2023 test6 productsPower Tools
Which Cordless Framing Nailer Brand Wins?
We compared 6 cordless framing nailer options head to head. Milwaukee came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Milwaukee
Price shown in test: $379 for just the nailer, not battery and charger
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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 | Weight | Noise | Consistency Depth Test | Speed Test 25 Nails | Oak Test | Battery Drain Test | Cold Test | Composite Lumber Test | Downward Force Test | Toe Nail Angle Test | Compactness | Offset From Wall | Overall Ranking | Ramp Up Time | Ramp Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Milwaukee$379 for just the nailer, not battery and charger | brushless motor, 21 degree, claims power to nail engineered lumber, 3 nails per second, nails 2 to 3.5 in, made in China | over 12 lb (12.06 lb per closing weight chart), by far the heaviest of all brands | 89.8 dB | best result yet: eight perfect drives, one too deep, one too shallow | fastest of all brands at 10.4 seconds | more than enough power, completely buried the nail heads, described as 'very impressive'; noticeably less recoil than Craftsman and DeWalt | performed just as well with a partially drained battery, no drop-off | fired the first nail with a cold battery but would not fire the second until a warm battery was installed; narrator says it 'done the best job yet' driving nails in the cold | came out on top, fully drove in all three nails with no malfunctions, described as 'very impressive' | performed extremely well with and without downward force, actually slightly better without extra force | lost grip at 52.6 degrees, third place behind Paslode (76.1) and Metabo HPT (56.2) | fits between studs at 16 in centers but a pretty tight fit | 2.1 in offset | average finish of 1.5 on tool performance alone (excluding weight and noise), named best nailer in the lineup | not tested | not tested |
| 2Paslode$460 for battery, charger, and nailer; fuel cells cost around $14 each | 30 degree nailer, claims superior battery life (9,000 shots per charge) and lightest cordless nailer on the market, drop-in fuel system delivers instant power for 1,200 nails; tool designed and assembled in USA, battery made in Japan, charger made in China | by far the lightest of all brands at 7.9 lb | 104.8 dB | six perfect drives, two too deep and two too shallow; one nail underperformed badly, left sticking up a quarter of an inch | third fastest at 14.1 seconds; the purchased unit did not come with a working bump-fire trigger, so timing the tip/trigger sequence manually held it back | slightly more recoil than the Milwaukee; did well on one nail but left the other with unfinished business | skipped, since the Paslode uses a fuel-cell system rather than a swappable battery | sounded unhappy but worked; did well on the first two nails, left unfinished business on the second two | struggled on all three nails with no jams; nails left sticking out about 1 to 1.25 in above the board | continued to struggle: 7/8 in without force, almost 1.25 in with a lot of downward force | won this test at 76.1 degrees, described as 'by far the best designed for driving nails at an angle' | not tested | won this test at 1.63 in, the best offset profile of all brands | tied with Ridgid for second place, average finish of 3.25 on tool performance alone | not tested | not tested |
| 3Ridgid$349 for just the nailer, not battery and charger | 21 degree, brushless motor, claims pneumatic-nailer power, up to 3 nails per second, up to 750 nails per charge, selectable contact-actuation or single-sequential mode, holds up to 33 nails, nails 2 to 3.5 in, made in China | 10.7 lb | 87.9 dB | a little more consistent than Craftsman: six perfect nails, two too deep, two too shallow, 'very good results overall' | second fastest at 12.3 seconds | less recoil than Craftsman but, like Craftsman, drove nails in without quite burying the head | performed just as well with a partially drained battery | cold temperature disabled it entirely; would not drive a nail even with a warmed-up battery | lost pressure after cold exposure and needed air added to its pressure tank (up to 125 PSI); made three attempts on all three nails with no malfunctions but nails stuck out 7/16 to 9/16 in | performed better without extra downward force: about 1/4 in without force vs 7/16 in with a lot of downward force | 26.1 degrees, better than DeWalt but still described as struggling | least compact of all brands at 15 in height, too tall to fit between studs for a perpendicular nail shot | 2.4 in offset, the worst (largest) of all brands | tied with Paslode for second place, average finish of 3.25 on tool performance alone | not tested | not tested |
