best cordless drills for small apartments

DEWALT XTREME 12V MAX Cordless Drill/Driver Kit (DCD701F2)

DeWalt's 12V brushless kit is the pick if you want a name-brand drill that disappears into a drawer. The listing puts the bare tool at 1.9 lbs and calls it 20 percent shorter than the brushed 12V model it replaced, which is the difference between working comfortably inside a closet and not. Two speeds and 15 clutch settings cover flat-pack furniture through pilot holes, and it ships with two 2.0Ah batteries. DeWalt rates power in unit watts out rather than inch-pounds, so it has no figure in the torque column here.

DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless Drill Driver Set (DCD771C2)

This is the drill a lot of people already own, and it is a reasonable first tool if you would rather buy into the 20V system than a small 12V one. It has a 1/2 in. ratcheting chuck, a two-speed transmission running to 1,500 rpm, and comes with two 1.3Ah batteries, a charger and a contractor bag. DeWalt's own listing is unusually blunt about the limits: suitable for home repairs, DIY and light metal, not suitable for concrete or masonry. It is bulkier and heavier than any of the 12V kits here, which is the trade for the extra reach.

Bosch GSR12V-300B22 12V Max Brushless Drill/Driver Kit

The smallest real drill here: Bosch lists a 6.0 in. head length and 1.6 lbs without the battery, and still rates it at 300 in-lbs. That combination is why it turns up so often in recommendations for people working inside cabinets, under sinks and overhead. You get two speeds, a 20+1 clutch so you are less likely to strip a screw, a 3/8 in. three-jaw keyless chuck, and it is sold as a kit rather than a bare tool. It is also the most expensive listing on this page, which is the whole objection to it.

Bosch PS31-2A 12V Max 3/8 In. Drill/Driver Kit

The long-running brushed version of the Bosch above, and for occasional apartment use most people will not notice the difference. Bosch quotes a 7-inch head length, 1.80 lbs and 265 in-lbs, with two speeds at 0-350 and 0-1,300 rpm and the same 20+1 clutch. It costs meaningfully less than the brushless GSR12V and comes with two batteries and a charger. What you give up is runtime per charge and a bit of power under load.

Milwaukee 3403-22 M12 Cordless 1/2 in. Drill Driver Kit

A 12V tool with a 1/2 in. all-metal chuck and 400 in-lbs, the highest torque figure of any 12V kit here, so it handles jobs that stall the smaller 3/8 in. drills without being a full-size 18V tool. The all-metal chuck and gearcase are why people who buy one tend to still have it a decade later. The kit is generous: a 4.0Ah extended-capacity battery, a 2.0Ah battery, charger and a bag. Two cautions on the listing rather than the tool: it carries only a couple of customer ratings, so the star average here means nothing yet, and it is priced above what M12 kits usually sell for.

Makita FD10R1 12V max CXT 1/4 in. Hex Driver-Drill Kit

The odd one out, and worth understanding before you buy: its chuck is a 1/4 in. hex socket, not a set of jaws, so it takes hex-shank bits only and cannot grip an ordinary round-shank drill bit. In exchange it is genuinely tiny, 5-7/8 in. long and 2.1 lbs with the battery, with 250 in-lbs and two speeds. As a dedicated driver for flat-pack furniture and cabinet hardware it is lovely to use one-handed. As the only tool you own it will frustrate you the first time you need to drill a hole.

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Cordless Drill and Driver (LDX120C)

The cheapest name-brand kit here, and for a lot of apartments it is simply enough: a 3/8 in. chuck, an 11-position clutch and a variable-speed trigger, with a battery and charger in the box. It is the tool for hanging shelves, assembling flat-pack furniture and putting up a curtain rod a few times a year. There is no second gear and Black+Decker publishes no torque figure for it, so it works slower through hardwood than anything else here. It is part of the 20V MAX system, so the battery fits Black+Decker's other tools on that platform.

CRAFTSMAN V20 Cordless Drill/Driver Kit (CMCD700C1)

A middle-of-the-road 20V kit at a middle-of-the-road price, and the sensible choice if you want a 1/2 in. chuck without paying DeWalt money. It has a two-speed gearbox running to 1,500 rpm, 280 unit watts out, and a charger Craftsman rates at 60 minutes or less. One battery is included rather than two, which is the main thing separating it from the DeWalt 20V kit nearby. Craftsman quotes power in unit watts out rather than inch-pounds, so it has no figure in the torque column.

RYOBI ONE+ HP 18V Compact Brushless 1/2 in. Drill/Driver Kit (PSBDD01K)

A lot of drill for the money: 6.4 in. long, brushless, and rated at 400 in-lbs, matching the Milwaukee here at a lower price. It has a 24-position clutch and two speeds running to 1,700 rpm, and comes with one battery, a charger and a bag. It is part of the RYOBI ONE+ system, so the same battery fits the rest of that range, which is the usual reason people start here. It is an 18V tool, so it is bulkier in the hand than the 12V drills above.

AVID POWER 20V Cordless Drill Set

The budget entry, and the listing is refreshingly clear about who it is for: homeowners who use a drill a few times a month, for furniture assembly and wall mounting. For about forty dollars you get the drill, a battery and charger and 22 bits, with 280 in-lbs, 15+1 clutch positions, a single variable speed to 550 rpm and a 2.5 lb body. The catches are stated on the page too: it is not for concrete or masonry, and it only accepts Avid Power's own batteries, so there is no wider tool family to grow into. If you expect to drill more than a few holes a year, one of the name-brand kits will last longer.