Makita vs DeWalt vs Milwaukee — Cordless Drill Comparison

Before you can compare Makita, DeWalt and Milwaukee you have to understand that you are not choosing between three tools. You are choosing between three battery ecosystems, and that decision is effectively permanent for any given set of tools. Makita runs 18V LXT. DeWalt runs 20V MAX, plus a separate 12V MAX line and the older 9.6V and 12V families still turning up in clearance. Milwaukee runs M18 at 18V, and M12 at 12V for compact work. The nominal voltages look similar, which is where the confusion comes from: a DeWalt 20V MAX pack and a Makita 18V LXT pack are both 18V-class lithium-ion packs, and the higher number in the DeWalt name is a marketing position rather than a different chemistry. They are not interchangeable. Different rail geometry, different BMS, different charge profiles, and a Milwaukee M18 post will not fit a Makita slot. If you own a platform already, the honest answer to "which brand should I buy" is almost always "the one you already own," because the second tool is where the value is and the battery is where the cost is.

That said, the platforms are not the same age, and age matters for two reasons. First, the newest platform is the one with the broadest accessory range and the most third-party clone bodies. Second, the oldest platform is often the one where the used-tool discount is deepest, because owners have had a decade to buy and sell. Makita's 18V LXT and Milwaukee's M18 both came to market in the late 2000s, and DeWalt's 20V MAX arrived a couple of years after that, which is why you will see more very cheap 9.6V and 12V DeWalt inventory than very cheap M18 inventory. If you are starting from zero, that is a real argument for entering through the newest platform with a good deal on a bare body. If you already have two packs of anything, ignore this section entirely.

Makita, founded in Nagoya in 1915, has been building cordless tools longer than either of its American rivals, and 18V LXT is the proof. The catalogue is deep enough that a used Makita is rarely hard to spec around, which is exactly what makes used pricing so attractive. Makita's eBay inventory also skews heavily toward bare tools and third-party replacement packs, so if you are patient you can assemble a kit piecemeal without ever buying a boxed bundle.

Makita DDF487 18V brushless drill/driver — $64.99

This is the listing to anchor on if you want the real spec sheet rather than marketing. The is quoted at 40 N·m, which is 350 in-lbs of torque, on a two-speed gearbox giving 0-500 RPM and 0-1,700 RPM. The construction detail that matters more than the numbers is the aluminium cover around the gear housing, which is how Makita stiffens the case without adding bulk. The brushless motor is electronically controlled to match torque and RPM to load rather than running flat out, which is where the runtime advantage over a brushed motor of the same nominal voltage actually comes from. At $64.99 this sits mid-range for the platform, which is cheap for a genuine brushless body and cheap enough that you can justify buying new rather than gambling on a used gearbox.

Makita XFD07 18V brushless driver/drill with a 4.0Ah battery — $49.99

Used, and described as tested and fully operational. This is the listing that illustrates the real economics of the platform: you get a 1/2-inch brushless driver/drill and an 18V 4.0Ah lithium-ion battery in the box for less than a new bare body costs. The is the clearest example of that That is the shape of the used Makita market — batteries come with tools far more often than they do with DeWalt listings, because Makita owners tend to buy complete units. The 4.0Ah pack is the same nominal platform as the smaller 3.0Ah packs, so it will drive any 18V LXT tool you add later. Our general advice on used power tools applies here: check that the chuck runs smooth and that there is no grinding when the trigger is pulled.

Makita XPH10Z 18V LXT hammer drill — $95.00

A bare hammer drill sold as pictured and tested functional. The XPH10Z is the one people mean when they say Makita masonry work, and the reason it costs more than a plain driver/drill is the hammer mechanism itself plus the heavier gearing behind it. The is the number to anchor on for a Makita hammer body. The catch, which applies to every bare-tool listing in this article, is that you need at least one 18V LXT battery and a charger before it is useful. If you are buying a used body, budget the packs separately rather than assuming they are included.

Makita 18V brushless hammer drill, new — $119.99

The clean new option in the same platform, and the price gap against the $95.00 used hammer drill is the number to think about. What the listing confirms: brushless motor, lithium-ion, 18V, keyless chuck, compact body. The is a fair description of a modern mid-range hammer drill rather than a flagship, and $119.99 new is a genuinely competitive price for that class of tool — comfortably below the $164.49 that a new open-box DeWalt three-speed hammer drill is asking on eBay today, and level with the $120.00 Milwaukee M18 FUEL. If your buy is a hammer drill and you are not buying used for a reason, this is the strongest value in the whole comparison.

