DeWalt vs Milwaukee: Which Power Tool Brand is Better in 2022? | House Grail (2023)

Look in a professional’s tool bag and you’re likely to find a lot of tools from either DeWalt or Milwaukee tools. Professionals have trusted these two brands for years, and it doesn’t look like that’s about to change any time soon.

Both DeWalt and Milwaukee are known for making top-notch power tools, built to withstand the rigors of professional daily use. Far from bargain brands, these are the companies you choose when you prioritize quality over price. While both brands are loved and used by professionals, neither is perfect. The real question is: which brand is better in 2021?

To find out, we’re going to compare these two tool manufacturers on pricing, longevity, and warranties, to see how they stack up. We’ll even go a step further to pit similar tools from each company in head to head comparisons so you can get a feel for each company’s offerings.

A Quick Comparison

Image	Product	Details
	DeWalt	Established: 1924 Headquarters: Towson Maryland Popular Product Lines: 20V MAX XR FLEXVOLT Major Subsidiaries: Stanley Black & Decker	CHECK PRICE
	Milwaukee	Established: 1924 Headquarters: Brookfield Wisconsin Popular Product Lines: M18 M12 M18 FUEL Major Subsidiaries: Techtronic Industries	CHECK PRICE

Brief History of DeWalt

DeWalt tools was first created in 1924 by Raymond DeWalt. He had recently finished building an electric universal woodworking machine two years earlier, which became known as the “Wonder Worker.” This was the first tool sold by DeWalt, and it could be configured in nine different ways. At the time of DeWalt’s founding, they offered only this machine and two others; a dedicated mortiser and a jointer.

In 1929, DeWalt moved to a new plant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From there, they began expanding rapidly, and in 1941, they were fulfilling government orders for wartime machines. The company continued to grow and expand over the years, dictated by customer demand.

But it wasn’t until 1992 that DeWalt offered its first line of power tools. Then, in 1994, they released a new system of 30 cordless tools, including saws, drills, drivers, impact wrenches, flashlights, and more. By 2001, the company was producing over 200 electric power tools and 800 accessories.

Brief History of Milwaukee

Though Milwaukee power tools was first founded in 1924, their story starts a little earlier with a man named A.H. Petersen. Petersen had answered a calling from none other than Henry Ford, who was looking for someone to make a smaller, yet equally powerful version of the ¼-inch power drill. Petersen’s invention became known as the hole-shooter, and it weighed just five pounds, which was incredible for the time.

In 1922, a man named Albert F. Siebert became Petersen’s partner, and they founded the A.H. Petersen Company, which was doomed to fail just one year later when their manufacturing plant was destroyed by a fire. Seibert was able to purchase the remaining assets at auction, and used them to reopen the company as the Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation.

For a long time, the company survived mostly by repairing tools, rather than producing them. But in 1930, they obtained a higher equipment specification rating from the U.S. government. They produced several innovative tools throughout the next few decades, including a ¾-inch electric hammer-drill and a sander/grinder that weighed only 15 pounds.

Then, in 1951, Milwaukee set a new bar by inventing the first Sawzall reciprocating saw. They continued to grow, opening several more manufacturing facilities through the 60s and 70s as they produced new and exciting products, keeping them on the frontlines of the power tool world for many decades, which continues today.

DeWalt vs Milwaukee: Manufacturing

DeWalt

DeWalt is an international company that sells its tools across the globe. They have manufacturing facilities in many different countries, including the United States, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, China, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil.

Of course, many DeWalt products are manufactured in America. In the United States, DeWalt has six manufacturing plants. These are located in Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Connecticut.

In their U.S. plants, DeWalt produces their most popular tool; the DCD780C2 20V MAX Lithium-Ion Compact Drill Driver Kit, as well as many others.

By maintaining factories in so many provinces, DeWalt is able to ensure a steady supply of tools for many industries that are located in various places across the world.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee power tools is actually a foreign-owned business. They’re owned by Techtronic Industries, which is a Hong Kong based company that’s also responsible for several other well-known brands, including Ryobi and Hoover. However, Milwaukee tools has been headquartered in the U.S. since its inception, and that continues to this day.

In America, Milwaukee has three separate manufacturing plants. These plants are located in Greenwood, Missouri, Jackson, Missouri, and Mukwonago, Wisconsin. In just the last five years, Milwaukee has invested $47 million into their U.S. based operations, which are responsible for many components that are vital to their global manufacturing efforts. The Milwaukee plant in Greenwood, Missouri is nearly 400,000 square feet in size and keeps 670 people employed.

DeWalt vs Milwaukee: Product Line

DeWalt

20V MAX

The 20V MAX lineup is the bread and butter of DeWalt’s power tool offerings. These are the go-to tools for many professionals and hobbyists alike. You can find a wide range of tools in this lineup, including drills, drivers, Sawzall, circular saws, impact wrenches, angle grinders, and more. All of these tools use the same 20V MAX battery packs, allowing you to power any tool in the lineup with a single battery.

