2021 test8 productsPower Tools
Which Cordless Drill Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 8 cordless drill options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Budget pick
Bauer
Price shown in test: $45 for just the drill, not battery and charger; least expensive brand tested
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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 | Specs | Light | Weight | Length | Noise | Low Rpm Control Test | No Load Rpm Vs Rating | Clutch Torque Range Test | Max Torque Test | Time Test First Gear | Speed Test Highest Setting | Endurance Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Milwaukee$153 for just the drill, not battery and charger | claims up to 60% more power and up to 1.5 in shorter length vs a comparison model, up to 2x faster speed under heavy load claimed, peak torque claim 1200 in-lb, up to 2000 RPM claimed, 5-year warranty, made in Vietnam, brushless motor | LED stays on 10 seconds after trigger release | 4 lb 11.4 oz, nearly the same as DeWalt | shortest drill in the lineup at only 7 in | tied with Ridgid for loudest baseline at 83 dB; electronic clutch quiet at 70 dB | 35 RPM, described as 'pretty good' but not the best in the field | about 30 RPM short of its 550 first-gear rating; nearly 200 RPM short of its second-gear rating | lowest setting 136 in-lb ('definitely not a tool for delicate work'); highest setting (level 14) 231 in-lb | won outright at 468 in-lb, 'just about drove the half-inch lag bolt all the way into the 4 by 4s' | 5.51 seconds average, second place behind Makita's 5.24 | 1.87 seconds in second gear, third place behind DeWalt (1.56) and Makita (1.84) | 'no issues with Milwaukee getting started and it lasted for 2 minutes'; transcript does not specify which gear it ultimately ran in for the full duration |
| 2DeWalt$135 for just the drill, not battery and charger | brushless motor, 3 speeds, max power claim of 820 unit watts out, up to 2000 RPM claimed, 11 clutch settings, 3-year warranty, made in USA with global materials | 3 light settings; offers by far the brightest light on the highest setting of all brands | 4 lb 10 oz | very close to 8 in | 81 dB baseline, slightly quieter than Ridgid; electronic clutch only 73 dB, much quieter than the Bauer/Ryobi/Ridgid mechanical clutches | very good at only 23 RPM | made 453 RPM vs a claimed 450 first-gear rating; exceeded its 1300 second-gear rating by 40; slightly beat its 2000 RPM rating at 2011 | lowest setting 76 in-lb, 'definitely not a good setup for delicate work' (electronic clutch); highest setting (level 11) 245 in-lb | 403 in-lb, second place behind Milwaukee, described as 'by far the best yet' at that point in the test order | 5.83 seconds, fourth place, close behind Ridgid's 5.8 | won outright at 1.56 seconds in third gear, 'about half a second faster than the Ridgid' | 'had a little bit of a problem getting started, but once it got started, did just fine'; narrator ran it an extra 20 seconds to compensate for the slow start; gear used for the remainder is not explicitly stated |
| 3Makita$149 for just the tool, not battery and charger | claimed most powerful drill in the lineup at 1090 in-lb torque, brushless motor, up to 2100 RPM claimed, made in China | two LEDs, stay on 10 seconds after trigger release | by far the heaviest drill at 5 lb 2 oz (82 oz per the closing weight comparison, heaviest of all 8 brands) | very close to 8 in, about the same as DeWalt | very close to 80 dB baseline; mechanical clutch is the loudest of all 8 brands at 102 dB | same as DeWalt at 23 RPM | very close to its 550 first-gear rating; slightly over its 2100 second-gear rating at 2111 | lowest setting 0 in-lb, performed very well (mechanical clutch); highest setting 78 in-lb | 348 in-lb, third place, 'did very well... but that's not enough to take the lead from DeWalt' | won outright at 5.24 seconds, 'the fastest yet' | 1.84 seconds in second gear, second place behind DeWalt | shut off about halfway through the test in second gear; narrator switched it to first gear to finish |
| 4Bauer$45 for just the drill, not battery and charger; least expensive brand tested | 20V Hypermax lithium, claimed high performance motor and all-metal gear construction, claimed max torque 450 in-lb, claimed RPM 0 to 450 and 0 to 1700, guaranteed for 90 days, made in China, brushed motor (only brushed-motor drill in the lineup) | single LED, stays on 4 seconds after trigger release, shortest light duration in the lineup | lightest tool of all 8 brands at 64 oz (3 lb 15.8 oz with a 3 amp-hour battery) | 7.75 in | close to 80 dB baseline; mechanical clutch loud at 100 dB | 27 RPM; did very well on the lowest torque setting (no reading below 0 in-lb) | beat its own 450 RPM first-gear rating at 465; beat its 1700 RPM second-gear rating at 1733 | lowest setting produced 0 in-lb (could not move the torque adapter off zero, the best possible low-end result); highest setting 141 in-lb, 'a pretty wide range of torque settings' | 143 in-lb, seventh of eight, ahead of only Ryobi | 6.59 seconds average, slowest measured at that point, 'definitely losing quite a bit of speed under load' | about 2 seconds in second gear, came up about half an inch short of fully driving both bolts | could not spin the engine over in second gear; survived the full 2-minute test in first gear |
