Walk into Screwfix or Toolstation and you’ll notice that almost every cordless power tool now comes in two versions: a standard model and a “brushless” model. The brushless version usually costs 20–30% more and promises better performance, longer battery life and more durability. So what does “brushless” actually mean, and is it genuinely worth the extra money, or just another way to charge more for a sticker on the box?
The short answer is that brushless motors are a genuine improvement over brushed motors — but the difference matters far more in some situations than others. Here’s what’s actually happening inside your power tools, and where it’s worth spending your money.
How a Brushed Motor Works
Brushed motors have been the standard in power tools for decades, and it’s worth understanding how they work before you can appreciate what brushless actually changes. Inside a brushed motor you’ll find permanent magnets fixed around the outside, a spinning shaft wound with wire coils in the centre, a commutator on that shaft, and a set of carbon brushes pressed against the commutator.
Pull the trigger and current flows through the carbon brushes into the commutator, which feeds it into the coils. That creates an electromagnetic field that reacts against the fixed magnets and spins the shaft, with the commutator constantly switching current direction to keep it turning. The brushes stay in constant physical contact with the spinning commutator throughout, and that friction is where most of a brushed motor’s limitations come from — it generates heat, wastes energy, wears the brushes down, and caps how fast and efficiently the motor can run.
How a Brushless Motor Works
A brushless motor flips that arrangement around. The magnets move to the rotor and spin, while the wire coils stay fixed on the stator — there’s no commutator and no carbon brushes at all. In their place, a small electronic controller built into the tool fires current into each coil in sequence, creating a rotating magnetic field that spins the rotor without anything physically touching it.
That controller is what makes a brushless motor “smart”. It reads the resistance the tool is meeting and adjusts power on the fly — dialling back the current driving a screw into softwood, and increasing it the moment you hit a knot or switch to hardwood, all happening thousands of times a second automatically. The trade-off is that this electronics package adds cost, which is the main reason brushless tools carry a price premium — but it’s also what enables features like Milwaukee ONE-KEY and Makita’s tool management systems that a brushed motor simply can’t support.
Brushed vs Brushless: Head-to-Head
Here’s how the two technologies stack up against each other in practice, factor by factor.
- Efficiency — brushed loses energy to friction and heat; brushless runs up to 50% more efficiently
- Runtime — brushless typically delivers 30–50% longer runtime on the same battery
- Power — brushless delivers higher torque and speed from the same voltage
- Size and weight — brushless motors are more compact and lighter for the same output
- Noise — brushless runs noticeably quieter
- Maintenance — brushed motors need brush replacement over time; brushless is virtually maintenance-free
- Motor lifespan — brushless motors last significantly longer
- Heat — brushless runs cooler, protecting the tool’s electronics and battery
- Smart features — only brushless motors support electronic speed and torque control
- Price — expect roughly a 30% premium for brushless on a comparable drill
Why These Differences Matter on Site
Battery Life
This is where most tradespeople notice the biggest real-world difference. A brushless drill or impact driver gets significantly more done on a single charge than a brushed equivalent — on a full day’s work, that’s the difference between getting through your shift on two batteries rather than three or four. Fewer swaps, less time waiting on a charger, and potentially fewer batteries to buy in the first place.
The gain is most obvious during sustained, heavy use. If you’re driving hundreds of screws a day, drilling through masonry, or running a circular saw through sheet material all shift, the brushless motor’s ability to regulate power draw and cut waste adds up fast.
Power and Performance
Because less energy is lost to friction and heat, a brushless motor delivers more usable power from the same battery voltage. A brushless 18V drill will typically out-torque and out-pace a brushed 18V drill doing the same job — faster drilling, easier driving of larger fixings, less bogging down under load.
The smart power regulation matters just as much in practice. A brushless tool that automatically ramps power up when it hits resistance and eases off when it drops gives you more consistent, predictable control. If you’ve ever had a brushed drill suddenly grab and twist as it breaks through material, you’ll notice the difference straight away.
Size and Weight
Brushless motors can be built more compact than a brushed equivalent at the same power level, which is why modern brushless impact drivers and drills run noticeably smaller and lighter than the tools they replaced. If you’re working overhead, in tight stud spaces, or carrying tools up scaffolding all day, that’s not a minor spec — it’s a difference you feel in your hand and shoulder by the end of every shift.
Durability and Maintenance
Carbon brushes are a wear item — depending on use, they typically need replacing every 50–100 hours of heavy work, or roughly every two to five years for most tradespeople. It’s not an expensive fix, but it’s downtime you don’t need. A brushless motor removes that job entirely, and the motor itself should outlast every other component in the tool.
The lower heat output also protects the tool’s electronics, bearings and battery connections, which is why brushless tools tend to have longer overall lifespans — worth factoring in when you’re committing to a battery platform you’ll be using for years.
