If you’re shopping for a pro brand cordless drill deal at the $99 price point, the choice often comes down to Milwaukee vs Dewalt.
Both brands have regular and long-lasting promotional cordless drill deals throughout the year, which makes sense as this is often the first power tool many pros, DIYers, homeowners, hobbyists, and other users buy.
Dewalt, Milwaukee, and other tool brands aren’t just selling you a drill, they’re selling you an entry point into their cordless power tool systems. As such, competition is fierce.
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Around a year ago I was shopping for a cordless drill to give as a gift and was indecisive about the choice. Today, my choice and recommendation is much clearer – I’d skip Dewalt and get the Milwaukee deal.
I’ve purchased some of Dewalt’s cordless drill kits before, and feel they’re great values. But there’s just too much confusion to sort through these days, even if I wasn’t convinced the Milwaukee cordless drill kit is the better package.
The problem here is that the choice doesn’t come down to Milwaukee vs Dewalt, but Milwaukee vs Dewalt vs Dewalt vs Dewalt vs Dewalt.
The Milwaukee M18 brushless drill kit, 3601-21P, is $99 at Home Depot these days. It’s regularly the same price at other stores as well, although that’s not the case right now.
As with all of the deals discussed here, if this kit isn’t $99, you should strongly consider looking at a different model or kit configuration.
The 3601 has a 1/2″ ratcheting chuck, 0-550 and 0-1700 RPM 2-speed gearbox, max torque of 550 in-lbs, and measures 5.7″ in length, making it a fairly compact drill with mid-level muscle.
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The kit is bundled with a single M18 2Ah Li-ion battery, charger, and tool bag. I feel this is a great cordless drill for the money.
Let’s see what Dewalt offers at the same price point.
Amazon has one of the most popular Dewalt cordless drill deals on the market, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. Their $99 promo features a Dewalt brushed motor drill that launched nearly 12 years ago, and it’s bundled with 2x 1.3Ah batteries.
This drill delivers 0-450 and 0-1500 RPM speeds with its 2-speed gearbox, and is rated at 300 UWO ( Dewalt doesn’t provide max torque specs).
Why would anyone buy this old clunky drill with low capacity batteries? I believe it’s Amazon’s bestselling cordless drill because it’s Amazon’s bestselling cordless drill. People likely buy this for the Dewalt name and because they don’t know there are better options out there.
Home Depot now has this kit at the $99 price point as well. We’ll revisit this in a moment.
Amazon has another Dewalt cordless drill at $99, and while better this is also an older model.
This and the brushed motor drill kit are both sold and shipped directly by Amazon, and they sell in such high quantities that suggest Amazon is getting inventory directly from Dewalt.
The Dewalt DCD777 cordless drill features a brushless motor, 0-500/0-1750 RPM speeds, 340 UWO max power, and has a 7.6″ length – nearly 2″ longer than the Milwaukee.
While better than the other Dewalt deal, and it was updated in recent years with a 2Ah battery, the DCD777 launched nearly 9 years ago.
Several online retailers, and also industrial supplier Grainger, have started describing this as an “Xtreme” model which makes no sense to me.
Lowe’s has yet another different Dewalt cordless drill deal. This kit, model DCD793D1, is newer than the others I previously mentioned.
It features a brushless motor, 0-450 and 1650 RPM max speeds, 404 UWO max power output, and 6.4″ length.
I feel that this model is better than the 2 others, but it still doesn’t compare well against the Milwaukee deal.
Acme Tools has yet another different cordless drill kit, also at $99.
Home Depot usually heavily promotes this Dewalt brushless drill kit deal for $99 as well, but they haven’t been doing that. Maybe they’ll finally discount it again for Father’s Day.
This kit, DCD794D1, which features a Dewalt 20V Max Atomic brushless motor drill, charger, and 2Ah battery.
It delivers 0-450 and 0-1650 RPM speeds, 404 UWO max power, and is 5.9″ in length. Dewalt bundles the drill with a 2Ah battery and charger.
This is the ONLY one of the Dewalt 20V Max $99 cordless drill kits that I might choose ahead of the Milwaukee M18 compact brushless kit.
