Best Impact Drivers 2026: 10 Ranked, and Why the Torque Number Lies

This is the best impact driver here by review volume: 5,156 ratings at 4.7, with 86% of buyers giving five stars and just 2% giving one. For a tool under £60 that is an unusually settled picture. The published figures are where it gets untidy — the same table lists torque as both 200 Nm and 205 Nm, and speed as both 3250 RPM and 3800 RPM.

In practice, 200 Nm covers what most buyers need an 18v impact driver for. DeWalt's own bullet gives the maximum bolt diameter as M12, which sits closer to the 205 Nm figure than to the 1,700 Nm claims further down this list. Three speeds, a 6.35 mm hex chuck and a magnetic bit holder handle decking screws, cabinet fixings and light automotive work. The body weighs 1.24 kg according to the bullets; the spec table says 1 kg, and only one of those can be right.

That said, this is a naked body. No battery, no charger, no case. If you are not already inside DeWalt's 18V XR system, add the cost of a pack and charger before comparing it with the kits below. The table's '2 Amp Hours' battery capacity describes a battery that is not in the box.

Only one tool in this list prints a single torque figure and keeps to it: 215 Nm under both 'Maximum Torque' and 'Torque'. Meanwhile the DeWalt above prints two. With 5,185 ratings at 4.5, this is also the second most-reviewed item here, though 5 buyers gave it one star.

The brushless motor and 2900 RPM top speed suit repeated work rather than a one-off job. Crucially, the listing describes an external square drive with a bit adapter, which places it between a best cordless impact driver and a full impact wrench — the square drive takes sockets, the adapter takes bits.

However, the spec table lists amperage as 18 Amps. That is a mains figure on a battery tool and says nothing about runtime. The box contains the wrench and nothing else: no battery, no charger, no case. The real price therefore depends on whether you are already in the Power X-Change family.

At 101 mm this is the shortest body in the list, and the 3X LED ring genuinely helps under a bonnet or inside a cupboard. It is the best impact driver here for tight gaps, and its 205 Nm matches the cheaper DeWalt above. The listing, however, contradicts itself twice. One bullet says the tool weighs 0.95 kg; the spec table says 1 g. Battery capacity is given as 18 Volts, which is a voltage, not a capacity.

In practice, the length is the whole argument for paying £99.95 instead of £59.95. Three speeds, a drop-and-load bit holder you can work one-handed and a 3250 RPM top speed cover the same ground as its cheaper stablemate. There is no battery, charger or case in the box here either.

By contrast, buy it only if the compact size earns its premium for you. If most of your work happens at a bench with clearance to spare, the cheaper 18v impact driver higher up this list delivers the same 205 Nm for less.

This is the only true impact driver kit in the top half of this list: a 285 Nm impact driver, a 66 Nm impact drill, two 2.0 Ah batteries, a one-hour charger and a case for £117.99. It carries 135 ratings at 4.7, with 81% of them five-star — a small but consistent sample.

The two tools split the work cleanly. The driver runs 0-1600/1900/2600 RPM with up to 2900 BPM, while the drill adds a 13 mm metal chuck and 22+1+1 clutch settings. Meanwhile, the spec table disagrees with the description: it lists the number of speeds as 2 and the speed as 850 RPM, where the bullets quote three ranges topping out at 2600 RPM.

Worth noting that both packs are 2.0 Ah, which is small for a 285 Nm brushless motor under load. If you want a best impact driver with battery included rather than a bare body, this is the cheapest route here — but for long sessions on site, a larger pack matters more than the second tool.

At 170 Nm this is the least powerful driver here, and the listing is upfront about it: the figure appears as both 'Maximum Torque' and 'Torque'. What £79.99 buys is a 2.0 Ah battery, a charger and a bit in the box, none of which come with either DeWalt body above.

In practice, 170 Nm deals with screws, decking and flat-pack without complaint, and the metal gear housing is the notable build detail. The two-speed variable trigger runs to 2600 RPM. There is one oddity in the table: unit count is listed as '1000.0 gram', a weight dressed up as a quantity. As a best cordless impact driver for a household that owns no other 20V tools, the PowerShare battery is the real draw — it fits the rest of the WORX 20V range.

