How to Choose the Right Cordless Drill

A cordless drill is the tool people reach for most, and it's also the one most folks overbuy or underbuy. The spec sheets don't help. They throw numbers at you that sound important without telling you what they mean for the actual jobs around your house. Here's how to read past the marketing and land on the drill that fits how you'll really use it.

Voltage: more is not always better

Voltage is the headline number, usually 12V, 18V, or 20V. It roughly tracks how much grunt the drill has. Bigger numbers mean more power and, almost always, more weight.

For most home use, a 12V drill does more than people expect. It will drive screws, hang shelves, assemble furniture, and bore pilot holes all day, and it's light enough that your wrist won't complain after an hour overhead. Step up to 18V or 20V when you're regularly drilling into masonry, driving long lag screws, or working with hardwood and thick stock. That extra power earns its keep on heavier work and feels like overkill on lighter jobs.

One note on the 18V vs 20V thing: it's mostly marketing. A "20V max" battery and an 18V battery from the same era put out nearly identical voltage under load. Don't pay extra chasing the bigger sticker.

Brushless vs brushed motors

This is the upgrade worth paying for. A brushed motor has small carbon brushes that physically contact a spinning part, so they wear down and waste energy as heat and friction. A brushless motor uses electronics instead of that contact.

What you get from brushless:

• Longer runtime from the same battery, often noticeably so
• More power in a smaller, lighter package
• Less heat and longer tool life, since there are no brushes to wear out

Brushed drills still work fine and cost less. If you'll use the drill a few times a month, brushed is honest value. If you reach for it most weekends or run it hard, brushless pays you back in battery life and durability.

Chuck size

The chuck is the clamp that holds the bit. Two sizes cover home use: 3/8 inch and 1/2 inch. The number is the largest bit shank the chuck accepts.

A 3/8-inch chuck handles the vast majority of household drilling and driving. A 1/2-inch chuck takes bigger bits, things like spade bits and large hole saws, and tends to come on the more powerful drills anyway. If you're buying an 18V or 20V drill, it'll usually have the 1/2-inch chuck and you don't need to think about it.

Batteries: the part that outlives the drill

You're not really buying a drill. You're buying into a battery platform. Once you own batteries from one brand, every future tool from that brand shares them, and switching means rebuying batteries that often cost more than the bare tool.

So pick a brand you can live with. A couple of things to weigh:

• Amp-hours (Ah) tell you battery capacity. A 2.0Ah battery is light and fine for everyday tasks. A 4.0Ah or 5.0Ah pack runs longer and weighs more. Many drills come with two smaller batteries, which beats one big one, since you can charge one while you work with the other.
• Stick with one ecosystem. If you already own a brand's drill, batteries, or yard tools, your next purchase probably should match.

Torque and clutch settings

Torque is twisting force, sometimes listed in inch-pounds. More torque drives bigger fasteners without the drill stalling. For home use it's rarely the deciding number, since almost any modern drill has enough.

Pay more attention to the clutch, that numbered ring behind the chuck. It lets the drill slip once it hits a set resistance, which stops you from stripping screw heads or sinking a screw too deep and cracking the wood. A drill with a good range of clutch settings makes you better at driving screws than raw power ever will.

What to actually buy

For a typical homeowner doing furniture, shelves, repairs, and the odd weekend project: a 12V or 18V brushless drill with a clutch, two batteries, and a charger covers nearly everything you'll meet. Spend the savings on a decent bit set, because a sharp bit in a modest drill beats a dull bit in an expensive one every time.

If your projects run heavier, decks, framing, masonry, go 18V or 20V brushless with a 1/2-inch chuck and at least one 4.0Ah battery. Either way, buy into a battery brand you're happy to keep, because that decision sticks with you far longer than the drill itself.