Dewalt is tough to beat.

The Dewalt has come down in price considerably, makes me wonder if they are made in China now, or maybe all along, I don't know. I like my Milwaukee Fuel 18V , came with case, charger and 2 lithium batteries.

Not putting Dewalt down, I have their 12 inch mitre saw and trim router for pin cab work and they're awesome. Never had their drill though.

Dewalt makes the best battery operated tools you can buy.

I've tried most power tool brands over the years and I always go back to dewalt. It's a great tool for a good price. I would recommend getting a 1/2 metal chuck with hammer drill. The hammer drill is not much more and you will wish you had it the first time you need to drill a hole in concrete.

Thru the years I have learned a valuable lesson on power tools. Batteries are going to eventually go bad and without them the tool is nothing but a paperweight. All companies redesign there product line to sell new and improved. When the line is discontinued and no replacement batteries are available your stuck. I started buying Dewalt 18v years ago. Since they are a popular tool there are now private label batteries being made for them. There are newer models now (higher voltage) but the 18v is more than fine for me. Its a plus that the price point has come down also.

For a standard drill, probably DeWalt or Milwaukee. For an impact drill, Makita. The Makita impact drill is small, lightweight and the LED light is great. They're the preferred choice around here to install kitchen cabinets. I've got two.

I have the 20 volt brushless Dewalt and you cant beat it for power and weight. I have had a lot of brands but I like the dewalt the best. They make a brushed one also thats cheaper but the brushless has more power and the battery lasts longer.

I have several Dewalt 20 volt power tools including their drills , impact wrenches and power lubers. Some we use almost on a daily bases .
i have found them to be very reliable.

I think the Dewalt brand is over rated. I bought a new Dewalt 1/2 drill that I used a lot and it became junk pretty fast. That was about 6 to 8 years ago and early in their Lithium entry.

I bought a Hitachi kit to replace it that was reasonably priced and has worked well since.

I think most mainline brands are pretty good these days. And look for battery compatible tools. My Hitachi came as a set with two batteries and an impact driver which at the time I didn't know I needed but have since used more than the drill.

I use my impact for everything even when drilling.

Woodworker 40 + years, researched this many times, Makita has most power, I prefer Milwaulkee.
For home use, probably most any mentioned here will do fine.

I use DeWalt.

I have both Makita & Dewalt and each has pros and cons but dollar for dollar Dewalt is hard to beat. The thing I like best about Dewalt is the 18v platform has been around for years and pretty much everyone carries batteries & stuff for them. Other brands can be a little harder to find decent deals on replacement batteries.

I use my tools hard and in 15+ years of using 18v Dewalt I have only had 2 of my couple dozen tools fail. One was our 18v shop vac the motor went when it was about 4 years old. I took it to a local service center and the guy behind the counter gave me a new one no questions asked. Not bad for something with a one year guarantee! I also had a switch fail on a sawzall and couldn't get that fixed because they changed styles and old switch was no longer available on a 12 or 13 year old tool. Not a bad track record!

My favorite Dewalt tool is my 18v shop vac. I would bet I use that 3 or 4 times a day 7 days a week. I use it for vacuuming out cabinets, cleaning up work areas when using drill, sawzall, etc, spot cleaning shop & office, etc. There is nothing nicer than grabbing a little cordless shop vac for a quick clean up when a job is done! To be honest I use it so much I actually bought a second one just to carry in my truck. Great for camping also!

I would pay the extra for the hammer drill as stated above! When you need replacement batteries typically around Christmas time Lowes or Home Depot puts two packs on sale for about the same price as a single battery most years.

i use the RIGID brand. i used dewalt for years in the drywall business , i didnt care for how the batteries slide into the bottom after a whlie the clasps wear and the batteries keep falling out. the 1/2 cordless drills are garbage ! use them 3x and then the brushes burn out of them. i have 3 on my shelf you can have for free.

We have tried all of the different brands in our large plant's maintenance shop. DeWalt 20v is what has held up the best for us. We now are running 15 of these.
When the brushes & armature finally wear out, you can replace them fairly cheaply too, though I doubt they would ever get that much use in a home environment.

After thinking about it more I think you're right. I've never had a Milwaukee but a buddy's set lasted for years and under the harshest conditions.

DeWalt has a ton of tools compatible with their batteries. For a long time they were the standard with vacuum cleaners, radios and other oddities. I think others are catching up though. Makita has a battery powered chainsaw, weedeater, and coffee maker. Even their charger sings a little bit tune when done charging.

