Best Corded Drills of 2026

This is the corded drill we hand to someone who says they just want a drill. The handle sits in the middle of the body with the motor's weight right under your palm, and that balance is the first thing we noticed — the DWD115K steadies up in one hand in a way a nose-heavy drill doesn't. An 8-amp motor turning 0 to 2,500 rpm gives it enough headroom for a 1-1/2-inch spade bit, and the variable trigger keeps all that power on a leash for a pilot hole.

The chuck is the other reason it holds the top spot. It's an all-metal ratcheting keyless, so a bit seats with a couple of clicks and a twist, and then it stays put — no key to hunt for, no shank slipping halfway through a hole. Corded power means the tool is ready the moment you pick it up, which is the quiet advantage of a drill that never needs a charge.

What it asks in return is a lighter touch at the bottom of the trigger. There's no clutch here, and 8 amps will cam out a screw head if you pull the trigger all the way, so we start slow, let the bit bite, then squeeze. That's a habit rather than a hardship. The case, meanwhile, is a tighter fit than it needs to be: the cord has to be coiled just so before the lid will close.

A keyed chuck is the whole argument for this drill. Instead of spinning a collar by hand, you seat the bit and give the chuck key a turn, and the jaws clamp down on a smooth shank hard enough that it won't spin, walk, or work loose halfway through a hole. That matters with the bits a keyless chuck struggles to hold — a brad point in hardwood, a dowel jig, anything where a slipping bit ruins the work rather than merely annoying you.

We liked it most for drilling rather than driving. The 7-amp motor runs to 2,800 rpm, quicker than the top pick and slower only than the Skil, so small bits clear chips and the hole arrives fast. At 3.5 pounds the DWE1014 is easy to hold at shoulder height, and the lock-on switch saves your grip on a long run of holes. It is loud up there, though: at full speed we reach for ear protection.

What's missing is a case. The box holds the drill and its chuck key and nothing else, which leaves the key loose in a toolbox where it will eventually hide. Tape it to the cord and it stays with the tool. Small housekeeping, but a keyed drill without its key is a paperweight, and there's nothing in the box to keep the two together.

One hundred pieces come in the box: screwdriving bits in two lengths, high-speed steel twist bits, masonry bits, brad points, spades, nut drivers, a countersink, a bit gauge, plus a side handle, a depth gauge and a chuck key. If you own no bits at all, that is a complete start in a single purchase, and it's the honest reason to look at this Skil rather than one of the DEWALTs. Count the contents when it lands — sets have turned up short a piece, and the chuck key is the one that stops the drill dead.

The hammer action is the other half of the pitch. This is the only drill of the three that will rattle through brick and block, and the 1/2-inch keyed chuck takes shanks the 3/8-inch bodies can't, with a two-speed gearbox to drop into the low range for a hole saw. It is not a rotary hammer — a day of coring concrete is a rental, not a homeowner's afternoon — but for anchor holes in a basement wall it does the job.

That kit and the hammer mode are what you're paying for, and they're worth it when masonry is genuinely on your list. They don't make this the drill to buy for a renovation that runs for months, where the DEWALTs are the safer long-haul bet, but that isn't the job in front of most buyers.

The piece we didn't expect to lean on is the depth rod. Set it once and every anchor hole in a run stops at the same depth, which is the difference between a plug that sits flush and one that doesn't. It's a small accessory doing a job that a wrap of masking tape usually does badly.