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The best cordless drills under $100

A hundred dollars buys a genuinely capable 20V drill with a battery, a charger and a case. Here is what it does not buy, and whether any of that matters for a first home.

By Mike M.Last updated

Best under $100

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver Kit with 100 Accessories

The drill and the hundred bits and sockets you would otherwise buy separately, at a price that makes the decision easy. For hanging shelves and building furniture it is all the drill you need.

Scored 9.5 · A first drill, with bits included. The full ranking and the runners-up are below.

Quick picks

Our ranking at a glance. Tap any row for the full write-up, or the price to go straight to Amazon. Scores are ours, weighing published specs, the design and what owners report after a year — the method is published in full.

#ProductBest forScorePrice
1
BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver Kit with 100 Accessories

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver Kit with 100 Accessories

A first drill, with bits included

A first drill, with bits included9.59.5 out of 10 on our Beginner-friendly, Value, Durability, Stores small scoring
2
CRAFTSMAN V20 Drill and Impact Driver Combo (CMCK201D1)

CRAFTSMAN V20 Drill and Impact Driver Combo (CMCK201D1)

Two tools, one battery platform

Two tools, one battery platform9.39.3 out of 10 on our Beginner-friendly, Value, Durability, Stores small scoring
3
WORX 20V Cordless Drill Driver, 84-Piece Kit

WORX 20V Cordless Drill Driver, 84-Piece Kit

The cheapest complete kit

The cheapest complete kit9.49.4 out of 10 on our Beginner-friendly, Value, Durability, Stores small scoring
$61.82View on Amazon

$74.19 · 17% off

4
DEWALT 20V MAX XR Drill Driver (DCD771C2)

DEWALT 20V MAX XR Drill Driver (DCD771C2)

A drill you keep for twenty years

A drill you keep for twenty years9.49.4 out of 10 on our Beginner-friendly, Value, Durability, Stores small scoring

#ad — Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. How this site is funded.

Buy the BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX drill kit. Under a hundred dollars it gives you a 20V lithium drill, a battery, a charger and bits — everything a first home needs for shelves, flat-pack furniture, curtain rails and a TV mount. The ceiling costs you a brushless motor and a second battery, and neither matters until you are drilling masonry or working all day.

The hundred-dollar line is a real boundary in this market, not an arbitrary one. Below it you are buying brushed-motor drills from the consumer lines of the big brands, usually with one 1.5 Ah battery. Above it you start getting brushless motors, 2.0 Ah batteries and the contractor-grade bodies. The useful question is not which is better — obviously the expensive one — but whether the difference does anything for the jobs a first home actually generates.

Our general ranking without a price ceiling is best drills for new homeowners, and the form-factor question is in drill versus impact driver.

What $100 buys, and what it does not

Under $100 against $100-180, in a cordless drill
Under $100$100-180
MotorBrushed — simpler, cheaper, loses some efficiencyBrushless — more torque per charge, longer motor life
Battery includedUsually one 1.5 Ah packOften two 2.0 Ah packs
Chuck3/8 in keyless on most1/2 in keyless, which takes larger bits and hole saws
Hammer functionRareAvailable — needed for brick, concrete and tile
Clutch settingsFewer, coarser stepsFiner, which matters for driving into soft wood without sinking the head
Realistic jobsFlat-pack, shelves, curtain rails, a TV mount, drywall anchorsAll of the above plus masonry, decking, repeated all-day use

Read that table honestly and the conclusion for a renter or a first-time homeowner is clear: the under-$100 column covers every job on the first-apartment tool list. The upgrade buys capability for jobs that come with owning a house with brick walls and a garden, and if you are doing those you are not shopping with a hundred-dollar ceiling anyway.