I'm partial to Bosch. I think all of the big manufacturers are probably fine. Bosch, Milwaukee, Makita, DeWalt. Are you planning on 12v or 18v? I use the 12v whenever I can get away with it. It's so much lighter and more comfortable. Most anything pinball related the 12v is ideal. I have an impact and 1/2" chuck in the 12v. I recently retired my old DeWalt 18v. That thing won't die, it's been through a bunch of batteries but the drill itself is fine. Just way too heavy and bulky. The Bosch 18v is half the weight, likely the same with any newer tool using Lithium Ion.

I've been happy with 19.2 Craftsman and 20 volt Dewalt. Go with the best deal. Lithium is the only way to go.

At our shop we try and fix all our own tools. If a drill breaks down I can almost always fix it in 15 min for $10. That being said I've never had to replace a battery that wasn't 5+ years old. 5+ years for a battery is a fair lifespan. That's not a failure of the tool it's just how long battery's last with daily use. I've never had my personal daily use tool go bad. Even when it's in the truck year round with extreme temps. When a power tool breaks it's always out of a crew truck. Those guys tear up everything. I'm not going to say where they are from but they are not from a 1st world country. A DRILL IS NOT A HAMMER! If your buying for personal use and not for a crew it will last forever. Most guys I know don't choose their brand based on the drill. They want a specific tool a specific brand makes, therefore they buy all their tools in that brand. If you like the dewalt cordless chopsaw you buy a dewalt drill. If you want the Milwaukee heated jacket you buy a Milwaukee cordless drill. All the name brand drills work well. Guys with lots of cordless tools normally have more deciding factors than brand alone. What brand does your company use, who makes trade specific tools you need,etc.

My solar installation crew uses Milwaukee and I don't like the drills as well as my Makitas. I use my 18v drill on a daily basis for my electrical work often for drilling 3/4-1" holes, I've worn one out already but am very hard on them. The Makita batteries charge quicker and are easier to insert and remove from the tool and I think they hold charges longer than thr Milwaukees.

I have several of the 18v Makita tools and love the performance and ergonomics of them all.

All those are all made in China nowadays. It probably doesn't matter much which you get. Pick one for a good price and treat it like a consumable that is going to last a few years or so. As far as I have been able to find the only alternative is to get some stuff from Germany but it is like 3-5X the price. I don't think there are any made in the USA any more.

You can go to Amazon and start going through the reviews, it's a mile-long tunnel that I have spent a lot of time in. It gets discouraging sometimes if you would like to get something that would have real quality. But we got what we always wanted-stuff for cheap.

Had em all,well most of them. Still my go to's.

Pinball 085 (resized).jpg

Fair amount of the DeWalts are made in the USA. Last one I bought was. Check out the link:
http://americanpride.dewalt.com/

I bought a porter cable driver and drill with 3 batteries and charger for around a hundred, and i use them constantly. Batteries last a very long time, holds the charge in storage, ive dropped them more times than i care to admit, and they still work flawlessly

Depends on what you want to do. If you want the good stuff, buy a dewalt hammer drill, impact drill, saw kit. The cheaper stuff is good but isn't good enough to say like build an outdoor deck or drill into cement.

I recently switched from older 18 volt dewalt to Milwaukee 18v fuel. My dewalt batteries were going dead and I toasted my 1/2" drill driving big lag bolts into old wood.

To me it's all about the batteries and the other available tools. I liked all the tools Milwaukee makes for the 18v fuel system. Cool worksite radio, cordless led work lights and lots of other stuff. Also, a lot of the new construction electrician guys I know swear by Milwaukee drills.

It can be a little confusing though, Milwaukee still sells their regular 18v system and it is def the 18v fuel that you want.

I'm doing the same thing. I decided to buy quality and a name I have very local access to parts for (batteries). That includes a brushless motor.

I'm not considering dewalt but if I was I would go to their higher end offerings. They have really expanded their line-up with budget offerings.

I think that $99 dollar 20V lithium ion drill kit is available from a number of brick and mortar as well as online vendors. Pretty good deal if you are only looking for a drill. It won't have the heavier duty all metal chuck, but should get you by very nicely for most work around the house.
Been using DeWalt's for the last 14 years, only problems have been with the batteries or abusing the clutch using one as a driver.
For what it's worth, my brother in law is an engineer for Pella Corp. and they only use Makita.

