5 Expensive Ryobi Tools Users Say Are Worth Buying

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When you browse the tools section at your local Home Depot, you will find a wide range of brightly colored tools, with Ryobi's hyper green lineup among the most instantly recognizable of any major brand. Ryobi has gained a reputation for offering a huge range of cordless and corded power tools, most of which are competitively priced. Even a $100 budget goes much further with Ryobi than with a pricier brand like Milwaukee, but some Ryobi tools cost far more.

Whether or not any expensive power tool is ultimately worth investing in will depend on an individual buyer's needs, budget, and personal preferences, but some of the brand's power tools are more consistently recommended by buyers than others. According to reviewers at Home Depot, these five pricey Ryobi purchases are all worth the cash, since they've all racked up consistently high average ratings across hundreds or even thousands of reviews.

Ryobi's corded 12-inch miter saw has racked up more than 4,200 reviews from buyers at Home Depot, the most of any pricey tool here. Across all of those reviews, it has scored an impressively consistent average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. The saw retails for $329, so it's no small investment, but buyers get the peace of mind of a three-year Ryobi warranty as well as benefit from Home Depot's 90-day return period.

Alongside the tool itself, Ryobi includes a work clamp, a dust bag, table extensions, and a 40-tooth carbide-tipped blade with the purchase. The included dust bag is designed to fit securely onto the 1-¼-inch dust port, though that dust port is one of the few areas of the tool where Home Depot reviewers have a more mixed opinion. However, few reviewers express any concern with the tool's power, with its 15-amp motor spooling up to a peak of 3,800 RPM. Its comfort and usability also receive few complaints, while its six-foot power cord allows it to be positioned conveniently on a workbench.

Although Ryobi's lawn mowers aren't without their problems, they're generally well-liked by buyers. Take, for example, the 40V HP 21-inch self-propelled lawn mower, which is available as part of a kit at Home Depot. The kit includes a pair of 6Ah batteries, a charger, and the mower, all together retailing for $639. It has currently amassed over 1,200 reviews on the retailer's website, averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Ryobi says the included pair of batteries should offer up to 80 minutes of runtime on a full charge, while delivering the same power as a 163cc gas-powered mower. Runtime will vary with cutting conditions, but the mower can automatically adjust its blade speed if it detects a patch of thicker grass. Owners can choose to collect cut grass in the catcher bag that's included with the mower, or eject it from the side discharge chute instead. Ryobi's 40V power tool warranty is more generous than that of its 18V cordless tool line, with the brand offering five years of coverage as standard. However, the included batteries are only covered for three years after purchase.

Retailing for $329 as a tool-only model, the Ryobi ONE+ HP 18V AirStrike 21° framing nailer is among the brand's most expensive nailers. However, plenty of users say that it's worth buying, with more than 750 of them giving it an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Home Depot's website. The framing nailer is one of many different types of Ryobi nail guns, and it delivers more power without sacrificing runtime. According to Ryobi, it can fire as many as 750 nails with a fully charged 4Ah 18V HP battery and handle full-round head nails up to 3½ inches long.

The nailer comes with a rafter hook and a belt hook, though some reviewers say it can feel heavy to carry around on longer jobs. Without a battery, the tool weighs just over 9 pounds. Anyone who isn't happy with the tool can return it to Home Depot for a refund within 90 days of purchase, and it's also covered by Ryobi's standard three-year 18V ONE+ power tool warranty.

Rather than relying on a gas-powered auger, Ryobi fans shouldn't overlook the brand's 40V HP earth auger. It's available as part of a kit with a 4Ah battery and a charger for $449 on Home Depot's website, although prices may differ in-store. Also included with the tool is an 8-inch bit. Ryobi says that it's designed to offer less vibration than its competition, with a two-speed switch to prioritize either control or digging power. The tool is backed by a five-year warranty, while the accompanying battery has a three-year warranty.

It all sounds appealing at a glance, but its on-paper specs don't count for much unless the auger is actually good. Thankfully, users report that it's as useful on the job as its spec sheet suggests, with more than 1,300 reviewers giving it an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Almost 1,100 of those reviewers awarded it a full five-star rating, and less than 3% of overall reviews gave it one star. That's no mean feat for any power tool, and it should reassure buyers that its hefty asking price is worth paying. Anyone who already has a suitable 40V HP battery and a charger in their toolkit could save a little cash upfront by purchasing the auger as a standalone tool for $369.

Concrete mixers won't be the first thing that comes to most buyers' minds when they picture a Ryobi power tool, but nonetheless, the brand does offer a 5.0 cu-ft corded concrete mixer. It's well-reviewed to boot, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 900 reviews, despite being one of Ryobi's less popular tools. The mixer is currently available from Home Depot for a retail price of $349, and much like its maker's 18V ONE+ cordless tools, it's covered by a three-year warranty.

Although the most demanding professionals might want to look elsewhere, the Ryobi concrete mixer offers more than enough capacity for most home renovation projects. Its drum is large enough to hold three 80-pound bags of concrete, while its ½-horsepower motor keeps that drum turning smoothly even when it's fully loaded. Negative reviews account for only a small proportion of the overall feedback, though a few reviewers noted that the mixer's build quality could be inconsistent. Anyone who feels their newly purchased mixer isn't up to the task can return it to Home Depot within 90 days.

Ryobi is one of the major tool brands with an exclusive distribution agreement with one hardware store. Home Depot is that exclusive major retailer, and so its website is a natural place to gather data on how users feel about their purchases.

To compile this list, we focused our search on Ryobi tools with retail prices over $300 that had an average review rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 stars based on at least 750 reviews. We've included kits that feature a tool, a battery, a charger, accessories, or a mix of all of the above. However, we chose to exclude power tool bundles where more than one tool was included in the purchase price.