What drill/driver brand is best?

Ellis,  Perfect time to shop.  The big boxes have promotions on all the brands where you buy some kit and get a tool or two free.  Pretty good deals.

If you think there might be more tools in the future, picking a brand to share the batteries and chargers can save you money.  I started with the Makita with the 9.6V fat handle, then won a Dewalt drill at a woodworking club meeting.  I eventually sold both and switched to Dewalt Lithium Ion.  I have five tools:  12V drill/driver and impact wrench, 20V Atomic drill/driver and impact wrench, and the 20V Atomic multi-tool.  Might add a trim router.  Might add a reciprocating saw.

I think of cordless tools in terms of convenience to use without a cord.  I almost always use my skill saw and jig saw in the shop.  Cords are fine.  Same with the big router.  Sanders too.  Think about what future utility you might want and select from a brand that has cordless candidates.  

Go brushless.  More power and longer life - so they say.  In the Dewalt line, both the Atomic and the XR are brushless.

If you are simply shopping for a drill, I strongly recommend getting the 12V tool from whomever.  Much lighter and more convenient.  It is rare that I reach for the 20V tool - even though it the the compact style.  Its heavier.  The 12V does 90% plus what I need it to do.  I used mine so much over 10 years that I burned out the motor and replaced the motor myself.  (I'm a cheap woodturner, don't you know   ).

I am a DIY everything guy and all my tools are Milwaukee 12V.
The  reps are great, stuff always in stock at local Home Depot.

I have used Bosh 12V, and still have it for getting into tight places.  The old Hitachi is now Meltebo, or something like that.  I was not impressed with their battery life, so I sold them.

I currently have all Dewalt both the 12V and the 20V XR series.  I got started when I found a charger on clearance, then the drill, then the battery got them all for $35.00.  It was the 12V style.  I liked it so much I bought the 20V series also.  That is when the Hitachis went away.

I use the Milwaukee on and off when I help a friend out.  They have plenty of power and a great selection of tools.

If I were to go away from the DeWalt I would not hesitate to buy the Milwaukee sets.

I am sure you know which name you buy stay with that name so your chargers are all the same.

With the black Friday sales going on I would go with the best price on either the Dewalt or Milwaukee.

Been using 18v Li Rigid for 10(?) years (drill + impact).  Had the batteries replaced (no charge) once.  Dropped the drill off a 12' roof so the chuck was usable but not "the same".  Went to see if it gets fixed under life guaranty, but the shipping cost to a very remote fixer wasn't worth it.   Got a new Rigid set (brushless) and couldn't be more pleased with more power, longer battery charge, but a slight bit heavier than the old set.

We switched from DeWalt to Milwaukee at work a few years ago, and have been adding more and more tools to our stable since.  I like them a LOT.  I had killed two 18V DeWalt impact drivers (the impact mechanisms broke) in my first 3 or 4 years.  Have been beating on an 18V Milwaukee since, with no indications it’s wearing out.  The 5Ah battery seems to last forever in it—I don’t use it daily, and might go a couple weeks or a month or more between charges.  I’m more likely to drain a battery with the cordless vac or flashlight.  I once left the flashlight above a drop ceiling overnight by accident—it was still on the next morning.  Also, the impact driver has very good driving torque before it activates the impact mechanism.

And there are sooo many specialty tools available as “tool-only” once you already have enough batteries and chargers.

Side note:  you can buy battery adapters on Amazon to fit just about any major brand of battery to any other major brand of tool.

Jason

For me it has always been handling comfort, and ethics. 

Tails are awkward, but I despise batteries. Even my computer mouse is tethered. Every batteried tool I have owned has been a PITA. They are out of charge, dead, or lost. My son reinforces the animosity, having purchased several sets of non-working watcha-ma-call-ems. The two-year-old mower has one working battery and two dead ones. Naturally, a recharge is required to finish mowing. [I swear it started life with a small excess.] That does nothing for the blower, on the same 'system'--and one of the dead batteries.

I find now that brands don't offer as many tailed tools.

I have 2 sets of Bosch drill/drivers - 12v and 18 v. I am certainly not a heavy user but they've done what I needed them to do. What impresses me is that neither set of batteries self discharges that I can notice. I may go weeks or months between uses and I've never picked one up that had a weak battery.

I own several brands of battery  tool myself (Ridgid, Metabo, Ryobi, Hilti) and have used several others - (Bosch, Dewalt, WEN); likely everything but Milwaukee and Festool.  They all work well for me.  I have an old Ridgid 12V set that has flawlessly driven 4" lag screws in PT lumber for me (not all day of course, but it was up to the task.  Today that is my shop set.  I like other responders like the lighter and compact 12V set for shop and home use, preferring 18V sets for heavy duty tasks (deck work? all day continuous use).  I have bought in to the Ryobi One+ line and these tools (bought on discount as refurbs) have never let me down (several years of full-time use); now I appreciate the broad range of the Ryobi line and have some inflators (tires) and a few power inverters to run things during power outages (i.e. electronics for tankless gas water heater).  My point is that it really depends on your planned usage.

