Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

In this review, we take a look at Metabo HPT's 18V Drill from our Best Budget Drill Shootout. How does it do? Can it tackle DIY and Pro applications?

Most Pro brands don’t intentionally make DIY tools under the same brand name. But if you’re willing to reach back in time a little, yesterday’s Pro tools are priced perfectly for today’s DIYers. That’s the intersection where we meet the Metabo HPT DS18DGL 18V cordless drill. This mid-sized drill hit the market back in 2014 and as newer products jumped ahead, Metabo HPT (Hitachi at the time) kept producing them with a pretty sweet price tag.

The Metabo HPT DS18DGL 18V cordless drill is a good fit to cover general homeowners tasks. It’s not as fast or powerful as some of the “Prosumers” options out there, but you can get your hands on it for a much better price with higher quality than the cheap discount store models.

Overall 18V Budget Drill Ranking: 7th Place

Given that the Metabo HPT DS18DGL focuses on value, it’s no surprise to find a pretty basic feature set. There’s a brushed motor with a 2-speed gearbox, keyless chuck, 22+1 clutch, LED light, and reversible belt hook.

Compared to other DIY drills around the same price point, there’s nothing wrong with a feature set like this. If you want to move up in price with Metabo HPT, you’ll start to see options like brushless motors, more compact designs, and a finer fit and finish.

Head over to our Best Drill Head to Head Review to see the details of how we test soft torque and speed under load.

This Metabo HPT cordless drill boasts 400 in-lbs of torque on paper. Our compression testing method gives us a soft torque value and we shouldn’t compare these two numbers directly.

The 18V DIY class has a wide range from around 125 in-lbs to 325 in-lbs of soft torque in our tests. The Metabo HPT DS18DGL is the lower end of the range with a 126.8 in-lbs average. Of the 8 drills we tested in this group, 4 of them are within 5 in-lbs on either side.

A quick look at the specs tells us that Metabo HPT doesn’t gear this model to be fast. Our no-load testing gives it 1125 RPM in high and 397 RPM in low using the included 1.3Ah battery.

With a 3/4″ Bosch Daredevil High-Speed Auger Bit, the Metabo HPT DS18DGL averaged 743 RPM. Compared to its no-load speed, that’s 66%. Even though that’s the slowest in its class, the efficiency tells us the motor has more to give.

Swapping for a 1-1/2″ Milwaukee SwitchBlade Self-Feed Bit, we checked the speeds again. With an average of 277 RPM and a 70% efficiency rate, it’s the slowest again but with room for bigger bits.

When you look at the specs against other DIY drills, this Metabo HPT cordless drill has the lowest torque and speed. It isn’t a surprise to see it rank against other drills the way it does.

But you can tell that from looking at the box. The real question is whether or not it can do the work you need it to. While it’s slower, there’s nothing wrong with this drill’s ability to drill holes up to 1-1/2″ and we’d be confident taking it out to 2″. When you’re looking for a drill that can handle household tasks and projects, the Metabo HPT DS18DGL is a winner.

At 7.7″ tall and 8.6″ long, you’re looking at a pretty large footprint, so this isn’t going to be a kitchen drawer kind of drill. Plan on saving a spot on a shelf or drawer in your garage instead.

When it comes to weight, this Metabo HPT drill sits at a pretty reasonable 3.7 pounds with its 1.3Ah battery pack. It’s only a half pound heavier than the lightest and a far cry from Ryobi’s 5.2 lbs as the heaviest.

Despite the long head, the weight balances well over the handle. The handle itself has Metabo HPT’s typical design that contours very well to your hand. There’s not as much overmold around it, though.

We’ve been alluding to it from the beginning—it’s the Metabo HPT DS18DGL’s price that makes the whole package worth it. With two 1.3Ah batteries (46.8 total Wh), the kit runs $129 and we’ve seen it as low as $99 on Amazon.

In spite of its low price, it’s still under Metabo HPT’s lifetime lithium-ion tool warranty. Try finding that with any of the traditional DIY brands!

The Metabo HPT DS18DGL 18V cordless drill is a good fit to cover general homeowners tasks. It’s not as fast or powerful as some of the “Prosumers” options out there, but you can get your hands on it for a much better price with higher quality than the cheap discount store models.

For more information on this drill and to see its individual results, please check out our Best Cordless Budget Drill head to head review.

When he doesn't have his hands on tools himself, Chris is often the man behind the camera lens making the rest of the team look good. In his free time, you might find Chris with his nose jammed in a book, or tearing out his remaining hair while watching Liverpool FC. He enjoys his faith, family, friends, and the Oxford comma.

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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros