18Volt vs 20Volt Max Battery | Which One Performs Better?

People are running behind the power to match the step with this fast-paced world. Less-powered tools and machines seem like a curse to professionals and enthusiasts. Keeping this in mind, manufacturers have come up with a substantial number of batteries on the market in the past few years. Well, 18-volt batteries were dominating the industry until the 20-volt came to the field. However, a lot of tool users get confused about choosing between 18-volt and 20-volt.

Plus, some people are hardly convinced that 20-volt batteries are more powerful than 18-volt batteries. So, the debate between 18-volt vs. 20-volt max batteries will continue to go on until you get a clear explanation of them. However, from pro tool users to DIY enthusiasts, everyone admires that there’s no difference between an 18-volt and a 20-volt battery. So in this article, we will explain why 20-volt and 18-volt batteries do not have many differences and impacts on your job site. 

Inside Of The Batteries

So, it only depends on the manufacturer what they are using, nominal voltage or maximum voltage. Meaning both 18-volt and 20-volt max battery systems operate with the same amount of voltage for every task. 

Impact Of Speeds 

To get a fair result on the speed, we need to discuss a specific segment where these batteries are being used. Let’s first pick drilling for example where users need maximum RPM to get the job done quickly. So in the case of drilling, many users think that 20-volt max batteries are more powerful than 18-volt ones because the 20-volt batteries provide more speed. However, in the real world, you will realize that the difference in speeds does not matter that much because, ultimately, you will need almost the same amount of time to complete your task.

Furthermore, as the cordless drills are designed to minimize the rotation speed of bits during tasks, the extra rotation speed of 20-volt batteries doesn’t even matter during use. So, it means a 20-volt max battery can’t get tasks done more quickly than an 18-volt battery.

Overall Battery Performance

So if you have a task that requires you to move around with your tool kit, then the lighter 18-volt battery will definitely be the better option to go with. To be more specific, this is the one particular factor that differentiates these batteries. And the decision is totally up to you, which you prefer the most, power or convenience. 

Marketing

Now let’s talk about some of the most interesting points: the marketing of a product or system. As users are fond of upgrading their tools to get enriched workflow, companies advertise their latest product by comparing it to their last upgraded ones. This gives people the advantage of getting convinced and buying the product. Enthusiasts say that the debate between 20-volt max and 18-volt batteries is all about a marketing tactic. 

Final Verdict:

After clearing all the consequences, it can be concluded that even though both the 18-volt and 20-volt max systems have some technical differences, they both operate with the same voltage and energy. Meanwhile, the voltage and efficiency of each battery cell do vary from brand to brand, which is pretty much considerable. So before making any purchase, we recommend you get the proper view on both of the battery systems and then decide which one of these batteries is a suitable option for you.