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On balance, a jigsaw might be better than a circular saw if you're new to this kind of thing. To put a level to it, I could allow students to use jigsaws under supervision, but the L.E.A. absolutely prohibited the use of hand held circular saws in school workshops.
My father in law expressed concern at hand-held circular saws on the basis that you're essentially putting a couple of horsepower through the blade. Put like that it was a bit of an eye opener.
ffm
dapthechap
'Modern' laminates are often not melamine, especially in furniture (i.e.not a work surface) - sometimes it is little more than printed paper with a plastic coating which should cut through cleanly with a sharp craft knife / new blade as described above.
A jigsaw would in many ways be easier to use than a circular saw - certainly less scary and less likely to cause serious injuries / minor amputation if it gets away from you.
It is also easier (I think) to correct any drifting away from the line than with a circular saw - balanced against being more likely to drift in the first place. A hand held circular saw will give a straighter cut provided you can clamp the fence accurately and use it with confidence.
Further issues: most man made boards use a resin that will blunt or foul (or both) a saw blade - jigsaw blades are likely to be cheaper than circular saw blades. Dust control should be considered: circular saws are more likely to produce larger quantities of fine dust which present health and safety issues - even low exposure can be problematic to anyone with asthma or allergies - whereas a jigsaw at modest speed will probably generate larger sized particles.
On balance, a jigsaw might be better than a circular saw if you're new to this kind of thing. To put a level to it, I could allow students to use jigsaws under supervision, but the L.E.A. absolutely prohibited the use of hand held circular saws in school workshops.
tl;dr I'd use a jigsaw.