We wrote about the Makita XPH012 18V hammer drill kit a couple of times now, most recently in our Best 18V Cordless Drill Kit under $100 roundup.
It’s a Makita compact cordless hammer drill that came out last year, and it makes its appearance every holiday season as a $99 kit offering.
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A reader wrote in, asking for us to compare Makita’s $99 cordless drill kit with a Milwaukee offering. We compare it to more models in our $100 drill kit guide, but I think the Makita vs. Milwaukee comparison is a good one to get into since both will be very visible at your favorite retailers this holiday season.
The Milwaukee M18 drill kit, along with Bosch’s $99 offering and Dewalt’s, are mentioned in our Best Black Friday 2015 Cordless Drill Deals discussion. Perhaps I should add mention of the Makita hammer drill in there as well?
Gary wrote in:
Curious to hear what you think about the $99 Makita drill that Home Depot (and Amazon) is carrying vs, the Milwaukee 2606. From what I have read you really like the Milwaukee 2606.
I’m curious to hear what you would recommend between the two, any drawbacks to the Makita? I am not a contractor, just a homeowner looking for something solid that will last for years to come. From what you can tell is the Makita a stripped down version of the tool or is it the same as the Milwaukee in terms of it being the regular tool.
Makita XPH012
As far as I am aware, the Makita is a re-release of a “white” Makita 18V tool (XPH01RW). It looks identical, top to bottom, although maybe there are some internal differences. The specs are identical.
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Makita’s white tools, which are bundled in kits with compact Li-ion batteries, are considered by some to be their “DIYer” and “consumer-grade” products. Maybe giving the XPH012 a teal-colored housing makes it look more like their professional tools?
Thus it’s not really a “stripped down” drill, and I don’t think it means much if this drill’s origins are tied to Makita’s compact “white” 18V tool line.
Standout features include the single 3Ah battery pack and fast 30 minute charger.
- 480 in-lbs max torque
- 2-speed gearbox (0-400, 0-1500 RPM)
- 1/2″ chuck
- LED worklight
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Buy Now(via Acme)
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Milwaukee M18 2606-21CT
I’ve mentioned Milwaukee’s 2606 drill kit deal a couple of times as well.
This M18 compact drill is said to be a little more powerful and faster than the Makita model, and it comes bundled with a single compact Li-ion battery pack. There’s also a 2-battery pack, but for more money.
This is Milwaukee’s “regular” brushed motor drill that’s bundled in a single-battery kit to achieve the lower price.
- 500 in-lbs max torque
- 2-speed gearbox (0-400, 0-1800 RPM)
- 1/2″ chuck
- LED worklight
Buy Now(via Acme Tool)
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Which to Buy?
If push comes to shove, weigh the benefits and tradeoffs of each.
Do you want a hammer drill function? Or the motor with the higher torque rating and faster RPMs?
Do you want to buy into Makita’s 18V lineup with a 3Ah battery pack, or Milwaukee’s M18 lineup with a compact Li-ion battery pack?
Do you want the more compact and lighter weight tool (Milwaukee)?
I have much more experience with Milwaukee’s M18 cordless power tool platform, but I have also had good experiences with the couple of Makita 18V tools I’ve used or tested.
There are good reasons to buy into either brand’s cordless tool platforms.
Honestly, I don’t think you could go wrong with either.
What do you guys think? Milwaukee M18 2606 or Makita 18V XPH012?
Bradley Hanstad
I feel like it is only recently (last 3-5years) that Milwaukee has overthrown Makita in top end stats and perhaps quality. Makita still is a brand I will levitate to because of some simple things their tools have, or had, over others. Simple things like LEDs on tools that dont go out the second you stop using the tool or replaceable brushes on motors.
At the end of the day I consider Makita and Milwaukee top of their class for a lot of tools, but like with any tool I consider all options and each tool has a winner for me. As an example: I generally don’t look to Dewalt for my power tools, but their portable table saws are clear winners because of that sexy rack and pinion.
