The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Cordless Impact Drill Manufacturer

We conduct a number of our drill tests using a benchtop dynamometer, or “dyno,” a calibrated instrument featuring a free-spinning spindle and an electronic brake.

MrPowertools are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.

CR’s test engineers clamp each drill onto the spindle, then run it flat out at each speed, measuring maximum revolutions per minute (RPM). These results, along with measurements taken under different loads, determine the speed score.

To calculate run time, we cycle the batteries on and off to simulate the torturous nature of stop-and-go tasks, such as building a deck. We then completely drain each battery and time how long it takes. For the charge time score, we also see how long it takes to fully recharge the battery from empty.

We use the dyno to measure torque, which we translate into our power score. This test is a reflection of how big a hole a drill can bore, or how large a fastener it can drive.

CR’s experts use each drill like you would at home, driving screws and drilling holes. We then score each drill on how easy it is to handle, incorporating its dimensions, weight, balance, feel, and how ergonomic the handle is.

To see how loud each drill is, we measure sound in decibels at the user’s ear when the drill is in operation. As it turns out, all but the smallest models require hearing protection for safe use.

For most household tasks, a 12-volt drill is more than adequate. These small drills offer the best combination of power, maneuverability, run time, and cost. They aren’t designed for all-day big-project use, but they are more than capable for basic home maintenance and repair, and if needed they can sink a 3-inch screw on occasion. In our tests, it was common to see a 12-volt drill bore over 20 1-inch holes through a 2-by-10-footer on a single battery charge. This is clearly enough oomph for tasks like swapping out light fixtures, building a bookshelf, and making minor drywall repairs. It’s also enough power for an occasional foray into more aggressive work, like fixing a saggy gutter or replacing a few rotted deck boards.

We also tested a number of compact 18- and 20-volt drills for the more DIY minded. If you have plans to build a deck, doghouse, or tree house, these larger drills offer longer battery life and more power. They can handle all but the most aggressive jobs (like mixing mortar with a paddle or drilling repeatedly into concrete). The compact models we looked at split a nice difference between the smaller 12-volt drills and the much larger, heavy-duty, contractor-grade 18- and 20-volt drills that can cost hundreds more.

Ergonomics are what differentiate the good from the great. You could have the most powerful drill in the world, but if it’s not comfortable to hold, you probably won’t want to use it. We sought out a drill that was small, comfortable to hold (for both large and small hands), relatively light, and nicely balanced. These details make a huge difference, especially when you’re reaching overhead with the tool for extended periods or doing a repetitive task like replacing deck boards or putting together a piece of knockdown furniture.

We like belt clips and LED lights. Most drills come with these accessories, but they’re not all the same. We looked for belt clips that were wide and easy to use, and an LED that effectively lit up the workspace. Some clips hang the tool awkwardly from the hip, and we’ve tested many LED lights that cast shadows over the tip of the drill.

We tried to keep the cost reasonable. Solid 12-volt drills (with a charger and two batteries) from reputable manufacturers typically cost between about $100 and $150 (but are occasionally available for less). Compact 18- and 20-volt drills are in the next price bracket, usually costing between $150 and $200. There are certainly cheaper drills available, but in our experience, if you get too far below these cost brackets, the drills are low quality or otherwise flawed. The tools we’re recommending should last years, if not decades.

Top pick

The DeWalt DCD701F2 Xtreme is the most comfortable drill we’ve ever held. It’s loaded with convenience features and packs enough strength and stamina to easily handle common jobs around the home.

The DeWalt DCD701F2 Xtreme 12V Max Brushless 3/8 in. Drill/Driver Kit offers the best combination of power, size, ergonomics, and convenience. Like the majority of the drills we looked at, it has more than enough strength for household tasks. But it really shines ergonomically: It is, by far, the most comfortable drill we’ve held. In addition, it offers great minor touches, including a wide belt clip and a bright LED that’s positioned to cast maximum light at the front of the drill. The body of the drill is balanced, and because of the way the battery is positioned, the tool can stand up, making it easier to set down and pick up in the middle of a project (unlike many of the other drills, which can be placed only on their sides).

