Small Pile and a Short Walk

Small Woodpile

BILT HARD 6.5-Ton Log Splitter

6.5 tons of splitting force, full-beam steel wedge, logs up to 20.5 inches long and 9.8 inches across, 5.7" wheels, stores upright, per the listing. A yard-and-shed splitter. Third-party seller when we checked on Oct 12, 2026.

Check price on Amazon

Check the seller on Amazon

Per the listing, it splits logs up to 20.5 inches long and 9.8 inches in diameter with a full-beam steel wedge, rolls on 5.7-inch wheels and stores upright. Think split-sized rounds of seasoned wood rather than fresh trunk sections. It suits someone who burns a few cords a year, cuts their own wood to stove length, and wants something that fits in a shed. If you have an outdoor outlet near the pile, compare it with the electric models first. It was sold by a third-party seller when we checked.

Gas or Electric?

The electric splitters we cover are in the 6.5-ton class, but they need no gasoline or engine oil. If your wood is seasoned, stove-length, and within reach of an outlet, electric is the sensible buy. Gas earns its keep when the wood is green, big, or far from the house.

What Goes With It

Split wood is only half the job. It needs to dry: a firewood moisture meter tells you when it is ready, and a firewood rack keeps it off the ground while it gets there. The saw that feeds the splitter is covered in our Stihl lineup guide and our Husqvarna Rancher comparison. If you plan to tow one, check your vehicle's towing rating against the splitter's weight.

Common Questions

What size log splitter do I need?

Champion's buying guide sizes it by three things: the hardest wood you will split, whether it is green or seasoned, and the largest diameter you expect to handle now and later. Green wood takes more tonnage than seasoned, per Champion. In our view, seasoned stove-length wood is where the 20-ton class fits, and green hardwood or big rounds are the case for 30 tons and up.

Is a 20-ton log splitter enough?

In our view, for seasoned, stove-length firewood, usually yes. If you split green hardwood or rounds wider than you can easily lift, step up to the 33-ton.

What is a good cycle time for a log splitter?

Among the splitters on this page, listed cycle times run from 7.5 seconds (Landworks 20-ton) to 14.3 seconds (Full Boar 33-ton). Faster cycles matter most when you are splitting a lot of wood in one session.

Can you tow a log splitter on the road?

Some larger splitters are built for road towing, but none of the in-stock picks here lists a road-towing rating. The Full Boar 20-ton listing says it is not towable, and the Landworks and BILT HARD ride on transport wheels for moving around a property.

Is a vertical log splitter worth it?

If you split rounds too heavy to lift comfortably, yes: a vertical beam lets you split them standing instead of lifting them onto the beam. None of the in-stock picks here lists a vertical position, so if that matters, check a dealer for a horizontal/vertical model.

Splitting by hand instead? See our splitting maul and axe guide. Burning it in a stove? Our ash vacuum and wood stove fan guides cover the cleanup and the heat.