The best drill

By Doug Mahoney

This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer’s guide to the best things for your home. Read the full article here.

After using 16 drills to drive 1,669 3-inch screws and bore 345 1-inch holes, we’re convinced that the best drill for around the house is the Bosch PS31-2A 12-Volt Max. It’s smaller and lighter than other 12-volt tools we tested, and its battery life far outlasts the competition. It drilled twice as many holes and drove nearly 50 percent more screws on a fully charged battery than the other drills we tested. It also drove screws evenly and without issue, even through tough knots. Other 12-volts often had issues fully sinking the screws flush with the wood.

Who should get this

The tested drills. Photo: Doug Mahoney

A 12-volt drill is a kitchen-drawer tool. It’s good for a lot of things around the house—putting up hooks, building bookshelves, swapping out light fixtures, and maybe straightening a saggy gutter. It’s not the perfect tool for constant heavy-duty use, but it can certainly replace a few rotted deck boards or help with the framing needed to install a new window. If you’re a rabid DIYer with plans to build a deck, a doghouse, and a tree house this summer, we recommend getting a stronger 18-volt drill (more on this later). It offers longer battery life and more power.

How we tested

Lotsa screws and lotsa holes… Photo: Doug Mahoney

We spent two days testing 16 drills on a pile of lumber (six 12-volts and 10 18-volts). For the driving test, we counted how many 3-inch drywall screws each drill could sink into 3 inches of wood on a fully charged battery. For the drilling test, we outfitted each drill with a new 1-inch spade bit and drilled holes through 1½-inch-thick 2-by-10s until the battery wore out. This is an aggressive task for the 12-volt drills, but we wanted a direct comparison against the 18-volt drills to truly see their capabilities matched against one another. Also, we wanted to test the upper end of the 12-volts to see which models could handle the occasional foray into more ambitious work.

We kept an eye on each drill’s performance and handling, asking questions like: How often does it stall out? How much does it struggle? How does it feel in the hand? We also used the drills in more unstructured settings as we built a wall, repaired a chicken coop, fabricated two bookshelves, put down a floor, and outfitted a workshop with shelving.

Our pick

The Bosch PS31 was the most compact and powerful 12-volt drill we tested. Photo: Doug Mahoney

The Bosch PS31-2A 12-Volt Max is the best drill for around the house. Not only is it the lightest, most compact drill we tested, but it’s also among the strongest, and it completely blew away the competition in terms of battery life. Starting from a full charge, it drilled twice as many holes as the second-place drill and drove almost 50 percent more screws. It consistently drove the screws completely into the wood and barely struggled at all when going through dense knots, unlike many of the other drills we looked at. Even though it’s a smaller, 12-volt tool meant for around-the-house work, it performed as well as many of the larger 18-volt tools we tested, offering enough power for occasional use on ambitious projects.

Runner-up: Good price, less power

The 12-volt Porter-Cable is a nice drill with good features. It just doesn’t have the power or endurance of the Bosch PS31. Photo: Doug Mahoney

If the Bosch PS31 is unavailable, the next best option is the Porter-Cable PCL120DDC-2 12-Volt Max Drill/Driver, which was our former pick. Beyond the Bosch, the other 12-volts all had very similar results in our tests, so the Porter-Cable gained the edge because it’s priced consistently lower than other drills with similar features. Since first recommending the drill three years ago, we have used this tool regularly and never had any issues. It’s the only 12-volt that has both a belt hook and onboard bit storage. It’s larger than the Bosch PS31 and doesn’t have as much power and stamina, so we ultimately prefer the Bosch. But the Porter-Cable offers solid performance, reliability, and features at a consistently excellent price.

Upgrade: For faster work on tougher jobs

For heavier DIY work, the Bosch DDS181 is a great combination of power, comfort, and features. Photo: Doug Mahoney

If you need a tool that can reliably drill large holes and sink long screws, we recommend the Bosch DDS181-02 18-Volt Compact Drill/Driver Kit. It was the only 18-volt drill we tried that placed at or near the top in both our drilling and driving tests. It particularly excelled in the drilling test, boring 33 percent more holes than the second-place 18-volt drill. Compared with the smaller, 12-volt Bosch (our main pick), this drill completes tougher jobs much faster, doing the same work in less than half the time. For small, around-the-house tasks, having this added speed and power is unnecessary, but for more production-oriented work, like putting down decking, it makes a noticeable difference. The 18-volt Bosch is a comfortable tool to hold, its well-placed LED spreads light better than most drills, and it includes handy features like a belt hook and a battery-life gauge.

Upgrade runner-up: Power for a bargain

The 18-volt Porter-Cable doesn’t have the power of the Bosch, but it did perform very well, especially considering it’s relatively inexpensive. Photo: Doug Mahoney

If the 18-volt Bosch isn’t available, or if you’re looking to save a few dollars, we also like the Porter-Cable PCCK600LB 20-Volt Drill/Driver Kit. It isn’t the most powerful drill in its class, but it makes up for what it lacks in power with easy usability and excellent value. Unlike most of the competition, it offers a complete set of features, including an LED, onboard bit storage, a belt hook, and a battery-life gauge. This Porter-Cable can’t quite hang with the Bosch DDS181’s performance, but it holds it own against everything else in the category.

This guide may have been updated by The Sweethome. To see the current recommendation, please go here.