When it comes to purchasing quality items, people tend to be creatures of habit. When you find a brand or company that makes reliable goods and sells them for a reasonable price, you are more likely to stick with them when it is time to buy other items. Power tools are no exception.
Whether you’re a homeowner who likes to indulge in the occasional do-it-yourself home improvement project or a professional contractor who uses power tools daily, finding the best brand for your needs can seem a bit daunting.
The power tool market has a wide range of power tool brands that claim to be the best, but how do you determine which ones are true leaders in the industry?
What makes the best power tool brand?
To know which are the best power tool brand, first, we got to know: what is it. In other words: what does being the best mean in this industry?
You would agree is a tricky question even for the most experienced professionals.
Is it the one with the highest earnings? The one with the most long-lasting tools? Most well-known? The most trusted? The most experienced in the market? The brand could vary for each question.
Those are just some key criteria, there are many others. Every DIYer, mason, carpenter, engineer, or tool enthusiast, could consider different factors, according to personal and professional needs. Furthermore, the best brand could be different depending on product lines.
Having this in mind, we knew we had hard work ahead. So we proceeded to set up the investigation.
What is the Current State of the Power Tools Market?
The top power tool brands in the world are contributing to a fast-growing global power tools market in 2020. The global power tools market is projected to reach USD 40.9 billion by 2027. Bosch, Hitachi, and Black & Decker are the largest power tool companies in the world by revenue. The modern power tools market is dominated by cordless technology taking over and the best power tool brands are in a race to provide the most reliable and cutting-edge tools in the market.
You Should Know Before Buying
Below is a list of tips to ensure you are informed enough to make the right purchase. Although all of the brands in this list of best tool brands are reputable and recognised for their quality, you can never be too careful and should always do your best to understand what something is good or not.
Tool Quality
Make sure the tools you are looking at is made from quality materials and is precision engineered. Tools undergo a lot of stress when being used so the material choice is absolutely paramount to the longevity of the said tool.
Value for Money
As with everything there is a balancing act when it comes to quality and cost. It’s best to scope out the work and find a tool that’s fit for that particular purpose. The best tools are extremely expensive but designed for extreme use, if you’re just planning on maintaining the basics of your home, it’s unlikely you will need to spend a small fortune on a power drill. Howeverm if you opt for something too cheap, you’ll likely be buying another drill in a year or two.
After-Sales Care
This is one of the most important aspects when buying a tool and played a large part in putting together this list. Warrantees, repairs and refunds can get complicated, with the specifics often being far into the document that you probably didn’t ready anyway.
Make sure you clear up any questions you have wit the manufacturer prior to purchasing it. There can be a large range in the level of after-sales care certain brands offer, so make sure you know what you will be getting.
Power tools are complex and so are the problems that can arise from the complexity. It’s unlikely you will be able to identify the issue, let alone fix it, so good after-sales service is worth paying for.
Top 10 Brands in The World:
1. Milwaukee Tool
Some tool companies exchange hands multiple times during their lifespan without altering production standards. Milwaukee Tool is one such company.
The original Milwaukee enterprise was established in 1922 by Wisconsin manufacturers A. H. Peterson and Albert F. Seibert. In 1924 Siebert bought the company’s remaining assets after a devastating fire and created the Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation.
As of 2005, Milwaukee is owned by Techtronic Industries from Hong Kong.
Milwaukee’s reputation for superior tools began with a one-handed drill in 1922. From there, Milwaukee expanded to include dozens of tools and equipment, such as the famous Milwaukee Sawzall brand with reciprocating saws.
2. DeWalt
Having originally been started by the inventor of the radial arm saw, Raymond E. DeWalt, in 1923, DeWalt is one of the oldest and best-known tool makers in the world.
With almost 100 years in the industry, more than 200 cordless toys under their 20V Max portfolio, constant technology research and innovation, 3 years warranty for their products, 1 year of free service, the best ergonomics in the market, and 5 billion in annual revenues, this king couldn’t be left out.
DeWalt is characterized by a wide range of engineering, greater flow effectiveness, optimal loading performance and a reliable grip of the machinery. Without a doubt, it is one of the companies with the greatest innovation in machinery, providing the best solutions for the most demanding jobs.
3. Black & Decker
Even if you are not a contractor, you must have heard about the Black & Decker brand. This is because it makes a lot more products other than power tools.
This company was founded in 1910, making it over 100 years right now. You do not survive in the same industry for over a century if you are not good at what you do.
The most notable moment of the company was in 1917 when it invented the first portable electric drill. Since then, the company has been in the forefront in coming up with innovative tools.
