Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
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Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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The Makita 18V cordless drill is a powerhouse machine that can handle any task you throw at it. Read More
The Ryobi One+ cordless drill is a low-cost option that doesn’t require sacrificing power or ergonomics, making it a great occasional-use choice. Read More
A top performer from a top brand, the Milwaukee M18 drill is a reliable workhorse of a tool. Read More
A powerful and speedy drill from a top brand, the Dewalt drill falls short in the balance category. Read More
This Porter Cable cordless drill is a middle-of-the-road option with decent power but some trouble holding onto bits. Read More
A quality cordless drill is a must-have addition to any toolkit. These tools are versatile and indispensable for all kinds of projects around the house. Whether you’re drilling holes in the drywall to hang up art or building your custom furniture, a drill will make most jobs easier and faster.
We tested drills at various price points to find the best cordless drills. The Makita XFD131 18V LXT Cordless Drill (available at Amazon) is our pick for the best overall cordless drill because it’s powerful and well-balanced. However, not everyone needs the power, durability, and overall cost of the best tools. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option that can still help you insert those mollies into the drywall, then the Ryob iOne+ 18V cordless drill (available at Amazon) is fantastic. But, no matter what your budget and projects require, a drill on this list probably fits your needs.
This Makita Cordless Drill is the best one we've tested.
The Ryobi cordless drill has a great spread of features for the right price.
Power and speed
Brushless motor
Balance
Well-balanced
Power
Bit slipped in chuck
Ergonomics
Bit slipped in chuck
Low power
Though there are exceptional use cases, cordless drills typically have two primary functions: Driving screws and drilling holes. As such, this is what we focused our testing on.
To start, we performed a series of timed tests. The first was to drive six 1.25-inch screws into a 2x4 as quickly as possible. Then, we drove four self-tapping metal screws into a sheet of 26-gauge aluminum sheet metal with a 2x4 backer board.
If there was some kind of user error, like dropping a screw, we restarted the test so that the transition between screws was smooth.
Next, we switched the drills to an eighth of an inch metal and wood drill bit.
Again, timing each material, we drilled six holes into the 2x4 and then the sheet metal to penetrate both.
Once the official timed tests were complete, we returned to each drill and used it a bit, playing with the different settings, examining the balance and weight, and considering the overall user experience rather than purely the power and speed output.
We elected not to test the batteries' longevity because they are interchangeable between tools in the brand family, and the drills all came with batteries of different capacities.
With few exceptions, all major tool brands have one or two battery systems that work with all of their cordless tools. Those batteries are expensive, and tools can be bought with or without batteries. Typically, the best strategy is purchasing all cordless tools within the same brand family.
Our testers, for example, have switched to all Milwaukee and have three batteries we share between nine different tools. This reduces the number of batteries you have to buy and is easier to manage and store. If each of those nine tools were a different brand, we’d need to have room for nine chargers instead of the one we have set up.
So, once you start to buy one brand of cordless tool, stick with it for all of your tools unless you have a compelling reason to switch to a different company for a specific tool.
Two basic types of motors in battery-powered tools are brushed and brushless. The differences are complex electrically, but brushed motors have pieces of carbon that rub against a spinning part of the motor to generate power, and brushless motors don't have those rubbing pieces.
As a result, brushless motors have less friction in their operation and will theoretically last longer and produce more power more efficiently.
Brushless tools also cost more. Whether that cost increase is worth the improved longevity is a personal decision, but it is something to consider as you buy.
Not all tools are built to fit perfectly in all hands. And when you’re working long days, driving screw after screw and drilling hole after hole, you want something that feels good to hold. Weight matters, as does balance.
You don’t want a tool over your head that keeps tipping side to side. The handle comfort is also essential. You want something that contours to your hand instead of feeling like a rectangular piece of wood and where you can easily reach all relevant controls.
It’s worth going into your big box store to get a hand on the tools you're considering.
Don’t just limit yourself to the tool you need today—see how the other tools in the lineup feel as well because it’s pretty rare to stop at only one tool. It’s a cordless drill today and a circular saw tomorrow.
Jean Levasseur
Contributor
Jean Levasseur became a professional writer over a decade-long career in marketing, public relations, and technical writing. After leaving that career to stay home to care for his twin boys, Jean has continued to write in a variety of freelance roles, as well as teaching academic writing at a local university. When he's not reviewing tools or chasing toddlers around the house, he's also an avid fiction writer and a growing woodworker.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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