Compact Impact Driver Comparison

I’ve been looking in to getting a compact/subcompact impact driver. The key areas I wanted to focus on are weight, torque, blows/impacts per minute, and speed.

Here are some Compact Impact Drivers I’m interested in:

WeIGHT

MAXIMUM TORQUE (IN-LBS)

BLOWS PER MINUTE (BPM)

MAXIMUM SPEED (RPM)

DEWALT ATOMIC 20V MAX Impact Driver 1/4″ Brushless Cordless 3 Speed Bare Tool

DCF850B

Acme Tools

2.1

1825

3800

3250

Milwaukee M12 FUEL 1/4″ Hex Impact Driver

3453-20

Acme Tools

1.6

1500

4000

3600

Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/4″ Hex Impact Driver

2953-20

Acme Tools

2.55

2000

4400

3900

Makita 18V LXT Impact Driver Quick Shift Mode 4 Speed Bare Tool

XDT19Z 

Acme Tools

3.3

1560

3800

3600

Observations:

• Milwaukee M12 Subcompact Impact Driver is lightest at 1.6 lbs. Good for lighter duty work.
• Milwaukee M18 Impact Driver has the highest torgue, bpm, and rpm.
• Of the three other Impact Drivers, DeWalt has the highest torque with 1825 in-lbs. I’ve read a lot of good reviews on this one.
• M12 has a BPM of 4000 which is ahead of DeWalt and Makita.
• DeWalt has the slowest speed with an RPM of 3250.

Final Thoughts:

In comparing the 4 key categories, the M18 Fuel is the most powerful of the four Compact Impact Drivers and is slightly larger than the DeWalt Atomic. The M12 is similar to the Makita as far as power but is much lighter. I will be looking to pick up the Milwaukee M12 Fuel and Milwaukee M18 Fuel Impact Drivers first and then get the DeWalt Atomic V20 Max later on. They tick the boxes for me in regards to size and power.