Makita vs Milwaukee

[Fireguy116]

I am a DIYer and looking at Investing in 18v  power tools and ope. I have it narrowed to Makita and Milwaukee. Which is better?

[ToolBane]

Woodworking => Makita

 

Automotive => Milwaukee

 

But really you could do the opposite and still be completely happy

[HiltiWpg]

I am a DIYer and looking at Investing in 18v  power tools and ope. I have it narrowed to Makita and Milwaukee. Which is better?

The actual differences between brand performance is minimal. The marketing hype is easy to get confused by, but at the end of the day, buy what you can afford.
Unless one company has a specific tool the other doesn’t, chances are you will be perfectly happy.

Milwaukee has been increasing prices over the years and you should wait for the free tool/battery deals if you can. Makita also has promotions, but not nearly as often. The everyday Makita prices seem to be a lot more consistent.

Makita certainly has a larger selection of OPE, but how many battery trimmers can a guy own?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jronman]

17 hours ago, Fireguy116 said:

I am a DIYer and looking at Investing in 18v  power tools and ope. I have it narrowed to Makita and Milwaukee. Which is better?

I have always wanted to try out Makita. The x2 tools seem pretty nice and their impacts are supposedly some of the best. For ope I would pick up the Makita x2 multihead system. It is like a string trimmer but you can attach various attachments to it like a pole saw, pole hedge trimmer, string trimmer, and more. Apart from the m18 chainsaw I feel like Makita has the better ope lineup. Makita also has more woodworking focused cordless tools like the x2 tracksaw, the rear handle x2 circular saw, biscuit jointer, cordless router, and more. Milwaukee m18  is a very well rounded system. It has a little bit of everything. The new high output battery and tools designed to use the new battery seem nice.

[aabee]

In all honesty, you'll be happy with either brand. I only own Milwaukee 18v & 12v and Makita 18v and there's nothing more I need.

 

Milwaukee releases their tools at a faster pace (at least here in NA) so they frequently have class-leading tools in terms of specs. Obviously their reciprocating saws are their bread and butter but their circular saws are also great and when it comes to jobsite lighting, they're in a tier by themselves. They have lots of promos at Home Cheapo but I generally prefer eBay or Acme for red tools.

 

If you only want to invest in 1 platform, I'd give the nod to Makita. You can go small with the subcompact line or go big with their X2 tools. I feel Makita's drills and impacts are the most refined and highest quality available. Milwaukee and DeWalt often have quirks with theirs, such as jaws that continue spinning in the chuck after the trigger has been released, obnoxiously loud brakes in speed 2, high-pitched squeals and difficulty feathering the trigger (the latter two were especially prevalent in the M18 Fuel Gen 2 drill/impact). Makitas can be feathered far easier than any other brand if you're doing precision work. Another thing to note is their standard charger is the most efficient/fastest of the "Big 3" brands. Ergonomically their grips and trigger placements are the best, with only Hitachi and DeWalt coming close. Lastly, there's little to no battery slop.

 

Either way, you can't go wrong.

[Fireguy116]

Here is on thing I have to consider is there are about 4 local businesses that are Milwaukee dealers not including Home Depot. There are no Makita local dealers other than HD. Now I don’t mind buying online at all only argument to that is getting my hands on new tools to see if I like them. 

[kornomaniac]

Both with suffice and you'll be happy with both.

 

Makita has a larger selection tho. Specially for OPE. 

 

And all fat pack batteries ( 3 amp or more ) are interchangeable without any loss of power ( bigger Milwaukee tools need the biggest batteries to function as intended. )