Most bad tool purchases are not bad tools. They are decent tools bought for the wrong job, or bought onto a battery platform the owner walked away from two years later.
This article is built from published manufacturer specifications, technical documentation and the reported experience of people who own the equipment. Nothing here has been tested by Tools Soko and nothing carries a score. See how we work.
This guide covers the four decisions that actually cost money when you get them wrong: mains or battery, which voltage, which motor, and which manufacturer you tie yourself to. Everything else is detail you can fix later.
Why you can trust us. Tools Soko earns a commission when you buy through links on this page. It never changes what we recommend, and it never changes the price you pay.
Corded or cordless
Cordless has won for most work. A modern brushless tool on a healthy battery matches a mains tool for anything done in bursts, which is nearly everything on a domestic job.
Corded still wins in two places: sustained load and price. A mains grinder that runs for forty minutes without stopping does not care about heat building in a battery pack, and a corded tool of the same output costs roughly half. Our DeWalt DWE575 review covers a corded saw that is still the sensible buy for most people.
| Situation | Better choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional DIY, mixed tasks | Cordless | Setup time dominates, not run time |
| All day cutting or grinding | Corded | No pack heat, no runtime ceiling |
| Working away from a supply | Cordless | No generator, no extension run |
| Tightest possible budget | Corded | No battery or charger to fund |
| Roof, ladder or scaffold | Cordless | A trailing lead is the hazard |
Voltage: 12V or 18V
Voltage is the decision people get wrong most often, usually by buying more than they need and then leaving it in the van because it is heavy.
12V is a genuine professional class now, not a toy tier. A 12V brushless drill will sink screws all day, fits between studs and inside cabinets, and weighs about half what an 18V does. For second fix, cabinetry, electrical and assembly work it is the better tool, not the compromise.
18V and 20V MAX are the same thing measured differently: 18V nominal, 20V at rest off the charger. Ignore the marketing gap. This is the class you need if one platform has to also run a grinder, a circular saw or a rotary hammer, because those tools do not exist in any useful form at 12V.
| 12V | 18V / 20V MAX | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical drill weight | 1.0 to 1.3 kg | 1.7 to 2.4 kg |
| Comfortable drilling in wood | Up to about 25 mm | Hole saws and beyond |
| Runs grinders and saws | No | Yes |
| Overhead fatigue | Low | High |
| Best for | Assembly, second fix, cabinets | Structural work, one platform for everything |
Brushed or brushless motors
Brushless motors have no carbon brushes rubbing on a commutator, so less of the battery turns into heat and friction. In practice that means longer runtime per charge, a cooler tool, more power from the same pack, and no brushes to replace.
The premium is real but shrinking. The honest test is duty cycle: if the tool comes out a few times a month, a good brushed tool will outlive your interest in it and the money is better spent on a second battery. If it earns money, buy brushless and stop thinking about it.
Choose a platform, not a tool
This is the decision with the longest tail. Batteries and chargers are most of what you spend over a decade, and they only fit one manufacturer. The fourth tool you buy is cheap if it is bare, and expensive if it drags another charger and two packs with it.
So pick the platform on the breadth of its range and its battery pricing, not on how good the first drill is. Every manufacturer is strong somewhere and thin somewhere else, which is what our brand profiles set out. Mixing brands is fine for a one off specialist tool. It is a bad habit for the core kit.
Combo kits are the cheapest way onto a platform
A drill and impact driver kit with two packs and a charger routinely costs less than the two tools bought bare plus the batteries. You are effectively being paid to take the tools. That maths is why a kit is almost always the right first purchase on a new platform, and why it is worth buying even if one of the tools sits unused for a year.
Check the pack sizes before you judge the price. A kit with two 2.0Ah packs is a different product from one with a 5.0Ah and a compact, and the second is worth noticeably more. Our combo kit guide compares what is currently worth buying.
Impact driver or drill/driver
They are not alternatives. An impact driver hammers rotationally, which drives long fixings into dense material without wrecking your wrist, but it has no clutch and poor fine control. A drill/driver has a chuck that takes round shank bits, a torque clutch, and the steadiness to drill accurately.
| Task | Reach for |
|---|---|
| Drilling any hole | Drill/driver |
| Long screws into timber | Impact driver |
| Coach bolts and lag screws | Impact driver |
| Cabinet hardware, hinges | Drill/driver, clutch set low |
| Anything into masonry | Neither, use a hammer drill or SDS |
For masonry above the occasional wall plug, an SDS rotary hammer is a different category of tool again. Our DeWalt DCH172 review covers the compact end of that class.
What to check before you pay
No amount of reading replaces two minutes holding the tool. In the shop, check these in order:
- Balance with the battery fitted. A tool that feels good bare can be nose heavy in use. Always test it loaded.
- Trigger travel. You should be able to creep a screw in slowly. A trigger that jumps from nothing to full speed will strip heads.
- Where the light sits. A light under the chuck throws the bit’s shadow onto your work. A light in the foot does not.
- Belt hook and its side. Trivial until you are up a ladder, then not trivial at all.
- Chuck grip. Tighten it by hand on a small bit and try to twist the bit loose. Cheap chucks slip.
Warranty and service
A three year warranty you can actually claim locally beats a five year warranty that means shipping the tool abroad. Before buying, find out where the nearest service agent is and whether spares for that range are stocked in the country. For a platform you intend to keep for a decade, that answer matters more than the number of years printed on the box.
If you are buying in Kenya specifically, our guide to buying power tools in Nairobi covers counterfeits, grey imports and which warranties are honoured locally.
Build the kit in this order
Buying everything at once is how you end up with four tools you do not use and no spare battery. A sane order for most people:
- Drill and impact driver combo kit, on the platform you have chosen deliberately.
- A third battery, larger than the ones in the kit. This changes the day more than a new tool will.
- Whichever specialist tool your actual work keeps demanding, usually a grinder, a circular saw or an SDS hammer.
- Decent consumables. Good bits and blades change results more than upgrading the tool driving them.
Protective equipment is not step five. It belongs alongside the first tool, and our jobsite PPE guide covers what people actually keep wearing.
Common questions
Is 20V MAX more powerful than 18V?
No. They are the same battery chemistry described two ways. 20V MAX is the peak voltage of a fully charged pack before any load; 18V is the nominal voltage under use. A 20V MAX tool and an 18V tool from the same class are directly comparable.
Are third party batteries worth it?
They are cheaper and they usually work. What you give up is the cell quality and the protection circuit, which is what stands between a hard working pack and a fire. On a tool you use occasionally the risk is low. On a tool that gets hammered, buy the manufacturer’s pack.
How many amp hours do I actually need?
Two 2.0Ah packs beat one 4.0Ah pack for most people, because you are never waiting on a charger. Go to 5.0Ah when a single tool genuinely drains a pack in one sitting, which usually means a grinder, a circular saw or sustained hole saw work.
Should I buy the cheapest kit to start?
Buy the cheapest kit on a platform with a deep range, rather than the cheapest kit outright. A budget kit from a manufacturer that also sells a grinder, a saw and an SDS hammer leaves you somewhere to go. A budget kit from a brand with nothing above it is a dead end you pay for twice.
Where to go next
If you have settled on a platform, the next decision is the first kit: see the best cordless combo kits. If you already have one and want the drill right, our cordless drill guide works through the options. To make the batteries you just paid for last, read battery care that actually doubles pack life, and if you want to know what our articles are built from, here is how we work.
The cordless platform wars covers how that shook out in practice, corded vs cordless power tools takes the first question here further, and a 45-piece hand tool kit covers what is worth owning before any of it.
