If you need to split wood only occasionally and don’t want to spend too much money, you have come to the right place.
Here are the top cheap log splitters – with ratings, prices and reviews:
Hydraulic: An inexpensive manual splitter that uses a piston to press the log onto the blade – it’s easy to use, doesn’t require much labor but still offers a solid power.

Quality Craft Foot-Operated Log Splitter
Easily portable: Compact and lightweight foot-operated tool for splitting smaller logs – but with a few quality issues.

For kindling: The best user-rated tool currently on the market – but only for making kindling from pieces up to 6″ in diameter.

Electric: Not particularly cheap but it is the least expensive motorized splitter we reviewed. Easy to use and offers a good power.

As you can see, the cheap wood splitters we selected are mostly manual, electric units cost a lot more and the price of gas powered machines can exceed $1,000 easily.
Comparison with other models:
Model | Price | Our rating ![]() |
Splitting force | For | Operation | Weight | Max log length | Cycle time (approx.) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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$249.00 | ![]() |
up to 10 tons | ![]() |
manual | 87 lbs | 18″ | 20-40 seconds |
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— | ![]() |
1.5 tons | ![]() |
foot-operated | 23 lbs | 18″ | – |
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$79.99 | ![]() |
– | ![]() |
manual | 10 lbs | up to 14″ approx. | depends on user |
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Check here: | ![]() |
– | ![]() |
manual | 13.9 lbs | – | depends on user |
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$128.00 | ![]() |
– | ![]() |
manual | 19.84 lbs | – | depends on user |
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— | ![]() |
6 tons | ![]() |
two-handed | 100 lbs | 20.5″ | 14-25 seconds |