Makita LXFD01 18V cordless drill, tool only — $32.91

The entry point. 1/2-inch chuck, 18V lithium-ion, a quoted 1,500 RPM, keyless chuck, and a listed 30-minute charge time. A is the cheapest genuine Makita-branded drill in the comparison by a distance, which makes it the sensible first purchase for someone building an 18V LXT platform out of a single drill. The catch is that LXFD01 is an older brushed design in this platform, so expect noticeably shorter runtime and less torque than the DDF487 or the XFD07 above. Treat it as a shop second drill rather than a main driver.

Beyond the drill: 18V batteries and a reciprocating saw

Two listings that tell you what happens to a platform as it matures. A is listed at $89.99, batteries only, and the seller is explicit that compatibility should be checked against your tool model before ordering. That is the correct way to sell a replacement pack and a useful reminder that pack nomenclature is not always tidy. For context on what those packs unlock, a at $57.29 is a 0-3,000 strokes-per-minute saw with a 1/2-inch stroke, tool-less blade changes, a dual-position paddle-or-trigger switch and a built-in LED, measuring 15-5/8 inches and weighing 3.9 lb with a battery. That saw is the reason the 5.0Ah two-pack is worth buying: the drill alone does not need that much capacity, the saw does.

DeWalt has the widest retail catalogue of the three and by far the largest volume of used inventory on eBay, which produces both the widest selection and the widest spread in condition quality. Yellow and black makes the tools instantly identifiable, and the platform splits into 20V MAX for general work, 12V MAX for compact jobsite and overhead work, and a long tail of 18V, 12V and 9.6V tools that predate all of it. The 12V MAX and 20V MAX lines use different packs, which catches people out constantly — they are separate platforms, not size variants of one.

DEWALT DCD805 20V MAX XR brushless impact drill/driver — $89.99

New, and the best-specified DeWalt body in the comparison. The has three operating modes — drilling, screwdriving and hammer drilling — on a brushless motor, with the listing claiming up to 57% longer runtime than a comparable brushed motor. The XR designation matters commercially: XR is the premium battery tier, so this tool is designed to be paired with high-capacity packs rather than the 1.5Ah bricks that ship in entry kits. Read the paired listing below for the second half of that picture, then read the battery section further down for actual pack prices.

DEWALT DCD805 20V MAX brushless hammer drill, tool only — $58.60

Same model number, roughly a third less, sold as a tool only. The listing quotes up to 2,000 RPM and 34,000 BPM for masonry work, and it is new. This is the single most striking price in the comparison: the identical model designation is available new at $58.60 and at $89.99 depending on the seller and the package contents. If you are shopping the 20V MAX platform, this is the reminder that DeWalt inventory is not uniform, and that two listings for the same tool can differ by more than the price of a battery. Check very carefully whether the listing is a bare tool or includes a pack.

DEWALT DCD996B 20V MAX XR 3-speed 1/2-inch hammer drill — $164.49

New open-box, and the most expensive drill in this comparison — which is exactly why it is worth including. Three speed settings is the feature that separates this from the single- or two-speed bodies above, and a 1/2-inch chuck plus a 20V MAX XR brushless motor puts it in the class of tool that trades describe as a serious framing drill. The listing is unusually well described for a power tool: original plastic packaging, 360-degree side handle, belt hook and manual included, tool only, with storage wear on the outer box. That kind of disclosure is what you should be looking for. The lesson for the comparison is that DeWalt's price ceiling is high, and you should not assume a DeWalt is a bargain simply because the brand is common.

DEWALT DCD799B 20V MAX Atomic series hammer drill — $45.00

Used, heavily used, but working, and tool only. The most spec-dense used listing in the article: the gives up to 552 units of work output, a tool head length of 6.49 inches described as the shortest 20V MAX hammer drill, up to 1,650 RPM, up to 28,050 beats per minute, a 1/2-inch ratcheting chuck for bit retention, and an on-tool LED. That 6.49-inch head figure is the number to remember, because it is what makes this the right drill for a joist bay or a tight cavity rather than a general-purpose body. The honest note is in the listing itself: heavily used, and battery and charger sold separately. At $45.00 that is a lot of hammer drill for the money.

DEWALT DW960 cordless right-angle drill — $64.00

The specialist body, and a good reminder that a head-to-head on torque figures alone will miss real differences. A right-angle drill puts the chuck at 90 degrees to the body so you can drive screws straight into a joist or a stud without a stubby extension or an offset right-angle bit. The listing describes it as a clean used 18V angle drill that works great, with battery and charger not included — so factor in packs, and note that an 18V tool is not automatically a 20V MAX tool, so confirm which pack it takes before you plan a kit.

