Drill Drivers vs. Impact Drivers – What’s the Difference?

What Are Your Choices in Cordless Drills?

Remember back in simpler times when a drill was a drill and was simply used to make holes? Well nowadays we have a plethora of choices to make regarding drills. Cordless drills have come a long way over the past few years. There are several things to consider when buying a cordless drill, and many of these factors have everything to do with the the kind of work you plan to do. In the broadest sense there are two types of cordless drills to consider: Drill Drivers and Impact Drivers.

The purpose of this article is to clarify the differences between drill drivers and impact drivers in order to help you determine which is the right tool for any given job.

Drill Drivers

Drill Drivers are probably one of the most essential tools in your kit. From drilling holes into wood and metal to driving screws, drill drivers can do it all. They usually feature a keyless chuck, a slip or pop clutch (which prevents you from over-driving screws into wood), and long battery life. They’re great for projects where you need to rapidly assemble woodworking projects with screws. All you need to do is insert your bit and set your clutch so that it doesn’t drive with too much force, and you can drive screws all day long.

To summarize, drill drivers are best for drilling holes and for quick light to medium-duty driving of screws into softer materials like wood and drywall. They are significantly quieter than impact drivers.

See our Drill Driver Reviews

Impact Drivers

Impact drivers differ from drill drivers in that they are much more powerful. They are less about precision and more about brute strength. Impact drivers are the go-to tool when you need to drive long screws and lag bolts. Once the drill driver senses resistance, you will hear and feel the impact hammers driving the bit into the wood with a great amount of force. It is very easy to over-drive fasteners below the wood’s surface with an impact driver, so caution is needed. Impact drivers are not subtle tools, but they get the job done when serious torque (rotational force) is needed.

To summarize, impact drivers are best for driving screws and lag bolts where extra power is needed. The speed is usually a little slower than that of a drill driver, but the power (torque) is incredibly strong. The impact driver tends to be noisy with the rat-a-tat of its hammers, but it’s nice to have the extra torque of the impact driver when it’s needed.

See our Impact Driver Reviews

Brushless vs Brushed Motors

There are two types of motors available today… Brushed and Brushless. Brushed motors are the traditional motors that we have been using for decades. They have carbon wipers internally that brush against commper contacts. The downside to brushed motors is friction, which introduces inefficiency. There is a new type of motor that is becoming more popular; the brushless motor. Brushless motors are more expensive but they are generally more efficient in operation. There is far less friction in a brushless motor and therefore less heat is generated and more potential power is available. We don’t consider brushless motors to be essential today. They’re nice to have but tools with brushed motors are still certainly capable of any job we can throw at them.

Bottom Line – Which Do You need?

The quick answer is “Both”. If you must choose only one or the other, the drill driver is the way to go since it is a much more versatile tool. However, having both in your arsenal will enable you to tackle virtually any job you come across at home.