Every Stihl Chainsaw Compared: A Parts-Counter Buying Guide
The whole Stihl gas wall in one place. The $199 homeowner saw to the most powerful chainsaw on earth ranked, spec’d, and decoded the way your parts counter would explain it.
Stihl sells more than a dozen gas chainsaws, in trims stacked with letters most buyers can’t decode, at prices from a couple hundred dollars to nearly three thousand. Over sixteen comparisons, I walked the entire wall one rung at a time. This is the map to all of it: a master spec table, a plain-English decoder for every badge letter, the chain cheat-sheet that saves you from ordering the wrong loop, and a quick way to find your saw by the job you’re actually doing. Start here, then jump to whichever head-to-head matches the two saws you’re deciding between.
Find Your Saw by the Job Start Here
The single most common mistake at the counter is buying by horsepower instead of by task. Match your real work to the tier first, then read the head-to-head for the two saws inside it:
Homeowner — limbs, small trees, occasional firewood
MS 162, MS 172 C-E, MS 182 / 182 C-BE, MS 212 C-BE. Light, affordable, easy to run. If a 20″ bar covers your biggest wood, you live here. Start with the MS 162 vs 172 and MS 182 vs 212 comparisons.
Mid-range & Farm/Ranch — regular firewood, property work, storm cleanup
MS 251, MS 271 Farm Boss, MS 291, MS 311, MS 391. Stouter engines, longer bars, built to be run hard on weekends for a decade. Start with the MS 251 trims and MS 271 vs 291.
Professional — felling, bucking, and cutting for a living
MS 261 C-M, MS 362 C-M, MS 400 C-M, MS 462, MS 500i. Magnesium, M-Tronic or fuel injection, power-to-weight built for daily hours. Start with the MS 400 vs 462 and MS 462 vs 500i.
Big Timber & Milling — the biggest wood there is
MS 661 Magnum, MS 881 Magnum. Top-of-the-wall displacement and torque for old-growth felling and slabbing mills. Start with the MS 500i vs 661 and MS 661 vs 881.
Decode the Badge What the Letters Mean
Stihl’s model badges are a code, and once you can read it, half the confusion on the wall disappears. Every letter is a specific feature:
| Badge | Means | What It Gets You |
|---|---|---|
| C | Comfort feature follows | A pairing letter — read the letter after it (C-B, C-E, C-M) |
| C-E | Easy2Start | Spring-assist recoil — a soft, easy pull instead of a hard yank |
| C-B | Quick Chain Adjuster | Toolless chain tensioning — no bar wrench needed |
| C-BE | Both of the above | Easy2Start + toolless tensioning together |
| C-M | M-Tronic | Electronic engine management — no choke lever, self-tuning carb |
| i | Fuel injection | Electronic fuel injection, no carburetor at all (MS 500i only) |
| R | Wrap handle | Front handle wraps over the side for felling grips — adds ~1 lb |
| Magnum | Top pro output | Stihl’s highest-output professional class (661, 881) |
Letters stack: an MS 462 C-M R Magnum is a top-output pro saw with M-Tronic and a wrap handle. Read them left to right and each one adds its feature.
Master Spec Table The Whole Wall at a Glance
Every current Stihl gas saw, smallest to largest. Weights are Stihl’s “device weight without refuelling”; power is engine (brake) horsepower. Where a family has several trims, the base saw is shown. The linked comparison covers the variants.
