Best Cordless Drills of 2024
Consumer Reports put cordless drills from Bosch, DeWalt, Milwaukee, and other brands through their paces. These models came out on top.
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Whether you’re hanging a shelf, installing a ceiling fan, or building a deck, a cordless drill is a must. In fact, we would argue that it’s the single most important item in your toolbox.
In the past decade, cordless drills have become more powerful, lighter, and more energy-efficient, making corded drills practically obsolete. These improvements in cordless drills come thanks to advancements in lithium-ion battery technology and the introduction of brushless motors, which are more powerful despite requiring less energy. And the changes aren’t unique to cordless drills; they’ve also occurred across many of the power tools we test.
As a result, your cordless drill can actually save you money. That’s because we’re seeing more batteries that are interchangeable among the entire suite of power tools offered by a brand. “So you can use the same batteries for your drill, chainsaw, and string trimmer,” says Courtney Pennicooke, CR’s market analyst for cordless drills. “Simply buy the bare tools to complete your set and adjust the voltage to match the project you’re working on.” While the savings will vary, expect to pay about one-third less when buying a bare tool vs. buying a tool with a battery and charger.
In our latest round of testing, we looked at roughly a dozen models from DeWalt, Makita, and Milwaukee, among others.
The Right Drill for the Task
The voltage of your drill dictates the size of the job it can tackle. Higher-voltage drills, which we call heavy-duty in our ratings, generally have 18 to 20 volts of power or more. They’re typically heavier but also more capable of tackling difficult tasks like boring a large hole through studs or joists, or driving hundreds of screws on a single battery charge (something you’ll need to do when building a deck).
Lower-voltage drills, which we call general-use drills in our ratings, typically use about 12 volts. They offer plenty of power for most household tasks, like hanging a shelf or tightening screws, and they weigh less, in some cases coming in at half the weight of heavier-duty models.
We also test light-duty drills, which are best suited for small jobs around the house, such as assembling flat-packed furniture, changing a light fixture, or drilling into drywall. Their batteries range in power from 12 to 20 volts, but their relatively small motors don’t spin or drive with the same force as heavy-duty or general-use drills, even of the same voltage.
Best Light-Duty Cordless Drills
The 12-volt Makita FD06R1 falls in our light-duty category because of the limitations of its fixed ¼-inch chuck, despite packing the power of a competent general-use drill. That’s not a problem, though, if you’re not drilling large holes. Plus, it goes for less than many cordless drills with similar capabilities, while still proving to be reasonably powerful. A built-in LED light helps illuminate your workspace, and the drill’s modest 2.1-pound weight minimizes strain and fatigue. It charges pretty quickly and doesn’t make too much noise. Makita cordless drills earn stellar ratings for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in our member surveys.
What’s included: two 2.0-amp-hour batteries and a three-year warranty.
Best General-Use Cordless Drills
The 12-volt Milwaukee 2503-22 is our top-rated general-use drill for a reason. It earns top marks for power, run time, and handling, it’s speedy when drilling, and it’s quick to charge, too. It has a full-sized half-inch chuck that many lighter-duty drills don’t, which means this model has the ability to accept even large drilling and driving bits. Overall, it’s the model to beat for most users because it packs the power of a heavy-duty drill into a lean 3.2-pound package. Milwaukee earns top marks in our member surveys for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. For performance that’s nearly on a par at about $60 less, consider the leaner Milwaukee 3404-22, which earns the No. 2 spot in our ratings, despite being a slightly older model.
What’s included: two 4-amp-hour batteries and a five-year warranty.
If cost is your chief concern, the Skil DL529002 really delivers. It packs the power of a much pricier drill, plus it’s equipped with the same half-inch chuck as the Milwaukee above. Like the Milwaukee, it earns top marks for power and handling, though run time is only average. It’s also a bit noisier than the competition, and it’s one of the few models that includes only a single battery, so you may need need to charge in the middle of a project or buy a backup. Skil earns average marks for predicted reliability and falls below average when it comes to owner satisfaction.
What’s included: one 2-amp-hour battery and a five-year warranty.
