2025 test12 productsPower Tools
Which Impact Drivers Brand Wins?
We compared 12 impact drivers options head to head. DeWalt 860 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 dewalt impacts, dewalt drill and impact, dewalt impact drill and dewalt impact driver land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
DeWalt 860
Price shown in test: 140
Check price on Amazon
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Runner-up
Milwaukee M18 Fuel
Price shown in test: 100
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 | No-load RPM claim vs measured | Low RPM control | Number 10 x 5in screw driving (3 attempts) | 5/16 x 5in lag bolt (3 attempts) | Maximum torque burst test | Noise | Average finish score | Length | No-load RPM | Subjective vibration/comfort rating | 5/16 x 5in lag bolt | Number 10 x 5in screw driving (2 stated attempts) | Number 10 x 5in screw driving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeWalt 860 DCF860 (implied by 860 model designation, not stated by full number in transcript)140 | claimed up to 3800 RPM; measured 3850 RPM, second highest of all brands behind Milwaukee's 3889 | struggled, around 268 RPM | 1.43, 1.43, 1.38 seconds, average stated as 1.41 seconds, fastest of all brands, took the lead from Milwaukee | 4.9, 4.69, 5.26 seconds, average 4.95 seconds, fastest of all brands for this test | 24,429 lb clamp load, converted to 1,886 in-lb of torque, second highest of all brands behind Milwaukee | 93 dB no-load, 96.1 dB while driving a deck screw | 1.3 average finish across the three head-to-head events (screw driving, lag bolt, max torque), best of all brands | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Milwaukee M18 Fuel100 | claimed up to 3900 RPM; measured 3889 RPM, the highest no-load RPM of all brands tested | around 77 RPM, described as the best low RPM control of all brands at that point in the video | 1.84, 1.43, then average 1.63 seconds for the third screw; separately restated with an average of 1.63 seconds in a later low torque/high speed recap comparison | 5.77, 5.93, 5.88 seconds, average 5.86 seconds, second fastest of all brands, briefly took the lead from Hercules mid-test before DeWalt 860 was tested | 28,724 lb clamp load, converted to 2,217 in-lb of torque, over 200 in-lb more than its 2000 in-lb claim, the highest of all brands tested | 93.6 dB no-load, 98.9 dB while driving a deck screw | not tested | just under 4.5 inches front to back | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Hercules98 | not tested | around 100 RPM, described as pretty good | 1.79, 1.79, 1.79 seconds, average 1.79 seconds, took the lead at that point in the video | 5.93, 5.88, just over 7 seconds, average 6.27 seconds, about 4 seconds faster than Kobalt | 23,350 lb clamp load, converted to 1,882 in-lb of torque (also referenced later in the closing torque recap as '1,82 in lb', almost certainly a dropped digit for 1,882) | stated as 93.1 dB no-load described in the transcript as 'the least amount of noise', and 99.4 dB while driving a deck screw described as 'louder than average'; flagging that 93.1 dB does not read as the lowest no-load figure among all brands tested (several brands measured lower, e.g. Makita 84.7, Ridgid 85.1, Excited Work 85), so this 'least noise' claim as transcribed appears internally inconsistent with the other measured values in the video | 3.3 average finish, third place on the overall three-test scorecard | not tested | 3655, described as by far the most RPM of any brand up to that point in the video | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4DeWalt Hydraulic200 | claimed up to 3000 RPM; transcript states 'around 358' for low RPM control and separately '321 Peak RPM', the latter is lower than the tool's own stated low-RPM figure and is almost certainly a caption error (likely a dropped trailing digit, plausibly closer to 3210), kept verbatim and flagged rather than corrected | not tested | 1.63, 1.43, 1.53 seconds; separately in a labeled 'low torque, high speed' recap comparison against DeWalt 860 and Milwaukee, narrator states DeWalt Hydraulic averaged 1.53 seconds, finishing second behind DeWalt 860's 1.41 and ahead of Milwaukee's 1.63 | 6.65, 7.58, 7.48 seconds, average 7.24 seconds | 8,473 lb clamp load, converted to 654 in-lb of torque, exceeding its own low 500 in-lb claim | 90 dB no-load, 91.1 dB while driving a deck screw, described as by far the quietest under load of any brand tested, consistent with its marketed 'up to 50 percent quieter' hydraulic drive feature | not tested | most compact of all brands compared for length, just under 4 inches front to back | not tested | rated 1 (best) on the narrator's comfort scale; Ryobi One+ HP and Makita rated 2 | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Makita120 | claimed up to 3600 RPM on the highest of 4 speed settings; measured peak around 3400 RPM | around 89 RPM, described as good | 2.31, 2.31, 2.3 seconds, described as very consistent and a lot faster than Ridgid, with less vibration than most other brands | not tested | 22,328 lb clamp load, converted to about 1,723 in-lb of torque, exceeding its 1590 in-lb claim | 84.7 dB no-load, the quietest no-load reading of any brand tested, 96.4 dB while driving a deck screw | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | first attempt around 8 seconds, second attempt 9.24 seconds (good enough to hold third place behind Hercules), third attempt 8.93 seconds, average stated as 8.72 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 6Kobalt71 | not tested | around 141 RPM, described as about the same as Excited Work's 138 RPM | 2.46, 2.46, 2.52 seconds, average 2.48 seconds | 10.42, 11.3, 10.37 seconds, average 10.7 seconds, fastest of all brands up to that point in the video | 20,251 lb clamp load, converted to 1,563 in-lb of torque | 87.8 dB no-load, 97.8 dB while driving a deck screw | not tested | not tested | about 2958 (stated as 'about 140 RPM faster' than Excited Work's 2816, and separately mis-transcribed with a stray dollar sign as '$2,958') | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Ryobi One+ HP80 | not tested | described