How do you choose a cordless drill?

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There are a couple of features to be aware of with cordless drills when making a decision on which to get. Predominantly you need to know if you will be drilling in masonry with it, as that requires a hammer function and not all cordless drills have that. Another factor is whether you have any cordless tools already. Some brands have interchangeable batteries between their tools like Ryobi. It would be advantageous to stick with the same brand to keep costs of additional batteries down.

A good home use cordless drill that would suit most handypeople would be the Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP Brushless Compact Drill Driver. It is a brushless unit, which means more runtime and power over a brushed motor unit, keyless chuck and a convenient work light. If you wished to use the drill to put hooks in brick or concrete walls I would suggest the Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP Brushless Compact Hammer Drill. These drills are just the body, requiring you to purchase the battery and charger separately: Ryobi 18V ONE+ 4.0Ah Battery and Charger Combo Kit.

I have this drill and several others in the Ryobi range and can't fault it for home renovation purposes. The battery is also compatible with the rest of the Ryobi 18V range, which means now that you have a battery and charger, you can buy just the skin version of other tools saving money. There's really a fantastic array to choose from.

For drill bits, I would recommend getting a couple of kits to cover the majority of what you need. The two kits would be the Ryobi 50-Piece Impact Drill And Drive Set and a Sutton Tools 6 Piece Masonry Drill Bit Set.

If you need larger sized drill bits for a project I would advise buying those individually. The same goes for tiles, if you need a specific size I would purchase the individual drill bit you need. The drill bits included in these kits are of good quality and should last a long time without the need for sharpening.

If you were looking for a more budget-friendly option, I've heard good things about the Ozito PXC 18V Hammer Drill Kit. You could also choose to drop the hammer function for masonry and go for the Ozito PXC 18V Drill Driver Kit.

If you really wanted to get your hands on something that would most likely do everything you need (apart from masonry) as someone starting out, then even the Ozito Home 12V Drill Driver Kit would be sufficient. I had something like that when I first began my journey into D.I.Y. as I wasn't confident investing in the more premium units. It was great for drilling holes and replacing screws.

The Craftright range of drill bits are very inexpensive and could almost be deemed throw away at that price point. They will do the job you need them to but will not last anywhere near as long as the kits mentioned above. It would be my advice to purchase something of good quality that will be used for years to come.

For more information, see our guide How to choose the right drill for the job. - MitchellMc

Ryobi is perfect for DIY and has a huge range so you can confidently build your collection as you go without having to worry about switching brands, etc. It's worth getting a drill with hammer function. That way it can be used for anything, especially as you become more adventurous with your DIY. - ProjectPete

I have gone down the Bosch Blue path with some Ryobi fill-ins (glue gun, inflator and caulking gun). My opinion is that every system has it's weak points, Bosch here have a lack of garden tools, nailer and the transport option does suck. Dewalt seem to have most things covered, I don't like their table saw and some of the tools look a little cheap and nasty. I will possibly pick up a set one day for my travels. - Brad

I ended up buying the Ozito drill driver kit and I love it. Used it heaps. Never an issue yet! I’ve just done some basic stuff - hung my bike in the garage, a fitness whiteboard in the kitchen and some curtain rods. Nothing too elaborate but I’m so happy that I’ve mastered it and that I actually have a working drill. I received great advice from a Bunnings guy in the tools section at the Bayswater store. - Dearie

I have used Ryobi One for years with bigger lithium batteries sometimes bordering on commercial use and love it. My son is an electrician and he uses Milwaukee, it's got more huff than mine but costs a lot more too. For everyday handyman stuff I recommend the Ryobi. - JDE

I bought a Dewalt 18 volt kit grinder /drill / impact driver about 2 years ago. The warranty runs out after 12 months but the battery charger died in January. I took it into Bunnings and it was replaced for no charge. It took two months but Dewalt sent me a new one free of charge. I use these tools pretty hard some days especially the grinder and they have performed very well. - Rick64

I bought an Ozito 18V. cordless drill 4 years ago, which came with a spare battery, for $79! and it's still going strong and does any thing I need it for. - Prof

I've had 2 cordless drills over the years. One I cannot remember the brand, but even after a full charge it would be flat within 20 mins of use. I now have a Milwaukee drill and driver set, which my son bought me. I use it quite a bit, and am still yet to recharge the batteries from the last charging around 8 months ago! They are quite expensive, so it would depend on what exactly you are planning on doing on what would be the best to buy. - Mjay

Modern brushless kit is amazing for torque and battery life. I bought a Makita 8 piece set of brushless tools for about 2K with dual concurrent charger and 3 batteries (2x5AH and 1x4AH). That is a lot but a drill, impact driver, a single charger and battery can be around $600. So that makes a grinder, circular saw, light, radio, SDS rotary hammer, reciprocating saw and a canvas bag all cheap compared to buying skins. That price tag isn't for everyone. But unless you actually try a brushless tool you will not know how amazing they are. The side handle that screws onto the front of the drill is about 14 inches long so you can imagine how much torque these things have.

In fact, you need to really consider how to correctly hold the handles on these devices because if you don't use the handle, or don't use it correctly you could break your wrist. - grog_polymer

Here for the Ozito. I have used the 18v model forever and a day, DIY home maintenance stuff only, But it never misses a beat. I even lashed out and grabbed the hammer version 18v also. - Big-Paul

I’ve found the Ryobi ONE+ gear to be excellent especially their top range drills. Big advantage of the range is interchangeability of batteries across an enormous range of tools. I see some of their gear as being in a ‘pro-sumer’ area – above consumer but below pro.

For my seriously heavy-duty stuff I have a set of AEG professional cordless drills. Ryobi and AEG are part of the same uber-brand. What this means is technology sharing, so over time features and tech from the professional grade AEG gear finds its way into the Ryobi range.

All-in-all I would say that for the vast majority of home and heavy DIY, or even light trade, use the One+. An excellent choice that's great value for money. Our builder was very impressed with how well they managed the work and survived. I should just add that within the One+ range there are tiers of quality and the drills in my kit are the upper level ones. - Adam_W