14 Best Drill Press Reviews 2021: Which One Should You Get?

1. Shop Fox W1668 ¾ Horsepower 13 inch Benchtop Drill Press

This is one of the bigger, badder bench-top models out there, and the best of the bunch.

It has the highest variation in available speed: all the way down to 250 RPM and up to 3050 RPM. The extra horsepower (3/4 HP) largely goes into making sure it can maintain that 3050 RPM even when drilling through tough or thick (or both) materials.

It has the largest workspace of the bench top models we’ve looked at, a 12 and ¾ inch diameter circle. Its vertical space is also the largest we’ve seen, as its table tilts a full 90 degrees to either side: allowing you to use the base itself as a table instead and fit larger pieces in.

While it lacks most of the bells and whistles of other models we’ve looked at (like laser precision, LED readouts, “crow’s nests”, and other such things) it has the highest raw performance, which is mostly what I’m concerned within a power tool. This makes the Shop Fox W1668, in my opinion, the best bench top model around with one caveat: it fits what you’re willing to pay.

At a bit over $400, it’s nearly double the price of the Wen 4214, which is in itself a great piece of machinery. While the Shop Fox is unequivocally better, it may be hard for some to justify the price, particularly as an entry-level model.

2. Wen 4210T With laser (10 inches) Benchtop Drill Press

While definitely not the most powerful drill press on the planet, Wen 4210T makes a great intro tool for the DIYer and wood or metal working for hobby crowd.

It boasts 2/3 horsepower and extreme precision, with an X laser guide painting exactly where the drill is going to go, and a beveled work table. The worktable can shift up to 45 degrees to the left or right (with precise measurements on either side, accurate to the degree), which is a great help for those awkward holes that need drilling, or for curved pieces.

The precision capabilities mount, as it also has an adjustable depth gauge, acting as a stopper: you simply set it to how deep you want to drill, and it will stop there. It has a cast iron base and weighs a little over 50 lbs, so you don’t have to worry about it wobbling too much.

The keyed chuck means it’s going to grip your drill bits tight and not let go, which is good because its 5-speed motor goes pretty high (it starts at 600 RPM, and can be adjusted to run at 1100 RPM, 1700 RPM, 2400 RPM, or 3100 RPM).

I find nothing worth mentioning to complain about with Wen 4210T, not even the price. You can get it for under $150, which is great for a tool as reliable as this. It’s not a showstopper, but it’s really good.

3. Skill 3320-01 10 Inch Drill Press, 3.2 Amp Benchtop Drill Press

Similar, but subtly different than our previous entry. Skill 3320-01 has a bit less horsepower than the Wen 4210T (1/2 HP vs 2/3 HP), but not to a degree it hurts much of anything. This results in an ever so slightly lower minimum RPM (570 RPM vs 600 RPM) and almost, but not quite, the same maximum (3050 RPM vs 3100 RPM). This means the performance in that regard is almost exactly the same.

Skill 3320-01 has an X laser guide for precision, and can tilt its work table to 45 degrees left or right, as well as a similar 52 lb weight, keyed chuck, and adjustable depth stop. Even its price is roughly the same.

The main differences are in safety features, one for the user (it’s controlled by a bump switch, allowing for rapid shutoff in case things go awry) and one for the product (a 3-year manufacturer’s warranty). Given these two things and everything else being about the same, I find this one to be the better choice.

4. Wen 4214 12 inches Variable Speed Benchtop Drill Press

The bigger, stronger brother of the Wen 4210T. Just about everything about this Wen 4214 is bigger and better than the 4210T. 5 speeds? Nice, but this bad boy can target any particular speed between 580 RPM and 3200 RPM, with a LED readout to tell you the exact speed at the moment.

A 1/2 inch chuck? Meet 5/8 inch, able to take on larger bits. Even the workspace is bigger, being 9 and ½ inches on either side (as opposed to 7 and 5/8 inches for the others on this list so far), and it has a pull out the roller to extend it another 17 inches if you need it. As you might expect from the overall larger machine, it also weighs 89 lbs too, about 50% heavier than the 4210T, giving it even more stability.

