These are the Home Depot Power Tool Brands We Use (and Recommend)
For as long as I’ve owned a home, there’s been a Home Depot store within a reasonable driving distance. While plenty of home improvement ideas and materials take up much of the floor space, I find myself unerringly drawn to their power tool department. So, if you’re asking which power tool brands you can find at The Home Depot—I’ve got you covered. Better yet, I’ll give you my recommendations on which of the brands sold at Home Depot provide the best performance and value—in my humble opinion.
For this article, I’m focusing on the power tools and accessory brands you can grab in-store. Home Depot sells other brands online only. Indeed, in that respect they almost rival Amazon and Walmart…almost.
Editor’s note: Ever wonder who owns which power tools brands? Pro Tool Reviews has worked closely with most of these companies for over 16 years and has the answers!
Professional Power Tool Brands at The Home Depot
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: $$$
As one of the most popular brands (by sales—to the chagrin of Milwaukee), DeWalt is a recognized giant in the professional power tool industry. Known as a high-end professional brand, there’s virtually no sector of construction where DeWalt doesn’t at least have some presence. Innovations such as FlexVolt and PowerStack dot DeWalt’s development history. While the brand trails Milwaukee in some of the trade-specific areas such as plumbing and electrical, it continues to expand its reach with new tools.
On the lawn care side, DeWalt’s 60V FlexVolt line leads the way with its highest-performing products. Helping it break into the professional conversation, DeWalt recently launched a series of commercial ride-on lawn mowers. It also has a handful of supplementary cordless OPE on the 20V Max platform.
It’s hard not to recommend DeWalt power tools, and you can certainly find them all over Home Depot.
Milwaukee Tool
- Parent Company: Techtronics Industries (TTI)
- Headquarters: Hong Kong, China (US Headquarters: Brookfield, WI)
- Cordless Depth: Outstanding
- Corded Depth: Outstanding
- Lawn Care Depth: Good
- Rating: High
- General Price: $$$
Thanks to a commitment to MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing), it’s hard to find any one brand that reaches as far as Milwaukee. The brand prides itself on “disruptive innovation” 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 and Forge batteries that let their cordless tools outperform 15-amp corded models. You also have 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 is growing. While not yet as strong as Makita’s or Ryobi’s, the products they have work well.
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: $$$$
Several things set Makita apart, one being that it’s not part of a larger corporate group. Compared to its biggest competitors (DeWalt and Milwaukee), Makita tends to be a step up in ways that you see in the form, features, and function of its tools and the price structure reflects that. The other thing is that their tools are, as a whole, way more expensive than most other brands—and we’ll include Hilti in that list!
Makita was the first major brand to combine two batteries on one tool (18V X2 LXT) to reach a higher voltage level without leaving the battery platform. Then it went the opposite direction with a Sub-Compact line, giving you everything from compact to high-performance tools that all use the same 18V batteries. Some of the latest developments include the Makita Autostart Wireless System and its 40V max XGT line targeting even higher-performance tools.
If lawn care is a big deal to you, none of the power tool brands at The Home Depot cater to professionals like Makita. Its focus is to bracket the market with everything from lightweight to full gas-replacement battery-powered products in virtually every category. Thanks to a deep history in both gas and battery tool development, Makita is very successful. Apparently, that success even led them to stop manufacturing gas engine products. Currently, Makita only lacks in the ride-on mower and pressure washer sectors. Yet, oddly enough, they do make a battery-powered coffee machine and microwave.
Bosch
- Parent Company: Bosch
- Headquarters: Gerlingen, Germany (US Headquarters: Mt. Prospect, IL)
- Cordless Depth: Very High
- Corded Depth: Outstanding
- Lawn Care Depth: None
- Rating: High
- General Price: $$$
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.
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: $$
Of the three TTI power tool brands at Home Depot, Ridgid gets the least attention but has a loyal following. It focuses on high-value with prices that are lower than Milwaukee and a Lifetime Service Agreement on many of its cordless products. It doesn’t cover as wide of a range as other professional brands but covers core construction tools well.
Most recently, Ridgid shifted its focus on bringing down the size and weight of its core cordless tools and taking advantage of its advanced Max Output battery technology. In addition to core cordless offerings, Ridgid is very popular for its cordless nailers and miter saws. Over the past several years, the growth in both the quality and quantity of Ryobi tools has made Ridgid a more questionable purchase.
Editor’s Note: Two companies use the Ridgid brand name. “Orange Ridgid” (TTI) broadly covers power tools for general construction while “Red Ridgid” (Emerson) is the company behind the well-known plumbing tools.
DIY and Prosumer Power Tool Brands at The Home Depot
Dremel
- Parent Company: Bosch
- Headquarters: Gerlingen, Germany (US Headquarters: Mt. Prospect, IL)
- Cordless Depth: Low
- Corded Depth: Low
- Lawn Care Depth: None
- Rating: DIY
- General Price: $ – $$
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.
