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Hercules ranks seventh in our ranking of the top power tool brands, and Harbor Freight’s in-house branding impressed the SlashGear team. Hercules is gaining traction as a lower-priced alternative to well-known brands, with the best tools performing on a par with high-end brands. The Hercules 12V 1/4-inch ratchet has earned positive reviews from buyers, including some who generally prefer Milwaukee tools.
To see if the ratchet lived up to its name, YouTube user Price Kustoms put the Hercules 12V ratchet through a number of tests against the Milwaukee M12 ratchet. They called Milwaukee Tool their “go-to,” adding that they had “Milwaukee hats and everything,” but came away still impressed with the Hercules Ratchet. They found that the Hercules and Milwaukee ratchets had similar performance, but felt that the huge difference in price made the Hercules tool a good choice for many people.
The Hercules ratchets up to 275 rpm and delivers up to 35 foot-pounds of torque, while the Milwaukee lags slightly behind at both 250 rpm and 30 foot-pounds of torque. The Hercules 12V Ratchet Tool sells for just $54.99 bare, while the Milwaukee M12 1/4-inch Ratchet Tool sells for $149 at Home Depot. The price difference is hard to ignore even for the staunchest Milwaukee loyalists, and the Hercules battery and charger are also cheaper than their Milwaukee counterparts. Hercules’ 12V 4-amp hour battery is only $34.99 at Harbor Freight, and its 4-amp multi-voltage charger is $44.99, for a total of $79.98. The Milwaukee M12 4-amp hour battery and charger is $99.99 at Home Depot.
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Other reviews of the Hercules 12V ratchet are also great
Hand in black gloves holds Hercules 12v ratchet – Hercules
Price Kustoms isn’t the only reviewer who thinks the Hercules 12V 1/4-inch ratchet tool is impressive compared to similar tools from Milwaukee. As of this writing, the 178 buyers who have left reviews on the Harbor Freight website give the site an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, with some comparing the Milwaukee tools favorably. “I’m tired of paying for new Milwaukee tools and new batteries because they break over the years, this ratchet is so much better than the Milwaukee ones,” one five-star reviewer wrote.
Another wrote that they “use Milwaukee ratchets on the job and this Hercules performs just as well and is less than half the price.” New products coming to Harbor Freight in 2026 include an updated line of 12V ratchets and a new Hercules 12V impact driver; the new ratchets will have a 3/8-inch drive head and come in two handle sizes. The best Hercules power tools include saws, hex screwdrivers and angle grinders, and all brushless Hercules tools come with a five-year warranty. Batteries, chargers and tools with brush motors are warranted for up to three years.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.