Milwaukee vs Ryobi – The Key Differences (2023)

Well! You might be wandering to select a better option; Milwaukee or Ryobi. If so, then you have landed a perfect place. Today we will be comparing both the brands’ side-by-side and see which one is the better option.

A Minute Long Quick Comparison:

Okay! So fasten your seat-belts as we are quickly going to run over the small comparison of both.

Both of these enterprises share the same parent organization, i.e. Techtronic industries or TTI. It’s a Hong Kong-based industrial company that holds many inherited companies. Despite having the same parent company, Milwaukee and Ryobi have very different and diverse market positions and products line up.

Ryobi is a Japanese brand that produces a diverse variety of entry-level and professional quality power tools. The products are easily recognizable with their signature green colored products. Overall, the products are of great value and ideal for average and above average uses.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, is an American-based company that mainly produces professional quality tools. It also manufactures an economical and cheap lineup that turns to be an ideal purchase for household uses. It manufactures products in signature red packaging.

Ryobi is legitimately a big company that has more or less ten thousand employees. Overall, it has around 2.25 billion annual revenue. Milwaukee, on the other hand, is fairly large but not that large as compared to Ryobi. It currently has above four thousand employees and over 815 million dollars.

Better Quality and Pricing:

Ryobi has its manufacturing plants spread in the USA and China. As price and quality are concerned, Ryobi’s most of the lineup is nominally priced, respective to other brands of the same category. The price is very reasonable. However, the built quality is very decent. In general, Ryobi’s tools are ideal for household purchases.

Milwaukee has its manufacturing plants in Europe, the USA and China. Most of the power tools like saws, drills are mainly manufactured in China. Milwaukee generally assembles mid and high-end tools.  

As mentioned above, the price of Milwaukee is more than Ryobi. However, most operators and users agree that consumers get the value of what they have spent. That’s why Milwaukee power tools are the perfect choice for most proficient and professional peoples.

Warranty and Claims:

Warranty is an essential thing to consider while purchasing a power tool. The sole reason is that these tools are used at high speeds and harsh working conditions. This causes many issues, breakages or damages to batteries or tools themselves. So the product to be purchased must have good build quality. 

Ryobi Corporation provides almost 2 to 3 years of warranty on most of the products. Some of their products even come with a five-year limited warranty. Milwaukee, on the other hand, also offers a limited warranty depending on the product you purchase. In short, both of these companies provide good warranties, but it all depends on the tools you purchase. And depending upon the tool, you get different warranty periods.

Overall, both of these companies claim warranty on their products without creating any problem for the users. However, it must be noted that these companies won’t claim a warranty on certain products like the ones packaged in bulk. These products usually come without a warranty but can be bought at a very nominal price.

Products Range:

As briefed earlier in this article, Ryobi has the target audience, looking for inexpensive and quality products, usually for regular day-to-day use. Apart from Ryobi cordless drills, the company manufactures a diverse range (right-angle, hammer, high torque etc.) of drills, it also manufactures vacuums/sprays, generators, pressure washers, lighting, audio speakers, saws and lawnmowers. 

The top running product lineup of Ryobi is their 18V one+ products. This alone product lineup has almost more than 175 productive products. These products are powered by cordless lithium-ion batteries, which are super responsive to get the task completed in time. This lineup includes products for cars, drilling, fastening, cutting, plumbing and much more. The best part is that if you stick to their ecosystem, you can productively use the 18V super responsive batteries interchangeably.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, manufactures a little pricier power tools than Ryobi. They are designed for different professional needs. Milwaukee’s product lineup consists of tools needed for drilling, fastening, concrete works, cleaning and installations, saws, lasers, vacuums, and word working.

The top product lineup of Milwaukee is M18 Red-lithium high torque appliances. They claim to be 50% more powerful and cooler than most standard and old batteries. It feels like using a 15A corded appliance. These batteries allow the operator to push their power tools harder and further like never before. Briefly, these batteries deliver more work per charge and more battery runtime.

Comparison between the Cordless Combo Kits:

In this article’s section, we will discuss two cordless combo kits side-by-side and find out the best one. 

For Ryobi, we have Ryobi P1819 18V One+ Lithium-Ion Combo Kit with six tools. And for Milwaukee, we have Milwaukee 2696-26 M18 6-Tool Cordless Combo Kit. Both of these cordless combo kits have six power tools inside. 

The choice of selecting specifically both of these drills lies in the fact that both of these drills have the flagship or top-selling technologies inside. For Ryobi, this tool is powered by a ONE+ 18V battery, and for Milwaukee, the tool is powered by an M18 red-lithium battery.

Ryobi P1819 18V One+ Lithium-Ion Combo Kit

Our Score

This power tool cordless combo kit is at least three times cheaper than Milwaukee’s combo kit. The combo kit contains a Ryobi’s cordless drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, circular saw, multi-tool LED, and batteries. The drill has a dual-speed mechanism and a max torque of 1750 RPM (revs per minute). The impact driver can max output 3200 IPM (impacts per minutes).

The reciprocating saw can output 3400 SPM (strokes per minute) and improved 60% faster-cutting performance. The circular saw is super compact and lightweight and is designed to deliver convenience and comfort.

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Milwaukee 2696-26 M18 6-Tool Cordless Combo Kit

Our Score

In the middle of Milwaukee vs Ryobi, price plays an important role. This cordless drill comes with a cordless drill, impact driver, swizel, circular saw, LED light, and a grinder. This is one of the bestselling products online. It also includes a carrying bag and charging dock. All of the tools are powered by an M18 Red-Lithium battery that delivers super performance. 

The cordless drill can deliver up to 1700 RPM. The impact driver delivers 1400 in-lbs of torque. All the other tools are made up of high-quality, durable metal, made to last and provide reliable performance.

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Conclusion / Which One To Go For?

Finally, to conclude today’s topic, we thoroughly reviewed and compared Milwaukee vs Ryobi. In doing so, we conclude that although both companies manufacture great quality power tools and surprisingly both have the same parent organization, they have very different product positions in the market.

As far as our thorough reviews are concerned, we would recommend that the people looking to buy nice, durable, comfortable, reliable power tools, without spending too much on them, must surely go for Ryobi. They have a very nice variety of power tool combo kits that are an ideal purchase option for household procurements.

However, Milwaukee, on the other hand, is made for different professional use. There is no big difference in built quality. Yet, small things like all-metal gear housing or metallic chuck are some of the non-detectable features that increase Milwaukee’s product’s price. These small yet meaningful things increase the life and reliability of the drill to much extent. In general, they are faster, easier to handle and made for real heavy-duty tasks.

And the final decision lies in your budget and need. All facts are easily mentioned here. So if you are making a decision for Milwaukee vs Ryobi, check your requirement and budget. For normal household use, go for Ryobi, else Milwaukee. Feel free to contact us for any suggestions or queries.