7 Professional-Grade Tools Made By Ryobi

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With its seasonal deep discounts and generally low prices, Ryobi has a way of tempting us. After all, if it can make a perfectly serviceable drill/driver bundle with a battery, a charger, and a bunch of bits for a little over $50, why would we spend twice as much for the tool alone from another brand? Often enough, there is a reason the Ryobi version is so cheap: The stats don't match up, or professional reviews reveal an issue that undermines the durability of the product. Sometimes, however, this toolmaker makes something really worth picking up, something that even a professional could use, but the answer from certain users seems to always be the same: Ryobi just isn't a pro-grade brand.

We're going to push against this generalization by presenting seven tools that have nothing to envy when compared with a comparable "pro-grade" tool from another brand. Ryobi doesn't say which of its tools it considers to be professional-grade, so we're going to define pro tools as those that have a mix of sturdiness and power, ideally accompanied by unique properties or wide adaptability. The Ryobi tools that fall under this definition are almost all One+ HP, the company's premium line of 18V tools, and this list reflects that.

We had to mention Ryobi's most powerful impact driver on this list, and not just because of its power and speed (it reaches up to 2,300 in-lb, 4,200 IPM, and 3,400 RPM), but also because of the many reviews that mention how sturdy it is. According to a customer on Ryobi's store page for the One+ HP Brushless 4-Mode 1/4-inch Hex Impact Driver, this model once spent an entire night outside during a storm. It was found the following day when the snow had melted, and once paired with a charged battery, it still worked. You should probably avoid putting your own model of this impact driver through this particular test, but we can't deny that the story inspires a certain confidence in the tool.

Compared to pro-grade tools like the ones made by Milwaukee or Makita, the Ryobi is noticeably cheaper, at just $129 for the bare tool. Even then, it boasts similar speeds and higher torque than most 18V Makita impact drivers, as well as offering the combo of a multi-speed motor, Assist Mode, and a variable speed trigger found only on premium Makita models like the 18-Volt LXT Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 4-Speed Impact Driver. The same can be said of the M18 Fuel 1/4-inch Hex Impact Driver by Milwaukee, a professional-grade tool that also can't quite reach the torque of the Ryobi, while the two tools trade blows in the IPM and RPM departments.

A few Ryobi tools have a reputation for being unreliable, but we managed to find a handful that are well known among certain tool users for the opposite reason. The One+ HP 18V Brushless Cordless Brad Nailer is among these tools, and is accompanied by other nailers from the same brand. This is a specialized, expensive tool ($199, not very affordable by Ryobi's standards) that is clearly made with professionals in mind. In case you need proof, you need look no further than its product page.

This nailer features a tool-free jam release latch and drive depth adjustments, just as you'd find on Milwaukee's competing product, the M18 Fuel Brad Nailer. Neither product gives us any stats on their power, but nailers aren't exactly workhorses, and user reviews mention the Ryobi works just fine in that regard. Both tools are brushless, and they share nearly identical size and weight. The only downside to the Ryobi is the warranty of three years, not insignificant but not quite the same as the five years offered by Milwaukee.

Comparison aside, the Ryobi nailer has over 2,300 user reviews on Home Depot with a near-perfect score of 4.8 stars. And while the price is pretty high, at the time of writing the tool is included for free with a purchase of a bundle of Ryobi batteries. If this offer is no longer available when you're looking to buy the Ryobi brushless nailer, try looking for a similar offer. These deals appear to be quite common at Home Depot.

Ryobi's nailers are really appreciated by its users, but they are also popular with some professional reviewers. A new version of an already popular tool, the One+ HP Brushless AirStrike 21-Degree Framing Nailer, was released to a storm of buyers who turned that interest into very positive user reviews.

This 21-degree framing nailer is often used for framing work because the angle helps hold onto full round head nails while easily fitting in a lot of spaces. Ryobi's model supports both single actuation and sequential actuation, the second of which may be harder to use precisely but is potentially much faster. Being a power tool, this nailer eliminates the need for the compressor and hose used by more traditional nailers, which are often air tools. This alone makes the Ryobi very valuable to a professional. It does need a battery that is not included in the price of $329, but the company promises an autonomy of 750 nails with just one charge of the affordable $130 4.0Ah High Performance battery that also comes with a generous warranty.

That's not to say this framing nailer is perfect. Speaking of the potential this tool has for professionals, a user lamented Ryobi's choice of a plastic rafter hook rather than a metal one, not because it doesn't work but because it makes the tool look less professional. Unlike that user, we won't ignore the possibility of the rafter hook breaking prematurely. Thankfully, the plastic seems to be very solid, as no review currently mentions the hook breaking.

Ryobi's drills, drivers, and impact wrenches seem to be some of the most competitively priced products in the brand's inventory, but that doesn't make them less appropriate for professional use — at least in some cases. In the case of the One+ HP Brushless 4-Mode 1/2-inch High Torque Impact Wrench, the price of $219 (or $269 in a convenient bundle with a 4Ah battery and a charger) may not exactly scream "pro-grade," but the stats tell a different story. This tool reaches 1,170 ft-lb of breakaway torque and 2,800 IPM. It comes with the same three-speed plus Auto Mode found on the company's premium impact drivers. It has a "Tri-Beam LED" lighting system for better visibility and a friction anvil for quick socket changes.

