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Most people arrive at this question with one real problem: they want to put something on a wall and do not know what to buy. This guide answers that, starting with the part that matters most.

First: which type of drill do you actually need?

Three different tools get called "a drill", and buying the wrong one is the commonest and most expensive mistake.

Drill driver

Spins, and nothing else. Drills wood and metal, drives screws, assembles flat-pack furniture. It will not go into concrete — it spins, smokes and blunts the bit.

Hammer drill driver

Everything a drill driver does, plus a percussion action that chips its way into concrete, brick and HDB walls. The hammer is a switch you can turn off, so you lose nothing by having it.

If you live in an HDB flat and are buying one drill, buy this one. Every wall you are likely to want a shelf on is concrete.

Impact driver

Delivers rotational hammer blows rather than percussion. Built for driving long screws and bolts without stalling or wrecking your wrist. Takes hex bits, not round ones, so it complements a drill rather than replacing it.

Rotary hammer (SDS)

A different class again — piston-driven, several times faster into concrete. Overkill for shelves, right for aircon brackets, large anchors or a full renovation.

Not sure which wall you have? Our guide to drilling into an HDB wall covers the knock test and what each wall type needs.

Second: corded or cordless?

Corded is underrated for home use. Cheaper for the same power, never flat, nothing degrades in a drawer between jobs. If you will drill a few times a year, corded is the honest answer and you can own a good one for under $80.

Cordless earns its price when you use it often, work where there is no socket, or already own batteries.

Third: which brand? This is a long-term decision

Batteries do not cross brands. Once you own two or three tools on a platform, switching means replacing all of it — so choose for the tools you will eventually want, not the one you need today.

• Makita 18V LXT — the widest tool range available in Singapore by a distance. Over 180 tools share the battery, from drills to vacuums, fans, lights and garden tools. For most buyers here, this is the safe default.
• Makita 40V XGT — a separate, more powerful platform. Not compatible with 18V. Worth it for heavy, sustained work; unnecessary for a flat.
• DeWalt 20V MAX — rugged, site-focused, widely used in construction. A strong range, slightly narrower than Makita's outside core trade tools.
• Bosch — Blue is the professional line, Green the DIY one. Precise, well engineered, and the Green line is genuinely good value for occasional home use.

For a fuller comparison, see Makita vs DeWalt vs Bosch.

Brushless or brushed?

Brushless motors run cooler, last longer and give more runtime per charge. Brushed costs less upfront and wears faster. For occasional home use brushed is perfectly adequate; for daily work, brushless pays for itself.

Worth knowing: the industry is moving to brushless across the board. Makita's long-running brushed DHP482, for years the most popular 18V hammer drill in Singapore, has now been discontinued in favour of the brushless DHP490.

Battery size: Ah is runtime, not power

A 5.0Ah battery does not make a drill stronger than a 2.0Ah one — it runs longer and sags less under load. For overhead work, a 2.0Ah is lighter and often the better choice. Buy capacity for the job, not for the number.

Kit or bare unit?

A kit includes batteries and a charger and is the cheaper route if you are starting from nothing. A bare unit is body only — much cheaper, but useless unless you already own batteries on that exact platform. Read the listing carefully; this catches people out constantly.

Four drills worth buying

All in stock. Prices move, so check the product page for the current figure.

• Cheapest that does the job — Makita M0801B corded hammer drill. Corded, hammer action, Makita build. For a few holes a year this is all you need.
• Best for most homeowners — Makita HP333D 12V cordless hammer driver drill. Light enough to hold overhead, still gets through HDB concrete. The one we hand most first-time buyers.
• The all-rounder — Makita DHP490 18V brushless. The replacement for the long-serving DHP482 and now the default 18V hammer drill in Singapore. Brushless, so more power and runtime from the same pack, and it opens the LXT platform. Available as a bare unit if you already own 18V LXT batteries, or as a kit if you are starting from nothing.
• If you prefer DeWalt — DeWalt DCD708N 18V XR brushless. Compact, tough, bare unit.

Browse all drills and drivers, or come and hold them at our Geylang showroom — we will run them on a concrete test block so you can feel the difference between hammer and no hammer.

Do not forget the bits

A good drill with the wrong bit fails on concrete. You need TCT masonry bits, and they are cheap — a 5-piece set costs very little. See our guide to concrete drill bits for which shank fits your drill.

Buy from an authorised dealer

Grey-market tools carry no local warranty and often no service support. We are an authorised dealer for the brands we carry, which means genuine stock, valid manufacturer warranty, and somewhere to bring it when something goes wrong.