What to look for at this price

  1. A kit, not a bare tool. A bare drill at $60 plus a battery at $45 plus a charger at $35 is not a bargain. At this price always buy the boxed kit with a battery and a charger included; it is the only sane way to enter a battery platform.
  2. Lithium-ion, 18V or 20V MAX. These are the same thing named differently — 20V MAX is the peak voltage of a nominal 18V pack. Avoid anything sold as 12V unless you specifically want a tiny drill, and avoid NiCd entirely.
  3. A clutch with real settings. The numbered ring that stops the drill when the screw is tight. This is the difference between flat-pack furniture assembled and flat-pack furniture with the screw heads pulled through the chipboard.
  4. A battery platform you might extend. The battery outlives the drill. Buying into a system where a sander, a driver and a trimmer take the same pack is worth more than ten percent more torque today.
  5. Weight, if the work is overhead. Anything over about four pounds becomes unpleasant when you are drilling a ceiling, which is most TV and shelf work.

What to skip under $100

Any “300-piece” drill and accessory bundle. The drill is the expensive part. If the box contains 299 other things and still costs $70, the drill in it is the cheapest drill the brand makes. Buy a decent drill and a separate bit set.

Corded drills, unless the job is masonry. A corded drill is more powerful per dollar and there is a real argument for one, but it is not the first drill for a renter — see corded versus cordless.

Unbranded 20V drills from marketplace sellers. Not because the drill fails, usually, but because the battery is a dead end: in two years there is no replacement pack and the tool becomes landfill. Battery availability is the single strongest argument for buying a named brand at this price.

Which one, for which person

Buy the BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX kit if this is your first drill and the jobs are indoor: it is the lightest here, the kit is complete, and the platform extends.

Buy the CRAFTSMAN V20 combo if you want a drill and an impact driver in one purchase — two tools sharing a battery for about what a mid-range drill costs alone, and the impact driver is the better tool for long screws and deck boards.

Buy the WORX 20V kit if you want the accessories in the box and will never buy another tool on the platform.

And stretch past the ceiling to the DEWALT DCD771C2 if you own rather than rent, if there is brick or masonry anywhere in your plans, or if you want the drill that will still be the drill in fifteen years. It is the one we recommend without a price cap in best drills for new homeowners, and the reasons are set out in the drills professionals trust.

The short version

  • Under $100 buys a brushed-motor 20V drill with one battery, a charger and a case — enough for every job a first apartment generates.
  • The upgrade buys a brushless motor, a 1/2 in chuck, a hammer function and a second battery. Those matter for masonry and all-day work.
  • Always buy the kit. A bare tool plus a battery plus a charger costs more than the kit does.
  • Avoid 300-piece bundles and unbranded platforms — the battery, not the drill, is what strands you in two years.
  • A clutch with usable settings is the feature that saves flat-pack furniture.

Every pick in detail

#1 · A first drill, with bits included

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver Kit with 100 Accessories

9.5/ 10

The drill and the hundred bits and sockets you would otherwise buy separately, at a price that makes the decision easy. For hanging shelves and building furniture it is all the drill you need.

Beginner-friendly
9.7
Value
9.6
Durability
9.1
Stores small
9.3

What we like

  • Bits included means you can use it the day it arrives
  • The clutch is the beginner-saving feature — it stops you stripping screws
  • The battery platform extends to B+D's other 20V tools later

Good to know

Not enough torque for repeated masonry work

Specifications

  • 20V MAX lithium battery with charger
  • 100-piece accessory set: drill bits, driver bits, sockets
  • 11-position clutch so you cannot over-drive a screw
  • POWERCONNECT battery fits other B+D 20V tools

Who it is for

Nearly every first home. Step up to the DEWALT only if you are doing real renovation work.

#2 · Two tools, one battery platform

CRAFTSMAN V20 Drill and Impact Driver Combo (CMCK201D1)

9.3/ 10

A drill and an impact driver sharing one battery and charger. The impact driver is what makes long screws and deck boards easy, and having both means never swapping bits mid-job.

