
Which Cordless Screwdriver Brand Wins?
This head-to-head test of 17 cordless screwdriver options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.

Skil
Price shown in test: $25
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
Best in 1 of 8 measurements, including Bit Retention.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Weight
- 1Warrior348 g
- 2Bauer380 g
- 3Hi-Spec310 g
lightest in the lineup
- 4Hychika381 g
- 5Skil372 g
- 6Craftsman422 g
heaviest yet at the time of testing
- 7Black+Decker351 g
- 8Neu Master389 g
- 9Vastar517 g
heaviest yet at the time of testing
- 10NoCry567 g
- 11Milwaukee969 g
heaviest yet at the time of testing
- 12Worx527 g
- 13Metabo HPT474 g
- 14DeWalt506 g
- 15Ryobi412 g
- 16Hercules997 g
heaviest in the lineup
- 17Makita541 g
No Load (rpm)
- 1Warrioralmost175 RPM
- 2Bauer180 RPM
- 3Hi-Spec209 RPM
most yet at the time of testing
- 4Hychika
very close to 180 RPM
- 5Skil206 RPM
- 6Craftsman171 RPM
slowest yet at the time of testing
- 7Black+Deckerclose to178 RPM
- 8Neu Master
very close to 200 RPM
- 9Vastar335 RPM
most yet at the time of testing
- 10NoCry240 RPM2nd
moved into second place at the time of testing
- 11Milwaukee
variable speed, 45 to 496 RPM
- 12Worxjust about214 RPM
- 13Metabo HPT224 RPM
in first gear, 673 RPM in second gear (later recap in the same transcript states 763 RPM for what appears to be the same figure)
- 14DeWalt459 RPM
about 40 RPM slower than the Milwaukee
- 15Ryobi
very close to 189 RPM
- 16Hercules386 RPM
in first gear, 1,259 RPM in second gear, fastest in the lineup
- 17Makita176 RPM
in first gear, 558 RPM in second gear
Noise (dB)
- 1Warrior72.7 decibels
- 2Bauer73.9 decibels
- 3Hi-Spec77.5 decibels
loudest yet at the time of testing
- 4Hychika72.9 decibels
- 5Skil76.3 decibels
- 6Craftsman73.3 decibels
- 7Black+Decker68.2 decibels
quietest yet at the time of testing
- 8Neu Master76.7 decibels
- 9Vastar68.9 decibels
- 10NoCry76.1 decibels
a lot louder than the Vastar
- 11Milwaukee74.1 decibels
- 12Worx66.5 decibels
least noise yet at the time of testing, tied overall quietest with the DeWalt
- 13Metabo HPT71.5 decibels
- 14DeWalt66.5 decibels
tied quietest overall with the Worx
- 15Ryobi66.7 decibels
- 16Hercules78.8 decibels
loudest in the lineup
- 17Makita69.1 decibels
Max Working Torque
- 1Warrior20 in lbs
came to a gradual stop
- 2Bauer
ran out of steam at 20 in lbs
- 3Hi-Spec13 in lbs
really struggled
- 4Hychika23 in lbs
took the lead at the time
- 5Skil29 in lbs
strongest yet at the time of testing
- 6Craftsman24 in lbs
5 in lbs less than the Skil
- 7Black+Decker25 in lbs2nd
moved into second place behind the Skil
- 8Neu Master25 in lbs
tied with the Black+Decker
- 9Vastar24 in lbs
extra voltage wasn't enough
- 10NoCry42 in lbs3rd
took the lead at 13 in lbs more than the Skil; finished third overall behind the 64 in lbs Milwaukee/Hercules tie
- 11Milwaukee61 in lbs1st
on a 2 amp battery; retested at 64 in lbs on a 4 amp battery, tied for first overall with the Hercules 2 amp low-range figure of 64 in lbs
- 12Worx16 in lbs
ran out of steam very early
- 13Metabo HPT8 in lbs
in high range, ran out of steam quickly; 22 in lbs in low range
- 14DeWalt21 in lbs
- 15Ryobi12 in lbs
last place, described as taking last place from 'the Hitech'
- 16Hercules30 in lbs1st
in high range; tied the Milwaukee's 4 amp figure at 64 in lbs in low range on a 2 amp battery, tied for first overall
- 17Makita12 in lbs4th
in high range, ran out of steam very quickly; 32 in lbs in low gear, fourth overall behind the Milwaukee/Hercules 64 in lbs tie and the NoCry's 42 in lbs
Drywall Screw Avg Time
- 1Warrior4.27 seconds
average, lost hold of the bit after the job was finished
- 2Bauer3.85 seconds
average (4.0s first screw, ~3.8s each on screws 2 and 3)
- 3Hi-Spec3.5 seconds
average (3.2s first screw, 3.65s each on screws 2 and 3), moved into the lead
- 4Hychika4.17
4.17, 4.06 seconds on the three screws; faster than the Warrior but slower than the Bauer and Hi-Spec
- 5Skil3.32 seconds
average, moved into the lead
- 6Craftsman4.53 seconds
average, slowest yet at the time of testing
- 7Black+Decker4.1 seconds
average
- 8Neu Master3.77 seconds
average, but lost hold of the driver bit two out of three times
- 9Vastar1.19 seconds
average, by far the fastest yet at the time of testing
