These Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Ryobi batteries all say 5Ah, but one costs way more

Summary

Walk around Home Depot’s battery aisle, and three packs share one peg. All three read 18V. Two carry a 5Ah stamp. You’d expect the third to match. It doesn’t even try. Ryobi never put a 5Ah pack on US shelves, and that missing number is your first hint that the figure on the front sells the battery more than it measures it. Check the receipts and the gap gets loud: about $60 f or t h e R yo bi, ro ug h l y$ 110 for the DeWalt, close to 169 a pack at regular price. DeWalt’s 5Ah lands near $110 o n ceyo u s pl i tt h eco mm o n tw o - p a c k . T ha t^{'} s a w i d e g a p f or tw o ba tt er i es w e a r in g t h es am er a t in g, an d i t i s n^{'} t r an d o m . S o m eo f t h e p re mi u mi s t h e p a c kb u i l d . M i lw a u k e e^{'} s R e d L i t hi u m co n s t r u c t i o nan d RE D L I N Ke l ec t ro ni cs a re t u n e df or h e a t an d h e a v yco n t in u o u s d r a w, t h e kin d a pl u mb erore l ec t r i c ian l o a d so n t o a p a c ka ll d a y . S o m eo f i t i s t h e w a rr an t y an d t h eser v i ce n e tw or k, b o t haim e d a tt h e p ro b u yer . A n d so m eo f i t i s pl ain p os i t i o nin g . M i lw a u k ees i t s a t Ho m eDe p o t a s t h e t r a d es ma n^{'} s b r an d, so i t r a re l yr u n s t h e tw o - p a c kb l o w o u t sDe Wa lt an d R yo bi cyc l e t h ro ug hm os t m o n t h s . Y o u p a yc l oser t os t i c k er b ec a u se t h e d i sco u n t s d o n^{'} t co m e a so f t e n . T hi s 5 A hi s n oe x o t i c t o p - t i erce ll, e i t h er . A tt hi sc a p a c i t y, m os t o f w ha t se p a r a t es i t f ro m t h eDe Wa lt i s t h e ba d g e, t h eco v er a g e, an d t h eser v i ce, n o tt h ec h e mi s t ry . Wha t s i t s in s i d e a p a c k d r i v es i t s p r i ce m ore t han t h e l ab e l d oes, a l esso n I [l e a r n e d t h e ha r d w a y w i t h c h e a p o ff - b r an d ba tt er i es] (h ttp s : // www . mak e u seo f . co m / s t o p - b u y in g - c h e a p - ryo bi - ba tt er i es /) . Wh ere R yo b i^{'} s mi ss in g 5 A h s t o p s ma tt er in g A 4.0 A h p a c ka t ab o u t$ 15 an amp-hour covers most home jobs The US ONE+ lineup jumps straight from 4.0Ah to 6.0Ah, no 5 in the middle. The closest match on the peg is the 4.0Ah, about $60 a p a c kina tw o - p a c k . Do t h e d i v i s i o nan d t ha t^{'} s ab o u t$ 15 an amp-hour. Milwaukee’s 5Ah sits near $34 anam p - h o u r . Y o u^{'} re p a y in g m ore t han d o u b l e p er u ni t o f s t ore d e n er g y f or t h e M 18. T h e h o n es t c a v e a t : a 4.0 A h R yo bih o l d s ab o u t 72 w a tt - h o u rs a g ain s t 90 f or t h e 5 A h r i v a l s, so i t r u n ss h or t er b e tw ee n s w a p s . I w o n^{'} tp re t e n d o t h er w i se . B u t I o w nm ore t han 20 ONE + t oo l s, an d t h e p a c k so nm ys h e l f l i v e ina d r i ll, anim p a c t d r i v er, a s an d er, an d anin f l a t or . N o n eo f t h ose h o l d s am o t or u n d ere n o ug h l o a d t o f ee l s t a r v e d b y a 4.0 A h p a c k . Wh e n I w an t m oreo u tp u t f or ab r u s h l ess t oo l, R yo b i^{'} s t e a l 4.0 A h H P a t$ 129 still undercuts a single Milwaukee 5Ah and hands over roughly 30% more current than the green version. For a homeowner, the battery is the real line item anyway, not the bare tool, which is why the pack you standardize on shapes the whole system. two ryobi batteries Ryobi ONE+ 18V Battery

Battery Type(s)
Lithium-Ion
What’s Included
2 Batteries Buy the platform in your garage, not the number on the pack The 5Ah label is a floor, not a promise. It tells you capacity and nothing about output, price, or how the pack holds up on a hot day three hours into a job. Milwaukee charges the most because it’s selling to the person who needs that headroom and the service behind it. DeWalt splits the difference. Ryobi doesn’t field a 5Ah at all and still covers a weekend of projects for a third of the money. Pick by the tools already clipped to your bench and the loads you put on them. Run a pro platform hard and the Milwaukee premium earns its keep. Run a drill and a sander on Saturday, and the cheap pack isn’t a compromise. It’s the right answer.

By Jonathon Jachura

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These Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Ryobi batteries all say 5Ah, but one costs way more

Summary

By Jonathon Jachura

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