To me the differentiating factors are things like
- the quality of the chuck for a drill; does it grip small bits like you might use in the shop?  Does it stay locked closed or slip open? (yes I have one that slips)
- the location and "aim" of the LED illumination - I gifted my son a 12V Bosch set when they bought a house and I just used that set today.  The LEDs on that were multiple, well placed, and very effective.  Much better than almost all of my older tools.
- is the charger a 'smart' charger? thermal controls? (not sure how you can tell that, but maybe you can)
- size of tool - 18V have recently become more compact, but some slightly older ones are really too large for some shop/cabinet tasks
- are there a variety of drive options (Bosch has a 5 options set of drive heads (I think) - offset, 90 deg, etc).  Useful features if that is what you need.
- Is a hammer drill available?  Useful for the few times you really need it!

I'd be choosing on these characteristics rather than brand - I think pretty much any name brand will work great - and many of the 'off brand' do too.  I have recently briefly used a friend's WEN drill/driver and quite liked it, for example.

3 cents worth of opinion

Henry
producer of sawdust and occasional shavings, and even more rarely a finished project!

If you hurry this is a great deal  
https://www.homedepot.com/p/M12-FUEL-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-Hammer-Drill-and-Impact-Driver-Combo-Kit-w-2-Batteries-and-Bag-2-Tool-3497-22/320268525 
NOTE: This has an extra free battery as part of the promo.

If you are dead set on 18v Makita SubCompact is a great lightweight option. I can't offer an opinion on Milwaukee M18 tools as I have none. I do have offerings from Dewalt, Makita,Bosch,Hilti,and Milwaukee in 12,18 and 20 volt . Some tools are better /worth having multiple battery platforms. Regardless if you are buying new across any platforms brushless is the way to go.  If you like the M12 line the Surge Impact driver is a really great tool,a bit spendier than others,but quiet,light, and great at driving screws,sometimes too great.  
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-FUEL-SURGE-12V-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-1-4-in-Hex-Impact-Driver-Compact-Kit-w-Two-2-0Ah-Batteries-Bag-2551-22/309098738

@ Ellis

What drill driver did Black Friday induce you to say I'll take it?

Elis:
If you have not already purchased a drill/driver, Wood magazine is publishing a shop test of 12V drills (ultra compact cordless) in their March 2024 issue, on sale January 5th.   They've stated that 10 drills will be tested.  I note that several responders to your post favor their 12V drills for their day to day shop work because of their compact size and comfortable weight.  
Paul in Hunt Valley, MD

I bought a used DeWalt 14V drill/Driver set from a fellow woodworker many years ago.  The right angle drill started smelling hot every time I used it and then the batteries  started not holding much of a charge.  I looked at replacing the batteries once more, but for the price of two 14V batteries  I could buy a brand new DeWalt brush less Drill and an Impact tool with two batteries and a charger.  The first time I used the impact tool, I was helping with a handicap ramp build being done by a local church group impressed.  The battery had a noticeably longer life than the same tool with brushes during that build.  In fact, a few of the owners of the tools with brushes wanted to try mine and they were impressed with the speed and power.

Get one that can do this
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1566364324135594

Mike L wrote:

@ Ellis

What drill driver did Black Friday induce you to say I'll take it?

Okay, I decided on this Milwaukee set for a lot of reasons. First, I have one of their reciprocating saws that runs on the same battery, so I'm keeping things in the family, all other things being roughly equal. Second, I decided that I wanted an 18-volt set because I'm used to that voltage. It has the right compromise of power and weight for a lot of the home maintenance projects I'm always embroiled in. Third, I originally looked at the FUEL version, but the drill in that drill-driver kit is a much heavier duty hammer drill and that's not what I wanted.  I considered their 12-volt FUEL set for price and portability, but settled on the 18-v system. I don't think I'll be disappointed. So many drills, so little time. 

Thanks to you all for your suggestions.

Ellis

It will probably be just fine for a long time. I just think after using several, the brushless tools are light-years ahead. For a few bucks more,this has slightly larger batteries,and a small compact profile, and does not appear to be the larger heavy duty hammer drill. As I said earlier I have no real world experience  with the M18 platform. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18V-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-Compact-Drill-Impact-Combo-Kit-2-Tool-w-2-2-0-Ah-Batteries-Charger-Bag-3692-22CT/325403100

I would follow up with the Home Depot sale that gives you two 5 amp hour batterys for $200 plus one tool.  I chose an extra battery.  So 3 5 amp hour batteries for $200.  Not bad....  The bigger batteries last longer.   I did that a while back not sure about the current price.

Glad to see yo got the M18 and M12 charger.  Will make moving to M12 easier.  One charger can do both.