Lowe's Vs. Home Depot: Which Offers The Most Affordable & Reliable Power Tools?

Lowe's and Home Depot offer a wide variety of power tools, including battery-powered and corded drills and saws. The question is which of the two big-box stores has the best selection of affordable, reliable brands. Since both stores carry some of the same high-quality brands, such as Bosch, Dremel, and Dewalt, we'll leave those out.

Based on a stroll through each store's power tool section, they both have a selection of unique power tool brands. Lowe's carries well-known brands like Craftsman, Skil, Black+Decker, and Kobalt. Lowe's is the exclusive in-store supplier of Kobalt power tools. Home Depot's power tool section features brands like Makita, Milwaukee, Ryobi, and Rigid. While Lowe's and Home Depot claim exclusive rights to sell some brands in-store, they are available online through other outlets like Amazon.

We'll focus on common power tools from the brands found in Lowe's and Home Depot. Customer ratings will determine the most reliable offerings from each store, ignoring those with just a few reviews, even if they are 5-star ratings. Then, we'll compare those power tools based on price and customer satisfaction.

If you've walked through the power tool section of any home improvement store, you've seen a vast array of battery-powered tools. The battery-powered craze started decades ago with cordless screwdrivers and quickly moved to drills. While early iterations provided little power and short battery life, the technology now provides powerful, long-lasting batteries for nearly any type of power tool imaginable.

Battery-powered tool purchase options range from combination kits that feature cordless drills, an impact driver, and at least one battery with a charger to others that include combinations of multiple batteries, circular saws, reciprocating saws, fans, work lights, and more. If you opt for battery-powered tools, sticking to one battery system means any future purchases can be cheaper because you can select the Tool Only option.

Corded power tools are still available, offering power equal to or greater than battery-powered versions without the hassle of charging batteries. The downside of corded tools is the need to be within reach of a power outlet.

Lowe's offers Skil and Black+Decker cordless drills priced under $100. With 4.8 stars, the 12-volt ½-inch drill from Skil is the highest rated, while the ⅜-inch 20-volt Black+Decker has 4.6 stars. The $100 to $120 price range includes the 4.8-star 18-volt Metabo HPT, 5.0-star 20-volt Skil, 4.6-star 20-volt Craftsman, and 4.5-star 24-volt Kobalt models.

Home Depot's battery-powered drill options include 18-volt Ryobi and Rigid ½-inch capacity models. The Ryobi offering is priced at $79, includes a battery, and is rated 4.7 stars, while the Rigid option also earned 4.7 stars but costs $109 without a battery. Milwaukee's 12-volt ⅜-inch drill costs $129 but has two batteries, a tool bag, and 4.7 stars. Finally, the Makita 18-volt ½-inch drill has a 4.8-star rating and comes with a single battery and a tool bag for $169.

Both stores offer corded hand-held power drills with keyless chucks for $59. The highest-rated version at Lowe's is the 4.6-star Craftsman ⅜-inch model with a 7-amp motor. Home Depot sells its 4.5-star ⅜-inch 5.5-amp corded Ryobi drill for the same price.

Lowe's wins the hand-held power drill category with lower prices on highly rated battery-powered options. Lowe's also beats Home Depot with its more powerful Craftsman in the corded drill category.

Based on consumer ratings and affordability, the top five 7-¼-inch circular saw brands unique to Lowe's include saws produced by Evolution, Greenworks, Metabo HPT, Skil, and Worx. Corded versions begin with the most affordable option, priced at $70: the Skil 15-amp corded saw with 4.6 stars. With 4.7 stars derived from only 19 reviews, the $83 corded 15-amp Evolution circular saw features the ability to cut wood and metal with the same blade. The Metabo HPT 15-amp corded saw gets 4.7 stars and is the highest-priced saw on our list of affordable corded saws from Lowe's at $129.

Lowe's best battery-powered options include the 20-volt Worx saw priced at $184, including a battery and a 4.9-star rating. In addition, the 24-volt Greenworks circular saw features a 4.6-star rating and is priced at $111, not including a battery. Since batteries are expensive, it's likely best to consider one of these options if you have already or plan to purchase other battery-power tools with that battery system.