Home Depot normally has this Dewalt Atomic brushless drill kit on sale for $99, but it’s now at its off-season price of $179.
Home Depot has the Dewalt XR cordless drill kit, with better specs and 2 batteries instead of 1, at the same exact price. $179 is a good price for an XR kit but not the Atomic kit.
Acme Tools has the Atomic series drill and impact driver combo kit for $169. Even if Acme didn’t have the drill kit for $99, nobody should be buying the Dewalt 20V Max Atomic drill kit for $179 at Home Depot – it’s just such a bad value.
Back to the main point, Dewalt has 4 different $99 cordless drill kit deals right now. Some retailers, such as Acme Tools carry ALL of the deals.
Dewalt DCD771 Deal at Acme Tools
Dewalt DCD777 Deal at Acme Tools
Dewalt DCD793 Deal at Acme Tools
Dewalt DCD794 Deal at Acme Tools
Several online retailers have started advertising the older model Dewalt DCD777 drill kit deal as an “Xtreme cordless brushless 1/2″ drill driver kit.” I’ve seen this language at Acme Tools, CPO, and even at Grainger.
So there’s the old brushed model with 2 batteries, the old brushless model that’s now described as being Xtreme, the brushless model that’s at Lowe’s and many online dealers, and the Atomic model that’s at Home Depot and many online dealers.
There’s nothing XTREME about this model, other than it being extremely outclassed by other options.
Other than here, Dewalt only uses Xtreme for their modern 12V Max cordless power tools, with Xtreme SubCompact differentiating the newer brushless tools from the brushed motor ones that first launched 15 years ago.
I’m surprised that Home Depot has this older brushed model drill kit for $99 rather than the typical Atomic Series model. I’m not sure what the implication is.
What I do know is that all of this is a headache to sort through.
If you’re shopping for your first cordless drill and are faced with Dewalt 20V Max brushed vs Dewalt 20V Max Xtreme vs Dewalt 20V Max brushless vs Dewalt 20V Max Atomic, good luck sorting that out without help.
But if you are in such a position, here’s a brief Dewalt cordless drill kit cheat sheet:
Brushed DCD771C2 – old brushed motor model sold at Amazon, Home Depot, elsewhere
Xtreme DCD777D1 – old brushless model sold at Amazon, elsewhere
Brushless DCD793D1 – newer model sold at Lowe’s and elsewhere (but not Home Depot), not as compact as Atomic
Atomic DCD794D1 – newer model sold at Home Depot and elsewhere (but not Lowe’s)
Frankly speaking, I don’t understand why Dewalt needs 4 different cordless drills at the same promotional price at the same time. Of the 4 Dewalt deal options, the DCD794 is the best one, and I’d say this is the only Dewalt kit anyone should be buying for $99.
While Milwaukee has their own promotional nuances, I feel a lot of people would be better off skipping the Dewalt confusion and getting the Milwaukee M18 compact brushless drill kit for $99. Plus, I feel it’s the better tool.
With respect to relative positioning, I think the Milwaukee M18 brushless drill kit is better than all of the Dewalt 20V Max models discussed above, but not quite as good as the Dewalt XR models which are priced considerably higher.
Edward Sichler
Thank you for this great analysis/comparison between Milwaukee and DeWalt cordless drills. I have been and will continue to be a Milwaukee user although my growing list of tools is in the M12 group. I have considered moving up to the M18 series but have delayed as I have several Kobalt brushless lawn tools of the 24v variety and their 80v lawnmower, all of which have been great performers for me. There have been times when I have needed a more powerful drill and have borrowed one or another neighbors to get the task done.
I keep looking for a great deal on a Kobalt 24v drill and impact driver kit but just have not seen one I like. Today I have 4 24v 4ah batteries, one 2ah battery and four chargers (2 of which are still in a box having never been used) so my thought is to look for a deal for just the two tools only. Thoughts or comments from all would be welcomed and appreciated.
