13 Milwaukee Tools Every Homeowner Should Have, According To Reviews

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Being a homeowner means you have to keep a well-stocked toolbox in order to tackle any projects that come your way. And when it comes to owning a home — whether it's a starter ranch or a sprawling suburban compound — projects are a constant occurrence. If you want to hang up a picture in your living room or need to cut wooden boards to build a deck in your backyard, you need all sorts of gadgets on hand. Milwaukee, known for its reliable and affordable tools, offers a wide range of options that won't break the bank. But which ones are truly worth investing in? 

We've narrowed down the must-haves based on customer reviews, focusing on those with at least 4.4 stars and over 100 reviews. We also prioritized tools that would benefit the average homeowner with some DIY experience rather than an expert renovator. (So you won't see any framing nail guns here!) A closer look at our criteria can be found in the Methodology slide at the end. Here are the tools that made the cut. 

There are plenty of high-end Milwaukee tools that are worth the investment, but if you buy nothing else for your toolbox, get a compact drill. This workhorse will make fast work out of all of your projects, quickly fastening and unfastening screws in a fraction of the time a normal screwdriver would. Plus, a compact drill is smaller and lighter than a standard one, allowing you to get into tighter spaces and have less fatigue during longer projects.

The Milwaukee M18 18V Brushless Cordless 1/2 inch Compact Drill/Driver has 4.7 stars out of 1,276 reviews. It's only 5.7 inches long and 3.2 pounds with the battery installed, delivering on its "compact" promise. It also has two speed settings and a number of different torque options, allowing you to customize its drive depending on your project. "It's solid, but not too heavy, with a great balance that makes long jobs way less tiring on the wrist and forearm," shared a reviewer. "What I really appreciate is how much torque this thing packs. Whether I'm drilling through metal studs or driving lag bolts into pressure-treated lumber, it doesn't bog down."

While a cordless jigsaw might be a more advanced tool than a simple hammer or screwdriver, any homeowner looking to expand into DIYing needs one of these bad boys in their toolbox. That's because it's a staple in many different projects, especially those that have to do with furniture flipping or building. The thin blade allows you to make curved (rather than straight) cuts in anything from wood to MDF to drywall. This allows you to make anything from a circular table to curvy cornice boxes to scalloped shelving for a kid's room.

Milwaukee's M18 18V Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless Jig Saw is a best-seller, receiving 4.8 stars from 3,085 reviews. It's powerful enough to cut through hardwood and metal, but still compact enough to be handheld and battery-operated. It has an impressive blade speed –- delivering 3,500 strokes per minute –- which minimizes annoying splintering or chipping. "The Milwaukee M18 FUEL Jig Saw is powerful, precise, and easy to control. I use it for wood cutting and it cuts like butter through everything I have tried," one reviewer shared. It also has an LED light and built-in blower to dust off debris as you're cutting, allowing you to see exactly where you're going.

Anything that pulls double-duty is a staple to have in your shed, and the oscillating multi-tool is one such product. There are plenty of ways to use an oscillating tool around the house, mainly because they have interchangeable heads that can be swapped out for whatever your project needs. 

For instance, the Milwaukee 12V Lithium-Ion Cordless Oscillating Multi-Tool supports both a blade and a sander. The small blade is great for a wide variety of tasks, from cutting out a piece of baseboard for a built-in wardrobe to cutting out sections of drywall during a rewiring project. It can also cut through grout if you're retiling, slice through nail-embedded wood if you're removing framing, and cut vinyl, which makes it perfect for removing old flooring. As for the sanding tool, it's useful for odd jobs around the house, from sanding down old furniture, scraping off paint, or even removing rust build-up.

The Milwaukee Multi-Tool has 4.8 stars from 1,463 reviews, and buyers love its fast cutting speed and low vibrations. The latter is important if you need to use the tool for an extended period of time, since constant tremors can fatigue your arm and make you take constant breaks, causing the task to take longer. "I have a few different multi tools. This one is my favorite," one reviewer shared. "This one, despite being 12 volt, has a lot of power and it isn't too loud and doesn't vibrate as much. For the last few months, this has been the one I have always reached out to first."

If you're not a serious DIYer or home renovator, having a table saw taking up space in your garage might seem like overkill. But all sorts of projects require quick, straight cuts, so not having an electric saw handy can make life a lot harder. A portable handheld circular saw will allow you to make straight cuts in everything from plywood to two-by-fours, perfect for anything from building shelves for your living room to cutting deck boards for your backyard upgrade. It's also great for cutting through wooden pallets when you're upcycling wooden pallets for your garden.

