Ryobi posted another head to head comparison video on social media, where they demonstrate one of their tools against a lower-spec Craftsman model.
In the latest post, Ryobi once again shows off their new 18V HP brushless hammer drill next to one from Craftsman’s V20 brushless RP line.
Here are some of the responses from Ryobi’s followers:
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2 different blocks one on the left is a higher density
That craftsman was definitely in reverse
I like ryobi but yea. You can see the dust swirling counterclockwise…
yep didn’t notice that at first but it clearly is in reverse, well spotted lol
I watched the video a couple of times, and it does look like the Craftsman drill is being run in reverse. If true, that would slow down the drilling speed.
Also, the drills are close enough together – why not have both drills tested on the same concrete block?
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Even if Ryobi didn’t cheat with the comparison – it looks like they might have, but I don’t think they’d do something like that – this isn’t an even comparison.
The Ryobi model is a high performance hammer drill with high enough torque that it needs an auxiliary handle, while the Craftsman is a more compact model.
Craftsman doesn’t make a higher performance cordless hammer drill, but this still makes for a very imbalanced comparison.
Additionally, the Ryobi drill is powered by their new Edge battery, which features tabless 21700-sized cells, while the Craftsman is powered by an older-style battery pack with 18650-sized cells.
It’s not a fair comparison.
The Ryobi hammer drill kit is $179 at Home Depot, but you need to spend an extra $99 to get the Edge battery as there’s no tool-only version right now.
Craftsman’s brushless hammer is $99 by itself, and a separate starter kit with 2x batteries is $99 from Lowe’s (I’ve seen it for as low as $79).
Even if we ignore the mismatch between the two products, they’re sold at different price points.
Ryobi says:
Delivering 45% faster hammer drilling and up to 850 in-lbs. of torque to crush the competition and the toughest jobs.
That’s not wrong. A high performance hammer drill will “crush the competition” when the competition doesn’t have a high performance hammer drill.
Even if the Ryobi drill isn’t being pushed harder, even if the test blocks are the same density, even if both drill bits are fresh out of the box, and even if the Craftsman wasn’t accidentally being driven in reverse or at a lower speed, the comparison is still skewed due to differences in the products being tested.
I don’t think they cheated. But can Ryobi prove they didn’t cheat and that the demonstration was as fair as possible to the competing product? No, especially when uncontrolled testing is done by more than one person.
Even if the products were evenly matched, there are too many ways to influence the outcome, which is why you rarely see such comparisons from mature brands.
Here’s Ryobi’s post. Do you think it’s a fair test or comparison against Craftsman?
Mark M.
Huh. This reads like a redirect to technical specs while minimizing some clearly deceptive tactics. I can’t help but wonder if this was Kobalt or some other brand that didn’t have a Big Orange affiliation, if you’d cut another brand as much slack.
Stuart
What part did you find to be “clearly deceptive?”
From the video, it looks like their test was poorly designed where Ryobi can never guarantee it’s fair. Not to mince words, I don’t think that Ryobi’s social media team would be so unwise as to manipulate a demonstration to favor their product over the competing product. But here’s also no reason for them to even consider doing that, given the unfair imbalance between the two products.
I call out this type of marketing when I come across it. I don’t like it, and find it foul, regardless as to the brand or retailer.
I expressed my distaste for the uneven comparison before – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/ryobi-craftsman-cordless-drill-social-media-comparison-2025/%3C/a%3E .
Watch the video and judge for yourself.
I’m not a fan of this type of marketing and call it out as I come across it, regardless of the brand or retailer.
Mark M.
To a casual consumer, it’s deceptive to 1) Use a similar but different block, 2) Run the drill in reverse, and 3) Make no attempt to use the same pressure on the drill. Both as individual aspects and on the whole, that’s deceptive. You’re giving a lot of grace to the Ryobi social media team in spite of video evidence to the contrary.
Stuart
We don’t know for certain whether the block is different other than in appearance, whether different pressure is used, if the competitor drill is in reverse, or the condition of the starting drill bit. From a scientific point of view, this is a bad test.
The video lacks the resolution and playback controls for us to see the motion of the chuck and drill bit more clearly. That it appears to be going in reverse could be an illusion.
