That depends on how you use the saw. You can get about 500 hours of life out of it but if you are cutting all day every day you are going to shorten the life of the chain by cutting hard wood. If you are cutting for an hour or twice a day, I would say the chain should last at least a year. If you are cutting on a regular basis that is easy work then maybe two years. A chain that is not sharp will not cut well, will be hard to start and will get over heated. So keep your chain sharp.