Best cordless drill and combo kits for home DIY

Top pick: DeWalt 20V MAX XR DCD800 — a brushless 1/2-inch drill/driver that's the sweet spot for home DIY: plenty of torque for deck screws and hole saws, compact enough for cabinets, and it sits on DeWalt's 20V platform so batteries carry over to every other DeWalt tool you add.

Who the others suit:

• Ryobi ONE+ drill + impact driver kit — best first kit for a new DIYer: two tools, one battery system, and the biggest tool ecosystem for the money.
• Ryobi 18V ONE+ 6-tool combo kit — if you want a whole starter workshop (saw, recip saw, impact driver) in one go.
• Milwaukee M18 FUEL hammer drill + impact kit — for masonry and heavy framing; the most capable of the bunch.
• BLACK+DECKER 20V 4-tool set — light, occasional jobs and small spaces.
• Metabo HPT DB3DL2 — a compact, cheap second drill for driving screws.

Skip 8V and no-name kits if you plan to build a tool collection.