| Model | Class | cc | bhp | Weight | bhp/lb | Chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS 162 | Homeowner | 30.1 | 1.6 | 9.9 lb | 0.16 | 3/8″P · .043 |
| MS 172 C-E | Homeowner | 31.8 | 1.9 | 10.4 lb | 0.18 | 3/8″P · .043 |
| MS 182 | Homeowner | 35.8 | 2.1 | 10.1 lb | 0.21 | 3/8″P · .050 |
| MS 212 C-BE | Homeowner | 38.6 | 2.4 | 10.8 lb | 0.22 | 3/8″P · .050 |
| MS 251 | Mid-range | 45.6 | 3.0 | 10.8 lb | 0.28 | .325 · .050 |
| MS 261 C-M | Professional | 50.2 | 4.0 | 10.8 lb | 0.37 | .325 · .050 |
| MS 271 Farm Boss | Farm & Ranch | 50.2 | 3.5 | 12.4 lb | 0.28 | .325 · .050 |
| MS 291 | Farm & Ranch | 55.5 | 3.8 | 12.4 lb | 0.31 | .325 · .050 |
| MS 311 | Farm & Ranch | 59.0 | 4.2 | 13.8 lb | 0.30 | 3/8″ · .050 |
| MS 362 C-M | Professional | 59.0 | 4.8 | 12.3 lb | 0.39 | 3/8″ · .050 |
| MS 391 | Farm & Ranch | 64.1 | 4.5 | 13.8 lb | 0.33 | 3/8″ · .050 |
| MS 400 C-M | Professional | 66.8 | 5.4 | 12.7 lb | 0.43 | 3/8″ · .050 |
| MS 462 | Professional | 72.2 | 6.0 | 13.3 lb | 0.45 | 3/8″ · .050/.063 |
| MS 500i | Professional | 79.2 | 6.8 | 14.0 lb | 0.49 | 3/8″ · .050/.063 |
| MS 661 Magnum | Pro / Felling | 91.1 | 7.3 | 16.4 lb | 0.44 | 3/8″ · .050/.063 |
| MS 881 Magnum | Milling / Big Timber | 121.6 | 8.7 | 21.4 lb | 0.41 | .404 · .063 |
Best power-to-weight on the wall: the MS 500i at 0.49 bhp/lb. Best in the sub-pro tiers: the MS 261 C-M at 0.37. Specs per Stihl USA published data; confirm current figures and your bar’s chain spec at your dealer.
Chain Cheat Sheet The Rule That Never Failed
If this guide leaves you with one habit, make it this: a chain is described by three numbers: pitch, gauge, and drive-link count. All three are stamped on your bar heel. Match all three, every order. Model number alone is not enough, because Stihl changes chain specs across tiers, across production years, and sometimes across bar lengths on the same saw. Here’s how the wall breaks down:
| Chain | Pitch | Gauge | File | Saws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picco (61 PMM3) | 3/8″ P | .043″ | 5/32″ | MS 162, 172 C-E |
| Picco (63 PM3) | 3/8″ P | .050″ | 5/32″ | MS 182, 212 C-BE |
| 23 RM3 | .325″ | .050″ | 3/16″ | MS 251, 261, 271, 291 |
| 33-series (RS/RM/RS3) | 3/8″ | .050″ | 13/64″ | MS 311, 362, 391, 400, 462, 500i, 661 |
| 36-series / skip | 3/8″ | .063″ | 13/64″ | Long-bar 462/500i/661 R combos |
| 46 RS | .404″ | .063″ | .404 tooling | MS 881 only |
First: .325″ and 3/8″ are different pitches and never interchange. A huge number of returned chains are one bought for the other. Second: same pitch, different gauge won’t run either. A .050″ chain slops and derails in a .063″ bar, and a .063″ won’t seat in a .050″. Both are settled the same way: read the three numbers on the bar heel before you buy.
All 16 Head-to-Head Comparisons The Full Ladder
Every rung of the wall, in order. Each one is a full parts-counter breakdown with specs, features, chain fitment, and an honest verdict on who each saw is for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Stihl chainsaw should I buy?
What do the letters on Stihl chainsaws mean?
How do I know which chain my Stihl takes?
What’s the difference between .325 and 3/8 chain?
Which Stihl saw has the best power-to-weight?
Is a more expensive Stihl always a better buy?
Still Deciding?
Pick the two saws you’re weighing and jump to their head-to-head above. Each one settles the choice from behind the parts counter. And if your work is up in the canopy rather than on the ground, the top-handle arborist saws are a separate wall, coming soon.