Help Me Decide, Milwaukee Or Makita?

[douglas ferrman]

Hi



I am going to buy a full set of cordless soon, circ saw, drill, impact, recip saw, multitool, grinder, and whatever else comes along.


Late adopter that I am, I haven't gone all in with any brand. I have had a drill and impact since forever and am on my second or third set of Panisonics.


I have narrowed it down to Makita or Milwaukee.

Makita - cause tradition(!) - and I respect that they are a single focus company and they have everything cordless.

Milwaukee because they also seem to have most of the bases covered, are everywhere, (can't tell if I am being sucked into their marketing vortex or not... probably yes to some extent.) and I am hearing some good things from other trades on the job.



Does anyone have objective reasons why they'd go with one brand over the other, build quality, price, battery tech/innovation, ergonomics?


Thanks!

[Tyler Bancroft]

I've never used Milwaukee (just Ridgid, which is Milwaukee without the 50% markup for the colour red). I standardized on Makita for my workshop cordless tools. The 18V battery platform is very stable, the tools seem well-built in the hand, and I'm of the opinion that the quality is quite good. You can still get Makita tools made in Japan (I have a corded drill I bought a couple of years ago), the US (my D-handle router), and the UK (my cordless planer). Milwaukee is trendy, but I'd rather have Makita (and probably spend less). Just my two cents. I'm definitely not a professional.

[Greg Parrish]

I had Makita 18v for probably a decade. Loved the tools and the quick charge of their 18v batteries. Like you said, they offer a million tools that all share batteries.

The last few years I've owned Milwaukee M12 and M18 tools. I was initially resistant to Milwaukee because they are made in China (think most of Makita is today as well though). The main thing that got me looking at them years ago was the smaller size of M12 tools for use in the shop. What got me to finally buy in was the death of my final set of Makita batteries. When I went to buy two new batteries, it was cheaper to buy a whole new set of drill/impact drivers than just two batteries. As luck would have it, the Milwaukee rep was at HD that day and was giving away tools and batteries with purchases. For not much more than the price of the Makita heavy duty brushless hammer drill and impact driver set, I walked out with probably 4 or 5 of the M12 tools and 5 or 6 batteries. In fact, after walking to the car, I went back in and bought a few more tools and ended up with 10 batteries that day. Most of the free batteries were the 6 ah versions. It was a crazy day as every time I bought a "tool only" tool, they were giving away a battery or two. End result though, they sucked me into the system and now I have probably 20 M12 and M18 batteries between here and the farm, and at least 15 or more tools. Way too many to easily switch back when batteries start to die.

Performance wise, I only use my tools for hobby and personal use, but I beat them up and treat them like someone else owns them most of the time. I've never babied them and just like with Makita, they've always handled it and asked for more. Probably the only ones I baby are the festool stuff. The only spot where I feel like Makita had the edge was the fan cooled quick charging chargers, but the milwaukee chargers work just fine too.

At the end of the day, if I were to start over again, I'd probably look at Milwaukee, Makita and Bosch tools and would flip a coin based on who had the best pricing or packages at that time and who had all the tools I wanted for the system. May be worth your while to try to track down when the Milwaukee rep will be at HD as you might get some deals like I did. They don't advertise it but the rep will usually be there pushing tools and offering freebies. They walk you to the checkout and advise the clerk on how to ring it up. Very easy process and get's you into their platform.

The only thing I'd suggest is to compare which individual tools come in the multi-piece kits. Many times, they will include a nice brushless drill/impact set, but the other tools will be the older non-brushless versions. I've found with the Milwaukee stuff, the Fuel brushless versions perform a lot better than the brush versions. Good luck but I don't think there is a wrong decision between those two.

[Edward Weber]

Either one is a good choice, but I have primarily used Milwaukee for the last 30 years. All the tools last a long time and there are so many options these days, it's hard to find a job they don't offer a tool for.
I have to say I do admire Makita, as far as I know, the only stand-alone tool company left.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I went with Makita - only because of the cordless track saw.
Milwaukee is great though.

