Which Corded Vs Cordless Power Tools Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 10 corded vs cordless power tools options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Makita (cordless circular saw)
Price shown in test: $170
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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 | Rated motor | No-load RPM (no blade, fully charged) | Weight | Noise (no blade) | Blade stop time | Cutting speed at 5 lb | Cutting speed at 7.5 lb | Cutting speed at 10 lb | No-load RPM | Rated | Weight (with Flexvolt battery) | RPM | Noise | Wheel stop time | Vibration | Rebar cut (1/2in rebar, 5 lb pressure, DeWalt cut-off wheel) | Torque test rebar grind at 20 lb force | Rebar cut (1/2in rebar, 5 lb pressure) | Torque test rebar grind (handled 15 lb force) | No-load RPM by gear | Top RPM (3rd gear) | Lowest RPM without stalling | Lag bolt driving (three 5-in lag bolts) | Torque test, 1st gear (torque adapter) | Torque test, 3rd gear | Max RPM | Lag bolt driving average | Torque test (torque adapter) | Stroke length | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, 20 lb weight (mode unspecified) | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, 15 lb weight | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, 20 lb weight (retest) | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, in-line mode, 10 lb | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, orbital mode, 10 lb | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, orbital mode, 15 lb | 4x4 cut with embedded nails, orbital mode, 20 lb | Separate retest on a different, personally owned 12-amp Milwaukee corded saw, 20 lb | Spec | OSB cut (1/2in OSB, Imperial carbide blade), 5 lb | OSB cut, 7.5 lb | OSB cut, 10 lb | Nail cut (four 16-penny nails), 5 lb | OSB cut, 5 lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Makita (cordless circular saw)$170 | 6,000 RPM | 5,976 RPM | 10.55 lb (4.78 kg) | 92 dB | 0.75 seconds | 1.82 seconds average (3 cuts) | 1.16 seconds | 0.9 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Makita (corded circular saw)$99 | 15-A motor, 5,800 RPM | not tested | 11.56 lb (5,244 g) | 92.4 dB | 6.43 seconds | 1.71 seconds average | 1.26 seconds | 0.8 seconds | 5,766 RPM | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3DeWalt (cordless angle grinder)$160 (tool only, no battery/charger) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 800 max watts out, no-load speed 9,000 RPM, claims 1.8 horsepower | 6.8 lb (just over 3 kg) | 7,462 RPM | 87.7 dB | 1.31 seconds | around 90 mm per second squared | 7.91 seconds | 21.86 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4DeWalt (corded angle grinder)$92 | not tested | not tested | 5.3 lb (2.38 kg) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 11-A motor, 11,000 RPM, low-profile gear case, quick-change wheel release | not tested | 10,156 RPM | 97.9 dB | just over 5 seconds | around 260 mm per second squared | not tested | not tested | 5.42 seconds | 7 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5DeWalt (cordless hammer drill)$200 | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 7.3 lb (3.3 kg) | not tested | 89.4 dB | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 0-450 (1st), 0-1,300 (2nd), 0-2,000 (3rd) | just over 2,000 RPM | 22 RPM | 1.66 sec, 1.71 sec, 1.68 sec average | 502 in-lb (almost drove entire 12-in lag bolt) | 152 in-lb (transcript sentence order for this figure vs the corded drill's 175 in-lb figure is ambiguous, kept verbatim) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6DeWalt (corded hammer drill)$99 | not tested | not tested | 4.8 lb (2.2 kg) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 3,060 RPM | not tested | not tested | not tested | 91.2 dB | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 241 RPM | not tested | not tested | not tested | up to 3,000 RPM, 8.5-A motor | 1.87 seconds | 175 in-lb (transcript: '175 in lb for the corded drill', immediately followed by a 3rd-gear cordless figure; attribution kept verbatim due to ambiguous sentence order) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Milwaukee M18 Fuel (cordless reciprocating saw) M18 Fuelaround $200 | not tested | not tested | 10.85 lb (4.922 kg) | not tested | 0.2 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 92.5 dB (transcript literally labels this reading 'corded' but the testing-order pattern used throughout the video for this saw pair indicates it is the cordless saw's reading; flagged as a probable label mismatch, not corrected) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 1-1/8 in | 19.82 seconds | 17.74 seconds | 17.44 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Milwaukee Super Sawzall (corded reciprocating saw) Super Sawzallaround $200 (same price point as the cordless saw) | not tested | not tested | 9.855 lb (4.47 kg) | not tested | 1.36 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 99.3 dB | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 1-1/4 in | not tested | not tested | not tested | 6.79 seconds | 5.82 seconds | 5.21 seconds | 5.77 seconds | 16.22 seconds | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Ridgid (cordless oscillating multi-tool)$99 (tool only, no battery/charger) | not tested | not tested | 3.765 lb (1.7 kg) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 78.3 dB | not tested | 6 mm per second squared | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | variable speed dial, '3.2 degree angle for faster cutting' (verbatim from transcript, meaning of this spec is unclear, possibly a garbled oscillation-angle figure) | 15.2 seconds | 10.2 seconds | 15.1 seconds (extra weight hurt performance) | 34.8 seconds | not tested |
| 10Ridgid (corded oscillating multi-tool)$120 ($20 more than the cordless tool) | not tested | not tested | 3.39 lb (1.53 kg) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 85.6 dB | not tested | 35 mm per second squared | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 20,000 oscillations per minute, two-finger variable speed trigger, hex grip microtexture, LED lights | not tested | 14.4 seconds | 12.2 seconds (extra weight helped) | 29.7 seconds | 20.8 seconds |
How it was tested
- circular saw cutting speed at 5/7.5/10 lb pressure (2x4)
- angle grinder rebar cutting speed
- angle grinder torque via rebar grinding
- drill lag bolt driving speed
- drill torque via torque adapter
- reciprocating saw cutting speed through nail-embedded 4x4 (in-line and orbital modes)
- oscillating multi-tool OSB plunge-cut speed
- oscillating multi-tool nail-cutting speed
- weight
- no-load RPM
- noise (dB)
- vibration
- blade/wheel stop time
Data notes and caveats
This video is a corded-vs-cordless myth-test spanning FIVE separate tool categories, each its own corded/cordless pair of the SAME brand (Makita circular saw, DeWalt angle grinder, DeWalt hammer drill, Milwaukee reciprocating saw, Ridgid oscillating multi-tool). There is no single overall brand winner; each category has its own local verdict (see product notes), so winner/runnerUp/budgetPick are left null per the per-use-case-favorites rule. Overall closing takeaway from the narrator: cordless tools typically cost more (especially with battery included) but are quieter, vibrate less, and stop faster; corded tools with 10-amp-or-larger motors (circular saw, angle grinder, both reciprocating saws) match or beat cordless on raw work speed, except the drill category where cordless's 3-speed gearbox gave it a clear, explicit win. Flagged ambiguities kept verbatim rather than resolved: (1) a noise-dB sentence pair in the reciprocating saw section literally labels both readings 'corded'; resolved by testing-order pattern to a likely cordless/corded split but not silently corrected. (2) A drill torque sentence ('175 in lb for the corded drill... In third gear, the DeWalt made 152 in lb') has ambiguous attribution between the corded and cordless drill's third gear. (3) A retest of a separately introduced, personally-owned '12 amp Milwaukee corded saw' gives 16.22 seconds at 20 lb, wildly different from the 5.77-second figure for the same weight class earlier for the tested Super Sawzall; both kept, not reconciled. Build note: this video is a strong candidate to be split into five separate corded-vs-cordless category pages given the five distinct tool categories and per-category verdicts.