| 4Craftsman$329 for just the nailer, not battery and charger | 21 degree nailer, brushless motor, tool-free depth adjustment, LED jam indicator, rafter hook, on-board tool storage, nails 2 to 3.25 in, dry fire lockout, holds up to 49 nails, made in Mexico | 10.6 lb with 4 amp hour battery and nails | 108.5 dB, loudest of all brands | four nails seated perfectly, one too high, five too low; quite a bit of recoil, nailer lifted off the board between shots | slowest of all brands at 20.1 seconds (no bump-fire mode, trigger/contact action timed manually) | a lot of recoil; did not have enough power on the maximum setting to bury the nail head | only nailer to drop off noticeably with a partially drained battery, driving nails less deep | performed poorly in cold: could not get revved up enough at 0F even with a warmed-up battery; partially drove a nail and needed a reset before the second nail | jammed after the first nail, needed a reset after the second, needed attention after the third attempt; all three nails stuck out about 1/4 to 7/16 in; finished third overall in this test at 0.32 in behind Milwaukee and DeWalt | no noticeable difference with or without downward force | struggled, lost grip at 18.9 degrees, tied for worst result with DeWalt | 13.75 in height, easily fits between studs, tied best result with DeWalt | 2.1 in offset | not tested | needs just over half a second to spin up before deploying a nail; no bump-fire mode | not tested |
| 5DeWalt$350 for just the nailer, not battery and charger | 30 degree nailer, brushless motor, claims consistent nail penetration into soft and hard joints, two-speed selector switch, easy-access jam-clearing nose piece, LED jam light, nails 2 to 3.5 in, holds up to 55 nails, made in Mexico | lightest of the fully battery-electric nailers at just over 10 lb | 107.3 dB, about as loud as the Craftsman | seven perfect nails, three too deep | 15 seconds, faster than Craftsman but slower than Ridgid | quite a bit of recoil like Craftsman; performed very close to the same as Craftsman and Ridgid | performed just as well with a partially drained battery | too cold to spin up initially; with a warmed-up battery, drove both nails most of the way | needed a reset before the second and third nails similar to Craftsman; came up short on all three nails by about 1/4 to 7/16 in; finished second overall in this test at 0.3 in | performed nearly the same with and without downward force, around 1/4 in | 18.4 degrees, performed almost the same as Craftsman (tied for worst result) | same height as Craftsman, an inch and a quarter shorter than Ridgid, plenty of space between studs at 16 in centers | 2.1 in offset, close to Craftsman and Milwaukee | not tested | not tested | needs over half a second to wind up in sequential mode like the Craftsman; fires immediately in bump-fire mode once already revved up |
| 6Metabo HPT$369 for battery, charger, and nailer | 21 degree nailer, brushless motor, claims pneumatic-like power with 18V cordless freedom, flip-switch sequential/bump-fire modes, air spring drive system, claims zero ramp-up time, nails 2 to 3.5 in, 37 nail capacity, made in China; narrator notes the rafter hook 'seems a little too large' | 10.5 lb with the included 3 amp hour battery (10.49 lb per closing weight chart) | 100.3 dB | seven perfect drives, three a little too deep; recoil about the same as Ridgid, far less than DeWalt and Craftsman | 17.9 seconds; narrator pushed the trigger too hard and it misfired several times during the timed test, suggesting a faster time is achievable with practice | really struggled: first nail stuck up about 1/4 in, second nail also did not fully seat | performed just as well with a partially drained battery | would not drive nails even with a warmed-up battery | made all three attempts with no mechanical or electronic malfunctions but really struggled, leaving nails sticking up about 3/4 in above the board, worst depth result of the composite test | continued to struggle with and without downward force, just over 3/4 in on both attempts | won this test outright at 56.2 degrees, described as 'very well designed for driving in nails at an angle' | not tested | 1.75 in, best of the four standard brushless nailers, second best overall behind Paslode | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- consistency of nail depth test (10 lb of downward force applied)
- speed test: time to fire 25 nails
- power test driving nails into oak on the highest power setting
- performance with a partially drained battery vs a fully charged battery
- cold weather performance (nailers placed in a freezer at 0F)
- power test driving nails into 4 in composite lumber
- performance with and without 10 lb of downward force on the nailer
- toe-nailing grip test (angle at which the nailer tip loses grip)
- offset from a vertical surface (closeness of nail placement to a wall)
- physical stats: weight, noise, and height/compactness for fitting between studs
“Taking into consideration just tool performance and not categories such as tool weight or noise, the Milwaukee came out on top with an average finish of 1.5.”
Data notes and caveats
Declared tie for second place (runner-up): the closing scorecard gives Paslode and Ridgid the identical average finish of 3.25 ('Paslode and Ridgid had an average finish of 3.25'). runnerUp is left null rather than arbitrarily picking one of the two tied brands.