Beginner-friendly
9.2
Value
9.4
Durability
9.5
Stores small
8.9

What we like

  • The impact driver transforms furniture assembly and decking
  • Two tools means one holds a drill bit, the other a driver bit
  • A double-sided bit tip and a PH2 screwdriver bit are in the bag

Good to know

Two tools to store

Specifications

  • 1/2 in drill/driver rated to 300 UWO plus a 1/4 in impact driver
  • One 2.0 Ah V20 battery and a charger
  • Impact driver rated to 1,800 in-lbs max torque
  • Shared V20 platform, LED on both tools, storage bag

Who it is for

A first house with a deck, a fence or flat-pack furniture in volume.

WORX 20V Cordless Drill Driver, 84-Piece Kit
$61.82View the WORX 20V Cordless on Amazon

$74.19 · 17% off

#ad we may earn a commission · price as of November 13, 2026

#3 · The cheapest complete kit

WORX 20V Cordless Drill Driver, 84-Piece Kit

9.4/ 10

Drill, battery, charger and 84 accessories for under sixty dollars. Light-duty, but it drives screws and drills pilot holes, which is the job.

Beginner-friendly
9.6
Value
9.7
Durability
8.8
Stores small
9.4

What we like

  • Cheapest complete drill kit here
  • Very light — easy for overhead work
  • Accessories included

Good to know

Lowest torque of the four

Specifications

  • 20V battery and charger
  • 84-piece accessory kit
  • 3/8 in chuck
  • Lightweight body

Who it is for

An apartment where the drill comes out twice a year.

#4 · A drill you keep for twenty years

DEWALT 20V MAX XR Drill Driver (DCD771C2)

9.4/ 10

Two batteries, a metal chuck and the torque to drive long screws into real lumber. If you are buying a house and intend to work on it, start here instead.

Beginner-friendly
9.3
Value
9.1
Durability
9.7
Stores small
9.1

What we like

  • Two batteries means you never stop mid-job
  • Metal chuck holds bits straight for years
  • Genuinely enough power for deck screws and joists

Good to know

No bits included — budget $25 more

Specifications

  • 20V MAX with two batteries and a charger
  • Two-speed transmission, 300 unit watts out
  • Metal 1/2 in ratcheting chuck
  • LED work light

Who it is for

A first house with projects queued. Overkill for picture hooks.

Our recommendation

If you read nothing else on this page, this is the short version.

Buy this one

BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX Drill Driver Kit with 100 Accessories

Nearly every first home. Step up to the DEWALT only if you are doing real renovation work.

Or this one, if BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX is not the fit

CRAFTSMAN V20 Drill and Impact Driver Combo (CMCK201D1)

A first house with a deck, a fence or flat-pack furniture in volume.

Common questions

Is a $100 cordless drill good enough for home use?

For almost all of it, yes. Hanging shelves, assembling flat-pack furniture, fitting curtain rails, mounting a television into studs and setting drywall anchors are all well within a 20V brushed drill with a 1.5 Ah battery. What you give up is masonry drilling, repeated all-day use, and the extra runtime a brushless motor gets from the same charge.

What is the difference between a brushed and a brushless drill?

A brushless motor has no carbon brushes rubbing on a commutator, so less energy becomes heat and friction. In practice that means more torque from the same battery, longer runtime per charge and a motor that lasts longer, at a higher price. For occasional household use a brushed drill is perfectly adequate; for daily use the brushless pays back.

Is 20V better than 18V?

They are the same thing. “20V MAX” is the no-load peak voltage of a battery pack whose nominal voltage is 18V, and brands simply chose different numbers for marketing. Compare amp-hours, torque figures and chuck size instead — those are real differences.

Do you need two batteries?

Not for household jobs. One 1.5 Ah pack drills and drives for well over an hour of actual trigger time, which is more than a day of shelf-hanging, and it charges in about an hour. Two batteries matter when you are working continuously — a deck, a fence, a day of drywall — not when you are hanging four pictures on a Saturday.

Can a cheap drill go into brick?

Not reliably. Masonry needs a hammer action, which almost nothing under a hundred dollars has, and a masonry bit alone will not compensate. If you have brick or concrete walls, buy a drill with a hammer setting or hire an SDS rotary hammer for the afternoon — trying it with a standard drill burns out the bit and sometimes the drill.

Sources