Which Angle Grinder Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 10 angle grinder options head to head. Milwaukee M18 Fuel came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel
Price shown in test: $229 (stated the same price as the Makita when introduced; the closing verdict segment instead says $220 for the Milwaukee, an inconsistency in the transcript, recorded as heard, not corrected)
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Ridgid Octane
Price shown in test: $119 (tool only, not battery and charger)
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Makita (knockoff)
Price shown in test: $55 (closing recap widens this to around 55 to 60 dollars)
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“So, which brand won the showdown? The Milwaukee did a great job just blasting through that rebar in a very fast time.”
Placed top three in 1 of 5 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Weight
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel4 lb
14.3 oz (2,221 g), the heaviest tool in the lineup by individual weight
- 2Ridgid Octane4 lb
0.5 oz (1,830 g)
- 3Makita (knockoff)3 lb
8.9 oz (1,616 g), 57 oz in the weight recap ranking
- 4DeWalt3 lb
9.7 oz (1,642 g), 58 oz in the weight recap ranking
- 5Craftsman3 lb
10.7 oz (1,667 g), 59 oz in the weight recap ranking
- 6Makita4 lb
5.9 oz (1,984 g), the heaviest individual tool weight stated, though not listed among the top 5 lightest in the weight recap
- 7Bosch3 lb
7.3 oz (1,570 g), 55 oz in the weight recap ranking, nearly the lightest
- 8Metabo HPT3 lb
14.8 oz (1,781 g)
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V3 lb
11.9 oz (1,699 g)
- 10Workpro3 lb
5.9 oz (1,529 g), 54 oz in the weight recap ranking, the lightest tool tested
Noise (dB)
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel88 dB
- 2Ridgid Octane84 dB
- 3Makita (knockoff)87 dB
- 4DeWalt91 dB
tied with the Craftsman for loudest
- 5Craftsman91 dB
tied with DeWalt for loudest
- 6Makita87 dB
tied with the knockoff Makita
- 7Bosch90 dB2nd
- 8Metabo HPT80 dB
tied with the Workpro for quietest
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V83 dB
- 10Workpro80 dB
tied with the Metabo HPT for quietest
RPM Claimed Vs Actual
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel
claims up to 9,000 no-load RPM, topped out at 8,580 RPM
- 2Ridgid Octane
claims 10,000 no-load RPM, topped out at 9,862 RPM, the highest no-load RPM in the lineup and closest to its claim
- 3Makita (knockoff)
claims up to 11,000 no-load RPM, actual 8,667 RPM, over 2,000 RPM short of claim
- 4DeWalt
claims 9,000 no-load RPM, actual 7,464 RPM, over 1,500 RPM short
- 5Craftsman
claims a minimum speed of 8,000 RPM, came up over 1,000 RPM short (exact resulting figure not stated in the transcript), the lowest no-load RPM in the lineup
- 6Makita
claims 8,500 no-load RPM, actual 7,238 RPM
- 7Bosch
no specific claimed RPM figure given in the transcript, topped out at 9,032 RPM, described as better than average
- 8Metabo HPT
claims 9,000 no-load RPM, actual 8,046 RPM, over 900 RPM short
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V
claims 9,200 no-load RPM, came up about 800 RPM short (exact resulting figure not stated)
- 10Workpro
claims an effective speed of 7,500 RPM, actual no-load speed nearly 8,200 RPM, one of the few brands to exceed its own claimed figure
Cut Speed 3 Passes Avg
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel6.94
6.64, 6.79 seconds, average cut speed 6.8 seconds, the fastest of all 10 grinders
- 2Ridgid Octane7.962nd
7.4, 7.96 seconds, average cut speed 7.8 seconds, 2nd fastest overall
- 3Makita (knockoff)10.29
9.83, 11.25 seconds, average cut speed of 10.5 seconds over the three cuts, stated explicitly by the narrator
- 4DeWalt9.173rd
7.91, 8.97 seconds, average cut speed 8.7 seconds, 3rd fastest overall despite the lowest RPM of the top performers
- 5Craftsman9.43
9.02, 9.63 seconds, average cut speed 9.4 seconds
- 6Makita9.174th
9.73, 9.73 seconds, average cut speed 9.5 seconds, moved into 4th place behind the Craftsman at the time
- 7Bosch9.73
9.78, 9.94 seconds, average cut speed 9.8 seconds
- 8Metabo HPT10.69
10.54, 10.95 seconds; the narrator did not state an explicit 3 cut average for this brand the way it did for every other brand, unlike the others
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V16.07
15.87, 16.93 seconds, average cut speed 16.3 seconds, by far the slowest of the grinders that completed the 5 lb cut test
- 10Workpro
failed the standard 5 lb pressure cut test twice at only 1.46 seconds each attempt; retested at a reduced 2.5 lb of pressure instead, where it finally completed cuts at 30.9 seconds, 69 seconds (restarted after stalling at 52 seconds), and 70 seconds (after 4 restarts)
Torque Test Max Pressure Survived
