Every tried doing DIY with sub-standard tools?
Don’t bother – it’s a disaster. You’ll have to redo all your work.
That’s why it pays to do your homework, and only buy from good well-established brands that you know you can trust.
Every DIY-er knows that Bosch and Makita are two of THE best brands in the business. But with such a large product range in each brand, it makes sense to want to narrow the choice down to just one brand.
So, in this article, we’re going to compare the two, before wrapping up with a conclusion and let you know between Bosch vs. Makita: Which of the Two Brands Is Better? (it’s ok if you want to scroll ahead).
So, without further ado, let’s get down to it.
We’re going to kick this off by giving you the background of the two brands, before looking into the product range, the product quality, and the warranties available.
We’ll then summarize with a section asking which brand is the right one for you.
Background of Bosch and Makita
Bosch is the company with the longest history, having been founded as far back as 1886 in Germany.
And although its start in power tools is more recent, Bosch emerged in the field of power tools as far back as 1932.
In addition to their power tools, they also produce rotary and oscillating tools, power tool accessories, and hand tools.
Makita also has a long history. It was founded in 1915 in Japan. As with Bosch however, its introduction to power tools came a little later, in this instance in 1959. And these days both brands have factories all over the world.
But despite its relatively newer beginnings, Makita currently rivals Bosch in terms of frequenting the retailer’s bestseller lists, and in terms of revenue.
But that’s enough history lesson for one day, let’s move on.
Bosch vs Makita: Who has the best Product Range?
Now, Makita impressed us with its product range, with one of the largest lineups in the power tool industry.
They offer 12V, 18V, 36V, and 7.2 V offerings in a wide spectrum of categories ranging from lawnmowers to radios and planers.
The product range from Bosch is also quite wide in scope, though perhaps not quite as wide as Makita. They do however have a plentiful range of drills, drivers, saws, and such, ranging from 8V through to 36V power tools.
Their best-covered category lies in drills, drivers, and rotary hammers.
Makita is a clear winner here in terms of the scope of product range, even though Bosch’s catalog is very comprehensive. We’ll expand on that further…
Drill Selection
Bosch has a slightly larger selection of drills over Makita, with eight 18V driver drills, against Makita’s five 18V driver drills.
When it comes to the 12V diver drills however the range evens out with each brand offering four of each.
We were quite impressed with Bosch’s latest hammer drill. Not only does it output up to 755 inch-pounds of torque and up to 31,500 BPM, but you can also use it with Bluetooth as part of Bosch’s asset tracking and management system.
Here’s the link to the Bluetooth module: BOSCH GCY42 3.0V Bluetooth Tool Module
Router Selection
Both of these brands sport an impressive catalog of woodworking tools.
This includes the likes of both plunge routers and fixed base routers, as well as plenty of router tables and loads of other routing accessories.
There is a difference between the router offerings of these two brands, however, and that is in the horsepower range. Makita’s starts at 1 horsepower and goes up to 3.25 horsepower.
Whereas Bosch’s range is smaller, staring at 2 horsepower and going up to just 2.5 horsepower.
Bosch vs. Makita: Which Offers Better Quality?
Bosch is very highly regarded in the industry for its product quality and workmanship. Not to mention for its innovation.
Its products are made in a selection of places across the globe, including Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Germany, and Switzerland.
Makita is also highly praised for its product quality, thanks to its top-notch motors, efficient power tools, and its much-loved Star Protection system.
Moreover, their cordless tools have a much longer battery life than a great many of their counterparts. (Probably due to their more efficient motors.)
Like Bosch, Makita also has factories all over the world. Specifically in China, Mexico, Brazil, UK Dubai, USA, Japan, Germany, and Thailand. We can confirm, however, that most of its tools are made in China.
Which brand offers the best warranty and after-sales service?
All Bosch power tools come backed by a 12-month limited warranty.
But that’s not all. They also come complete with a one-year service protection plan. And this is not to be sniffed at.
It covers a great many things free of charge. This includes the likes of free lubrication and replacement of worn parts, not to mention free electrical, safety, and performance checks.
However, getting the tools to the service center will come at a cost to yourself, unless you happen to live right by a service center.
But 12 months is not that long. Especially if you use the tools infrequently. And, unfortunately, there have been a lot of mixed reviews with regards to Bosch’s after-sales support and customer service.
In contrast, Makita’s power tools warranty lasts a whopping 3 years. And it’s a good warranty too.
If your tool fails due to faulty materials or craftsmanship, Makita will either repair it for you or send you a replacement completely free of charge in that 3-year time frame.
But it’s important to note that in both cases Bosch and Makita, the length of the warranty is not a reflection of the product’s lifespan. Their tools almost always outlive the length of the respective warranties.
So, in terms of warranty and after-sales support, we would argue that Makita is the clear winner here.
Which brand do you choose?
Bosch and Makita certainly do have strikingly different background stories, yet today they are pretty much on a par with each other when it comes to their extensive catalogs, excellent workmanship, and of course dominance in the market.
To be honest, you really can’t go wrong with either of them.
However, as we have already referred to, there are many ways in which Makita is a slightly better brand than Bosch. In our view at least.
Makita’s tools have the best motors in the industry. And their cordless power tools have the longest battery life in the industry. They also have a slightly broader product range, giving you more options to choose from.
And then, of course, there’s the warranties and after-sales service. Makita hands-down beats Bosch on this one. Three years is way better than a mere one year.
And although there’s a lot to be said for Bosch’s one-year protection plan, that’s only going to be of interest to you if you can easily get to a Bosch service center.
In terms of price, both brands present their products at a fair and reasonable price, and neither is really any more affordable than the other.
So, though they’re both great brands, In comparing Bosch vs. Makita: Which of the Two Brands Is Better? Makita has the edge over Bosch.
Where to find tools from Bosch and Makita?
Check out these links to the online shops for Bosch and Makita.