Everything else you might have liked about the 4210T is here as well, from the laser to the overhead work light…the only thing missing is the price. While not exorbitant, this Wen 4214 WILL run you about $100 more than the 4210T, though that’s a sacrifice I feel is well worth it.

5. Dremel 220-01 Rotary Tool Workstation Benchtop Drill Press

This is a good (and very cheap) option. This drill press has a lot of what we’re looking for in a benchtop drill press. It has a decent sized space to work with (16 to 29 inches in height), is adjustable in 15-degree increments (up to 90 degrees), and does have a depth stop.

It also comes with a few nice quality of life additions, such as a “crow’s nest” for storing your drill bits and built-in cord storage. The downsides, however, are that it is very light (only 26 lbs) and its horsepower isn’t much to talk about. This means it’s fairly weak and has a tendency to wobble: two things I specifically pointed out as being undesirable.

However, I feel that for the price these drawbacks can be forgiven. It’s under $50, making it easily one of the cheapest drill presses on the market, and is still a good tool for many peoples’ uses. Avoid for any heavy duty work, but if you just need a cheap drill press for small projects, the downsides can be ignored or worked around (by clamping the press itself to the tabletop more firmly, for example).

1. WEN 4227 13 Amp 12-Speed Floor Standing Drill Press

An even bigger, even better Wen. The claim to fame for Wen 4227 is its extra long stroke. While the power (280 RPm to 3300 RPM) is nothing to sneeze at, and everything else we’ve come to expect from Wen is still there (X laser guide, workshop light, large 12 inch square worktable, etc.) the 4 and ¾ inch stroke/spindle travel is the really unique feature.

As mentioned above, 3 and ¼ inch is the usual average for stroke, making this able to drill much deeper holes on a single pass than most other drill presses. That shouldn’t be underestimated on big projects: it’s a huge time saver to not have to pull up and come back in.

You can’t even really complain about the price: around $700 is not bad for the kind of power and precision this drill press can provide.

2. JET 354170/JDP-20MF 20-Inch Floor Drill Press

JET 354170 JDP-20MF is the most powerful we’ve looked at today. It’s a bit of a monster: 1.5 horsepower and a range from 150 RPM to 4200 RPM (a much larger range than before). It boasts being able to drill through 1 inch of cast iron, or ¾ inches of mild steel with ease.

Like the Wen, it has 4 and ¾ inches of stroke/spindle travel as well, handily beating it out there.

Even my two gripes from the Jet 2500 are gone: It weighs 325 lbs (it’s not moving once you get it sat down) and has an 18 and ½ inch by 16-inch table, fixing the odd “much wider than it is long” issue I had with 2500.

The only issue is the price: around $1100, but even that can be forgiven for how much power it brings to the table.

3. JET J-2500 15-Inch 3/4-Horsepower 115-Volt Floor Model Drill Press

This is a great machine with a few small issues. It has much to be desired in its power and precision, but a couple of minor flaws that may hold it back.

It’s a ¾ horsepower drill press with a huge 16-speed variable range (from 200 RPM to 3630 RPM, the highest we’ve seen so far). It has the precision depth stop and 45-degree tilt that is mostly standard, along with a pretty solid cast iron and steel construction.

The table is satisfyingly large (11 x 19 and ½ inches) and can hold up to 44 lbs of weight.

The only issue is the weight of the machine itself, a fairly light 167 lbs (odd, given it has a cast iron head and steel body). Given the power of the machine, this is just a little too light, though could be offset by the heavy weight you can put on the table.

Another small problem is the table size. It’s much wider than it is long, making it awkward for some projects. In my experience, I usually have more issue with using long pieces of wood than wide ones, which would make this less desirable for my purposes.

Still, even given those minor gripes, it’s a great drill press, and still within a reasonable price range of under $750.