Ridgid's lifetime service agreement on batteries is a nice touch.

[Aaron Inami]

I used to be a DeWalt cordless guy (drills only). Since then, I had expanded out to several types of tools and actually had 4 battery platforms (Dewalt, Ego, Ryobi, Makita). This was ridiculous and I decided to consolidate my battery platform. The last tool purchased which pushed me into 4 battery platforms were two Makita cordless chainsaws. I originally purchased the Dewalt cordless chainsaw which ended up being total crap. The Makita chainsaws are superior in every single way. I also tried a DeWalt random orbit sander which I returned due to excessive vibration (hand fatigue). The Makita random orbit sander is actually quite nice, but I settled on a Festool corded sander.

My gardening platforms are all Ego tools, which are all excellent, and I dropped the Ryobi stuff.

My original drills were all Dewalt and have been awesome for the last 15 years, but I now own Makita drills and drivers. I get the feeling that DeWalt is centered around old school traditional designs and it does them very well, but I think other companies have passed them by with new designs and methods (just a gut feeling).

I don't have any experience with Milwaukee cordless tools, but they may be very good. I suspect Bosch has some very good stuff as well. I think your decision should really come down to the entire collection of tools you need to plan to own, unless you don't care about having 4-5 different battery platforms. I went with Makita because of the chainsaw and brushless technology. The drills and impact driver are also excellent.

So now I use Ego and Makita only.

[Justin Rapp]

I have Milwaukee cordless in M12 and M18. Both are fantastic and have taken a beating and keep going. Batteries are going strong, better than any battery I have used from other brands. With that said, I was already committed to Milwaukee but did try some Makita tools at a woodworking show and i liked the ergonomics a lot. I have a Makita trim router and a Makita sliding compound miter saw, and they are top notch.

Honestly, I think it comes down to which one is more comfortable / ergonomic for you. Both are great brands.

[Jim Dwight]

I have Milwaukee 12 and 18 volt, Ryobi 18 and 40 volt, and a couple Skil - think they are 12V but might be 18. No Makita. My Milwaukee 12V 3/8 drill broke in low speed early. I was doing something fairly extreme but something my Ryobi 18 V drills do. Probably big hole saw but might have been an auger bit going through studs. That was a disappointment but the high speed still works as does the impact. I also have the 1/2 inch drill now which is better suited to big bits. The impact has 4 modes which is nice. I also have a compact 1/2 impact from Milwaukee for working on cars. My Milwaukee 12V oscillating saw is GREAT. I also have a Fein and the Milwaukee cuts essentially as fast and accurate as the corded Fein (the originator of these tools). My big Milwaukee Impact drill works great both as a drill and as a light demolition hammer.

Everybody makes drills and 1/4 impacts and there is some difference in features but even my older Ryobi tools work OK. I would not choose based upon drills and little impacts. I would look closely at the saws. They strain a battery a lot more and cordless recip saws tend to get loose pretty quick. My skil cordless circular saw is a nice one but I don't know about Milwaukee or Makita.

Another possible differentiator is sources of batteries. If there are third parties offering batteries it tends to keep the OEM pricing more reasonable. I'm pretty sure there are non-OEM battery options for Milwaukee, I don't know about Makita. Batteries always wear out and replacement can get pricey. That is why I no longer use DeWalt cordless tools.

[Cameron Wood]

I like Makita because they are stable and solid across the board in terms of performance and design with very few bad apples. Probably have 40 tools. For the cordless ones, out of 20+ batteries over ten + years, one has died.

My son has Milwaukee & they seem good, have some interesting tool options, and currently have an edge in the performance arms race.

If you do remodeling, go with Makita for the sheetrock cutter.

[Jim Becker]

Of the two, I believe that Milwaukee has the broadest selection of battery operated tools...including some pretty esoteric, specialized stuff. Most of the contractors I see seem to favor Milwaukee, anecdotally speaking, too. But that's not because Makita, DeWalt, Bosch, etc., are "bad". One think I like about Milwaukee is how nicely they are expanding both their M12 and M18 choices.