Even so, do not buy it for wheel nuts. At 170 Nm it will not shift a lug nut torqued to spec and left through three winters. For that job you want the wrenches further down this list, which run from 520 Nm to 1,700 Nm.

Same 285 Nm motor as the twin pack above, but as a driver only, with two 2.0 Ah batteries, a charger and a carrying case for £76.49 — £41.50 less than the pair. It holds 134 ratings at 4.5, and the histogram is less tidy than most here: 6 one-star reviews sit alongside 75 five-star.

The three speed settings run 1600/1900/2600 RPM with up to 2900 BPM, and the 6.35 mm hex shank takes standard bits and nut setters. Here the table and the bullets agree — 2600 RPM, 285 Nm, three speeds — which is more than can be said for several tools higher up. On paper it does not stand out among the best impact drivers here, but at 2.8 kg for the whole kit it is easy to carry in one hand.

The catch is battery size. Two 2.0 Ah packs will not keep a 285 Nm brushless motor fed through a long day of driving 100 mm screws. At the same time, for occasional jobs around the house or in a van, the spare pack and the hard case make it easier to live with than a bare body.

The listing prints both torque figures instead of hiding one: 682 Nm for loosening, 520 Nm for tightening. It also breaks the range into four modes — 350 Nm and 420 Nm for lighter work, 520 Nm for trucks and steelwork, and 682 Nm for seized bolts, fitting M12 to M20. The 1/2 inch hog ring square drive settles the impact driver vs impact wrench question: sockets go on here, not hex bits.

In practice, 152 mm of body length and 2.0 kg with a 4.0 Ah pack keep it usable in tight arches and overhead. Two 4.0 Ah batteries, a charger, four sockets (17/19/21/22 mm), an extension bar and a belt clip come in the kit. That is more battery capacity than any other tool here apart from the SoarFly and the ONEVAN.

The catch is the weight figure. The bullets quote 2.0 kg with a 4.0 Ah battery; the spec table says 1.91 kg with no mention of the battery. Either way, it is not a light tool. It is the best impact driver here for a first wheel-nut job; for driving 50 mm screws all day, the compact DeWalt above is easier on the wrist.

The headline here is 1,200 Nm, and unlike the ONEVAN below, the listing does not split it into two different figures — 1,200 Nm is the stated maximum throughout. For £129.99 you get two 21V 4.0 Ah batteries, a fast charger, five sockets and a carry case. That makes it the best impact driver here for someone who wants the whole kit in one order.

Three speed modes, a variable speed trigger and a reverse auto-stop that pauses the tool once a nut breaks free. In theory, that last feature is about not losing fasteners; in practice, it is the detail that separates a usable wheel-change tool from an annoying one. Meanwhile the 5.62 kg spec weight covers the whole kit, not the bare tool — worth noting before you judge it against the 1.9 kg wrenches above.

However, this is a heavy, high-torque tool, and it is overkill for furniture and small fixings. At 4.6 from 410 ratings it is well reviewed, but 4 buyers gave it one star. If your heaviest job is assembling a shed, buy something smaller and lighter.

Two numbers matter here: 910 Nm loosening and 698 Nm tightening. The listing then breaks the tightening range into four settings — 359, 400, 498 and 698 Nm — so you can see what each mode actually delivers. For mixed garage work it is the strongest tightening figure per pound here, at £72.24.

The all-copper brushless motor is quoted at 50% longer runtime and 30% more stable power than a brushed equivalent — manufacturer claims, not test results. Included are a single 4.0 Ah battery, a charger, five impact sockets, an extension bar and a heavy-duty box. At 1.9 kg it sits near the DCA rather than the two 5 kg-plus kits.

That said, one 4.0 Ah battery is all you get, so a second pack is an extra cost the DCA and SoarFly kits avoid. With 68 ratings at 4.6, including 4 one-star, the sample is small. And the same rule applies as everywhere else on this page: 698 Nm is the number that holds a fixing, not 910 Nm.