9 Best Affordable Cordless Drill | Stop Stripping Screws

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The entry point that does not feel like a compromise — small, light, and ready to work straight from the box.

If your drilling life consists of flat-pack drawers, curtain rails, and the odd shelf bracket, the ONEAND 18V is the sensible first drill. It brings a 1.5 Ah lithium-ion battery and a charger in the kit, so there is no separate shopping trip before you can use it. The 18-volt rating puts it in the same power band as the bigger names, and the compact body makes it easy to hold at an awkward angle behind a cabinet.

What buyers consistently value here is the overall quality for the outlay and how manageable it feels in the hand — the smaller charger is a genuine plus if you want to keep the whole kit in a drawer or a bag. A first-time user can chuck a bit and drive screws within a minute of opening the box.

Now the part you need to hear before you buy. This is a single-speed drill with modest torque, and that is the recurring note in the feedback — it does not have the two-gear flexibility of the Ryobi above, and it will bog down on hardwood or thick metal. Think of it as a screwdriver with a motor rather than a drilling workhorse. For light household assembly that is exactly what you want; for boring through studs, it is the wrong tool.

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Brushless internals and an all-metal chuck at a price that usually buys you plastic and compromise.

The headline here is 40 Nm of torque from a brushless motor, which the maker frames as 355 in-lbs. Newton-metres and inch-pounds are both torque units — they measure twisting force, so a higher number means the drill keeps turning when the bit meets resistance. The motor is brushless, meaning it uses electronics instead of wearing carbon contacts, which the maker says brings longer runtime and less heat. The chuck is all-metal rather than plastic, so it grips the bit harder and does not slip when you lean on it.

Drilling capacity is stated as 13/16-inch (20mm) into wood and 3/8-inch (10mm) into steel plate, with a note that it is not built for bits over 25mm. The two-speed gearbox covers 0–400 RPM for screwdriving and 0–1400 RPM for drilling, and the 25+1 clutch settings give you fine control so you do not strip a screw head. You also get a 2.0 Ah battery, 10 drill bits, 10 screwdriver bits, an extension bar, and a flexible shaft in the box — enough to start work without another purchase.

On weight it has a real edge for overhead work at 2.56 pounds, and there is a built-in LED for dim corners plus a soft-grip handle that damps vibration. One genuine catch: the drill will only run on AVID POWER’s own 2.0Ah batteries, so you cannot borrow a pack from another brand’s platform. Durability is the other question mark — feedback splits on how it holds up over years, which is fair for a budget brushless tool. Judge it as a versatile DIY companion rather than a lifetime jobsite drill.

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A full-size chuck, a two-gear box, and a warranty that outlasts most of the drills on this list.

The CMCD702D1 earns its place on two numbers: a 1/2-inch chuck (0.5 inches) and a 2 Ah battery. Half an inch is the full standard chuck size, so it takes large bits the 3/8-inch drills above cannot. The 2 Ah pack is a step up in capacity from the 1.5 Ah packs, which means longer stretches between charges on a run of shelving or a deck repair. Note that this chuck is 0.5 inches against the AVID POWER’s 0.38 inches — a meaningful difference if you plan to run big bits.

Power comes from a brushed motor rated up to 300 UWO, with the maker claiming up to 30% more power than a lower-tier model. UWO is a unit of output the brand uses to compare its own drills, so read it as a within-family ranking rather than a universal figure. The two-speed transmission reaches up to 1,700 no-load RPM, and the variable speed trigger lets you creep up gently on delicate work. CRAFTSMAN also claims up to 90 holes per charge — a useful yardstick for a day of picture hanging or cabinet fitting.

Ergonomics are the quiet win here: at 4.4 pounds it is lighter than the Ryobi, and the compact body slips into tight spots around appliances. The onboard LED is bright enough to see a pilot hole in a dark cupboard. Feedback consistently calls it strong, tough, and well suited to home work. The catch is that it is still a brushed motor, so the runtime and heat story is not as efficient as the brushless Metabo or CRAFTSMAN RP below — but the three-year limited warranty takes a lot of the risk out of that.

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A single order that covers the drill and the hand tools a first repair usually needs.

The WX100L.2 bundles the drill with a hammer, tape measure, screwdriver, adjustable wrench, and utility knife. The 84-piece accessory kit throws in a hammer, tape measure, screwdriver, adjustable wrench, and utility knife alongside the bits — so the drill is really a starter toolkit with a motor attached. The drill itself pushes 265 in-lbs of torque through all-metal gearing, which is enough for furniture assembly, drywall drilling, and hanging pictures without straining.

The compact side is just as persuasive. At 6.8 inches long and 2.54 pounds with the battery fitted, it is one of the easiest drills here to run overhead — long projects above your head will not wear your arm out. The 2 Ah battery runs a 3/8-inch keyless chuck and a two-speed box of 0–400 RPM and 0–1600 RPM, with 20+1 clutch settings for dialing in torque. The rubber overmold grip keeps it comfortable, and the built-in LED helps in dark cupboards.

The real hook is the battery: the same Power Share pack runs 140-plus other tools in the WORX line, so buying this drill gives you a platform to build a garden and workshop collection on later. The metal drilling capacity is stated at 0.5 inches, which beats the Ryobi P215K’s 0.25 inches — so this drill can put bigger holes through metal than the cheaper 3/8-inch pick. Durability is the one soft spot in the feedback; owners rate performance and quality high but are less certain about long-term toughness.