In full disclosure, I don't own anything made by either brand except a short Makita labeled track that is compatible with my Festool tracks. So I'm just making an informed observation in my comments above.

[Tom M King]

I have some of both. Flip a coin.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I have been using 95% Makita cordless (and lots of tailed ones as well) for the last decade as a professional carpenter, timber framer and woodworker. Mostly in the shop these days, but my vote is on Makita. I do have a few 18v fuel Milwaukee - 1/2” impact wrench, 1/4” oil/impulse driver and a non fuel oscillating multi tool that I bought in a pinch when my Fein died...

In my hands, Makita cordless is more refined and physically feels better and more balanced. Specifically talking about drills/drivers and circ saws mostly, but I do think they have a more comfortable / balanced grip in the hand personally. Power is so close in most cases that it’s a wash and not a deciding factor for me. Have owned close to 10 Makita impact drivers and/or drills - some made in Japan and some in China - and they’ve all been good. I really like the subcompact line of both and the 6 1/2” 18v circ saw and the (2x) 18v tracksaw.

I will say that the Milwaukee Fuel impulse driver, I think it’s called “Surge”, is one of my favorite drivers due to the low dB and smoothness of it; it could be smaller and lighter but fine for the shop and for finish carpentry tasks. A little cumbersome and slow for full time heavier carpentry, but I don’t really do that much anymore. I’m sure Makita makes their own versions of oil impulse drivers, but I don’t know if they are available unless ordered from Japan. I walked into HD and bought the Milw Surge for $150 a few years back, which was convenient at the time.

I would advise you to get your hands on the models and styles of the tools you will actually be needing and using and choosing the brand that feels and fits best. Quality and selection is there for both brands and I think it comes down to the finer points and personal preference.

[Dan Friedrichs]

TTI owns Milwaukee, Ryobi, Hover, Oreck, and a bunch of other brands. Makita is just Makita. Given essentially equal price and performance, I'd prefer to support the medium-sized specialist over the large-sized conglomerate.

[andy bessette]

Makita has been my biggest disappointment.

Milwaukee 12-volt for sure. Get the angle die grinder and the little "Sawzall".

[Alex Zeller]

I was in the Makita camp but several cordless tools broke at the same time. The one that finally did it was a 1/2" drill that had a 3 speed gearbox. The fastest speed broke so I was down to two speeds, which I could live with. It was only a few months out of warranty and they refused to repair it. Then the middle speed broke a few months later. Around this time the batteries I had started loosing capacity and I switched. I figured DeWalt and Milwaukee were the two that looked like they wanted to be the big players in the cordless market while Makita's lineup wasn't even close. It was mostly a toss up but I went with Milwaukee. So far I'm happy with my choice and don't ever see myself going back to Makita.

[Tyler Bancroft]

I really like the subcompact line of both and the 6 1/2” 18v circ saw and the (2x) 18v tracksaw.

I have one of those little brushless Makita circular saws and love it. It came in a set – I didn't want or need it at the time, but it has completely replaced my corded circular saw for breaking down stock and other rough work. It has an automatic high-torque mode that kicks in when it starts to bog down that is great for working in hardwood.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have been in the Makita camp for many years. not a single problem. And I really like their yard work tool assortment. Their chainsaws are awesome.

[Thomas Wilson]

I just wish battery connectors were standardized so it was not such a big deal to pick a brand.

[Rod Wolfy]

I had several DeWalt tools, but their line kind of quit producing new products for a while. Milwaukee has kept after it, with input from the trades... which is why they have like a cordless drain auger and other products. I have a Makita cordless router; however, their prices kept climbing and they started packing smaller batteries with their kits. I had a cordless Rigid router, but gave it away after I got the Milwaukee one. I have like a dozen Milwaukee cordless tools now. I love the Surge (oil hydraulic impact driver) and their 7" DSC Miter saw weighs only 26#, so it's great to use when I go on the road. Next up is their new Track saw, which will work on my Festool tracks.