I have a $99 Makita kit from a few black fridays ago as my larger drill/driver combo, but last year I got a set of m12s from Milwaukee to be a smaller compact on the go set. Both have served me well. Red or Blue? I build combat robots and have used makita motors and gearboxes for years in robots, so I will always have that blind faith in the brand, but the choice is yours.
Vaheh
I would have agreed with this up until 2015. Makita have stepped up their quality and performance pretty much leading the pack in the 18v cordless platform. We’ve seen lots of issues with milwaukee that are non-existent with the teal tools. If this was 2014 I’d have said go with milwaukee.
adam
What are some of the Milwaukee issues? I haven’t seen anything really pop up for them. I did see it mentioned once of the 1st gen Fuels, that if they dropped just right, they stopped working. Never had a problem with mine, but I don’t think I’ve dropped mine either
Pablo
Slipping chucks, failing triggers, failing electronics (this might only be in the brushless ones though that need a little more electronics to run).
Makita hasn’t been on quite on the bleeding edge as Milwaukee, but when they release a tool, they make sure its right. Five years down the road, will you remember who was first to market with a 1200 in-lb drill? Or will you remember the one that works? 🙂
Hugh
Really how about their lxt grinder, thing couldn’t cut paper?Their 23 gauge pinner doesn’t sink the pin. I heard the first compact brushless drills motors were easy to burn up. The first cordless lxt miter saw ripped the boards more than cut them. Batteries left in the cold won’t charge anymore. You guys need to stop turning such a blind eye to the problems team Teal has. All major tool companies make some lemons.
Vaheh
A couple of my favorites are the motor protection circuitry not doing its job and most of the chucks not spinning true. I don’t know how many broken cordless milwaukee m18s we’ve fixed versus seldom makitas coming in and usually they are much older and near the end of their lifespan.
Hugh
I know their chucks are terrible, I replaced mine with some Jacob’s chucks. I’ve never had a problem with my M18 fuel drill. I’ve had it since they came out. I think you might be getting some of those drills back from people that don’t read the limits of the tool. I never had a problem with my Makita drills either though. I’ve put as large as 7 inch hole saws in them and have been fine just put them in low.
Jason
Milwaukee isn’t facing a class action lawsuit over defective batteries. Every tool company has issues as they are all designed down to a price point.
john o
Well I bought both today. My 25 year old 12v Dewalt has done well but it needs new brushes and of course a new battery. I figured I could nor fo wrong just updating and the Milwaukee was $59 and the Mikita was $69. So for under the price of two new batteries I got two new drills chargers and batteries. I may even buy two more just for the extra battery.
JMG
I actually find this to be a difficult question to answer. In truth, I feel that I would have to have both of these kits side by side and be able to use them on the same project in order to make an informed choice. One thought that I do have is that I would much rather have a compact SDS drill over a normal drill with the hammer function on it for smaller bits. The run of the mill tap-con bits have a tendency to bottom out in a hammer drill and can damage the mounting screw for the chuck in some models.
Dylan
What I was told was that the most important thing with buying cordless tools is the platform. Once you buy into a company, then it’s cheaper to stick with them by buying bare tools instead of having to buy batteries and chargers again from another company. That is why I went with Makita. More cordless tools than any other company, and most of their top end stuff beats every other company (drills, impact drivers, jigsaw, etc.)
Dan M
I purchased the Makita a few weeks back for $99, after seeing several of them in use by subs working on our house. It was the best selling cordless drill on Amazon and I can see why. You get a lot for your money. The charger is great. I’m amazed how fast it charges (about 20 minutes). The case is good too – it’s not one of those cases that hugs the part as if it’s been molded around it, but is like a walled box with thin dividers to stop the piences sliding around. There room in there for two more batteries. I’m sure the Milwaukee is great, but I don’t think you can go wrong with the Makita. I’m now thinking of getting the similar teal set with the impact driver. So building the “white” kit, but getting hard cases and two chargers for the same $200.
