2026 test14 productsBlades, Bits & Abrasives
Which Drill Bit Set Brand Wins?
We compared 14 drill bit set options head to head. COMOWARE came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping drill bit sets, drill sets, dewalt drill bit set and milwaukee drill bit set land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
COMOWARE
Price shown in test: $36
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Runner-up
Milwaukee
Price shown in test: $65 for 15 bits
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Budget pick
COMOWARE
Price shown in test: $36
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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 | Mild Steel Initial | Spring Steel First Pass | Mild Steel Repeat | Spring Steel Durability Repeat | Ar 500 Armor Test | Overall Average Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1COMOWARE M42 cobalt$36 | 19.65 seconds, 2nd place behind the DeWalt Cobalt | 21.79 seconds, barely outperformed the DeWalt Cobalt; held up the best of any bit so far, still looked nearly as good as new | 18.68 seconds, actually faster than the first pass, 2nd place behind the DeWalt Cobalt | 21.94 seconds, less than 1 percent slower than the first attempt, the least performance loss of any bit tested | completely shredded the AR500 plate, finishing in 58.69 seconds, the fastest of the only four bit sets to defeat the armor plate, and still in pretty good shape afterward | 1.6, the best of all 14 sets tested |
| 2Milwaukee$65 for 15 bits | 20.6 seconds | 17.65 seconds, 1st place, only a very small amount of wear and tear | 17.24 seconds, 19 percent faster than the first pass, moved into the lead | 19.46 seconds, still the fastest bit, described as the drill to beat, plenty of life left | defeated the AR500 plate in 1 minute 17 seconds, second fastest of the four bits that finished, though the armor took a toll on it | 2.4, second best of all sets tested |
| 3Irwin$130 | 23.55 seconds | 24.16 seconds, about the same as Drill America | 27 seconds | around 28 seconds, still in pretty good condition | defeated the AR500 plate in 60.29 seconds, almost as fast as COMOWARE, second fastest of the four bits that finished, still in good shape afterward | not tested |
| 4Viking Drill and Tool$180, the most expensive set tested | 32.85 seconds, the slowest of all sets initially | 31.82 seconds | 31.82 seconds, actually faster than the first pass | just under 35 seconds, only about 8 percent slower, still in really good condition | the fourth and final brand to defeat the AR500 armor plate, made very steady progress throughout | 5.4 |
| 5DeWalt Cobalt, pilot point$29 for 14 bits | 16.36 seconds, the fastest of all 14 sets on the first mild steel test | 21.89 seconds, 3rd place | 17.45 seconds, second fastest, described as continuing to impress | 25.71 seconds, about 4 seconds slower than its first pass, beginning to show more wear | started off making slow progress, completely stopped at around 14 seconds; did not defeat the armor plate and looked pretty dull afterward | not tested |
| 6Warrior$75, sold at Harbor Freight | 19.51 seconds, 2nd place initially | 22.05 seconds, 4th place, but experienced quite a bit of battle damage to both sides of the bit | 26.59 seconds, lost about 26 percent of its speed | gave up just short of drilling all the way through the spring steel; chips to the leading edge hurt its performance | not tested, having failed to complete the second spring steel durability pass | not tested |
| 7Drill America$94 for 29 bits | 21.1 seconds | 24.22 seconds, held up quite a bit better than the Warrior | 21.89 seconds, less than 1 second different from its first pass | just under 32 seconds, 24 percent longer, quite a bit more wear | did not defeat the armor plate, ran out of steam at around 20 seconds and the test was ended around 30 seconds | not tested |
| 8Drill Hog$140 for 29 bits | 29.7 seconds | 28.71 seconds | 32.54 seconds | 31.1 seconds, about 7.68 percent longer, held up really well, 3rd best durability result | did not officially defeat the armor plate; ran out of steam just before finishing, described as less than a millimeter away from completion | not tested |
| 9Bosch$40 for 14 bits | 30.16 seconds, seemed to have lost a step compared to a previous Project Farm review | 27.78 seconds, moved into 3rd place behind the DeWalt Cobalt, but experienced a chip during this test | just over 38 seconds, about 20 percent more time due to the chip damage | just under 30 seconds, only about 7 percent more time, 2nd best durability result despite the chip | did not defeat the armor plate; made very slow progress and quit at around 2.5 minutes, two bad chips hurt its performance | not tested |
| 10GMTOOLS$40 for 29 bits | 20.55 seconds | 28.8 seconds, quite a bit slower than the DeWalt Cobalt and COMOWARE | 24.01 seconds, about 4 seconds longer, visible wear and tear | just under 38 seconds, almost 24 percent more time, a lot of tip wear | did not defeat the armor plate, ran out of steam at around 20 seconds and the test was ended around 52 seconds | not tested |
| 11CaRoller$60 for 29 bits | just over 24 seconds | 33.89 seconds, really struggled, the point and flute edges no longer looked sharp | not tested | took very close to 3 minutes to drill through on the repeat spring steel test, in even worse condition afterward | did not defeat the armor plate, ran out of steam at around 20 seconds and the test was ended around 42 seconds | not tested |
| 12HIGHFIRE$63 for 29 bits | 22.86 seconds | just over 29 seconds, quite a bit of wear and tear | did not complete the hole; the test was ended at just over 3 minutes | skipped, since it failed to successfully complete the repeat mild steel test | not tested | not tested |
| 13Makita HSS, titanium coated$19 for 14 bits | 20.76 seconds, moved into the lead ahead of the DeWalt HSS at that point in the video | 38.4 seconds, about 8 seconds faster than the DeWalt HSS but still slow, some wear on the tip and chisel edge | 28.35 seconds, about 26 percent slower than its first pass | gave up after about 30 seconds, made slightly more progress than the DeWalt HSS but ultimately did not finish | not tested, having failed the second spring steel pass | not tested |
| 14DeWalt HSS (high speed steel)$13 for 14 bits, the least expensive set tested | 23.55 seconds, noted by the reviewer as much slower than when this same product was tested a couple of years earlier | 46.9 seconds, very slow, minor wear on the chisel edge | 24.58 seconds, about 1 second slower than its first pass | completely stopped making progress, gave up quickly, significant damage to the cutting edge geometry | not tested, having failed the second spring steel pass | not tested |
How it was tested
- time to drill through 0.5 in mild steel plate with a drill press, initial pass
- time to drill through leaf spring steel (about 0.375 in), initial pass
- repeat 0.5 in mild steel pass to measure speed loss after the spring steel test
- repeat spring steel pass to measure further durability and speed loss
- time to drill through AR500 armor plating
- overall average finish ranking across all speed and durability categories
“A very affordable Cobra drill bit set came in on top with the best average finish of 1.6. The Cobra drill would definitely be my choice, and it's a terrific deal for M42 cobalt bits at less than $40.”