After thoroughly testing a range of power tools offered by DeWalt vs Milwaukee, I’ve concluded that Milwaukee is the best fit for the large majority of woodworkers, casual and experienced alike.
As a seasoned woodworker, with 20 years of experience using both brands’ power tools for projects ranging from sandblasting wood to removing heat stains, I’m confident in my familiarity and expertise with these companies.
The advantages of Milwaukee that make it the victor in this fight include the company’s affordable and diverse range of tools, quality impact wrenches and superior impact drivers.
That said, for industrial use or frequent sawing, DeWalt is actually the better choice.
Read on to see my detailed comparison of the two companies, and how they stand up to 9 essential metrics!
DeWalt vs Milwaukee Comparison Guide
For the bulk of my DeWalt vs Milwaukee comparison, I’ll analyze 9 critical factors we can judge the two companies by, and determine a winner for each category.
DeWalt vs Milwaukee Comparison Summary Table
| Comparison Item | DeWalt Feedback | Milwaukee Feedback | Verdict |
| Pricing | Medium-to-high range; favors professional users. | Wider price range; targets both household and professional users. | Milwaukee’s pricing model is more versatile, catering to a broader audience. |
| Warranty | 3-year warranty for cordless tools, lifetime for select tools.t | More robust 5-year warranty for most cordless tools, lifetime for some hand tools. | Milwaukee offers longer and more comprehensive warranties. |
| Customer Service | Online portal and support numbers for assistance. | Similar approach with web portal and helplines. | Both brands provide effective and responsive customer service, no clear winner. |
| Range of Tools | 20V and FlexVolt product lines, strong for professionals. | M18, M12, and MX Fuel lines, offering both low and high-power tools. | Milwaukee edges out with its more diverse range, especially in low-power tools. |
| Drills | Fast and efficient, especially the FlexVolt models. | Excellent compact and low-power options. | DeWalt wins with high-speed and efficient drills. |
| Impact Wrenches | Strong fastening torque in cordless models. | Slower, heavier, and less capable of deep cuts, but better guard designs. | DeWalt leads in circular saws with its focus on speed and deep cutting capabilities. |
| Impact Drivers | LED light for visibility, but weaker in other aspects. | More compact, higher torque, and faster than DeWalt’s models. | Milwaukee outperforms with its superior torque, speed, and compact design. |
| Rear Handle Saws | Comfortable handle and impressive power. | Powerful cuts, smooth movement, and effective dust ejection. | Close competition, but DeWalt slightly leads with more comfortable handling. |
Let’s get started!
1. Pricing and Affordability: DeWalt vs Milwaukee
Pricing is an omnipresent concern, and can often make or break a company’s power tool selection.
Which of the two, DeWalt vs Milwaukee, have the lead here?
DeWalt Pricing
As a rule, most of DeWalt’s tools favor professional, or at least experienced users, and the price points reflect this.
There are exceptions, especially with some of the company’s more affordable 20V options, but the majority of the brand’s products are found in the medium-to-high price range.
A DeWalt 20V brushless hammer drill kit, for example, has a $363 price tag.
Milwaukee Pricing
On the flip side, Milwaukee has a wider price range, encompassing everything from affordable household hand tools to industrial-grade equipment.
To put this in perspective: You can find a $72 Milwaukee rotary tool just as readily as a $1805 fuel pipe threader kit.
That’s quite a range of products, and it illustrates that the brand shows a clear focus on targeting both household and professional users.
Verdict
DeWalt has by no means completely neglected the household market, but Milwaukee operates with a superior pricing model, with a roughly equal focus on both personal home use and professional applications.
2. DeWalt vs Milwaukee Warranty
Tool warranties are a less dazzling criteria, but no less essential. So, which company has the better warranty policy?
DeWalt Warranty
For its cordless tools, DeWalt typically offers a 3-year warranty, with the inclusion of a 90-day money back guarantee.
However, for defective and faulty mechanics tools, DeWalt often provides a lifetime warranty.
While these lifetime warranties don’t cover normal machine wear and tear, they are still a useful option for tools that fail suddenly or shipped with broken parts.
Milwaukee Warranty
Milwaukee offers a more robust 5-year warranty for most of the brand’s cordless tools, along with lifetime warranties for a limited selection of hand tools.
For batteries and outdoor cordless products, the warranty can range from 1 to 3 years, with batteries usually leaning toward the lower end and outdoor tools the higher end.
Verdict
Milwaukee generally provides a more robust and long-lived warranty policy, with most products falling under a 5-year coverage guarantee rather than DeWalty’s typical 3-year agreements.
3. Customer Service: DeWalt or Milwaukee?
Both companies clearly value their approach to customer service, but let’s compare which one has the more effective model.