4. Shop Fox W1848 Oscillating Floor Drill Press

While Shop Fox W1848 has a lower horsepower than the Klutch (3/4 HP), it has a better range of RPM (250 RPM to 3050 RPM) on a 12-speed setting. The table is a 12 and 3/8 inch diameter circle, and similar to the bench top W1668 can rotate up to 90 degrees left or right, effectively increasing your usable area for large pieces.

Perhaps even better, Shop Fox W1848 is easily converted to a sander and has an oscillating spindle to make it even better at that job than a normally converted drill press.

The extra weight (180 lbs) and 2-year manufacturer’s warranty are the icings on the cake. If you have an extra $100 to spend, definitely choose this over the Klutch for the improved sanding function alone.

5. Klutch 49384 14 inch Floor Model Drill Press

Consider this your baseline for floor model presses. It has about average stats in every regard. A relatively standard 1 horsepower, a 5/8 inch chuck an 11 and 3/8 inch square work table, 340 to 2860 RPM and an included overhead light. It weighs 165 lbs…which is actually a little bit on the low end for a floor model, so be aware of that.

While this one won’t blow your socks off, it’s still a good, relatively cheap (around $400, the low end for a floor model drill press) drill press that will get the job done for you.

If you’re a hobbyist on a budget, and you have space, this isn’t a purchase you’ll regret, though if you have a higher budget, there are better drill presses to spend your money on in both categories.

Best Cheap Drill Press (under $100): Dremel 220-01

As I’ve said before, I love Dremel 220-01 primarily because it’s an all-in-one tool. Assuming you have a very small budget, buying something that does JUST one thing isn’t a great idea. Instead, buy a tool that works okay for what you need it to for now, and can be easily converted to smaller purchases whenever you need something new.

This is that product: the drill press you can use as a saw, or sharpener, or whatever else you need at the time so you don’t feel so bad about dropping $500 on something you’re only going to use a few times a year.

It’s not the best drill press, but it’s the best multi-tool, and it’s not a bad drill press either. For the price (under $50), you can’t do better.

Best Drill Press Under $200: Wen 4210T

Wen is a great brand and has a good drill press for pretty much any price range. The Wen 4210T is very cheap, but can often compete with the big boys in a pinch. Its small size means getting larger jobs done will be awkward or (rarely) impossible but it has the power of some floor models (a max RPM of 3200) even if it lacks the granularity (only having 5 speeds).

If you need a dedicated drill press and are willing to spend just a little more for much-increased performance, you can’t go wrong with the Wen 4210T.

Best Drill Press Under $300: Wen 4214

If you have a somewhat higher budget, the 4214 is just all around better than the Wen 4210T. It has increased performance in every regard, well worth the $100 increase in price.

The laser guide remains one of my favorite features and the lack of which is one of the primary factors that excluded the Skil 3320 or Ryobi ZRDP103L from taking the 4210T’s spot. A similar principle applies here; as much as I like the Shop Fox models, all of them lack the laser guide, and to me weren’t worth paying the extra money for the bit of extra power and sanding capability.

The Wen 4214 is one of the better benchtop models out there (and what I ended up buying), so I definitely recommend you check it out.

Best Drill Press Under $500: Shop Fox W1668

That said, if you DO need that little bit of extra power and the improved sanding capability, this Shop Fox is something you shouldn’t overlook. There’s always a use for a good sander, and if you’re willing to overlook the lack of a precision guide, it’s hard to argue with the power and performance of this model.

If you have around $400 to drop on a drill press, you could do a lot worse than this.

Best Drill Press Under $1000: Wen 4227

Did you really expect anything else? While there are better drill presses out there, there aren’t really any so MUCH better than they fully outweigh the $300 to $400 price difference between them. If I’d had space (and the need for a larger machine) I definitely would have bought Wen 4227 over the Wen 4214.

It’s hard to recommend this one enough. It’s an excellent drill press, with every feature you could want besides very niche functions like a radial head.

