Top 10 Best Cordless Drills

The DeWalt DCD991P2 is our top pick and we give it our highest recommendation. This is a very powerful, heavy-duty drill built around a 20 Volt brushless motor that delivers a whopping 820 Unit Watts Out (maximum torque of 893 in-lbs), virtually guaranteeing that you'll be able to power through just about any job you throw at it.

Along with a charger and kit box, the DeWalt DCD991P2 also comes with two 5Ah batteries, which means the drill can be used continually by charging one while the other is on the unit.

Most high-end cordless drills these days come with a built-in LED light and the DeWalt DCD991P2 is no exception. For anyone who has ever tried to use a drill under a cabinet or other similarly dark area, they'll know that the spot light can make a world of a difference. Users will also like the fact that the light stays on for 20 seconds after the trigger is released. This will allow you to tap the trigger to activate the light, so that you can use that time to get the drill into position to do the work.

The Makita XFD131 runs a very close second to the Dewalt DCD777C2 for top drill/driver. It is an 18V cordless drill with a brushless motor that ships with one 3Ah battery. The Makita batteries boast the fastest charge time in their category, with most users reporting that the battery goes from completely dead to fully charged in about 15 to 30 minutes.

The charger and batteries included with this drill also feature Makita's Star Protection system. This is an electronic monitoring system that allows the batteries to communicate with the drill and charger. Its main purpose is to prevent the batteries from being damaged by overheating or over discharge, and enables faster charging as the charger adjusts itself to compensate for different temperatures. Chargers without such compensation can take much longer to charge a battery on a cold day, for example.

If you're looking to get the best "bang for your buck," look no further than the DeWalt DCD771C2. This drill has two speed settings (450 and 1500 RPM's) and can generate a solid 373 in-lbs of torque. At 300 Unit Watts Out, it's not nearly as powerful as the DCD991P2, but it's still more than adequate to power through most light to medium drill tasks around the home or office.

What makes the Dewalt DCD771C2 such a great value, though, and many owners of older Dewalt cordless drills have mentioned this, is that in most cases it's cheaper just to buy this drill than to buy new batteries for their existing drill. And although it may not sound like it at first, another great feature of the Dewalt DCD771C2 is that the batteries die at once. In other words, instead of gradually having a less powerful and effective tool as the charge is used up, it works at full strength until it just stops and the battery needs to be swapped. The fact that it works this way means the Dewalt DCD771C2 eliminates a hidden time sink, which is that a lower power output equals every hole drilled or screw driven takes just a tiny bit more time than the previous one.

The previous drills on our list are made with the dedicated do-it-yourselfer, or even professional, in mind. What about someone who simply wants a tool to handle household drilling/driving tasks and wants to do so as inexpensively as possible? This is where the Black & Decker LDX120C comes in. This is a no frills 20V cordless drill driver that is ideal for those who may only need to pull it out once or twice a month to quickly handle a small job.

Its bare bones nature can be seen in the fact that it comes with no case and only a single battery. While the brushed 20V motor is more than adequate for even tough tasks, it does not have the staying power of the more pricey offerings above. It will drive a single long screw into wood the same way they would, but will start to overheat or fail much sooner. In other words, someone looking to replace the railings on a patio would find the Black & Decker LDX120C perfectly fine for the job, while someone planning to built the patio from scratch may need to look elsewhere unless they plan to take frequent breaks to let the drill rest. This is a budget drill, afterall, and what it is capable of doing, it does quite well.

The DeWalt DCF887D2 is the impact driver equivalent of our top pick for traditional drill/driver. Boasting one of the highest max torques of any impact driver at 2000 in-lbs, this heavy duty tool is ideal for professional contractors and DIYers alike. The DeWalt DCF887D2 features a 20V brushless motor and ships with two 2AH lithium-ion batteries. In addition, it has three built-in LED lights with a 20 second shutoff after the trigger is released, great for illuminating your work area and giving you plenty of time to see and maneuver the tool into a tight spot.

