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Corded vs cordless Bosch SDS drill

Updated: 22 October 2026

The cheapest line in this amazon.co.uk set is a cordless body at about £116.95, and the 230 V GBH 2-21 kit beside it is about £120.15 with a case and bits. Those two prices look like the same kind of purchase. They are not. A corded versus cordless Bosch SDS drill decision is a working system: a lead and a socket, or an 18 V body plus a pack you already own or still have to buy. Every cordless listing here omits the battery and the charger. The eight listings were compared on 19 October 2026 for the [Bosch professional SDS drill comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/bosch-professional-sds-drill), using those shelf prices and Bosch UK pages. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The cheapest line in this amazon.co.uk set is a cordless body at about £116.95, and the 230 V GBH 2-21 kit beside it is about £120.15 with a case and bits. Those two prices look like the same kind of purchase.

Our top picks

Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 18V-18

Best overall

Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 18V-18
7.5/10about £122.95
View offer
Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 2-21 (230 V)

Rank 2

Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 2-21 (230 V)
9.4/10about £120.15
View offer
Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 2-28

Alternative

Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 2-28
7.6/10about £253.21
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When the lead is the problem
  2. 2.When the battery is the problem
  3. 3.What the box actually contains
  4. 4.Packs that fit

When the lead is the problem

A lead is the wrong annoyance on a ladder or between rooms. UK trade retailers put cordless hammers in that slot, and corded 110 V or 230 V tools in the slot for all-day work in hard concrete. Joules and modes still come first. That order is the buying guide. If a Bosch Professional 18 V or AMPShare pack is already charged, the GBH 18V-22 at about £180.99 is the cordless row with the largest sample: 4.6 from 523 ratings. Bosch states 1.9 J, about 2.3 kg without a battery, and a chisel function. Reviewers describe kitchens and bathrooms, and they still say it is not a site hammer for hard concrete. The GBH 18V-18 at about £122.95 is 1.5 J and about 4–18 mm, with no published chisel mode. A brand line about cordless drills matching corded ones is not a claim that 1.5 J equals 3.2 J. How each listing earns a job is the best GBH SDS drill page.

When the battery is the problem

A battery is the problem when the day is continuous drilling, the concrete is at the edge of a 2 J hammer, or you do not own a pack. The corded GBH 2-28, order 0611267571, is about £253.21, at 3.2 J with a chisel mode and an L-BOXX. Bosch describes about 4–28 mm in concrete. amazon.co.uk shows 4.4 from 20 ratings, against 523 on the GBH 18V-22. The gap you can quote is 3.2 J on the lead against 1.9 J. The 230 V GBH 2-21 at about £120.15 is 2.0 J and it works from a UK socket with an RCD on the day it arrives. It stops being the pick once the holes leave the 2 J band, and a site that refuses a 230 V lead will not run it.
Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 18V-18

Testsieger

Bosch Bosch Professional GBH 18V-18
7.5/10about £122.95
View offer

What the box actually contains

The 230 V GBH 2-21 kit includes a case, 6 mm, 8 mm and 10 mm SDS-plus bits, a side handle and a depth stop.The GBH 2-28 includes an L-BOXX 136 and a 210 mm depth stop. None of those corded rows asks you to buy a battery first. The GBH 18V-18 arrives as a body and an auxiliary handle in a carton. The GBH 18V-18 X at about £116.95 adds ONECHUCK and still has no battery. The GBH 18V-22 adds an L-BOXX and still omits the pack. The GBH 18V-22 X is about £176.95 in a carton or about £232.73 with an L-BOXX. A body at about £122.95 sits next to the complete 230 V kit. The saving appears if the pack is already on the van. ONECHUCK does not put a pack in the box.

Packs that fit

Bosch says these 18 V hammers run on Professional 18 V packs sold since 2008 and on AMPShare packs. AMPShare is that Professional 18 V interface shared with other brands. A blue pack from a combi or an angle grinder fits. A green DIY battery does not. You do not have to buy a ProCORE pack. A percentage quoted for a GBH 18V-26 belongs to that model. Choose a cordless body if the pack is already yours and the holes stay inside that model’s joules. Choose the 230 V GBH 2-21 if you have no pack and the work is fixings plus light chasing. Choose the GBH 2-28 if you need 3.2 J and you can plug in.

Common questions

Will a cordless Bosch SDS drill concrete?
Yes, inside the joules Bosch states. The GBH 18V-18 is 1.5 J and about 4–18 mm. The GBH 18V-22 is 1.9 J. Neither is the 3.2 J of the corded GBH 2-28, and the compact 18 V tools do not publish a chisel mode.
Why is the battery missing from the cordless listing?
These amazon.co.uk rows are bodies. The box stops at a handle, a depth stop, and sometimes an L-BOXX. About £116.95 or about £122.95 is the tool only. It becomes a working hammer when a Professional 18 V or AMPShare pack is on it.
Can I use the Bosch blue 18 V packs I already own?
Yes, if they are Bosch Professional 18 V packs from the interface sold since 2008, or AMPShare packs. A green DIY pack is a different battery. Price a blue pack before you compare a body with the about £120.15 corded kit.
What is AMPShare?
AMPShare is Bosch Professional’s name for the 18 V interface it shares with other brands. Packs from that system, including Professional packs sold since 2008, fit these hammers. It does not raise the impact energy.
Is the GBH 2-28 stronger than the GBH 18V-22?
On stated impact, yes. The GBH 2-28 is 3.2 J and about 4–28 mm. The GBH 18V-22 is 1.9 J, with a chisel function on the Bosch page. The cordless tool wins when the lead is in the way and 1.9 J covers the hole. The corded tool wins when the work is past that.
Which is cheaper once the battery is included?
The 230 V GBH 2-21 at about £120.15 includes the case and three bits. The GBH 18V-18 at about £122.95 and the GBH 18V-18 X at about £116.95 match that only while the pack is already yours.

Related pages

Bosch professional SDS drill on 110 V

How to use a Bosch professional SDS drill

Bosch professional SDS drill

Best Bosch GBH SDS drill for the job in front of you

Bosch Professional SDS drill: joules, then the box

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 19 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. Bosch UK, GBH 2-21, 0 611 2A6 071 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Bosch UK, GBH 2-28, 0 611 267 571 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Bosch UK, GBH 18V-18, 0 611 927 000 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Bosch UK, GBH 18V-22 and GBH 18V-22 X (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. HSE, hand-arm vibration regulations (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. HSE, construction dust sheet CN3 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. HSE, electrical systems on construction sites (retrieved 19 October 2026)