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Impact driver buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have long timber screws, a Saturday fence repair, and an amazon.co.uk title that may say driver, wrench, or both. This impact driver buying guide is the check before a brand name does the choosing: a hex nose, a battery in the box or already on your shelf, and a torque figure for screws rather than a wheel nut. The four listings are in the [impact driver comparison](/hub/tools/impact-driver). Peter F., DIY & tools editor, read those amazon.co.uk pages and public UK guides on 22 October 2026. There was no laboratory test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have long timber screws, a Saturday fence repair, and an amazon.co.uk title that may say driver, wrench, or both.

Our top picks

DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N

Best overall

DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N
9.4/10about £59.95
View offer
Einhell Einhell TE-CI 18/1 Li

Alternative

Einhell Einhell TE-CI 18/1 Li
9.2/10about £50.39
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.What you are actually buying
  2. 2.Battery before the bare-tool price
  3. 3.Listed torque and control
  4. 4.Bits, mass and the plug
  5. 5.Questions before you add it to the basket

What you are actually buying

The tool has a 6.35 mm hex collet, also called 1/4 inch. It spins under a light load, then adds short rotational blows once the screw bites. It will not bore masonry. If the other tab is a drill, read impact driver vs combi drill before you pay. A 1/2 inch square drive is a different machine. Homebuilding puts typical drivers around 200–300 Nm and wrenches around 400–1,000 Nm. These four claim 100–210 Nm. Wrench wording is on impact driver vs impact wrench.

Battery before the bare-tool price

Only Galax Pro states a battery in the box: a 1.3 Ah pack, a charger and six bits, at about £42.83. Einhell at about £50.39, DeWalt at about £59.95 and Bosch at about £78.90 are bare. A bare price wins on the sticker only if that pack is already yours. A 1.3 Ah pack is a short reserve. The packs do not cross brands. One Bosch reviewer could not run that body from a Bosch drill battery they already owned. Brushless is in the DeWalt title and the Bosch bullets. Galax Pro and Einhell leave it unstated.
DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N

Testsieger

DeWalt DeWalt DCF887N
9.4/10about £59.95
View offer

Listed torque and control

Galax Pro prints 100 Nm, Einhell 140 Nm, DeWalt 205 Nm and Bosch 210 Nm. A second DeWalt field says 200 Nm and is not reconciled. The 100 Nm and 140 Nm claims sit under Homebuilding's 200–300 Nm driver band. They can still drive chipboard screws, and they are the weaker choice for a day of 80 mm hardwood screws. None of the four lists a clutch. DeWalt lists three speeds, Bosch two settings, Einhell one speed at 2,300 rpm, and Galax Pro a variable trigger to 2,800 rpm. You stop when the head seats.

Bits, mass and the plug

Use impact-rated 1/4 inch hex bits. Screwfix says a normal bit is likely to shatter. Only Galax Pro includes bits, six of them. An Erbauer mixed set on Screwfix was £9.99. Seating the bit is on how to use an impact driver. Bosch is listed at 990 g, Einhell at 1.17 kg, Galax Pro at 1.5 kg, and DeWalt at 1 kg or 1.24 kg. Report 2511-0084 stopped a drill charger whose plug missed BS 1363, so check for a fused UK three-pin plug. These four were not measured, and they give no m/s². The HSE workplace limits are not a running time for these drivers.

Questions before you add it to the basket

The DeWalt part number is DCF887N-XJ and the model field says DCF850NT-XJ, so they are not one SKU. Screwfix lists a DCF887N-XJ at £79.99, a different offer from about £59.95 on amazon.co.uk. The Galax Pro title says 20 V and the voltage field says 240 V. Bosch does not state a chuck size. Leave the basket if the box has no battery and you have no matching pack, or if the nose is not a 6.35 mm hex.

Common questions

What should you check before the brand name?
Check the drive, then the battery, then the listed torque, then the bits. You want a 6.35 mm hex collet and a pack that is in the box or already on that slide. These four claim 100–210 Nm. Skipping the nose is how a square-drive gun ends up in the basket.
Is a bare impact driver cheaper than a kit?
Only if you already own the battery and the charger. Galax Pro at about £42.83 includes a 1.3 Ah pack. Einhell at about £50.39, DeWalt at about £59.95 and Bosch at about £78.90 do not. A bare sticker can cost more once the pack is added.
Do DeWalt, Einhell, Bosch and Galax Pro batteries swap?
They do not. A DeWalt 18 V pack will not run the Einhell, Bosch or Galax Pro bodies. One reviewer could not use an existing Bosch drill battery on the Bosch driver here. Match the slide before you treat a bare price as a working tool.
Do you need impact-rated 1/4 inch hex bits?
Yes, if you want the bit to survive the blows. A normal screwdriver bit is likely to shatter. On Screwfix an Erbauer 32-piece mixed impact set was £9.99 including VAT. Only Galax Pro includes bits, and it includes six, so a mixed set is still worth adding.
Does an impact driver include a clutch?
These four do not. DeWalt gives three speeds, Bosch two settings, Einhell one speed, and Galax Pro a variable trigger. You ease off when the screw seats. A clutch that slips on a hinge screw remains a combi-drill control.
Which facts on these listings stay unresolved?
DCF887N-XJ and the model field DCF850NT-XJ are not one code, and Screwfix's £79.99 is not the amazon.co.uk price. Galax Pro's title says 20 V and a field says 240 V. Bosch states no chuck size. This guide does not fill those gaps.

Related pages

Best impact driver

Impact driver

How to use an impact driver without sinking the head

Impact driver vs combi drill: which tool to buy first

Impact driver vs impact wrench: hex bit or square socket

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the four amazon.co.uk listings captured on 21 October 2026. Vibration limits apply at work. They are not a measurement of these drivers.

  1. Screwfix, Impact driver buying guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Screwfix, 18 V impact drivers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. HSE, Hand-arm vibration regulations (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. legislation.gov.uk, Vibration regulation 4 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. HSE, Construction vibration FAQ (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. OPSS, Product safety report 2511-0084 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Homebuilding, Impact driver vs impact wrench (retrieved 21 October 2026)