As we had mentioned above, it acquired DeWalt in 1960. It helped to turn DeWalt into a profitable company even when most saw it as a competitor to Black & Decker.
The company made the DeWalt brand to focus more on making tools for professionals so that it can focus on the consumer side.
It is why you will find that most of the Black & Decker tools will be used mostly by homeowners. Such tools include sanders, screwdrivers, drills, and more.
4. Bosch
Which is the best power tool brand? Ranking number 1 on our list of the top power tool brands in the world in 2020 is Bosch. Bosch is a German multinational engineering and technology company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany.
Aside from power tools, Bosch’s core operating areas are spread across four business sectors: mobility (hardware and software), consumer goods (including household appliances and power tools), industrial technology (including drive and control), and energy and building technology. Bosch’s power tools division is a supplier of power tools, power tool accessories, and measuring technology.
In addition to power tools such as hammer drills, cordless screwdrivers, and jigsaws, its extensive product portfolio also includes gardening equipment such as lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, and high-pressure cleaners.
5. Ridgid
Ridgid is an American company manufacturing hand tools, owning headquarters based in Ohio, the United States.
Possessing a well-known, traditional brand name, Ridgid is famous across the United States for high-quality, durable hand tools. Additionally, Ridgid offers consumers a full lifetime guarantee with every tool.
Ridgid specializes in manual tools and offers a full lifetime guarantee with each tool.
6. HITACHI
You might know them as Koki Holdings or Metabo HPT, because they’ve had to change their names a lot. That being said, they’re still the same great brand that you’ve always known and loved.
Hitachi is another Japanese brand that really shows what it’s all about through quality and giving you the best possible bang for your buck.
While they’re among the more premium variety of Japanese power tools, their prices are still favorable compared to some American brands that we’ve shown here today. All of them are good, but Hitachi really tries to squeeze in as much value as possible.
Hitachi wants to make it easy to get spare parts, which is why they offer inexpensive replacements that don’t run your wallet into the ground. Shipping can be a problem when it comes to cost sometimes, but that’s because the parts are coming straight from Japan.
As we know with just about any Japanese company, they’re dedicated to customer service and warranty fulfillment, while also offering perks and email coupons for their products from time to time.
7. Craftsman
Craftsman tied with DeWalt in this year’s America’s Most Trusted Power Tools by Lifestory Research. Both had the same 5-star Trusting Rating and an index score of 118.6. Nevertheless, the research organization sought to crown Craftsman of this year’s title.
Last year, the Baltimore-based brand only trailed behind by 0.5, so it’s not as surprising that it finally bagged the grand title this year.
Back in 2009, the Popular Mechanics Magazine readers voted the brand as their favourite brand of hand tools in their Reader’s Choice Awards. In 2017, it bagged the prestigious Edison Awards for innovation. It’s Flex Claw Hammer wins Gold in the Tools category and the Sidewinder Tape Measure wins Bronze in the Home and Lawn Maintenance group.
8. Makita
Makita also has a huge number of tools in their SKU. It is a little different. Instead of having a couple of different battery platforms like Milwaukee, It is trying to do it with a single battery platform so the user doesn’t have to invest in different batteries.
If Makita designs a high demand tool, that tool is designed around the 18V battery and will use two 18V batteries to give it the power and run time. Instead of having a 12V platform, Makita is designing smaller tools called subcompact and they are used with smaller 18V batteries such as 2Ah. So you still get the same feel as a 12V but you have more power and run time and are still able to have a single battery platform.
Makita is also a leader in innovation and they do release a lot of tools. For us, we have used some of Makita over the years and love the brand. They have lasted under the harshes conditions.
9. Skil
Skil is a name that has been around for a while and they recently were bought out by a company called Chervon. Chervon has been making tools for some of the names above (Professional & Homeowner) and they are known for their quality. Skil just started releasing some new tools and I am sure there are a bunch more on the horizon.
When it comes to batteries, Chervon is one of the best and I am sure that experience is being put into the Skil line of power tools.
Yes, there are a lot of other brands on the market for professionals and homeowners’ tools. We are only covering some of the biggest and most well-known names on the market that really give the consumer a wide range of choices for their applications.
10. Sawstop
At Sawstop, the operator’s safety is their topmost concern. This makes it the best tool brand for woodworkers. The company was founded in 2000 by Dr. Gass and three of his close friends.
Although it has not been in the market for too long, the brand has built its reputation to match the top brands. Sawstop sold its first table saw in 2004, and since then, its tools have saved countless fingers.
Their saws are a combination of unparalleled design, innovative craftsmanship, and safety. For these reasons, the brand has grown to become the number one cabinet saw in America.