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Makita vs DeWalt: the short answer

If you are starting from nothing and you want the widest choice of tools to grow into, buy Makita 18V LXT. If you work on site, drop your tools daily and care as much about the box they live in as the tool itself, buy DeWalt.

That is the honest summary. Both are excellent. A.C.T. Hardware is an authorised dealer for both, so we have no reason to push you either way — but the two brands genuinely suit different people, and the reasons are worth ten minutes of your time before you spend several hundred dollars.

The decision is the battery, not the drill

This is the part most buyers get wrong. You are not choosing a drill. You are choosing a battery platform that you will be buying into for the next five to ten years. The drill is the cheap part. The batteries, chargers and the eight other tools you buy later are the expensive part, and they only work within one brand's system.

Changing your mind in three years means replacing everything. So spend your thinking here.

Makita's platforms

• 18V LXT — the main system and the largest cordless tool range on the market. If you are starting fresh and doing ordinary renovation, maintenance or household work, this is the default answer.
• 40V max XGT — a separate, higher-power system for heavy drilling, demolition and outdoor equipment. Important: XGT is not an upgrade to LXT. Different batteries, different chargers, no cross-compatibility.
• 12V max CXT — compact and light, for tight spaces, overhead work and long periods holding the tool.

DeWalt's platforms

• 18V / 20V MAX — these are the same battery. DeWalt labels the same pack 20V MAX in some regions and 18V in others, which confuses a lot of buyers. A 20V MAX tool takes an 18V pack.
• XR — DeWalt's brushless, higher-performance line. If you see XR on the tool, it is the better motor.
• PowerStack — a newer pouch-cell battery that is smaller and lighter than a standard XR pack while delivering more power. It fits the same tools.
• FlexVolt — a 54V battery that automatically switches to 18V when you put it in an 18V tool. One pack, two voltages.

Range: this is where Makita wins outright

At the time of writing we stock 1,169 Makita products and 120 DeWalt products. That gap is not an accident of our buying — it reflects the brands. Makita's 18V LXT catalogue runs to hundreds of tools worldwide, including a long tail of specialist equipment that simply has no DeWalt equivalent.

If you can imagine a cordless version of a tool, Makita probably makes it. That matters if you expect your needs to broaden.

Browse the full ranges: Makita Singapore and DeWalt Singapore.

Storage: this is where DeWalt wins outright

DeWalt's TOUGHSYSTEM and T-STAK cases stack and lock together, and they stack with each other. For anyone loading a van every morning, a modular storage system that does not fall apart in transit is worth real money.

Makita's MakPac connector cases do the same job and do it well, but DeWalt's system is more developed and the TOUGHSYSTEM units take heavier abuse.

If your tools live in a cupboard at home, ignore this entire section. If they live in a van, it may be the deciding factor. See Tool Storage.

Price in Singapore

Comparable hammer drill drivers, prices current at the time of writing:

• Makita DHP484 18V LXT hammer driver drill — S$299.14
• Makita DHP486 18V LXT hammer driver drill — S$468.70
• DeWalt DCD805E1T brushless hammer drill driver set, 90Nm, with PowerStack — S$310.00
• DeWalt DCD999N FlexVolt Advantage high torque hammer drill (bare) — S$317.40

Note the difference in what you are buying. The DCD805E1T is a set with a battery and charger included. The DHP484 and DCD999N figures are for the tool. Always check whether a price is for a bare unit or a kit before comparing — it is the single most common mistake we see.

Reading the model codes

Both brands encode what the tool does into the model number, and knowing this saves you buying the wrong thing:

• Makita DHP — hammer driver drill. It has a hammer action, so it will drill concrete and brick.
• Makita DDF — driver drill. No hammer. Fine for wood, metal and plasterboard, useless on an HDB wall.
• DeWalt DCD — drill. DCF — impact driver.

If you are drilling into concrete, you need the hammer. See our guide on how to drill into an HDB wall.

So which should you buy?

Choose Makita if: you are starting from scratch, you want the widest possible range to grow into, you do renovation or maintenance work across varied jobs, or you already own LXT batteries.

Choose DeWalt if: you work on site and transport tools daily, you value the TOUGHSYSTEM storage, you want PowerStack's smaller and lighter packs, or your crew already runs 20V MAX.

Choose neither if you are doing light DIY two or three times a year. A 12V platform — Makita CXT or Milwaukee M12 — will be lighter, cheaper and easier to live with.

Come and hold them

Grip, balance and weight decide more of this than any specification sheet, and you cannot judge them online. Both showrooms let you pick up a tool before you buy: find our Geylang and Nordcom Two showrooms here.

Still deciding? Read our three-way comparison with Bosch or the complete cordless drill buying guide.

Not sure which suits your job? WhatsApp us at +65 8978 9808 and our team will be happy to advise.