The 8 Best Compact Cordless Drills of 2026

The screw that sends you hunting for a second drill is usually above your shoulder, behind a pipe, or inside a cabinet, and the PS21-2A is built for exactly that screw. At 1.4 pounds it's the lightest drill on this list by a wide margin, and the 12-volt motor still produces 265 in-lb through a two-speed gearbox (0-350 and 0-1,300 rpm). We noticed the difference on a run of overhead fasteners: a light drill keeps you working, a heavy one sends you looking for something to stand on.

Two things to settle before you buy. Bosch doesn't publish a chuck size for this one, so confirm what it accepts — it's a pocket driver first, and you need to know whether your bits fit before you plan around it. There's also no charge indicator on the body, so keep a spare pack within reach.

The hard case and the three-year warranty are the practical parts, but what we came away with is how much torque sits behind so little weight. Nothing else here comes close on that ratio, and for ladder work, cabinet interiors, and tack that needs unbuckling from the wrong side of a rail, that's the whole argument.

Twenty-two accessories, a flexible shaft, an extension bar, and a battery-level display for less than the cost of a decent bit set on its own: the AVID POWER kit is what we point at when someone is buying a first drill and doesn't want a second shopping trip. You get a 3/8-inch keyless chuck, a 1.5 Ah pack, ten drill bits, ten driver bits, and enough hardware to hang shelves, assemble furniture, and rebuild a gate latch the day the box arrives.

The number that tells you what it is: 550 rpm at the top end, about a third of what the 20-volt DEWALTs here will do. Screws, pilot holes, small bores, hardware — all fine, and the 15+1 clutch lets you dial a small screw in without burying the head in pine. A one-inch spade bit through a 2x4 is where it starts to labor. It's also the lightest 20-volt drill in this group, which counts for more than the missing rpm when you're one-handed on a ladder.

The honest caveat is the bits. They're the part that fails, not the drill, so budget for a decent set of twist and driver bits and keep the included ones as spares. AVID's own instructions ask for a full charge before first use and for the pack to come out of the tool in storage — two small habits that make a cheap battery last.

Most 12-volt drills with a 3/8-inch chuck end up bulkier than they need to be. This one doesn't: a narrow body, a soft grip sized for a hand that isn't enormous, and 2.3 pounds with the battery on. If a full-size 20-volt tool feels like carrying a lunchbox around a shelf, this is the shape you want instead.

The chuck is what makes it more than a toy. A 3/8-inch keyless chuck with a spindle lock takes standard drill bits, and you can change one with the same hand that's holding the work. The 177 in-lb and 1,500 rpm aren't much muscle, but the 18+1 clutch keeps light work clean — hinges, cabinet pulls, curtain brackets, a hundred small screws in an afternoon.

Where it runs out is anything structural. Long deck screws, a hole saw, or seized hardware will stall it, and the ten driver bits and six twist bits in the bag are a starting point rather than a collection. For a tack room, a kitchen drawer, a first apartment, or a job where the drill has to fit between a stud and a hand, that's the right trade. It costs about what the AVID kit does, so choose on which handle fits your hand.

Brushless is the word that matters. The DCD777D1's motor wastes less current on friction, so each charge does more work — in practice, longer runtime per amp-hour than the brushed DCD771C2 above. It also comes with a 2.0 Ah pack, more than half again the capacity of the top pick's cells, and a half-inch chuck. For the money, it's the most efficient compact drill on this page, and for anyone who uses a drill hard it's the smarter buy.

The catch is in the box: one battery, not two. Brushless efficiency softens that, but a second pack is the first thing to add, and because it runs on DEWALT's 20V MAX platform, packs are shared across the rest of the line. Crank the chuck down hard and it can seize, so back it off before the drill goes in the bag.

The color is the headline, and it does real work: a pink drill in a barn aisle or a shared garage is easy to find and less likely to wander into someone else's toolbox. That's the pitch, and it's a fair one, because the drill underneath is a competent light-duty tool rather than a novelty.

Underneath is a light-duty 20-volt drill: 203 in-lb, 1,500 rpm, a 21+1 clutch, a 3/8-inch chuck, and a single 1.5 Ah pack. That's more clutch positions than anything here except the BLACK+DECKER, and enough for shelf brackets, hooks, stall hardware, and flat-pack furniture. It isn't the tool for a hole saw or a fence post. One quirk WORKPRO's own product notes flag: it's a carbon-brush motor, so a small spark at startup is normal and shrinks as the brushes seat. Don't read it as a fault.

Thirty pieces in the box: six brad-point drill bits, ten 1-inch screwdriving bits, nine 2-inch bits, four nut drivers, and a magnetic bit holder. If you want to buy a drill once and not think about accessories for a year, that kit is the reason the LD120VA is still on shelves.

The 24-position clutch is the most granular of any drill here, which matters when you're driving small screws into softwood and don't want to feel them sink past the surface. The soft-grip handle and the LED are ordinary, but they're the right ordinary.

The number we like most is on the battery: BLACK+DECKER rates the pack to hold a charge for up to 18 months sitting idle. For a drill that lives in a truck box or a tack room and comes out four times a year, that's worth more than raw amp-hours, and it's the argument for keeping this one on a shelf rather than in a drawer.

Buy it as a home drill with a kit attached, not as a compact site tool. For hinges, hooks, and flat-pack furniture it's forgiving and cheap to live with; for anything that needs a hole saw or real speed, it isn't the drill. There's no case in the box, so plan a drawer or a bag for the bits and the charger.

The charge cable is a USB-C lead, not a wall dock. That single choice is why this drill makes sense for a hunting cabin, a horse trailer, or the toolbox in a truck: you can top it up from the same charger you carry for your phone, and there's no cradle to lose.

The 42-piece kit is aimed at someone starting from nothing — ten drill bits, ten fastening bits, expansion anchors and caps, a connector, and a torpedo level. The level is a small thing, and it's the small thing that gets used when you're hanging a shelf by yourself. Speed tops out at 800 rpm on a variable-speed trigger, and the 45 N·m torque figure on an 8-volt motor reads optimistic; expect light-duty work regardless of the number.

Where it earns its place is convenience: an apartment drawer, a camper, a tack trunk, a first tool for someone who'll use it six times a year on hooks and hinges. Where it doesn't is sustained force — the motor is small, and longevity at this price is the gamble. Buy it as a convenience tool and it's a good deal. Buy it as the only drill for a renovation and you'll be shopping again.