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Cordless or corded rotary hammer

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are choosing between a lead that reaches the socket and a battery body that looks cheaper until you price the pack. A cordless or corded rotary hammer, in this amazon.co.uk set, is four corded listings and six cordless listings, and only one cordless row includes a battery and a charger. The ten prices are on the [Bosch rotary hammer comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/bosch-rotary-hammer). A qualifying Amazon purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The Products Compared editorial team prepared this on 22 October 2026 from the UK listings and HSE's site-electrics guidance. There is no lab test. Colour of the packs is the next page, not this one.

You are choosing between a lead that reaches the socket and a battery body that looks cheaper until you price the pack.

Our top picks

Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE

Best overall

Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE
9.0/10about £59.94
View offer
Bosch Bosch GBH 2-21 230 V

Best value

Bosch Bosch GBH 2-21 230 V
8.5/10about £120.15
View offer
Bosch Bosch UniversalHammer 18V kit

Alternative

Bosch Bosch UniversalHammer 18V kit
7.6/10about £132.60
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.A 13 A socket at home
  2. 2.A UK site
  3. 3.Cordless only counts if the pack is real
  4. 4.When the lead is the point

A 13 A socket at home

A normal UK house socket is 230 V with a BS 1363 plug. In this set that is the PBH 2100 RE at £59.94, whose cell says 220 V, and the GBH 2-21 titled 230 V at £120.15, with 2.0 J and 6, 8 and 10 mm bits in a case. The GBH 2-28 title says 240 V and the cell says 230 V, at £253.21 and 3.2 J. That pair is the domestic band written two ways, and it is still a lead. ITS describes 240 V as the domestic socket, with RCD protection, and reserves all-day hammering in hard concrete for a corded tool. The PBH is the cheaper corded option if you will buy SDS-plus bits. A 13 A faceplate will not run a tool whose plate really is 110 V. Hole size comes first, on the Bosch rotary hammer buying guide.

A UK site

HSE's CIS63 says a small construction site should use only 110 volt or battery-operated portable tools. HSG141 puts battery tools first, and describes reduced low voltage as 110 V AC centre-tapped to earth. A 230 V GBH on a site lead is the supply HSE does not want as the default. Cordless bodies meet that battery half only after the right pack is fitted. The GBH 2-21 titled 110 V, at £134.99, has 2.0 J, the same bits and a case. The title says 110 V. The voltage cell says 220 V, and the amperage cell says 14 A. A transformer hired for 110 V tools does not correct a carton that is actually 220 V. If the plate confirms 110 V, and the site has a centre-tapped supply, that listing is the corded site option in this set.
Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE

Testsieger

Bosch Bosch PBH 2100 RE
9.0/10about £59.94
View offer

Cordless only counts if the pack is real

Five of the six cordless rows are bodies, from the UniversalHammer at £97.92 to the GBH 18V-22 at £180.99 in an L-BOXX. None includes a pack or a charger, even where a cell still prints 2 Ah or 2.5 Ah. The only complete cordless row is the UniversalHammer kit at £132.60: one PBA 18V 2.5 Ah pack, an AL 18V-20 and a case, with a cell that also says 3000 mAh. A £116.95 sticker is not cheaper than the £59.94 PBH if you still have to buy an 18 V pack, and the packs do not cross from green to blue. One review cites about 14 to 15 holes on a 2.5 Ah pack before heat. Which rail those packs belong to is on the Bosch green or professional rotary hammer page.

When the lead is the point

The lead wins when the session is long, the concrete is hard, or you own no packs. Drill and Bit's rule of thumb, which is theirs and not a measurement of these ASINs, is about 1.2 J to 2.0 J for fixings and about 2.5 J to 3.2 J for longer chiselling. The printed joules at that upper end are the GBH 2-28 at 3.2 J. Bosch's GB page for the GBH 18V-22 states 1.9 J, which stays attributed to Bosch. Choose cordless when you already own the right packs and the holes are a short run. Choose the PBH or the 230 V GBH 2-21 on a house 13 A socket. Drilling the hole, once the supply is real, is on the how to use a Bosch rotary hammer page.

Common questions

Can I plug the corded hammers into a 13 A socket?
The PBH cell says 220 V, the GBH 2-21 at £120.15 is titled 230 V, and the GBH 2-28 title says 240 V while its cell says 230 V. Those are the domestic listings. The GBH 2-21 titled 110 V is not one of them. A 110 V tool does not belong in a 13 A socket. If the plate and the title disagree, ask the seller which supply the unit is built for.
Is the 110 V GBH 2-21 the site tool?
It is the only title that says 110 V, at £134.99, with 2.0 J and bits in a case. The voltage cell says 220 V. HSE wants 110 V centre-tapped to earth, or cordless, on site. Confirm the plate before you treat it as the site hammer. The £120.15 sister is the 230 V listing.
Why is a £116.95 cordless hammer not cheaper than a £59.94 corded one?
The £116.95 GBH 18V-18 X is a body, with no battery, charger or case. The PBH at £59.94 is corded and runs from the socket you already have. A Professional pack and charger, bought separately, can erase the gap, and a green Power for All pack will not run that blue body.
Which cordless row includes the charger?
Only the UniversalHammer kit at £132.60. The scope lists one PBA 18V 2.5 Ah pack and an AL 18V-20 charger, and the battery cell also prints 3000 mAh. Every other cordless row is a body without a charger. A capacity cell is not a pack in the box.
Does a site still want 110 V if I bring batteries?
HSE puts battery tools first, and 110 V centre-tapped to earth where a lead is still used. A charged pack meets the battery half only if it fits the hammer. It does not turn a 230 V GBH into a site lead, and it does not fix the 110 V title whose cell says 220 V.

Related pages

Best Bosch rotary hammer

Bosch rotary hammer

Bosch rotary hammer buying guide: shank and supply

Bosch green or professional rotary hammer batteries

How to use a Bosch rotary hammer for UK plug holes

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in this comparison.

  1. HSE: Electrical systems on construction sites (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. HSE: Vibration from hand-held tools (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. HSE CN3: Construction dust (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Bosch Professional GB: SDS-max rotary hammers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Bosch Professional GB: GBH 18V-22 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (retrieved 22 October 2026)