Which Home Depot Power Tool Brands Are The Best Fit For You?
For many of us, there’s a Home Depot within a reasonable driving distance of our homes. While there are certainly plenty of home improvement ideas and materials taking up most of the floor space, that power tool section is where you can what you need to bring it all together. Which power tool brands will you find at The Home Depot? Better yet, which ones are a good fit for the way you work?
For the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on the brands you can grab in-store. There are other brands you can find that are online only.
Ever wonder who owns which power tools brands? Check out this article to see which ones are part of larger groups and which ones stand on their own!
Professional Power Tool Brands at The Home Depot
Bosch
- Parent Company: Bosch
- Headquarters: Gerlingen, Germany (US Headquarters: Mt. Prospect, IL)
- Cordless Depth: Very High
- Corded Depth: Outstanding
- Lawn Care Depth: None
- Rating: High
- General Price: $$$
Bosch as a global company is massive with a big presence in the automotive and appliance sectors. The power tool division isn’t as large, but they make excellent products. Bosch covers the majority of construction needs and is highly competent in concrete and laser products. Its weakness is in electrical and plumbing-specific tools.
DeWalt
- Parent Company: Stanley Black & Decker
- Headquarters: New Briton, CT
- Cordless Depth: Outstanding
- Corded Depth: Outstanding
- Lawn Care Depth: Very Good
- Rating: High
- General Price: $$$
As one of the most popular brands by sales, DeWalt is a recognized giant in the professional power tool industry. Known as a high-end professional brand, there’s virtually no sector of construction DeWalt doesn’t have at least some presence in. Innovations such as FlexVolt and PowerStack dot DeWalt’s development history. While the brand trails Milwaukee in some of the trade-specific areas such as plumbing and electrical, it continues to expand its reach.
On the lawn care side, DeWalt’s 60V FlexVolt line leads the way with its highest-performing products. Helping it break into the professional conversation, DeWalt recently launched a series of commercial ride-on lawn mowers. It also has a handful of supplementary cordless OPE on the 20V Max platform.
Makita
- Parent Company: Makita
- Headquarters: Anjo, Japan (US Headquarters: La Miranda, CA)
- Cordless Depth: Outstanding
- Corded Depth: Outstanding
- Lawn Care Depth: Outstanding
- Rating: Premium
- General Price: $$$$
Several things set Makita apart, one being that it’s not part of a larger corporate group. Compared to its biggest competitors (DeWalt and Milwaukee), Makita tends to be a step up in ways that you see in the form, features, and function of its tools and the price structure reflects that.
Makita was the first major brand to combine two batteries on one tool (18V X2 LXT) to reach a higher voltage level without leaving the battery platform. Then it went the opposite direction with a Sub-Compact line, giving you everything from compact to high-performance tools that all use the same 18V batteries. Some of the latest developments include Makita’s Autostart Wireless System and its 40V max XGT line targeting even higher performance tools.
If lawn care is a big deal to you, none of the power tool brands at The Home Depot professionals covered like Makita. Its focus is to bracket the market with everything from lightweight to full gas-replacement battery-powered products in virtually every category. Thanks to a deep history in both gas and battery tool development, Makita is very successful. Currently, Makita only lacks in the ride-on mower and pressure washer sectors.
Milwaukee Tool
- Parent Company: Techtronics Industries (TTI)
- Headquarters: Hong Kong, China (US Headquarters: Brookfield, WI)
- Cordless Depth: Outstanding
- Corded Depth: Outstanding
- Lawn Care Depth: Good
- Rating: High
- General Price: $$$
Thanks to a commitment to MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing), it’s hard to find any one brand that reaches as far as Milwaukee. It’s also a brand that drives innovation forward and isn’t afraid to question the status quo. From general construction and storage to niche MEP and even woodworking, chances are if anyone is going to have it, it’s going to be Milwaukee. And if they don’t have it, there’s a good chance they’re working on it.
Among its many accolades over the decades, some of Milwaukee’s latest achievements include its High-Output batteries that allow cordless tools to outperform 15-amp corded models, the incredibly wide-reaching Packout storage system, One-Key tool technology, and MX Fuel products that target gas equipment replacement.
Milwaukee’s lawn care ambitions have been to supplement a professional crew’s gas equipment. Recently, it completed the core with the development of its outstanding first-generation self-propelled lawn mower. Milwaukee’s focus on OPE isn’t as strong as Makita’s or Ryobi’s, but the products they have work well.
Ridgid
- Parent Company: Techtronics Industries (TTI)
- Headquarters: Hong Kong, China (US Headquarters: Anderson, SC)
- Cordless Depth: Very Good
- Corded Depth: Very Good
- Lawn Care Depth: None
- Rating: Value Pro
- General Price: $$
Of the three TTI power tool brands at the Home Depot, Ridgid gets the east attention but has a loyal following. It focuses on high-value with prices that are lower than Milwaukee and a Lifetime Service Agreement on many of its cordless products. It doesn’t cover as wide of a range as other professional brands but covers core construction tools well.
Most recently, Ridgid shifted its focus on bringing down the size and weight of its core cordless tools and taking advantage of its advanced Max Output battery technology. In addition to core cordless offerings, Ridgid is very popular for its nailers, miter saws, and table saws.
Editor’s Note: There are two companies using the Ridgid brand name. “Orange Ridgid” (TTI) broadly covers power tools for general construction while “Red Ridgid” (Emerson) is the company behind the well-known plumbing tools.
DIY and Prosumer Power Tool Brands at The Home Depot
Dremel
- Parent Company: Bosch
- Headquarters: Gerlingen, Germany (US Headquarters: Mt. Prospect, IL)
- Cordless Depth: Low
- Corded Depth: Low
- Lawn Care Depth: None
- Rating: DIY
- General Price: $ – $$
Dremel is most widely known for its rotary tools and rotary tool accessories. They’re so well-known that many people call every rotary tool a “Dremel”. The brand has grown to include oscillating multi-tools, engravers, butane torches, compact saws, and some home solutions. In general, Dremel has its eyes keenly on the makers and homeowners.
Ryobi
- Parent Company: Techtronics Industries (TTI)
- Headquarters: Hong Kong, China (US Headquarters: Anderson, SC)
- Cordless Depth: Excellent
- Corded Depth: Very Good
- Lawn Care Depth: Outstanding
- Rating: Prosumer
- General Price: $ – $$
Ryobi has virtually invented the Prosumer category with products that reach DIYers all the way to budget-conscious Pros. On the DIY side, there are highly-affordable corded and cordless products along with a wide range of lifestyle products. Shifting toward serious DIYers and Pros, there’s brushless technology with performance that matches and sometimes exceeds traditional professional brands.
HP Brushless technology is driving the high-performance side of development and along with a general reduction in size and weight, has brought Ryobi back into the conversation for a lot of folks.
Where Ryobi is making some of its biggest gains is in the lawn and garden section of The Home Depot. From HP Brushless Whisper Series string trimmers and blowers with outstanding performance and ridiculous noise control to some of the best battery-powered residential zero-turn lawn mowers we’ve seen, they’re transforming the OPE landscape.