DEWALT DCD701 12V MAX brushless drill/driver — $59.00

Worth including because it demonstrates the 12V MAX platform's positioning. Three-eighth-inch brushless drill/driver, 330 in-lbs of maximum torque at 1,500 RPM, from an independent reseller who is explicit that they are not an authorised dealer and that manufacturer warranty and promotional offers may not apply. The carries that disclosure, and it is standard, honest, and does mean your recourse on a fault is the return policy rather than a warranty. A 3/8-inch, 330 in-lbs tool is a genuinely different machine from a 1/2-inch, 500-plus in-lbs drill: it is for overhead work, cabinetry and confined spaces where weight matters more than force.

Batteries: the real price of a DeWalt platform

Tools are the cheap part. A is listed at $56.99, and the seller's own description makes the honest point about what you are paying for: up to 50% more power than traditional DeWALT batteries, an overmoulded base for impact resistance, and an integrated LED state-of-charge indicator. Above that, a is $68.00 for the pair, still sealed. That 8.0Ah pack is the one to buy if you own a rotary hammer or a circular saw, because a 4Ah pack will do most drilling work all day and then disappoint you on anything with real resistance. Note the 20V MAX name and the 18V name are not interchangeable within DeWalt either.

DeWalt DCD780 20V MAX 1/2-inch cordless drill — $27.99

Used, tested and fully functional, and this is the cheapest genuine 1/2-inch drill in the entire comparison. The DCD780 is an older brushed design in the 20V MAX line, which is exactly why it is so cheap — the brushed motors are the ones being cleared out. Buy it as a second body, a jobsite beater, or a dedicated messy-trade drill, and do not expect it to keep pace with a brushless XR tool on runtime. For under $30 with the motor verified working, it is difficult to argue with.

Milwaukee Electric Tool has been building in Wisconsin since 1924, and red and black is now the most recognisable tool livery on a jobsite. M18 arrived in the late 2000s and is the platform to watch if you want the newest accessory ecosystem and the largest third-party body market, because the post-fit M18 slide is the easiest for clone manufacturers to copy accurately. The trade-off is pricing. Milwaukee holds the highest resale values of the three brands, and on eBay that shows up as new M18 tools clustering at the top of this price range while used Makita and DeWalt inventory floods the bottom.

Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2-inch brushless drill/driver (2904-20) — $120.00

New, and the flagship offering here: M18 FUEL, AutoStop, 1/2-inch keyless chuck, brushless motor, sold under the 2904-20 designation. AutoStop is the genuinely useful feature rather than a marketing flourish — it detects that a fastener is seated and stops driving, which stops you driving a screw head into a finished face and stops the driver throwing itself across the floor. The is the same money as the new Makita brushless hammer drill and about a third less than the new open-box DCD996B, and it is the strongest one-tool platform entry in the comparison for anyone who does carpentry and cabinetry.

Milwaukee 2904-20 M18 brushless hammer drill with 3Ah battery — $99.95

The same 2904-20, used, tested and working, and the listing is refreshingly blunt about what you are not getting: blemishes, previous owner markings, no charger, no auxiliary handle, and explicitly no guarantee on the remaining life of the used battery. The 3.0Ah pack is included. For $99.95 you get a brushless hammer drill with a battery, which is a hard combination to beat. The 3.0Ah capacity is the limitation — fine for drilling, thin for a long day of big fasteners — so plan on a second pack if this is a primary tool rather than a occasional one.

Milwaukee M18 1/2-inch compact drill/driver (3601-20) — $85.00

550 in-lbs of maximum torque in a compact body, with a 1/2-inch keyless chuck, brushless motor and lithium-ion power. This is the listing to look at if you are after the compact end of M18, where the selling point is the same 1/2-inch chuck capacity as a full-size drill in a shorter package. The listing also notes the aesthetics — red and black, obviously — which sounds trivial until you realise it matters for one genuine practical reason: on a shared jobsite, colour-coding is how everyone knows whose tool is whose. At $85.00 this is the mid-M18 entry point and a reasonable second body alongside a hammer drill.

Milwaukee 2606-22CT M18 drill/driver kit — $129.99

The boxed kit route, and the most expensive way in. The is a drill/driver, red battery and charger, in the 22CT configuration. Kits like this are the worst value per dollar in the whole article, and the maths is easy: $129.99 for a kit normally works out to roughly what a bare body plus a single good battery costs separately, and you end up with one 3.0Ah-class pack instead of two. Buy the kit only if you want the case and the guaranteed-matched battery-and-charger set, and treat the saving as the cost of your convenience.

