9 Ryobi USB Lithium Home Improvement Tools You Probably Didn't Realize Existed

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The cheapest and newest Ryobi battery-powered tool arsenal, the USB Lithium line, has gotten quite big since it first appeared in stores in 2022. It took some time, but there are now dozens of distinct tools in the lineup; so many that no one but Ryobi's biggest fans are going to know about all, or even most, of these tools. They aren't all winners, however, and some of these USB Lithium tools you're better off avoiding entirely. No matter what kind of tool user you are, there's bound to be some for you.

Of course, these are small tools, so they're more suited for tasks like crafts and cleaning. Indeed, there are a lot of power scrubs in the USB Lithium line, but even if you mostly stick to home improvements and repairs, plenty of tiny Ryobi tools were made for you. Some are exactly what you'd expect from the words "Ryobi's cheapest tool line" (basic electric screwdrivers, a pair of power scissors), but there are a few that you probably never realized existed — nine of them, to be precise — and that's exactly the kind of tool we're diving into in this list.

Despite its name, the USB Lithium LED Pivoting Laser is primarily a portable light with a pivoting head. Neither weight nor dimensions are stated on Home Depot and Ryobi's website, but user reviews suggest that it's lightweight. Judging from pictures, it's small enough to be considered pocket-sized. The 180-degree pivoting head moves both the LED light and the red laser emitter, working with the magnetic base and belt clip to turn from a handheld light into a perfect piece for illuminating a work area. It won't produce the same effect as a floodlight (there are other Ryobi lights for that), but the magnetic base makes it very suitable for solo work in dark areas. The red laser can be used as a laser pointer, but may not be as precise as a laser level.

It's hard to tell exactly how rugged this tool is. For $50 (battery and charging cable included), we wouldn't expect the sort of tool you can use as a hammer in a pinch. We know, however, that it has an IP54 rating, meaning it's good at avoiding dust and water infiltration. Battery life, on the other hand, is pretty good despite its size, with 16 hours on the lowest light intensity and two hours on high. More importantly, it has an easily replaceable and cheap battery. If you know you'll need the full 625 lumen and over 750 feet of beam distance for a long time, you can get two 3Ah Ryobi USB Lithium batteries for an additional $55.

What even is a magnifying light? In this case, it refers to a magnifying glass with an LED that makes seeing what's behind the glass a little easier. Unlike other odd Ryobi USB Lithium tools on this list, this one is a relatively common object, but it's not something you'd expect to see from a company that also makes $5,000 riding mowers.

The LED Magnifying Light offers X3 magnification highlighted by a two-mode light, capable of emitting 60 or 200 lumen. At 60 lumen, the battery should last 16 hours, and in most circumstances ,an item like this shouldn't require a very powerful light source to be useful. Like pretty much every USB Lithium tool, this one too comes with a 2Ah battery and a charging cable. Included in the kit is also a microfiber bag, to avoid scratching the three-inch-wide magnifying glass — which is actually made of plastic — on the tip of the tool.

According to user reviews, this tool works great for taking a closer look at wiring diagrams, inspecting coins and other tiny collectibles, or just reading the fine print on instruction manuals if your eyes need a bit of help. This Ryobi magnifying light wouldn't be exactly ideal for delicate work like microsoldering because it needs to always be held in hand. Ryobi's One+ LED Magnifying Clamp Light would solve that problem, and it's just $40 as a bare tool. However, being an 18V tool, it requires different batteries and so a separate expense.

The USB Lithium range is made primarily by LED lights of all kinds, a silly amount of rotating scrubbers, fans and speakers and hand vacuums, and other products that it's hard to define as tool. That it also contains a ⅜-inch Ratchet Kit is surprising. Don't expect this light duty, pocket-sized tool to be comparable to even the budget 18-Volt Cordless Multi-Size Ratchet by Ryobi. Comparing the two makes the difference obvious: The USB Lithium tool maxes out at 10 ft-lb of torque and 220 rpm of speed, while the 18-volt model goes up to 35 ft-lb and 260 rpm.

That said, the ⅜-inch Light Duty Ratchet can find its place in a versatile toolkit. For one, it may max out at 10 ft-lb of torque, but can be manually pushed up to 50 ft-lb. It's also about as portable as you can get for a power ratchet, with no need to account for a bulky battery sticking out of its bottom. Among the jobs this tool Ryobi advertises for this tool is bicycle maintenance. It's lightweight and shouldn't be hard to transport on a bike, but it's also not too strong, which means overtightening is unlikely to happen by mistake. Still, it tolerates up to 50 ft-lb of manual torque for the parts that require it.

One user review by Home Depot user Lucas mentions that it's great for working on motorcycles because it avoids overtorque while making it possible to drive bolts tighter by hand when needed.

After a headlamp/magnetic torch combo, a rubber neck LED light with included tray, and two separate compact flashlights, you'd be forgiven for thinking you've heard of every Ryobi USB Lithium light, but no. Somehow, a lineup made of a little over 30 items ended up with nine compact LED lights. The LED Flip Light is the most versatile of all of them.

Capable of producing 500 lumen on high-power mode and lasting 24 hours on low, this light is not exactly pocket-sized but fits on the palm of a hand. Meanwhile, the surface that produces light isn't as focused as a flashlight, which makes this product more useful for illuminating broad work areas. What also helps in that regard is the pivoting, collapsible stand, which lets you drop it on the floor before working. The magnetic base, meanwhile, is ideal for attaching the light to a nearby surface or to the hood of a car.

At $35, this light comes in a kit with a 2Ah battery and a charging cable. For $65, Home Depot will sell you a bundle with an additional 2Ah battery. An extra battery is a good idea if you're going to use the light in extended sessions, but $30 for just the battery is too much. For that price, you might as well get another USB Lithium light with its own 2Ah battery. Alternatively, you could an additional $5 and get a 50% larger USB Lithium 3Ah battery.