If cost is not an issue I would go with the Hilti or festool.

Hilti makes the best heavy duty (corded) drills and bits in the industry if concrete is involved.

I use a cordless drill daily a dewalt 20v brushless lithium with the impact drill also, Wins hands down in commercial use, Been through them all Milwaulkee, Makita, porter cable non of these can stand the test of time. These are good for the home owner that does not use them daily or for hours on end.

I'm a dewalt fanboy also but this is not true. I know many company's who have built their tool cage around makita and Milwaukee with great results. Neither brand has any problems standing the test of time.

It is true from my point of view. Test of time would be, Batteries lasting, The power behind the drill and the use that the drill is being used for. So if is for small jobs they all work. But really boils down to how many years you have used them and know there end result. But you know many company's , But this doesn't say much. We are talking about from your own experience not other companys.

Yes I know,they also have some nice cordless tools.

I'm old school - I believe you have to have power. Therefore, the higher the voltage the more current/torque you have. That is why I go with 28v Milwaukee. I would go with a 1/2" drill. I own a DeWalt 12" miter saw and I like it a lot. If price sensitive then I would lean in that direction.

Which car company makes a better car? Trying to get more than 20% of people asked to agree on one brand would likely be impossible. Cordless tools are the same way - people who like one brand over another sometimes feel very strong their choice is the best. So the longer this thread goes on the more different answers you will get.

Here is my take on things - from my experience 18v Dewalt was hands down the best for years because that platform was around for a long time and you could grab so many different tools that used the same battery and find batteries just about anywhere. Most other brands kept changing things so when you needed a replacement battery they were sometimes hard to find or more expensive because not as many places carried them. My concern now is Dewalt now has their 20v line as well as higher voltage lines and they keep adding different stuff with different voltages. I am afraid my old go to 18v tools are going to be like all the rest of the companies and sometime down the road 18v batteries will get harder to source or more expensive since less places will still carry them.

In any event brushless is the better way to go for a few dollars more and from my experience hammer drills seem to be built better so in my eyes they are also a better choice, but I really don't think one brand over another is worth worrying about as long as you stick with one of the major brands.

As battery technology keeps changing cordless tools will change - that is just part of life. But it really made me kind of sad to see Dewalt headed down a path away from my old standby 18v Dewalt tools. I own way to many different 18v tools to consider moving over to the 20v line (or to another company) so hopefully 18v stuff will still be available for a while. I hate the thoughts of more different batteries & chargers around!

In addition to brushless which I recommended earlier, I've decided to go with a brand that has a 4.0 amp hr battery. Many manufacturers of the 18 and 20 volt drills only offer the 2.0 amp hr batter. A few also offer the 4.0 amp hr option which is twice the size and capacity. Worth it to me.

Your brushless links are the best you've posted so far. Consider that battery info.

Late to the party, but for posterity's sake, Milwaukee Fuel.

Milwaukee is 100% owned and made in CHINA, Dewalt is USA owned and have alot of USA made cordless. I buy over 1/2 million dollars a year the best deal I have right now is a

DCD980M2 for $149 free ship for Pinside guys

DCD771C2 for $89.99 free ship for Pinside

DCK280C2 for $144.99 Free ship.

Technically, Milwaukee is not owned by a Chinese company. It's owned by a company headquartered in Hong Kong, which for about the next 30 years or so, is actually its own entity per the agreement between Great Britain & China.

Dewalt is a part of Stanley Black & Decker. When Stanley *merged* with B&D (2010), the Dewalt brand suffered a little in my opinion. Dewalt has a nice link on their website which lists exactly which products (including model numbers) are made in the USA. They do add one caveat, "with global materials," at the end of the "Products Made in the USA" line. No different than a lot of other products - assembled in the US from components sourced globally.

Either way, for home use, really can't go wrong with either Dewalt/Milwaukee/Makita. Just like most everything else, they all have their pluses and minuses!

If you can find one made in the usa, buy it first. I spent years trying to find one made here but eventually gave up. This was years ago, that may have changed.

Milwaukee FUEL is the best cordless drill I have ever used, hands down. It's a little pricey but you can find deals if you look around.

You wont be disappointed.

Big box stores sell consumer grade.
The trades use commercial grade. They look the same, have a similar item number.
One of the big differences is the commercial grade have steel gears not plastic and better switches.
This info was forth coming from a DeWalt rep.