The brushless 12-volt DeWalt DCD703F1 delivers solid performance in CR’s tests overall. This lightweight 2.5-pound model earns strong ratings for speed, handling, charging time, and noise at ear level, plus a stellar rating for power. As a brand, DeWalt cordless drills garner impressive scores for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in our member surveys. Overall, it’s a good choice that costs a bit less than the Milwaukee but still offers a battery that’s usable on a broad platform of other tools. It comes only with a single battery, and it has a ⅜-inch chuck, so it can’t take the largest bits.
What’s included: one 2-amp-hour battery and a three-year warranty.
The general-use Makita FD07R1 is a 12-volt cordless drill that weighs just over 2 pounds and stands barely 6 inches tall. Despite its petite profile, this model shines in our power test, making it a solid alternative to some of the larger 18- and 20-volt models. It doesn’t rate as well as some others for run time, but the kit comes with two batteries and a rapid charger, which tops off an empty battery in an impressive 60 minutes. Makita cordless drills get top marks for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, but like the DeWalt, this option is slightly limited by a ⅜-inch chuck.
What’s included: two 2-amp-hour batteries and a three-year warranty.
Best Heavy-Duty Cordless Drills
The Makita GFD02D is one of three models that tie at the top of our ratings for heavy-duty cordless drills, and it’s the only model that boasts a staggering 40-volt battery, which works in Makita’s outdoor lawn tools, too. It has above-average power and is fast to drill and drive, earning top marks in that test. It’s also fast to charge and offers exceptional run time. Weighing in at 4.2 pounds, it’s beefy and quite a bit heavier than lighter-duty models. For a little less you can score the Makita XFD16T, which actually packs a tiny bit more power but takes longer to charge. Makita cordless drills earn top marks for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in CR member surveys.
What’s included: two 2.5-amp-hour batteries and a three-year warranty.
The 24-volt heavy-duty Flex FX1171T-2B features a half-inch chuck and a 5-amp-hour battery, providing long run times. At almost 6 pounds, it’s heavier than most of the competition, but it offers performance on a par with the pricier Makita model above. The Flex aces our tests for speed, power, run time, and charge time while costing less than many other models in its class. We don’t have enough data yet from our member surveys to assign scores for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction.
What’s included: two 5-amp-hour batteries and a five-year warranty.
The 20-volt heavy-duty brushless DeWalt DCD991P2 is one of our best performers across all three drill types, snagging top ratings for power, speed, and run time. But the hefty 5-amp-hour battery that produces all that power makes this drill heavy, unbalanced, and a bit awkward to handle. Unlike most drills in our ratings, this DeWalt is equipped with three speed settings, providing a handy middle option for drilling into soft metals, such as aluminum, when the slow speed required for steel isn’t enough and the fast speed for wood is too much. DeWalt cordless drills get top marks for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in CR member surveys.
What’s included: two 5-amp-hour batteries and a three-year warranty.
The budget-friendly Kobalt KXDD 1424A-03 is a 24-volt cordless drill that aces our tests for power, speed, and run time. This brushless model also offers two speed ranges. On the downside, it takes around 85 minutes to charge an empty battery, which is longer than many other heavy-duty drills we tested. Kobalt cordless drills earn average marks for predicted reliability and below-average marks for owner satisfaction in CR member surveys.
What’s included: one 4-amp-hour battery and a five-year warranty.
How Consumer Reports Tests Cordless Drills
For our cordless drill tests, we narrow down the field to the most widely available models and run them through a series of tests in our lab, where we use a device called a dynamometer, which measures torque under different loads. We translate those readings into scores for power, speed, and run time.
We also assess how long each model takes to fully recharge a discharged battery, how easy the tool is to handle, and how much noise it makes at the user’s ear.
Finally, we incorporate ratings for predicted reliability and owner satisfaction based on data from CR’s member surveys.
If you’re unsure about what kind of cordless drill to buy, start with our cordless drills buying guide. CR members can also explore our comprehensive cordless drill ratings. There, you can filter dozens of drills according to your needs, including category, price, weight, and noise level.
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