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Deal with fallen branches and trimmed leaves easily and efficiently with these top picks. routertables
If your outdoor space is filled with greenery, including trees and bushes, you’re no stranger to fallen and trimmed leaves, branches, and other foliage all over your yard. While you can always pack it up into a garbage bag, chipper shredders can effortlessly chop up the smaller branches, twigs, and leaves, and turn them into wood chips and nutrient-rich mulch.
“When shopping for a chipper shredder, there are three main things to look for: the type of power, the capacity ratio, and its ability to vacuum,” says Stefan Bucur, gardening and landscaping expert, and owner of Rhythm of the Home. “Ask yourself whether you are chipping just small twigs and leaves or larger branches, and whether you will be using it just seasonally or all year-round,” she says.
To learn about the most important factors to consider when shopping for the best chipper shredder for every type of garden and landscaping need, we spoke to Bucur and Katie Burdett, owner of modern sustainable living site, Growing With Gertie. We personally tested out several chipper shredders in real-world conditions, and evaluated them for their ease of use, power, size, weight, and overall value for money.
To find the best chipper shredders we evaluated several models on their power, size, and weight. For more information on how we tested chipper shredders, check out our testing process below.
It’s powerful and can handle branches up to 5 inches in diameter. Plus, it also has a large feed chute for easy wood insertion.
It doesn’t come with a bag for collecting the wood chips.
If you’re in need of a dynamic machine to help you clean up a heavily wooded yard, Power King’s Gas Powered Commercial Chipper Shredder Kit won’t disappoint. Built for professional use, this chipper shredder can easily handle smaller 1-inch-diameter branches and bulkier logs with 5-inch diameters.
This model has a powerful 14HP Kohler engine that swiftly pulled in the branches we put into its wide chute during testing. That being said, we did notice a little lag with dry logs over 4 inches in diameter.
During testing we found that using the machine was simpler than assembling it. The very secure packaging (a wooden crate with metal reinforcements) was a chore to break into, and the instructions omitted a couple of vital steps. It was also a two-person job due to the machine's size and whopping 430-pound weight.
When we put it all together, we were impressed with its high quality construction, but, as expected, its heft meant it was difficult to maneuver. We high recommend adding the wheelbase, which made it much easier to manuever. Thankfully, we didn’t need to move the chipper around too much; we just positioned it near the wood piles, and brought them to the machine.
Once this chipper gets going, it’s very easy to use. Other than feeding the wood in, and standing out of the way to avoid the kickback, there was nothing else to do until the machine was finished. However, we had to manually clean up the chips as no collection bag was provided.
This unit produced unform wood chips that were ideal for mulching or reducing the size of the debris for easier disposal. Despite slowing down slightly when working on larger branches, it still chipped them up to perfection.
Safety gear was included with the machine—gloves, goggles, and hearing protection—but we didn’t think the quality of these items matched the quality of the machine. There’s also an emergency stop for added safety.
Overall, we think the Power King chipper shredder is a worthwhile investment for those who need serious chipping capabilities. While it’s more expensive than other options, the time and effort saved on clearing debris are worth it, especially compared to renting a similar machine that can be around $100 an hour.
Product Details: Dimensions: 65 x 47 x 54 inches | Power: 14 HP | Power Type: Gas | Maximum Diameter Capacity: 5.75 inches | Reduction Ratio: 10:1
It’s lightweight, easy to move around, and efficient at chipping both green and dried branches.
It’s not as good at shredding leaves.
For homeowners with smaller yards, we recommend the Earthwise GS70015 Chipper. This model is an easy-to-use chipper that can help you quickly clean up your garden. Plus, it’s also a less expensive option.
During testing, setting it up was a breeze—assembly took about 20 minutes and was straightforward. Its electric design means all you have to do is plug it into an outlet to get started, but you’ll more than likely need an extension cord—its only limitation when it comes to portability.
The chipper is mostly plastic and we noted that it felt a little flimsy and cheap. However, its compact and lightweight construction made it effortless to move around the yard and store in a garage or shed.