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The double collet flip head that changes from drilling to driving with a twist, no bit swap.

Clever engineering is the reason this SKIL is here. The flip head uses a double collet, meaning it holds two bits at once — one for drilling, one for driving — and you twist the head to switch. That saves you digging around for a second bit every time you move from pilot hole to screw. It is a brushless motor, so you get the efficiency and longer-life benefits that come with electronic commutation instead of carbon brushes, and the body is slim enough to reach into corners and cabinet interiors.

The 20V 2.0Ah battery charges over USB-C, and here the kit does something rare: the battery doubles as a power bank with a 60W USB-C port, so you can top up your phone from the same pack that runs the drill. The bundled 20W charger fills a 2.0Ah battery in 85 minutes and will also charge other USB-C devices. You get a belt clip, a 2-inch PH2 bit, and four hex-shank HSS bits in the box, plus a metal drilling capacity of 0.5 inches.

Feedback on the quality is strong, and a common note is just how well it drives longer screws — 3-inch construction screws come up as a demonstration of its torque. Being honest, though, the power and durability ratings are mixed rather than glowing, and the weight splits opinion too. If you plan to use it all day every day, the Metabo below is the tougher tool. For tackling tight, fiddly jobs where access is the problem, the flip head earns its keep.

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The fastest spinner here, and the one that stops itself when the bit bites too hard.

Two figures define this Metabo: 620 in-lbs of torque and 2,000 RPM. Torque is twisting force, speed is how fast the bit turns, and both are the highest numbers on this list. Put them together and you get a drill that bores through timber without bogging down and drives long screws with authority. The brushless motor is built for high-output work, and the body is only 6.1 inches long at 2.6 pounds — so it gets into tight spaces without making you pay for the power with fatigue.

The safety feature worth knowing is Reactive Force Control, also called RFC. It senses when the drill is overloaded and stops the rotation before the tool can kick back hard — the kind of sudden twist that catches your wrist when a bit grabs. The kit throws in two 18V 2.0Ah batteries with a fuel gauge, plus a charger, carrying bag, and metal belt hook. The tool body carries a lifetime warranty, with two years on the battery and one on the charger.

Here is what to know before you commit, because this is a genuinely mixed bag. The chuck draws the most discussion and the verdict is not clean — some owners like it, others find it below standard, and bits slipping out is a real note. Speed control splits opinion too: the two speeds are appreciated, but the control range feels touchy. So the raw power numbers are the best here, but the business end — the grip on the bit — is the compromise. If you already own Metabo batteries, the runtime picture looks even better.

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A 6.2-inch head that reaches between studs, and a brushless motor that keeps it drilling.

If you have ever tried to drive a screw behind a pipe or between wall studs, you know the drill body length is the deciding spec. This CRAFTSMAN has a 6.2-inch tool head, which the maker describes as 25% shorter than a standard body — so it turns a two-person job into a one-person reach. The brushless motor delivers up to 40% more power than the brand’s brushed entry drill, and it drills up to 77 holes per charge, a useful figure for planning a day’s work.

The nitty-gritty: a 0.5-inch chuck for full-size bits, a 2-speed transmission, a variable speed trigger up to 1,900 no-load RPM, and a 2.0Ah lithium-ion battery with a charger in the kit. That 1,900 RPM beats the Ryobi P215K’s 1,750 no-load RPM, so this drill is quicker on the trigger. The maker also claims it drills up to 19% faster than RYOBI, though that is a brand comparison rather than an independent figure. At 4.4 pounds with a built-in LED and VERSATRACK compatibility, it is set up for organized home work.

The feedback reads well: buyers describe a tool with real power, a genuinely compact body, and smooth functionality for household chores. The honest note is weight — at 4.4 pounds it is chunkier than the 2.6-pound Metabo, so long overhead sessions will tell on your arm. It splits the difference between the 2.6-pound compact picks and the 4.9-pound Ryobi.

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Bits, battery, charger, and a tool bag — the everything-you-need answer in one purchase.

This Ryobi bundle is aimed squarely at the person who does not want to research bits separately. You get a PCL201 18V drill/driver, a PBP002 compact 1.5 Ah battery, a charger, a multipurpose drill bit set, and a tool bag. Everything needed for the first job is in the box, and the drill has a 0.5-inch metal drilling capacity, so it handles bigger jobs than its 3/8-inch rivals.

The platform is the long game. Ryobi states that the battery is compatible with more than 250 different tools, so the pack you buy here works with the rest of the ONE+ ecosystem. The 1.5 Ah capacity keeps the weight down for handheld work, and the compact body suits everyday use around the house.

What owners describe is a set that suits small projects and everyday homeowners — it does what it promises for fixing shelves, tightening cabinet hardware, and assembling furniture. The honest caveat: this is a 1.5 Ah drill with a brushed motor, so it is not for extended heavy drilling, and there is a note in the feedback about a drill bit breaking under light pressure — treat the included bits as starter stock and swap in good ones for anything demanding. Durability feedback is also mixed rather than universal. For the money, though, it is a sensible one-stop first drill.