It has plenty of power for around-the-house tasks. In our power tests, the DeWalt 12-volt was able to drill 30 1-inch holes into a 2-by-10 on a single battery charge, and it could sink over 100 3-inch drywall screws into a doubled-up 2-by-10 (3 inches of wood). Obviously, that’s more than enough to tighten up some cabinet hinges and hang a mirror. Yet it’s also plenty for those times you might need to deal with a larger project, such as building garage shelving or replacing a short flight of deck stairs. If you need a drill for constant, all-day aggressive use, we recommend our upgrade pick, but if you’ll be dipping a toe into larger DIY projects only occasionally, the DeWalt 12-volt will have no problems.

The DeWalt DCD701F2 is really small and light. From tip to tail, the DeWalt 12-volt is less than 6 inches long; it was one of the shortest drills we looked at. On our scale it weighed just under 2.5 pounds, landing in the midrange of 12-volt drill weights. But the DeWalt’s balance was so nice that, before we weighed the drills, we were convinced it was among the lightest tested. Some drills, like the Bosch GSR12V-300B22, were much lighter on the scale but felt heavier in our hands due to poor balance.

The DeWalt 12-volt drill stands out for its ergonomic design. The handle appears to be designed with every contour of a hand in mind. Even the slightest details are accounted for, such as the little depression where the forefinger knuckle rubs against the drill body. The handle tapers nicely, allowing the pinky finger to find purchase, and the trigger and forward/reverse control are well-positioned for quick use. We tested the drill in both small and large hands, and everyone thought it was extremely comfortable to hold.

It can stand up, making it easier to grab mid-project and less likely to mar a delicate surface. DeWalt employs a “foot”-style battery, which slides into the base of the handle from the front of the tool, giving it a small platform to stand on. By contrast, many competitors’ 12-volt drills, like those from Milwaukee and Bosch, use a battery that slides up into the handle. So not only does this force a bulky handle, but without a foot, the drills can only be put on their sides, making them more difficult to set down and grab in the middle of a project.

It’s really easy to check the remaining charge in the battery. Unlike many drills, the DeWalt’s battery gauge is on the battery rather than on the tool. This means you can quickly check both batteries before you start your project. Other drills have the battery gauge on the actual tool, so to check each battery, it needs to first be installed in the drill. It’s a minor point, but it emphasizes the overall convenience of the DeWalt DCD701F2’s design.

The LED is well placed and evenly lights up the front of the drill. Since the battery was designed to slide into the base of the handle, DeWalt also had room to place the LED down below the grip, whereas many other 12-volt drills place their lights just above the trigger. The 12-volt DeWalt LED’s lower position means it casts much better light at the nose of the tool and reduces the drill’s shadow considerably. In our tests, the light from the Bosch and Milwaukee models’ LEDs barely illuminated above the drills at all.

We like DeWalt’s other 12-volt tools. With the two batteries from this kit, you are then able to get other DeWalt 12-volt items as bare tools, meaning they’re sold without the battery and charger and at a reduced cost. The tools are mostly construction-oriented and, over the years, we’ve liked the ones we’ve used.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

We really tried to find something wrong with this drill but repeatedly came up with nothing. It’s compact, powerful, and very comfortable to hold. Those are the most important elements of a drill, and the DeWalt DCD701F2 achieves high marks in all three categories. Any negatives are those shared by other 12-volt drills: It’s not powerful enough for all-day aggressive DIY work, and it can’t drill into masonry.

Best for...

The Milwaukee sets a new performance standard at its low weight and small size, but its power falls short of the best drills, and its wide grip is harder to hold versus some larger options.