Home Depot's top-ranked, unique 7-1/4-inch circular saw brands include Genesis, Makita, Milwaukee, Ryobi, and Wen, offering a mix of corded and battery-powered options. The two lowest-rated options on our list include saws from Ryobi and Wen. The most affordable option is the $39 Wen 12-amp corded saw, with 4.5 stars. However, the $89 corded Ryobi boasts a 15-amp motor, a laser alignment system, and 4.6 stars. The 13-amp Genesis saw gets 4.7 stars and is reasonably priced at $44. The $129 Milwaukee saw has a 15-amp motor, includes a hard case, and gets 4.8 stars. The highest-rated option is the $124 10.5-amp Makita with 4.9 stars.

Ryobi provides the best option for a battery-powered circular saw from Home Depot. The 4.5-star Ryobi 18-volt saw includes Ryobi's ONE+ 4.0-amp/hour battery for $199.

While Home Depot has higher-rated saws at prices similar to Lowe's at the upper end of our affordable list, Lowe's offers a better selection of corded and battery-powered saws at lower prices. The advantage goes to Lowe's unless you're shopping for a high-end saw.

A reciprocating saw is one of the most versatile power tools you can own. Its uses range from home renovation tasks and demolition to trimming tree branches. If we could only have one power saw in your toolkit, a reciprocating saw would make the final cut.

Lowe's offers both corded and battery-powered reciprocating saws. The Black+Decker 7-amp corded reciprocating saw is the top-rated model unique to Lowe's, with 4.8 stars. It's also reasonably priced at $56. Another corded option is the $87 Metabo HPT 11-amp reciprocating saw with 4.7 stars.

Choosing a battery-powered version allows full use of the reciprocating saw's versatility. Lowe's sells the Worx 20-volt cordless reciprocating saw for $64. With 4.7 stars, it's an affordable option, especially if you already have the Wors 20-volt battery system. Another 4.7-star option from Worx that provides even more versatility is the Worx model #WX550L.9 offering two saws in one. With a button push and a blade direction change, this $77 saw changes configuration from a reciprocating saw to a jigsaw. For an affordable battery-powered option, consider the 4.7-star Skil 20-volt reciprocating saw with its included battery and charger for $74.

Home Depot carries a similar mix of corded and battery-powered reciprocating saws. First on our list is the original Sawzall by Milwaukee Tool. The $129 12-amp Milwaukee Sawzall has a 4.7-star rating. Like the Sawzall, the Makita reciprocating saw delivers 12-amp power and a 4.7-star rating but costs more at $159.

The Ryobi 18-volt reciprocating saw gets 4.7 stars and includes a battery for $129. Home Depot also carries Ryobi, Milwaukee, and Rigid 18-volt Tool Only versions that get over 4.5 stars each. The Ridgid is $99 and the Milwaukee model costs $129, while the Ryobi is more affordable at $79.

Both Lowe's and Home Depot carry reciprocating saw options with similar ratings. Lowe's, however, consistently beats Home Depot's prices.

Based on hours spent perusing Lowe's and Home Depot's power tool sections and online research, it's clear that both stores offer uniquely branded, high-quality power tools. While every brand occasionally produces a defective product, finding more respected power tool brands than Skil, Black+Decker, Craftsman, Makita, Milwaukee, and Ryobi is difficult.

Like those brands, Lowe's and Home Depot have excellent reputations for customer service and satisfaction. While return policies for power tools vary by store with some restrictions, there's no doubt a power tool that falls below your expectations out of the box is easily returned or exchanged.

Affordability became the deciding factor in this comparison as each store offered a wide variety of quality power tools. Lowe's highest-quality power tool prices consistently beat the prices at Home Depot. Lowe's prices were half of those advertised at Home Depot in several cases. However, if you already have batteries and tools from one of Home Depot's brands, buying the tool-only version from them or online is likely more cost-effective.