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DeWalt router buying guide

Updated: October 2026

You are looking at yellow routers on amazon.co.uk, and the stars treat a palm tool near £50 and a plunge router at £324.98 as one list. A DeWalt router buying guide has to split those before you buy. Nine of the ten listings in our [DeWalt router comparison](/hub/routers/dewalt-router) claim a DeWalt pack and are not DeWalt. Only the DCW620B is. This page is from the Products Compared editorial team on 16 October 2026. We used those listings and DeWalt’s UK pages, and we did not run a cut. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Choose the cut, then the collet, then the base. Edges and mid-panel cuts are on the [plunge and trim page](/hub/routers/dewalt-router/sub/dewalt-router-plunge-vs-trim). Packs and 20 V titles are on the [18V XR page](/hub/routers/dewalt-router/sub/dewalt-router-18v-xr).

You are looking at yellow routers on amazon.co.uk, and the stars treat a palm tool near £50 and a plunge router at £324.98 as one list. A DeWalt router buying guide has to split those before you buy.

Our top picks

DeWalt DeWalt DCW620B

Best overall

DeWalt DeWalt DCW620B
6.6/10about £324.98
View offer
TOPWAY TOPWAY 18V palm router

Rank 2

TOPWAY TOPWAY 18V palm router
6.7/10about £49.99
View offer
JOJOCY JOJOCY 800W 6-speed

Rank 3

JOJOCY JOJOCY 800W 6-speed
6.0/10about £69.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are actually comparing
  2. 2.Collet before colour
  3. 3.Plunge, trim, or both
  4. 4.Tool-only, mains, and the last checks

What you are actually comparing

DeWalt’s compact DCW604 class is an 8 mm tool with a fixed base and a plunge base, a 30 mm maximum cutter, and about 55 mm of plunge on bare-unit wording. It is not in this amazon set, so it has no price here. The DCW620 class is the half-inch cordless plunge router. DeWalt’s UK page for the DCW620H2-GB kit lists 6.35 mm and 12.7 mm collets, a 70 mm plunge, and a 63 mm maximum cutter. The only match in this comparison is the DCW620B at £324.98, tool only, titled 20 V, item weight 5.1 kg. DeWalt UK prints 3.6 kg gross on the kit page. Do not average those weights. The other nine rows are palm routers from £47.49 to £72.99, all tool only. A DCB code on a yellow body is not a DeWalt part number.

Collet before colour

6 mm, 6.35 mm (a quarter inch), 8 mm, 12 mm, and 12.7 mm (a half inch) are different. A quarter-inch bit will not centre in an 8 mm collet, and a title that writes "1/2 inch / 12 mm" has named two sizes. If the nut will not close on your shank, the speed range does not matter. The TOPWAY bullet claims three collets: a quarter inch, 6 mm, and 8 mm. That is a claim, and the three are not interchangeable. The DCW620B file does not state a collet. DeWalt’s kit page does. Do not tighten an empty collet. The nut can close on nothing and then refuse a real shank. At £47.49, the Chengsuwei file’s only UK review says the collet nut would not tighten and the tool was returned.
DeWalt DeWalt DCW620B

Testsieger

DeWalt DeWalt DCW620B
6.6/10about £324.98
View offer

Plunge, trim, or both

A fixed palm base stays at one height. You start at an edge: a round-over, a flush trim, a chamfer on a door. A plunge base lowers the cutter into the face and lifts it out. Stopped grooves and a worktop jig need that. UK jig instructions expect a half-inch plunge router and a guide bush. An 800 W palm tool is the wrong class for that joint, even with similar stars. You can lock a plunge router and run an edge. You cannot make a fixed base plunge. The DCW620B is the plunge listing that is. The RAYLEEY row says plunge in the spec and palm in the title, so do not plan a mid-panel cut on it. The TOPWAY, at 1.74 kg, is fixed.

Tool-only, mains, and the last checks

Every cordless row here is tool only. The £49.99 TOPWAY and the £324.98 DCW620B both omit the pack and the charger. If you own 18V XR batteries, the price is the body. If you do not, you are buying a system. A 20 V title is the other name for the platform, not a converter job. The LIROPAU at £61.99 says cordless 18 V in the title and power source “ac” in the spec. Picks with a skip line are on the best DeWalt router page.

Common questions

Is a router sold for a DeWalt battery actually a DeWalt?
No. Only the DCW620B in this comparison is a DeWalt router. The other nine claim that named DCB packs will fit, which is not a DeWalt part number and not DeWalt’s warranty. Read the brand line before you set a £50 palm body against the £324.98 plunge router.
Do I need a plunge base or a trim base?
Use a fixed base when the cutter starts on an edge. Use a plunge base when it must enter the face and come back out, as in a stopped groove. A plunge router can be locked for edge work. A fixed palm base cannot start in the middle of a board. Worktop jigs ask for a half-inch plunge router.
Which collet size should I buy?
Buy the sleeve that matches the shank. A quarter inch is 6.35 mm, not 6 mm or 8 mm. A half inch is 12.7 mm, not 12 mm. The DCW604 class is 8 mm. The DCW620 kit page lists 6.35 mm and 12.7 mm. The TOPWAY’s three claimed collets are still three sleeves.
Why is every cordless price tool only?
These ten amazon.co.uk listings leave the battery out, including the DCW620B. You are paying for the body. DeWalt’s DCW620H2-GB kit, with two 5 Ah packs, is a different SKU. Add a pack and a charger if you do not already own 18V XR batteries.
Can a palm router cut a worktop joint?
Not in the way a UK worktop jig is written. Those jigs expect a half-inch plunge router and a guide bush. An 800 W fixed palm tool does not have that base or that collet, even if your DeWalt pack runs it. A sink or hob opening is a joiner’s job if you have not cut one.
What does 18V versus 20V on the title mean?
On DeWalt’s UK site these routers are 18V XR tools. A 20 V or 20V MAX title, including this DCW620B, is the other name for that platform. Compatible listings often print both. The pack is still sold separately, and it still has to fit the tool you actually bought.

Related pages

Router collet sizes

DeWalt router

DeWalt 18V XR router batteries and the 20V MAX titles

Best DeWalt router: trim pick plus the plunge body

How to use a DeWalt router: collet, depth and feed

DeWalt plunge router vs trim router: which base fits

Sources

Public UK sources used for the dust, noise and machinery points on this page. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings in this set, checked against the digest of 16 October 2026.

  1. HSE WD5 — Wood dust: extraction and RPE for hand-held routers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. HSE WIS23 — Wood dust figures (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. HSE — PUWER overview (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. DeWalt UK — DCW620H2-GB 18V XR plunge router (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. DeWalt UK — DCW604P2-QW 18V XR 8 mm router (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. DeWalt UK — DWE625KT-LX corded half-inch plunge router (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK — Placing UKCA or CE marked products on the market in Great Britain (retrieved 16 October 2026)