The Milwaukee Cordless 6-1/2 inch Circular Saw is a great pick for such projects. It has 4.6 stars from 4,706 reviews, and it can handle anything from framing new walls to building cabinets in your living room to cutting plumbing pipes in your old bathroom. It's cordless, too, so you can take it anywhere to make your cuts, and that feature alone makes it a great staple. "This saw works great for my diy projects. I've put up a custom fence and now I'm working on a she shed. Makes my cuts fast and accurate," one reviewer shared.

No toolbox is complete without a staple gun. This tool can quickly attach fabric, making it perfect for small reupholstery projects, like making your own Roman shades and cornice boxes, as well as crafts such as padded bulletin boards or stretching canvas for painting. It can also be useful for repair jobs, such as replacing old screens. 

The Milwaukee 12-Volt Cordless Crown Stapler is a trusty pick for such projects, boasting 4.6 stars from 1,089 reviews. This particular model was purposely made to be compact and light, allowing you to drive staples with one hand, get into tight spaces, and easily pop it into your toolbelt. It also has a light trigger compared to competitors' models, which will lessen the risk of hand cramping if you're working on a larger project, like reupholstering a headboard or an entire sectional. "Great tool! I bought it to put screen wire on my porch. Easily drove staples in a variety of new and old treated lumber," one reviewer shared. "Have used it on several upholstery projects with great success. Another great Milwaukee tool!"

For heavier-duty projects, a staple gun won't do, and that's where a nail gun comes in handy. It's essential for tasks like attaching new baseboards, installing flooring, and woodworking projects like building built-in breakfast nooks or side tables. You can use a hammer and a box of nails to finish these projects, but a nail gun gets the work done faster.

The Milwaukee 18-Volt Cordless Gen II 16-Gauge Straight Finish Nailer has an impressive 4.9 stars from 141 reviews. This particular model allows you to adjust the depth of the nail delivery, allowing you to tailor it to your particular project's needs. It's also strong enough to put holes into both soft and hard woods, making it a versatile pick. Reviewers are also impressed with its "air compressor performance" without actually having an air compressor tube for that extra punch. "I loved the convenience of not dragging an air compressor hose and still having air compressor-like power," one reviewer shared. "It is easy to use for a beginner and has tool-free depth adjustment and jam-clearing functions ... I would recommend this to a DIY beginner over air-compressor ones for many tasks like installing baseboard and crown molding and panels."

Lots of home projects require precision, so an extra boost of light is necessary for the best results. A compact flood light is great for when you're working on something technical, like drilling pilot holes or making cuts with your handheld circular saw. It's also a necessary staple if you do most of your projects in the evening after work. Whether you're painting a room or installing baseboards, the surrounding lighting fixtures likely won't be enough to properly illuminate the space.

The Milwaukee Cordless 18-Volt 1000 Lumens Rover Compact Folding Flood Light has 4.9 stars from 174 reviews, making it a great contender for your toolbox. It has four different lighting modes — 1,000, 500, 250, and 85 lumens — allowing you to choose how much illumination is provided. Its head can also be moved vertically or horizontally and placed at an angle, and it comes with a handy rafter hook, allowing you to hang it from above. 

"The Milwaukee Rover is one of the tools I recommend everyone keep in their tool bag," one reviewer wrote. "Its small footprint allows for easy portability and its USB power ports make it a fantastic power bank to charge extra devices. The light features a hanging hook which allows you to hang it off a standard 2x4 or a number of locations, in my case, where I was doing some nighttime gardening, I was able to hang it off one of my trellises without issue."

While a sandpaper sheet is sufficient to help smooth out patched nail holes or remove some of the roughness from a freshly cut piece of wood, you need an orbital sander for bigger projects. While you can technically use a sandpaper sheet to remove wood stain from a piece of furniture you're flipping or scuff up a laminate piece of IKEA furniture you plan to paint, an orbital sander will make the job much faster. So if you find yourself constantly wanting to flip thrifted furniture, this is a necessary part of your toolbox.

The Milwaukee Cordless 5-inch Random Orbit Sander has 4.5 stars from 4,605 reviews. This particular model features several speeds, allowing you to adjust the amount of power applied to your surface. This is especially handy if you simply want to scuff the surface for primer rather than strip paint. Another neat feature is that it comes with a dust canister, which helps catch most of the debris that a project creates. "The small size but powerful strength allows me to get into hard to reach places and sand them down with no issues at all," one reviewer shared. "Easily comparable to corded versions, this compact and lightweight sander by Milwaukee is the perfect help for when we have to sand down furniture, wood pieces, or various dried paints or caulkings."

