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Best mini cordless drill

Updated: October 2026

You want the best mini cordless drill for a flat in the UK, and the first page you open is full of 18 V combi drills. Here, best means the strongest match in our amazon.co.uk set for light household screwdriving and small holes in wood or plastic, captured on 16 October 2026. The top pick is the FADAKWALT 12 V. The best value is the FAHEFANA 12 V. The full table is on the [mini cordless drill comparison](/hub/screws-and-accessories/mini-cordless-drill). Peter F. did not lab-test the tools. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want the best mini cordless drill for a flat in the UK, and the first page you open is full of 18 V combi drills.

Our top picks

FADAKWALT FADAKWALT 12V drill

Best overall

FADAKWALT FADAKWALT 12V drill
8.8/10about £24.99
View offer
FAHEFANA FAHEFANA 12V mini combi

Best value

FAHEFANA FAHEFANA 12V mini combi
8.8/10about £20.99
View offer
Uolor Uolor 3-speed drill pen

Rank 3

Uolor Uolor 3-speed drill pen
8.0/10about £26.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What best means on this page
  2. 2.Top pick, FADAKWALT 12 V
  3. 3.Best value, FAHEFANA 12 V
  4. 4.When neither pick is the right tool

What best means on this page

Best, on this URL, is one job inside this capture: flat-pack, picture hooks and small holes in timber or plastic. That job needs a 12 V pistol with a chuck near 10 mm. A pen can have more reviews and still be the wrong winner, because its bits stop around 2 mm. A Guardian round-up on 20 February 2026 picked an 18 V Makita, a different shelf. A shopping article quoted the FADAKWALT nearer £21.99. Our price on 16 October 2026 is £24.99. Chuck and plug checks are in the mini cordless drill buying guide.

Top pick, FADAKWALT 12 V

The FADAKWALT 12 V, model 8212, is the top pick for light household screwdriving and small timber holes. It is £24.99, with 4.4 stars from 1,204 amazon.co.uk reviews, a 9.53 mm keyless chuck, 650 rpm, a 1.3 Ah battery and a charger. That is the deepest review count among the 12 V pistols here. One UK review says it behaves more like a screwdriver when a hole is needed. The listing states both 20 Nm and 177 inch-pounds, so those lines disagree. Skip it for brick or for 1 mm resin holes. Cam locks alone belong on the cordless drill for flat-pack furniture page.
FADAKWALT FADAKWALT 12V drill

Testsieger

FADAKWALT FADAKWALT 12V drill
8.8/10about £24.99
View offer

Best value, FAHEFANA 12 V

The FAHEFANA 12 V is the best value. It is £20.99, the lowest of the three 12 V kits, with 4.4 stars from 372 reviews, a stated 2.0 Ah battery and a fast charger. The chuck is 0.38 inch. No rpm is printed. One review found empty LED holes. It fails masonry the same way as the top pick. If price is the constraint and you still want a 12 V chuck, this is the kit.

When neither pick is the right tool

Buy the Uolor pen at £26.99 if the hole is tiny. It has 4.0 stars from 1,827 reviews, speeds from 5,000 to 18,000 rpm, and bits from 0.6 mm to 2.2 mm. Lyai, at 2.8 from 7, stalled in 4 mm softwood. The NiuLumea at £6.49 has no star line. That choice is the mini drill pen vs cordless drill page. For screws only, the MQFORU at £13.99 is about 3 to 3.5 Nm. The DongCheng at £16.98 lists 5 Nm, and its lowest step snapped a terminal screw in a UK review. Neither is this prize.

Common questions

Which listing is the top pick here, and for whom?
The top pick is the FADAKWALT 12 V, model 8212, at £24.99 in the 16 October 2026 capture, with 4.4 stars from 1,204 reviews. It is for a compact pistol for flat-pack and small holes in wood or plastic, with the largest 12 V review base in this set. Skip it for brick, and skip it if you only drill 1 mm holes in resin. The 9.53 mm chuck takes an ordinary bit. A pen cannot.
Which is the best value, and what do you give up?
The best value is the FAHEFANA 12 V at £20.99, with 4.4 stars from 372 reviews and a stated 2.0 Ah battery. You give up review depth compared with 1,204 reviews, you get no rpm figure, and one reviewer found empty LED holes. You do not give up the 12 V pistol shape or a chuck near 10 mm. It is still the wrong tool for masonry, same as the top pick.
Why is the Uolor pen not the winner despite 1,827 reviews?
Because those reviews are for a different tool. The Uolor is a 4.2 V pen with bits from 0.6 mm to 2.2 mm, at £26.99, which is more than the FADAKWALT. Review depth tells you that many people use it for small craft holes. It does not tell you it will drive a wardrobe screw or drill a 6 mm pilot. Best, on this page, is judged on the household job, so the pen cannot win it.
Does best include brick?
No. None of these listings is a masonry drill. UK reviews on the 12 V kits say concrete and brick are beyond them. The FADAKWALT's masonry bits do not change that. If your hole is in brick, or you are fixing into a wall where cables or pipes may be hidden, this ranking does not apply. Get a tool that is specified for masonry, or call a professional.
What about Lyai at 2.8 and NiuLumea with no stars?
Lyai is £13.69 with 2.8 stars from 7 reviews. Reviewers stalled while widening a 1.7 mm plastic hole and in 4 mm softwood. That is the weakest star line in the set, on a very small base. NiuLumea is £6.49 and the listing has no Customer Reviews line, so there is no star rating to award or to invent. Neither belongs in a best-of list for household work.

Related pages

Cordless drill comparison

Mini cordless drill

Mini cordless drill buying guide for type and chuck

Cordless drill for flat-pack furniture and Pozidriv

How to use a mini cordless drill without stripped screws

Mini drill pen vs cordless drill for the hole size

Sources

Public UK sources on drill safety, product safety, the 30-day right to reject, work equipment and lithium-ion charging. Listing prices and star counts are from the amazon.co.uk extracts kept for this comparison on 16 October 2026. Prices move.

  1. Electrical Safety First, drills (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. BSI, BS EN 62841-2-1:2018+A12:2022 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. HSE, Providing and using work equipment safely (INDG291) (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. HSE, Electrical systems on construction sites (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Scottish Fire and Rescue, lithium-ion batteries (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings for the ASINs in this set (retrieved 16 October 2026)