2025 test13 productsPower Tools
Which Impact Wrench Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 13 impact wrench options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping milwaukee impact driver, milwaukee impact gun, milwaukee 1 2 impact and milwaukee 1 2 impact driver land here for the head to head that settles it.
Ranked first
Milwaukee M12 Fuel
Price shown in test: $279 for the battery, charger, and impact wrench
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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 | Claimed torque | Weight | Sound level (idle claim) | LooseningTorque (3/4in bolt) | LagBoltDrive30s (1/2x10in) | ThreeLagBoltsSpeed (5in, timed) | ThreeLagBoltsExtraction (timed) | Anvil size | Compact length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Milwaukee M12 Fuel$279 for the battery, charger, and impact wrench | up to 550 ft-lb nut busting torque claimed; rated for 400 ft-lb in the test summary line | lightest yet at 3.085 lb, at that point in the lineup | 87.3 decibels | won this test at 29,183 lb clamp load (341 ft-lb); vibrates quite a bit | finished second behind DeWalt Atomic at 1.75 inches from board (8.25 inches of progress); does not have a setting for driving lag bolts unlike DeWalt Atomic and Flex; made less noise than most at 109.2 decibels | 8.57 seconds, 7.48 seconds, 7.84 seconds, average 7.96 seconds, finished second behind Flex | 3.81 seconds, 3.08 seconds, 3.39 seconds, average 3.43 seconds, finished third | not tested | not tested |
| 2Flex$239 for the impact wrench, battery, and charger | claims 300 ft-lb | by far the heaviest yet at 4.72 lb, at that point in the lineup | 86.7 decibels | 26,043 lb clamp load (305 ft-lb), moved into the lead at that point; hit hard without vibrating too badly | has a setting for wood screws, lots of smoke from the board; finished almost 2 inches from board (almost 8 inches of progress), third place behind DeWalt Atomic and Milwaukee M12 at that point; loud at 112 decibels | 8.2 seconds, 7.01 seconds (fastest time yet at that point), 7.53 seconds, average 7.58 seconds, won this test | 3.08 seconds (tied Makita), 3.03 seconds, 2.52 seconds, won this test, narrowly beating DeWalt Atomic by about 0.01 seconds average | not tested | not tested |
| 3DeWalt Atomic$160 | up to 300 ft-lb tightening torque, up to 450 ft-lb breakaway torque | 3.87 lb | 89.7 decibels | 23,838 lb clamp load (279 ft-lb), moved into the lead over the Milwaukee M18 at that point; hits a lot harder than Skil and vibrates quite a bit more | won this test at 8.5 inches of progress using a mode optimized for lag bolts in wood, described as a huge positive difference; 109.9 decibels | 7.89 seconds, 8.31 seconds, 8.67 seconds, average 8.29 seconds, finished third behind Flex (7.58s) and Milwaukee M12 (7.96s) | 2.77 seconds, 2.67 seconds, 3.23 seconds, average 2.89 seconds, finished second behind Flex by about 0.01 seconds average | not tested | not tested |
| 4Greenworks$70 for the impact wrench, battery, and charger | 150 ft-lb | 3.775 lb | 86.9 decibels | 8,852 lb clamp load (104 ft-lb); not much vibration | bolt stopped turning at 16 seconds; finished at 7 inches from board (3 inches of progress); 111.8 decibels | just under 21 seconds, 22.25 seconds, 20.81 seconds, average 21.34 seconds | 7.1 seconds, 7.38 seconds, 6.39 seconds, average 7.1 seconds | 3/8 inch, same as all wrenches tested | not tested |
| 5Kobalt$79 for just the impact wrench, not battery and charger | 250 ft-lb fastening torque, 275 lb nut busting torque as stated in transcript (unit as spoken, not corrected to ft-lb) | 3.96 lb | 83.5 decibels | after 5 seconds, 17,122 lb clamp load (200 ft-lb) | kept the bolt turning the entire 30 seconds but slowed a lot near the end; finished close to 4.5 inches from the board (about 5.5 inches of progress); 111.1 decibels | 14.65 seconds, 14.45 seconds, 12.49 seconds, average 13.86 seconds | 5.05 seconds, just over 6 seconds, 5.36 seconds, average 5.5 seconds | not tested | most compact from front to back of all brands tested, at only 4.27 inches |
| 6Ryobi 1+ HP$95 for just the impact wrench | up to 160 ft-lb | lightest yet at 3.45 lb, at that point in the lineup | 85.4 decibels | 7,551 lb clamp load (88 ft-lb) | really struggled; finished at 6.75 inches from board (about 3.25 inches of progress); loudest yet at 112.1 decibels | almost 27 seconds, 28.66 seconds, 32.5 seconds, continuing to lose speed each bolt; no average stated by narrator | 7.63 seconds, 7.63 seconds, 7.79 seconds, average 7.68 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 7Seesii$100 for the battery, charger, and impact wrench | max torque of 330 ft-lb, twice as much as the Ryobi per the narrator | 3.72 lb | loudest yet at 91.1 decibels, at that point in the lineup | ran out of steam early at 11,769 lb clamp load (138 ft-lb); vibrates by far the most of any brand so far at that point | on the highest torque setting seemed sluggish compared to the smaller Kobalt; kept the bolt turning but slowed near the end; finished at 6 inches from board (4 inches of progress), moving into second place behind Kobalt at that point; least noisy yet at 108.5 decibels | just under 30 