Tool Buying Guides

Marketing sells peak torque; your wallet buys torque per dollar. This index divides every published in-lbs figure we track by the bare-tool street price — no kits, no promo math. Two honest asterisks: drills rated only in watts out (DeWalt's MWO, Craftsman's UWO) sit this out, because we don't convert marketing units into real ones, and so do impact wrenches, which are rated in ft-lbs. Impact-driver torque is a peak built from hammer blows, so it tops the table without out-drilling a drill. The result is the value table the spec sheets won't print.

You don't need a $250 flagship to hang a deck or rough in a basement. Every pick here costs $150 or less as a bare tool and is ranked by retailer buyer rating, so the value champions that owners actually recommend come first.

After a full day of overhead drilling, every ounce matters more than every inch-pound. Every tool whose maker publishes a bare weight is listed lightest to heaviest, so the tools your shoulder will thank you for come first. Tools weighed only with a battery fitted are left out rather than ranked against bare figures.

18V is where every major platform fights hardest — and DeWalt's "20V Max" is the same 18V nominal battery with bolder marketing. These are the top 18V-class tools we track, ranked by retailer buyer rating across all categories.

When you run a tool forty hours a week, the flagship premium pays for itself in cycle speed and survival rate. Every pick here is a $250+ pro-grade tool, ranked by retailer buyer rating.

Brushless motors run cooler, pull more work from every amp-hour, and never need new brushes — which is why every flagship went brushless years ago. These are the top brushless tools we track, ranked by retailer buyer rating.