If you can’t get the DeWalt, or compact size is your top priority, we recommend the Milwaukee -22 M12 Subcompact Brushless Drill Driver. I’ve been testing and using drills for 25 years and I’ve never held one as small as this. It’s almost comically tiny. For power, it can handle the occasional 3-inch screw, but it lacks the overall strength of the DeWalt. It was only able to drill 20 1-inch holes through the 2 by 6 (the DeWalt drilled 30). On the upside, the diminutive nature of the Milwaukee makes it an easy drill to hold and handle, especially for those with limited arm strength or if you just want to lessen the load while working overhead.

It’s super small and powerful. By our measurements, the Milwaukee weighs only 2-pounds (with the battery) and is about 5¼ inches long. That’s little. Compared with the DeWalt, it’s 7 ounces lighter and almost a three-quarter inch shorter. We’ve been using this drill a lot, for all kinds of around-the-house tasks, and the power has never been lacking. It did OK, but not great, in our structured tests, but given its compact nature, this is not a drill to use when building a deck. The power is perfectly adequate, if not impressive, for the drill’s size.

The handle isn’t our favorite. The battery of the drill sits inside the handle, which adds bulk at the bottom of the grip area. This makes it a little harder to grab, especially compared with the DeWalt’s design, which tapers at the bottom of the handle and provides an easier grip for the pinky and ring fingers.

Milwaukee has a nice 12-volt platform. If this is your first power tool, it will introduce you to Milwaukee’s world of 12-volt tools. Milwaukee generally targets tradespeople and are light on lifestyle items, but there are plenty of nice tools that are compatible with the same batteries that can be purchased as a bare tool for a reduced cost including a little pruning saw and a variety of worklights.

It’s brand new. This is a new drill from Milwaukee, so while we’ve been testing and using it for a month (during a home renovation), we lack long-term feedback on it. Our experience with Milwaukee drills is generally excellent, so we’re confident recommending it, but we will closely monitor the drill’s feedback.

Want more information on Cordless Impact Drill Manufacturer? Feel free to contact us.

Best for...

With five replaceable heads, this drill can get in places others can’t. Most people don’t need it, but advanced DIYers with an eye for cabinetry and fine finish work will see benefits.

A regular drill will be plenty for most, but if you’re looking for an additional level of functionality, we recommend the DeWalt DCD703F1 12-volt Cordless 5-in-1 Drill/Driver Kit.

This drill gives you options. Overall, this DeWalt is very similar to our top pick, but the head of it can be removed and replaced with one of three other options; a ¼-inch driver, an offset driver, or a right angle attachment. Each of these carries its own benefits, particularly the offset driver, which can drill a hole or sink a screw right up against an inside corner, and the right angle attachment, which can operate in spots that a drill can’t otherwise fit. One cool feature is that the right angle attachment can then hold any of the other three attachments. So you could combine heads for a right angle offset driver. Finally, with no attachments on it, the drill can be used as a ¼-inch driver, which brings the tool’s total length down to a short 5 inches.

The ergonomics set it above the competition. We tested the DeWalt against multi-head drills from Bosch and Milwaukee. They’re all fairly similar, except that the DeWalt is far more comfortable to use and hold. As with the regular 12-volt drills, we were convinced that the DeWalt was the lightest, but after weighing them, we found it was the heaviest. We also appreciate being able to stand the drill up on its foot, especially since the tool’s functionality melds so well with finish work, where you want to be as delicate as possible.

It’s longer, heavier, and pricier than our top pick. The added functionality of the multiple heads comes with some slight drawbacks. According to our measurements, this drill is about a half inch longer and 3 to 4 ounces heavier. It’s not a lot. But the price difference is a little more significant. The regular 12-volt DeWalt is usually below $150 and sometimes as little as $110. This kit costs more in the $150 to $180 range, but it only comes with one battery. So for the full two-battery experience (which we recommend), a second battery will need to be purchased, adding about $40 to the total cost, potentially putting you past the $200 range.