Thanks,
Ed
Stuart
Thanks! There are sometimes/usually M12 Fuel promos too, where you can get the M12 Fuel drill kit with 1 battery for $99, but not at the moment. Scratch that, Ohio Power Tool looks to be the retailer with this promo right now but with a TBD delivery ETA. It’s out of stock everywhere else and might not return until October for the Black Friday shopping season.
If you’re in M12 already, there’s the benefit of M12 and M18 sharing the same charger, which is pretty convenient.
Kobalt 24V Max isn’t bad. It’s going to be a little larger and heavier than 18V, because it was designed for a power advantage. At this time Lowe’s has the Kobalt drill kit for $106, and a 2-tool combo kit for $149, but it’s cheap for them to only give you 1 battery.
There’s no good bundle deal offering on the Milwaukee compact brushless tools right now. The best 2-tool option there is to get the drill kit mentioned above and promo-priced 3650 impact driver kit that’s also $99, for $198 combined.
All of these are compact cordless drills. If you want higher power, that’s a step up to XR, M18 Fuel, or similar. There’s a Kobalt XTR drill kit for $139, which might be a good option for you since you’re already in the 24V Max system.
Edward Sichler
Stuart, thanks for the info in your posting above. I have updated my M12 to fuel series for both impact and drill/hammer drivers and will get larger batteries as soon as there is a good sale price for a pair.
Given that I have kobalt 24v batteries (4 are 4ah) and multiple chargers I am focused on tools only.
Luis
When none of the big box and online retailers have any promos Ebay is your friend. They have a few new Kobalt 24V Max and XTR drills and impact drivers between $50 and $75 bare tool or $70 to $90 with charger and battery.
Keep in mind these don’t have any warranty but the savings might be worth it.
Edward Sichler
Luis, thanks for the info about Ebay. I will look to see if I can find a few good deals. I also check out Facebook Marketplace here in the Austin area and have missed out on a few good deals but will keep trying.
Jared
It’s embarrassing that Dewalt keeps selling the DCD771. I realize they ONLY do it because it’s popularity breeds more sales, but it’s a lousy drill in today’s market.
It does seem like they have too many budget drills. It would help the consumer if they just sold the the “good” one and quit flogging the rest, but doubtless they like having alternate options for different retailers.
Stuart
They’ll keep making and selling thousands of that and the “Xtreme” model every month because consumers keep buying them, and consumers keep buying them because they’re not well informed about better alternatives at the same price.
The consensus is that the newer DCD793 and DCD794 models coexist so that Home Depot gets an “exclusive” Atomic model and Lowe’s gets a lesser one to claim exclusivity over.
scott taylor
There selling the old drills because they have a product line set up in the factory and why spend any money changing it if sells well. Might even be a factory that is just doing contract manufactoring which is just free cash for SBD. Will be interesting to see if the tariffs cause a sliming down of the product line.
Josephus
This partially answers my question of “Why Dewalt do this?” if people keep buying them that is a good reason.
Another question, asked in general. Didn’t see it mentioned in the article. Are all the Dewalt 20v batteries cross-compatible? I have Dewalt 20v Max at work but no other exposure to Dewalt stuff.
Jared
Yes, all the Dewalt 20v (and 60v) batteries work in all the 20v tools.
Tdot77
Yes, all 20v batteries are interchangeable in all 20v tools, AND with a DeWalt 20v->18v adapter you could use ‘new’ Li-ion batteries in the old 18v Ni-cd tool line. Also as mentioned the 60volt batteries are backwards compatible with 20v tools to if you’d happen to have something like a yard tool in that 60v line.
Nate
Right. The line setup is a sunk cost, it’s paid for, and the only damage it could do is brand reputation by selling tired old drills. But the people buying these are clearly not informed enough to realize any of that reputational damage, so there’s just no downside to Dewalt.
And maybe there’s some repeat customers who just want an exact replacement of one that served them well, and would prefer not to upgrade? They also end up happy in this situation.
Selling the old models seems perverse on its face, but ultimately I think it makes sense. I don’t blame Dewalt one bit.
KokoTheTalkingApe
Right, and they are not terrible drills. Durable, capable. They’re just not as powerful as other drills that cost the same. But if they don’t need the power, then there’s no downside for the customer.