only qualitatively as 'the best low RPM capability yet'; no specific RPM number given by the narrator for this brand | 2.2, 2.0, 2.36 seconds, average 2.19 seconds, moved into the lead at that point in the video | 11.3, 10.99, 10.68 seconds, average 10.99 seconds, second place behind Kobalt | clamp load given in transcript as '18,42 lb' (likely a dropped digit, plausibly 18,420 lb), converted to 1,422 in-lb of torque | 92.1 dB no-load, 101.8 dB while driving a deck screw, the loudest of all brands up to that point in the video | not tested | not tested | just under 3000, described as the fastest of all brands up to that point in the video | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Craftsman94 | claimed up to 2800 RPM; transcript states it 'briefly produced 2900 RPM' | 172 RPM, described as the slowest setting available | not tested | transcript gives '13.4.1' seconds for the first bolt (likely a caption typo for 13.41), 13.67, 12.39 seconds, average 13.16 seconds, moved into third place behind Ryobi, displacing Greenworks | 16,329 lb clamp load, converted to 1,260 in-lb of torque | 87.6 dB no-load, about the same as Greenworks, 97.8 dB while driving a deck screw, the same reading as Kobalt | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 3.08, 2.77 seconds, average 2.99 seconds, moved into fourth place behind Ryobi | not tested |
| 9Metabo HPT149 | claimed up to 3700 RPM; transcript states 'a max no load RPM at around $330', the dollar sign is clearly a caption artifact and the number itself is far below the claimed spec and below every other brand's max RPM, almost certainly a caption error with a dropped digit, kept verbatim and flagged rather than corrected | around 80 RPM, described as almost as good as Milwaukee's | 2.52, 2.57, 2.1 seconds (fastest of the three attempts); no overall average was explicitly stated by the narrator for this brand's screw test | 10.37, 9.34, 11.41 seconds; narrator also states '10.37 seconds on average', identical to the first individual attempt figure, which may be coincidental or a repeated/garbled number, flagged here rather than treated as certain | 18,529 lb clamp load, converted to 1,430 in-lb of torque, described as middle of the pack | 88 dB no-load, 98.4 dB while driving with the hammer mechanism active | not tested | just over 4.5 inches front to back, the longest of the three brands the narrator directly compared for length | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 10Ridgid106 | claimed up to 2900 RPM; transcript states a top-end/peak reading of only 2535 RPM, described as liking speed less at the top end than other brands | around 89 RPM, described as better than average | 7.69, 7.89, 8.57 seconds, average 8.05 seconds, described as really struggling and not packing a very powerful punch | 19.2, 20.46 seconds, and a third attempt transcribed as finishing at '25.45%' which is clearly a caption error (almost certainly meant to be a time in seconds, not a percentage); no average was explicitly stated by the narrator for this brand, so none is reported here | claimed torque is stated twice inconsistently in the transcript, first as '1,800 INB' at the product introduction and later as claiming '18800 in lb', a roughly 10x discrepancy that is almost certainly a caption digit error rather than two different real claims; measured result given as 13,240 lb clamp load, converted in the transcript to '1,22 in lb' which is very likely a dropped-zero rendering of 1,220 in-lb, kept verbatim and flagged | 85.1 dB no-load, 99.7 dB while driving a deck screw | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 11Greenworks90 | not tested | struggled, just over 400 RPM | 2.82, just under 3, 2.82 seconds, average 2.87 seconds, moved into third place behind Kobalt and Ryobi at that point in the video, described as making noticeably more jiggle than Kobalt and Ryobi | 12.8, 14.7, 14.14 seconds, average 13.88 seconds, about 2 seconds slower than Kobalt and Ryobi | claimed 2650 in-lb; transcript states it came up 'over 1,000 lb short' and gives an actual figure of 1,524, which (unlike every other brand in this section) is stated directly in in-lb rather than as a separate clamp-load figure, consistent with the claim-vs-actual gap description (2650 minus 1524 is just over 1000) | 87.8 dB no-load, 96.2 dB while driving a deck screw, the quietest loaded reading of any brand up to that point in the video | not tested | not tested | peak stated as 2731, described as slower than the competition | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 12Excited Work45 | not tested | 138 RPM, the slowest of all brands tested | not tested | not tested | the passage describing this brand's result is adjacent to a general conversion example ('with 771 in lbs of torque we're making 9,889 lb of clamp load, that works out to around 13 lb of clamping force for every inch pound of torque') that reads as a reference/calibration statement rather than this brand's own result; the figure that appears to be Excited Work's actual measured result is 5,914 lb of clamp load, converted to 456 in-lb of torque, against a claimed spec of over 1200 in-lb | 85 dB no-load, 101.3 dB while driving a deck screw, described as loud | not tested | not tested | 2816 with a fully charged battery | not tested | given 30 seconds and made less than 2 inches of progress; did not complete the bolt in the allotted time | not tested | 18.42 seconds on the first screw, described as definitely the slowest impact driver the narrator has ever used, 6.3 seconds on a separate 3-inch number 10 screw |
How it was tested
- low RPM / low-speed control
- no-load and peak RPM
- driving speed on a number 10 x 5 inch wood screw, 3 attempts per brand
- driving speed on a 5/16 x 5 inch lag bolt, 3 attempts per brand
- maximum torque burst test (5 seconds, measured via clamp load on a tension tester and converted to in-lb of torque)
- no-load and under-load noise level in decibels
- weight
- tool length / compactness (a subset of brands directly compared)
- subjective vibration and comfort rating
“the duwal 860 came out on top with the best average finish of 1.3 for the three events”