DeWalt Customer Service
Addressing customer support, DeWalt offers two primary services: An online portal and dedicated support numbers.
The web portal provides downloadable manuals and schematics, forms to order replacement parts, and pages to ship products to the company’s repair locations.
Helpline numbers, on the other hand, are best for quick questions and an instant response time.
Milwaukee Customer Service
Similar to DeWalt, Milwaukee’s customer support largely operates through its company web portal and a list of helplines for more immediate problems.
Milwaukee, as with DeWalt, also allows you to ship tools to designated stations for company-operated repair.
Verdict
The two brands are highly competitive in this area, using multiple effective and responsive customer service channels, and I didn’t see either one as a definite winner.
4. Range of Tools: DeWalt vs Milwaukee
One crucial area to look at when comparing the two brands is tool range: Which one has the wider selection, and is one more specialized than the other?
DeWalt Product Lines
DeWalt has two main product lines to consider:
- 20V. This is DeWalt’s most extensive product line, and it includes more than 200 products, including circular saws, impact wrenches, drivers, and drills. Due to the tool range and affordability, this is the DeWalt line I’d recommend most for beginner and intermediate woodworkers, with an extra emphasis on the DCF885C1 and DCS391B.
- FlexVolt. Targeted more at industrial and professional users, FlexVolt products feature a much higher power capacity and encompass nail guns, drills, rotary hammers, etc. I can personally attest to the added punch of these tools, and especially the drills (shining a spotlight on the DCD460B), which have many times impressed me with their 60V power!
Milwaukee Product Lines
On the other hand, Milwaukee offers three lines of power tools:
- M18. As Milwaukee’s main line (with over 200 tools bundled in it), the M18 product series is a robust, medium-power tool set that covers most household and even some professional use cases, with angle grinders (including the GIDDS2-2473523), routers, jigsaws, and impact wrenches, making it well-suited for casual and experienced users.
- M12. Intended as a low-power tool line and distributing 100+ 12V products such as the 2407-20, I find that this is the line where Milwaukee really shines compared to DeWalt, as the latter doesn’t yet have an equivalent low-voltage tool line.
- MX Fuel. Built with power-efficiency in mind, the MX Fuel line provides an opportunity for cutting-edge power tool tech such as brushless motors and RedLithium batteries. However, the line suffers in my view from its small product range, with roughly a dozen tools included.
Verdict
DeWalt vs Milwaukee are almost evenly matched in the range of products they offer.
But, I do have to give a slight overall edge to Milwaukee. By offering low-power and power-efficient tool choices, they target beginners and users with smaller budgets more effectively than DeWalt.
5. DeWalt Drill vs Milwaukee Drill
Power drills are among the most essential offerings by both brands.
So, if you take an average DeWalt drill vs Milwaukee drill, which one usually comes out ahead?
DeWalt Drill
DeWalt drills generally have a couple major advantages going for them.
First, there’s speed.
For example, when I tested a FlexVolt DCD999 drill on one of my cabinet projects, I found that it drilled substantially faster than the comparable Milwaukee M18 2904 drill, which ultimately made my work with the DeWalt tool more efficient than the Milwaukee option.
Likewise, the DCD999 was highly load-resistant, and there were few interruptions which, along with the raw speed, allowed me to get the job done very quickly and saved me a lot of time.
Milwaukee Drill
Of course, Milwaukee has its own tricks up its sleeve!
One area where the company’s drills really outperforms DeWalt is in compact and low-power options.
While DeWalt has tried to enter this market, it presently can’t compete with Milwaukee’s extensive range of low-weight 12V drills, many of which are still able to perform at a level closely comparable to heavier 20V drills.
To give an example, I recently used the M12 3403-20 drill and found it to be an effective alternative to 20V drills for household projects like stripping paint and drilling through drywall.
Verdict
Despite Milwaukee’s impressive compact drill options, DeWalt typically outperforms the former in this category with its high-speed and efficient tool choices.
6. DeWalt Impact vs Milwaukee Impact Wrenches
Wrenches are another essential battleground for the two companies, so it’s only natural to want a comparison of DeWalt impact vs Milwaukee impact wrenches.
Let’s break down how the two brands line up on this measure:
DeWalt Impact
Unlike the two previous categories, DeWalt is clearly an underdog in the impact wrench arena.
But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t strengths to look at!
When it comes to fastening torque, DeWalt actually has the upper hand…at least for cordless models, which I’ll expand on in just a second.
To illustrate, I noticed while using the DCF900 wrench that there was considerably more torque than the comparable M18 2863, and this allowed for smoother and more even screw tightening as I worked.
Milwaukee Impact
By contrast, Milwaukee has a definite advantage in just about every other impact wrench metric.
