Dan wrote in, asking for help in choosing a ~$100 cordless drill kit. Checking out our Best Cordless Drills guide is a great start, but things get trickier at the $100 price point. There are few pro-grade options at this price year-round, but that typically changes every Fall as we get closer to the winter holiday shopping season.
For the sake of this discussion, we’re only going to look at 18V drill kits. We could look at 12V drills, as there are some 12V Max cordless drills that can keep up with some 18V models, but that would complicate things further.
Related Topic: Milwaukee M12 vs Dewalt 20V Max?
Let’s take a look at all of the $100 cordless drill options, at least those I could find. Even if they’re priced higher now, they will probably return to lower pricing in a couple of weeks when the holiday season is in full swing.
I added in a couple of other non-$100 options that were worth noting.
See Also: Best Cordless Drills for More Recommendations
Bosch
Bosch’s DDB181 (here’s our preview) is currently my favorite budget-priced cordless drill. Its low price is not the only selling point – this model is also noticeably more compact than Bosch and other brands’ 18V drills. It doesn’t have very many bells and whistles, but it’s a good performer.
My recommendation, naming this as the top 18V budget pick in our best cordless drill guide, still stands. This kit comes with the drill and (2) Li-ion batteries.
You usually have to wait until the holiday season to find the DDB181 kit for $100.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Craftsman
Craftsman’s heavy duty drill is currently (and typically) on sale for $110, and I don’t think we’re going to see it approach any closer to $100. It’s a solid model, but its 465 in-lbs of torque was a lot more impressive when we reviewed it 3 years ago.
The biggest reason to buy this over any of the cordless drills discussed here, is if you want to buy into Craftsman’s excellent C3 line of DIYer cordless power tools. There are several other Craftsman C3 drills that are priced under $100, but they’re of course lesser drills.
Buy Now(via Sears)
Dewalt
We posted about the Dewalt 20V Max DCD771 cordless drill a couple of times now, and the story is always the same. This model is similar to Dewalt’s regular cordless drills, but consumerized with cheaper components. You can read about all the differences in my deal post from when it first came out 2 years ago.
I’m sure it’s a good drill, but it seems to have been specially designed for Christmas and Father’s Day shoppers.
You usually have to wait until the holiday season to find the DDB181 kit for $100.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Hitachi
Hitachi’s DS18DGL is their newest entry-level 18V cordless drill, and it has earned solid user reviews on Amazon. The DS18DSAL is better, but costs more ($129 via Amazon).
This kit is $95 right now, and will probably stay at that price.
Buy Now(DS18DGL via Amazon)
Makita
Last year, Makita came out with an entry-level hammer drill kit, for just $99. It only comes with 1 battery pack, but it’s a high capacity 3.0Ah battery.
I prefer cordless drills over cordless hammer drills, but this does provide the most inexpensive way (that I’ve seen) to buy into Makita’s 18V lineup.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Metabo
While priced well above the $100 target, Metabo’s newest compact 18V drill/driver has some appealing features. It’s got a 3/8″ chuck – 1/2″ would be better – and it’s removable. Beneath the drill chuck is a handy 1/4″ hex screwdriver bit holder.
You also get 2 batteries, not just 1.
I keep hearing about how Metabo quality blows other brands’ out of the water, but I’m really just more drawn to the BS18’s fancy drilling and driving chuck system.
The BS18 kit is currently priced at $149. It’s out of stock at Amazon, but you can still order it directly from them to get free shipping.
Buy Now(Kit via Amazon)
Milwaukee
Milwaukee’s 2606 M18 compact drill/driver is a nice go-to drill for general purpose use. Around holiday times, it goes on sale for just $99 or so, but only the 2606-21CT kit, which comes with a single battery pack. Still, it’s a good drill and inexpensive entry into Milwaukee’s excellent and broad M18 cordless power tool platform.
Just keep in mind that the kit only comes with a single battery pack. That’s the only “gotcha.” Otherwise, this is one of few $100 drill kits that comes with a regular product line drill and not a special budget or consumerized one.