The DeWalt DCF887D2 also ships with a hard case, a plus for many people who plan to cart their tools around to job sites where they could see some bumps along the way. Additionally, this impact driver comes with a handy belt clip. Anyone who has worked a big job that requires a great deal of walking around between driving screws will appreciate having both hands free instead of having to hold on to their drill everywhere they go

The Makita XDT131 is another high quality impact driver that offers outstanding value for money spent. And while this 18V brushless motor impact driver only ships with a single battery, that battery has a 3AH capacity, so you can expect to get good run times. The Makita XDT131 features the Star Protection system to ensure that the batteries do not suffer damage during use or when being charging, as well as a dust and moisture defense system to keep the tool running even in harsh situations. And to protect the unit, a hard case is also included.

The Makita XDT131, Like the traditional drill/driver lineup, Makita and Dewalt are neck and neck for best in class when it comes to impact drivers. The choice between them generally comes down to which brand the person in question prefers, as either can handle the vast majority of jobs thrown at it. But with its significantly smaller price tag, the Makita XDT131 represents an excellent deal.

Black & Decker once again graces our list with a solid entry level tool that has plenty of performance to handle small to medium projects at a small price. The Black & Decker BDCI20C is a cordless impact driver that offers good performance with no bells and whistles. Fitting its entry level budget position, it ships with a single battery and no case. The brushed 20V motor in the BDCI20C has plenty of power for typical fastener related tasks around the home or office, but can't be expected to stand up to long term continuous use.

In other words, someone who uses an impact driver on a professional level should not even consider the BDCI20C, as it would likely fail quickly under those circumstances. Someone who finds themselves reaching for an impact driver frequently for big tasks should think seriously about alternatives. However, if you're a homeowner who just needs to occasionally replace a piece of siding or get those stubborn bolts off the lawn mower, then you'll probably find the BDCI20C to be a good, inexpensive solution.

Before talking specifically about the Milwaukee 2804-20, we should take a minute to talk about the brand. While Dewalt and Makita were able to get an early stranglehold on the cordless tool market, many professional contractors have long considered cordless tools to be toys in comparison to their corded counterparts. In the world of corded tools that see the most use and abuse, the two brands most contractors swear by are Bosch and Milwaukee. The reason this is worth mentioning is the other brands on our list are well known for quality among anyone familiar with tools as a do-it-yourselfer, but Milwaukee has built an equally impressive reputation in an even harsher arena.

The Milwaukee 2804-20 is a cordless hammer drill based on an 18V brushless motor that, like the Makita drills, has a proprietary system to monitor and protect batteries from overheating during use and charging, which they call Redlink Plus.

A crucial safety feature of the Milwaukee 2804-20 is its auxiliary handle. Anyone who frequently uses powerful hand drills can tell you a story about a time the bit caught on something, causing the drill to rotate and torque their wrist to the breaking point before they could release the trigger. The auxiliary handle gives the drill user more control and the ability to apply twice the muscle to counter any sudden spin the drill may take. In addition, it lets the person using the drill apply more force, a real advantage when using a hammer drill as the hammering action tends to push the drill away from the surface.

The Makita XPH12Z, in our opinion, offers the best value of any cordless hammer drill currently on the market. This high-quality tool is engineered around an 18V brushless motor that is compatible with batteries that incorporate the Star Protection technology. As a tool, the only real knock on the drill itself is the lack of an auxiliary handle. This lack makes it much more difficult to apply the force to counteract the bouncing from the hammer action of the drill, as well as increasing the chances of the drill spinning if the bit gets caught.

The key advantage the Makita XPH12Z has over most of its competitors, though, is its large range of variability in both the rotational speed and the speed of the hammer beats. This allows the XPH12Z to be tuned perfectly to a large variety of materials. Although it doesn't have quite the power of the Milwaukee 2804-20 above, it's still a good bargain given its significantly lower price.

The DeWalt DCK299P2 is a package geared toward someone who will be drilling holes and driving screws at the professional level who needs the freedom of a cordless solution. The combo features a 20V cordless hammer drill and 20V cordless impact driver, both brushless. These contractor level tools do not just possess the famous Dewalt quality, they are powerful enough that even many long time Dewalt users may find themselves a pleasantly surprised by them.

Along with the tools themselves, the Dewalt DCK299P2 combo ships with a hard protective case and two 5AH batteries to ensure that there will be plenty of power to get through long days at the work site. Anyone who needs both a hammer drill and effective impact driver can rest assured that choosing the Dewalt DCK299P2 will let them hit the ground running.