Which Angle Grinder Brand Wins?
We compared 10 angle grinder options head to head. Milwaukee M18 Fuel came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel
Price shown in test: $229 (stated the same price as the Makita when introduced; the closing verdict segment instead says $220 for the Milwaukee, an inconsistency in the transcript, recorded as heard, not corrected)
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Ridgid Octane
Price shown in test: $119 (tool only, not battery and charger)
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Makita (knockoff)
Price shown in test: $55 (closing recap widens this to around 55 to 60 dollars)
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Weight | Noise DB | Rpm Claimed Vs Actual | Cut Speed 3 Passes Avg | Torque Test Max Pressure Survived | Blade Stop Speed | Vibration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel$229 (stated the same price as the Makita when introduced; the closing verdict segment instead says $220 for the Milwaukee, an inconsistency in the transcript, recorded as heard, not corrected) | 4 lb 14.3 oz (2,221 g), the heaviest tool in the lineup by individual weight | 88 dB | claims up to 9,000 no-load RPM, topped out at 8,580 RPM | 6.94, 6.64, 6.79 seconds, average cut speed 6.8 seconds, the fastest of all 10 grinders | easily survived all the way to 20 lb and completed the rebar cut in 14.5 seconds, the fastest of the 5 grinders that met the 20 lb for 10 seconds bar | 1.56 seconds | 40 m/s2 |
| 2Ridgid Octane$119 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 4 lb 0.5 oz (1,830 g) | 84 dB | claims 10,000 no-load RPM, topped out at 9,862 RPM, the highest no-load RPM in the lineup and closest to its claim | 7.96, 7.4, 7.96 seconds, average cut speed 7.8 seconds, 2nd fastest overall | made it through 17.5 lb, then held very high RPM under load at 20 lb but gave up at 21 seconds before finishing the full cut, still counted among the 5 grinders that survived 20 lb of pressure for at least 10 seconds | 3.03 seconds | 17.6 m/s2, by far the lowest vibration of any grinder tested |
| 3Makita (knockoff)$55 (closing recap widens this to around 55 to 60 dollars) | 3 lb 8.9 oz (1,616 g), 57 oz in the weight recap ranking | 87 dB | claims up to 11,000 no-load RPM, actual 8,667 RPM, over 2,000 RPM short of claim | 10.29, 9.83, 11.25 seconds, average cut speed of 10.5 seconds over the three cuts, stated explicitly by the narrator | handled 5, 7.5, and 10 lb with no problem, barely survived 12.5 lb (tied for 2nd best of the brands that failed before 20 lb, alongside the Bosch), then failed at 15 lb, giving up 2.7 seconds into that pass | 4.35 seconds | 36.5 m/s2 |
| 4DeWalt$160 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 3 lb 9.7 oz (1,642 g), 58 oz in the weight recap ranking | 91 dB, tied with the Craftsman for loudest | claims 9,000 no-load RPM, actual 7,464 RPM, over 1,500 RPM short | 9.17, 7.91, 8.97 seconds, average cut speed 8.7 seconds, 3rd fastest overall despite the lowest RPM of the top performers | made very easy work of 17.5 lb, then lost blade speed at 20 lb but never gave up, finishing the cut in 65 seconds | 1.31 seconds, aided by a built in kick brake | 81 m/s2 |
| 5Craftsman$99 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 3 lb 10.7 oz (1,667 g), 59 oz in the weight recap ranking | 91 dB, tied with DeWalt for loudest | claims a minimum speed of 8,000 RPM, came up over 1,000 RPM short (exact resulting figure not stated in the transcript), the lowest no-load RPM in the lineup | 9.43, 9.02, 9.63 seconds, average cut speed 9.4 seconds | made very easy work of 17.5 lb, then at 20 lb lost a lot of blade speed but refused to give up, finishing the cut in 85 seconds, one of only 5 grinders to clear the 20 lb for 10 seconds bar | 2.73 seconds, the fastest stop of the non-brake equipped grinders despite having the slowest no-load RPM in the lineup | 62 m/s2, tied with the Workpro |
| 6Makita$229 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 4 lb 5.9 oz (1,984 g), the heaviest individual tool weight stated, though not listed among the top 5 lightest in the weight recap | 87 dB, tied with the knockoff Makita | claims 8,500 no-load RPM, actual 7,238 RPM | 9.17, 9.73, 9.73 seconds, average cut speed 9.5 seconds, moved into 4th place behind the Craftsman at the time | made it all the way to 20 lb, holding RPM as well as the DeWalt, finishing the cut in 35 seconds, one of only 5 grinders to clear the 20 lb for 10 seconds bar | 0.8 seconds, by far the fastest of any grinder tested | 67 m/s2, more than the knockoff Makita |
