Best cordless drills 2026
A cordless drill is an essential part of any toolkit, so which is best?
A drill is a must have in any do-it-yourselfer’s garage. Besides its first-and-foremost job of making holes in things, it can also be used to quickly tighten screws and bolts, remove rust and corrosion with a wire brush attachment, and polish up dull paintwork.
Huge improvements in battery technology over the past few years have made cordless drills more capable than ever, with more power, better battery life and lower prices, all of which helps to make corded drills virtually obsolete for most jobs. While a bigger battery means a longer life, it can also mean a drill is heavier to hold and takes longer to charge – you might consider looking for a package that includes two smaller, lighter packs, allowing you to keep working while one is charging. You might also decide to save costs by using the battery in other power tools of the same brand.
We’ve picked 10 examples and drilled down into the tiniest details to find out which is the best.
How we tested them
We fully charged the battery on all the drills and then ran them at full speed for five minutes with a medium load, by attaching a wire brush and resting it on a rusty steel wheel. We then drilled into an aluminium sheet with a 10mm bit and finally drove 6.7x125mm hex socket wood screws into undrilled timber to test the torque.
While using the drills, we judged the comfort and balance, how easy it was to secure and remove bits from the chuck and the usefulness of accessories. Extra points were awarded for higher battery capacity or spare packs, and an indicator to show state of charge. Finally, we considered the value.
Reviews
Read on to find out where the best cordless drills ranked...
Kielder KWT-020 TYPE18
- Price: around £70 (plus £23.99 for charger)
- Battery: 18V, 2Ah
- Torque: 75Nm
- Contact: kielder.co
- Rating: 5 stars
Used - available now
2024 Vauxhall
Mokka
29,757 milesAutomaticPetrol1.2L
Cash £14,830
2014 BMW
1 Series
56,031 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L
Cash £6,850
2026 MINI
Countryman
33,960 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L
Cash £25,990
2022 MG
HS
59,000 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L
Cash £13,490The Kielder is the cheapest drill in this test by a considerable margin, yet it has the second torquiest motor, meaning we had to hold on tight with two hands as it drove our test screw into our test wood.
On the higher gear setting, it happily wire brushed for five minutes with a maximum speed of 2,000rpm, losing only one bar of battery.
There are some limited signs of cost cutting though. For example, it’s not supplied with a case or bag, but this could be a blessing in an already crowded shed. You also need to add the charger separately, but even then, it is still the best value.
Bosch AdvancedImpact 18V-80 QuickSnap
- Price: around £150
- Battery: 18V, 2.5Ah
- Torque: 82Nm
- Contact: bosch-diy.com
- Rating: 4.5 stars
Quicksnap isn’t usually something you’d like to hear when you’re fixing a car, but in the case of this Bosch drill, it denotes an interesting feature. By pulling back a collar you can swap the traditional chuck for a magnetic attachment that’s designed to hold screwdriver bits and the fastenings themselves. Besides being very handy, it also reduces the weight by just under 300g, making the drill easier to hold.
The AdvancedImpact also has a removable handle, which you need to grip when making use of the full 82Nm – that’s the highest twisting power here and is enough to undo some wheelnuts.
Stanley FATMAX V20 18V Brushless Cordless Hammer Drill Driver Kit
- Price: around £95
- Battery: 18V, 2Ah
- Torque: 60Nm
- Contact: stanleytools.co.uk
- Rating: 4 stars
An 18-volt battery and 60Nm motor mean the Stanley has more than enough power to undo most screws you’d find on a car, and it will have a decent go at most bolts too, especially if the lower of the two gears is selected. Better still, the FATMAX is well balanced to hold, even though it’s relatively heavy at 1,510g.
There are 15 torque settings to choose from, and a reasonably bright LED work light that illuminates when the trigger is pressed. It looks great value, too, especially for a well-respected brand. Our only criticisms are the unnecessarily large storage case and controls that feel overly stiff.
Worx WX355.1
- Price: around £100
- Battery: 20V, 2Ah
- Torque: 55Nm
- Contact: uk.worx.com
- Rating: 3.5 stars
The WX355.1 is one of the smallest and lightest drills in this test, but still has an impressive kick nevertheless, thanks to its 20-volt power. The 55Nm of torque might not be the highest of the drills in this test, but it still managed to drive our test screw deep into our block of wood with scarcely a murmur of dissent.
However, the Worx’s real advantage comes with lighter tasks such as polishing and drilling, because its 2,100rpm top speed made it the quickest in this test. Our only real complaint is the slow charger, which could leave you twiddling your thumbs while the battery tops up.
