In Brief: Hitachi vs DeWalt Table Saws
Hitachi and DeWalt table saws are both excellent choices for the professional user. DeWalt offers a broader range, but Hitachi’s table saws boast more innovative features. Hitachi’s edge comes at a price, with DeWalt table saws holding a cheaper price tag in comparison. DeWalt also offers a 3-year warranty, compared to Hitachi’s 2-year warranty.
Differences Between Hitachi and DeWalt Table Saws
Hitachi and DeWalt brand table saws are both popular picks for workshops around the country. Knowing which one to pick can be tricky if you do not know what these brands are all about. This guide will help you to pick the right brand’s table saw for your needs.
| Hitachi | DeWalt | |
|---|---|---|
| Company history | US division formed in 1980. | Est. 1924 in Leola, PA. |
| Target audience | Trades and professionals. | Trades and professionals. |
| USP | Durability | Durability. |
| Product lines | Narrow range for trades. | Full range for trades. |
| Types of table saws | Two types. | Five types in two sizes. |
| Price | More expensive. | More affordable. |
| Warranty | 2-year warranty. | 3-year warranty, 1-year free servicing. |
| Repair | Online service center finder. | 24/7 repair service. |
Company History and Roots
We will begin with some history.
Hitachi Power Tools USA was founded in 1980 as a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Hitachi Koki. It has had a couple of name changes since then and is today known as Metabo HPT.
Hitachi is a global brand covering over 30 countries across 4 continents.
DeWalt began trading in 1924 in Leola, Pennsylvania, established by Raymond E. DeWalt. Their first product was a universal woodworking machine named the “Wonder-Worker.”
Over the 20th Century, DeWalt expanded across the US and, in 1953, into Canada. They innovated many new designs, including the alligator saw in 1992.
Target Audience
Hitachi produces tools for the professional market. Their tools are “built for the professional who requires only the best,” and helps you to “finish the job like a pro.” Hitachi stocks plenty of tools designed specifically for the job site.
DeWalt aims squarely at the trades and professionals. Their tools are intended for use on job sites, with a range of products well suited to that market.
Their marketing heavily features tradespeople, complete with high visibility vests and hard hats.
Unique Selling Point
Hitachi’s USP is durability, as seen by their slogan, “Durability First.”
Durability is “the cornerstone” of the brand, as Hitachi engineers “tools for the most demanding jobsites.”
DeWalt’s USP is also durability, which can be seen through their slogan, “Guaranteed Tough.”
They stress how their products are tested in “extreme conditions” and sell their tools as durable even “under the most demanding job site conditions.”
This USP feeds into the target market for both brands – tradespeople and job site professionals. Durability is vital for professionals because they use their tools all day, every day. Long-lasting tools keep costs down for professionals who would run through DIY tools too quickly for them to be cost-effective.
DeWalt promises to deliver for this market, touting their tools as “made to live on the job site.” Hitachi touts the “lifespan and longevity” of its tools that are found “on jobsites across the nation”.
Because both of these brands compete on the same USP, it is clear that they are direct competitors for the professional market. They both seek to produce rugged tools for professionals and largely avoid the DIY and amateur market.
Product Lines
Both brands offer the following product lines:
- Power tools.
- Gardening equipment
- Batteries and chargers.
- Anchors and accessories.
DeWalt also offers:
- Instruments and levels.
- Hand tools.
- Site lighting.
- Storage.
- Job site apparel.
- Safety solutions.
- Digital job site solutions
Hitachi does not offer any additional product lines that are not produced by DeWalt.
Hitachi’s gardening equipment, like mowers, hedge trimmers, and chainsaws, are manufactured by Tanaka.
The product lines offered by Hitachi are quite narrow in comparison to DeWalt. DeWalt has a more complete range of products for job sites, including apparel, digital job site solutions, safety solutions. DeWalt also offers site lighting.
Therefore, if you are a professional who wants to be job site ready with tools and equipment from a single brand, DeWalt appears to be the better brand to go with. If you were to choose Hitachi, there are some products you would have to buy from another brand.
Types of Table Saws Available
Hitachi currently offers two table saws, with a range of C10 table saws having been discontinued in recent years.
The two table saws Hitachi offers are a benchtop version and a folding stand version. Both have 10” carbide-tipped blades, though the benchtop version has a larger working surface.
DeWalt currently offers five table saws.
DeWalt offers two 8-1/4” compact benchtop table saw, but the rest of the saws are also 10” variants. Rolling, folding, and scissor stands are available for their jobsite saws.
When comparing benchtop table saws, the two comparable products between Hitachi and DeWalt have some clear differences.
Hitachi offers a larger working surface, a higher no-load RPM, and a MultiVolt system that allows you to go corded or cordless at your discretion. Hitachi’s 10” table saw was the winner of the Pro Tool Innovation Award for Most Innovative Cordless Table Saw in 2019.
DeWalt offers a lighter saw with a modular guard system that increases versatility so that it is suitable for a greater array of tasks around the job site.
Both benchtop saws come with the ability to add a stand, with rolling and folding stands offered by both manufacturers.
Both have a 10” blade, dust extraction, and all the other professional features you would expect from a table saw meant to thrive on a job site.
If the prices of these two table saws are equal, the Hitachi model edges the DeWalt model on performance.
Price Comparison
As you may have guessed from the previous section, Hitachi and DeWalt table saws are not priced equally.
Hitachi table saws, with all the extra features and innovation, and larger working surface, come out significantly more expensive than the DeWalt table saws of similar specifications.
Both brands tout their durability, so you can expect the tool to last for a long time. Whether the additional cost of purchasing the Hitachi table saw is worth it will depend on whether those extra features – such as the ability to corded or cordless at your discretion – will save you enough time over the lifetime of the saw.
The same price difference applies to the models with stands.
Warranty & Repair
Hitachi offers a 2-year warranty on its table saws, with 1- to 5-year warranties on other product lines. It has separate warranties for its Tanaka line of gardening equipment.
Hitachi has an online service center finder that can help you find a service center or retailer to provide repairs for your Hitachi tools.
DeWalt offers 3-year warranties on all power saws and a 7-year warranty on other product lines. All of DeWalt’s power saws benefit from a 1-year free servicing guarantee and a 90-day money-back guarantee.
DeWalt carries out repairs through its 24/7 online service, ServiceNet.
Summary
We hope that this guide has helped you to decide between Hitachi and DeWalt brand table saws.
While you might need to pay more for a Hitachi table saw, the additional features may be right for you if they save you enough time and hassle.
If you have any questions or comments about these two table saw brands, please feel free to leave them in the section below.
