Bosch and Milwaukee are both great power tools.
However, narrowing a decision down to two brands doesnt do you much good – youve gotta decide on one. We are here to help you with that.
It is difficult to discern the B.S. in marketing today. This includes all the marketing campaigns, catchy buzzwords, as well as the endless stream of new features and product improvements.
In this article, well do our best to sift through all the baloney and give you what youre looking for: a no-frills, no BS, no gimmicks review thats just about tools. Our goal – as always – is to help you make the best buy possible, and get the best tools for your needs at the best overall value.
Brief History: Milwaukee Vs. Bosch
As with all these company vs. company type articles, well start out with a short look at each brands respective histories; where they came from, where theyre at now, and where theyre going.
Bosch is a German company by origin, and has evolved over the decades into a truly massive conglomerate that not only manufactures power tools and home appliances, but also owns and controls over three dozen companies that operate in a dizzyingly wide range of global markets; they manufacture everything from spark plugs to espresso machines to military-grade aviation radio controls.
You’ve likely heard of many of the brands they currently oversee: SKIL and Diablo, Dremel, Rotozip, to name a few.
The Milwaukee brand, on the other hand, (even though theyre owned by Techtronic Industries, an equally-massive conglomerate), at least focuses their efforts solely on the power tool market.
In reality, both companies belong to multi-billion dollar multinational corporations, so dont feel like youre buying homegrown or something like that if you choose to go with Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Vs. Bosch Tool Reviews
Let’s get down to meat and potatoes and see who makes better tools: Bosch or Milwaukee.
Naturally, price is probably going to be your first – and biggest – consideration. We all want the best tools available, but not everyone can afford them. You want the best products within your budget. Bosch and Milwaukee are actually pretty darn comparable when it comes right down to it – product for product, they run about the same price.
Before we dive into any type of tool review, let’s first ask: Do you have any power tools? Or are you looking for your first set? Do you want individual tools or combo kits? Do you already have a Milwaukee or Bosch battery platform? What are you most interested in and what is your maximum price range?
If youve already got a battery platform to work off of, and are simply looking to add tools to your arsenal, we recommend sticking with the brand youve got. Both Bosch and Milwaukee have good products. It is not worth switching to one brand just to get a better product. Generally speaking, try and stick to a single battery platform.
That being said, Milwaukee has got a larger tool selection in their cordless lineup than Bosch, and they always seem to have some exciting new product coming off their lines for their growing masses of loyal customers. If youre getting your very first set of cordless tools, we highly recommend going Milwaukee – theyre always the ones coming out with the latest and greatest new stuff, and youll have more tools to choose from overall if you want to add to your collection.
Cordless Combo Kits: Bosch Vs. Milwaukee
A combo kit is a great option if you’re looking for your first set cordless tools. Youll hear plenty of people argue against them, but theyre really a great way to get a good value on a set of tools, plus set yourself up with a single battery platform that you can build off of down the road.
If youre willing to make a bit of an investment, we highly recommend something like this Milwaukee 2696-26 Li-Ion M18 6-tool kit. It comes with a hammer drill, a impact driver, a SAWZALL/reciprocating saw, a 6 circular saw, a 4 angle grinder, an LED light, two M18 fatpack batteries (the 4.0 amp – not the compact 2.0 amp), and a charger.
As we mentioned, the M18 platform battery has been legendary. The two 4 amp fatpack batteries (larger than the 2 amp) will provide you with an excellent range of cordless tools for many years.
Boschs CLPK402-181 Liion 18V 4-tool Cordless Kit is an alternative if you aren’t ready to spend that much money. The kit includes a hammer drill and reciprocating saw as well as a 6-circle saw, an LED flashlight, two 18V (18A) batteries, and a charger. It seems a little pricey, though, considering that all youre really getting is a good hammer drill and a reciprocating saw (cordless circular saws are notorious for draining batteries in a flash). It is certainly cheaper than the Milwaukee kit.
Now, something else to consider all together is to make the investment and go brushless. You’ve probably heard about the brushless trend lately. We can confirm that they are far more efficient, durable, and perform better than regular brushed motors. (To find out why exactly, check out our article here on brushless vs brushed motors).
The only problem is that they are expensive.
If youre planning on getting a ton of use out of your tools, heres our recommendation: consider splashing the cash and making the investment in a top-of-the line brushless drill/impact driver combo. Your cordless drill is far and away the tool that youll get the most use out of, and itll certainly pay to invest in something that will give you the best combination of performance, durability, and overall bang for your buck. (The only drawback is that your friends will probably always be asking to borrow them).
Milwaukees new line of M18 brushless drills and impact drivers have quickly come to be regarded as, hands down, the best on the market. If theyre within your budget, dont hesitate to pull the trigger on these insanely impressive tools.
Bosch also offers a new 18V brushless drill/impactdriver combo. However, it is a fraction of the price of the Milwaukee combination so we would still choose Milwaukee. Both are great tools but nothing is quite like the Milwaukee M18 brushless.
You can add more tools to your brushless drill/driver if you decide to buy one. We said that these are the tools you will be using most so it is a good idea to invest in the best drill/driver you can afford.
Both companies still sell standard brushed tools at a fraction of the cost.
Boschs 18V CLPK232A-181 Li-Ion cordless drill/impact driver combo is a fantastic set at an extremely reasonable price. The Milwaukee 2692-22 18V combo comes in at a similar price. The big difference between these two, though, is the Bosch kit comes with two 4.0 amp batteries, whereas the Milwaukee kit has the compact 2.0 amp batteries – youll notice a big difference in battery life between the two. Out of these two kits, if it were us wed definitely go with the Bosch – its cheaper and it comes with the bigger, longer-lasting batteries.
Bottom Line
As we have said, both Milwaukee and Bosch are undoubtedly great brands. They are two of the most respected in the industry. Bosch would be a lot more appealing if they were to lower their prices a little. Although they are almost as expensive as Milwaukee’s, we have found them to be just a little bit more superior in terms of performance, durability, overall quality, and overall value. For your dollar, unless you find some Bosch stuff on a good sale or something, wed recommend going with Milwaukee between the two.
