Best Wood Chippers 2023 – Buyer’s Guide

Anyone with trees in their yard knows the challenge of dealing with leaves and branches in the spring and fall. Instead of burning your waste, save time and money: create your own mulch for your garden and flower beds. A chipper can be a handy tool that will even let you make your own compost. Here are a few tips on what to look for in the best wood chipper and a few reviews to help you start shopping.

Best Wood Chipper to Buy Online in 2023

1. Best Electric Wood Chipper: [amazon link=”B0721VFP7L” title=”Sun Joe Chipper/Shredder”]

If you reduce, recycle, and reuse, the Sun Joe Chipper/Shredder will help you chop up the debris in your yard and create fresh garden mulch quickly and easily. This nutrient-rich mulch is made with an electric wood chipper and shredder that has a strong 15-amp motor with 4,300 rpm. It can make fast work of branches, leaves, and brush that is filling up your lawn.

The Sun Joe Chipper/Shredder was created for light-duty projects and can effectively shred and chip wooden limbs and sticks that are up to 1 ½ inches thick. This powerful and compact machine will reduce the waste in your yard to 1/17th of its initial size, plus it comes with six-inch wheels making it easy to move.

Best Light Duty and Compact Wood Chipper

Ready when you are, the Sun Joe Chipper/Shredder will instantly start to chip after you plug it in, plus you don’t have the fumes, smoke, expensive tune-ups and unpredictable starts that you get with a gas-powered tool. It also comes with a safety stop, which will engage automatically when you open the hopper. This is an ETL-approved machine that comes with a 2-year warranty.

Overall

This is a good product for those with a small to medium sized yard without large branches to cut up. This easy-to-use tool is great for those that use mulch in their yards and don’t want to deal with a large, cumbersome machine.

2. Best Leaf Mulcher: [amazon link=”B002MAPZYC” title=”Worx Electric Leaf Mulcher/Shredder”]

An all-in-one solution to the annual piles of leaves in your yard, the WORX WG430 Leaf Mulcher will dispose of these leaves and other yard waste in a few smart and simple steps. You can quickly turn hundreds of gallons of leaves into organic mulch, a vitamin-rich fertilizer perfect for your garden or flowerbed.

Instead of disturbing the environment with a lot of noise and noxious odors like a regular gas mulcher and shredder, the electric WORX Leaf Mulcher features a powerful 13 Amp motor that gives you 8,500 RPMs. Reducing piles of twigs and dead leaves to 1/11th of their original size, you won’t have to worry about carrying bags to the curb, plus you can mulch up to 53 gallons of leaves per minute. You can collect and pulverize acres of leaves into a manageable mound of mulch in very little time at all.

Convenient to Use and Powerful

Mixing mulch into your flower beds and garden allows you to encourage new growth by aerating the soil. Leaf mulch also helps increase your soil’s water retention, saving you money and reducing the amount of time you spend watering. This versatile and compact mulcher and shredder weighs less than twenty pounds. With its small size, you can assemble and disassemble it quickly for easy cleanup and storage.

This convenient mulcher includes a motor cooling system that reduces dust by separating mulched leaves and air through an outside air intake and exhaust that reduces the amount of dust generated, keeping the air cleaner. It also comes with an oversized on and off switch that gives you hassle-free operations. Plus, the Worx Electric Mulcher and Shredder has a cutting line replacement that is tool-less, and it comes with a universal bag holder that uses either plastic or paper bags.

Overall

This is the perfect tool for users with large yards who need a workhorse to turn tons of yard waste into usable mulch or compost. Convenient to use and powerful, the Worx Leaf Mulcher can plow through mounds of yard waste in no time at all.

3. Best Home Wood Chipper: [amazon link=”B00W874Y46″ title=”Earthwise Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder”]

When you have a ton of branches and fallen leaves in your yard, you want a tool that easily helps you manage that mulch and debris. Featuring a 15-amp motor, the Earthwise Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder comes with a 1.2-bushel collection bin and a metal impeller making clean up quick and easy. Without gas and oil, the Earthwise Electric Garden Chipper and Shredder doesn’t emit fumes, making it a clean air choice.

Best Value Chipper

The Earthwise Chipper/Shredder is the perfect solution to get rid of the leaf and stick collection that you accumulate in your yard. It has a maximum cutting diameter of 1 ¾ inches and generates a 4500 rpm idle speed. This tool is easy to transport and comes with large back wheels and  a lightweight design, letting you easily move it anywhere in your yard.

Safety features include overload protection with a reset button and a leaf chute with a tamper tool that lets you keep your hands free and safe. The Earthwise Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder is perfect for composting and quickly shredding sticks into fresh mulch for your flowerbeds and garden.

Overall

Powerful and compact, this is a good machine for those with a medium sized yard who also want something eco-friendly. With its safety features, this is a good machine for those that want a quick and easy solution to their yard debris that turns it into usable mulch and compost.