This kit currently isn’t available, but I anticipate that it’ll reappear and at the $99 price point when we’re closer to the holiday season.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Porter Cable
My impression of Porter Cable’s 20V Max lineup has changed over the years, as new tools were added to the product line. But one thing remains certain – their PCC600 drill/driver is a fantastic drill. It really is. More recent additions to the lineup are similar in nature as the 18V tools they replaced, meaning they’re designed and priced for lesser needs.
The only complaints I’ve heard about this drill are about how it looks.
There are some other versions of this drill, but I’d stay away from them. A newer model, PCC601, is less powerful, slower, longer, and packaged with a lower capacity battery, and also a slower charger. It’s worth spending a little extra on the PCC600.
This kit has gone on sale for $99 in the past, but might not again, now that there are new lower priced variants of the kit.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Ridgid
There hasn’t been a ~$99 Ridgid drill in some time. The last time I remember seeing a ~$100 Ridgid drill was back in 2012 when I did a roundup of $99 and $100 drills.
Update: Two new $99 Ridgid 18V cordless drill kits just popped up on Home Depot’s website:
Ridgid’s R86008P cordless drill kit is an older design, but has been updated and is now bundled with a 2.0Ah battery kit. It’s still quite powerful, with a 535 in-lb max torque rating. This looks to be a decent kit.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
There is also the Ridgid R860052K cordless drill kit, which is “on sale” for $99, from a “regular price” of $129. This kit comes with a different charger than most Ridgid 18V kits, and there are quantities in stock at local Home Depot stores (13 each at 2 stores, 21 at another) that suggest it’s a holiday item.
This drill doesn’t look to have an LED worklight, at least not one I can see, and comes with (2) Li-ion battery packs instead of one.
Neither Home Depot nor Ridgid mention the torque rating for this drill, and the linked-to user manual on the Home Depot product page is for a completely different drill. The absence of an aux handle suggests that this drill is weaker than the other Ridgid model.
This set comes with 2 battery packs, but the R86008P kit seems to have the better drill.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Ryobi
Ryobi has a couple of great tools in their lineup, including Li-ion drill/drivers. They don’t really have anything at the $100 price level – most drills are either quite a bit cheaper, or somewhat more expensive.
But around holiday times, you can usually snag a drill and impact driver like this one, for $99.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Decisions, Decisions
Not all of these options are available year-round, and if they are, they’re probably priced higher than $100. I did mention a couple of $100+ options – those are typically available all year.
When the holiday shopping season is in full swing, you pretty much have your pick. Bosch, Dewalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Hitachi, and sometimes Ridgid all have $100 offerings.
The Bosch is a compact and budget model that comes with 2 batteries. The Dewalt is a consumerized model (for lack of a better description) that comes with 2 batteries – but the batteries have lower capacities than the brand’s regular cordless tools. The Makita is also an entry-level drill, but it’s a hammer drill, and it comes with 1 higher capacity battery pack. The Milwaukee offering is their everyday brushed motor drill, but it comes with 1 battery pack. Hitachi has a budget model, but I believe I’ve seen their everyday drill kit drop to $99 at times as well.
Craftsman offers a heavy duty drill at the $110 price point, and plenty of lesser drills for under $100. The same goes for Ryobi, but at peak holiday times Ryobi often discounts their basic drill and impact driver kit to $100.
Metabo’s cordless drill comes with a 3/8″ chuck, which I typically only see with DIYer brands’ 18V tools, but it also features their premium quick-change chuck system. It’s priced at $149, but I thought it was worth mentioning here all the same.
If all I wanted was a cordless drill/driver, I’d go for the Bosch DDB181. If I wanted to buy into a new cordless power tool system as well, or was okay with having just 1 Li-ion battery pack, I’d probably start with the Milwaukee 2606-21CT kit – when seasonally available.
But, to be frank, you probably wouldn’t go wrong with any of these options, as long as you were fully aware of why each is priced as they are.
Which would be your pick?