Chainsaw Engine Displacement (cc) Explained
Displacement is a volume, not a power rating. This guide explains what cc measures, how it relates to kW and HP, why power-to-weight is the better comparison, and what the sub-40cc, 40-50cc, 50-60cc and 60cc-plus bands are for.
What cc actually measures
Displacement is a volume, not a power figure. It is the swept volume of the cylinder: the space the piston passes through between the bottom and the top of its stroke, calculated from bore and stroke and expressed in cubic centimetres. Almost every petrol chainsaw is a single-cylinder two-stroke, so the number on the spec sheet is one cylinder's worth of swept volume and nothing else.
That matters because displacement tells you how much air and fuel the engine can process per revolution, not how much work it gets out of that charge. Two saws with identical displacement can produce quite different power. In this database the Stihl MS 311 and the Stihl MS 362 are both recorded at 59.0 cc, yet the MS 311 is rated at 3.1 kW and the MS 362 at 3.5 kW. The same pattern appears at Husqvarna: the 545 Mark II and the 550XP Mark II are both 50.1 cc, rated at 2.68 kW and 2.98 kW respectively.
Displacement sets the ceiling. Port timing, ignition, carburation and exhaust decide how close a saw gets to it.
From cc to kW and HP
Manufacturers publish power in kilowatts, horsepower, or both. They are the same measurement in different units — 1 kW is about 1.34 HP — so a saw quoting 3.0 kW and 4.1 HP is quoting one figure twice. The Husqvarna 564XP Fuel Injected records 4.03 kW and 5.4 HP; the Husqvarna 435 records 1.64 kW and 2.2 HP. Both convert exactly.
The figure worth deriving yourself is specific output: kilowatts per litre of displacement. It shows how hard a given engine is worked, and it separates homeowner engines from professional ones far more clearly than cc does.
| Model | Displacement | Rated power | kW per litre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Husqvarna 435 | 40.9 cc | 1.64 kW | 40 |
| Husqvarna 460 Rancher | 60.3 cc | 2.7 kW | 45 |
| Husqvarna 455 Rancher | 55.5 cc | 2.61 kW | 47 |
| Stihl MS 251 | 45.9 cc | 2.2 kW | 48 |
| Stihl MS 311 | 59.0 cc | 3.1 kW | 53 |
| Makita EA5000PRGG | 50 cc | 2.9 kW | 58 |
| Stihl MS 261 | 50.8 cc | 3.0 kW | 59 |
| Stihl MS 362 | 59.0 cc | 3.5 kW | 59 |
| Husqvarna 564XP | 62.4 cc | 4.03 kW | 65 |
Roughly 40 to 65 kW per litre across the range: a 1.6-fold spread. A 50.8 cc MS 261 makes more power than a 60.3 cc 460 Rancher, from 9.5 cc less engine. Displacement alone would have told you the opposite.
Power-to-weight beats raw displacement
You carry a chainsaw, hold it out at arm's length, and control it against its own torque reaction. The number that predicts how a saw feels through a working day is power divided by mass.
| Model | Displacement | Power | Weight | kW per kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makita EA3200SRBB | 32 cc | 1.3 kW | 4.08 kg | 0.32 |
| Husqvarna 435 | 40.9 cc | 1.64 kW | 4.44 kg | 0.37 |
| Husqvarna 455 Rancher | 55.5 cc | 2.61 kW | 5.99 kg | 0.44 |
| Husqvarna 460 Rancher | 60.3 cc | 2.7 kW | 5.99 kg | 0.45 |
| Stihl MS 311 | 59.0 cc | 3.1 kW | 6.26 kg | 0.50 |
| Husqvarna 550XP Mark II | 50.1 cc | 2.98 kW | 5.31 kg | 0.56 |
| Stihl MS 261 | 50.8 cc | 3.0 kW | 4.95 kg | 0.61 |
| Stihl MS 362 | 59.0 cc | 3.5 kW | 5.58 kg | 0.63 |
| Husqvarna 564XP | 62.4 cc | 4.03 kW | 5.8 kg | 0.69 |
The ordering here is almost the reverse of what displacement suggests. The MS 261 at 50.8 cc carries 0.61 kW/kg; the 460 Rancher at 60.3 cc carries 0.45. The bigger engine loses on both counts: 0.3 kW less power and 1.04 kg more mass. That is the difference between a professional design and a general-purpose one, and cc will never show it to you.
