Professional Tool Reviews for Pros
Most of the major professional power tool manufacturers now have some sort of advanced battery system on the market. Of those, only two take on the concept of switching voltages. We’re taking a look at the DeWalt FlexVolt vs Metabo HPT MultiVolt battery to see how they’re similar and what makes them different.
DeWalt was the first to launch its voltage-switching pack back in 2016. DeWalt FlexVolt technology was a huge surprise for us sitting in the room at that launch event.
Since then, only Metabo HPT has decided to follow DeWalt down this path. The MultiVolt battery was announced in 2018 at the same time Hitachi Power Tools announced the name change to Metabo HPT.
When you build a lithium-ion battery pack, you connect individual cells with either series or parallel connections, or a combination of the two. Series connections increase voltage and parallel connections increase amp-hours. Even though you can change the wiring to adjust the voltage or amp-hours, you get the same total watt-hours from those cells.
To make a pack that switches voltage, you need to start with a number of cells that work in both. For example, you can make either an 18V, 5.0Ah battery or 36V, 2.5Ah battery out of the same 10 cells.
To make a pack that switches between 18V and 36V, you can use 10, 20, 30 cells or more, as long as they’re in groups of 10. A pack that switches between 18V and 54V (20V and 60V Max) needs sets of 15 cells.
Once that’s in place, electronic communication between the tool and the battery tells the pack which connections to use to get the right voltage for the tool it’s on.
DeWalt’s FlexVolt system switches between 20V Max and 60V Max (18V and 54V nominal). That requires the battery packs to contain 15 cells. Currently, DeWalt has FlexVolt batteries that run 2Ah/6Ah, 3Ah/9Ah, and 4Ah/12Ah*.
Note: The first number is the amp hours at the higher voltage and the second number is the amp hours at the lower voltage.
Metabo HPT’s MultiVolt system switches between 18V and 36V, meaning its core power source is a smaller 10-cell pack. The initial excitement was around the pack running a 4.0Ah/8.0Ah configuration. More recently, a 2.5Ah/5.0Ah slim pack also made its way to the market.
There are pros and cons to both systems. DeWalt’s FlexVolt is larger and heavier, but it has higher energy capacity in its two larger packs and 60V Max is potentially more powerful than 36V.
Metabo HPT’s MultiVolt is a smaller, lighter pack with a lower capacity than the 3.0/9.0Ah and 4.0/12.0Ah FlexVolt batteries. Its 36V system doesn’t have as much power potential as the 60V Max line.
When you’re running tools such as table saws and miter saws, DeWalt’s higher capacity and power can be a big advantage. DeWalt even has a 15Ah FlexVolt battery on the market.
However, one of the key features of both systems is the ability for these higher voltage packs to also power tools requiring 20V Max or 18V batteries. You might not mind the bulkier FlexVolt battery on reciprocating saws or circular saws, but Metabo HPT’s lower weight and size is a huge plus on some of its drills and impact wrenches, especially with that slim pack.
Both systems have an AC adapter available, but they affect the lineup very differently.
Currently, DeWalt only has a power adapter for one specific tool: the DeWalt FlexVolt 120V miter saw. It runs at (you guessed it) 120V and requires 2 batteries or the Adapter.
All Metabo HPT MultiVolt tools are compatible with its AC adapter.
Neither adapter works on each brand’s 18V or 20V Max tools.
It’s interesting to see how two brands have taken one concept and created two very different systems from it. Choosing which one is best for you really boils down to your personal priorities.
Want higher voltage and capacity? DeWalt FlexVolt is the way to go.
Prefer a smaller footprint, lower weight, and an AC adapter that works with the entire line? Go with Metabo HPT MultiVolt.
Which one do you prefer? Tell us about it in the comments below!
On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.
Milwaukee M12 RedLithium High Output Batteries Make Their Debut In 2018, Milwaukee released the M18 RedLithium High Output batteries, which supported their M18 tool platform with much higher available power. Now, Milwaukee has announced that their M12 batteries will also join the RedLithium High Output lineup, designed to deliver more power and better performance for […]
Never Worry About Your Phone Dying Again With Festool’s Charging Block Few things annoy us more than our phone dying in the middle of the workday. Whether listening to music, making business calls, or covering a trade show—at some point, everyone has had a close call with their phone’s battery life. Festool just released its […]
Consolidate Your Ridgid Battery Charging With One Convenient Device The Ridgid 6-port sequential charger (R86096) works with all Ridgid 18V batteries and offers twice the charging speed of its predecessor. Ridgid lauds the 6-port charger as a major upgrade in its battery charging line. Having reviewed the Ridgid Dual-Port simultaneous charger, we wanted to see […]
If you’re a fan of Ridgid power tools, you may have been hoping for an expansion in battery charger offerings. After all, advanced Max Output battery technology and a new generation of more compact tools have made Ridgid’s 18V lineup better than ever. There are two new offerings to satisfy your craving: a dual-port charger […]
I’ve bought a lot of dewalt tools in the past years, I have 20v XRs for almost every type of tools possible and have many flexvolt 9ah battery packs. I also used to be a big promoter of the brand… Their 300$ batteries (and other quite expensive batteries in their 20v division) do have major flaws as they put themselves in protection mode anytime anything wrong happens with the battery, over discharge, overheat, spark, CHARGER PROBLEMS… the latter happened to me with an original DEWALT fast charger DCB118 and a 9AH battery pack. I had bought the tool kit 9… Read more »
I use the Metabo and the Dewalt. By far the dewalt flex out is the superior performer for battery life. Tool functionality is the same but cutting concrete requires a 60v tool. Period
I’m not a huge fan of DeWalt but I’ve really liked some of their flexvolt tools. The worm drive and small miter saw specifically. but I don’t care for their 20v tools so I decided to go with Hitachi for the cordless nail guns, table saw, and miter saw. For Smaller Tools I really like Milwaukee m12. For the bigger hand tools I’ve been using Ridgid.
I dont think you fully understand power output when it relates to battery powered tools. The amount of power output available is most closely related to the cell type and cell amount inside the pack and not the operating voltage. The m18 table saw, chainsaw, circular saw etc puts out a similar wattage to the Dewalt 60v competitors for this very reason, large amount of 21700 cells.
Metabo HPT has TWO different lightweight 36/18 volt Multivolt batteries delivering amp hours 5/2 for 18/36 volt and amp hours of 8/4 for 18/36 volt (battery referenced above). Two different types of MultiVolt batteries, one even more compact than the one noted above with both focused on portability. In addition to these MultiVolt batteries we have the 36 volt MultiVolt tool lineup. MultiVolt tools can be used with the award winning AC adapter in all the 36 volt tools or you can use the Multivot batteries referenced above. This allows the user to choose the power source that is most… Read more »
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn income when you click on an Amazon link. Thanks for helping us do what we love.
See our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
Pro Tool Reviews is a successful online publication that has been providing tool reviews and industry news since 2008. In today’s world of Internet news and online content, we found that more and more professionals researched a large majority of their major power tool purchases online. That piqued our interest.
There’s one key thing to note about Pro Tool Reviews: We’re all about the professional tool user and tradesman!
Copyright ©2008-2022 Pro Tool Reviews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Professional Tool Reviews for Pros