Impact Wrench 2020 Test: Which Brand Wins?
In our 2020 test we compared 5 impact wrench options head to head. Milwaukee came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping milwaukee m18 fuel impact wrench, milwaukee fuel impact wrench, milwaukee impact wrenches and m18 fuel high torque impact wrench land here for the head to head that settles it.
Milwaukee
Price shown in test: $156 for just the tool, or $299 for the full kit; the narrator's closing statement ('the milwaukee is the most expensive brand') treats it as the most expensive of the 5 based on the kit price
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Ridgid
Price shown in test: $168
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Ridgid
Price shown in test: $168
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“So which impact wrench won this showdown? Definitely the Milwaukee, but the Milwaukee is the most expensive brand. On the other hand, the Ridgid seems like a great value considering performance and price. DeWalt definitely seems like a third place finish.”
Best in 2 of 8 measurements, including Max Forward Torque (psi) and Max Reverse Torque (psi).
Placed top three in 4 of 8 measurements.
Placed top three in 4 of 8 measurements.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Spec
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL3/8in
12V, brushless motor, claimed up to 250 ft-lb of nut-busting torque, 4 drive modes plus auto-shutoff, battery level indicator, made specs not separately stated
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit3-year
warranty (packaging also references a lifetime warranty, but closer inspection shows 3 years is correct), brushless motor, 4 drive modes (Auto 0-2800 claimed, Low 0-850 claimed, Medium 0-2100 claimed, High 0-2800 claimed), no tool-mounted battery level indicator (but the battery itself has one), made in China
- 3DeWalt
brushless motor, claimed 30 percent more torque and 17 percent shorter than a comparison model, 3-year warranty, claimed max fastening torque 125 ft-lb and max breakaway torque 200 ft-lb, precision wrench mode in addition to normal impacting mode, made in China (tool), made in China/Thailand (charger), made in China/Japan/South Korea/Malaysia (batteries)
- 4Ingersoll Rand3/8in
12V, brushed motor, only one forward and one reverse speed (no multi-mode selector), LED light only stays on while the trigger is held, 3-year warranty, made in Taiwan (tool and battery), made in China (charger)
- 5AC Delco3/8in
12V, brushed motor, compact and ergonomic design, claimed max torque 90 ft-lb, made in Taiwan
Weight
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL39.5 oz2nd
(2 lb 7.7 oz / 1125 g), second heaviest of the 5
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit48.05 oz
(3 lb 0.5 oz / 1375 g), heaviest of the 5
- 3DeWalt35.5 oz2nd
(2 lb 3.5 oz / 1006 g), second lightest of the 5
- 4Ingersoll Rand37.3 oz3rd
(2 lb 5.3 oz / 1057 g), third heaviest of the 5
- 5AC Delco33.5 oz
(2 lb 1.5 oz / 949 g), lightest of the 5
Length
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL4.8 in2nd
second shortest of the 5
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit4.3 in
shortest of the 5
- 3DeWalt5.1 in3rd
third shortest of the 5
- 4Ingersoll Rand5.9 in2nd
second longest of the 5
- 5AC Delco6.25 in
longest of the 5, described as 'not very compact'
No Load RPM
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL
best (lowest) low-trigger RPM control of all 5 at only 31 RPM; mode 1 claimed 1200 RPM, actual 1038 (162 short); mode 3 claimed 2700 RPM, actual 2368 (332 short); mode 2's actual RPM is not stated in the transcript, a genuine gap
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit
low-trigger RPM control of 110 (worse than DeWalt's 73, better than Ingersoll Rand's 214); low mode claimed 850, actual 890 (exceeded its rating); high mode claimed 2800, actual 2756 (44 short)
- 3DeWalt
low-trigger RPM control of 73 (better than ACDelco's 137); low mode claimed 1000, actual 959 (a little short); high mode claimed 2850, actual 2840 (only 10 short)
- 4Ingersoll Rand
worst low-trigger RPM control of all 5 at 214; max RPM 2641 (no claimed rating given for comparison)
- 5AC Delco
claimed 0-2400 RPM; lowest achievable trigger RPM was 137 (worst low-speed control besides Ingersoll Rand); actual max RPM 2526, beating its own claimed rating
Noise Level
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL79 dB2nd
unloaded (second loudest), 99 dB in impact mode
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit82 dB
unloaded, loudest of the 5; 102 dB in impact mode, also loudest
- 3DeWalt75 dB
unloaded (slightly louder than ACDelco), 100 dB in impact mode
- 4Ingersoll Rand74 dB
unloaded, tied with ACDelco for quietest; 99 dB in impact mode, tied with Milwaukee for quietest in impact mode
- 5AC Delco74 dB
unloaded, tied with Ingersoll Rand for quietest; 100 dB in impact mode
Max Forward Torque (psi)
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL1750 psi
best of the 5 (250 psi more than Ridgid)
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit1500 psi2nd
second best (better than DeWalt)
- 3DeWalt900 psi
twice as much as ACDelco
- 4Ingersoll Rand675 psi
better than ACDelco but not enough to lead
- 5AC Delco450 psi
the weakest of all 5, described as struggling
Max Reverse Torque (psi)
