John Deere 324 P-Tier vs. New Holland W80D: Compact Wheel Loader Comparison

John Deere's 324 P-Tier and New Holland's just-redesigned W80D sit in almost the exact same compact wheel loader class, and both companies are clearly chasing the same buyer: a landscape supply yard, a hardscape contractor, or a small sitework operation that needs real wheel-loader capability without stepping up to a mid-size machine. We've covered the 244 P-Tier against the W80D already, but the 324 is a genuinely different, larger machine than the 244, so here's how it actually matches up.

The John Deere 324 P-Tier: The Sweet Spot in Deere's Compact Range

The 324 P-Tier runs 71 hp, an operating weight of 6,400 kg (14,110 lbs), a bucket range of 0.8 to 1.6 cubic yards, a pivot-pin lift height around 3,350 mm (11 feet), and a 38 km/h (23 mph) travel speed — with an optional High-Lift configuration available for operations that need extra reach. Deere positions this size as better load-carrying capability than its previous mini wheel loaders, and for most general contractors and landscape supply operations buying their first or second compact wheel loader, the 324 is the size that handles the widest range of daily tasks without stepping into mid-size territory.

The New Holland W80D: A Redesigned Cab and a Skid Steer-Style Coupler

The W80D runs 74 gross hp on the same FPT diesel across New Holland's whole D-Series, an operating weight of 13,633 lbs, a 1.31-cubic-yard heaped bucket, 10,629 lbs of breakout force, and a maximum lift capacity of 7,999 lbs at full height. It replaces the C-Series with a genuinely redesigned cab — lowered front console, enlarged windshield, relocated LCD display — plus adjustable electro-hydraulic controls and a skid steer-style hydraulic quick coupler that lets an operator swap attachments from the cab instead of climbing down to hand-connect hydraulic lines.

New Holland also backs every D-Series machine with seven years of complimentary myNewHollandConstruction telematics, longer than the three-to-five-year windows a lot of competitors offer standard.

Capacity vs. Versatility

The 324 P-Tier is the heavier machine at 14,110 lbs against the W80D's 13,633 lbs, and its bucket range tops out higher at 1.6 cubic yards versus the W80D's 1.31-yard heaped rating — real advantages if your work is mostly straightforward bucket loading and you want maximum capacity in this size class. The W80D answers with its quick-swap hydraulic coupler, which matters a lot if your day involves switching between a bucket, forks, and a broom multiple times — a genuinely faster, safer attachment change than climbing down to hand-connect lines the way older loaders in this class still require.

If your business runs one machine doing one job all day — straight bucket loading at a landscape supply yard, for instance — the 324's extra capacity is the more valuable spec. If you're running the same loader through bucket, fork, and broom duty in a single shift, the W80D's coupler speed starts to matter more than the capacity gap.

How This Fits Alongside Our Other Coverage

We've already matched Deere's smaller 244 P-Tier against this same W80D, and covered the full New Holland D-Series launch and Deere's full 244, 324, and 344 P-Tier lineup elsewhere. This piece fills the gap between those two: the 324, specifically, against the W80D, specifically — the size-matched comparison that actually applies if these are your two finalists.

Who's Actually Buying at This Size

This class is the daily workhorse for landscape supply yards moving mulch, soil, and aggregate by the pallet and by the truckload, hardscape installers staging pavers and block, and small general contractors who need genuine wheel-loader ground speed and tire flotation on finished surfaces where a skid steer's tracks or tighter turns would do more damage.

A Real Jobsite Scenario: Staging Pavers on a Hardscape Install

Picture a hardscape crew staging a large patio and retaining wall install, moving pallets of pavers and block from the delivery drop point to the work area throughout the day, then switching the same machine over to a bucket for grading and backfill once the hardscape units are placed. This is precisely the kind of mixed-task day the W80D's quick coupler was built for — the operator swaps from forks to bucket and back without ever climbing down, which on a job with this many attachment changes can mean real minutes saved on every single swap, adding up across a full install. The 324 P-Tier handles the same job capably with a standard coupler, and its extra bucket capacity and weight genuinely help once the crew gets to the backfill and grading phase, where raw capacity matters more than switching speed. If your hardscape work involves this kind of back-and-forth between forks and bucket multiple times a day, weight the W80D's coupler heavily; if your crew tends to dedicate one machine to forks and a separate one to bucket work, that advantage matters less.

Telematics and Long-Term Ownership Costs

New Holland's seven years of complimentary myNewHollandConstruction telematics on the D-Series is worth factoring into your total ownership math, not just treating as a nice-to-have feature. Telematics that track engine hours, location, and basic diagnostic alerts let you schedule maintenance proactively instead of reactively, which over a multi-year ownership period can meaningfully reduce unplanned downtime and help you catch a developing issue before it becomes an expensive repair. Deere offers its own telematics package on the 324 P-Tier as well, through its JDLink system, though the complimentary coverage window and specific feature set are worth confirming directly with your dealer since telematics offerings and included-coverage terms shift over time across the industry.

Beyond telematics, both machines run on widely available diesel platforms with established North American parts networks, so neither brand carries a meaningfully higher risk of being stranded without parts. The more practical ownership-cost question is resale value a few years down the road, and that's worth asking your dealer about directly for your specific region — resale strength can vary more by local market demand than by any inherent difference between these two well-built machines.

Rent-vs-Own in This Compact Class

Compact wheel loaders in this size class see some of the most frequent, routine use of any equipment category on this blog — daily material handling rather than occasional specialty work — which tips the rent-vs-own math toward ownership faster than almost anything else we cover. A contractor renting a compact wheel loader more than a few times a month is very likely past the point where owning either of these, sized correctly to actual daily tasks, beats continued rental spend, especially once you factor in having the machine on-site every morning instead of coordinating delivery and pickup around a rental schedule.

Financing Either Brand

BFC finances both the Deere 324 P-Tier and the New Holland W80D on the same terms, so the brand decision stays about which machine actually fits your work rather than which one your lender happens to push. And if you're growing fast enough to be eyeing a second compact wheel loader before the first one's financing is paid down, we can structure that conversation now instead of making you wait years the way a conventional bank often requires.

Ready to Move Forward?

Whichever of these two fits your yard, apply for financing today, browse our equipment for sale and financing inventory, or return to our home page for everything else BFC finances. For more comparisons like this, subscribe to the BFC blog.