Updated on Jan. 14, 2025
If you have bolts or nuts to drive or loosen, a cordless ratchet helps you do it quickly and effortlessly. Here's a rundown of some of the best.
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After pumping the handle of your manual socket wrench for the hundredth time to drive the six-inch lag screws for your new deck foundation, you may be asking why they don’t make a power tool for this job.
Well, they do!
It’s a cordless ratchet. Not only will it drive those lag screws with ease, it performs multiple other chores, too. A cordless ratchet has become pretty much a must-have tool for builders and remodelers, as well as those in auto and appliance repair.
The best cordless ratchet for you isn’t necessarily the most expensive one. Like a lot of tools, it depends on what you’ll use it for. True, more expensive models tend to develop more torque, and their batteries last longer and charge more quickly. But other features are just as important.
If you’re looking to add a cordless ratchet to your tool collection, here are some features you should consider:
The AC Delco G12 Series 3/8-inch Cordless Ratchet develops 45 foot-pounds of torque, about as powerful as a cordless ratchet gets. You need the extra power for heavy construction or automobile engine work. The tool compensates for the extra power with a relatively slow rotation speed of only 170 rpm.
It’s a moderately heavy tool that weighs about three pounds. The battery has a limited capacity, but this tool comes with two, so you can recharge one while you’re working with the other.
The Ryobi One+ 1/4-inch Cordless Ratchet weighs only 2.4 pounds, develops a respectable 30 foot-pounds of torque and spins at a maximum speed of 250 rpm.
Besides having a work light and variable speed control, this is one of the few cordless ratchets with a rotating head that works in four positions. That’s a big help when you’re working behind the dashboard or under the hood with limited clearance.
The Makita 12V Max CXT Cordless Ratchet comes with 3/8-inch and 1/4-inch anvils that are easily swapped. Weighing only 2.35 pounds with battery, it develops 35 foot-pounds of torque.
This tool can handle tough jobs as well as delicate ones thanks to a responsive variable speed trigger. Its incredible high rotational speed — up to 800 rpm —helps you work faster. The 2.0 amp-hour battery is standard, but this tool comes with a bonus 4.0 amp-hour battery so you’ll never run out of power.
The S-Long Cordless Ratchet Set includes a powerful ratchet that delivers 40 foot-pounds of torque and a maximum speed of 400 rpm.
The set includes a pair of 2.0 amp-hour batteries, a 3/8-in. to 1/4-in. socket adapter, socket extension, two screwdriver bits and eight of the most commonly used sockets. You also get a manual socket wrench to bail you out if you run out of battery power or lack space for the cordless ratchet.
The Kimo 3/8-inch Extended Reach Ratchet Set features an ergonomic design that makes it easy to operate. At 1.7 pounds, it’s one of the lightest cordless ratchets on the market. It’s as easy to carry to jobsites as it is to use around the house. And with 40 ft-lbs of torque and a speed of 400 rpm, it’s powerful and fast.
You can purchase the tool only, or as a set that includes two batteries, a 3/8- to 1/4-inch adapter and seven commonly used sockets.
The Milwaukee M12 Cordless Ratchet is one of the priciest models, and at 4.6 pounds one of the heaviest. But it’s also one of the best reviewed, earning top marks across the internet.
Popular features include a super compact head that can fit in the tightest places; the responsiveness of its variable speed control; its bright LED light; and its M12 batteries that charge in just 30 minutes. It delivers 35 foot-pounds of torque with a maximum speed of 250 rpm.
Another Milwaukee tool, the M12 Extended Reach Cordless Ratchet, has the same space-saving compact head and variable speed responsiveness as the regular model described earlier. But this one extends almost 12 inches from hand to anvil, allowing you to get deep into motors and machinery.
This model costs more than the regular one. But brushless technology gives it the enhanced power to loosen stuck bolts when you have limited visibility.