4. Best Commercial Wood Chipper: [amazon link=”B01N66MSEB” title=”Farmer Helper Wood Chipper”]

The Farmer Helper Wood Chipper features a design that lowers the total weight of the chipper so it can be used with smaller tractors.

It also features easy access from the top that lets you do simple blade changes and fast plug clean outs.

With an angled hopper, the Farmer Helper uses gravity to help move the material into the unique blade design of the flywheel, which will pull and pinch material in. It also has a footprint with a new frame design that reduces the total weight that allows it to maintain its structural strength.

Best Design for a Small Tractor

The Farmer Helper Wood Chipper has a hopper opening of 20 inches by 20 inches with a maximum capacity of four-inch diameter. Other features include a discharge funnel that is adjustable in height and direction and air intake vents located on the chipper’s sides to maximize the airflow of the exhaust.

Overall

A good farm wood chipper that works well with smaller tractors. This is a different type of wood chipper than you would use in the average yard and is suited for daily use.

5. Best Wood Chipper Shredder: [amazon link=”B001KMZK3E” title=”Patriot Products Electric Wood Chipper/Leaf Shredder”]

A one-of-a-kind product, the Patriot Products Electric Chipper/Shredder can chop up branches that have a 2 ½ inch diameter, and it is perfect for shredding leaves. Without needing oil or gas, you simply flip the switch and can use it inside or outside without any harmful fumes. It uses a typical 110-volt outlet and a nice heavy-duty extension cord that can draw 14 amps of electricity.

This lightweight chipper weighs under 100 pounds and features large wheels for easy movement around your home and yard.

Easiest to Maintain Wood Chipper

The Patriot Products Electric Wood Chipper gives you an easy and safe way to remove material from your chipper, plus it makes quick and easy work of those piles of leaves in your yard. This is a low maintenance chipper with a smooth and quiet motor that starts with a simple flip of the switch.

With the Patriot Products Electric Wood Chipper, all the material that is processed comes out of the side of the machine into a collection bag. You don’t even need to bend over the feed leaves into the hopper ,which can hold twice that of typical collection bags, letting you shred more before you have to empty the bag.

Overall

For someone who wants ease of use, this is an easy-to-assemble, easy-to-use chipper that requires very little maintenance. This is a good machine for someone with a small to medium yard, and it can be moved around the yard easily and safely.

Chipper Buying Guide 2023

Differences Between Chippers, Mulchers, and Shredders

Each of these tools is different but also similar. Depending on your yard and your needs, each tool provides different benefits. For example, if you use mulch, wouldn’t it make sense to use a mulcher to turn the branches and leaves in your yard into something you use anyway? Here is a quick breakdown of each of these tools and how they can benefit your yard.

Wood Chipper

The most powerful of the three, a wood chipper can do things the others can’t. A wood chipper can break down any piece of wood once you put it in the chute, although branch thickness capacity depends on the model you choose. It can’t handle a tree trunk, but it can definitely work for what’s in your backyard. Sharp blades bolted to a disc that rotates breaks down the wood inside the machine, expelling wood chips from the other side. Some models feature a bag that catches the chips to stop them from flying around.

Wood Shredder

Like a little brother to the powerful wood chipper, the wood shredder uses blunt blades or metal strips with holes to cut wood. Another difference? A wood shredder’s power is considerably less than a chipper, so it cannot handle larger branches like a chipper can–but it can handle most branches found in a backyard. Plus, it can turn these branches into mulch instead of chips.

Wood shredders are also smaller machines and make less noise. They have the ability to make organic material small enough to use as mulch. If you have fewer trees in your yard, this is a great tool.

Mulcher

Mulchers are designed to deal with a very specific type of garden waste. They can’t chop up wood, but they will cut softer organic materials like twigs and leaves with a piece of nylon string similar to a weed eater. The nylon string is positioned vertically inside the mulcher’s drum and destroys any grass, leaves, and small twigs dropped inside. This is a great tool for those who want to make compost and have a minimal amount of trees.

Considerations When Choosing a Chipper

• Budget

  Always make sure to think about your budget first, especially since chippers can get very expensive. There are some models that are very affordable, but if you have a tight budget, you will still be able to find an inexpensive chipper that will suit your needs. Make sure you know what you have to spend before you start shopping and don’t feel like you need tons of features when there are plenty of cheaper chippers that will also work for you.

• Yard Debris

  Also, consider what type of branches and leaves you have in your yard and how much power you will need to break them down. Plus, if you plan to cut down any trees in the near future, you may want to consider getting a more powerful gas-powered chipper that can handle that. But if you are only chopping up small branches and limbs, a good electric wood chipper should suffice.

• Frequency of Use

  How often will you be using your chipper? Are you using it for professional or personal reasons? Even though a wood chipper that is designed for professional use will work fine for personal use, it won’t work the other way around. Also, if you will only be using your chipper occasionally, a cheaper chipper should be fine. If you use it almost every day, then you will need a more durable and powerful machine; expect to pay more for it.