[William Fretwell]

Have a dozen Milwaukee 18V drills/ impact drivers plus other stuff. All my Makita tools have cords. Several of my many Milwaukee batteries died; quite a sudden death. The control panels were at fault.
The fuel variety is better for drills, more powerful.
Yes cordless has a place but corded tools work now and in 20 years, have better bearings, higher rpm, more power.

What you need is a thick rubber covered no twist extension that is quite short. It will be a pleasure to use.
The idea that cordless tools can replace everything is hilarious.

[Jack Frederick]

I am firmly in the M camp but it would be difficult to argue with being an M fan. I have the 12 & 18 V drills drivers, the 12 sawz-all which has been fantastic. 18 circ saw and a couple others. Two of my favorites are the 12 grease gun which handles m y two Kubotas and implements perfectly and a really excellent 18 leaf blower. to many batts and chargers to switch now. I do like my tools red.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I am in the Makita camp. I've had the 18V drill and others since they came out. My SIL gave me the 18 CS.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I'd be what you call a heavy user of cordless tools. My company builds homes, at any point we have 100+ cordless tools in the company. My advice is to buy the brand for the batteries. There is a difference in battery tech, pricing, availability and performance. We demand a LOT from our tools, much more so than the average user, so we see the failure points. To that end, in my opinion, Milwaukee batteries are WAY overpriced per Ah and have lower run times and power when compared to the same size Dewalt. Makita batteries are just not big enough to compete. There is a reason nearly all of our tools are now Dewalt. The tools themselves are all pretty similar, the batteries are not.

[Thomas Wilson]

I'd be what you call a heavy user of cordless tools. My company builds homes, at any point we have 100+ cordless tools in the company. My advice is to buy the brand for the batteries. There is a difference in battery tech, pricing, availability and performance. We demand a LOT from our tools, much more so than the average user, so we see the failure points. To that end, in my opinion, Milwaukee batteries are WAY overpriced per Ah and have lower run times and power when compared to the same size Dewalt. Makita batteries are just not big enough to compete. There is a reason nearly all of our tools are now Dewalt. The tools themselves are all pretty similar, the batteries are not.
Hey Steve, what do you think about brushless motors vs conventional? The brushless are advertised to extend battery life. In my shop, battery life is not much of an issue so I don’t know.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I'd be what you call a heavy user of cordless tools. My company builds homes, at any point we have 100+ cordless tools in the company. My advice is to buy the brand for the batteries. There is a difference in battery tech, pricing, availability and performance. We demand a LOT from our tools, much more so than the average user, so we see the failure points. To that end, in my opinion, Milwaukee batteries are WAY overpriced per Ah and have lower run times and power when compared to the same size Dewalt. Makita batteries are just not big enough to compete. There is a reason nearly all of our tools are now Dewalt. The tools themselves are all pretty similar, the batteries are not.

Having worked “in the field” for many years, I can agree with your logic in that environment. I think the reality of most folks on this site is that they’re using stuff primarily in their shop and at a hobby use level, which is way different than full time home building, which can be very demanding on cordless, especially in the winter and rain. I have never had my Makita 18v stuff feel lacking battery capacity or underpowered when working from my shop or even doing solo on site finish carpentry. Only doing day in and day out heavy carpentry in winter time was that threshold reached and is easily solvable with some backup batteries on hand, ideally kept in an insulated bag or cooler / warm-ish place on standby. Just my thoughts based on experience. Don’t have much experience with Milwaukee battery pricing as I only have 2-3 and they were bought on promo. Buying any li ion batteries outright seems to be more expensive than it should be. I typically try and acquire them during special sales in conjunction with package deals on other tools that I need.

My experience with brushless motors is that it makes a pretty big difference with battery life and often times power / refinement as the brushless models tend to be a bit more engineered as the top of the line offering. Not necessarily worth it in a shop at hobby use level but nice to have and certainly a difference maker if going through multiple batteries / charges per day.