Stuart
What about if two drill kits are bundled with a 2Ah battery or 1.3Ah battery, with no difference in price?
Would you argue there’s no downside to the consumer in spending the same money for the kit with a cheaper battery? If they were aware, would anyone buy the lesser kit?
Even if the older, larger, and weaker tools are functional, they’re not good values for consumers, relative to alternatives at the same exact price.
KokoTheTalkingApe
Sure. More batteries is good.
I’m not saying that people can’t get “better” drills for the same money. I’m saying that what is a “better” drill might not matter for a lot of people.
Jared
There is a downside – that drill is bulky, slow, heavy… and has terribly batteries if you’re purchasing it to enter Dewalt’s 20v system. The other options are all upside for the consumer in comparison.
I completely understand though, that many people who buy that drill are entirely satisfied with it – they just don’t know any better. If your last drill was something from the Ni-cd age, the DCD771 probably feels great.
Joseph Perkins
I cant remember if my old drill is the 771 but it’s basically that style and brushed. It was still killing it up until a couple months ago when I got the itch to upgrade to a newer brushless model. And then again to the xr 800. I know about tools and still didn’t think the 771 was bad in any way. Are there better drills, sure. But it did everything I needed it to do as a handyman side jobs.
That being said the 800 rips. Even the atomic 794 drill was solid and def an upgrade. But the 771 took a licking and keeps on ticking. Ill definitely keep it on hand as a truck drill or something I’m not scared to lose.
Stuart
The question is, would you buy the DCD771 kit today when you can get the DCD794 kit for the same money? The DCD794 is smaller, more powerful, and more efficient, and comes with a more useful battery size.
Donny
They do more harm giving 2ah batteries with many of their tools. Take their oscillating tool. Admittedly I only bought it with a battery because it was an insane deal but it’s a POS with that battery. Who would know without having a 5ah that it is a completely different tool with that battery? Plus their insistence on giving you a stupid zipper bag. Dewalt now is black and decker. DeWalt being “made in America” replaced it and was how it was sold to us. It was simply the best. Nothing came close. Now DeWalt needs a new line above it. Milwaukee is simply trashing it. If I was starting over I would buy Milwaukee. Just in coil factor it wins. DeWalt just isn’t as “cool” as it used to be.
Mike
Does anyone actually use those tool bags that come in these kits? I have enough of these bags that I put all my unused chargers in one of them, just to get them out of the way.
KokoTheTalkingApe
I use them to keep tools together with their accessories and blades.
Jon
I like bags when I’m working. I like boxes for storage and organization. It’s like shopping, the bags are convenient for moving items from point A to B. When you get home, you put everything away.
x lu
I dont fall into the agree camp in all cases. Specifically who the user is matters. If this is for very occassional use, the 1st DeWalt option with 2 batteries is a good one if the combined run time exceeds the run time of the Milwaukee. Nothing else matters if you are hanging blinds or drapes, the ocassional toggle bolt, eye hook, rta furniture etc. For the occasional user it is not an entry point but a dead end-one tool, few uses. Having noted that, i do agree that DeWalt is a confusing mess- they believe they are selling new and improved soap powder in another super spectacular package. Hard pass on them because i find following them in the cordless arena is just too exhausting.
David
Dewalt is really starting to feel like a marketing company that sells tools. Their product oversaturation, and their decision to obfuscate power ratings with the UWO standard feel like smoke and mirrors. It’s not a consumer-friendly philosophy and I’m not interested in their brand just on principle; I don’t like what they’re doing.
Oarman
“Dewalt, Milwaukee, and other tool brands aren’t just selling you a drill, they’re selling you an entry point into their cordless power tool systems. As such, competition is fierce.”
Phrased differently, drills are loss leaders to get you ideally locked into the battery platform and realistically at this price point it’s a battery and charger with free tool.
And as this exercise shows, you as the consumer can get more or less out of it (I didn’t realize Dewalt even still made 1.3ah batteries). I understand it’s not the crux of the article but:
– Brushed brushless xtreme whatever, the $99 drill is not really a great buy. Going a little up in cost and getting a drill / impact driver combo is usually a lot better value and a lot of brands have that combo at the $150 point or lower, at least during sales
– Purely as drills all of these listed are in a weird space where smaller tools (often 12v) do a lot of the lighter jobs fine and for serious drilling you’d probably be happier with a hammer drill further up the product line. So any of these $99 drills are OK for lots of tasks but great for few.
