Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Impact driver vs impact wrench

Updated: 22 October 2026

You searched for an impact gun because a wheel will not come off, or a coach screw is stuck, and amazon.co.uk mixes two tools under one word. Impact driver vs impact wrench is a question about the nose, not about which brand hammers harder. A 6.35 mm hex collet drives screws. A square anvil, usually 1/2 inch, turns sockets. A high newton-metre on a driver is still the wrong licence for a wheel nut. The hex drivers that stayed are on the [cordless impact driver comparison](/hub/tools/cordless-impact-driver). Products Compared did not lab-test either tool. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You searched for an impact gun because a wheel will not come off, or a coach screw is stuck, and amazon.co.uk mixes two tools under one word.

Our top picks

DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N

Best overall

DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N
9.4/10about £59.95
View offer
Ingco Ingco CKLI20277

Alternative

Ingco Ingco CKLI20277
9.4/10about £117.99
View offer
GALAX PRO GALAX PRO 95307

Best value

GALAX PRO GALAX PRO 95307
8.8/10about £42.83
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The nose decides
  2. 2.What each one is for
  3. 3.Wheel nuts
  4. 4.Titles on amazon.co.uk

The nose decides

Look at the nose before the torque claim. A cordless impact driver has a 1/4 inch hex collet, 6.35 mm, for a screwdriver bit. An impact wrench has a square anvil, usually 1/2 inch in UK wheel work, for a socket. Both add blows when a fastener resists. That shared habit does not make the drives interchangeable. MakerUK puts a typical driver around 100–250 Nm and a typical wrench around 300–700 Nm. Those ranges are editorial. A socket adapter on a hex collet wastes torque. If you already own a driver, leave it in the box for a wheel.

What each one is for

Use the driver for screws, including long timber screws and many coach screws. SGS Engineering draws the same line: drivers for screws, wrenches for nuts and rusted fasteners. The six drivers kept here state between 100 Nm and 285 Nm. The top figure is the INGCO driver claim inside a twin kit. It is still not a reason to loosen a hub nut. Use a wrench when the fastener takes a socket. A combi drill, with a clutch and a jaw chuck, replaces neither impact tool.
DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N

Testsieger

DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N
9.4/10about £59.95
View offer

Wheel nuts

The last tightness on a wheel is the figure in the vehicle handbook, applied with a torque wrench, not an impact setting you hold until the gun stalls. A wrench can crack a nut free. It is the wrong instrument for the final clamp load. Even the 285 Nm INGCO driver claim is not a wheel gun. Six raw files were removed before this table was built: 1/2 inch wrenches, or in one case a 3/8 inch drill, with stated figures roughly from 800 Nm to 1500 Nm. Those numbers are deleted listing claims, not a torque for your car. This page does not tell you how to jack a car.

Titles on amazon.co.uk

Sellers put impact driver on tools whose anvil is a 1/2 inch square. If the bullet says 1/2 inch or a socket set, you are looking at a wrench. If it says 1/4 inch hex and screwdriver bits, you are looking at a driver. One kept DeWalt included line says impact wrench while the nose is a 6.35 mm hex, so the part number and the nose still have to agree. Home DIY sits outside HSE employment thresholds of 80, 85, and 87 dB(A). Hearing protection still belongs on a long session. When the job is screws, use the cordless impact driver buying guide.

Common questions

What is the physical difference?
The driver ends in a 6.35 mm hex collet for bits. The wrench ends in a square anvil, commonly 1/2 inch, for sockets. Both add blows when a fastener sticks. MakerUK’s editorial bands are about 100–250 Nm for a driver and about 300–700 Nm for a wrench, with the wrench usually heavier. Those figures are a guide, not a lab result for one amazon.co.uk listing. If the nose in your hand is a hex, you have a driver.
Can I put a socket adapter on a driver and change a wheel?
You can buy the adapter. You should not treat it as a wheel tool. It wastes torque, the collet is not a 1/2 inch anvil, and you still finish the studs to the vehicle figure with a torque wrench. A stated 285 Nm on a driver listing does not change that. If the nuts are rusted, use a wrench or a breaker bar, then the torque wrench. This page does not set out how to jack a car.
Why did a 1/2 inch tool appear in an impact-driver search?
Because titles say impact driver on square-drive wrenches. Six files of that kind, plus one drill, were removed from this comparison. Their stated figures sat roughly between 800 Nm and 1500 Nm, which are deleted listing claims, not a torque to demand. One title used both wrench and driver. The 1/2 inch drive decided it. Read the anvil on the bullet, not the first two words of the title.
Will a 285 Nm driver loosen a rusted hub nut?
Do not plan on it. The 285 Nm figure is the INGCO driver claim in this set, on a tool whose hex size is not printed, beside a separate drill. A hub nut is a socket job for a wrench, and the final tightness is still the vehicle torque. A hex driver can round the fastener or snap a bit before the nut moves. If the nut is structural or seized hard, a garage is the safer call.
Do I still need a torque wrench after an impact wrench?
Yes, whenever the joint has a specified figure. The impact wrench runs the nut down. The torque wrench sets the clamp load the vehicle maker published. You cannot feel that figure accurately from an impact setting. The same finish applies if you cracked the nut free with a breaker bar. Wheel nuts and suspension bolts end on the torque wrench, not on the gun.

Related pages

Impact driver for decking

Cordless impact driver

Best cordless impact driver UK by the packs you own

Cordless impact driver buying guide: nose and basket

How to use an impact driver: bits, recess, trigger

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the six amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. HSE vibration and noise duties apply at work. They are not a certificate that a cordless driver is quiet, and they do not set a home DIY dose.

  1. HSE, vibration duties (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE, noise duties (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. HSE RR1182, battery tools (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, UKCA and CE marking (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. DeWalt UK, DCF887 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. DCF887 manual (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. BuildWiz, impact driver (retrieved 19 October 2026)