Voltages of Cordless Drills

Cordless drills come in various voltages. You can find an overview here at Wikipedia. The most common voltage is the 18v cordless drill. There are larger drills such as 24v, 28v, and 36v. There are also smaller drills such as 15.6v, 14.4v, 12v, 9v.

18v is generally the most common size because it is the largest voltage geared toward the most common uses of cordless drills, which is to drive screws and drill holes in wood and materials like it. In general an 18v cordless drill will have enough power to do this type of work all day.

The lesser voltage drills are also used for much the same type of work. But they have less power and will have less run time. But if you don't need to run your drill all day long, then a smaller drill may be the way to go. It will be lighter and will also cost less.

That brings us to the higher voltage drills. They are generally used for heavier duty tasks. Most commonly this involves drilling into rock, concrete, or brick. The larger batteries provide both more torque and more run time.