Best Drill for Electricians UK 2026: 3 Picks by Job

Best value general combi in this shortlist: Bosch Professional GSB 18V-45. Its 1.0kg bare-tool weight, 45Nm hard torque and 13mm chuck make it a practical first drill for routine fixing, wood, metal and light masonry work.

Best high-torque combi: Bosch Professional GSB 18V-150 C. It reaches 150Nm maximum torque and much larger published drilling capacities, but weighs 2.2kg without a battery, so buy it for demanding work rather than as an everyday default.

Best tight-access specialist: Milwaukee M12 FUEL M12 FDDXKIT-202X. Its right-angle, offset, hex and 10mm chuck heads solve access problems a normal combi cannot.

For repeated holes in brick or concrete, add an SDS Plus rotary hammer. A combi drill's percussion mode is useful for lighter masonry work, but it does not make a dedicated SDS Plus unnecessary.

Choose the tool around the material and access, not a universal brand league table.

• Combi drill: the main all-rounder for drilling wood and metal, driving screws and occasional light masonry work.
• SDS Plus rotary hammer: the better second tool for repeated drilling in brick, block and concrete.
• Compact installation or right-angle drill: a specialist for confined spaces where a normal drill body and chuck will not line up.

The strongest buying order for many electricians is a capable combi first, SDS Plus when masonry work becomes regular, and a tight-access tool only when the jobs justify carrying another system.

The Bosch Professional GSB 18V-45 is the best-value general combi in this researched shortlist. Bosch publishes a 1.0kg bare-tool weight, 21Nm soft and 45Nm hard torque, a 1.5–13mm chuck, two speed ranges up to 1,900rpm and a maximum impact rate of 27,000 beats per minute.

Bosch rates it for up to 35mm in wood and 10mm in steel or masonry. Those figures make it the sensible first choice here for routine drilling and fixing without carrying the weight of a premium high-torque model all day.

It runs on Bosch Professional's 18V system and AMPShare batteries. If you already own another current professional battery platform, compare an equivalent brushless combi there before changing systems solely for this recommendation.

The Bosch Professional GSB 18V-150 C is the premium choice here when the work genuinely needs more torque and drilling capacity. Bosch publishes 150Nm maximum torque, a 13mm metal chuck, speeds up to 2,200rpm and an impact rate up to 30,000 beats per minute.

Its published capacities reach 150mm in wood, 16mm in steel and 20mm in masonry. The trade-off is weight: 2.2kg before adding a battery, more than twice the bare weight of the GSB 18V-45.

That makes it a poor upgrade if your real work is mostly small fixings and pilot holes. Choose it when jobs require its published large-hole capacities. Bosch requires the auxiliary handle; KickBack Control switches the tool off if it suddenly rotates around the drilling axis.

The Milwaukee M12 FUEL M12 FDDXKIT-202X is the most useful tight-access specialist in this shortlist. The kit includes a 10mm metal chuck, right-angle attachment, offset attachment and 6mm hex attachment. Removing the head reduces the body length to 130mm.

Milwaukee publishes 34Nm maximum torque, speeds up to 1,600rpm and a 0.90kg weight with its M12 B2 battery. It is rated for up to 28mm in wood and 10mm in steel.

This is not a replacement for a main combi or an SDS Plus hammer: it has no percussion mode. It earns van space when restricted access is the recurring problem you need to solve.

Buy a separate SDS Plus rotary hammer when brick, block or concrete drilling is frequent enough that a combi slows the job down. Choose by the hole sizes you actually drill, impact energy, weight with battery, declared vibration and whether a compatible dust-extraction option exists.

DeWalt's current DCH273 is a useful example of the class rather than a universal winner. The manufacturer publishes 2.1 joules of impact energy, a 24mm maximum concrete capacity and an intended 4–24mm range for anchors and fixing holes in concrete, brick and masonry. It also provides rotation stop for light chiselling and rotary-only drilling.

Consider SDS Max only when the drilling capacity of SDS Plus is insufficient for the work.

• Start with your weekly jobs: count wood, metal, masonry, large-hole and tight-access work before comparing specifications.
• Check working weight: bare-tool figures exclude the battery, so compare the complete setup you will hold.
• Match capacity, not headline torque: a heavier drill is not better when a smaller tool already covers the holes and fixings you make.
• Price the complete setup: check whether the listing is a bare tool or includes the batteries, charger, handles, heads and case you need.
• Stay on-platform when the tool fits: compatible batteries can make the right bare tool better value, but platform ownership does not turn the wrong tool into the right one.

These picks compare current UK manufacturer specifications and stated uses. They are job-based recommendations, not claims from a long-term field test.

Before drilling or cutting, HSE advises checking for hidden wiring and other hazards, inspecting both sides where possible, and consulting plans or a competent person when services cannot be located.

For hand-held drilling and coring in concrete and similar materials, HSE guidance calls for the correct tool and bit, dust capture for short work, and on-tool extraction when drilling is the main activity. Vibration risk depends on both the tool's representative vibration level and how long it is used, so a manufacturer's single figure is not a universal safe working time.