If you have the money to spend and don’t need a big industrial machine – or aren’t working mostly with metal; this one REALLY shines on wood even though it does pretty good with metal – I can’t recommend this enough.

It’s big, heavy, and takes up a bit of space, but the same could be said of all floor models. As long as you don’t feel too cramped with it, it’s hard to do better.

The 3 Best Drill Presses For Woodworking

My picks for this category are three familiar faces: the Wen 4214, the Skil 3320-01, and the Wen 4227.

All three are good for what they do, and generally, I feel a bench top model is enough for most woodworking projects. The Wen 4227 is here for the occasions it’s not.

All three boast power and precision sufficient for most woodworking jobs, the bench-top models able to power through most types of wood to a reasonable thickness with ease, and with a bit of effort for the tougher jobs.

The Wen 4227 on the other hand, is there for the really big jobs. The longer stroke makes it perfect for drilling through hard, thick chunks of wood like oak or maple and the power can’t be argued with.

While any drill press is a good choice for woodworking, it’s hard to argue any other of the three on this list being better than one of these three for the combination of price, power, and precision they provide.
The laser cutting guide on all three alone makes them worth it, as utterly ruining a piece of wood is far easier than ruining a sheet of metal.

Drilling in the wrong place on wood not only leaves you with a useless hole but can crack the entire length of the wood if you hit the exact right (or wrong, in this case) part of the grain.

For that reason, these three receive my woodworking seal of approval.

The 3 Best Drill Presses For Metalworking

For metalworking, I value power and usable area a bit more. Precision is still monumentally important, of course, but it takes a little extra to power through metal than it does to get through even most hardwoods.

The Wen 4227, Jet 354170/JDP-20MF, and Jet 2500 have this power. While I did complain a little bit about the Jet 2500’s lack of weight and weird table dimensions, it’s still a great machine, and its weight problems mostly disappear once you’ve weighed down the machine even more with whatever happens to be on the table.

Still, its show is admittedly stolen by the power couple of the 4227 and Jet 354170/JDP-20MF. Both vastly outperform it in every way. Still, the three together provide an excellent price spectrum of good metalworking tools.

The Jet 2500 may be weaker, but its performance is still admirable and easily made up for by the cheap price. The Wen 4227 is a little more expensive, but provides far more precision and utility (being able to easily drill both wood and metal), with the Jet 354170/JDP-20MF rounding things out as the most expensive but easily most powerful.

You can’t go wrong with any of the three.

Best Small Drill Press

Dremel 220-01 Rotary Tool Workstation

The Dremel 220-01 takes the prize here, as you might expect. While researching I found a lot of small drill presses, but frankly, most of them aren’t worth using. The Dremel sits at around the minimum of what I’d say is a viable work tool, while being light enough to still call “small” (while benchtop models are definitely SMALLER than floor models, many still take up quite a bit of space and weigh 50 or more lbs).

While the Dremel isn’t what I’d call a powerhouse, it’s not exactly a slouch either. It has quite a bit of power for such a tiny, light package. Something I glossed over before with the Dremel is that it’s a very modular tool. It has a variety of compatible attachments, which I feel makes up for its deficiency in power.

While its lightweight nature makes it somewhat undesirable as a drill press alone, it makes it very desirable as a portable “emergency tool” you can lend out to friends or keep in your car (especially since it doubles as tool storage) and have a variety of attachments you cart around to do odd jobs around a large property or for a friend in need.

Being able to convert it into a tool sharpener, router, mini saw, and other things on the fly make it a great all-around tool even if it’s not the best drill press specifically.

Ironically, while it wouldn’t be my first recommendation to anyone looking specifically for a drill press, of the items on this list the Dremel 220-01 Rotary Work Station IS probably my favorite item on this list and would make it near the top of a list of “Best versatile power tools” in my book.