60V MAX

When you need a lot of extra power, the kind of power that never used to be available in a cordless tool, the 60V MAX lineup is here to answer the call. This lineup includes powerful tools like framing nail guns, air compressors, job site radios, circular saws, track saws, rotary hammers, stud and joist drills, and even specialty tools like pipe threaders.

FLEXVOLT

FLEXVOLT battery packs are dual voltage battery packs that can be used with any tool in the 20V MAX or 60V MAX lineup. This means you can power practically any cordless DeWalt tool with a single battery pack, eliminating the need for carrying multiple types of batteries and their applicable chargers.

Milwaukee

M12

The M12 lineup is Milwaukee’s smaller, lighter-duty line of power tools. These tools are ideal for home use or even for light professional use. They’re much smaller and lighter than 18V or 20V power tools, but they’re also less powerful. This lineup includes all of the basics, such as drills, impact drivers, jigsaws, flashlights, multi-tools, and even a crown stapler.

M18

M18 represents Milwaukee’s main lineup of power tools. These 18-volt tools offer loads of performance in a mid-sized package. Tools included in this lineup are impact wrenches, impact drivers, angle grinders, jigsaws, routers, multi-tools, Sawzall, and more.

M18 FUEL

You can think of the M18 FUEL lineup as the M18 lineup on steroids. The tools with the FUEL designation feature some drastic improvements, including brushless motors, REDLINK PLUS intelligence hardware and software, and special REDLITHIUM battery packs. They offer improved performance, longevity, and efficiency over the standard M18 lineup, for the ultimate in Milwaukee power tools.

DeWalt vs Milwaukee: Price

Both of these brands are considered premium tool manufacturers. They both offer premium tools and neither brand really has a “budget” lineup. That said, the Milwaukee 12V lineup offers some of the lowest prices between these two brands. But if you compare the main offerings from Milwaukee and DeWalt, the Milwaukee tools tend to be a bit more expensive.

DeWalt

DeWalt doesn’t really offer any budget-priced tools. However, they do have some affordably-priced options; such as the DCF885C1 impact driver kit or the DCD771C2 drill/driver kit. Both are available for less than $100 and include the main tool, a battery, charger, and a carrying case.

On the premium side of things, DeWalt has many offerings, including the DCN692 cordless framing nailer, or the DCK299M2 kit that includes brushless versions of an impact driver and hammer drill, as well as two batteries and a charger.

Milwaukee

If you’re budget shopping, the M12 lineup from Milwaukee offers affordable and compact tools, though they lack the power of the stronger M18 lineup. But just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re always cheap. Some are priced affordably, like the 2462-20 M12 impact driver, while others cost more than most 18-volt options.

The M18 FUEL lineup is Milwaukee’s premium offering, including some very expensive tools like the 2767-20 impact wrench or the 2997-22 hammer drill and impact driver kit, which is quite a bit pricier than DeWalt’s most similar offering.

DeWalt vs Milwaukee: Warranty

Both of these companies produce power tools that are built to withstand daily abuse in a professional setting. As such, they both include pretty decent warranties with all of their products, though Milwaukee’s warranty covers your tools for longer.

DeWalt

The basic DeWalt warranty protects all of their power tools for a period of three years from purchase. This warranty covers defects from faulty materials or workmanship but does not cover normal wear and tear or tool abuse. If your tool meets the requirements, DeWalt will repair the tool without charge.

Milwaukee

The Milwaukee warranty covers their power tools for five years from the date of purchase. This warranty covers repairs and replacements on any electric power tool that is defective in material or workmanship. Again, wear from normal use and misuse will not be covered under the warranty.

DeWalt vs Milwaukee: Customer Service

As tool companies known for supplying professionals, both of these brands offer top-notch customer service.

DeWalt

DeWalt has an online portal that allows you to begin repairs, register a tool, or even find replacement parts. But they take 24 hours or longer to respond once you start the wheels in motion, which can be annoying for someone who’s in need of immediate help.

Milwaukee

Milwaukee guarantees that repairs are completed in less than 10 days. Once finished, they’ll ship the product directly to your door. They also have an eService center that’s available 24/7, so you don’t have to wait on hold and deal with frustrating automated systems.

Head-to-Head: Cordless Drill Combo Kit

DeWalt DCK240C2 vs Milwaukee 2598-22 M12 FUEL

The DeWalt DCK240C2 kit is part of their 20V MAX lineup, and it includes an impact driver, a drill, two batteries, a charger, and a carrying case for an affordable price. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee 2598-22 kit includes a hammer drill, an impact driver, a single 12-volt battery, and a charger for a considerably higher price.

The DeWalt impact driver offers 3200 impacts per minute and a no-load speed of 2,800 RPM, while the Milwaukee impact driver offers a max speed of 3,300 RPM. However, the DeWalt manages 1,400 inch-pounds of torque while the Milwaukee tops out at 1,300. At 1.76 pounds, the Milwaukee driver is a full pound lighter than the DeWalt, though they’re both just over five inches in length.