| 7Bosch$125 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 3 lb 7.3 oz (1,570 g), 55 oz in the weight recap ranking, nearly the lightest | 90 dB, second loudest | no specific claimed RPM figure given in the transcript, topped out at 9,032 RPM, described as better than average | 9.73, 9.78, 9.94 seconds, average cut speed 9.8 seconds | survived 10 and 12.5 lb (tied for 2nd best of the brands that failed before 20 lb, alongside the knockoff Makita), then failed at 15 lb after about 3 seconds | 3.44 seconds | 109 m/s2, by far the worst vibration of any grinder tested, described as a really bad case of the shakes |
| 8Metabo HPT$131 (tool only, not battery and charger) | 3 lb 14.8 oz (1,781 g) | 80 dB, tied with the Workpro for quietest | claims 9,000 no-load RPM, actual 8,046 RPM, over 900 RPM short | 10.69, 10.54, 10.95 seconds; the narrator did not state an explicit 3 cut average for this brand the way it did for every other brand, unlike the others | made it through 15 lb and appeared to clear 17.5 lb, then failed at 20 lb after only 4 seconds | 7.45 seconds, by far the slowest stop time, more than twice as long as the top two leaders | 38 m/s2, 3rd best |
| 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V$100 | 3 lb 11.9 oz (1,699 g) | 83 dB | claims 9,200 no-load RPM, came up about 800 RPM short (exact resulting figure not stated) | 16.07, 15.87, 16.93 seconds, average cut speed 16.3 seconds, by far the slowest of the grinders that completed the 5 lb cut test | bogged down heavily at 7.5 lb, then failed outright at 10 lb in less than 2 seconds | right at 4 seconds | 49 m/s2 |
| 10Workpro$68 (kit price including grinder, 4 amp hour battery, charger, and 5 flap discs) | 3 lb 5.9 oz (1,529 g), 54 oz in the weight recap ranking, the lightest tool tested | 80 dB, tied with the Metabo HPT for quietest | claims an effective speed of 7,500 RPM, actual no-load speed nearly 8,200 RPM, one of the few brands to exceed its own claimed figure | failed the standard 5 lb pressure cut test twice at only 1.46 seconds each attempt; retested at a reduced 2.5 lb of pressure instead, where it finally completed cuts at 30.9 seconds, 69 seconds (restarted after stalling at 52 seconds), and 70 seconds (after 4 restarts) | barely survived 5 lb, then failed at 7.5 lb in under 2 seconds, the worst torque result of any grinder tested | 4.5 seconds, slower than the knockoff Makita despite the Workpro's lower no-load RPM | 62 m/s2, tied with the Craftsman |
How it was tested
- cutting speed through half inch rebar under 5 lb of pressure, 3 passes per grinder
- no-load RPM claimed vs measured on a fully charged battery
- noise level in decibels
- tool weight
- torque/stall resistance: cutting a 1/4 inch grinding wheel through rebar under progressively increasing pressure from 5 lb up to 20 lb
- blade stop / brake speed with a 1/4 inch grinding wheel
- vibration in m/s2 with a 1/4 inch grinding wheel
“So, which brand won the showdown? The Milwaukee did a great job just blasting through that rebar in a very fast time.”
Data notes and caveats
Clean transcript with no significant brand name garbling; all 10 brands (Ridgid, Ryobi, Workpro, Bosch, DeWalt, Craftsman, Makita, Metabo HPT, knockoff Makita, Milwaukee) match the description's Products Tested list exactly. Products array is ordered by the primary declared test, rebar cut speed at 5 lb, best to worst; the video does not provide one single combined score across all five sub-tests, so this order should not be read as an overall composite rank. Narrator gives a clear three tier verdict: Milwaukee as outright winner (fastest cutter, but pricier), Ridgid as the value alternative (nearly as fast, notably cheaper), and the knockoff Makita as the budget pick for anyone already on the Makita battery platform. One price inconsistency: the Milwaukee is introduced at $229 (same price as the genuine Makita) but the closing verdict segment calls it $220, recorded as heard rather than corrected. The Workpro is the only brushed motor grinder and the only one that failed the standard 5 lb cut test outright, forcing a methodology change to a reduced 2.5 lb pressure for its cut timing, so its cut times are not directly comparable to the other 9 brands' 5 lb results. The Metabo HPT was tested with a smaller 3 amp hour battery instead of the 4 amp hour battery used on every other brand, a stated methodology caveat.