Ask five tradespeople to name the best cordless combi drill UK sites have ever seen and you will get five different answers, usually delivered with the conviction of a football allegiance. DeWalt vs Makita arguments have filled tea breaks for decades, and Milwaukee has spent the last few years muscling into the conversation. Here is the uncomfortable truth behind all of it: at the professional end, every big brand now makes an excellent combi drill. The drill itself is rarely the decision that matters.
What actually matters is the battery platform, because the drill is only the first tool you will buy. This guide explains why platform comes first, then runs through five combi drills worth your money in 2026, from premium DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee kits through to a budget Ryobi option for lighter use.
A combi drill is almost never a one-off purchase. Within a year or two, most trades add an impact driver, a circular saw, a multi-tool, an angle grinder, a light, maybe an SDS. Every one of those runs off the same batteries as your drill if you stay on one platform, and every one of them needs its own batteries and charger if you do not.
That is why the bare tool market exists. Once you own two or three batteries and a charger, you buy every subsequent tool body only, at a big saving compared with buying kits. The maths compounds over a career. Batteries and chargers are the expensive, boring part of cordless tools; buy them once and make them serve twenty tools rather than two.
So before you compare chuck sizes and torque figures, ask three questions:
Once you have picked a platform, choosing the drill is easy, because each brand has a clear flagship and a clear value option. Here are our five picks for 2026.
The DCD999 sits at the top of DeWalt's 18V XR combi range. It is a brushless hammer drill driver with a three speed gearbox, an all metal chuck, and DeWalt's FlexVolt Advantage technology, which lets the tool draw extra power when paired with a larger FlexVolt battery. In plain English, it is a drill that handles big auger bits, mixing light loads, and masonry drilling without complaint, and it gets even stronger if you drop a FlexVolt pack on it. The kit versions come with batteries and a TSTAK style case, which is the right way in if you are new to the XR platform. For anyone already on XR, the bare unit is the obvious upgrade path. Expect a premium kit price, typically somewhere around £300 depending on the battery bundle.
View on AmazonMakita's DHP486 is the brushless combi that LXT loyalists reach for when they want serious drilling power without stepping up to an SDS. It pairs a high torque brushless motor with Makita's usual build quality: a solid metal chuck, a two speed gearbox with a wide speed range, and the slightly slimmer, better balanced feel that has kept Makita on UK sites for generations. The LXT platform is one of the broadest in the industry, covering everything from impact drivers to garden machinery, so batteries bought for this drill will never sit idle. Available as a bare unit for existing LXT owners or in kits with batteries, charger and a Makpac case.
View on AmazonMilwaukee's M18 FUEL combi is the drill that turned a lot of lifelong red sceptics. FUEL is Milwaukee's badge for its top tier brushless setup, combining its Powerstate motor, Redlink Plus electronics and Redlithium batteries, and the result is a compact drill with genuinely aggressive performance in timber and masonry alike. The M18 ecosystem has grown at pace in the UK and now covers a huge range of trade tools, with a particularly strong reputation among plumbers and electricians. Kits include batteries and a charger; the bare tool suits anyone already committed to M18. If you like your tools overbuilt and your batteries clever, this is the platform to look at.
View on AmazonThe GSB 18V-55 is the sensible money option in Bosch's blue Professional range. It is a brushless combi drill in a compact, lightweight body, which makes it a favourite for kitchen fitters, joiners and anyone working overhead or inside cabinets all day. It gives away some outright grunt to the flagship drills above, but for the everyday mix of pilot holes, screwdriving and occasional masonry work it is more than enough, and the smaller size is a genuine advantage in tight spots. Bosch Professional 18V batteries are shared across a wide tool range, and Bosch's Flexible Power System means packs from other Professional 18V tools fit straight on. Often the best value brushless combi from a premium brand.
View on AmazonNot every drill needs to survive a decade of site work. Ryobi's ONE+ combi is the budget pick here, and the reason is the platform: ONE+ is one of the largest 18V ecosystems anywhere, with well over a hundred tools sharing the same battery, from drills and sanders to lawnmowers and glue guns. For a labourer building a first kit, a landlord doing their own maintenance, or a tradesperson who wants a cheap second drill to leave in the loft conversion, it is hard to argue with. The compromise is that Ryobi is built for serious DIY and light trade use rather than daily commercial abuse, so treat it as a value workhorse, not a flagship rival. Kits with a battery and charger typically land somewhere around £100.
View on AmazonAll three flagship drills will drive a 100mm hole saw through joists, sink coach screws and cope with light masonry. The honest differences are elsewhere.
| Factor | DeWalt XR | Makita LXT | Milwaukee M18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecosystem breadth in the UK | Very wide, strong site presence | Very wide, includes garden tools | Wide and growing quickly |
| Feel in the hand | Chunky and planted | Slim and well balanced | Compact and aggressive |
| Standout feature | FlexVolt battery compatibility | Sheer range of bare tools | Battery and electronics package |
| Typical buyer | General builders, chippies | All trades, long time loyalists | Plumbers, sparkies, early adopters |
Whichever way you go, buy the kit once, then buy bare tools forever after. And keep your receipts: professional cordless tools hold their value well, and registration often extends the warranty.
One last point. The drill drives the screws, but the quote wins the job in the first place. If your quoting still happens on a pad in the van, see how much detail customers now expect in our breakdown of small bathroom renovation costs in the UK, then let QuoteSmith do the heavy lifting on your next estimate.
QuoteSmith helps UK tradespeople create detailed, professional quotes in minutes. Itemised breakdowns, terms and conditions, and your branding on every page. The customer sees a pro before you have even opened the van.
Try QuoteSmith NowA combi drill adds a hammer action for drilling into brick and masonry, on top of the normal drilling and screwdriving modes of a drill driver. For UK trade work a combi is the default choice, because sooner or later every job involves fixing something to a wall.
A combi handles light and occasional masonry work: red brick, blockwork, the odd fixing into mortar. For regular drilling into concrete, engineering brick or stone, an SDS rotary hammer is the right tool and will outperform any combi. Many trades run both, sharing batteries on the same platform.
For anyone using a drill regularly, yes. Brushless motors run more efficiently, so you get more work per charge, and with no brushes to wear out they tend to last longer. Every premium drill in this guide is brushless, and the price gap to brushed models has narrowed to the point where there is little reason to buy brushed for trade use.
Buy a kit for your first tool on a platform, because you need batteries and a charger anyway and kits price them favourably. After that, buy bare tools and share the batteries. Two or three decent packs will comfortably run a whole van of tools for most trades.
For light and occasional professional use, yes, and the ONE+ ecosystem is superb value. For daily site work, the premium platforms are built to a tougher standard and their batteries are designed for heavier sustained loads. A common sense approach is Ryobi for the second drill and the odd jobs, and DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee or Bosch for the tools that earn your living.