For larger cordless wrenches, in particular, the company offers impressive 1-inch models such as the 2867-20, with no DeWalt equivalent to compete with.
I’ve found these larger models to be highly convenient for projects that require max wrench power, since they’re both lightweight and convenient, making them a viable alternative to less mobile hardware requiring cords and generators.
Similarly, Milwaukee outperforms DeWalt convincingly in its torque for cord models, for both medium-size and larger wrenches.
Verdict
Though DeWalt has a torque advantage in cordless impact wrenches, Milwaukee’s superior large and cord wrenches give it a decisive victory in this category.
7. DeWalt vs Milwaukee Circular Saws
Circular saws are an often indispensable tool for woodworkers, so let’s closely compare the saws sold by both companies, using example products.
DeWalt Circular Saws
One DeWalt saw that I believe is a strong representation of the quality usually offered by the company in its circular saws is the 20V DCS570B.
The main advantage of this saw is its 5500 RPM speed.
At this speed, I was able to make test cuts nearly 3 inches deep; an ideal function for cutting through thick hardwoods like walnut.
More generally, DeWalt circular saws are usually known for their relative lightness, sometimes measuring in roughly a pound lighter than the Milwaukee saw equivalent.
Milwaukee Circular Saws
Comparatively, Milwaukee’s M18 2631-20 model has a maximum RPM of 5000 RPM. Still fast, but not at the same level as the DCS570B.
Both models also have brushless motors and approximately 7-inch blades, so Milwaukee can’t claim any advantage there either.
At a broad level, this disadvantage holds true for most Milwaukee saws, which tend to be slower, heavier, and less capable of deep cuts.
For a notable benefit, however, Milwaukee saws tend to have better guard designs.
Verdict
DeWalt has a large advantage in circular saws due to the company’s focus on speed, lightweight models, and deep cutting capabilities.
8. DeWalt Impact vs Milwaukee Impact Drivers
For DeWalt vs Milwaukee impact drivers, I’ll take the same approach I did with circular saws, comparing representative drivers from each company.
DeWalt Impact Drivers
Let’s look at DeWalt’s DCF887 as a good example of the brand’s impact drivers.
Though it has some unfortunate weaknesses compared to its Milwaukee counterpart, the driver compensates with a highly compelling feature: Its LED light.
Using the light, I was very relieved at how clearly I could see my workspace, even in poorly lit areas.
Naturally, clear visibility has enormous advantages for safety and precision.
Milwaukee Impact Drivers
Milwaukee, on the other hand, highlights several of the company’s main advantages with its competitor driver, the 2953.
The tool comes in at an inch shorter than DeWalt’s DCF887, making it more mobile and practical to use and transport.
Another considerable strength is the 2953’s torque, which is noticeably higher than the DeWalt driver.
In that vein, the 2953 is a faster drive, giving it a substantial boost in project efficiency.
Verdict
DeWalt’s LED light attached to its impact drivers makes the match closer than I expected, but there’s no getting around Milwaukee’s superiority in torque, speed, and compactness.
9. Rear Handle Saws: DeWalt vs Milwaukee
Lastly, there’s the great competition of rear handle saws! Let’s go over each company’s strengths and weaknesses in this battle.
DeWalt Saws
The advantages of DeWalt’s rear handle saws prominently result from the tools’ large, well-balanced handle and its machine power.
This stuck out to me enormously when I used the DCS577, for instance.
Maintaining a tight grip on the saw’s handle was easy and comfortable, which helped with cutting control and ease of use.
The power of the DCS577 was also impressive, and I was able to swiftly cut through all of the test material I put to the blade.
Accuracy was no concern either, on account of the tool’s straight and precise tracking.
Milwaukee Saws
Moving over to the Milwaukee rear handle saws, I’ve consistently found that benefits offered by the products include powerful cuts, smooth movement, and dust ejection mechanisms.
Comparing the DCS557 with its main Milwaukee rival, the 2830, the two are equally-matched in sheer power, so there was no winner on that front.
However, I noticed that the 2830 has a much smoother, almost gliding cutting motion, with less resistance and bumpy cutting compared to the DeWalt alternative.
Verdict
The two brands are very nearly even in this category!
I personally give a razor-thin edge to DeWalt, as its rear handle saws tend to have large, comfortable handles that simplify cutting and keep it from becoming a daunting task.
Final Thoughts
In the world of power tools, DeWalt and Milwaukee are the two titans, and they both have huge selling points.
Despite DeWalt’s compelling benefits in the circular saw, drill, and rear handle saw areas, Milwaukee manages to win the DeWalt vs Milwaukee battle with the company’s affordable product selection, higher range of tools, and high-quality impact drivers and wrenches.
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