Maxx Action Power Tools Drill with Realistic Drilling Movement and Drill Bit Accessories
Our team spent hundreds of man-hours testing cordless drills to see which ones rise to the top for professional contractors and tradesmen. If you’re a serious DIYer, we tested some popular brands like Ryobi and Skil side-by-side with Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt, and other Pro brands. We even threw in Hercules for fun. We evaluated 13 of the highest-performing models from each brand using objective hands-on tests we developed specifically to simulate real-world jobsite conditions. When the sawdust settled, we ranked each cordless drill in a variety of categories to determine which ones Pros should keep their eyes on. Want more affordable options for DIYers and homeowners? Check out our Best Cordless Drills main page. Don’t like reading? Check out our video: After tallying up the results, Milwaukee takes home three significant accolades, including our pick as the top cordless drill overall, our favorite lightweight option, and our go-to when we need a compact drill with high performance. There’s some push and pull here, though. The only area Milwaukee ranked first in was length. However, it’s the holistic look that makes the 2904 so compelling. First, there are lighter drills in the DIY and Prosumer categories, but Milwaukee does take the top spot for Professional models. The trade-off here is that it’s with a 5.0Ah battery. If you want Milwaukee’s top performance, you need to switch over to the 6.0Ah High Output or Forge batteries, which both bump up the weight. Considering Milwaukee’s lowest ranking was 5th with a 5.0Ah battery and 4th with a High-Output pack, it’s a contender in performance, though. Features such as the kickback control, which is new to this model, plus the massive width of Milwaukee’s M18 platform and a solid 5-year warranty help solidify the 2904 as our top selection. This model is also available with One-Key as model 2906 . Price: $199 bare, $299 kit with two 5.0AH batteries Flex launched its 24V line with this hammer drill and it continues to be a top-performing model several years in. Its high speed and high torque ratings showed in our testing where it earned the highest overall performance rating. There’s a caveat, though. That’s with using the 6.0Ah Stacked Lithium battery. If you’re a Pro, going with the Stacked Lithium kit is, without a doubt, the way to go. It’s not just about speed and torque for Flex. This is a full-featured drill that includes kickback control and the ability to turn the Turbo mode off when you’d like more control. When you take away Flex’s Stacked Lithium advantage, Bosch’s GSB18V-1330CN is your next best bet. Technically, the Core18V 6.3Ah battery we tested with is an advanced battery, but it’s so common on today’s Bosch cordless tools that it’s effectively the standard pack. Price: $179 bare, $249 kit with a 5.0Ah and a 2.5Ah battery, $279 kit with a 6.0Ah Stacked Lithium battery Makita ended up with a mixed bag of results. It delivered excellent power and speed. And it got even better as the load increased. Nonetheless, its ranking in concrete drilling was a bit of a head-scratcher, with speed and blow rate ratings that were expected to finish higher up the list. However, we ran multiple tests and used averages to help us identify issues and outliers, and the numbers were consistent. While Makita has an extensive line of rotary hammers you can turn to for concrete drilling, the GPH01 proved itself to be the one you want for rough-in tasks. Its consistent top-tier speeds with both spade bits and self-feed bits set it apart to earn the win. What you can’t tell from our test results is how smooth this drill is. Ergonomically, it’s excellent with a shape that’s comfortable to hold. Plus, the size is compact for its performance level, and the weight is lower than you’d expect from a 40V max battery system. As for features, Makita includes kickback control on this model. For those of you who are more OCD in driving mode, there are 41, yes 41, electronic clutch settings in low speed and 21 settings in high gear. Having that many settings and electronically controlling them are characteristics you won’t find on other drills we tested. If you’re thinking about jumping on Makita’s 40V max XGT system (or you’re already on it), the GPH01 is just one of many tools that will confirm you’re making a great choice. Price: $244 bare, $499 kit with two 2.5Ah batteries Metabo’s SB 18 LTX-3 BL Q I continues to carry the torch as the highest-performing hammer drill for concrete drilling in our tests. Its 4000 RPM top speed plays a big part in that. There are some trade-offs to consider, though. This is a beefy drill and the largest we tested. For many applications, that won’t be a bother, but if you’re used to working in tight spaces, you’ll want to look at something else. Another consideration is that this model is great at low- to medium-load applications but more middle-of-the-road as the