| 5Ryobi$70 for the drill, battery, and charger together | up to 500 in-lb torque claimed, 0 to 450 and 0 to 1750 RPM claimed, 3-year warranty, made in China, brushed motor; ships with a 1.5 amp-hour battery but was tested with a 4 amp-hour battery for consistency with the other brands | only stays illuminated while the trigger is engaged, no delay unlike every other brand tested | 4 lb 3.9 oz | 8.25 in, slightly longer than Bauer | 78 dB baseline, slightly quieter than Bauer; mechanical clutch 99 dB, slightly quieter than Bauer's | best low-RPM control of the mechanical-clutch brands at only 19 RPM, 'even better low RPM control than the Bauer' | came very close to its 450 RPM first-gear rating; about 90 RPM short of its 1700 RPM second-gear rating | performed well on the lowest torque setting (mechanical clutch); highest setting 114 in-lb | 131 in-lb, last of all 8 brands | 7.45 seconds, slowest of the field, 'definitely seemed to slow down more than the Bauer' | 2.25 seconds in second gear, slower than Bauer; also came up about half an inch short of fully driving both bolts | could not spin the engine over in second gear; narrator notes it 'smells a little hot'; result in first gear not explicitly stated as pass or fail beyond that observation |
| 6Ridgid$95 for just the drill, not battery and charger | brushless motor, up to 650 in-lb torque claimed, lifetime warranty, claimed micro-clutch premium clutch design with over 100 settings, claimed diecast gearbox for extended durability, comes with a handle, made in China | stays on 10 seconds after trigger release | 4 lb 7 oz, heaviest at that point in the intro sequence | 7.25 in, shortest at that point in the intro sequence (later surpassed only by Milwaukee's 7 in) | 83 dB baseline, loudest at that point in the intro sequence (later tied by Milwaukee); mechanical clutch loud at 100 dB | very good at only 27 RPM | very close to its 550 RPM first-gear rating; a little over 100 RPM short of its 2100 RPM second-gear rating | lowest setting 0 in-lb, did very well; highest setting 180 in-lb | 226 in-lb, sixth of eight overall; briefly held the lead before being overtaken by DeWalt, Makita, and Milwaukee | 5.8 seconds, third place, 'quite a bit faster than the Bauer and Ryobi' | 2.04 seconds in second gear, fifth place; 'completely drove in both bolts' | could not spin the engine over in second gear; finished the test in first gear |
| 7Bosch$154 for just the drill, not battery and charger | brushless motor, max RPM 2100 claimed, max torque 755 in-lb claimed, made in Malaysia, comes with a handle | stays on 10 seconds after trigger release | 4 lb 9.2 oz, only a couple ounces less than Milwaukee and DeWalt | 7.75 in | quietest baseline of all 8 brands at 77 dB; unusual design where the electric motor also powers down when the mechanical clutch is activated; clutch measured at 98 dB | best low-RPM control of all 8 brands at only 7.3 RPM | came up a little short of its 480 RPM first-gear rating at 433; nearly 200 RPM short of its 2100 RPM second-gear rating | lowest setting 0 in-lb, did a great job (mechanical clutch); highest setting 69 in-lb, the lowest maximum clutch-torque figure of all 8 brands | 289 in-lb, fourth place | 6.68 seconds, tied for slowest with Festool, 'around a second slower than Ridgid, DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Makita' | 2.02 seconds in second gear, fourth place, moved ahead of Ridgid | got started fine but shut down at 36 seconds in second gear; had to finish the test in first gear |
| 8Festool$544 for the battery, charger, and drill together, the most expensive brand tested by a wide margin | max torque 531 in-lb claimed, made in Czech Republic, battery made in China, charger made in Germany, brushless motor, claimed to spin nearly twice as fast as the competition at 3800 RPM in mode four, chuck can be removed and a driver installed, manufacturer website claims it 'will stand up to anything you can possibly throw at it or throw it at' | four LEDs, activated only by pressing a separate button next to the lights, unlike every other brand's automatic trigger-linked light | 4 lb 10.3 oz, nearly the same as DeWalt and Milwaukee | 9 in, the longest drill in the lineup | quietest drill of all 8 brands at 73 dB baseline; electronic clutch also quiet at around 70 dB | very good at only 11 RPM | slightly over its 400 RPM first-gear rating at 404; beat its 850 RPM second-gear rating; over its third-gear rating by nearly 100; beat its fourth-gear 3800 RPM rating by 75 | struggled on the lowest setting (electronic clutch) at 92 in-lb, 'definitely not a good setup for delicate work'; highest setting 151 in-lb | 250 in-lb, fifth place, 'made slow and steady progress, finally giving up' | tied for slowest with Bosch at 6.68 seconds; narrator switched from the labeled level four to level three for a comparable RPM to the other brands' first gear | 2.47 seconds at level three, slowest of all 8 drills; for reference, a Milwaukee Fuel impact driver tested at the same level averaged 2.88 seconds, slower than every drill including Festool | did not have enough power in third or fourth gear, so it was tested in second gear where it 'performed very well', unlike most other brands which had to drop to first gear |
How it was tested
- low-speed/RPM control test (slowest RPM achievable without stalling)
- no-load RPM test in each gear vs manufacturer ratings
- clutch torque range test (lowest and highest clutch settings, inch-pounds)
- maximum torque test (driving a half-inch by 10-inch lag bolt into 4x4s)
- time test driving five lag bolts in first/low gear
- time test driving bolts in the highest speed setting available
- endurance test (spinning a braked, sparkplug-removed engine over for up to 2 minutes)
- noise level in decibels (baseline and with clutch engaged)
- weight and length
Data notes and caveats
No single overall winner is declared and no numeric average-finish scorecard is given (unlike most other videos in this channel). The closing statement names three brands as recommended without ranking them against each other: 'I'm really impressed with the Milwaukee's torque as well as its compact size. However, the DeWalt as well as the Makita have their own strengths as well. I'd recommend any of those three brands.' winner and runnerUp are left null per the per-use-case/multi-pick rule; data quality itself is clean, so confidence remains high.