2023 test10 productsPower Tool Batteries
Which Power Tool Batteries Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 10 power tool batteries options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Ranked first
Ryobi One+ (regular, 4 amp hour)
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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 | Notes on price | Weight | Claimed capacity | Chainsaw dyno stall force | Chainsaw cut speed 4x4 warm | Chainsaw cut speed 4x4 cold (~0F, out of freezer) | Shop vac/air blower air speed warm (mph) | Shop vac/air blower air speed cold ~0F (mph) | Cell teardown | Chainsaw cut speed 4x4 cold (~0F) | Made in | Air blower speed warm (feet per minute) | Air blower speed cold ~0F (fpm) | Air blower speed warm (fpm) | Chainsaw cut speed 4x4 cold | Battery drain curve (5A load, volts over time) | Size | Circular saw 1ft 2x4 cut speed | Cold test | Cells | Air blower speed warm | Air blower speed cold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ryobi One+ (regular, 4 amp hour) | not stated directly; transcript only says the High Performance costs $85, which is $35 more than this regular battery | 703 g | 72 Wh | 46 lb, 46 lb, 46 lb (3 attempts, fully charged, 10 lb weight on tester) | 6.79s, 6.94s, 6.89s, average 6.87s | stalled 3 times, finished first cut in 15.72s; stalled 2 more times, second cut 12.47s; warmed up, third cut 9.22s | 23.5 start, 23.6 at min 2 and 4, 23.4 at min 8, 23.3 at min 10, 22.75 at min 12, 22.42 at min 14, finished just under 16 min, battery temp 111F | 19 start, 21.8 at min 2, 22.2 at min 4, ~22.4 at min 6-8, 22.6 at min 10 and 12, out of juice ~15.5 min, battery temp 82.5F | 10 18650 cells | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Ryobi High Performance (high-output, 4 amp hour)$85 (stated as $35 more than the regular battery) | not tested | 728 g (25 g more than regular) | 74 Wh (claims 30% more power, runs cooler) | 46 lb, 45 lb, 45 lb (3 attempts) | 7.35s, 6.54s, just under 7s, average 6.96s (about half a second slower than regular on first cut) | not tested | 25.4 start, 24.9 at min 2, 23.6 at min 4 (same as regular), 23.4 at min 6, 22.9 at min 8, 22.8 at min 10, 22.3 at min 12, 22.02 at min 14, lasted just over 16.5 min, battery temp 106.4F (5F cooler than regular) | 19.8 start, 22.5 at min 2, 22.6 at min 4, 23 at min 6, holds ~23.4 from min 8-12, 22.6 at min 16, outlasted regular by about 1.5 min, battery temp 88.6F | 10 18650 cells | 9.43s, 9.53s, 9.38s; never stalled during any cut | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Milwaukee M18 XC 3.0 (regular)$100 (per battery; two purchased) | not tested | 713 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 10 18650 cells | not tested | Mexico | 8329 start, 8450 at min 1 (faster than high-output), 8405 at min 2, 8196 at min 3, ~100 fpm faster than high-output at min 4, 7927 at min 5, 7006 at min 6, finished at 6 min 22 sec, temp about 30F cooler than high-output at 109F | 7163 start (300 fpm slower than high-output at that point), 7561 at min 1, 7782 at min 2, 7806 at min 3, 7913 at min 4, 7744 at min 5, 7570 at min 6, gave up at very close to 7 min (about 21 sec longer than high-output), temp around 80F (about 40F cooler than high-output) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 4Milwaukee M18 Red Lithium High Output CP 3.0$119 ($20 more than the XC 3.0) | not tested | 592 g (121 g lighter than the XC 3.0) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 5 21700 cells, each roughly double the capacity of one 18650 cell | not tested | China | not tested | 7468 start (900 fpm slower than its own warm start), 7990 at min 1, 8042 at min 2, holds through min 3-4, drops to 7586 by min 6, out of juice at 6 min 39 sec, temp around 122F | 8352 start, 8318 at min 1, ~same at min 2, 8164 at min 3, 7930 at min 4, 7770 at min 5, 7446 at min 6, finished at 6 min 22 sec, battery temp 143F (hot) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Kobalt Extended Run (regular, 4 amp hour)$60 | not tested | 789 g | not tested | 22 lb, 23 lb (2 attempts), about 22.5 lb average | 3.59s, 3.69s, 3.64s, average 3.64s | not tested | not tested | not tested | reported as 12 "high star" brand 18650 cells (transcript states this is "just like the Milwaukee high performance battery", which elsewhere is described as using 21700 cells; discrepancy not resolved, flagged as possible transcript/narration error) | not tested | China | not tested | not tested | not tested | too cold to power the saw initially; description says regular battery pulled from freezer struggled | 23.66V start, 22.21V at 10 min, 21.71V at 15 min, 21.29V at 20 min, 20.99V at 25 min, 20.74V at 30 min, 20.44V at 35 min, 20.11V at 40 min, test stopped at 18V cutoff at 45 min; totals 3.72 amp hours, 77.4 watt hours | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Kobalt Ultimate Output (high-output, 24V)$70 | not tested | 724 g (65 g less than Extended Run) | not tested | 23 lb, 23 lb (2 attempts) | 3.49s, 3.69s, 3.69s, average 3.62s (technically won by 2/100 of a second versus Extended Run, described as extremely close) | not tested | not tested | not tested | described as using "a 21700 Samsung cell" (count not specified in transcript) | not tested | China | not tested | not tested | not tested | performed a lot better than the frozen regular battery but the saw was still extremely underpowered and stalling; finished a cut only after supporting some of the bar weight, no exact time given for the Ultimate Output itself (the 23.5s figure quoted is for the regular Kobalt after support was applied) | just over 24V start, 23.51V at 5 min, 22.91V at 10 min, 22.33V at 15 min, 21.77V at 20 min, ~21.15V at 25 min (about same as Extended Run), 20.62V at 30 min (lower than Extended Run), ~20.1V at 35 min, test over at 42.5 min; totals 3.5 amp hours, 73.6 watt hours | not as tall as Extended Run, but longer and wider, 5 cubic inches larger overall | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7Ridgid 4 amp hour (regular)$99 | not tested | 682 g | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | China | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 3.69s, 3.34s, 3.03s, average 3.35s | too cold to power up the saw at all | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Ridgid Max Output (high-output, 4 amp hour)$110 ($11 more than the regular version) | not tested | 686 g (4 g more than regular, essentially the same) | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | China | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 2.83s, 3.03s, 3.03s; narrator states this is 12% faster on average than the regular battery | performed about the same as the regular battery; also too cold to power up the saw | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9Milwaukee (knockoff) Knockoff 9 amp hour (unbranded copy)$44 | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 15 18650 cells | not tested | China | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not as long or wide as genuine Milwaukee 8Ah, but a little taller | not tested | not tested | Korea-processed cells (further processing in China) per transcript, exact attribution to this product uncertain from phrasing | started weaker than genuine, close to same speed around minute 4, then fell off quickly; ran out of juice at 11 min 48 sec, battery temp 90F | both batteries started slow and needed minutes to warm up; knockoff was outperformed by genuine for the entire test and lasted about 3.5 minutes less |
| 10Milwaukee XC8.0 (genuine, 8 amp hour)$229 | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | 10 21700 cells | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | started off stronger than the knockoff, lasted over 4 minutes longer at 16 min 5 sec, battery temp 93.5F | started off stronger and outperformed the knockoff for the entire test, lasted about 3.5 minutes longer |
How it was tested
- chainsaw dyno stall force (downward force to stop chain, 3 attempts)
- chainsaw cut speed through pressure-treated 4x4, room temperature (3 cuts)
- chainsaw cut speed through pressure-treated 4x4, battery pulled from freezer (~0F)
- shop vac / air blower air speed and total runtime, room temperature (~70F)
- shop vac / air blower air speed and total runtime, extreme cold (~0F)
- circular saw cut speed through 1ft section of 2x4, room temperature (3 cuts)
- circular saw cut speed, battery pulled from freezer
- battery drain curve under 5 amp hour load (voltage over time, total amp hours and watt hours)
- physical teardown / cell count and cell type comparison
Data notes and caveats
This is a myth-test video structured as five separate regular-vs-high-output pairs (Ryobi, Milwaukee, Kobalt, Ridgid) testing the manufacturers' claim that high-output batteries deliver more power and run cooler, plus a sixth bonus sub-test comparing a $44 knockoff Milwaukee 9Ah battery against a genuine $229 Milwaukee XC8.0 (not a high-output claim test). No single overall winner is declared; the narrator's closing verdict is per-use-case by temperature: regular batteries performed as well or better than high-output at room temperature in most pairs (Ryobi, Kobalt cut speed/drain curve), while high-output batteries consistently won in extreme cold (Ryobi, Milwaukee CP). Ridgid's Max Output edged the regular only in the room-temperature cut speed test; both Ridgid batteries failed identically in the cold test. The bonus knockoff-vs-genuine Milwaukee sub-test DOES have a clear winner (genuine XC8.0) but is a distinct comparison axis from the rest of the video and should be treated separately if building per-product pages. Closing verdict quote (paraphrased as spoken): 'are the high output batteries worth the extra money? I think that really depends. If you're working in an environment where the battery packs are going to be extremely cold, they're probably worth the extra cost. Other than that, I really don't see a whole lot of extra value.' One unresolved discrepancy: transcript states the Kobalt Extended Run uses 12 18650 cells 'just like the Milwaukee high performance battery,' but the Milwaukee CP high-output is elsewhere described as using 5 21700 cells; this contradiction is not resolved here and is flagged in that product's notes.