Regarding the mismatched product selection, that’s an intentional choice they made, and I find that choice to be extremely disagreeable.
But as far as how they tested the tools and what they show in their “crushing the competition” demonstration, I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt that it looks worse than it really is.
I don’t think they were being “clearly deceptive,” but I’m also not sure of that (tool selection notwithstanding), hence the discussion.
I’d rather give them the benefit of the doubt and find I was wrong to do so.
TomD
For a few hundred dollars you could buy both drills and run it yourself. Could even go viral!
Dave
Very unlikely to be in reverse, have you ever tried to drill block in reverse? It’s not going to make a hole even that (not) quickly.
MM
Agreed 100%.
I am no expert when it comes to masonry or concrete but to my eyes those two blocks are clearly different density. The greater porosity in the block on the right is easy to see. There’s zero reason for using two blocks when they could simply drill the same block. And yeah, it sure looks like the Craftsman is running backwards.
Could this be just optical illusions? Maybe. But I’m not inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt when they started the comparison off deceptively by choosing to pit a higher end Ryobi model with a brand new tabless pack against a compact Craftsman using a less capable battery.
will
Not only the different sized drills with the ryobi at about 850 in lbs while from what i can find the craftsman has about 280 in lbs. That’s a joke and they should’ve compared it to the old dewalt 990 which had 850 in lbs and is aboit 7-8 years old. Either way there are alot of drills they could compare to and not a compact drill. Oh and the blocks are clearly different densities,the craftsman has 2.5 times less power,its apparently in reverse and it has to drill through a block thats much denser. Kind of leaves a sour taste but the selection of tools and the fact most people won’t see the video or notice the differences in the video. I dont see this hurting the brand all that much,though the specs are outdated.
Robert
Bit of shame because Ryobi has been doing some smart and neat new products lately. Yet, without the name recognition of the big two, they should be very sensitive corporately to undermining their reputation like this. This drill is probably aimed to get prosumers and pros interested, and those are the folks more likely to pick up on the discrepancies, compared to DIYers.
w li
If Stuart concludes that they wouldnt do ‘that’, then he is concluding the observations on the test are wrong. If one concludes the gest observations are correct, then sorry to say but they did it. Cant have it both ways.
will
If they’re looking for pros they need to test against dewalt,milwaukee,makita,etc top models and not the $99 specials. I used to install underground utilities to the homes and so I’ve seen alot of carpenters framing homes. The top model wqs easily dewalt with some milwaukee,bosch, makita sprinkled in. The HVAC was purely milwaukees territory,though its been 5 years since I’ve done thst type of work. Times change, but for general carpentry its hard to beat Dewalt in the states.
Nate
The ryobi probably would have won in a fair contest, they didn’t need to move the odds more in their favor. The craftsman can clearly be seen going in reverse. I also question if it was in hammer mode.
will
Is the craftsman even a hammer drill? If it has the feature its still a compact model with no auxiliary handle,oh and thr power disparity seems to be 850 for ryobi vs 280 for craftsman,if my Google search is correct that is.
Michael F
I’ve said it before and I stand by it: TTI has a corporate culture that rewards business behavior that I would personally never tolerate. Keep in mind how TTI is structured: the Milwaukee product engineering teams are separated from the distribution and marketing teams within TTI. Ryobi product development is done by teams within TTI HQ and not “Ryobi.” I do not respect the TTI teams one bit having seen how they work internally, and I absolutely do believe they would do something like knowingly run a competitors drill in reverse. Why not? They will get away with it and their internal corporate culture rewards that kind of behavior.
Dan
I have many Ryobi products and I talk them up, great durable product for a great price. But to be honest I’m a little embarrassed after seeing Ryobi pulling this kind of stuff. Come on Ryobi, just be happy to make a great product for a great price and leave it at that, let the consumer do the bragging for you
Scott K
Seems like an immature attempt to exaggerate this tool’s capabilities. An informed consumer could determine the disparity between these two tools and recognize the problems with the “test.” This is clearly geared towards someone who shares articles based on a headline without reading the full text.
