Cordless Drill vs Impact Driver

4 Types of Cordless Drills

The 4 main types of cordless drills are:

1. Cordless Drill/Drivers - These can be used to drill holes and also as an electric screwdriver to drive in and remove smaller sized screws. They can not drill masonry such as brick or concrete.
2. Cordless Combi drills (A combination of a drill/driver and a hammer drill) - These can be used to drill holes and also as an electric screwdriver to drive in and remove smaller screws. They are capable of drilling into masonry. These are the most popular cordless drills bought and used in the UK.
3. Cordless Hammer drills - Mainly used by tradespeople for masonry drilling, and as a chisel to remove wall and floor tiles. These are also referred to as rotary hammer drills.
4. Cordless SDS drills - These can be called SDS, SDS Plus, or rotary hammer drills. They are essentially a heavy duty hammer drill, used in the trades, to drill through masonry and steel. These can also be used as a heavy duty chisel for removing wall and floor tiles, or plaster from walls. They have a different chuck design and use different types of drill bits.

The most popular choice for most homeowners and DIYers is the combination (Combi) drill.  Hammer and SDS drills are predominantly used by various trades for heavier duty work.

What is a Cordless Impact Driver?

The key purpose of an impact driver is to quickly fasten or loosen long screws or large bolts. That makes them the best choice for working on decking, fencing and roofing, where fastening larger fixings, coach bolts and long screws are essential.

They are not required for most homeowners or DIYers. Only those DIYers working on larger projects will benefit from owning one of these. Impact drivers look like a drill, but these are simply not designed to drill holes.

Their two main purposes are:

1. To reduce your work time when a large number of screws or bolts need to be driven in
2. For loosening screws or bolts that are stuck, without damaging the head of the screw

Main Uses

These are mainly used for working on:

• Shed building
• Deck building (Decking screws are typically 50-100mm in length)
• Roofing and flooring
• Shelving
• Driving screws into harder woods like oak and mahogany
• Driving in long screws 3" (75mm) or longer

What is a Cordless Impact Wrench?

The key purpose of an impact is to tighten and loosen large nuts and bolts. These are mainly used by garages, tyre changing companies (Kwik Fit, Halfords etc) and in engineering.

It's All About the Torque!

The torque on a drill or impact driver refers to the rotational force applied by the tool. It is usually measured in newton-meters (Nm) in the UK. Torque is a crucial specification for these tools as it determines their ability to drive screws, drill holes, or perform other tasks that require rotational force.

Torque settings on a drill or impact driver allows you to control the amount of force applied. Lower torque settings are suitable for delicate tasks or working with softer materials, while higher settings are used for tougher applications.

Please keep in mind that these are approximate values, and actual specifications may vary. Always consult the product documentation or contact the manufacturer for precise information on a specific model.

You can see that the higher torque on the impact driver makes it more powerful and faster to use. That makes it better for driving in multiple screws, or for driving in longer screws or for driving into harder woods like oak and mahogany.

Cordless Drill/Driver vs Cordless Impact Driver

Drill/Driver - This can be used to drill holes. It also acts as an electric screwdriver and is capable of driving in and removing smaller screws. It can not drill through any type of masonry as it has no hammer function. That makes it suitable for jobs around the home such as building DIY furniture, basic drilling into wood, plastic or metal. Many people refer to this as an occasional use drill, or an odd job drill.

Impact Driver - This is the better choice for driving in larger numbers of screws/bolts when working on bigger projects like decking or fencing.

Combi Drill vs Cordless Impact Driver

Combi Drill - This can be used to drill holes. It also acts as an electric screwdriver and is capable of driving in and removing smaller screws. It can also drill through any type of masonry. That makes it suitable for almost any jobs around the home. It is by far the most common type of drill used.

Impact Driver - As before, you only need to get this if you plan on driving in larger numbers of screws/bolts when working on bigger projects like decking or fencing.

Cordless Hammer Drill vs Cordless Impact Driver

Hammer Drill - These are also known as percussion drills or impact drills. They are mainly used for drilling into hard materials. It is a type of rotary drill with an impact mechanism that generates a hammering motion. They are used in the trades for jobs such as setting anchors in concrete, electricians use them to make holes for outlet boxes, and with a chisel attachment, they can be used in demolition such as removing floor and wall tiles.

Impact Driver - The impact driver does none of the above as they are used for driving in larger numbers of screws/bolts when working on bigger projects like decking or fencing.

Cordless SDS Drill vs Cordless Impact Driver

SDS Drill - These are similar to the hammer drill. They are mainly used for heavy duty drilling into hard materials. They are used in the trades. They can be used to drill through materials such as steel, brick, masonry, and concrete. They are even more powerful than a hammer dill and work well on reinforced concrete. With a chisel attachment, they can can break through brick, concrete, and other hard materials.

Impact Driver - The impact driver does none of the above as they are used for driving in larger numbers of screws/bolts when working on bigger projects like decking or fencing.