load gets heavy. It’s certainly capable of doing almost any job you’d ask of your hammer drill, but there are better ones if you frequently dive into heavy-load jobs. Still, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a hammer drill that enjoys the high level of quality Metabo packs into their flagship hammer drill. Price: $289 bare, $399 kit with two 4.0Ah batteries While you don’t normally see the Ryobi name among Pro-focused brands, there are a number of Pros who rely on them. Apartment maintenance crews and handymen favor them thanks to legit mid-range performance, the convenience of purchasing at Home Depot, and a more affordable price tag. As the HP Brushless lineup rolled out for Ryobi, one of the big things we noticed was how much smaller many of the tools are. That’s the case for their flagship hammer drill sitting at a mid-range 7.5 inches long and well under 5 pounds with a battery. It’s a significant change for a brand that used to be on the bigger, heavier side of the conversation. Boasting the lowest-rated torque of the group (Craftsman is likely lower but reports UWO instead), its results weren’t surprising. The drill had no trouble completing our tests, though, and it is easier to handle than some of the larger, heavier models we tested. For maintenance crews and handymen, it’s a very good choice based on its performance and design. What makes it more compelling than its competitors is that Ryobi now has more than 300 products that all work on any 18V One+ battery. Chances are, if you need it Ryobi has it. And if they don’t, most likely, no one else in the Prosumer class does, either. Price: $129 bare, $179 kit with a 4.0Ah High Performance battery Back to Top (#top) Bosch proved its flagship hammer drill to be a solid all-around performer. Its strong performance got better as the load increased, and it was certainly no slouch in the low and medium-load tests. From a performance perspective, there’s no reason to shy away from it, and current Bosch users shouldn’t feel like they need to switch brands. The downside is that this is a larger, heavier hammer drill compared to the others. Keep in mind that Bosch’s 18V line is robust, and there are more compact models you can grab as a supplement when you’re working on lighter-duty days. Three key features help Bosch stand out from the competition. It’s one of the few that has kickback protection. You can also turn it into a smart tool by adding the Connected Module. It’s also the only model in our test group that includes an electronic angle detection function to help you drill and drive straighter. If you’re shopping at the top of DeWalt’s drill lineup, there are four models to wade through. You won’t go wrong with the DCD996, DCD997, DCD998, or the highest performer, the DCD999. Similar in size and weight, it’s all about what battery you’re primarily going to use (and if you want Tool Connect for the DCD997). To get the highest performance from the FlexVolt Advantage, you need to use a FlexVolt battery, which significantly increases both size and weight. It also performs well when you’re using a standard 5.0Ah battery. However, it’s like having two different tools because of how much the FlexVolt battery boosts performance—something you can see in our test results. With a 6.0Ah FlexVolt battery, this drill pushes close to 6 pounds. Moreover, it’s one of the longer models, so it’s not ideal for tight spaces. DeWalt has a wide range of drills to choose from, so you can always pick up a compact supplement when you need it. When you need top-tier performance, the DCD999 has it. Plus, its 3-mode gearbox has an all-important middle gear for when high speed isn’t quite enough. But you don’t want to drop into low gear. Also, keep in mind that this drill operates at higher speeds in all three gears when you’re in hammer drilling mode. We know that people use their cordless drills to mix frequently, but Hilti was the first brand we saw intentionally build a cordless drill for this purpose while maintaining the full capabilities of other drill drivers. The 4-mode SF 10W-22 ATC has a low-speed mixing gear that delivered more torque than anything else we tested came close to. Hilti’s addition of ATC kickback control is particularly helpful with that much torque on board. When standard drilling and driving tasks are on the docket, the top three gears take over, and there’s plenty of speed and power on the top end. As we saw from the previous cordless lineup, Hilti does not include a hammer drilling mode on this model, so we certainly can’t fault its performance in our concrete drilling tests. If you want a drill driver that includes a hammer drilling mode, Hilti’s SF 6H-22 is what you should turn to on the Nuron platform. With Hilti’s expertise in the concrete industry, the next logical step up from there for concrete drilling is into the cordless rotary hammers. As an extremely powerful drill, this is another model that’s on the heavy side, especially with the 2P 7.9Ah battery. However, you can shave some weight with the 1P 4.0Ah pack. It’s also the second longest in our tests. But, like other brands, there are more compact models you can add as a supplement when space is tight. Kobalt’s XTR hammer drill was a big step forward for the Lowe’s exclusive brand. In addition to higher performance, it also gave us kickback control—a luxury most value-focused brands didn’t have at the time. While this model didn’t light up our tests the way some of the other drills did, it proved itself to be capable of handling all our tasks without pushing close to its limits. Both the weight and size are reasonable, and it’s hard to argue with the price. Ridgid’s most recent brushless drills have been a breath of fresh air since leaving the Octane line behind. Even with the High-Torque R861152 model, it’s much more compact and lighter than we’ve been used to from Ridgid, making for a more pleasant user experience. The results were not what we were hoping for, though the drill had no trouble completing our tests in the slightest. However, we suspect that stepping up to the 6.0Ah Max Output battery will help it step up. Craftsman’s big win is that it’s the lightest drill we tested. That’s significant for those of you looking for a quality DIY/Prosumer option. While its overall performance was the lowest for that group, keep it in context. It was able to complete our tests without feeling strained. That said, there are plenty of other drills we didn’t bring in that would have struggled or failed to complete some of the runs. Harbor Freight made bold claims about the performance of its latest Hercules hammer drill. To its credit, it did outperform the others in the DIY/Prosumer class. Targeting Milwaukee’s Gen 4 M18 Fuel hammer drill as a comparison in its marketing, it failed to beat that model in any of the tests and was significantly far behind with the soft torque and self-feed bit. However, it was within sight of the other two. Compared to the other flagship drills in our test, Hercules does a nice job of keeping the weight and size on the lower side of the scale. We haven’t used this drill enough to make a recommendation on its long-term reliability. However, Harbor Freight now offers a 5-year warranty that’s sure to raise eyebrows. Nevertheless, Harbor Freight lists it as a professional hammer drill. I’m not convinced it’s ready for that designation. For DIY use, it’s an attractive option. Skil sets itself apart in the Prosumer and DIY class by outperforming its competitors from Ryobi and Craftsman. While not the most compact or lightest of the three, it’s still very reasonable in both departments. Two features also jump out that push Skil over the top. The battery includes a USB port for charging your devices. It’s a super-handy value add that you can take advantage of at home or on the road. Skil also packs their kit with a PWRJump charger. It gives a super-fast initial charge from 0% to 25% so you can wrap up projects you’re close to finishing. Then it charges at a rapid rate to 80% before tapering off to complete the job. It gets you back in the game quicker and doesn’t hurt the overall life of your battery. Back to Top (#top) Not every drill we’ve used went through our full suite of flagship testing. However, after putting them to use, they’re certainly worth your consideration. If you’re looking for a drill to use around the house for DIY projects, Greenworks has a 24V brushless model worth considering. It’s a 2-speed model with 1,450 RPM on the top end and 310 in-lbs of torque. This model is reasonably lightweight. Furthermore, it has batteries that double as USB power supplies to charge your devices on the go. Thinking about going with battery power for your lawn care tools (or maybe you already have)? These tools work with the same batteries Greenworks uses in its 24V and 2 x 24V outdoor power equipment. Ingersoll Rand brings their focus on extreme reliability into the cordless drill sector with a couple of options. Our favorite is the D5241 hammer drill. This model’s gearing steps down the speed a little while stepping up the torque to 1100 in-lbs. While the numbers may not seem quite as eye-popping as some models, the durability of the build is what sets Ingersoll Rand’s design apart. Metabo HPT’s 36V MultiVolt hammer drill has the advantage of using a 36V battery that also works with their 18V tools. Plus, you can add an AC adapter if you’d like to have corded power as an option. With a recent upgrade from the DV36DA to the DV36DC model, you get 1400 in-lbs of torque to work with in low gear and a quick 2,200 RPM/33,000 BPM in high gear. Add in solid ergonomics, the safety of kickback control, and a lifetime warranty, and you get a hammer drill that’s a solid performer for professional contractors. Even though Skil’s PWRCore 20 Brushless Compact Hammer Drill isn’t in the same class as the other drills in our tests above, it’s worth serious consideration. It has a compact, lightweight design yet still has the power to