Who Makes Ryobi Power Tools? And How Good Are They Really?

Ryobi tools have been a fixture on the shelves at Home Depot stores for almost 30 years and are now also available at Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers. Ryobi's line of power tools includes the typical array of drills, drivers, and various circular, reciprocating, and oscillating saws, as well as a robust series of lawn and yard care tools such as walk-behind and riding lawn mowers, hedge clippers, string trimmers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, and rotary polishers. They also make the batteries and chargers needed to keep these tools running.

But who is the manufacturer behind Ryobi tools, and can they be trusted to deliver reliable performance and a long service life?

Ryobi tools are made by Techtronic Industries (TTI), a company based in Wisconsin that also owns several other tool and small home appliance brands, including Milwaukee, Homelite, Oreck, Dirt Devil, Hoover, AEG, and RIDGID. TTI also owns the childcare and ride-sharing service Kango.  

Ryobi may not have the reputation for quality and durability of some of TTI's other brands, but they have earned mostly favorable reviews from both consumer and professional users. Ryobi's 18V 6-tool combo kit has a 4.6 average rating from more than 300 Amazon buyers, 81% of which rate the kit a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. 

Zippytlsr called the collection "great tools at a great price" and wrote, " I love the tools. The batteries that were included work well. Keep in mind this is for the home do-it-yourself-er. These are great tools at a moderate price, making them a good value."

Even professional users seem reasonably satisfied with the performance of Ryobi tools. Contractors Woody and his father used a Ryobi kit for six months and gave their assessment of the gear on the Makin' Life Work YouTube channel. They felt the tools held up as well as any other brand, and Woody said he felt Ryobi tools were certainly durable enough for most people's needs. 

"For a homeowner, these tools are going to be perfectly fine," he said. "Even someone that's doing DIY stuff quite a bit, you could use these tools." He even recommended Ryobi tools for professionals just getting started in the business and looking for a good value on a line of equipment they could easily expand.