Best Radial Drill Press

While radial drill presses are interesting, none of them were quite good enough to make it onto the main list. The unique thing about radial drill presses is that the head can be tilted in addition to the table, giving you far more flexibility in the angle you can drill.

Unfortunately, in the realm of consumer radial drill presses, they are simply not as good as using a normal drill press and getting a bit creative on the rare occasions a radial drill press may have helped. They tend to have more flex (and therefore less accuracy) and on most occasions serve the same purpose as a normal drill press: drilling straight down (or onto a tilted table).

With these drawbacks in mind, no radial drill presses passed the muster for my top 5 lists. However, that isn’t to say that all of them were horrible and useless. If you really need a radial drill press, I do have one for you:

SHOP FOX W1669 1/2-Horsepower Benchtop Radial Drill Press

This Shop Fox can serve your needs.

This Shop Fox W1669 is a ½ horsepower, 5 speed (550 RPM to 3470 RPM) machine with a 9 and ¾ inch circular table. Much like the other Shop Fox drill presses we’ve looked at, its roundtable can tilt up to 90 degrees in either direction in addition to its head being able to tilt 45 degrees clockwise, or 90 degrees counter-clockwise.

I won’t lie, this isn’t an impressive machine in raw stats compared to most we’ve looked at. It’s not terrible by any means but is remarkable ONLY for the fact that it’s a radial drill press. For that privilege, it will run you a bit over $300, a little under $100 less than the significantly more powerful Shop Fox W1668 from earlier.

I suggest buying this only if you absolutely need the radial functionality (in other words, you regularly work with very awkwardly shaped wood), and suggest purchasing it as a supplement or secondary tool to a better drill press rather than as your main tool.

Best Magnetic Drill Press

Magnetic Drill Presses are interesting. I didn’t put one on the normal list not out of thinking they are bad (on the contrary, they are usually very good, powerful drills) but because their purpose is so very niche.

Magnetic drills (or “mag drills”) are usually used to drill holes in pre-existing metallic structures, like the struts of finished buildings. They are essentially just big electromagnets with a drill attached: clamp it to the surface you want to drill, turn it on, and let it work its magic.

They also often double as cutters, and my pick for best mag drill is no exception:

DEWALT DWE1622K 2-Speed Magnetic Drill Press

It’s not much for finesse, and it’s not exactly lightweight, but it does the job admirably. This is a roughly 48 lb machine…but it kind of has to be if you want it to perform its intended purpose of attaching itself to a steel bar and cutting a large hole (up to 4 inches deep and 2 inches in diameter) in it.

It has two speeds, a quick change keyed chuck (1/2 inch bits) and its own attached coolant tank (which can also magnetically attach next to where the drill is, for easy use).

I like this thing, but have a hard time recommending it to everyone. It’s a niche tool, and expensive for how often you’re likely to use it (i.e. not very, for most people) at close to $800.

If you really need to buy a mag drill for some specialized work though, I wholeheartedly recommend it. It works great for what it is.

Delta Reviews: Delta 18-900L 18-Inch Laser Drill Press

On the surface, this seems like a great drill press, and at first, was going to be on my top picks for floor model drill presses.

Statistically, Delta 18-900L seems great. It has the longest stroke we’ve seen so far (6 inches, a full 1 and ¼ inches more than the next runner-up), a ¾ horsepower motor with 16 speeds, a laser crosshair, and a precision depth stop. It has a workstation light, and a 5-year warranty, other nice additions.

Unfortunately, what it also has is issues with quality control. Users report many issues with parts breaking down or bending after initial (and fairly gentle) use. All attempts to report them to customer service and make use of that warranty are met with claims that the breakage was due to user error, and therefore not covered.

This is bad enough for a relatively cheap machine, but Delta 18-900L drill press can run you near to $1400, and I cannot even NEARLY justify suggesting something that expensive when it seems to be a crapshoot as to whether it will properly function or not.

Should the manufacturing and quality control issues ever be ironed out, this would shoot to the top of my list for floor models, but until such a point, I cannot conscience recommending this machine to any prospective buyer.