- 10NoCry2.43 seconds2nd
average, second place
- 11Milwaukee1.1 seconds2nd
average, second overall behind the Hercules high gear at 0.5 seconds
- 12Worx3.84 seconds
average
- 13Metabo HPT
could not fully sink the screw head in high gear; 2.99 seconds average in low gear, fastest 4-volt screwdriver tested
- 14DeWalt1.53 seconds3rd
average, finished third overall behind the Hercules (0.5s) and Milwaukee (1.1s)
- 15Ryobi3.38 seconds
average
- 16Hercules1/2 second
average in high gear, fastest in the lineup; 1.3 seconds average in low gear, almost as fast as the Milwaukee
- 17Makita
could not fully seat the drywall screw in high gear; 3.3 seconds average in low gear
Five Minute Torture
- 1Warrior
out of gas at just over 3 minutes, did not survive the full test
- 2Bauer
survived the entire 5 minutes
- 3Hi-Spec
powered down repeatedly if it didn't get to speed quickly enough; after a couple dozen attempts it survived the entire 5 minutes
- 4Hychika
no problem getting up to speed and surviving the entire 5 minutes
- 5Skil
survived the entire 5 minutes, great job for a compact screwdriver
- 6Craftsman
survived the entire 5 minutes but was pretty worn out by the end
- 7Black+Decker
no problem surviving the entire 5 minutes
- 8Neu Master
survived the entire 5 minutes
- 9Vastar
powered down repeatedly if it didn't reach RPM quickly enough out of the gate; survived the entire 5 minutes after several attempts
- 10NoCry
very easy work of surviving the entire 5 minutes
- 11Milwaukee
held very high RPM for the entire 5 minutes
- 12Worx
survived the entire test, not as fast as some of the others
- 13Metabo HPT
performed well, survived
- 14DeWalt
a little tricky to get going but held very good speed throughout the entire 5 minutes
- 15Ryobi
powered down for several seconds after each of several attempts; pass or fail not explicitly stated in the transcript
- 16Hercules
maintained very good speed throughout the entire test in low gear
- 17Makita
performed well throughout the entire 5 minute test
Bit Retention
- 1Warrior548 g
- 2Bauer608 g
- 3Hi-Spec483 g
let go early
- 4Hychikaalmost3,000 g
via its locking quick-change chuck
- 5Skil685 g
best of the magnetized bit holders at the time of testing
- 6Craftsmanalmost900 g
- 7Black+Decker981 g
- 8Neu Master309 g
struggled badly on this test
- 9Vastar
locking bit holder, offers plenty of strength, no gram figure given
- 10NoCry480 g
a little weak
- 11Milwaukee
locking bit holder, held on just fine, no gram figure given
- 12Worx738 g
- 13Metabo HPT
locking bit holder, held on just fine, no gram figure given
- 14DeWalt
locking bit holder, held on just fine, no gram figure given
- 15Ryobi886 g
performed well despite earlier struggles
- 16Hercules
locking bit holder, performed very well, no gram figure given
- 17Makita
locking bit holder, performed very well, no gram figure given
Breakaway Torque
- 1Warrior24 in lbs
- 2Bauer20 in lbs
gave up sooner than the Warrior
- 3Hi-Spec35 in lbs
immediately powered down after
- 4Hychika28 in lbs
- 5Skil37 in lbs
most breakaway torque yet at the time of testing
- 6Craftsman31 in lbs
- 7Black+Decker27 in lbs
about the same as the Hychika
- 8Neu Master18 in lbs
gave up early
- 9Vastar60 in lbs3rd
immediately powered down; finished third overall behind the Hercules (109) and Milwaukee (105)
- 10NoCry50 in lbs2nd
continued working after the initial impact
- 11Milwaukee105 in lbs2nd
second overall behind the Hercules at 109
- 12Worx16 in lbs
least breakaway torque yet at the time of testing
- 14DeWalt47 in lbs
well above average
- 15Ryobi17 in lbs
about the same as the Worx
- 16Hercules109 in lbs
in low gear, barely edges out the Milwaukee, highest breakaway torque in the lineup
- 17Makita46 in lbs
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
All measurements (10 more)+
Voltage
- 1Warrior4.8 volts
- 2Bauer4 volt
- 3Hi-Spec3.6 volt
USB charging
- 4Hychika4 volt
2 amp hour, 36 piece accessory set
- 5Skil4 volt
USB charging
- 6Craftsman4 volt
- 7Black+Decker4 volt
(claimed)
- 8Neu Master4 volt
(claimed)
- 9Vastar7.2 volt
- 10NoCry7.2 volt
- 12Worx4 volt
semi-automatic driver
- 13Metabo HPT3.6 volt
two lithium batteries included, two-speed transmission
- 16Hercules12 volt
like the Milwaukee
- 17Makita7.2 volt
lithium