Whether you have a sprawling yard in the suburbs or a postage-stamp-sized patch of grass in the city, every homeowner with a lawn needs a string trimmer in their arsenal. It gets to those tricky and tight spots that a lawn mower can't reach, such as along fences, around trees, and near walls. This allows you to quickly and safely cut the grass with minimal fuss. It's also a great way to cut down weeds you don't have the time to pull, helping your lawn look neat until you can give it more attention.

The Milwaukee 18V Cordless Battery Powered String Trimmer received 4.7 stars out of 1,129 reviews. This particular model is a great pick because it's part of the brand's Quik Lok system, which allows you to switch out the heads for different tools. For instance, you can swap out the string trimmer attachment for an edger, getting more bang for your buck and saving space in your garage. "This system has made yard work so much easier. The modular design is smart – one power head for multiple attachments saves space and money. The string trimmer cuts through thick grass effortlessly," one reviewer shared.

If you're looking for another workhorse tool that does multiple jobs, invest in a compact blower. When it comes to yardwork, it's great for blowing leaves into piles, shooing away grass clippings from your driveway or sidewalk, or easily removing pollen from your patio furniture. For inside, it can help clear debris from your garage or remove dust from stored items. 

The Milwaukee 18V Cordless Compact Blower has 4.6 stars out of 2,545 reviews. It blows air up to 160 mph, making it small but mighty. Furthermore, if you don't want an instant hurricane in your workspace, it has three different speeds, allowing you to adjust the force for different tasks. It's also a bit smaller than most leaf blowers you're used to, making it easier to maneuver for quick jobs. "Very powerful for such a little blower. I use it almost daily to clean up clients HVAC equipment!," one reviewer shared. 

A pruning saw is smaller than a chainsaw, but it's powerful enough to cut back limbs or trim bushes or hedges. This makes quick work of seemingly difficult chores. For example, if you have a tree with a broken limb or a dead branch, you might be discouraged by the prospect of taking out a heavy, gas-powered chainsaw. But a small, battery-operated pruning saw makes it easier to tackle, and the same goes for thinning out dense growth or shaping your trees.

The Milwaukee 12V Electric Cordless Battery Pruning Saw has 4.7 stars out of 2,675 reviews. The battery-powered tool can make up to 120 cuts before needing to be recharged, and can cut into branches that are a maximum of 3 inches thick. It also weighs less than 5 pounds and has a self-oiling mechanism, which makes it less intimidating to use for power tool newbies. "This thing is a CHAMP. Paired with a 5.0 HO battery it is a solid mini chainsaw for some branches I had around the yard," one reviewer shared. "I was worried it would not be powerful enough but I am plenty happy with this as a homeowner. My brother in law bought one after trying mine out. Definitely recommend having one of these lying around just in case!"

You might not think you need a wet/dry vacuum if you have a standard stick one, but the two are not made the same. Wet/dry vacuums are specifically built to handle tougher messes that would clog a regular vacuum, such as remodeling debris, drywall dust, and loose nails. This makes it the perfect tool to have on hand if you're tackling small remodeling projects, large DIYs like furniture building, or just need heavy-duty suction (like cleaning out your car for the first time in a year). These vacuums can also suck up water, making them handy for interior floods or just large spills you don't want to bother sopping up with a mop.

The Milwaukee 18-Volt Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum has 4.4 stars out of 6,219 reviews. It's a cordless unit, meaning you're not limited by outlet placement, but you only have about 30 minutes of suction on the battery before it needs recharging. This particular model also has varying gallon sizes, ranging from 1 to 12-gallon models. "I bought this from Home Depot earlier this summer to use to clean out my pellet smoker. It has since been used for cleaning up drywall dust, water, dirt and dust while camping, as well as my smoker! Great suction, very versatile, and great battery life," one reviewer shared.

You might have a power drill in your toolbox, but do you have a right-angle drill? Such a tool might seem like overkill at first glance, but it serves a very useful purpose, and that's to get into tight spots that a regular drill can't. This can help you to get to screws under sinks or inside cabinets, as well as between wall studs or floor joists. It's also great for assembling furniture, especially those with many angles or deep pockets.

The Milwaukee 12V Cordless 3/8 inch Right Angle Drill has 4.6 out of 1,043 reviews. The head size is just 3 ¾ inches, allowing you to get into cramped spaces with ease. It also has 12 different torque settings, allowing you to choose the strength and speed appropriate for your particular project. "Just a really handy tool to have to reach hard to get to places. It's got plenty of power," one reviewer shared.

For our criteria, we looked at Milwaukee tools that had a minimum of 4.4 stars and 100 reviews. However, most of the tools we selected had over 1,000 reviews and were bestsellers at The Home Depot. They also had a minimum of 80% of buyers recommending the product. We also chose tools that newbie power-tool owners in particular would find uses for, being suitable for entry-level projects and chores.