Those points and the fact that performance stats are disconnected from sales makes me wonder how many of these are bought by the user and how many are bought as gifts.
Scott K
The number of lines and similar models has always confused me. I’ve wondered if this is because different retailers want unique tool line names or SKUs. I also wonder if part of this has to do with Amazon’s various “top pick” labels. Lots of people but a tool, it earns the tag, people want what is tried-and-true so they continue to buy, so DeWalt continues to sell.
Chris
That’s an odd thing Dewalt is doing offering so many different kits at $99. And the variety between drill models is huge, not to mention the battery options.
I get that not every may need a brushless, high powered drill. But if you’re going to pay $99 anyway, get something that will widen your drilling capabilities.
If I was looking for a drill, which I’m not because I already have so many drills and drivers, I’d go with either the compact or the atomic brushless model. Yeah you only get one 2ah battery but the 1.3ah batteries are a pain to work with. They do work. They will do most tasks. But there’s no battery gage on them. It’s frustrating to not know what your charge level is.
Orange Apron Guy
I’ve been a long time lurker here, many years actually. I work at Home Depot and can tell you DeWalt is a mess with all their options. We have a full time Milwaukee rep in the store, he’s fantastic and knows everything about the brand. About once a month we get somebody wearing a DeWalt polo, and that guy can’t hardly begin to explain the catalog of stuff and the differences between them. It’s a perfect example of how bloated and confusing the DeWalt catalog has become.
Is Milwaukee perfect? Of course not, I’m friends with the rep and I know what red offerings to avoid.
Goodie
I fully realize I am breaking the rules of this discussion in that I am introducing another brand. But I think it’s useful.
ToolNut has the Metabo HPT – DS18DBFL2Q4M – 620ft/lbs for $91.00. I’d get that one over any of these options. I have that drill and it has a hammer drill function. Is it premium? No. But I think it’s better than these other two options, and it gets a user into a line with some great options. They don’t have an OPE line, but I think most folks are best served getting a 40v line for OPE.
https://www.toolnut.com/metabo-hpt-ds18dbfl2q4m-18v-brushless-driver-drill.html?gQT=2
Stuart
I appreciate your attempt to help, but we’re talking about complete drill kits for $99, and you’re recommending a tool-only drill for $92. How much is everything going to cost when you have to buy a battery and charger separately?
You also say it has a hammer drill function, but it does NOT. The hammer drill is a different model; the DV18DBFL2Q4M hammer drill retails for a lot more.
Goodie
Yep, didn’t see those differences. I have the M model. Great points!
Vards Uzvards
The DS18DEX Metabo-HPT *kit* (with *two* 2Ah batteries) was just $79 on Amazon.com, five weeks ago. That was the beast deal on a cordless drill!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBB4MC1T/
Stuart
Sure, but it’s $129 now. They have a 2-tool combo kit for $159, and that (or maybe the other one) are regularly discounted to less than that as well.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVPS2ZYN/?tag=toolguyd-20
Metabo HPT deals are very unpredictable.
Saulac
I’ll take a moment to reflect on buying stuff based on numbers of sale/review. How many of stuff that I have bought are actually ancient-18v-with-20v-receptacle-Dewalt drills?
Stuart
Zero.
JG
I think price matching between Home Depot and Lowe’s is a big part of Dewalt having so many different models. Lowe’s doesn’t carry Milwaukee, yes there’s other places that carry yellow and red but those are the biggest retailers that do. Dewalt did recently announce it wanted to get rid of the confusion and streamline their products, looks like they got rid of the power detect line, don’t know about the others. Hopefully they’ll just do a good, better, best (homeowner, light residential, commercial heavy duty). My 2 cents, maybe someone from Dewalt will see this. I do commercial construction and buy mostly DeWalt XR or Milwaukee Fuel but I can see the confusion for those not in the trade.