complete the majority of weekend projects and DIY repairs around your home. And if you don’t need the hammer drilling mode, the drill driver version ( DL6293B-10 ) is even more compact and has a price tag under $100. Back to Top (#top) There’s no way to ensure every drill has the same capacity battery. We’re dealing with multiple voltages, and there are more advanced battery packs on the market to consider as well. We tried to keep every model working with a 2P pack, though. For most brands, that’s somewhere in the 4.0Ah to 6.0Ah range. Here are the batteries we tested: Weight is straightforward but important. Indeed, the lower the weight, the less fatiguing it is to use the drill, especially on overhead applications. Here are the weights we measured, starting with the lowest weight using the primary battery and going up from there: Lighter weight and a smaller size tend to hand-in-hand. Models that swap out plastic components for more durable metal ones can beef up in a hurry, so it’s no guarantee. A more compact cordless drill gives you the advantage of working in tighter spaces. To get a general idea of a drill’s performance, the speed offers an idea of how fast you can drill while the torque is an indicator of how strong it is. For hammer drills, the hammer rate (or blow rate) tells you how fast the chipping action is while using hammer mode. Keep in mind that the speed is based on having no load on the tool. Once you start drilling or driving, the motor has to work hard to keep the speed up. Drills with stronger motors and more efficient energy transfer can outperform models with higher specifications—which is why we test. Back to Top (#top) Our team has tested so many cordless drills over the years that I’ve lost count. At one point, our shop was filled with 50 drills for an epic head-to-head tool comparison. We nearly lost our video editor over that one, but we also learned a lot that has helped us develop our current methods. There’s no great to test maximum torque on a drill—trust me, we’ve built several rigs trying. What we finally settled on is using an in-line torque meter between the drill and nutsetter to measure the maximum torque as we drive a large lag screw into stacked OSB. It’s a tough test designed to force each drill to stop while measuring the top torque it produces. However, there’s a flaw. Modern brushless motors are designed to sense when things aren’t quite right and shut down to protect themselves. Our test isn’t capable of measuring the full hard-stop torque that’s in the specifications, but it does give us an idea of how much torque the motor is willing to provide in a soft-stop setting. In the first of our timed tests, we used a 1-inch self-feeding spade bit to drill through 4 inches of stacked glued USB subfloor to test the medium-load capacities of each drill. We started the test at high speed. If a drill was unable to complete the test, we dropped it into low gear. The result is an average of three successful runs without a bind-up. To push the drills into a heavy-load rough-in application, we used a 2 9/16-inch self-feed bit to punch through 2x studs. The top performers were able to complete the test in high gear. Some that didn’t but had the advantage of 3 or more gear settings settled into a mid-range gear, while others had to complete the test in low gear. The results are the averages of three successful runs without bind-ups. The final test we ran involved drilling a 3/8-inch concrete bit 3 inches deep into cured 4000 PSI concrete using high gear. We used the hammer drilling mode for each drill except Hilti’s, which only has drilling and driving modes. The result is an average of three successful runs without a bind-up. Back to Top (#top) Cordless drills are one of the most fundamental tools you can own, and it’s no surprise that there are a dizzying number of brands in the space. The good news is that there are a lot of trustworthy names. The bad news is that it can be difficult to tell which one you should buy if you’re new to the industry. Not to worry—we’ve got your back! We recommend each of the brands listed below, and we’ve broken them up into four classes to help you have more confidence in your selections. Think you know everything? Our How to Use a Drill article might still manage to show you a thing or two. Back to Top (#top) Performance: Speed, blow rate, and torque give you an idea of how fast and strong a drill or hammer drill will perform. They’re helpful when you’re comparing data during research, and typically the higher the battery, but it’s the motor’s ability to keep the RPMs high under load that separates them. Size and Weight: Size and weight tend to go hand-in-hand, with larger drills weighing more. Ideally, we want the lightest and most compact tool that still does the job effectively. That keeps the fatigue to a minimum while maximizing access. Ergonomics : Beyond the size and weight, how the weight is balanced and how the grip feels in your hands brings ergonomics full circle.