These stats are very similar to those of the Milwaukee 2966-20 M18 Fuel 1/2-inch High Torque Impact Wrench, a $300 tool that isn't quite at the top of the brand's line of impact wrenches (some reach an outstanding 1,600 ft-lb of breakaway torque) but is a trusted companion of many Milwaukee devotees. And according to the stats and the reviews, both user and professional, the Ryobi High Torque Impact Wrench is a solid alternative to it.

User and professional reviews are very positive, with many owners highlighting just how sturdy it feels. The new yellow-ish green of Ryobi's tools doesn't sell the image of pro gear too well, but holding one in hand clearly doesn't cause the same doubts.

A relatively new addition to Ryobi's catalog, but one that already has positive reviews, the One+ 18V Cordless Cable Stapler promises up to 1,900 staples per charge with a small 18V/2Ah battery. It's a compact tool weighing just 4.4 pounds and comes with an LED light near its head. It supports a variety of cables and wires, and is supposedly "engineered for proper alignment" over NM-B cables (which are common in residential buildings) approved by the UL/cUL, a popular North American safety standard for tools and materials.

This tool is very popular with its buyers, even if it doesn't have a lot of user reviews yet — it only has 15 reviews on Home Depot, almost all 5-star. It was also appreciated by some professional reviewers, with Pro Tool Reviews in particular highlighting it as one of Ryobi's most direct Pro-focused tools. Normally, we wouldn't include a product that only has a handful of user reviews that we haven't personally tested, but this one is worthy of an exception.

In retrospect, looking at the stapler's product page makes it quite easy to anticipate its popularity as a professional-grade tool, given the high price and review score. A stapler doesn't exactly look like a powerful or complex machine, so we didn't think this notoriously budget tool brand would sell one for $219. But then again, we wouldn't expect one of Ryobi's forays into the pro tool market to come in cheap, either.

The most powerful reciprocating saw by Ryobi, the One+ HP 18V Brushless Cordless Reciprocating Saw, retails for a reasonable $139 as a bare tool and $199 with a 4Ah Edge battery and a charger included. It's not exactly the cheapest power saw you can find on the market, but it's definitely affordable enough to raise doubts about its ability to perform on par with pro-grade tools. So, let's see how it compares with a reciprocating saw so popular that it even has its own name: Milwaukee Sawzall.

The max SPM (strokes per minute) and stroke length of the Ryobi are pretty much the same as the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Sawzall Gen 2. The Ryobi reaches 3,200 SPM and 1-1/4 inches of stroke length, and while the Milwaukee shares that length, it only goes up to 3,000 SPM. It's possible that the Ryobi reciprocating saw won't last as long as the Milwaukee, as Milwaukee is known for the reliability of its tools, but the only obvious downside of the cheaper tool that we could find is that it has a pivoting but not adjustable shoe.

If you're thinking of picking up this tool and don't already have batteries from Ryobi, you probably want to get one of the bundles that include the tool, a battery, and a charger. Of the two you'll find on Home Depot's website, users gave a higher review score to the more expensive $233 kit with a 2.0Ah high-performance battery. A normal 18V/2Ah battery doesn't hold a lot of power, but this high-performance model is supposed to have decent autonomy and the ability to supply more power to brushless tools like this one when necessary, while being relatively lightweight.

The Brushless 800 CFM Whisper Series Blower belongs to the Ryobi 40V line of tools, which is dedicated to heavy-duty gear, predominantly used for outdoor work in your yard or garden. That said, nothing's stopping you from bringing this along to a jobsite — or, if you're a professional landscaper, someone else's yard or garden.

Recommended by Consumer Reports and winner of a Pro Tool Innovation Awards 2025 award, this blower has quite the reputation, one that is backed by a plethora of good reviews (over 7,000 just on Home Depot) and by a five-year warranty, longer than Ryobi's usual three years. It's also a very powerful tool, moving a maximum of 800 CFM of air at 180 MPH, and not at all very cheap, at $278 for the bare tool and a leaf bag. But compare it with a similarly expensive model from a well-known brand of pro-grade blowers, and you'll see just how much the Ryobi has to offer. The 158 MPH 549 CFM Brushless Echo 56V X Series is about $70 cheaper than the Whisper series blower we just saw, but it has significantly lower stats and far fewer positive user reviews.

User reviews note that this Ryobi blower is a big, sturdy, and powerful tool, while other buyers consider these qualities to be issues, especially the size and weight. It's certainly a bit heavier and not as quiet as most smaller models, and it needs large batteries to run for more than 20 or 30 minutes, but that's the price of a professional-grade tool. Some DIYers and homeowners are going to find that the added power and versatility are not worth the extra weight and less comfortable carry, or the added risk of injury that a powerful, big tool comes with.