[Patrick Johnson]

Hi


Does anyone have objective reasons why they'd go with one brand over the other, build quality, price, battery tech/innovation, ergonomics?


Thanks!

Objective reason?? No. I suspect they're both pretty competitive. That said, I decided to build around the Makita brand for my cordless tools, well, Makita and Dewalt. Choose a battery and color and run with it.

One other comment... Since you're probably not buying the whole line of tools, you should probably consider the individual tools you will need to see which brand in general fits your needs, on average. That's why I have Makita and Dewalt. Some of Dewalts line works better for me than Makita, and vice versa.

Patrick

[Cameron Wood]

Other comments from the Makita camp:

Many of the newer tools have an electronic on/off switch that is very annoying. I was gifted a jigsaw that had this- make a cut, set it down, pick it up for another cut, and it has turned itself off, requiring button pushing that cannot be done one handed. I returned it for the older model.. Also have a hedge trimmer and routers with this feature- still annoying but manageable. I used the HT recently after some time- pushed the button(s) and it didn't turn on. Thought it was broken but figured out that you have to not just push the button, but hold it down for a second.

The multi tool has no switch lock, so the battery must be removed every time so that the tool doesn't turn on while jostling in the truck, draining the battery and potentially damaging other tools. This has happened multiple times.

The highest -end circular saw has higher rpm (better cuts) and a light, making it well worth the substantial extra cost over the one that comes in kits.

Cut off quart paper milk cartons hold Makita batteries nicely.

[Bert McMahan]

I'm a Milwaukee fan but know others that are satisfied with their Makita stuff. I can say that I got the 18V Fuel drill/driver kit and the 12V Fuel drill/driver kit, and I think I've used my 18V drill literally twice since then- once to drill holes in some 70 year old brick (which didn't work out anyway) and once to drill some 6" holes in drywall (since I could use the handle). The 12V Fuel line is always plenty strong for me.

Check out "Project Farm" on Youtube. He compares all sorts of tools across different brands. Generally the Milwaukee Fuel stuff beats out Makita by a little bit, but it does flip back and forth sometimes. He actually does real tests too, he doesn't just give impressions. (Side note- Milwaukee's hand tools, saw blades, bits, etc are generally "fine" but are almost never the best. If you get Milwaukee tools, get a different brand of bits and blades).

Two notes for Milwaukee though: first, stick with the Fuel line for basically everything. That's their "high end" line and it's WAY better than their non-Fuel stuff.

Second, use Slickdeals to find good deals on their tools. I haven't paid full price for a single one of my Milwaukee tools. The Home Depot "hack" method means you can get deals and return part of it for a solid refund. It's not a fraud thing either- if you buy a bundle of two separate items (as in two separate boxes that are bundled together, not a single box with two batteries or whatever), then the Home Depot receipt will actually say right there how much return value you can get.

For example: if there's a deal for a free $200 tool if you buy a $200 battery kit, then you can return one of them for $100 and wind up paying just $100 for the tool itself. Again- it's right there on the receipt and you can do it in store with no hassle. It sounded somewhat fraudulent at first but HD actually sets it up that way on purpose for some reason.

[Eric D Matson]

I was in the same boat. Makita had a good sale on their track saw. Free track and 4 total batteries for the same price, so I decided to go that route. Then I added a multi tool kit during Thanksgiving/Black Friday. Now I have added some outdoor equipment. I have their blower and weed whacker. Most of the time in the fall, Makita offers 4 batteries with their 36 volt outdoor equipment. So when you need batteries, you can just buy another tool and have 4 new batteries.

[Bryan Hall]

I'm fairly certain the milwaukee tool selection is significantly larger than makita. I'm a strong believer in having all battery platforms available and just buying the best tool. If you're set on 1 brand though, I think theres almost always a milwaukee deal going on for a different tool. I've been using them for years and always liked them over the makitas I've used.