Is Brushless Worth the Extra Money?
This is the question everyone actually wants answered, and the honest answer depends on how you use your tools.
Brushless is worth it if you use power tools daily as part of your trade. The battery life improvement alone pays back the price difference over time, before you even factor in the extra performance and durability. If you’re a plumber, electrician, joiner or builder — any trade that leans on cordless tools every working day — brushless should be your default for primary tools like your drill, impact driver and circular saw.
Ryobi ONE+ HP Brushless Combi Drill
A brushless ONE+ HP drill is a good example of what the upgrade buys you day to day — noticeably more runtime per charge and smoother power delivery under load than the standard ONE+ range, without the price jump of a trade-only brand.
Brushless might not be necessary if you’re a DIYer who reaches for a power tool a handful of times a year. A brushed drill that costs £60 instead of £100 will do everything you need for weekend projects and the odd repair — the efficiency and lifespan advantages of brushless don’t add up to much if the tool spends most of its life in the cupboard.
Ryobi ONE+ Compact Percussion Drill (Brushed)
If your drill is genuinely an occasional-use tool, there’s no shame in staying brushed — this Ryobi ONE+ compact percussion drill covers drilling, driving and light masonry work perfectly well for the price, and it runs on the same ONE+ batteries as the rest of the range if you ever add to it.
The smart approach for tradespeople: go brushless on your primary, everyday tools — drill, impact driver, circular saw, anything you reach for daily. For specialist tools you use less often, or backups kept in the van, brushed models save money without meaningfully affecting your work. Across a full kit, the price difference between brushed and brushless can easily run to £200–400, so being selective about where you spend it makes financial sense.
What About Corded Tools?
The brushed vs brushless conversation is mostly about cordless tools, where battery efficiency is the deciding factor. Corded tools draw straight from the mains, so the single biggest brushless advantage — extra runtime per charge — doesn’t apply.
That said, brushless corded tools still benefit from less heat, lower noise and a longer motor life, and some high-end corded tools — plunge saws and routers in particular — use brushless motors for exactly that reason. For most corded purchases, though, brushed vs brushless matters far less than it does on a cordless tool.
Brushless Lines from Major UK Brands
If you’re shopping for brushless tools, it helps to know how each brand labels its brushless range, since spotting it on the box saves you checking every spec sheet. Milwaukee’s M18 FUEL and M12 FUEL ranges are brushless throughout, built around their POWERSTATE motor. Makita’s XGT range is entirely brushless, though its LXT range mixes brushed and brushless models, so check the individual tool. DeWalt marks brushless tools with a “DCL” prefix rather than “DCD”. Bosch’s Biturbo line uses dual-motor brushless tech within the wider ProCORE/18V System. Hikoki‘s MultiVolt tools automatically switch between 18V and 36V. And Ryobi’s ONE+ HP line is brushless, while the standard ONE+ range remains brushed.
Common Myths About Brushless Motors
“Brushless motors produce more torque”
Not automatically — the motor design itself doesn’t guarantee more torque. What it does do is waste less energy on friction and heat, which lets manufacturers extract more usable power from the same battery and motor size. The end result is usually higher torque in practice, but it’s a design benefit rather than a fixed law of how brushless motors work.
“Brushed tools are unreliable”
Not remotely true. Brushed motors have powered professional tools for decades and continue to do the job well. Replacing carbon brushes is routine maintenance, not a sign of failure, and a quality brushed tool from a reputable brand will give you years of reliable service. Brushless is better in most measurable ways, but that doesn’t make brushed bad.
“You need new batteries for brushless tools”
Generally false. Most major brands keep battery compatibility across the whole platform regardless of whether a given tool is brushed or brushless. Your existing Makita 18V LXT batteries work in both brushed and brushless LXT tools, and the same holds for DeWalt 18V XR, Milwaukee M18, and most other platforms. Upgrading to brushless doesn’t mean starting your battery collection over.
The Verdict
Brushless motor technology is a genuine improvement, not marketing spin. The efficiency gains, longer battery runtime, reduced maintenance and better performance are real and measurable. If you’re using cordless tools every working day, brushless is worth paying for on your primary tools — it pays you back through longer battery life, less downtime, and tools that simply last longer.
You don’t need to replace every brushed tool you own overnight, though. If your current brushed drill is doing its job, keep using it — when it’s time to replace it, go brushless. If you’re building a platform from scratch, prioritise brushless on the tools you use most and save your money on the rest.
The direction of travel is clear — brushless is becoming the standard rather than the premium option, and prices are gradually closing the gap. Within a few years, brushed cordless tools will likely be confined to the budget end of the market. For now, though, both technologies have their place, and the smart move is knowing which of your tools actually benefits from the upgrade.
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