Our quick verdict
Buy Trend for cutters, jigs and value routing. Nobody touches Trend’s range of router cutters, hinge jigs, worktop jigs and stair jigs, and the T18S cordless router is a genuinely good tool for a fair price. Buy Festool for the plunge saw and the system – if you cut a lot of sheet goods and worktops on show, the TS 55 and the extractor-plus-rail ecosystem are still the benchmark.
If you had to pick one brand only, you’re usually better served by Trend as a working joiner, because you’ll use cutters and jigs every single day, whereas the Festool premium buys refinement you notice most on finish work.
Brand overviews
Trend
Trend is a British company that’s been making router cutters and jigs since the 1950s, and the heritage shows. The cutter range is enormous and reliably good, the jigs – the worktop jig, the hinge jig, the Combi and stair jigs – are the trade standard, and in recent years the T18S cordless router and wider power tool range have given you a credible, keenly priced kit. Trend’s strength is being the practical, do-the-job brand that doesn’t empty your account.
Festool
Festool is the German premium system brand. You don’t just buy a Festool tool, you buy into the ecosystem – guide rails, Systainer cases, CT extractors and the MFT bench that all lock together. The plunge saws, the OF routers and the Domino jointer are beautifully engineered, and the dust extraction is class-leading. It’s expensive, but the tools hold their value and the finish quality is why kitchen and furniture makers pay the premium.
Head to head at a glance
For a plunge saw, Trend doesn’t field a mainstream option, so Festool’s TS 55 wins by default. For a cordless router, Trend’s T18S undercuts Festool’s cordless options comfortably and still gets the job done for trimming, grooving and hinge work, while Festool’s cordless routers ask a real premium for extra refinement. For a corded router, Trend’s T-series again wins on value against Festool’s OF 1400. On router cutters, Trend’s range is deeper and generally better value than anything Festool offers. On jigs – hinge, worktop and stair – Trend is the trade standard and Festool doesn’t really compete. On dust extraction and system integration, Festool’s CT extractors and guide rails are class-leading. And on resale value, a Festool tool holds its money far better than a Trend one, which softens the headline price over years of ownership.
Where Trend wins
Cutters and consumables are where Trend has no real rival. The router cutter range is deeper and generally better value than anything Festool offers, and as a joiner you buy cutters constantly – being set up on Trend for cutters just makes routing easier, whichever router you actually own.
Jigs are Trend’s home turf. The worktop jig, hinge jig and lock jigs are what get kitchens and doors done accurately and fast, and Festool doesn’t really compete here.
Trend Worktop Jig
A worktop jig and a decent router will pay for themselves on your first kitchen – it’s the tool that turns a router into a repeatable, accurate joint-cutting machine instead of something you’re eyeballing freehand.
Trend T18S Cordless Router
The T18S cordless router gives you cordless convenience and dual bases for a fraction of what Festool asks for the equivalent. For trimming, grooving and hinge work it’s more than enough, and going cordless means one less lead trailing across a client’s kitchen floor.
Where Festool wins
Festool TS 55
This is the big one. Trend doesn’t field a mainstream plunge saw, so if you want a track saw, the TS 55 is the natural pairing – and it’s superb. If you’re cutting carcasses, fillers and worktops where the edge shows, the TS 55 paired with a CT extractor is a serious upgrade over a circular saw.
Festool CT Extractor
The rails, Systainers and extractors clip together into a workflow that saves real time and keeps a workshop – or a customer’s house – clean. The M-class extraction is genuinely better for your lungs and for HSE compliance, and if you’re fitting kitchens in occupied homes, that matters more than the price tag suggests.
On show-face work, the cut and finish are a step above, and when you come to sell a Festool tool on, it holds its money far better than almost anything else. Over years of ownership that softens the headline price.
So which should a joiner buy?
For most working joiners, the honest answer is both, bought in the right order. Start with Trend for your cutters, a jig or two and a value router – that’s your daily bread. Then, once the finish work justifies it, add a Festool TS 55 and an extractor as your precision sheet-cutting setup. That combination costs less than going all-Festool and covers more of the actual jobs you do.
If budget forces you to pick one brand, match it to your work: kitchen and furniture makers who live on clean sheet cuts should lean Festool; general joiners and site chippies who route, jig and cut timber all day will get more done on Trend.
Cost of ownership over five years
Headline price is only half the story. Festool costs more up front, but the tools rarely die and they hold their value – a five-year-old TS 55 still sells for serious money, so your true cost of ownership is lower than the sticker suggests. Trend sits at the sensible end: you spend less to begin with, the cutters and jigs earn their keep on every job, and if a router wears out you replace it without wincing. Over five years, if you bill off clean sheet cuts you’ll justify the Festool; if you live on cutters and jigs you’ll have spent less and earned just as well on Trend.
Factor in consumables too. Whichever router you own, you’ll buy far more in Trend cutters than you ever will in the tool itself, so being set up on Trend for cutters is a cost that never goes away – another reason the two brands so often end up side by side in the same workshop.
Beyond the headline tools
Trend’s range runs well past routers, and the jigs cover everything from hinges to stairs, with the T18S platform now stretching to other cordless tools.
Trend Airshield
The Airshield powered respirator is a favourite for dusty work – battery-powered air circulation that’s genuinely more comfortable to wear all day than a standard mask.
Festool’s range is built around the system.
Festool Domino
The Domino loose-tenon jointer has no real rival for fast, strong, invisible joints – rack joints, frame joints and drawer joints all get quicker and more accurate once you own one.
Festool Kapex
The Kapex mitre saw is a workshop favourite for a reason – genuinely class-leading accuracy and dust collection for a mitre saw, and it’s the one that goes into the van when the job calls for site-finish crosscuts as good as anything you’d get on the bench.
If you commit to Festool, each new tool slots into a workflow you already own – which is exactly why the system keeps you buying.
The setup most working joiners end up with
Walk into enough UK workshops and you’ll see the same kit again and again: a Festool TS 55 with a pair of rails and a CT extractor for the sheet work, and a Trend router loaded with Trend cutters plus a worktop jig and a hinge jig for the routing and fitting. That’s not fence-sitting, it’s the pragmatic answer – each brand doing what it does best. The mistake is going all-in on one badge for the prestige and then finding you’ve overpaid for cutters or under-bought on sheet-cutting quality.
If you’re building a kit from scratch on a tight budget, start with a Trend router, a handful of cutters and one good jig, and pair it with a mid-price plunge saw rather than a Festool. Upgrade to the Festool once the finish work is paying for it. You’ll get more done, sooner, for less – and you can always trade up later.
Frequently asked questions
Does Trend make a track saw?
Not a mainstream plunge saw to rival the Festool TS 55. Trend focuses on routers, cutters, jigs and accessories, and does make guide-rail adaptors so their routers run on plunge-saw tracks. For a track saw itself, you’d pair Trend routing kit with a Festool, Makita or Bosch plunge saw.
Are Trend cutters good enough for professional work?
Yes. Trend cutters are the trade standard in the UK for a reason – a broad range, consistent quality and fair prices. Plenty of professional joiners run Trend cutters in a Festool router without a second thought.
Is Festool worth the money?
For finish-critical work, yes. The cut quality, the dust extraction and the system integration save time and produce a better result, and the strong resale value cushions the cost. For rough carpentry and general site work, the premium is harder to justify.
Can I mix the two brands?
Absolutely, and most joiners do. Trend cutters and jigs alongside a Festool plunge saw and extractor is one of the most common – and sensible – workshop setups in the UK.
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