Daniel de andrade
We have both at the shop, the drill is actually not the Makita white. As the white makitas don’t have the separate selection collar and no hammer. The white makitas will be replaced by the xfd10z. I bought this drill for the shop after our milwaukees that we bought last Black Friday crapped out, slowly started loosing power and was getting inefficient. I put this thing the ought it’s pies just like the Milwaukee did its holding out just fine. The quick charge and ergonomics on the Makita did it for me.
Toolfreak
Some great advice in this thread already.
I’d say anyone looking to buy a drill would do well to shop around in person first, and get your hands on one of the brands you are considering. Even if it’s not the same exact model, you can get a sense how the drill feels in your hand, and hopefully mess around with it under battery power.
I don’t think either the Milwaukee or the Makita are bad choices, but the Bosch kit at $99 is a strong contender as well.
I’d also VERY strongly suggest that any homeower/DIYer also try and handle the compact drill offerings from Bosch and Milwaukee before deciding on an 18V drill.
The $99 deals on these compact 12V drills that come with TWO batteries, plus the lighter weight and smaller size make them ideal for most things if you don’t actually need an 18V drill.
Jay
Picked up the Makita deal on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. Was looking for a medium duty cordless hammer drill with a 1/2″ chuck. Fills that role perfectly. Also picked up the $99 Makita XDT042 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Driver Kit as a Christmas gift for a family member. Nice little unit. Snagged a Makita XDT11R 18V Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless Impact Driver Kit to go along with the new hammer drill. That thing is one bad little motor scooter.
Next on the list is a Makita DML801 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless 12 LED work light.
Which to buy? Obviously I’d have to say the Makita.
Working on replacing some aging nicad powered yellow tools. Did a lot of homework then followed my intuition, buying into the Makita platform. They all have their faults but the Makita tools appear to have the fewest. The only nit I would pick with Makita is the location of the forward and reverse buttons on the impact drivers. It’s all to easy to inadvertently press them during use. Think that once I get used to the new handle geometry verses my older DeWalt that I’ve used for years, the rare errant button press will become a thing of the past. Other than that one little gripe these new Makita tools are proving to be excellent in daily use.
Pete
A couple years ago i had to replace a white makita impact driver that was stolen. It was the same time their brushless tools came out AND the teal color came out at almost the same time. So i bought the teal bare tool impact driver thinking it was the brushless version. Well two weeks later i talk to the makita rep at HD and she said that “the teal color was to only indicate that the kit comes with a 3.0 battery”. So i asked then why do you have teal bare tools? She said “i dunno”.
I will say i think it was pretty stupid decision, they could have made teal their premium tools. The difference in color indicating a premium drill would create more desired value.
Jay
Update:
Welp, so much for the XPH012, it’s going back. Probably just got a lemon but going for a different model since I use my tools to make a living and can’t afford the down time. I’ve got a cordless DeWalt and a corded Milwaukee hammer drill so it’s an inconvenience but nothing more since Amazon paid for the return shipping label. The thing started making noise like gears banging while under load with a hole saw and grinding gears can be heard and felt through the handle using drill bits. Ordered the Makita XPH03Z to replace it. Costs $94 after the $25 off $100 BF discount.
Toolpig
I have huge collections of both Milwaukee and Makita cordless tools. I love the cordless lighting Milwaukee offers as well as the brushless Sawzall and 1/2″ high torque impact wrench. I also love the Hackzall and the fuel drills as well as the compact brushless drills. I do not like the Milwaukee impact drivers. They are not very smooth or particularly controllable and puke grease from the chucks. I own and use several brushed and fuel versions and do not like any of them as much as the Makita equivalents. My favorite Makita tools are the new BL brushless tools. They are simply the best on earth. They took longer to bring them to market than Milwaukee but they sure did their Homework. They are smoother, more refined and powerful than the Milwaukee equivalents. The tools mentioned here are entry level tools. They are both fine. Either one will do the job. Either one should last a very long time. So the answer to the question is which line has more of the tools you anticipate needing in the future.