Ryobi's tiny tools line includes many DIY bare necessities like glue guns and power screwdrivers, but not many niche tools. The Power Carver Kit and the Rotary Tool Kit are two exception. We're discussing these two tools together because, being somewhat specialized tools, they won't be useful or even interesting to most users.

Usually, rotary tools can do a lot of useful things, certainly more than power carvers, and this more or less holds true for Ryobi's small, $60 version. You won't be able to use this 25,000 rpm model to cut through most metal surfaces, as the manufacturer explains on Home Depot's Q&A section, but according to the very positive user reviews, it should handle most tasks as well as a more expensive model would. The USB Lithium Power Carver is a much less popular tool, but this one also has generally positive reviews, averaging 4.3 stars with over 200 reviews. Like the name implies, this tool is meant to make carving wood a little easier. It comes with three blades for different cuts and has an integrated light on the tool's head. According to Ryobi, this is "the industry's first cordless power carver."

If you're interested in both tools, you may want to take a look a the Two-Tool Combo Kit with Pumpkin Carving Tools. It's set as out of stock at time of writing, but since pumpkin carving is a seasonal activity, you may have better luck later in the year.

Ryobi sells an embarrassing number of tools you can use to tighten some screws, but the power screwdrivers of the USB Lithium line are some of the more convenient tools for most users. They're lightweight, close to pocket-sized, and cheap. They aren't powerful enough to strip screws left and right, and even though a stripped screw isn't the end of the world, most casual DIY'ers don't want to deal with that. Of the various USB Lithium variants of this tool, the Multi-Head Screwdriver is easily the weirdest.

Like any power driver, this tool is compatible with multiple bits. Unlike other drivers, this one is a multi-head driver. This kit comes with a tool body and three interchangeable heads: one that looks like a regular power screwdriver, one that rotates by 90 degrees toward the end, and one that places the ¼-inch bit socket slightly off-axis.

The Ryobi Multi-Head Screwdriver may be an odd-looking tool, but it's also great value for the money. For $50, less than the price of a normal electric screwdriver from other companies, you get a really generous kit. The kit includes the screwdriver and three interchangeable heads, a 2Ah USB Lithium battery and a charging cable, a set of 10 screwdriver bits, and a case to store everything. So why is this such a cheap tool? We have to imagine that, at least in part, it's due to the low torque and speed (18 in-lb and 200 rpm).

You've heard of the glue gun and you've heard of iron pens, but what about the Ryobi USB Lithium Glue Pen? To be fair, you may very well know about glue pens. We may not think about them as tools because they're used mostly in crafts like quilting and scrapbooks, but as the Ryobi store page on Home Depot and the user reviews shows, they're also quite handy for small repairs.

According to the company, the Ryobi Glue Pen heats up rapidly, in 30 seconds, and comes with a stand and a dip tray. The pen can reach up to 347 Fahrenheit, and while it has no temperature control, this heat should be enough to comfortably melt the ⁵⁄₁₆-inch glue sticks it's compatible with. Even if Ryobi sells extra mini glue sticks, this glue pen is explicitly compatible with generics. Of course it is, they're just glue sticks, but it's nice to see this confirmed directly from the brand on Home Depot's Q&A section.

For $50, the Ryobi Glue Pen comes with just a 2Ah battery and a charging cable, on top of the tool itself. An additional $15 gets you a set that includes 24 mini glue sticks in four different colors, none of which is transparent.

Another tool that stands out among a sea of tiny screwdrivers and scrubbers, the 4-in-1 Craft Stapler/Nailer is a slightly smaller version of a tool you'd find in any 18-volt cordless battery line. Don't let the "Craft" in the name confuse you: this is still a home improvement tool, even if it can do a lot more than that. In Ryobi's own words, the craft stapler/nailer is good for "Upholstery, Insulation, Chicken Wire."

The 4-in-1 in the tool's name refers to the four types of fasteners this tool can be used with. These include the light-duty (¼-inch) and heavy-duty (⁹⁄₁₆-inch) staples, round crown staples (⅜-inch to ⁹⁄₁₆-inch), and brad nails (⅝-inch). It doesn't seem like Ryobi sells any of these staples and nails, but you'll find no shortage of generic fasteners on the market.

Ryobi sells a number of staplers and staple guns, so why would you choose the USB Lithium model? One reason is the price of $80 for a kit that includes a 3Ah battery and a charging cable; Other Ryobi staplers cost $100 or more for just the tool. Another reason to buy this smaller stapler/nailer is for the low weight of 1.7 pounds, which is further compounded by the negligible weight of the battery itself — a battery that can still power the stapler/nailer for up to 600 activations.

Ryobi sells a lot of niche tools, but most of them are specialized items meant for professionals that most users won't need; they may even be quite versatile in the right hands. Others, however, are tools that pretty much only have one function but that anyone can use and many would love to have in their home. Tools like the USB Lithium Cordless Drain Auger. Do you absolutely need one of these in your home repairs toolkit? Not really, especially if you have a manual drain snake. If you don't,­ there are worse ways of investing $60.

Drain augers and snakes are used to unclog sinks, and this one is no different. It works by tangling its metal cable with the material clogging a sink, so that when the cable is retracted, it drags the clog with it. Using this Ryobi model is much less physically demanding than a manual drain snake, and it's battery-powered, making it more convenient than a cabled alternative. This kit comes with a three-foot-long metal cable, a 2Ah battery, a charging cable, and the drain auger body, which has an IPX7 rating. This means the battery and the machine itself are protected from water splashes and even brief water immersion.