Comparing the drills, the DeWalt lags behind with a max speed of 1,500 RPM compared to 1,700 RPM top speed from the Milwaukee. The DeWalt drill is a bit shorter and heavier, measuring 5.55 inches at 2.8 pounds, compared to the Milwaukee that’s 6.6 inches long and weighs just 2.3 pounds.

Our Verdict: Both kits offer great performance, but the price difference is drastic. Considering the huge gap in price, the DeWalt kit offers far better value.

Head-to-Head: Brad Nailer

DeWalt DCN680B 18-Gauge vs Milwaukee 2746-20 18-Gauge

Both of these nailers are designed to drive 18-gauge brad nails, but there are some stark differences between these two models. For instance, the DeWalt nailer weighs in at 5.3 pounds, while the Milwaukee version weighs a hefty 6.3 pounds. After a few hours, that extra weight will become a serious burden. However, both tools are approximately the same size.

You’ll get similar features on both tools, including tool-free depth adjustment and jam clearing. Similarly, both tools are built with brushless motors that offer efficient performance and long lifespans.

Of course, each of them is superior in its own way. The DeWalt, for instance, has a built-in LED work light to illuminate your space while you work. This feature is missing from the Milwaukee, but it’s able to shoot an impressive three nails per second, which is much faster than the DeWalt can cycle.

Our Verdict

The feature sets offered by these two nail guns are pretty similar and both of them will serve you well for years. However, once again, there’s a pretty major price discrepancy. Since the DeWalt offers similar performance for a much lower price, we have to give the edge to the DeWalt.

Head-to-Head: Circular Saw

DeWalt DCS570B 20V MAX vs Milwaukee 2631-20 M18

There are more similarities than differences when comparing these two circular saws. And for once, the price difference is minimal, though the DeWalt is still the more affordable option. Both of these saws utilize 7-1/4-inch blades and feature brushless motors. Similarly, both weigh in at 7.5 pounds with no battery.

The DeWalt DCS570B offers a 2-9/16-inch depth of cut compared to the 2-1/2-inch depth of cut from the Milwaukee. But that’s only a difference of 1/16 of an inch, which is negligible, but the difference is still in DeWalt’s favor. We can also find a small difference in max speed, with the DeWalt managing 5500 RPM compared to 5000 max RPM for the Milwaukee.

Circular saws are often used for bevel cuts, though generally, a 45-degree bevel is all that’s needed. With the Milwaukee, you’ll get a maximum bevel of 50 degrees, which is bested by the 57-degree bevel offered by the DeWalt.

Our Verdict

The differences between these two models are minimal, to say the least. However, the DeWalt saw manages to slightly outperform the Milwaukee saw for a cheaper price, earning it the win.

Overall Brand Reputation

Performance

Edge: DeWalt

Neither of these brands is a slouch when it comes to performance, and comparing similar models between brands often results in a lot of back and forth. It’s hard to definitively say that either company offers superior performance. However, on the models we’ve directly compared between the two brands, the DeWalt offering tends to outperform the most similar model from Milwaukee.

Price

Edge: DeWalt

There’s no question that DeWalt offers far better pricing than Milwaukee. Even on tools where DeWalt had a clear performance advantage over the most similar model available from Milwaukee, the DeWalt tool was priced quite a bit lower. If you’re looking at two similar tools between these brands, it’s almost guaranteed that the DeWalt will be priced more affordably.

Warranty

Edge: Milwaukee

This is the one category where Milwaukee is the obvious winner. DeWalt’s warranty is no slouch, but it only covers their tools for three years. Milwaukee does a bit better with a five-year warranty period. However, both warranties cover only tools that are damaged from faulty materials and workmanship. Neither company will warranty a tool damaged by regular wear and tear or abuse.

Diversity

Edge: DeWalt

Milwaukee offers a large selection of tools that will all work on the M18 platform. In fact, there are over 150 tools in the lineup. But DeWalt beats that with a vast selection of more than 200 tools that work on their 20V MAX batteries. And if you were to count all the tools in the FLEXVOLT lineup as well, that number would be much higher.

Conclusion

Once you pick a power tool brand, you’ll likely stick with it for a long time. After all, every tool in the lineup will use the same batteries, so you’ll only have to invest in chargers and batteries once. In 2021, we think the best brand to trust is DeWalt. Their tools offer excellent performance at reasonable prices, and they’re all warrantied for three years. Milwaukee tools are a great choice, but they can’t match DeWalt’s affordable prices and incredible value.

You may also be interested in:

• DeWalt Atomic vs XR: Which Tool is Better in 2021?
• Greenworks vs Ryobi: Who Makes the Better Outdoor Tools
• Hilti vs Milwaukee: Which Power Tools Brand is Better?