Erbauer ECCD18-LI 18V
- Price: around £95
- Battery: 18V, 2 x 2.0Ah
- Torque: 50Nm
- Contact: screwfix.com
- Rating: 3.5 stars
The Erbauer’s main advantage here is that it comes with a pair of batteries as standard, which allows you to keep going through a job rather than having to take a long break while you recharge.
However, despite having a pair of smaller batteries, it’s still quite heavy at 1,505g. That said, it is nevertheless well balanced and comfortable.
Unfortunately, the rest of the specifications are average rather than impressive, with an 1,800rpm maximum speed and adequate 50Nm maximum torque figure. These mean it does the job well but fails to stand out in any area. That spare battery is handy though.
Makita DHP490RT1J
- Price: around £150
- Battery: 18V, 5Ah
- Torque: 65Nm
- Contact: makitauk.com
- Rating: 3.5 stars
A glance at the spec sheet shows the Makita has respectable figures for the torque and speed which put it in the top half of the scores among these rivals, but there doesn’t seem to be anything to justify the price – until you get to the battery capacity. At 5Ah, it is easily the biggest here, and means you should be able to keep going all day without having to trouble the enormous charger. You can keep it in the substantial case, which also seems unnecessarily big.
The downside of that battery is that it adds significantly to the weight. At 1,700g, the Makita soon becomes tiresome to hold.
Durofix RK12136 12V Cordless Combi Drill
- Price: around £100
- Battery: 10.8V, 4Ah
- Torque: 50Nm
- Contact: acdelco-tools.co.uk
- Rating: 3.5 stars
The Durofix doesn’t look like the most impressive contender in this test, but its compact size means that it is light and easy to handle, weighing just 1,260g with the battery. That’s despite it having a decent 4Ah capacity. This generous size means that the LED battery indicator was still showing full even after we’d reached the end of our testing procedure.
The 50Nm isn’t the most powerful on test, but switching to the lower of the two gears meant it had enough grunt to drive a screw into our test wood. Uniquely, it is supplied in a soft tool bag, rather than a case.
Clarke CON18LIC 18V Brushless Combi Drill/Driver
- Price: around £96
- Battery: 18V, 2 x 2Ah
- Torque: 50Nm
- Contact: machinemart.co.uk
- Rating: 3 stars
The Clarke’s big attraction is that it comes with a twin battery pack as standard, which means you won’t have to stop when the time comes to recharge. This, in a small way, helps to make up for the lack of a battery-level gauge, although it would still be an irritation when the drill suddenly stops without warning.
With the lower gear selected, it managed, just, to drive a hefty screw into our test wood, but the wire brushing and drilling took noticeably longer than it did with the Clarke’s rivals. This was mainly because the 1,500rpm top speed is at least 200rpm slower than any other drill here.
DXPULSE 12V Brushless Combi Drill Kit
- Price: around £93
- Battery: 12V, 4Ah
- Torque: 40Nm
- Contact: drapertools.com
- Rating: 3 stars
The DX is one of the smallest and lightest drills in the entire test, yet the big 4.0Ah battery capacity means it should keep going for hours. The downside is that the motor is comparatively weedy. Although it was easily able to cope with the wire brush and polishing tasks when in its higher gear, it nevertheless struggled to screw our bolt past the halfway point.
The price is comparatively high for a 12V drill with one battery, although this elevated cost is offset partially by the extras in the storage case, which include a range of screwdriver bits with a holder, plus twist drills.
Worx WX354
- Price: around £180
- Battery: 20V, 2 x 2Ah
- Torque: 60Nm
- Contact: uk.worx.com
- Rating: 3 stars
Worx’s WX354 is double the price of some rivals here, but it has an impressive specification.
The neatly compact case includes two 2Ah batteries, which provide the drill with 20 volts.
When driving our test screw, it felt to have more torque than the quoted 60Nm. Switch to the higher gear and it has a 2,000 rpm top speed, making the wire brushing faster too. Worx also throws in a drill bit and screwdriver head, but it still looks pricey to us.
Verdict
We liked the Kielder TYPE18’s no-nonsense approach, which excludes extras such as a carrying case, but has a powerful motor and fast top speed. It’s our Best Buy. Second is the Bosch Advanced Impact 18V-80 QuickSnap, which justifies its price with clever and useful features. Third place is taken by Stanley’s FATMAX V20, which is great value and performs well.
- Kielder KWT-020 TYPE18
- Bosch AdvancedImpact 18V-80 QuickSnap
- Stanley FATMAX V20 18V Brushless Cordless Hammer Drill Driver Kit
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