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel
easily survived all the way to 20 lb and completed the rebar cut in 14.5 seconds, the fastest of the 5 grinders that met the 20 lb for 10 seconds bar
- 2Ridgid Octane
made it through 17.5 lb, then held very high RPM under load at 20 lb but gave up at 21 seconds before finishing the full cut, still counted among the 5 grinders that survived 20 lb of pressure for at least 10 seconds
- 3Makita (knockoff)
handled 5, 7.5, and 10 lb with no problem, barely survived 12.5 lb (tied for 2nd best of the brands that failed before 20 lb, alongside the Bosch), then failed at 15 lb, giving up 2.7 seconds into that pass
- 4DeWalt
made very easy work of 17.5 lb, then lost blade speed at 20 lb but never gave up, finishing the cut in 65 seconds
- 5Craftsman
made very easy work of 17.5 lb, then at 20 lb lost a lot of blade speed but refused to give up, finishing the cut in 85 seconds, one of only 5 grinders to clear the 20 lb for 10 seconds bar
- 6Makita
made it all the way to 20 lb, holding RPM as well as the DeWalt, finishing the cut in 35 seconds, one of only 5 grinders to clear the 20 lb for 10 seconds bar
- 7Bosch
survived 10 and 12.5 lb (tied for 2nd best of the brands that failed before 20 lb, alongside the knockoff Makita), then failed at 15 lb after about 3 seconds
- 8Metabo HPT
made it through 15 lb and appeared to clear 17.5 lb, then failed at 20 lb after only 4 seconds
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V
bogged down heavily at 7.5 lb, then failed outright at 10 lb in less than 2 seconds
- 10Workpro
barely survived 5 lb, then failed at 7.5 lb in under 2 seconds, the worst torque result of any grinder tested
Blade Stop Speed
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel1.56 seconds
- 2Ridgid Octane3.03 seconds
- 3Makita (knockoff)4.35 seconds
- 4DeWalt1.31 seconds
aided by a built in kick brake
- 5Craftsman2.73 seconds
the fastest stop of the non-brake equipped grinders despite having the slowest no-load RPM in the lineup
- 6Makita0.8 seconds
by far the fastest of any grinder tested
- 7Bosch3.44 seconds
- 8Metabo HPT7.45 seconds
by far the slowest stop time, more than twice as long as the top two leaders
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18Vright at4 seconds
- 10Workpro4.5 seconds
slower than the knockoff Makita despite the Workpro's lower no-load RPM
Vibration
- 1Milwaukee M18 Fuel40 m
/s2
- 2Ridgid Octane17.6 m
/s2, by far the lowest vibration of any grinder tested
- 3Makita (knockoff)36.5 m
/s2
- 4DeWalt81 m
/s2
- 5Craftsman62 m
/s2, tied with the Workpro
- 6Makita67 m
/s2, more than the knockoff Makita
- 7Bosch109 m
/s2, by far the worst vibration of any grinder tested, described as a really bad case of the shakes
- 8Metabo HPT38 m3rd
/s2, 3rd best
- 9Ryobi One+ HP 18V49 m
/s2
- 10Workpro62 m
/s2, tied with the Craftsman
How it was tested
- cutting speed through half inch rebar under 5 lb of pressure, 3 passes per grinder
- no-load RPM claimed vs measured on a fully charged battery
- noise level in decibels
- tool weight
- torque/stall resistance: cutting a 1/4 inch grinding wheel through rebar under progressively increasing pressure from 5 lb up to 20 lb
- blade stop / brake speed with a 1/4 inch grinding wheel
- vibration in m/s2 with a 1/4 inch grinding wheel
“So, which brand won the showdown? The Milwaukee did a great job just blasting through that rebar in a very fast time.”
Brand head-to-head scoreboards featuring this test
Data notes and caveats
Clean transcript with no significant brand name garbling; all 10 brands (Ridgid, Ryobi, Workpro, Bosch, DeWalt, Craftsman, Makita, Metabo HPT, knockoff Makita, Milwaukee) match the description's Products Tested list exactly. Products array is ordered by the primary declared test, rebar cut speed at 5 lb, best to worst; the video does not provide one single combined score across all five sub-tests, so this order should not be read as an overall composite rank. Narrator gives a clear three tier verdict: Milwaukee as outright winner (fastest cutter, but pricier), Ridgid as the value alternative (nearly as fast, notably cheaper), and the knockoff Makita as the budget pick for anyone already on the Makita battery platform. One price inconsistency: the Milwaukee is introduced at $229 (same price as the genuine Makita) but the closing verdict segment calls it $220, recorded as heard rather than corrected. The Workpro is the only brushed motor grinder and the only one that failed the standard 5 lb cut test outright, forcing a methodology change to a reduced 2.5 lb pressure for its cut timing, so its cut times are not directly comparable to the other 9 brands' 5 lb results. The Metabo HPT was tested with a smaller 3 amp hour battery instead of the 4 amp hour battery used on every other brand, a stated methodology caveat.