The four displacement bands
| Band | What it is for | Bars usually fitted | Examples in the database |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 40 cc | Pruning, limbing, top-handle work, occasional light cutting | 25-40 cm | Stihl MS 151 22.93 cc, Husqvarna T525 27 cc, Echo CS-310 30.5 cc, Makita EA3200SRBB 32 cc, Stihl MS 182 36.1 cc, Husqvarna 540XP Mark III 39.1 cc |
| 40-50 cc | The homeowner all-rounder: firewood, storm work, small felling | 40-46 cm | Husqvarna 435 40.9 cc, Echo CS-400 41.6 cc, Makita EA4300FRDB 42 cc, Craftsman CMXGSAMY42N6 42 cc, Stihl MS 251 45.9 cc |
| 50-60 cc | Firewood in volume, regular felling, the entry point to professional saws | 45-51 cm | Makita EA5000PRGG 50 cc, Husqvarna 550XP Mark II 50.1 cc, Husqvarna 450S Rancher 50.2 cc, Stihl MS 261 50.8 cc, Husqvarna 455 Rancher 55.5 cc, Stihl MS 291 55.7 cc, Stihl MS 362 59.0 cc |
| 60 cc and above | Large-timber felling, land clearing, milling, all-day production work | 50-81 cm | Husqvarna 460 Rancher 60.3 cc, Makita EA6100PREG 61 cc, Husqvarna 564XP 62.4 cc, Echo CS-680 66.8 cc, Echo CS-7310P 73.5 cc, Makita EA7900PRZ 79 cc |
Weight climbs with the band, which is the real cost of buying displacement you do not need: Echo CS-680 at 66.8 cc weighs 6.6 kg and Echo CS-7310P at 73.5 cc weighs 6.71 kg, against 3.99 kg for the 30.5 cc Echo CS-310.
Battery saws have no displacement at all
Nothing is swept, so there is no cc figure to record. Manufacturers publish kilowatts instead, and the only honest comparison is kW against kW plus maximum bar length. Husqvarna makes that easy by selling matched pairs:
| Pair | Petrol | Battery |
|---|---|---|
| 550 class | 550XP Mark II: 50.1 cc, 2.98 kW, 5.31 kg, 19.6 m/s chain | 550i XP: 3.2 kW, 4.0 kg, 24.08 m/s chain |
| 540 class | 540XP Mark III: 39.1 cc, 1.9 kW, 4.1 kg, 20.2 m/s chain | 540i XP: 2.09 kW, 2.9 kg, 24.08 m/s chain |
Both battery models record more rated power, less mass and a faster chain than their petrol namesakes, and both are rated to 50.8 cm and 40.64 cm bars respectively. Read across the rest of the catalogue and the pattern holds: Stihl MSA 220 at 1.7 kW on a 40.6 cm bar sits where a 40 cc petrol saw sits, DeWalt DCCS677B at 2.98 kW on a 50.8 cm bar and the Greenworks 80V 18-inch Gen II at 2.5 kW and 4.31 kg sit in 50 cc territory, and Milwaukee 2827-22 at 4.32 kW is quoted above anything petrol in this database.
Two caveats before you treat that as settled. A battery saw's kilowatt figure is peak motor output, and sustaining it depends on the pack, whereas a two-stroke holds its rating until the tank runs dry. And published battery weights frequently exclude the pack, so check what the figure includes before comparing it to a petrol saw's fuelled or dry mass.
How to read a displacement figure
Take cc as a size class, not a performance claim. Use it to place a saw in one of the four bands above, check that the band matches the bar length you need, then compare candidates inside that band on rated power and weight rather than on another two or three cc.
Next: the bar length guide covers how much bar a given displacement can actually pull, and the complete chainsaw buying guide puts both together.