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL2000 psi
best of the 5 in both directions
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit1725 psi2nd
an improvement over its own forward-mode result
- 3DeWalt1000 psi
slightly better than its own forward-mode result
- 4Ingersoll Rand650 psi
very close to its own forward-mode result
- 5AC Delco275 psi
again the weakest of all 5
Lug Nut Race Test
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL
beat Ridgid three times in a row in head-to-head races (all very close)
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit
beat DeWalt and Ingersoll Rand decisively in head-to-head races, but lost three times in a row to Milwaukee
- 3DeWalt
beat ACDelco decisively but lost decisively to Ridgid; beat Ingersoll Rand
- 4Ingersoll Rand
lost decisively to Ridgid and to DeWalt, but beat ACDelco
- 5AC Delco
lost decisively to both DeWalt and Ingersoll Rand, the only brand with zero wins
All measurements (3 more)+
Lag Bolt Endurance Test
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL
battery ran out of juice at 2 minutes 10 seconds, the fastest of all 5 to die; the number of lag bolts completed at that point is not stated in the transcript, unlike every other brand; electric motor about 160F, anvil about 110F; narrator notes the kit's included 2 amp hour battery is small and a 4 amp hour battery (also included in the kit) would help
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kit
installed all 5 lag bolts and then removed 2 of them before running out of juice, needing only about 3.5 minutes, the best result of all 5; narrator notes its 20V 2 amp hour battery has roughly 50 percent more watt-hours than the other brands' 12V 2 amp hour batteries, which is a meaningful caveat on this specific comparison; anvil about 165F, motor about 180F
- 3DeWalt
did not quite finish the second lag bolt before giving up at 4 minutes 25 seconds; anvil about 220F, motor about 190F
- 4Ingersoll Rand
ran out of juice at about 3.5 minutes without quite finishing even the first lag bolt, the worst result of all 5; motor 220F, anvil 160F
- 5AC Delco
completed only 1 lag bolt before the battery was nearly used up and it overheated, at just over 5 minutes; motor and anvil both about 210F, the hottest of all 5
Real World Lug Nut Test
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUELjust under2.5 seconds
on an over-torqued 3/4-ton truck lug nut, the fastest of all 5
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kitabout3 seconds2nd
on the over-torqued truck lug nut, twice as fast as DeWalt, second fastest of the 5
- 3DeWaltabout6 seconds
on the over-torqued truck lug nut
- 4Ingersoll Rand
the over-torqued truck lug nut was too much for it; failed to remove it
- 5AC Delco
did not make enough torque to remove the over-torqued truck lug nut at all
Battery Charge Time
- 1Milwaukee M12 FUEL39 minutes
fastest of all 5
- 2Ridgid 18V subcompact brushless 3/8in impact wrench kitjust over70 minutes3rd
- 3DeWalt58 minutes
19 minutes longer than Milwaukee
- 4Ingersoll Randabout70 minutes
plus 20 seconds, essentially tied with Ridgid for third/fourth
- 5AC Delco84 minutes
slowest of all 5
How it was tested
- weight and length (compactness) measurements
- no-load RPM (low-trigger-control RPM and claimed-vs-actual RPM per mode)
- noise level (dB unloaded and dB in impact mode)
- maximum forward (tightening) torque via a hydraulic ram rig (psi, 15 second test)
- maximum reverse (loosening) torque via the same rig with a left-hand-threaded bolt (psi)
- side-by-side single-elimination lug nut removal races (lug nuts pre-tightened to 100 ft-lb, breakaway torque about 76-78 ft-lb)
- lag bolt driving endurance/strength test (5 lag bolts, four 0.5x8in and one 10in, until the battery dies, plus motor/anvil temperature)
- real-world lug nut removal on a 3/4 ton truck (lug nuts over-torqued to 150 ft-lb, seconds)
- battery charge time from fully discharged (minutes)
“So which impact wrench won this showdown? Definitely the Milwaukee, but the Milwaukee is the most expensive brand. On the other hand, the Ridgid seems like a great value considering performance and price. DeWalt definitely seems like a third place finish.”
Brand head-to-head scoreboards featuring this test
Data notes and caveats
A vintage three-quarter-inch corded impact wrench is used throughout as a baseline/reference point (heaviest by far at 12.8 lb, loudest unloaded at 88 dB, and highest torque at about 2500 psi, explicitly called 'definitely not a fair test'); it is not a competing product for sale and is excluded from products[]. The closing verdict explicitly ranks the top 3 (Milwaukee winner, Ridgid best value/second, DeWalt third) but does not rank AC Delco or Ingersoll Rand, which were consistently the two weakest performers across every test. DeWalt's brand name is rendered as 'the walk', 'dwat', 'to walt', and 'dwell' at various points in the transcript; all resolved via consistent context (price, introduction order, and product description) rather than string matching. Two minor data gaps were found and left as gaps rather than guessed: Milwaukee's actual RPM in drive mode 2 is never stated (only modes 1 and 3), and Milwaukee's lag-bolt count at the point its battery died is never stated, unlike every other brand, only the elapsed time (2 minutes 10 seconds).
