5 Cheaper Milwaukee Substitutes If You're Shopping For Power Tools

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Milwaukee has a strong reputation for manufacturing and selling powerful, high-quality power tools for a wide variety of applications, including woodworking, auto repair, landscaping, and much more. It wouldn't be hard, for example, to find several Milwaukee power tools that are great for metal work. Not every product is the same, and you'll want to do your research and check reviews before committing to a specific product, but in general, Milwaukee's tools are well-made and reliable.

However, they can also get pretty expensive. In fact, Milwaukee is one of the pricier brands in the market when it comes to power tools. Fortunately, there are several other brands that are not only more affordable but also offer tools similar to Milwaukee's that are well-constructed and just as useful. By going with these less expensive companies, you can build a solid collection of tools without breaking the bank. Typically, house brands — those that are owned and sold exclusively by certain retailers — are generally more affordable, and some of these manufacturers' tools are just as good as any premium brand's. Other brands are completely independent but still make quality products without attaching heavy price tags, including companies that have been around for many decades.

To help you decide which is right for you, here are five cheaper Milwaukee substitutes for power tools and recommended products from each brand based on positive reviews from reputable publications and customers who've used them. More information on how these tools were evaluated can be found at the end of this list.

Originally a house brand for Sears, you might still associate the Craftsman brand with lawn and garden equipment such as mowers and leaf blowers, but the company also has a solid line of power tools.​ If you're in need of a hammer drill, drill/driver, impact driver, rotary hammer, or grinder, as well as many different kinds of saws, including a reciprocating saw, miter saw, tile saw, circular saw, and more — Craftsman is a reliable brand you can go with. This is especially the case if you're on a budget, as it's also one of the more affordable power tool brands on the market.

Named by SlashGear as one of Lowe's tools that no DIY enthusiast should be without, the Craftsman ​​2.5-inch 16-Gauge Cordless Finish Nailer would be a great addition to your tool kit if you're doing any woodworking around the home. It's also $140 cheaper than the similar-in-class M18 16-Gauge Angled Finish Nailer made by Milwaukee, as it's available for $149 (retail $189) from Lowe's, where it has a 4.4 out of five overall user rating. Its positive reviews are in part due to the tool's convenient, lightweight design, easy-to-use depth setting, and a powerful motor capable of driving up to 375 nails per charge. Of course, the tool isn't ideal for situations where you're working with thin material and require brad nails, but fortunately, Craftsman manufactures cordless brad nailers as well.

Black+Decker has been a household name for generations and is credited with manufacturing and selling the first practical cordless drill. Despite this, the brand is still relatively affordable — especially when compared to companies like Milwaukee and Snap-On. Black+Decker has continued to innovate its original design over the decades, so while its 20V MAX ⅜-inch Cordless Drill and Driver may resemble its ancestor from the mid-20th century, it's a much more powerful and longer-lasting tool. It's also lightweight, even with the battery, making it easier to handle and use for extended periods of time.

Another useful feature is its 11-position clutch that allows you to precisely control what you need for a given situation, whether it's drilling into wood, metal, plastic, or other materials, as well as using it as a power screwdriver. The drill also has variable-speed control, so you can apply exactly the right amount of torque without worrying about damaging whatever you're working on. Plus, its integrated bit holder and double-ended bits make swapping bits as easy as ever, so you don't need to interrupt your workflow.

The Black+Decker 20V MAX ⅜-inch Cordless Drill and Driver is available for $39.99 (retail $59.00) from Amazon, where it has a solid 4.6 average customer rating based on over 31,000 reviews. After testing the product, GearLab praised its value and lightweight design, though the publication noted that its driving ability was on the weaker side. Milwaukee's M12 ⅜-inch Cordless Drill/Driver may have a smaller battery, but it's a powerful, reliable tool. It's also over twice the price and costs $89 at Home Depot. If you don't need a super powerful drill/driver and are looking to save money, Black+Decker's cordless drill and driver would make a fine substitute.

In order to highlight certain brands that typically manufacture and sell more affordable power tools than Milwaukee, certain specific products were focused on — as well as recommended to purchase if they suit your needs. To make sure these recommended tools are actually reliable and worthy of your money, the positive reviews of customers who've bought and used them were considered, as well as reviews of reputable publications that performed hands-on testing of the products. 

These publications include Pro Tool Reviews and GearLab, which have solid reputations for testing and evaluating power tools. User reviews from retail websites such as Amazon, Lowe's, and Home Depot were only considered if hundreds (if not thousands or tens of thousands) of customers rated the product; since a larger base of ratings makes for a more accurate average score, weeding out any outlier reviews (either positive or negative) that may have been made in bad faith.