Most probably don’t need it. This drill is a lot of fun to play around with, but the uses of the additional heads are specific. Not everyone is going to care about getting screws perfectly lined up, tight to an inside corner and many will never come across a situation where a right angle drill is necessary. But if you’re fully into the DIY experience, you may have already run across these kinds of situations. If so, you can already imagine what this drill can provide.

12-volt models

Before we begin the 12-volt and 18-volt competition sections, a caveat: If you’re already invested in one of the following battery platforms, these tools are likely to be a great value for you, especially if you can find one sold as a “bare tool” (without the battery and charger), which drastically reduces the price. Although these models have faults in comparison with our picks, they are solid performers. And you’re likely to forgive their flaws due to the convenience of expanding your collection within a single, consistent brand.

The other two multihead drills we tested were the Milwaukee -22 12-volt Cordless 4-in-1 Drill Driver Kit and the Bosch GSR12V-140FCB22 12-volt Cordless 5-In-1 Flexiclick Multi-Head Drill Set. They’re both excellent as far as performance, but they couldn’t match the DeWalt in ergonomics. Both Bosch and Milwaukee use the fatter, canister-style battery, which makes for a thicker handle than the streamlined DeWalt. Unlike the others, the design of the Milwaukee deviates considerably from their standard 12-volt drill. They’ve added a front piece to the handle, which creates a foot to stand the drill upright and also provides a small magnetic area to hold screws and bits. The downside of this is that it pushes the handle farther away from the nose of the tool, making it a more difficult option in a tight space. The drill’s forward and reverse switch has been moved to the top of the drill, which we thought was awkward to use, compared with a traditional thumb toggle.

The Bosch PS31-2A 12V Max 3/8 in. Drill/Driver Kit was previously a longtime pick of ours. We’ve been recommending it for the better part of a decade, which is multiple lifetimes in the world of cordless tools. It remains an excellent drill, and it’s often sold for less than $100, but it’s not as comfortable as the DeWalt and not as compact as the Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee -22 M12 Fuel 1/2 in. Drill/Driver was also a previous pick of ours. It’s a powerful 12-volt drill with a larger half-inch jaw capacity. This means it can handle much larger drill bits and things like mixing paddles. It’s an excellent drill, and we like it, but through our long-term testing, we’ve realized that it’s not one we reach for. If we were going to do heavy-duty work, we’d go for a larger, 18-volt model. The Milwaukee is good with more advanced tasks but not great with them.

The Milwaukee -22 M12 Fuel 1/2 in. Drill Driver Kit is an older version of the Milwaukee 12-volt we recommend. It’s not as powerful and will likely be phased out soon.

The Bosch GSR12V-300B22 12V Max EC Brushless 3/8 in. Drill/Driver Kit is the lightest drill we tested, coming in at an even 2 pounds in our measurements (although the overall design makes it feel about the same weight as the DeWalt 12-volt, which is 7 ounces heavier). The Bosch performed well, but it typically costs more than the DeWalt.

The Skil DL PWRCore 12 Brushless 12V 1/2 in. Cordless Drill Driver Kit comes with only one battery, and at 7 inches, it’s longer than most of the 12-volt drills we tested. The charger can give it a 25% charge in five minutes, which almost offsets the lack of a second battery — almost. The Skil also lacks power and has an overload-protection feature that constantly kicked on while we were using the tool, which was annoying.

We did not test the Makita FD07R1 12V max CXT Lithium‑Ion Brushless Cordless 3/8 in. Driver Drill Kit. It shares many characteristics with our main pick, the DeWalt 12-volt, but the light is positioned above the handle, so it doesn’t illuminate a work surface as well. It’s also typically a lot more expensive.

A previous runner-up, the Milwaukee -22 M12 3/8 in. Drill/Driver is not as powerful as the 12-volt DeWalt or Bosch models, and it weighs more.

