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Bosch's professional-grade 18V line, extended by the AMPShare alliance to select tools from other participating brands.
The current Craftsman battery platform since 2018 — distinct from an older, incompatible "Craftsman 20V" line briefly sold by Sears the same year.
DeWalt's core cordless platform. FlexVolt batteries bridge it with the separate 60V MAX line, so one battery family can cover both.
An 18V platform (36V with two batteries) that Makita describes as the world's largest compatible 18V slide-style battery system.
Milwaukee's primary heavy-duty platform, built for higher torque and longer runtime than the compact M12 line — the two never cross over.
RIDGID's 18V platform with a distinctive perk: register a battery or tool within 90 days and it's covered by a free-for-life parts and service…
An 18V platform with roughly three decades of maintained backward compatibility, covering everything from drills to lawn and garden equipment.
The cheapest bare tool can end up expensive over time. That's why we look at the whole platform.
We don't recommend risky adapters, and we clearly separate similarly named platforms.
Manufacturer sources & manualsTools, batteries and chargers are counted together — instead of advertising a single loss-leader price.
Transparent cost modelNo product links, no commissions. Ads are kept separate from the editorial comparison and never change our sources or ratings.
Editorial rules stay the sameEstimate the starting cost for tools, batteries and a charger. For a fair comparison, count the whole platform — not just the first tool.
Estimating for — adjust the numbers below to match real prices you find.
SKIL PWRCORE 12 and PWRCORE 20 batteries work within their own voltage platforms; only…
↗No. DeWalt and Kobalt batteries use separate platforms. Compare 20V MAX, FlexVolt and Kobalt…
↗BLACK+DECKER 20V MAX POWERCONNECT batteries and chargers work within the BLACK+DECKER ecosystem; DeWalt 20V…
↗Kobalt 24V Max batteries and chargers work across the Kobalt 24V Max platform, but…
↗Craftsman and Black+Decker share Stanley Black & Decker ownership and even identical 18V-nominal voltage…
↗DeWalt and Porter-Cable share a parent company, Stanley Black & Decker, but neither brand's…
↗DeWalt and Black+Decker share a parent company, Stanley Black & Decker, but neither brand's…
↗Bauer is Harbor Freight's own house brand, not a DeWalt-related company. Here's what each…
↗DeWalt and Makita are unrelated companies with no shared ownership angle to untangle —…