RYOBI VS MILWAUKEE FOR DIY AUTO MECHANICS

If you want to start your own automotive work, you’re going to need some power tools. So should you go with Ryobi or Milwaukee cordless power tools?

Milwaukee VS Ryobi Tools

It’s a heated debate, Milwaukee or Ryobi? Are they the same? Are they different? Who’s better…

We decided to poll a portion of our audience asking if they preferred Milwaukee or Ryobi for DIY auto mechanics. The crowd chose Milwaukee, but is it the better value? Let’s dive into the differences in detail.

Milwaukee vs Ryobi for diy mechanics poll

Milwaukee vs Ryobi Poll

From an automotive DIYer perspective cost is probably your top priority.

Compatibility will drive everything else. You don’t want to waste money buying incompatible cordless tool brands. Pretty much all brands have different batteries and they ARE NOT compatible with each other.

CORDLESS BATTERY DIFFERENCES

Milwaukee has two main cordless tools; the M12 and M18. M12 is a 12v cordless lineup and the M18 is their 18v variant. Each set of tools has different battery types with different amp-hour ratings and battery indicators.

Unfortunately, the M12 and M18 batteries are not compatible which is a huge disadvantage. However, Milwaukee does sell a sequential M12/M18 charger which reduces the need for two separate charger stations.

On the flip side, Ryobi has one battery system, the ONE+. Ryobi also released newer ONE+ HP batteries which are ALL compatible with ONE+ and ONE+ HP Ryobi cordless tools. The difference between HP and non-HP batteries are mostly the amp hour ratings. Note that older Ryobi ONE+ batteries don’t have a charge indicator.

We won’t get into the higher voltage tools/batteries that both Ryobi and Milwaukee make as most of those cordless tools are outside the realm of automotive DIY repair.

CORDLESS TOOL MOTORS

Both Ryobi and Milwaukee have different variations of tools that have brushed and brushless DC motors.

Brushed motors have parts that wear out quicker compared to brushless motors. Brushless usually have better torque and speed specifications too. We’ll stick with comparing brushless versions of Ryobi and Milwaukee cordless tools to keep things a bit more even.


Ryobi VS Milwaukee Cordless Impact Wrench

Up first is the mighty cordless impact wrench. We use our impact wrench on a daily basis to loosen lug nuts, larger suspension bolts, and any other nuts that are typically 14mm and up.

We’ll compare the Milwaukee 2962-20 M18 FUEL™ Mid Torque ½” Impact Wrench vs Ryobi P262 18V ONE+ HP ½” Impact Wrench.

Milwaukee 2962-20 M18 Fuel Mid Torque Impact Wrench side view

Milwaukee 2962-20 M18 FUEL Mid Torque ½” Impact Wrench

Ryobi P262 Impact Wrench loosening bolt

Ryobi P262 18V ONE+ HP ½” Impact Wrench

The mid-Milwaukee and standard Ryobi range torque wrenches are within the same category and have plenty of power to loosen any stubborn bolts.

½" Impact Wrench Ryobi Milwaukee
Model P262 2962-20 Mid Torque
Price
(no battery)
Avg. $159 Avg. $199
Motor Brushless 18V Brushless 18V
RPM Range 0-2,800 RPM 0-2,575 RPM
Nut-Busting Torque 600 ft-lbs 650 ft-lbs
Fastening Torque 450 ft-lbs 550 ft-lbs
Drive Ctrl. 4 Modes
w/Auto Off on impact
4 Modes
w/Auto Off at 35 ft-lbs
Weight
(no battery)
3.7 lbs. 5.1 lbs.
Battery 1.5 - 12 AH 1.5 - 12 AH
Warranty 3 Yr. Limited 5 Yr. Limited
LEDs 3 3
Check Price Amazon Eastwood
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Home Depot

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Beginner DIY automotive advice: Don’t use the torque wrench for tightening bolts.

Ryobi VS Milwaukee Cordless Right Angle Die Grinder

The right angle die grinder is one of the most versatile tools you can own. There are tons of different accessories that serve tons of different automotive repair applications.

Here’s a comparison between the Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP 1/4" Right Angle Die Grinder vs Milwaukee M12 FUEL™ 1/4" Right Angle Die Grinder:

Milwaukee M12 Fuel Right Angle Die Grinder in hand

Milwaukee M12 FUEL 1/4" Right Angle Die Grinder

Ryobi Right Angle Die Grinder in hand

Ryobi 18V ONE+ HP 1/4" Right Angle Die Grinder

Right Angle Die Grinder Ryobi Milwaukee
Model PSBDG01B 2485-20
Price
(no battery)
Avg. $149 Avg. $219
Motor Brushless 18V Brushless 12V
Max RPM 22,000 RPM 24,500 RPM
Speed Ctrl. 4 Speeds 4 Speeds
Weight
(no battery)
1.5 lbs. 1.2 lbs.
Battery 1.5 - 12 AH 2 - 6 AH
Warranty 3 Yr. Limited 5 Yr. Limited
LEDs 1 none
Check Price Amazon
Home Depot
Eastwood
Amazon
Home Depot

SAVE 10% w/code THEBUILD10 on www.eastwood.com

Ryobi VS Milwaukee Cordless Ratchet

At first, we thought the cordless ratchet was pretty useless until we started tearing down our project cars.

If you’re removing dozens of bolts at a time, the high-speed cordless ratchet will save your forearms from burnout.

And here’s the differences between the Ryobi HP 3/8” High Speed Ratchet vs Milwaukee M12 FUEL™ 3/8" High Speed Ratchet.

Milwaukee M12 Fuel 3/8" Ratchet in hand

Milwaukee M12 FUEL 3/8" High Speed Ratchet

Ryobi High Speed Ratchet Removing Valve Cover Bolts

Ryobi HP 3/8” High Speed Ratchet

High Speed Ratchet Ryobi Milwaukee
Model PSBRC26B 2567-20
Price
(no battery)
Avg. $149.00 Avg. $199.99
Motor Brushless 18V Brushless 12V
RPM Range 0-460 RPM 0-450 RPM
Torque 40 ft-lbs 35 ft-lbs
Weight
(no battery)
3.5 lbs. 1.7 lbs.
Battery 1.5 - 12 AH 2 - 6 AH
Warranty 3 Yr. Limited 5 Yr. Limited
LEDs 2 1
Check Price Amazon Eastwood
AMAZON
HOME DEPOT

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FINAL VERDICT

Milwaukee cordless tools are around 20% more expensive, but some of their tools have slightly higher specs and extra features.

For instance the Milwaukee impact wrench has an auto mode setting for max torque of 35 ft-lbs, but the Ryobi’s auto mode stops when torque starts kicking in. On the flip side Ryobi doesn’t require two different batteries across certain cordless tools. In order to have the same tool combination with Milwaukee you’ll end up with two different types of batteries, M12 and M18.

In conclusion, both are great. I’ve been using Ryobi for over 5 years. My brother has been using Milwaukee for all his auto mechanic DIY projects. So far we have no complaints, so what fan will you decide to be???

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Javier Solis

Hi, my name is Javier Solis. I've held various IT positions in the last 25 years including work in Higher Education and as a former tower climber. I'm now a Sr. Product Manager at Extreme Networks who gets to build stuff. I'm also married to a wonder wife and have two awesome kids. Questions and comments are ALWAYS welcome.

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