Milwaukee M12 drill/driver bundle with battery, charger and bag — $99.99

Used, and this one is interesting because it includes the small-chassis M12 platform rather than M18. The is listed as: a 3/8-inch M12 drill/driver, an M12 1.5Ah battery, a two-port M12/M18 charger and a contractor bag measuring roughly 16 by 9 by 10 inches with scuff marks and scratches. The two-port charger is the underrated item in that lot, because it charges both platforms and means you can keep one charger instead of two. M12 is the right platform for overhead work, tight cavities and anything where a 1.5Ah pack and a small body genuinely help.

The third-party M18-compatible route, honestly labelled

A is listed at $81.10 from a third-party brand, not Milwaukee. The listing is honest about what it is: 792 in-lbs (90 N·m) of torque, 20+3 torque settings across 0-2,150 RPM, a 1/2-inch brushless driver/drill, battery not included, aimed at DIY use in wood, walls and plastic. Read that as a useful spare body and nothing more. It has no Milwaukee warranty, its torque claim is a seller claim, and it is not the tool you build a platform around. The sensible use is a cheap body to pair with packs you already own, so you have two drivers instead of one.

Milwaukee M18 accessories show up on the same batteries

Worth noting how far the platform reaches on eBay, because it affects what happens to the batteries you are about to buy. A is $99.99, and a is a used $65.00 with a 40W dual-channel amplifier, a six-speaker array and Bluetooth pairing from up to 100 feet. The flood light is a sensible buy if you already own M18 packs, because a 2,000-lumen clamp light is a genuine productivity tool and it is the kind of purchase that justifies a high-capacity battery. The speaker is a jobsite luxury, and we are including it only because it demonstrates that M18 reaches far past drilling — which is the actual argument for choosing a platform with breadth.

Read the table as a shape, not a verdict. Every one of these prices was live on September 30, 2026 and every one of them can move by a factor of two within a week. What does not move is the structural picture: DeWalt offers the most used inventory and the widest range and therefore the lowest entry price and the most variable quality; Makita offers the deepest catalogue and the best tendency to sell complete used units with a battery in the box; Milwaukee offers the newest, most compact, most tightly supported ecosystem and the least price relief. The chassis colours are red and black for Milwaukee, yellow and black for DeWalt, and teal and black for Makita, and once you own one you can identify the brand of a stray tool on a shared site from across the room.

Makita 18V LXT. In its favour: the deepest catalogue of the three, the best used-deal shape because batteries often come with the tool, and the strongest new-price-per-tool in this comparison at $119.99 for a new brushless hammer drill. Against it: the cheap end of the platform is still dominated by older brushed designs, and the 5.0Ah pack pricing is not as sharp as DeWalt's. The DDF487 at $64.99 and the XFD07-with-battery at $49.99 are the two listings we would actually buy from here.

DeWalt 20V MAX. In its favour: enormous selection, the deepest used market, genuinely cheap battery pricing at 4Ah and 8.0Ah, and the widest catalogue of genuinely specialist bodies — a right-angle drill, a 3-speed hammer drill, an Atomic-series short-head hammer drill. Against it: enormous variation in listing quality, brand-new DeWALT-branded stock that is not actually authentic DeWalt at bargain prices, and the 12V MAX versus 20V MAX confusion that catches nearly everyone. Buy DeWalt with more attention to the seller than the colour.

Milwaukee M18. In its favour: AutoStop on the FUEL driver, genuinely compact bodies, the broadest accessory range, and the best resale value of the three if you ever sell a tool on. Against it: the highest entry price, the least discounting, and 3.0Ah-class batteries that will not carry a heavy day. The $120.00 FUEL 2904-20 and the $99.95 used 2904-20 with a 3Ah pack are the two to watch.

The verdict. If you already own a platform, buy into it — the battery is the expensive part and the second tool is where you get value. If you own nothing and want the cheapest legitimate entry, take the as a beater and treat it as a throwaway, or step up to the if you want masonry capability for the price of a couple of batteries. If you want one good drill and you want new, the and the are the same money, and you should pick by feel and by which battery ecosystem you can find cheap locally. If you are building a whole kit on eBay, buy bare bodies and one high-capacity pack, not a boxed kit — you will get twice as much drill for the money. And if you are buying used, work through the condition checklist first; our refurbished-tool buying guide covers what to ask a seller and what a return policy does and does not give you.

One last reminder, because it applies to every number on this page: eBay prices change and vary by seller and condition. Shipping, taxes and the particular structure of a listing all move the final number, and the listings referenced here were confirmed on September 30, 2026. Check the current price, read the condition notes, and confirm what is actually in the box before you buy.