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Right angle drill vs attachment

Updated: 2026-10-23

You already own a combi or an impact driver, the hinge screw sits around a corner, and a small gearbox looks easier than another drill. Right angle drill vs attachment is that choice. A dedicated right angle drill has its own motor, chuck, trigger and battery. An attachment is a set of bevel gears in the chuck of the drill you already have, and it usually takes a 1/4-inch hex bit. The four dedicated listings, from a kit at £47.99 to a bare body at £99.99, are on our [right angle drill comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/right-angle-drill). We did not run a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already own a combi or an impact driver, the hinge screw sits around a corner, and a small gearbox looks easier than another drill. Right angle drill vs attachment is that choice.

Our top picks

Milwaukee Milwaukee 2415-20 M12 right angle drill

Best overall

Milwaukee Milwaukee 2415-20 M12 right angle drill
9.4/10about £85.50
View offer
Einhell Einhell TE-AD 18 Li cordless right-angle drill

Best value

Einhell Einhell TE-AD 18 Li cordless right-angle drill
9.2/10about £49.99
View offer
XIIW XIIW 12V cordless right angle drill

Alternative

XIIW XIIW 12V cordless right angle drill
7.6/10about £47.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two different objects
  2. 2.What still will not fit
  3. 3.Impact drivers and flexible shafts
  4. 4.Which one to buy

Two different objects

The basket mixes both, and a drills best-seller list has even shown a cheap adaptor among ordinary drills. They are not the same purchase. The dedicated tool carries the motor in the body, with the chuck at about 90 degrees, so the head can enter a cabinet. The attachment borrows the motor. You still have a full drill on the other end of the hex shank, which is the length problem DIY Doctor describes. The attachment can be the cheaper object for one or a few jobs. Adaptor listings were left out of this comparison because they have no motor of their own. A hex-only attachment cannot take a round twist bit unless you add a holder, and the holder adds length. A round-shank bit, week after week, is where the dedicated drill starts to make sense.

What still will not fit

Measure the stack, not the nose. A short attachment head can still fail, because the combi handle is behind it. DeWalt UK's DT20502 is an impact-ready modular attachment plus a flexible shaft, with a 1/4-inch hex and a stated head depth of 38 mm. Milwaukee's EU Shockwave attachment is stated at 36 mm, again 1/4-inch hex, and impact-rated. Those heads are small. Your existing drill is not. Offer the tool, battery off, into the airing cupboard. If the handle hits the carcass before the bit meets the screw, the attachment has failed the only test that matters. The dedicated drill's advantage is that the motor is no longer the long object behind the head. You then judge head length with the bit fitted. If the dedicated body does not fit either, neither object has solved the cupboard.
Milwaukee Milwaukee 2415-20 M12 right angle drill

Testsieger

Milwaukee Milwaukee 2415-20 M12 right angle drill
9.4/10about £85.50
View offer

Impact drivers and flexible shafts

A cheap attachment and an impact-rated attachment are not the same gears. DeWalt describes the DT20502 as impact-ready, and Milwaukee describes the Shockwave attachment as impact-rated. That is the permission to put the head on an impact driver, and it is printed on those products, not on every bargain adaptor. Read the impact line before you put a hex head on a driver that hammers. An attachment does not add hammer action for brick. It only turns the axis of the tool you already own. A flexible shaft is a third thing, not a second column in this versus. DeWalt sells one in the same DT20502 kit as the right-angle head. Compel UK treats a flexible shaft as light fastening and says it loses torque when bent, about 30 to 50 per cent in that article, not a test we repeated. Do not use it when the bit must stay square.

Which one to buy

Buy the attachment when the job is occasional, the bit is already 1/4-inch hex, and the host drill still fits once the head is on. DIY Doctor's split is the same: the dedicated drill if tight-space work is frequent, the attachment for one or a few jobs, because it costs less and you still carry a full drill behind it. A Toolstation price of £24.99 excluding VAT is a UK example of that cheaper object, not a promise for every adaptor. Buy the dedicated drill when you need a real chuck, or when you are in the gap often enough that another battery platform is worth owning. The dedicated tools here run from the XIIW kit at £47.99 to bare bodies at £49.99, £85.50 and £99.99. Skip both for masonry. If you have chosen the drill, the right angle drill buying guide is the checklist.

Common questions

Will an attachment reach as far into a cabinet as a dedicated drill?
Sometimes the nose will, and the drill behind it will not. DeWalt states 38 mm of head on the DT20502, and Milwaukee states 36 mm on the Shockwave attachment. That is only the gearbox. The combi or impact driver remains on the shank. Test both with the battery off. If the handle hits the carcass, the smaller head has not won.
Can I put a round twist bit in a hex attachment?
Not in the hex socket itself. The attachments cited here are 1/4-inch hex. A round twist bit needs a chuck, or a hex holder that adds length and another joint. The dedicated tools in this set are the ones with a 10 mm or 3/8-inch chuck, apart from the C12 amazon cell this comparison does not use. A round shank is a reason to buy the drill rather than the adaptor.
Can I run a cheap attachment on an impact driver?
Only if that attachment says it is impact-rated. DeWalt's DT20502 and Milwaukee's Shockwave attachment both make that claim. A bargain hex head with no impact line is a different product. The impact rating has to be printed before you use an impact driver as the motor.
Is a flexible shaft the same as a 90-degree head?
No. A 90-degree head keeps a short rigid gearbox at the bit. A flexible shaft bends. Compel UK describes it as light fastening that loses torque when bent, with their own 30 to 50 per cent figure. DeWalt sells the two together in DT20502, which shows they are different tools.
I already own a combi drill. Do I still buy an angle drill?
You do if you are in the gap often, or if you need a chuck rather than a hex socket. You do not if the job is a few hex screws and the combi still fits behind a 36 mm or 38 mm head. The battery platform you already own is what decides which dedicated body is even plausible.

Related pages

How to use a right angle drill

Right angle drill attachment

Right angle drill

12V or 18V right angle drill and the packs you own

Best right angle drill for the packs already owned

The right angle drill buying guide on amazon.co.uk

Sources

Public UK sources and manufacturer pages, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures used on this page. The Milwaukee torque page is not a UK price.

  1. Screwfix, angle drills (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Toolstation, drill buying guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Einhell UK, TE-AD 18 Li-Solo (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Milwaukee, M12 3/8 in right angle drill 2415-20 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. HSE, vibration duties for employers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. HSE, noise duties for employers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. HSE, INDG175 hand-arm vibration (retrieved 21 October 2026)