seconds, just under 26 seconds, 24.37 seconds (a little faster than the Ryobi); no average stated by narrator | 5.1 seconds (almost as fast as Kobalt), 4.53 seconds (fastest time yet at that point), right at 5 seconds, average 4.88 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 8Avhrit$100 for the battery, charger, and impact wrench | brushless motor claims 330 ft-lb | 3.615 lb | 88.8 decibels | 18,715 lb clamp load (219 ft-lb), moving into the lead over Kobalt at that point in the sequence; hits harder than Seesii but vibrates less | makes 19 ft-lb more torque than Kobalt per narrator, and delivers fewer impacts per a sound-spike video review; moved into a two-way tie with Kobalt at 4.5 inches left to go (5.5 inches of progress); 109.1 decibels | 15.48 seconds (second place behind Kobalt at that point), 13.52 seconds (second fastest yet at that point), 16.57 seconds, average 15.19 seconds | 5.62 seconds (slower than Seesii), 5.1 seconds (slower than Seesii), 5.36 seconds, average 5.36 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 9Ridgid$150 for just the impact wrench | maximum torque of 250 ft-lb | pretty light at 3.58 lb | loudest yet at 91.6 decibels, at that point in the lineup | 16,429 lb clamp load (192 ft-lb), moving into third place at that point; intense vibration, described by narrator as a case of the shakes | made a little less torque than Kobalt and Avhrit but close progress; finished at 5.25 inches, described as a little less progress than Kobalt and Avhrit; 111.7 decibels | 14.55 seconds (second place behind Kobalt at that point), 14.34 seconds, 13.16 seconds (fastest of the three), average just over 14 seconds | 4.17 seconds (fastest time yet at that point, moved into the lead), 4.43 seconds, 4.27 seconds, average 4.29 seconds | not tested | very compact at 4.5 inches |
| 10Skil$120 for the impact wrench, battery, and charger | digital brushless motor delivers up to 150 ft-lb | 3.58 lb, same as Ridgid | loudest yet at 93 decibels, at that point in the lineup | came very close to its rating at 12,010 lb clamp load (141 ft-lb); vibrates the least of all brands tested so far at that point | made a little more torque than Seesii but quite a bit less than Ridgid; finished at 5 and 5/8 inches (about 4 and 3/8 inches of progress); 111.9 decibels | 17.34 seconds, 14.91 seconds, 14.5 seconds, average 15.58 seconds | right at 7 seconds, 5 seconds, 5.72 seconds, average 5.91 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 11Milwaukee M18 Fuel$156 for just the impact wrench | up to 250 ft-lb nut busting torque | heaviest yet at 4.02 lb, at that point in the lineup | 90 decibels | 19,410 lb clamp load (227 ft-lb), moving into the lead at that point; hits hard, described as a real hand shaker | produced more torque than all previous brands with quick progress and visible smoke from the screw; moved into the lead at 3.75 inches from board (6.25 inches of progress); made less noise than most at 110.6 decibels | just over 13 seconds, 12.86 seconds (best time yet at that point), average 13.11 seconds, the best average yet at that point in the sequence | 5.41 seconds, 5.2 seconds, 6.19 seconds, average 5.6 seconds | not tested | very compact at only 4.8 inches in length |
| 12Makita$160 | 370 ft-lb nut busting torque claimed, 220 ft-lb fastening torque claimed | 3.835 lb | 93 decibels | performed better than advertised at 21,123 lb clamp load (247 ft-lb), moving into second place behind DeWalt Atomic at that point; hits hard but does not vibrate too badly | made more torque and faster progress than Milwaukee M18; finished at 3 and 3/16 inches from board (6.82 inches of progress), second place behind DeWalt Atomic at that point; 111 decibels | 12.34 seconds (second place behind DeWalt Atomic at that point), 12.39 seconds, 11.15 seconds, average just under 12 seconds | 3.08 seconds, 3.91 seconds, 4.06 seconds, average 3.68 seconds, second place at that point in the extraction test | not tested | not tested |
| 13Snap-on$746 for the impact wrench and battery, before shipping, handling, and tax (charger sold separately) | advertises 275 ft-lb; claims 525 ft-lb bolt breakaway torque | pretty heavy at 4.41 lb | 86.9 decibels | performed better than advertised at 26,950 lb clamp load (315 ft-lb), finished second place behind Milwaukee M12 Fuel; vibrates a little less than the Milwaukee M12 Fuel | does not have a lag bolt setting; finished fourth place behind Flex at 2.5 inches from board (7.5 inches of progress); 111.1 decibels | 9.6 seconds, 9.44 seconds, 9.39 seconds, average 9.48 seconds | 3.86 seconds, 3.6 seconds, 4.12 seconds, average 3.86 seconds | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- loosening torque measured via clamp load on a 3/4 inch left-hand threaded bolt (50 ft-lb pretorque baseline, 4,273 lb clamp load), converted to ft-lb, plus subjective hand-vibration observation
- driving a 1/2 inch by 10 inch lag bolt for 30 seconds, measuring inches of progress and sound level 24 inches from the tool
- driving three 5 inch lag bolts back to back in wood, timed
- extracting the same three lag bolts, timed
- weight, physical compact length, and idle sound level comparison across all 13 tools