[Mike Stelts]

This is the inevitable debate. My son-in-law loves his Milwaukee. I love my Makita. For example, the best Milwaukee impact has more slightly more torque (better for him); the best Makita has more control over the torque settings (better for me). For warranty, I had a Makita drill go bad and it was turned around in two days. I can't say for Milwaukee; it could be the same. I would compare between Milwaukee and Makita on the tool you'll use the most. If there's no significant difference, flip a coin. If you want a automatic floor vac (eg Roomba), you might need to go with Makita.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Hey Steve, what do you think about brushless motors vs conventional? The brushless are advertised to extend battery life. In my shop, battery life is not much of an issue so I don’t know.

Good question, we did see an increase in tool life and battery life when the brushless tools started to replace the older ones. I think pretty much everything we use is brushless now, can't think of anything that isn't right off. I also did notice that the variable speed controls became more "stepped' on the brushless tools though. It's not a big deal, but noticeable. I had an old sawzall that I actually had a convertor attached to so we could use 20v in the 18v tool. It finally died earlier this year. I guess I do still have a 1/2" impact that is brushed too.
.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Having worked “in the field” for many years, I can agree with your logic in that environment. I think the reality of most folks on this site is that they’re using stuff primarily in their shop and at a hobby use level, which is way different than full time home building, which can be very demanding on cordless, especially in the winter and rain. I have never had my Makita 18v stuff feel lacking battery capacity or underpowered when working from my shop or even doing solo on site finish carpentry. Only doing day in and day out heavy carpentry in winter time was that threshold reached and is easily solvable with some backup batteries on hand, ideally kept in an insulated bag or cooler / warm-ish place on standby. Just my thoughts based on experience. Don’t have much experience with Milwaukee battery pricing as I only have 2-3 and they were bought on promo. Buying any li ion batteries outright seems to be more expensive than it should be. I typically try and acquire them during special sales in conjunction with package deals on other tools that I need.

My experience with brushless motors is that it makes a pretty big difference with battery life and often times power / refinement as the brushless models tend to be a bit more engineered as the top of the line offering. Not necessarily worth it in a shop at hobby use level but nice to have and certainly a difference maker if going through multiple batteries / charges per day.

I agree, our tool usage of defiantly not normal compared to a one man shop or hobby situation. Just interesting to see what hold up and what doesn't in a heavy use environment. Something that has impressed me is the increase in impact resistance in the Milwaukee and Dewalt tools that we use. It used to be that a fall off a 6' ladder was instant death to an impact driver. Two of us were trying to set a header in a barn just last week, there should have been three of us, it put up a fight and I dropped a cordless Milwaukee framing nailer on a concrete pad from 10' mere seconds after one of the guys dropped a Dewalt impact driver. Pretty dumb on me, but both tools are perfectly fine. Would have been a quick $700 gone a few generations ago.

I've always had an attraction to Makita tools. They have always seemed well designed. They really do need to step up a generation though to compete. Just for an example, we use the Dewalt DCS577 worm drive saws with Flexvolt 6 or 9Ah batteries pretty much exclusively now, they are incredible. Makitas comparable saw is a 40v, the is more expensive, lower Ah, and not compatible with 18V. I can use the Flexvolts for the saws with any of the other 20v Dewalt tools. That's a huge deal. Milwaukee's circular saw has far less power than the Dewalt, and the battery costs $100 more for the same Ah.

Another way to deal with cold battery problems is more Ah.

[Michael Elliott]

Coming from a family of electricians, I grew up using Milwaukee. However, they had a few years in the early 2000's when they had battery troubles. So I tried Makita, and have not regretted it.

Milwaukee will give you fancy features and really good sales, but Makita makes the most durable power hand tools on the market. Hands down.

[Myles Moran]

One benefit of Makita to me is the high power tools use 2 18V batteries. I've got 4 batteries in my shop. The Milwaukee high output and DeWalt flexvolt batteries aren't bad, but given I've got 4, every battery fitting every tool is a huge plus for me.