Its claim of a 12:1 debris reduction ratio seems fairly accurate. During testing, the machine reduced green and brown branches of up to 3 inches in diameter into usable mulch effortlessly. The controls are simple and intuitive, with an on/off switch, and a circuit breaker reset button which helped with occasional jams.
While the chipper’s blades easily dealt with straight sticks, we noticed that it would sometimes choke on forked branches. It also took a long time to get through leaves, mostly bending and folding rather than shredding them.
The chipper shredder comes with a functional plastic collection bin that slides in and out on a track under the machine. The lack of a latch to secure the bin in place meant that it vibrated out of place a few times, especially when it was on uneven ground, but this wasn’t a dealbreaker.
Like most chipper shredders, the machine is loud so hearing protection is necessary. For safety, the machine includes a push stick for feeding material into the blades. You still need to take extra care, though, because the flaps covering the blade opening could be pushed aside with a hand.
This machine is perfect for cleanup after spring pruning projects, such as cutting back holly trees or other branches. It’s a great addition to your gardening tool arsenal during drought conditions when burning branches isn’t an option. While it’s best for chipping rather than shredding, and won’t be able to replace a heavy-duty or multipurpose shredder, we think the Earthwise GS70015 is an efficient solution for light chipping tasks.
Product Details: Dimensions: 18 x 42 x 24 inches | Power: 15 HP | Power Type: Electric | Maximum Diameter Capacity: 1.75 inches | Reduction Ratio: 15:1
To come up with our list of the best chipper shredders, we tested several of the most popular models on the market in real-world conditions, evaluating each model on ease of setup, design, build quality, performance, usability, maneuverability, safety, and features. We began by unboxing and assembling each chipper shredder, noting how long and how easy or complex it was to do so. We also noted how helpful the included instructions were. We scored portability based on how easy each machine was to move around the yard and to store away after use.
We put the machines to work to see how they performed on both green and dry materials (leaves, twigs, and branches) and how well they reduced the debris into chips or mulch. We noted how efficiently each machine pulled in and processed the material, paying particular attention to branch size limitations or any jamming.
Noise levels were measured by whether we felt we needed hearing protection or not (in most cases this was a necessity), and any safety features, like guards, emergency stops, or overload protections were also assessed.
Finally, if a collection bag or bin came with the machine, we tested out how easily these could be attached/detached and emptied, and how often this was required.
Chipper shredders are large items and they can be between 20 to 70 inches in height or length, depending on whether their design is vertical or horizontal, and anywhere between 15 and 50 inches in width.
Gas chipper shredders typically have a horsepower of around 6 to 14 horsepower, whereas electric models can be rated anywhere from 13 to 16 amps.
“In terms of dimensions and horsepower, the rule of thumb is that the bigger the chipper shredder is, the more horsepower it will be able to produce,” Bucur says.
It’s worth noting that bigger chipper shredders will usually cost more upfront, and they will also have a higher consumption of gas on every run.
“This can negatively affect your cost yields especially if you want to save money by switching your home's heat production on mulch derivatives,” says Bucur. “If you don't have a large estate or garden, it is better to be conservative with the dimensions and horsepower of the chipper shredder you plan on buying.”
Wood chipper shredders can either be powered by electricity or gasoline, and the biggest difference between them is the power output. While gas-powered models are more powerful, both options have benefits depending on your needs.
It’s worth noting, too, that gas chipper shredders have a lot more maintenance needs than electric shredders. In addition to blade sharpening (which should also be done annually or around every 25 hours or use), and clearing away of stuck-on debris—both of which are necessary with electric models, too—gas shredders require oil draining and changing, and checking for corroded spark plug and clogged air filters.
The maximum capacity stated on each chipper shredder’s product description refers to the largest size branch or debris you can put in it. There is no maximum load capacity as the machine chews up the debris and immediately releases it when it’s chopped up.
“Chippers and shredders will have safety devices built in that only allow the maximum size branch that the machine can handle,” Burdett says.
A chipper shredder’s reduction ratio lets you know how fine the texture of the produced mulch will be. The higher the ratio, the finer the mulch or wood chips. For instance, a 15:1 reduction ratio means that the machine will turn ten bags of debris into one bag of mulch.
