Milwaukee vs DeWalt vs Makita vs Ryobi: battery cost per amp-hour
Of the 18-volt platforms, Ryobi 18V batteries cost the least per amp-hour at Amazon today, a median $15.02 across 5 packs, and Craftsman V20 the most, $21.25. The cheapest amp-hour of all is DeWalt 20V’s: one 5.0 Ah battery for $64.87, $12.97 each.
Each brand’s batteries fit only its own tools, so the first tool you buy picks the battery you keep buying. This prices that battery: every DeWalt, Milwaukee, Makita, Ryobi and Craftsman pack we track at Amazon, per amp-hour, at today’s prices.
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The battery decides, not the drill
A bare tool, sold “tool only”, is the cheapest way to add a tool to a platform you already own and the dearest way into one you do not, because the first battery and a charger cost about as much again. After that every tool on the platform shares the same packs, and you buy more of them as they wear. So the cost of a platform over the years is largely the cost of its batteries, which is what the table below prices.
Comparing amp-hours across brands
DeWalt’s “20V MAX” and Craftsman’s “V20” are the voltage measured without a load; both brands state 18 volts nominal in the fine print, the same as Milwaukee M18, Makita 18V LXT and Ryobi 18V ONE+. So an amp-hour holds the same energy on all five, and their prices per amp-hour compare directly. EGO’s 56-volt and Greenworks’ 40-volt garden batteries hold more energy per amp-hour and are listed apart.
Capacity is not output. A high-output pack, Milwaukee’s HIGH OUTPUT or DeWalt’s POWERSTACK, gives a demanding tool more power at the same amp-hours; the table counts capacity only, so that extra does not show in its figure.
How the figures are counted
Capacity and pack size come from each listing’s title: “5.0Ah”, Milwaukee’s “XC5.0”, “2-Pack”. A two-pack of 5.0 Ah batteries is 10 Ah. Starter kits, which add a charger, are left out of the medians, and a listing that names two capacities without saying how many of each is left out rather than guessed. Prices are Amazon’s for new packs, read within the last few hours. A Milwaukee or Ryobi pack on Amazon is often a reseller’s rather than the brand’s; each product page names the seller.
Battery platforms by price per amp-hour, today
The 18-volt platforms first, cheapest median amp-hour first; the garden platforms after them. A platform with fewer than three bare packs priced is left out.
| Platform | Packs | Median per Ah | Cheapest per Ah | Cheapest battery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryobi 18V | 5 | $15.02 | $14.00 (12 Ah for $167.99) | $31.00 (2 Ah) |
| Milwaukee M18 | 9 | $15.66 | $13.71 (4 Ah for $54.83) | $54.83 (4 Ah) |
| DeWalt 20V | 8 | $17.07 | $12.97 (5 Ah for $64.87) | $64.87 (5 Ah) |
| Makita 18V | 4 | $21.20 | $17.80 (5 Ah for $89.00) | $69.88 (3 Ah) |
| Craftsman V20 | 3 | $21.25 | $20.75 (4 Ah for $83.01) | $45.26 (2 Ah) |
Questions people ask
- Which battery platform is cheapest per amp-hour?
- Of the 18-volt platforms, Ryobi 18V batteries cost the least per amp-hour at Amazon today, a median $15.02 across 5 packs, and Craftsman V20 the most, $21.25. The cheapest amp-hour of all is DeWalt 20V’s: one 5.0 Ah battery for $64.87, $12.97 each.
- Are DeWalt and Milwaukee batteries interchangeable?
- No. Each brand’s batteries fit only its own platform’s tools. Adapters between brands are sold by third parties; neither brand makes them.
- What do the numbers in a battery’s name mean?
- Its capacity in amp-hours. Milwaukee’s XC5.0 holds 5.0 Ah and its CP2.0 2.0 Ah; DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi and Craftsman print it as “5.0Ah”. More amp-hours run a tool longer on a charge and weigh more.
- Is a battery starter kit a better deal than a bare battery?
- Only if you need the charger. Set the kit against the same batteries sold bare: the difference is what you pay for the charger.