Ryobi Reviews: Ryobi ZRDP103L 10 in. Drill Press with Laser

Ryobi is actually one of my favorite brands for consumer power tools. Partly because most of their batteries are interchangeable, meaning every time I buy a drill, or a weed whacker, or a portable power saw or what have you I get a new battery I can use in any of them, which is nice.

Their products also tend to be pretty high quality in general, and Ryobi ZRDP103L is no exception. It’s very cheap (less than $150) and has a pretty solid range of speeds (620 RPM to 3100 RPM). It has a nice tilting table (45 degrees either direction as standard), a LED workstation light, and has a good amount of heft (54 lbs).

The issue is sort of where Ryobi ZRDP103L falls in relation to others in the same price, power, and size range. I gave the Dremel a spot in bench top models for its modularity as a tool, and it simply didn’t compete with any other model on the list besides the Dremel, which performs almost as well as a drill press, while serving other purposes as well (and being about a third of the price).

If you just want a cheap, good drill press, there are much WORSE picks than this Ryobi model, as it’s still slightly cheaper than the somewhat comparable Wen 4210, but spending the extra $30 or so for better performance is pretty much a no-brainer for me. Sorry, Ryobi.

Wen Reviews: Wen 4227 13 Amp 12-Speed Floor Standing Drill Press

As you might expect from it being on this list three times now, I like this model. It sits in the perfect conjunction of price and performance to me, and if I ever need a floor model this will probably be the one I buy. The other Wen models are exceptional in their own way as well, particularly the 4210 (one of my picks for the best benchtop models), but overall the 4227 blows them out of the water (though that is to be expected; it is Wen’s most expensive model).

There’s not much more I can say about this one I have already. It works great, it looks pretty good and has all the extra features you could really want in a drill press.

Jet Reviews: Jet 354170/JDP-20MF 20-Inch Floor Drill Press

Before I started researching drill presses, I’d never actually heard of Jet before. They make all manner of heavy duty power tools apparently, but manual labor has never really been my thing, as much as I like DIY projects. Now though, I have a healthy respect for Jet, as they have made what is a strong contender for the best product on this list, out of some stiff competition.

Their drill presses are largely “no frills”, without fancy LED readouts or automatic digital swapping of speeds (you actually have to manually shift the belts on the interior of this one to raise or lower the speed), but it’s hard to argue with the results: a powerful, sturdy machine that works hard.

It might not be fancy, but it’s powerful.

Skil Reviews: Skill 3320-01 10 Inch Drill Press, 3.2 Amp

Skil is a well-known consumer power tool brand, for good reason. While I rarely think their stuff is the absolute best available, they generally have a great ratio of value to performance that endears them to me.

This drill press is no exception: it’s not THE best, but it’s one of them. It has a quite reasonable price for its level of performance, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to any hobbyist or DIY enthusiast on a budget. It sits in an interesting price range, around the same as the above Ryobi, but unlike that one, I feel it performs well enough on its own to justify not comparing it to the Dremel as its only competition in performance.

Wen 4227 13 Amp 12-Speed Floor Standing Drill Press

My overall pick for the best drill press is, as you might expect, the Wen 4227. For specific purposes like heavy metalworking I’d suggest the Jet 354170/JDP-20MF, or if you need a modular tool DEFINITELY get the Dremel 220-01, but for the intersection of price and function, Wen is overall the best brand for drill presses, and the 4227 is the best Wen brand drill press.

All of the drill presses on this list have their own uses to recommend them (particularly Shop Fox’s sanding capability and of course the Dremel) but it’s hard to do better than any of the Wen models on this list for any given price range, as their performance exceeds expectations in most regards, and any deficiencies can be forgiven by their being much, much cheaper than similarly powerful competition that edges them out in a few categories.

Unless you need maximum power (which is the Jet 354170/JDP-20MF) and the cost isn’t an issue, the Wen 4227 handily beats all its competition.