The ratio you opt for could depend on whether you need to make fine mulch, or larger wood chips to decorate a path, for instance.
With its compact, upright design, large wheels, and low center of mass, the Champion Power Equipment Gas-Powered Wood Chipper Shredder is easy to assemble and maneuver, and a good option for light-duty tasks. It effectively chipped dry materials and smaller branches up to 1.5 inches in diameter, but would often jam with damp leaves and non-straight branches.
Starting it up wasn’t as easy as some other models—it has a difficult pull-cord mechanism and its design was prone to tipping over when we pulled it. The included collection bag, while useful, doesn’t secure properly and frequently detached during use. The chippers bolts were also of low-quality and prone to shearing, making it hard to justify its $700 price tag.
The GreatCircleUSA Wood Chipper Shredder is a practical option for anyone after an affordable, entry-level machine for reducing fallen branches and other tree debris into a mix of pulverized wood and shredded strips. During testing, we found that it performs well on both green and dry materials, especially with its side branch feeder, which handles straight branches of up to 3 inches in diameter.
If the branches weren’t entirely straight, however, the machine would jam, and the top collection bin needed manual feeding as it struggled with smaller materials. Putting it together was also quite the challenge due to bolts that needed a lot of effort to tighten. Despite these drawbacks, this chipper is easy to start and move around thanks to its two handy wheels, has a sturdy build, and a fairly reasonable price point for the efficiency it offers.
The main difference between a chipper and a chipper shredder is that a chipper is designed for woody material, while a shredder can handle more plant matter, like dried leaves. Overall, it’s all down to how their blades and internal machinery break down the material.
A chipper will just break the wood into small pieces but it won't shred it into mulch like a chipper shredder. A chipper is also bigger than a chipper shredder and can handle much larger tree limbs.
“Chippers are mainly used for breaking down large quantities of wood and used in commercial settings, while chipper shredders are designed for smaller branches, debris, and leaves and are commonly used in gardens and yards,” says Bucur. “Homeowners use shredders to chip the branches, as well as shred them for heating up their home using mulch, and use them for compost. So out of the two, chipper shredders are the ideal ones for residential use.”
Burdett advises avoiding putting "green" material or anything with lots of moisture in the chipper shredder. “This can cause clogging and damage to the machine,” she says. Other things to avoid putting in a chipper shredder is anything super hard and dense, like rocks, or very hard woods.
“Ideally you want to avoid adding elements or materials inside that are not made of wood,” says Bucur. “Within smaller debris, like a pile of leaves, sometimes rocks can be buried under the leaves, and can damage the blades, the replacing of which can be very time consuming and expensive.”
Overall, you’ll want to be mindful when adding debris to your chipper shredder to extend the life of your blades. “You also don't want to use the chipper shredder for rubber or butcher waste,” says Bucur. “This will gum up the blades and will make your chipper shredder more or less useless.”
Burdett stresses the importance of safety when using a chipper shredder. “Make sure to pick up a pair of safety glasses and ear protection at the same time as purchasing your chipper/shredder,” she says. And never try to dislodge any twigs or branches from the machine while it’s running.
The best place to store a chipper shredder is in a protected storage area like a garden shed, garage, or barn. “It is important to store it indoors to avoid water damage and rust accumulation on the blades,” Bucur says.
While cold weather alone won’t cause any issues to your chipper shredder, it might take a while for a gas model to get going in the winter. “You might want to give a gas-powered chipper shredder a couple of seconds to warm up after extended exposure to cold temperatures before you introduce the wood inside the blades,” Bucur says.
This article was written by Kat de Naoum, who has over 12 years of commerce writing experience. Kat has been writing about lawn care and outdoor tools for Better Homes & Gardens since 2021.
For this article, we personally tested and reviewed multiple chipper shredders, researching factors such as each machine's horsepower, dimensions, power type, and maximum load capacity. Kat also spoke to Stefan Bucur, gardening and landscaping expert, and owner of Rhythm of the Home, and Katie Burdett, owner of modern sustainable living site, Growing With Gertie.
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