The 7 Best Cordless Drills of 2026

The drill in this box is the same DCD771 we recommend above; the extra money buys the impact driver beside it, and that's the tool that changes a day of fastening.

An impact driver works in rotational blows rather than steady torque, which is why a long deck screw seats without the cam-out that rounds a Phillips head. The 1,400 in-lb figure belongs to the impact driver, not the drill, so don't read it as the same tool with more power. Loading a bit one-handed into the quarter-inch hex chuck and the 20-second light delay after you release the trigger are the two details we noticed most during setup work under a bench.

Where the kit earns its place is volume: deck boards, fence panels, stall mats, trailer decking — jobs measured in dozens of screws, where swapping bits between a pilot drill and a driver is the slowest part of the work. Two tools on the same batteries also mean one stays loaded with a driver bit while the other holds a drill bit, and the contractor bag swallows both without a fight.

A 3.0 Ah pack is the largest that comes in any kit here, and it's the reason we hand this drill to someone with a long list rather than a single repair. The brushless motor is the other half of the equation, with no carbon brushes to wear out or drag on the armature, and Makita credits it with up to 50 percent more run time per charge.

Torque figures here don't line up: Makita rates this drill at 440 in-lb, a different measurement from the unit-watts number DeWalt publishes, so the two can't be stacked side by side. What is comparable is gearing — 0-500 rpm in low and 0-1,900 in high, the widest spread in this group, which is what lets a small bit spin fast in softwood and a hole saw turn slowly without burning.

The half-inch chuck and 1-1/4 inch wood capacity match the DeWalt, and the three-year warranty covers the battery and charger as well as the tool, which matters when the pack is the reason you bought the kit. The LXT packs also fit the rest of Makita's 18V line, so the second tool costs less than the first.

At 2.6 pounds with a six-inch body, this is the lightest drill here that still carries a half-inch chuck, and the difference shows up the moment your arm is above your head — a barn light, a stand roof, a shelf over a workbench.

The collar behind the chuck switches between drilling, driving and hammering, so the same tool hangs a shelf and sets a sleeve anchor in block. The all-metal half-inch chuck is a step up from the 3/8-inch chucks on the budget kits, and a mechanical clutch keeps screw depth consistent across a long run of fasteners.

Battery and charger are separate purchases here, so plan on a pack, and an XC cell is worth the extra over the smallest M12 battery if you intend to lean on the tool. Milwaukee's 12V line has grown well beyond drills, which is the argument for buying into it rather than around it.

This is the drill we reach for inside a cabinet, up a ladder, or anywhere a 20V body simply won't go, and the hammer mode means one less tool riding in the truck. It is not the answer for a day of deck framing, where the bigger 20V drills here do the work with less strain.

Thirty accessories is why we keep this kit on the list: six brad-point bits, ten 1-inch and nine 2-inch driver bits, four nut drivers and a magnetic bit holder, all in the box with the drill. For furniture assembly, cabinet hardware and the loose screws that accumulate around a tack room, that's most of a starter kit you'd otherwise buy piece by piece.

The drill around the bits is competent rather than exciting. Three hundred inch-pounds and a 750 rpm ceiling are enough for pine, plywood and hardware, and the 24-position clutch is more detents than any other drill here that lists a count, which is what keeps a screw head from sinking below the surface of a soft board.

The 1.5 Ah pack is the part to plan around: it covers a shelf's worth of screws, not a fence line, so charging between projects is the routine. Coverage is two years, the shortest here, and this is a light-duty tool that shouldn't be asked to bore through treated posts all afternoon.

A battery gauge is the detail we appreciate most here, because this is the drill most likely to sit for weeks between jobs — you press the button before carrying it out to the tack room and know whether you're bringing a charged tool or a paperweight. At 2.5 pounds with a 3/8-inch chuck it's light enough to keep in a drawer, and the kit adds a flexible shaft and an extension bar for reaching into tight spots.

280 in-lb and 550 rpm put a ceiling on the work: this is a screwdriver that drills small holes, not a tool for boring through a stud pack or driving lags into a post without a pilot hole first. Flat-pack furniture, cabinet hinges and the loose hardware on a trailer are its lane, and it's the least expensive way into a 20V kit in this group.

Eight volts, one speed, 400 rpm: this is a powered screwdriver with a chuck on the end, and it works better once you treat it that way. Ask it to bore a two-inch hole in hardwood and you'll be standing there while the motor labors.

What it does well is the small stuff. At 1.3 pounds it's the lightest tool here, the body is built to sit in a kitchen drawer, and the keyless chuck takes the same hex-shank driver bits as the bigger drills. The battery is built in, so there's no pack to lose or leave clipped to another tool.

That's the point of it, and we think it's a fair trade: a drill nobody has to think about, for a hinge, a hook, a lamp bracket, or a child's first project with supervision. Two years of coverage is the shortest in this group alongside the Black+Decker 20V kit, which is reasonable for a tool that will never see a jobsite.