• Capacity

  The capacity of a chipper is another important consideration you should have. This will tell you exactly the branch types the chipper will be able to handle, so if you have large branches, you will need a large capacity chipper. Remember that when the capacity gets larger, so will the chipper’s price.

• Knives and Blades

  Since the knives and blades are the specific things that will chop up wood, make sure that the knives and blades are able to cut the wood that you have in your yard without any problems. Figure out where the blades and knives are in the machine to make sure they are accessible enough so you can easily replace and remove them. You may also want to consider getting blades that are self-sharpening so that they sharpen themselves, lengthening their lifespan and making maintenance simpler.

• Reduction Ratio

  You also want to find a very efficient machine that will reduce your yard waste, so look for a machine that has an 8:1 or 10:1 ratio. If you have a 10:1 ratio machine, you should be able to chop up ten bags of branches and leaves into just one bag of chopped up material. This feature will ensure you know the amount of mulch you will have.

• Collection Bag

  You will see that most wood chippers include a collection bag. It isn’t a necessity to have this bag since the debris could just blow out onto the ground, but it helps to contain the debris and creates less of a mess. You want a bag made from durable, good-quality materials between two to five bushels in size. The two-bushel bag is adequate for some users while others will find the five-bushel bag reduces job time since you will have to empty it fewer times. However, you will have added weight with the five-bushel bag, which may require more effort to move.

• Weight

  More than likely, you will have to move your chipper or let someone borrow it. Some units can be towed, but if you don’t have one of those, you may need to pick it up to put it in a vehicle. Getting a lightweight machine will make a big difference in portability around your yard or over to a friend’s house.

• Maintenance

  Low-maintenance machines are great for those who don’t have a lot of time or are forgetful. Electric models tend to be the easiest to own, but if you do get a gas-powered machine, get one that comes with a low oil sensor shutoff. When the oil gets low, the machine will turn off automatically to shield the engine.

• Chippers

  Gravity-feed models are less efficient than auto-feed chippers. Featuring large rollers, twigs and branches are automatically pulled into the chipper. It gives you a faster shredding process compared to a gravity-fed chipper, making your job easy. This feature is also sometimes seen on small or inexpensive models.

• Eco-Friendly

  If you are looking for an eco-friendly machine, stay away from gas chippers that produce dangerous emissions. An electric wood chippers works as well as gas-powered wood chippers, so don’t think you are buying a low-quality machine just because it is electric.

• Hoppers

  The area of your chipper where limbs, twigs, and branches are loaded is called the hopper. There is a wide range of sizes and shapes that a hopper can come in, and they can be located in different places depending on the machine. Plus, some hopper has a tilt-down operation that lets you drop the hopper down to the ground allowing the user to rake in grass and leaves. This is a great feature for those with a large yard that is covered in grass and leaf debris so all you have to do is rake the grass and leaves right into it instead of putting them all in a pile, picking all the leaves and branches up, and putting them in. This feature also helps give you usable mulch to use in your yard.

• Horsepower

  The engine is not only the main part of the machine that propels the chipper, and it also tells you what the machine’s capabilities are. The more horsepower you have, the more power you will have to chop up stronger and larger twigs, limbs, and branches. When you decide on a horsepower for your chipper, you need to consider what you will be using the chipper for. For large yards that have lots of limbs, twigs, and branches, you want a lot of horsepower in your engine so you have enough torque to chop through all that debris. Plus, you will find that gas-powered chippers can handle sturdier and larger pieces of debris, so keep that in mind when choosing a chipper.

• Sturdiness

  The debris you put in your shredder can be very hard on your chipper, so it is important to find a chipper made of very durable materials. Make sure to choose a machine that is made of thick and welded 10- to 16-gauge steel. Avoid models that are too lightweight and are constructed of sheet metal as they are less likely to last you a long time.

• Easy Access

  The shredding chamber is the place where you put the limbs, twigs, and branches, and they are chopped up into mulch. No matter how reliable or durable your chipper is, you will still experience clogging. You need to clear the clogs out immediately so you can continue to work–and do so safely.

When choosing a wood chipper, two models that we reviewed really stood out. The Sun Joe Chipper/Shredder and the Worx Electric Leaf Mulcher and Shredder. Both will reduce the leaves and branches in your yard to mulch quickly. The Sun Joe Chipper/Shredder is perfect for light-duty jobs and produces good mulch for your garden. It also is very portable with six-inch wheels and comes with the ease of use that only an electric chipper can give you.

The Worx Electric Leaf Mulcher and Shredder is a great all-in-one solution that gets rid of leaves and yard waste in a few quick steps. This small and lightweight machine has the versatility to create mulch and fertilizer that is great for your garden and uses a typical grass trimmer line that safely and easily mulches through debris and leaves. Everyone that has dealt with yard cleaning will appreciate the time and money you can save with a wood chipper that can create mulch for your yard while also allowing you to get rid of your yard debris.