With that being said, I just bought a Ryobi SDS Plus rotary hammer to repair our walkway and I’m happy with it so far. Odd pricing- $189 for the bare tool vs. $193 for a charger and 4ah HP battery.
Ray
My money is hard earned and if I even suspect that I’m being snookered, I’m not buying. Not only that tool but I’m not buying anything that they make. A company had better guard their reputation carefully if they want my cash. I don’t need to be fair, I’m not giving any “benefit of the doubt.” I don’t care if it’s the Social Media Team or TTI or anybody else’s fault. The burden is on the company to be above board or be gone.
BG100
It’s unfortunate to see Ryobi setting up a comparison like this, but they’re not the only ones to do it. I’ve seen dozens of tube/reel/short videos with uneven model match-ups, dissimilar bits, different wood, and there’s never a guarantee that even pressure is applied to both tools.
This is the new normal in short form advertising: just show the product is better, and don’t worry about the details… they’ll scroll past it and not look too closely. We watched the video a few times apiece, but how many just accepted the ‘fact’ they were shown and moved on with their day? It’s a bummer, and it’s happening more and more.
Bonnie
Maybe I’m just biased but I assume literally any “test” conducted by a brand that is in the test is cheating or twisting the test in their favor. There’s too much incentive for these kind of head to heads to ever be trustworthy. These companies exist for the sole purpose of extracting value, they’re not moral entities.
eddiesky
I bought two Ryobi ONE+ tools for my niece (an 18GA stapler and nailer). She loves them except for two observations: the tools are heavy for cordless, and supplies are not always available. 3/8″ narrow crown 18GA are needed for upholstery and HD never has these. Sometimes you can luck out on an assortment of staples but its small quantity.
Ryobi doesn’t include started nail sets or stapler sets. Or even sell them.
When my niece used my nailer and stapler (pneumatic), she was like, “these are SO light!” … but I noted, “you need air and hose limits mobility/use. And compressor has to cycle which can mean a wait time, noise, etc”. I can’t see all day use of Ryobi tools…
Bob
I could care less if the drill specs are wildly different. What matters is price. And the price does show these two drills are in very different categories despite both being budget brands.
With the cost difference, I don’t even understand why Ryobi would do this comparison. They’re expected to be better at that price difference. The only point would be not in showing they have a better drill, but be in justifying paying twice as much. In that case, deception might have been required to provide enough justification.
Sean h
I highly doubt that any social media marketing is geared towards an “informed consumer”. If I am trying to justify the Ryobi thinking it is putting their top of the line drill vs. another equal footing brands top of the line. They are not advertising the drill (IMO) but the brand. My feeling is that someone who might be moved by this ad know the craftsmen name more than Kobalt. Kind of shocked they didn’t black out the craftsmen name though.
JJ
If Craftsman and Ryobi aren’t competitors, I don’t know who is. Clearly Craftsman’s “RP” line of brushless tools is meant to take on Ryobi”/ “HP” line of brushless tools. If SBD didn’t want to release a bigger drill for Craftsman because they’re saving that for DeWalt, too bad for Craftsman. Ryobi is testing their best drill against Craftman’s best drill and best battery.
Still, I’d like to see a PBLHM102 with the kitted battery go up against a CMCD721 in a test like this. Maybe someone will do that test on YouTube.
will
Isnt the Ryobi twice the price? Brand and top model are one thing but cost is another. Like I said earlier I had a Dewalt 991 hammer drill (cant remember the exact number) that had 850 in lbs of torque. Id like to see that comparison. I know the Dewalts old and no longer for sale ,but just for fun id like to see if their 850 in lbs match up. Use same size batteries, new bits, something to ensure the same pressures applied and make sure the concrete or wood (no pine vs oak) is the same density,then go to town.
Fyrfytr998
And this is why it’s embarrassing that SBD waters down the Craftsman line to make sure it doesn’t step on DeWalt’s toes like they did when they made the USA branded Craftsman Drills and Driver. Those tools, like the CMCD721 stated above, were very very good Craftsman power tools. So good that the impact driver even beat Big Brother DeWalt in a face off in one video.
Fairly certain the Ryobi HP would have dominated the Craftsman RP without the Edge battery. Too bad they had to go and embarrass themselves with a shady appearing post.