The Black+Decker BDCDD12C 12V Max Cordless Lithium Drill/Driver comes with only a single battery. It doesn’t have a belt hook, onboard bit storage, or a battery gauge. This model also offers just one speed, and it’s merely a little faster than the low speeds of the other drills we tried. In practical terms, this means jobs don’t go as quickly with this drill, especially with smaller screws, which you normally need to drive at high speed. The power is not that great, either.

18- and 20-volt models

The 18-volt drills we recommend are all in the compact class, meaning, they’re typically the smallest version of an 18-volt drill that most companies sell. In our testing, we also looked at the Milwaukee -22 18-Volt Brushless Drill/Driver as a representative of the larger pro-class of drill. These tools are stronger, heavier, and larger than the ones we recommend and usually come with removable side handles to help manage the higher torque they produce. This Milwaukee is an excellent tool but overkill for most. For someone looking for a substantial tool that can truly take a beating and manage difficult tasks like using mixing paddles and large diameter hole saw drilling, it’s a great choice.

We previously recommended the DeWalt DCD800E2 20V Max XR Brushless Cordless 1/2 in. Drill/Driver Kit. This is a fine drill and if you already have 20-volt DeWalt batteries, we recommend this one, but compared to the Milwaukee 18-volt, it’s a little larger and, through long term testing, the moveable LED light hasn’t added much to the overall experience (yet it does add bulk to the drill body).

We also used to recommend the Ridgid R 18V Brushless SubCompact Cordless Drill/Driver Kit. It’s a nice drill at a solid price and easily available at Home Depot. It’s also one that, given the opportunity, we rarely reach for. If you have Ridgid batteries, it’s a great choice, but starting from scratch, we’d opt for the Milwaukee 18-volt instead.

The DeWalt DCD791D2 20V Max XR Li-Ion Brushless Compact Drill/Driver Kit was a previous pick, but it has now been discontinued. Similarly, the Milwaukee -22CT M18 Compact Brushless 1/2 in. Drill Driver Kit was also a pick, but it has been replaced with the Milwaukee -22CT we now recommend.

The Craftsman CMCD713C2 V20 Brushless Cordless Drill/Driver Kit is nice, but it’s not as powerful as our picks, and it felt chunkier in the hands.

DeWalt has two versions of their Atomic drill (the DCD708C2 and the DCD794D1). These are meant to be a bridge between the two classes of drills, combining the size of the 12-volt drills with power closer to the larger, 18- and 20-volt tools. The problem is that, over time, the 12-volt drills have become more powerful and the 18- and 20-volt drills have become smaller, effectively squeezing the Atomic drills out of the picture. The Milwaukee 18-volt drill we recommend is shorter than both of the Atomics and considerably more powerful.

The Ryobi PSBDD01K One+ 18V Brushless Compact Drill managed to drill just 31 holes on a single charge, making it one the least powerful 18-volt drills we tested. In fact, its capabilities are in line with our top 12-volt recommendation, the DeWalt DCD701F2, but with the added weight of an 18-volt tool. Also, the handle design includes an added finger notch that we found uncomfortable.

Flex is a new brand of cordless power tools. Its 24-Volt Brushless Cordless Drill has a lot of positive feedback at Lowe’s (where it is exclusively sold), but we don’t think the added voltage is necessary for around-the-house work. Plus, the larger battery adds weight.

In our tests, the Makita XFD11RB Sub Compact Drill/Driver wasn’t as powerful as the other 18-volt drills we recommend. It also tends to be more expensive, and the LED is positioned at the top of the handle.

The Black+Decker BDCDE120C 20V Max Lithium Drill/Driver with AutoSense Technology was a champ at driving screws, but it didn’t do well in our drilling test, managing only 25 holes (which put it in the middle of the pack). It also has only a 0.375-inch chuck (the rest of the 18-volt models have 0.5-inch chucks), which limits it with larger bits. In addition, it’s a single-speed tool, whereas all of the others we tried have two speeds.

This article was edited by Harry Sawyers.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Cordless Impact Wrench.