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 14DeWaltnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
Low Torque Clutch
- 8Neu Master3 in lbs
lowest clutch setting recorded at the time of testing
- 9Vastar10 in lbs
very poor torque control
- 10NoCry4 in lbs2nd
moved into second place
- 11Milwaukee
performed the best yet, torque too low for the torque meter to measure
- 13Metabo HPT0 in lbs
- 14DeWalt0 in lbs
- 16Hercules4 in lbs
- 17Makita0 in lbs
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
Claimed (rpm)
- 7Black+Decker
claims 180 RPM
- 8Neu Master
claims 200 RPM
- 9Vastar
claims up to 320 RPM
- 10NoCryup to230 RPM
claimed
- 11Milwaukeeup to500 RPM
- 15Ryobi
claims up to 200 RPM
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 14DeWaltnot tested
- 16Herculesnot tested
- 17Makitanot tested
Claimed Torque
- 7Black+Decker
claims 35 in lbs of torque
- 8Neu Master
claims up to 53 in lbs of torque
- 9Vastar
manufacturer claims 48 in lbs of torque
- 10NoCryup to53 in lbs
of torque claimed
- 16Hercules
advertised up to 312 in lbs of torque
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 14DeWaltnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
- 17Makitanot tested
Clutch Settings
- 13Metabo HPT21
clutch settings
- 14DeWalt15
clutch settings
- 16Hercules17
clutch settings
- 17Makita21
position clutch
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 8Neu Masternot tested
- 9Vastarnot tested
- 10NoCrynot tested
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
Kit
- 14DeWalt
two batteries and a charger included
- 17Makita
two batteries and a charger included
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 8Neu Masternot tested
- 9Vastarnot tested
- 10NoCrynot tested
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
- 16Herculesnot tested
System
- 11Milwaukee
M12
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 8Neu Masternot tested
- 9Vastarnot tested
- 10NoCrynot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 14DeWaltnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
- 16Herculesnot tested
- 17Makitanot tested
Mechanism
- 14DeWalt
gyroscopic screwdriver, unique among the lineup
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 8Neu Masternot tested
- 9Vastarnot tested
- 10NoCrynot tested
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
- 16Herculesnot tested
- 17Makitanot tested
Feature
- 15Ryobi
pivoting head for increased access
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 8Neu Masternot tested
- 9Vastarnot tested
- 10NoCrynot tested
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 14DeWaltnot tested
- 16Herculesnot tested
- 17Makitanot tested
No Load RPM Range
- 16Hercules0
to 400 RPM claimed low range, up to 1,500 RPM claimed high range
- 1Warriornot tested
- 2Bauernot tested
- 3Hi-Specnot tested
- 4Hychikanot tested
- 5Skilnot tested
- 6Craftsmannot tested
- 7Black+Deckernot tested
- 8Neu Masternot tested
- 9Vastarnot tested
- 10NoCrynot tested
- 11Milwaukeenot tested
- 12Worxnot tested
- 13Metabo HPTnot tested
- 14DeWaltnot tested
- 15Ryobinot tested
- 17Makitanot tested
How it was tested
- no-load RPM
- sound level in decibels
- low-torque clutch control
- maximum working torque
- breakaway torque
- drywall screw driving speed, three screws
- 5-minute continuous-load torture test
- bit retention force
Brand head-to-head scoreboards featuring this test
Data notes and caveats
Ends with segmented per-use-case picks rather than one overall winner: budget = Skil, mid-range = Vastar, best value for M12 owners = Milwaukee, and a closing overall endorsement of the Hercules ('outperformed the Milwaukee in just about every category'); per spec this is treated as winner:null with the segment picks preserved in each product's notes and budgetPick set to Skil. Several brand names required resolution against the description's Products Tested list: 'New Master' to Neu Master, 'Fastar'/'Vaststar' to Vastar, 'HiKOKI' (bit retention section only) to Hychika by testing order and mechanism, and 'the Hitech' to Hi-Spec by elimination. The Metabo HPT's high-gear RPM is given twice with different digits (673 then 763), both figures preserved and flagged rather than picking one. No meta chapters were present to cross-check against (chapters: null).


