Best Thickness Planers 2026: Benchtop, 13-In & Portable

The DEWALT DW734 15-Amp Benchtop Thickness Planer is the most recommended benchtop planer among woodworking instructors and furniture makers for its combination of motor power, surface quality, and practical portability. The 15-amp motor handles everything from soft pine to dense hard maple without the bogging down that plagues lower-amperage models. The three-knife cutterhead produces a notably smooth surface finish, reducing the sanding required after planing — a real time saver when processing multiple boards for a furniture project. At 45 lbs, it is heavy enough to stay stable on a bench or stand during aggressive passes but light enough to move between your shop and a job site without a hand truck. The material removal capacity is 3/32 inch per pass maximum, but taking two 1/16-inch passes produces a cleaner surface with less tearout in figured or difficult grain. The integrated thickness gauge makes repeatable settings reliable — an important feature when milling multiple boards to the same dimension. For woodworkers surfacing rough lumber for furniture, cabinetry, and general millwork, this is the benchtop planer that earns its shop space.

The WEN PL1303 13-Inch Three-Blade Benchtop Planer offers a wider 13-inch cutting capacity compared to the DEWALT DW734''s 12.5 inches, allowing you to surface wider panels without edge-gluing first — a meaningful practical advantage for tabletops and wider shelving components. The three-blade cutterhead produces a smooth surface comparable to the DEWALT at a noticeably lower price. The 15-amp motor handles hardwoods adequately, though it requires slightly slower feed rates through hard maple or walnut compared to the DEWALT under identical conditions. WEN includes both infeed and outfeed extension tables, which support long boards and reduce the snipe that occurs when a board tips as it exits the rollers. The dust collection port connects to standard 4-inch shop vac hoses. For woodworkers who prioritize capacity width and want three-knife finish quality at a more accessible price, the WEN PL1303 punches above its price point with reliable results.

The Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Portable Planer is the premium benchtop option for woodworkers who prioritize surface quality and noise level above all else. The two-blade cutterhead runs at a higher RPM than competitors, producing one of the smoothest planed surfaces available from a benchtop machine — noticeably finer than standard three-blade alternatives on figured maple, walnut, and cherry. The Makita''s noise reduction design makes it measurably quieter during operation than other planers of comparable power, a genuine quality-of-life improvement for shop environments in attached garages or shared spaces. At 62 lbs and with a 12-inch cutting width, it is the heaviest and narrowest machine in this lineup, which are real limitations. The premium price over $1,000 reflects the precision engineering and finish quality rather than raw capacity. For furniture makers and woodworkers who produce high-end pieces where surface preparation directly affects final finish quality, and for whom noise is a legitimate concern, the Makita justifies its cost in the quality of its output.